“Loving Your Wife Like Christ”

How does a husband love his wife like Christ loves the church? How does Christ love His bride, the church? In Ephesians, the verses that tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church are not quite that simple. It’s not easy. Jesus is the only Man who was able to do it. He came as deity in flesh and did not sin. In order to understand this command, we have to look at the “Why” of it. We have to understand why Jesus loved us in the way that only He could when He walked this earth.
Ephesians 5:25-27~
“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.”
Jesus gave His all for His bride. He left his mother and walked away from being a carpenter in order to dedicate His life, livelihood, and sole purpose for living to accomplish His Father’s will. He did not allow anyone who opposed or questioned the will of His Father to interfere with His mission. He faced the devil’s relentless temptation alone in the desert and methodically spoke God’s Word, which is God’s will, literally in the face of the enemy. (Luke 4:1-13).
Jesus’ great mission was His calling. Jesus’calling was to die for the church, His bride, so that He could set her apart as holy, cleanse her, and wash her of her sins so that she could be glorious, without spot or blemish. Jesus sacrificed His life to redeem His bride from sin–from the curse of the law– so that she could have life eternal. Jesus died for His bride not because she is already glorious, because she deserves it, or because she has it all together. He laid down His life for her. He did it to take her place, so she could have life!  Jesus died for His bride and demonstrated His love at her darkest.
Romans 5:6-8 “6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
A husband might wonder exactly how he could emulate Christ in loving his own wife. He must accept His calling to love her–truly love her–by putting her first in line with God’s will. A husband’s marriage is his first ministry. He has to be all about it–on an unfaltering mission to perform God’s will. He has to keep his heart focused on what God says so that he is not deterred or distracted by temptations and selfish desires. He must be ready to receive ridicule, scoffing, and even attacks from others as he puts everything on the line for his wife. Not to avoid mentioning, she probably does not have it all together. She probably does not make his mission easy for him. She may be riddled with blemishes– a nagger, unkind, socially inept, or be sinning against him. Loving her like Christ means he will wash his wife and cleanse her by speaking and praying God’s Word over her. He will love her like Christ loved the church–at its darkest–so that over time she can be perfected and healed of those blemishes and sanctified by him loving her like Christ.
Husbands are called to follow Christ’s example so that when He returns, their wives are ultimately ready–sanctified and glorious without spot or blemish–to be presented to the Lord.
The best way a husband can determine whether he is loving his wife like Christ loves the church is by continually seeking God’s will through prayer and reading his Bible.  Each husband should seek God’s help to accomplish His will. Jesus was a perfect Man and did so, as well. God bless all husbands in their ministries of loving their wives like Christ. Amen~
Cassandra♡
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