Marriage is from Heaven

Sermon OverviewScripture Passage: Ephesians 5:21-33Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in a complete commitment for life. As we see in Ephesians 5:21-33, marriage is from Heaven; it is not simply a contract… it is a covenant.Husbands and wives are of equal worth before God; both bear His image, but in differing ways, because marriage is symbolic of the way God relates to His people.Ephesians 5:23 says, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the Savior of the body.”When the Bible speaks of the husband being the head of the home, it is not speaking of his rights; it is speaking of his responsibilities.There are three major responsibilities of the husband, the first being his servant leadership.Ephesians 5 does not call the husband a dictator. Rather, we are given the example of Jesus Christ, who is head of the Church, yet serves her and meets her needs. We are to meet the needs of our wives gently.Husbands are also responsible for sacrificial love.This is a passionate commitment that comes from the deepest part of our being.Sacrificial love is also a purifying love, as Ephesians 5:26 says: “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word... not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”Husbands are to express their sacrificial love through their protection and provision. They are to meet the family’s physical, spiritual and emotional needs.Finally, husbands are responsible for showing steadfast loyalty.Jesus promised to never leave nor forsake His church. (Read Hebrews 13:5.) Likewise, we are responsible for keeping the vows we made when we entered our marriage covenant.If we think of marriage as a contract, we will look for loopholes, and miss the blessing that it truly is; if we view marriage as a covenant, we will cultivate something beautiful, like Heaven itself.Adrian Rogers says, “A home ought to be a little bit of the Garden of Eden, the only part we have left till Jesus comes.”Apply it to your lifeAre you cultivating a marriage based on servant leadership, sacrificial love, and steadfast loyalty? Remember the priority, the permanence, and the purpose of marriage, and treat your spouse accordingly.