Multiply

We all long to be forgiven, but we find it difficult to forgive those who have hurt us. Even in a loving marriage, it can be difficult to forgive. But God calls us all to “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives seek the highest good for her and surround her with a caring, unselfish love, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,

The blessing of this scripture is the honor and respect that we are to have for one another. It magnifies as husband and wife dwelling together in unity.

The apostle John gave those who listened to his message a wonderful promise.  He taught that if we walk in the light as Jesus is in the light we will have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus will cleanse us from all sin. Wow! People all over the world long to have fellowship with others.  We all long to be known and understood. We all want to have friends who enjoy spending time with us, friends who share their lives with us.  We all hate to be lonely. We want fellowship with others.  How wonderful that the apostle John gives us a very clear instruction and promise to meet our need. He says if we want to have fellowship with others, we need to walk in the light.

Perhaps more than anywhere else, married people want to have fellowship in marriage. John’s general promise that fellowship comes from walking in the light holds true in marriage as well.

In its simplest sense, what the Apostle Paul is saying here is that husbands and wives are to mutually submit to one another.  Husbands demonstrate this by their sacrificial love for their wives (as Christ did for the Church, see verses 25 and 33).  Wives demonstrate their mutual submission by their respect (we see this in verse 33) for their husbands.

If a man and his wife want to resolve conflict in their marriage, they need to be filled with grace and truth.  If you want to be free from conflict and distrust, you must embrace truth.

Respect is a rare characteristic to be seen in the time and days we all live in. I truly believe that when others see how we show respect to our spouse, they take notice, simply because it’s powerful and rare, especially in the family unit.

One of the most important ways a Christian spouse can love his or her mate is to build them up in the Lord.  We can do this through words of encouragement, we can do this through prayer together and we can do this by coaching.

Firstly, the apostle Peter instructs us to “clothe yourselves”.  This is an action step; it is something about which we must be intentional.  To “clothe” implies that we must put on humility.  We must wear it like a garment.  Good and godly leaders choose to model servant leadership.

One of the most important ways a Christian spouse can love his or her mate is to build them up in the Lord.  We can do this through words of encouragement, we can do this through prayer together and we can do this by coaching.

Proverbs 18:22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor and approval from the Lord.

The word GOOD in the Hebrew definition says this word means = best, beautiful, cheerful, joyful, precious, sweet, well favored and of great wealth. 

This is a powerful group of words to explain God’s favor down upon our lives concerning His love and wellbeing for us