The Prophetic Husband - Part 2 - What God Says
This is part 2 of a 3-part series on the role of husband to speak the word of God to his wife.
Part 2 - What God says
Part 3 - How we say what God says
These are based on a talk a gave to the men of Refuge Church in November 2016.
Ephesians 5:25-32 says,
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”
Your marriage is a metaphor for the gospel. God tells us that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. We should nourish and cherish her. We do this in many ways but one way is by opening our mouths to speak the word of God to our wives. We are to be like Jesus: bringing the gospel in.
If you’ve failed here (and who of us hasn’t?) remember this: God hasn’t given up on your marriage. The gospel is at stake. And he’ll never give up on gospel things. Jesus is reconciling all things to himself (Col. 1:20). Your marriage falls inside of that “all things.” So if you feel like you’re a failure in this regard, that’s the first step to doing really well in the future.
God comes to us in the person of Jesus - touchable, vulnerable, breakable. A husband makes the love of God manifest to his wife in the same ways – touchable, vulnerable, breakable, rugged, enduring, steadfast, faithful. Never shy away from humility, gentleness, and kindness in your marriage. If your marriage is a metaphor for the gospel, and it is, then we’re playing out the story of the gospel. And in doing so, we are prophetic.
