Read: Ephesians 5:22-33(NKJV)

22. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
23. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
24. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in everything.
25. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26. that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
27. that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
28. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
29. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord [does] the church.
30. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.
31. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
32. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
33. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife [see] that she respects [her] husband.

MESSAGE

STUDY: Marriage is God’s own idea; it is a divine institution ordained to fulfil God’s definite purpose. God says in Genesis 2:18 “It is not good that man should be alone, I will make him a help suitable for him.’’ Unfortunately, marriage as an institution, is mostly battered and attacked by the devil. Some people see marriage as a means of pleasure and bearing children; it is even believed by some men and women that marriage is a great hindrance to personal freedom. They see it as a necessary evil that man needs to cope with. God ordained marriage for man and woman to enjoy. He equally provided guiding principles to ensure that nothing stops man from fulfilling His purpose in marriage. While husbands are to love their wives unconditionally, wives are to be subject to their own husbands in everything (v.22). The two are to submit to each other in the fear of God (v.21).

Beloved, marriage is an institution of both love and understanding. It is important that husbands and wives should be familiar with God’s expectations in their marriages. When marriage is handled the right way, it yields a heaven-on-earth experience. When a husband embraces the prescription of loving his wife not only when things are rosy and the wife submits completely to the husband, the result is phenomenal. This is the way of God. If your marriage is suffering in one way or the other, kindly take stock of your actions and check whether you are playing your own roles as stipulated in the scripture or not. You cannot truly follow the scripture and your marriage will experience retrogression.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank you for the gift of marriage, give me the grace to abide by Your principles, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Anglican Communion is the fourth-largest Christian denomination. Founded in 1867 in London, England, the communion currently has 85 million members within the Church of England and other national and regional churches in full communion.