November 17, 1996
by Alistair Begg
The greatest joy we will experience in marriage is found when we learn to put our partner first. When we value the happiness of our spouse over our own happiness, we will begin to understand the meaning of true, sacrificial love. Alistair Begg teaches us several ways that will help us show love and appreciation for our husband or wife.
22Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27so 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.1 28In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30because we are members of his body. 31“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Some of the most alarming statistics in the Church today relate to the crumbling of Christian marriages. In this series, we are reminded that God is the author of marriage, and that He has provided wonderfully practical instruction for single people, husbands, and wives. Alistair Begg offers useful Biblical advice on finding a spouse, preparing for the wedding day, and building a marriage that lasts a lifetime. Relationships are a fact of life, but no human relationship should be a distraction or hindrance to our commitment to Jesus Christ. God’s Word helps us guard against allowing our emotions to control how we live out our lives, and guides us into relationships that glorify God.