As Christ Loved the Church

Intro

Image: “There is an incredible line in the WWII series Band of Brothers when Easy Company is facing their most difficult days during the Battle of the Bulge. The weather was dreadful, ammunition and supplies were low, the fighting was fierce, the casualties were mounting. Worst of all, Easy Company had inherited a new lieutenant who was a terrible leader. After watching his pathetic performance and feeling sorry for the men under his command, the narrator delivers a line that continues to resonate in my mind. As the camera follows the inept leader through yet another disappointing scene, the narrator say, ‘He wasn’t a bad leader because he made poor decisions; he was a bad leader because he made no decisions.’”

-Voddie Baucham, What He Must Be, p. 106.

Need: Leaders must make decisions. They must choose whether or not they will act or sit idly by. And frankly, passivity is an epidemic in our generation of men both in marriage and in fatherhood.

Subject: Ephesians 5 is a blueprint for how men are to lead their families.

Context: In this letter, the Apostle Paul is addressing the Church at Ephesus. In Chapter 5:21, Paul states that believers are to submit to one another in reverence to Christ. Ephesians 5:22-6:9 then addresses three contexts in which that is to be played out (wives to husbands, children to parents, slaves to masters). The passage we are going to take a look at is specifically addressed to husbands and gives instruction toward how they are to treat their wives.

Preview: In our passage, you are going to see three ways that husbands are called to lead their wives: in Love, in the Word, and in Sacrifice.

Text: Eph. 5:25-27

English Standard Version Chapter 5

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Husbands Lead in Love

By loving their wives, husbands display Christ’s love for the Church.

Husband Lead in The Word

Husbands Lead in Sacrifice

“Your love for your wife is not anchored in your emotions or how your wife treats you, it is anchored in the love and leadership of Christ.”

-Randy Stinson

You are the SHEPHERD of your family.

Conclusion

“Annabelle, when I asked you to be my bride, I gave you a ring with the words, ‘As Christ loved the Church’ engraved on the inside as a promise of how I will loved you as my bride. Undoubtedly I will fail at this. However, it would quite literally be a cold day in hell before God fails to fulfill his promises. So I bank my promise to love you as Christ loves his bride, the church, in a promise God makes in Psalm 37:23-24, which says, ‘The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble , he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.’ So with my promise to you anchored in the unshakable promise of God,

As Christ loved his bride by demonstrating for her a delight in the fullness of God, I promise to lead us in delighting in God.

As Christ loved his bride by shaping her character to look more like his, I promise to lead us in shaping our character to look more like his.

As Christ loves his bride by providing for her, I promise to provide not only food for our table, but our souls, by leading us in the Word of God.

As Christ loves his bride, the church, by praying for her, I promise to pray for you.

As Christ loves his bride by leading her in the mission of making disciples, I promise to lead us in the mission of making disciples.

And as Christ loved his bride by laying down to present her as holy and blameless before God, I promise to lay mine down to present you to God in the same way.

By grace I was saved, by grace I have come this far, and by grace I will love you as Christ loved the church.”

-Austin Wilson