ADULT TEACHER SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS JANUARY-JUNE, 2024 // LESSON 8 // SUNDAY, 25TH FEBRUARY, 2024.
TOPIC: BIBLICAL PATTERN FOR HUSBANDS
Memory Verse:
Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it, (KJV).*
Bible Text:
Ephesians 5:25-33; Colossians 3:19; 1 Peter 3:7,12.
Central Truth:
Christian husbands are to love their wives as Jesus Christ loves the Church.
INTRODUCING THE LESSON
"I love you." Those words have been spoken countless times and in every language. Many a man has made that declaration to the woman he believed would meet his deepest needs. Many have followed those words with, "Will you marry me?" Sadly, many men have failed to understand the depth of meaning behind
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Commentary and Application
1. Love Your Wife
A. Sacrificial Love-Ephesians 5:25
Question for Application
What kind of feelings come to mind when contemplating being in love?
When we ask someone what it is like to be in love, we often get an idealistic answer focusing on companionship, shared happiness, and an unbroken chain of pleasant experiences. These are the most Common descriptions of love in the popular media.
The Bible calls for a love from the husband for his wife that is modelled after the love of Jesus for the Church (Eph. 5:25). And if there is one word that encompasses what Christ's love is, it is sacrifice. This kind of love requires a 'what can l give?" mentality.
B. Beneficial Love Ephesians 5: 26, 27
Sacrifice needs to be qualified, however. The Bible does not call the husband to become a slave in order to provide a selfish wife with every luxury A godly attitude of self-sacrifice has godly goals in mind.
The benefits described in
Ephesians 5:26, 27 are specifically connected to the relationship between Christ and the Church. If that point is not clear, some husbands can overestimate their role in the wife's walk of faith. Every person is individually responsible for his or her salvation decision.
The husband who sees his wife as holy before God will promote her welfare constantly. During their most intimate moments, he will not debase her or treat her as an object.
Holiness must permeate the Christian marriage. Husbands must interact with their wives in a manner that draws them closer to Christ. All of his activities - from daily chores, to hobbies, to entertainment and vacations - must be entered into by the husband in such a way that his wife will be positively affected, so she will "be holy and without blemish" (verse 27).
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2. Care for Your Wife
A. Golden Rule- Ephesians 5:28-30
Questions for Application
If a husband is committed to meeting his wife's needs, how can he receive any benefit from marriage himself?
We tend to look at marriage in terms of what we can get out of the relationship.
Questions for Application
What qualities were you looking for in your dates, and by extension, in your future spouses?
There is nothing wrong with looking for desirable qualities in a wife. But the priority in a healthy marriage must be on what the husband can do for his wife to nurture those qualities.
The husband who truly loves his wife with a Christlike love builds her up emotionally and spiritually. He then enjoys the fruit of a relationship with a partner who has been nurtured in these areas.
Jesus applied this principle to all relationships, "Love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 19:19). The husband who loves his wife as his own body, as called for in Ephesians 5:28, is loving the person closest to
himself.
Some men might try to twist this concept and claim they need to meet their own needs first in order to be good husbands. The end of verse 28 helps husbands keep a correct perspective, "He that loveth his wife loveth himself." Husbands, who first focus on their wives and their needs, will bring blessing into their marriage relationship and to themselves..
An important aspect of marriage is the husband's ability to provide for his wife's needs. Husbands can fall.into the trap of trying to give their wives every comfort at the expense of building a rich personal relationship. Christ's love and provision for the Church are understood in the context of His unity with the Church (verse 30).
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Priority Relationship Ephesians 5:31-33
Ephesians 5:31 to the class is one of the most popular verses of Scripture read in marriage ceremonies. But reading the verse at one's wedding and applying its truth in one's home are two different tasks entirely.
Question for Application
What does verse 31 tell us about the priority of the marriage relationship?
Our closest relationships during our formative years are with our immediate family. The marriage relationship must be so close that even the bonds to a loving father or mother fall behind it. This doesn't mean a husband no longer honours his parents. But he makes sure that his wife can trust him to prioritise her needs over those of anyone else - even those who have been the dearest to him throughout his life. Every other relationship must make way for the needs of the marriage partnership.
Discussing which night of the week to get together with friends may seem like a mundane matter, but everyday events, such as going out with friends, create the climate of a marriage. The husband must approach every part of marriage with the attitude of being a blessing to his wife.
Paul's conclusion in verse 33 is respect their husbands. As a follower of Jesus, a Christian wife will respect
Christlike character in her partner.
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3. Honour Your Wife
A. Sowing and Reaping- Colossians 3:19
Ephesians repeatedly calls for a husband to love his wife and describes the marriage relationship in terms of Christ relating to the Church. When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he again called husbands to love their wives (Colossians 3:19).
But Paul went further in this epistle. (Ask another student to read the second half of the verse.) He included a warning with his command do not be bitter (KJV) or harsh (NIV) with your wives.
Building a successful marriage is a lifelong process of sowing and reaping. Husbands who sow discord with their wives will very likely reap a miserable marriage' or possibly a divorce. Husbands who faithfully sow Christ's love with their partners have a good chance of reaping the wife exemplified by the Church.
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B. Spiritual Yardstick– 1 Peter 3:7, 12
Marriage has the tremendous potential for great sorrow in daily life.
It also has an enormous impact on our spiritual lives. Peter warned the
reader of his first epistle that an unhealthy marriage relationship can adversely affect one's relationship with God.
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Ministry in Action
Some students in your class may be dealing with marital discord or even facing the dissolution of their marriage because they have never made Jesus Christ the Lord of their lives. Invite them to make that decision today.
Please ask me your questions if you have any - thanks for your time.
THIS PUBLICATION IS THE PRODUCT OF SUNDAY SCHOOL DEPARTMENT ASSEMBLIES OF GOD NIGERIA
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