From Steve’s Desk:

FOR MY BRIDE - 4/1/25

Ephesians 5:25-33 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,  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.  So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord 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.

A godly man is a sacrificing man. One who forgoes, puts aside, or denies himself….um, himself.  As I have mentioned various aspects of a godly man’s character in last month’s entry; I want to start with this attribute first, lest I get caught up in the confusion of priority vs power within the fruit itself. So, I start with sacrifice in order to start where all Christianity starts….Jesus, himself.

Godly men are less, and Christ is always more. We decrease, so He increases. Paul is instructing husbands to “give” themselves away to their own wives. He is essentially telling them to die on their cross just as Jesus died for us. Do you, if married, die unto yourself for your wife? Do you desire to love her like this? Do you express it in your words and actions to her, for her and with her? A man’s wife is HIS CHURCH, HIS BRIDE, HIS BELOVED. And Jesus is the ONLY man who truly sacrificed everything for His bride, the church. He took all our sin, the Father’s holy judgement and death at the cross. He gave it all… for us, and we are to have this same attitude with our wives.

I have counselled husbands to be… before with words like this: “Do you have dreams for yourself? Do you want to accomplish great things alone, for your benefit? Do you want to be able to do what you want, when you want, how you want? Then you should never get married.” I still believe that is great advice. Marriage has no room for self. Just as the Christian walk has no room for selfish husbands or fathers. If you are in it for you, then you stand alone, but if you are in it for Jesus and your family, then you stand with Christ.

If we live a sacrificial life in our marriage, we will wash our spouse, our family, with our death to ourselves, with washing of the Word in the Holy Ghost! There is no more “me”, there is only “we.”

Have you given up these things for your wife: your own dreams of a certain career, fame, financial freedom, lust for other things and other women? If you have given up anything for her, it matters; it holds weight in the kingdom of God. The more you give, even unto death, your physical death, the more you display the genuine love of Christ in you.

Remember this Resurrection Celebration month what Jesus did for us, His bride.

 Philippians 2:6-11 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

And what happened to Him once He did.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus is our Lord, Savior and PROTECTOR. He died to save us, keep us, and protect us all the way to heaven.

How can we say we protect our wives, men, unless we join in God’s process of our own sanctification and soon-to-be glorification, by truly loving our wives as commanded and defined by the bible? Even if it kills us.  

Jesus died for His bride. Can you?