Bobservations' Column
Pastor Bob Lawrenz
We open the second half of Ephesians 5 with the command of God to husbands and wives to be submitted to one another. The reading of Genesis 18 reveals a subtle example of Abraham and his wife Sarah in submission to one another. Each fulfills their roles within their marriage with joy and purpose. The skills each one possesses provides a Godly balanced in their relationship.
If we can imagine living in a tent with our spouses, we can understand how needful it is to live in a Godly balance, especially with those closest to us, and we get a glimpse of their lives, including their combined hospitality. Offering water, fresh-baked cakes, and a hot meal to their guests who are strangers.
But these are special guests, sent by God to bring God’s word to Abraham and Sarah that their prayers will be answered, and they shall have a son. Advanced in years, Sarah laughs at the idea that she will bear a son in her old age, and she laughs loud enough that her guests bringing her God’s promise hear her.
If that were to happen to any of us in our old age, I am sure that we might be tempted to laugh too! But God’s will takes precedence even over our physical weaknesses and inabilities. In the previous chapter, God made the promise to a 90-year-old Abram. It was almost a decade Sarah indeed became pregnant, and when it became time for the child to be born and be named, Abraham commemorated the day that the visitors came, and Sarah laughed. He called his new son "Laughter," or “Isaac” in Hebrew, or more accurately צְחָק’ “Yishaq:“ “he laughs.”
All of this happened because Abraham was obedient to God, even when God first visited him in the land of his birth, Ur of the Chaldees. Abram, at that time was obedient to the Lord, and this was the beginning of Abram’s family; the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and the Abrahamic Covenant.
We open the second half of Ephesians 5 with the command of God to husbands and wives to be submitted to one another. The reading of Genesis 18 reveals a subtle example of Abraham and his wife Sarah in submission to one another. Each fulfills their roles within their marriage with joy and purpose. The skills each one possesses provides a Godly balanced in their relationship.
If we can imagine living in a tent with our spouses, we can understand how needful it is to live in a Godly balance, especially with those closest to us, and we get a glimpse of their lives, including their combined hospitality. Offering water, fresh-baked cakes, and a hot meal to their guests who are strangers.
But these are special guests, sent by God to bring God’s word to Abraham and Sarah that their prayers will be answered, and they shall have a son. Advanced in years, Sarah laughs at the idea that she will bear a son in her old age, and she laughs loud enough that her guests bringing her God’s promise hear her.
If that were to happen to any of us in our old age, I am sure that we might be tempted to laugh too! But God’s will takes precedence even over our physical weaknesses and inabilities. In the previous chapter, God made the promise to a 90-year-old Abram. It was almost a decade Sarah indeed became pregnant, and when it became time for the child to be born and be named, Abraham commemorated the day that the visitors came, and Sarah laughed. He called his new son "Laughter," or “Isaac” in Hebrew, or more accurately צְחָק’ “Yishaq:“ “he laughs.”
All of this happened because Abraham was obedient to God, even when God first visited him in the land of his birth, Ur of the Chaldees. Abram, at that time was obedient to the Lord, and this was the beginning of Abram’s family; the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and the Abrahamic Covenant.
“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, ‘Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee.” - Genesis 12:1And the next verse begins to establish the Abrahamic Covenant.
Today's Audio Message:
Ephesians 5:20-33 - "Blessings of Obedience"
Summary/Notes:
What is God’s standard for marriage and the family?
We have been fed all sorts of illusions about reality from the entertainment industry, so much so, that people try and make fantasy a reality. The perfect body, the perfect romance, the perfect lifestyle, the perfect relationship, husband, wife…but is there such a thing? Fantasy will always fall short of our expectations.
Marriage is the capstone of the family, and the building block of human civilization. When marriage fails, the whole family falls apart; when the family fails, the whole society suffers. Of course, this is evidenced by the stories of societal suffering filling the headlines every day.
In today’s text, we will be studying God’s standard for marriage and the family. God designed marriage, and when He designs a thing (like marriage), He designs it for His glory and our good.
In fact, Paul describes the marriage union in verse 32 as a mystery, because its deepest meaning has been partially concealed, but now is openly revealed by the apostle, namely, that marriage is an image of Christ and the church.
As we study the roles of the husband, and the wife in marriage it is important to understand that they are not arbitrarily assigned, and they are not reversible without obscuring God’s purpose for marriage. The roles of husband and wife are rooted in the distinctive roles of Christ and his church. God means (by marriage) to say something about his Son and his church by the way husbands and wives relate to each other.
Obedience always brings God's blessings!
We have been fed all sorts of illusions about reality from the entertainment industry, so much so, that people try and make fantasy a reality. The perfect body, the perfect romance, the perfect lifestyle, the perfect relationship, husband, wife…but is there such a thing? Fantasy will always fall short of our expectations.
Marriage is the capstone of the family, and the building block of human civilization. When marriage fails, the whole family falls apart; when the family fails, the whole society suffers. Of course, this is evidenced by the stories of societal suffering filling the headlines every day.
In today’s text, we will be studying God’s standard for marriage and the family. God designed marriage, and when He designs a thing (like marriage), He designs it for His glory and our good.
In fact, Paul describes the marriage union in verse 32 as a mystery, because its deepest meaning has been partially concealed, but now is openly revealed by the apostle, namely, that marriage is an image of Christ and the church.
As we study the roles of the husband, and the wife in marriage it is important to understand that they are not arbitrarily assigned, and they are not reversible without obscuring God’s purpose for marriage. The roles of husband and wife are rooted in the distinctive roles of Christ and his church. God means (by marriage) to say something about his Son and his church by the way husbands and wives relate to each other.
Obedience always brings God's blessings!
