In Trent Moody's sermon, 'The Responsibilities of a Husband Before God,' he discusses the biblical obligations of a husband as outlined in 1 Peter, emphasizing the spiritual and relational significance these responsibilities hold. The sermon begins by highlighting the need for husbands to dwell with their wives with understanding, which involves recognizing and valuing the differences between them. Husbands are called to nourish and cherish their wives, akin to how Christ loves the church, which requires both emotional and spiritual support. The sermon underscores the importance of humility, service, and sacrifice, drawing parallels between a husband's role and Christ's relationship with the church. Husbands are encouraged to see their wives as co-heirs of the grace of life, deserving of honor and understanding. The sermon warns against bitterness and stresses that a husband's relationship with his wife directly impacts his spiritual life, including his prayers. Ultimately, the sermon calls for repentance and the pursuit of loving, gospel-reflective marriages.

The beginning with 1 Peter. I also love the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the blood of the Holy Spirit. The church does the church for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

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. You may be seated as we pray. Gracious Father, Lord, as we have heard this morning regarding the light of the gospel coming into this world to the men who sat in darkness, Father, my prayer for your people this morning is that the light of your word would shine into our hearts. Lord, that we would no longer sit in darkness in this area. Lord, that you would show us, teach us Lord, of yourself because you have example this and shown us plainly what it means to be the head.

Father help us men humble our hearts Lord give us much grace and Lord give us great understanding into your word today. Lord for the purpose of your glory we ask in Christ's name amen. Well as we come to this passage of scripture in 1 Peter, I want to again take us back to what I believe is kind of the springboard for understanding this passage in chapter 2 and verses 11 and 12 as I speak about the responsibilities of a husband before God. And in 1st Peter chapter 2, 11, he says, Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lust which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation." So as we think about that as being our beginning of this context on this teaching about submission to different authorities and authority structures in our life. We come to this passage in verse 7 and we see the husband's responsibility before God.

And as I encouraged last week the men to Step aside and give way for the Spirit of God to speak to the heart of your wife. I will encourage the same for our wives. Let the Word of God do its work. That is the most important thing. You will find much greater effectiveness when God's Word convicts the heart of men.

So let us look here now beginning in verse 7 and I want to begin with a quote that I sent to you this week in the newsletter by William Gouge and he writes this, Peter gives a general rule for a husband's outward conduct to his wife, which is that he dwell with her according to knowledge. That is, as a man able to order his conduct wisely to his own honor and to his wife's good, so that she may have good reason to bless God that ever she was joined to such a husband. Now, gentlemen, men, this is what we are looking for. This is not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is that on the day of visitation, God will receive glory, but not only on the day of visitation, but even now that your wife would glorify God because he has given her such a husband.

Such a husband that is ahead to her, such a husband that would lead her, and such a husband that would love her. And so as we look at this passage We first see a duty of the husband towards his wife. He says here very plainly, husbands likewise dwell with them with understanding. This idea here of dwelling with is just a very clear idea of dwelling with them, living with them. We know that in the Old Testament, it talks about the Lord tabernacling with us or in the tabernacle, this dwelling, and God himself says, I will be your God and I will dwell among you.

It's the same idea there of a husband dwelling with his wife, being with his wife, spending time with his wife, and he is to do this in an understanding way. Dwell with your wives with understanding. So we learn from this that husbands are to be involved in numerical time with their wives, dwelling with them, and sharing not only our lives and our beds, but our hearts with our wives. And we do this in an understanding way. Now understanding here is the idea of knowing something in an experiential way.

As we dwell with our whys, you can't help but dwell for a certain amount of time to begin to understand, there is a difference between the way you think and the way your wife thinks. There's a difference between the way you view things in the world and the way she views the things in the world. This is only part of what he is talking about. So we do understand these differences. We want to love our wives in this understanding way, but there's more to it than just understanding that we're different.

We are. The world wants to put this whole concept that there is no difference between men and women, but God has determined that there is a difference between men and women. God created man and then he created woman. So I do not take this to mean that men are to spend their time studying the psychology of the female brain. That would be a waste of time.

It is too vast and far superior to anything that we could grasp. But It is more of the understanding of who she is and who God created her to be. How does God view your wife? That is what we are to understand. This is this understanding way.

And then he kind of describes that in the rest of this verse of what it means to understand. We understand that we have a responsibility, we understand that we have a role to play in the marriage and in our families. And so we understand what God says, the purpose of her creation. We understand her value in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We understand her weaknesses and we understand her strengths.

Understanding that this precious person is a gift of God for you and it is a blessing from the Lord. So I want you to take just a moment turn and look at your wife if you have one and think in your mind and say in your mouth if you would like you are God's gift to me because that is the fact God has given you a wife the Bible says in Proverbs 1822 he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. I want you to realize men if you have a wife you have obtained favor from the Lord and you need to understand it that way You need to view her that way that she is literally God's favor, His grace given to you to help you to be that all that God wants you to be. So who is this woman who dwells with you? She is your very flesh.

Proverbs 19, 14 says houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers but a prudent wife is from the Lord. In Genesis 2 verse 20 through 24 we see this very first giving of the wife and creation of the wife and we see it in this in chapter in chapter 2 verse 20. So Adam gave names to all the cattle, to the birds of the air, and every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam and he slept.

And he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man he made into a woman and he brought her to the man. And Adam said this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh.

Who is this woman that is dwelling with you? She is your flesh. She is bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh. And as he says in Ephesians, for what man ever hateth his own flesh, but he nourishes it and Cherishes it as the Lord does the church and that is how weird of you our wives So men there's gonna be hard questions throughout this How are you doing in? Nourishing and Cherishing your flesh And I'm not talking about this flesh.

I'm talking about the flesh that is sitting, hopefully, beside you. The woman that you were in covenant with. Are you nourishing and cherishing this woman that God has given to you? It is a grace of God that you have her. It is a grace of God that you have her.

Even in your most difficult days and you think, boy, this is hard, this hard being married, it's hard maybe getting along. She is a grace of God in your life and she is a good thing from God so what are your responsibilities as a man That is what we need to look at here. Husbands likewise dwell with them with understanding. So what is our responsibilities? Ephesians 5, 28 through 29 again states, so husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies.

He who loves his wife loves himself. You know we never have to be commanded to love yourself. It says love your neighbor as yourself because you do love yourself. Even if you present yourself in some way that it seems almost like self-hate it's really not. You're just loving yourself because you want more attention to yourself.

You really love yourself and you are to love your wife as yourself. One man said, I just I can't love her. The man said, well you're commanded to love your wife. He said, I'm telling you, I can't love her. Well, the Bible says that you're to love your brothers and sisters.

He said, I can't even view her as a brother and sister. Well, the Bible says to love your enemies. And I pray that that will never be the case in our homes. We are to love one another as Christ loves the church and gave himself for it. For no one ever hated his own flesh.

He nourishes this idea of nourishing here is almost like a parent with a child that you're feeding them, you're providing for them. It's a tender word, it's a word that is, you're bringing them along to bring health to them. As you nourish, and we will nourish our bodies here shortly, as we nourish our own bodies, we are to nourish our wives, because she is our flesh and bone? Are you nourishing, are you causing health to grow and to flourish within your wife? Now I think first and foremost we can all say we have failed at this miserably.

If we're honest, we will say I have not done a good job with this. There is much I need to do in this. There is more nourishing I need to do. We always think of the women as being the nurturers and being tender, but men we are called to be tender. We are called to feed our wives and to see that they grow in health and see that they grow in purity and holiness before the Lord.

So as we think about this and we think about the care of our wives and how close they should be to our hearts and in our minds and we feel that they need us, it is a good thing that they need us and it is a good thing for us to feed and nurture their bodies and their minds and their emotions. You see when we feel a need in ourselves men we are quick to fulfill that need. When we are hungry we eat, when we are sleepy we sleep, and as we do that for our own flesh, God is clear we do that and we should do that for our wives. So Paul says, just as the Lord does the church. We would be wise to pause and think how does Christ nourish and cherish the church.

Think about how he feeds us. He gives us the infallible Word of God, but he doesn't stop there. He sent His Holy Spirit to be in us and to teach us and to feed us the Word of God. So because we're so dull and dim-witted, we can't even see the gospel without the working of the Spirit of God that Christ has given to His church. And as the Holy Spirit feeds us and gives us light to see the gospel and to see our duties before God, we are to understand that Christ nourishes and He feeds the church.

That's the whole point of edification. He feeds the church also through others within the church. We know that the body of Christ is edified by the other believers within the church and he cherishes the church. We know this and we have seen this through a demonstration of his great love for the church that he laid down his life for the church. The church is near and dear to him.

We see this in John 17 as he prayed not only for those who believe now but for those who would believe and he knew before the foundation of the world that the names were written before anything had ever happened and before you were formed in the womb as he told Jeremiah I loved you. That's how Christ cherishes and nurtures the church and he does this while being the head. He doesn't have to become the foot to do this. He does this actually because he is the head and that's what it means to be the head of the wife even as Christ is head of the church he is leading her he is demonstrating for her this great powerful love of Christ has for the gospel men are you demonstrating Christ to your wife are you doing this for her Think of all that Christ has done. Of course we fail, we're sinful men.

At best we fail. But are you seeking to demonstrate Christ to your wife? And to give a true picture of what it means, of what a marriage means. So these are some of our responsibilities that we nourish the church, that we cherish the church. And both of these are really found in Ephesians, again Ephesians 5, 25 through 27.

Think of it with me. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church. Also, in his love for this church, He gave himself for the church. Why? That he might sanctify and cleanse her?

How? With the washing of the water by the word. Again, why? 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. This is our example.

We don't give our bodies for her salvation. We can't literally work the Spirit of God's work and sanctify her, but what effect has your marriage been upon your wife? Are you washing her with the water of the Word as Christ does? Are you loving her and giving yourself for her? There is a sense in which a man submits to his wife.

It doesn't say submit to your husbands, likewise submit. It says husbands likewise dwell with them. But we submit in the sense of without losing the headship, we submit our own needs and our own desires, maybe things that would be easier for us, we submit these things as Christ did. Christ submitted himself and humbled himself and served. So it's a huge responsibility that we have as men, not one that should be or could be or should be taken haphazardly.

It requires forethought, it requires action, and it requires sacrifice. Men, when Christ called you to follow him, he said, take up your cross and follow me. Our relationship with our wives should work in our wives what the actions of Christ works in the church. He's constantly feeding us. He's constantly pouring into us more and more.

Are we doing this? And it's so hard to stand here and preach this because God convicts me of the lack of doing this. I need to be feeding my flesh, my wife, pouring into her what God has called me to do. So has your headship and your love for your wife worked in her what Ephesians 5 26 and 27 says. Has she been made better because of your leadership or bitter?

Your role in following Christ is to work in her sanctification, cleansing, gloriousness, purity and holiness. You have the responsibility to provide for your wife, men. You know this, men typically embrace this wholeheartedly. I've got to provide, I'm going to be a good provider. But your provision is not only for your wife in material things, but in spiritual things.

She has a soul that needs to be nurtured and cherished. Many men neglect this area and this need in their wives. This not only means bringing your wife and your family to be a part of a biblically sound church and the administrations of the ordinances of the church and to have them at the functions of the church. Some men think this to be sufficient. Men, this is not sufficient.

Men, you are responsible to wash your wife with the water of the Word of God. The Lord said to Abraham this in Genesis 18, he said, for I have known him in order that he may command his children and his household after him that they keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him so this was part of the fulfillment of God's promise in the life of Abraham And he did this because he knew Abraham. He knew what was in him. He saw that Abraham was a man whose heart was following the Lord. He believed by faith what God had said.

And so that's why we're here this morning and that's my desire for each man here whether you're married or not. Young men, if you're not married, Lord willing, you will be. It's not the normal state of man to be unmarried. Not saying you're abnormal if you're not. What I mean is, the general rule is you will be married.

Unless the Lord has called you to sing, unless you will be. And if you are, you need to understand what your role and responsibility will be. And it is to be a man who is a servant of the Lord. It is to be someone who is willing to lay down his life for others. We read this also in the passage in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and chapter 6.

We see this responsibility of a father to lead his family and instructing them in the commands of the Lord and don't think that your completion of your instruction is bringing them here. It's not. It is a daily activity of walking with your family but walking with your wife and instructing them along the way as you walk with the Lord and as you seek the Lord's ways. We know Joshua 24, 15, of course, these are passages that you know right well. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

I had a difficult conversation with someone this week, not in this church, and they were speaking about the struggles that they had in their marriage and how there was this struggle the husband desired the things of the Lord wanted to feed wanted to have family devotions and wanted to have have time together that way that they prayed together and it was rejected. I don't believe there's a man here that suffers that. Possibly. Men, you are blessed. Embrace your leadership as the head of your family.

Most women are looking and longing for their husbands to do this, to feed them and to lead them in the things and in the ways of God. So husbands likewise dwell with them with understanding. Show that God is working in your heart. Another hard question for you and for me. When you see failures or sins in your wife, what is your response?

Do you get bitter and complain? Or do you make a plan to lovingly disciple her in that area? As hard as it is to admit brothers when we see deficiency in our marriage and in our family we must consider where we have failed to lead. Now I'm not making excuses for sin we we are all sinners your wife could just be sinning But I would say the majority of the time There's a lack or a deficiency there because we fail to lead and we do not lead in such a way that brings forth that desire in her to love and respect you. We are neglecting our duty before God when we don't.

He says us, he tells us here to dwell with our wives with understanding how giving honor to the wife. You need to understand who God created your wife to be. She is bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh. She should be honored. She has a position of honor.

As I mentioned last week, she didn't come from a bone of his foot to be trampled upon, or a bone of his head to rule over, but from his side, near his heart, to be cherished and nurtured is a place of honor, not behind him, not in front of him, beside him. George Goodes writes this, contrary is an ungrateful, if not envious, disposition of such husbands as passing by many good things ordinarily and usually every day done by their wives without any approval, without any praise or reward. They are ready to criticize the least slip or neglect in them and in such terms as they never did anything well yet such will be ready to praise other men's wives or to criticize their own wives with the examples of others when their own do far exceed them in all kindness and goodness. Brothers, it is no weakness to give honor to your wife. It is a sign of strength.

It is no weakness to praise her and to speak well of her. Yes, even to serve her. Even in the menial task of the day, normal ordinary things. Your love can be displayed and example and expressed in your appreciation for all that she does for you. That is a way to honor her.

Men, we should strive to make our wives' submission to us an easy task, where they willfully and joyfully do it, because God has given me such a husband. When we offer words of affirmation and gratitude and praise. Now where does this come from? Am I just making this stuff up because I'm really wanting to make the wives happy today? That is not the case.

God's Word says in Proverbs 31, we always think of the 31 woman. Let's think here just a minute about the 31, Proverbs 31, husband. Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also. And he praises her.

Many daughters have done well but you excel them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing but a woman who fears the Lord she shall be praised." By who? He says by her children and her husband. There is a deserving of praise of her wise and of showing honor in these ways And also in Proverbs 31, 31 he says, give her the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates. Praise her in the gates.

Who's in the gates? Her husband. Her husband is in the gates. The gates was the place in the city of which men did their business in the civil sphere of what was going on in that area. Her works praised her in the gates.

They knew of her. Men speak well of your wives. And if you have something negative to say, don't say it. Call out to the Lord and give him thanks that he has given you a wife far above you deserve. You are a blessed man indeed, for she is a blessing of the Lord.

And I promise you, these gestures will only work to encourage your wife to joyfully embrace her calling of submission into such a husband who demonstrates the love of Christ to her. You know, some men think that this be too beneath their position. However, consider Christ in his great demonstration of humility and service to his bride in John chapter 13. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God. He rose from supper, he laid aside his garments, and took a towel and he girded himself.

After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. Now I take that as this. Here we have Christ the groom, the disciples as the bride of Christ in the true sense and oftentimes men we think you know dishes or a wife's laundry maybe that's a wife's job washing feet that's the servants job and Jesus said no I will do that And he example that for his bride. And so my point in this is that Jesus our Lord and Master humbled himself and served his bride. It is right and good for us to follow Christ's example.

And in fact, Listen to what Jesus said in the following verses. So when he had washed their feet and taken his garments and sat down again, he said to them, Do you know what I've done to you? You call me teacher and Lord, you say, Well, for so I am. If I then your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done.

Most assuredly I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." We're called to serve. We're called to serve our wives, we're called to serve the church, we're called to serve our families, we're called to serve one another. As we will see, we will be submitting one to another. And this is the great work that God has called us to do.

So husbands giving honor unto the wife. You know, the temptation for husbands is to think more of their authority than they do of their responsibilities. And it's a great struggle with us, it's a great struggle in my own mind, to become bitter with your wife instead of feeling when you don't feel respected by them. But you know the Bible speaks about this as well in Colossians 3 19, Paul instructs husbands, husbands love your wives and do not be bitter towards them. Why would he say that?

The tendency of men is to have bitterness when things are not going in the way that they believe that they should. Matthew Henry says they must love them with tender and faithful affection as Christ loved the church and as their own bodies and even as themselves with a love particular to the nearest relation and the greatest comfort and blessing of life. And they must not be bitter against them, not use them unkindly with harsh language or severe treatment, but be kind and obliging to them in all things." John Gill does not mince words. Turning love into hatred of their persons, ruling with rigor and in a tyrannical manner behaving towards them in a morose, churlish, and ill-nature way. Giving them either bitter words or blows and denying them their affection, care, provision, protection, and assistance, but using them as a servant or worse, all which is barbarous, brutish, and unchristian, and utterly unbecoming the gospel.

Anybody confused about what John Gill thinks about a man bitter with his wife? Men, Bitterness is a feeling of the heart. It is an irritation that is expressed in harshness of words, in looks, and in actions. And we are commanded, we must learn well and to dwell with our wives in an understanding way. And in bitterness expressed in harshness is not the way.

Men often do get bitter when we feel disrespected. If we feel that you know there's something that we deserve that we did not get. If we feel that our wives are trying to control the situation, that can cause us to become bitter. But the struggle for some men is to communicate with their wives in the same way that they communicate with other men. Guilty.

Work with men all day long. You're dealing with men and with men we speak in such a way we can cut up with each other a little bit and we can we speak very directly. But men, Learn the lesson that I'm learning. Your wife is not your buddy. Your wife is your very flesh.

She is the gift of God. God didn't create her to be that. He created her to be your helpmate. He created her to be part and near and dear to your heart. Men can and often do speak in such a way that can be offensive or hurtful to their wives and received as harshness.

And we need to learn to speak to our wives in a tender and careful way, realizing that this is a precious gift of God. There's also a common struggle with women in speaking to their husbands. We understand this, they're dealing with children all day long, and they're, you know, so we have this comparison here between how men have this tendency and women can have a tendency as they're dealing with their children or our younger ones all day and you know we can feel disrespected we come home from work and and they're speaking to us like the child and and then we go on to speak to them like we do the men and it just goes bad. It just goes bad. That's not a good day.

We are to come into our homes as Christ comes in with just his ointment of love and we're to wash them with the water of the word and we should come in ready to to just purify this whole situation and love them as Christ does. Not with bitterness. Bitterness does nothing but bring more bitterness and anger. This is not the only provocation to bitterness though. Some men in the weakness of their flesh are quick to get angry over the slightest offense.

They're more apt to find fault than they are to give thanks. Easily moved to provocations and outbursts of wrath over the slightest things and this the Apostle warns against. Men, We are not to be most patient with those outside the home and not patient inside the home. May our patience be doubly active in the place where it is most often neglected in the home. Because, as he says, you're giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel.

I never have used any of my wife's china to hammer nails with I've just I've never done that. My children may have done that a time ago, but I have never done that. And I am to be careful to understand that this precious wife is the weaker vessel. That's what God calls her. Honor is given because she is the weaker vessel.

We must ever keep in mind that the Lord instructs us that our dearest and most intimate friend is the weaker vessel and as such we are called to be the stronger. And that doesn't just mean in our physical strength and in our muscles, but it means that we're stronger in our self-control, we're stronger to cover a multitude of sins because of our love that we have for our wives. In some ways, men, let's be honest, we're weaker than women. However, God describes women as being the weaker vessel and therefore we as men are called to dwell with our wives in that understanding way, understanding that God has not made her like you. She is different than you.

Different things affect her differently than they do you. What may cause her to cry may cause you to laugh. What causes her to feel hurt you may find no fault with it but she is the weaker vessel and as that weaker vessel we are to dwell with our wives in that understanding way knowing that she is not like us. Again great instruction here from William Gouge he says of the two he is more obligated than his wife, because in relation to his wife he is the stronger, for she is the weaker vessel, but the strong are most obligated to bear with the infirmities of the weak. No wife should use this as an excuse for sinful behavior.

However, men, we must consider their weakness and dwell with them in that understanding way. Gouge continues, he the husband is obligated to bear patiently with the wife more than any other because of that close relationship which is between them. He that cannot bear with his wife, his flesh, can bear with nobody. The reason given by the apostle to move a man to dwell with his wife according to knowledge and to give her honor implies, in this phrase, as unto the weaker vessel, shows that this is a particular duty belonging to the husband in which he may both show his kindness and wisdom and honor to his wife. For why is the reminder of her weakness but to show he should bear with her patiently?

It's not to degrade her. Men, it is to show you, because he's talking to you, that you are to bear patiently with those things that are weaknesses. For in fact, those weaknesses, as we know in 1 Corinthians, are described as the more honorable things. You see, we should honor her. The things that are fragile and precious we don't use out in the construction site, we put them, no, we put them inside in something that is protective and that is what we are to be to our wives, we're to be that protection for our wives and to nurture and cherish them and love them.

As the phrase implies this duty so also it implies a good reason to enforce it. For precious things which we highly value the easier they are and the more tenderly and carefully they should be handled. Men, we need to handle our wives tenderly and carefully in how we speak. They are precious. You see, How do you handle your eyes?

Do you handle them the same as your hands? No. We protect our eyes. You get one speck in your eye, your whole body shuts down. We should consider our wives as precious as our eyes and more so because as we will look at in a minute she is an heir of the grace of life.

And so as we think about this Let us think of the preciousness of the wife. She should be born with patiently. And he goes on for this and gives us good reason. Why should we do this? As I said, as being heirs together of the grace of life.

You see, The second thing is this, the good reason for obeying this command. What a wonderful truth. First, that God would so bless us with any good gifts, any good gifts, but that he would bless us with a wife who is an heir of the grace of life. What a gift of God. You see remember that God said that it is not good that man should be alone.

Therefore God created a helper to come along beside us and be our heirs together of the grace of life. She's not a cow that you drive, she's a sheep that you lead. The shepherd leads his flock, He brings them along, he's caring for them, he's nurturing to them, he understands his flock. You see, we need to remember that God created her for our good. And understand this to me, not only this grace of life, not only to be the life that now is, but also that which is to come.

An heir together of the grace of life, one is the grace of life could be pictured here as the marriage that we have. It is a grace of life in that sense of what grace we have by having a wife, which also points us, as marriage does, to something much greater, being the relationship between Christ and his church. And so this being an heir together of the grace of life is a beautiful picture of what we have here now in the present, what we have through the future and into eternity. This is a beautiful thing. We need to remember that the woman that the Lord has given is precious because she is in co-heir with you.

A co-heir in your life, a co-heir in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a recipient of the grace that you have received. And so we believe and understand and speak into what we understand that God has given us. We, both men and women, are heirs, co-heirs of eternal life. Galatians 3 28 says this, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus." Now what he is doing here is not abolishing any standards of authority and roles. He's not doing that but what he's saying is is that in the gospel whether you're any of these things you are co-heirs in Christ.

There's great value of every one of us. It does not negate the roles, but it rather it exemplifies and shows the grace that both of you have received, and it really shows the equality that is in Christ that goes beyond our roles as husbands and wives. So we need to remember that this good gift of the Lord that God has given to you as this heir that you should treat her with such honor and respect as what she is. She is part of the bride of Christ as you are part of the bride of Christ. And then lastly, he shows a good reason to obey this, that your prayers may not be hindered.

Now I've always understood this to be men, that your prayers may not be hindered. But I believe that this section is broader than that. As we discussed some in men's meeting, this your here is plural. And I believe it could have both meanings of this all husbands your prayers or and all husbands and wives your prayers I don't think there's a problem with either of those, but I think it's a beauty to see all of our Lives wives and husbands that your prayers be not hindered this whole section here. Remember we're breaking man Divided verses and the little headings that you may have in your Bible are from man.

This is a section here he's talking about this relationship and this roles and responsibilities within a marriage and he says these things so that your prayers be not hindered. Why? There's a very important reason because if we are not right with our wives we are not right with our God. You cannot be wrong with your wife and be right with God. Now there's many implications to all of that and it may be something that that you think I have no control over.

You have control over your heart. You have control over your words. You have control whether you have repented of your sins. And so that's what he's saying in Matthew 5 23, therefore if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift.

Seek reconciliation. What does God warning us to understand this that there is an importance in our roles and responsibilities with one another that does affect our spiritual life? It does. We can't separate these two things and think I can live this way and still have this. You can come and go through the motions.

But can you worship God? Calvin sums up this up very nicely. He says this, for God cannot be rightly called upon unless our minds be calm and peaceable. Among strife and conditions there is no place for prayer. Peter indeed addresses the husband and the wife when he bids them to be at peace one with another so that they might with one mind pray to God.

But we may hence gather a general doctrine that no one ought to come to God except he is united to his brethren. Then, as this reason ought to restrain all domestic quarrels and strifes in order that each one of the family may pray to God, so in common life it ought to be, as it were, a bridal or a check on all contentions. For we are more than insane. Listen this. We are more than insane if we knowingly and willingly close up the way of God's presence by prayer since this is the only asylum for our salvation we are more than insane if we are willing to live in contention and strive for their life.

May God help us. So what happens in your marriage will affect all of life. Make it something that is beautiful. Make it something that you are joyfully saying, this is my co-heir of the grace of life. This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.

This is the one that God has given me as a grace and as a blessing and as a joy. So brothers and sisters, what do we learn from this passage? I'm going to list six things here. There's probably a thousand more, but six things just to spur your thoughts. We learned that our marriage is bigger than our marriage.

It's bigger than our marriage. Why is that? Because your marriage is pointing to something greater. It's pointing to the gospel. So with that thought, is your marriage pointing to the gospel?

Secondly, we learn that our roles are ordained by God and therefore any individual or institution that seeks to undermine God's distinctive roles in marriage is not of God and they should be wholeheartedly rejected because they're going against the Word of God. Number three, we learned that our relationship with our spouse directly affects our relationship with Christ. Number four, we learned that any problem in marriage is a direct result of the fall and of sin in our hearts, both of the husband and of the wife. That's where the problem lies. Five, we learn that our marriage matters now, in the future, and for eternity.

Now, what do I mean by that? How is your marriage influencing your children? When your children see your marriage, should they say, I want to be married one day? Or do they say, I don't think I want to get married. How is it affecting your brothers and sisters in this church?

Do brothers and sisters in this church, does the body of Christ look at your marriage and say, I want a marriage like that? And how does it affect the watching world for the glory of God? Because remember that's where we started, chapter 2, verse 11 and 12, that on the day of visitation the Gentiles would glorify God. And then lastly in six, brothers and sisters, let us repent of our pride and selfishness in our marriages and strive with all that we are to love one another for the glory of God. Let us go from here and do that.

Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, Lord we we ask you Lord to just press in on our hearts, especially as men this morning. Press this in that we would know how to dwell with our wives with understanding. Lord, give us hearts that want to honor you and obey you by honoring our wives because of the gift that they are to us. And God, please forgive us where we have failed in this because of foolish pride.

Oh God, reconcile marriages today. Oh God, convict hearts. Lord, may the marriages of this church truly bring you glory. Where there is sin, Lord, I pray that you would convict. Where there are failures Lord I pray that there would be confession and Lord would you bind up broken marriages this morning.

If there are any here struggling Lord would you please do that. Lord we know that this is your will. Lord, you are the God of reconciliation. Would you bring it, I pray. Amen.