Man Up - LEARN, LEAD and LOVE Together

Every Christian is married - to Christ

· The principles of Marriage apply to every believer because they represent Kingdom authority and our responsibility to God His bride.

· Today, we will focus on the authority aspect of marriage.

· Husbands and wives are to see each other ruling and reigning the outside world from inside the holy institution of marriage.

1. A single person is a priest to their individual life to God.

2. A husband is the priest of the marriage.

3. A father is the priest of the family.

4. The church is the priest to the world.

Man up to LEARN, LEAD and LOVE Together

1 – Man up to LEARN together

So many people go into marriage with little or no knowledge

They say – do your best

Every married or potentially married person needs to learn God’s standard for matrimony, including the roles of authority.

Learn who the HUSBAND is:

The Husband is CREATED, EDUCATED, DELEGATED by God

Genesis 2:15–17 NLT

15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

Warned –

6680 צָוָה [tsavah /tsaw·vaw/] v[1]

Ordered - Command – charged – appoint – ordain

· God had a private conversation with Adam, not Eve.

· In that conversation, God issued an order that would have eternal impact on the entire human race.

· Adam’s disobedience to his God given Authority had severe consequences.

· Adam’s sin cost him his relationship with God as well as his place in the Garden of Eden

· Adam’s lack of responsibility cost God the life of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

Man Up to Responsibility

Man was created first = personal authority

Man was commanded by God first

It is the husband’s role to provide, protect and be the priest of the family.

God holds the husband accountable for the condition of his marriage

Since the husband is the priest of the home, God will hold the husband accountable for the spiritual state of his marriage.

Priest

· Since the husband is the priest of the home, God will hold the husband accountable for the spiritual state of his marriage.

Provider

· Since the husband is the provider of the home, God will hold the husband accountable for the financial state of his marriage. T

· he Bible says a man who will not provide for his family is worse than an infidel.

Protector

· Since the husband is the protector of the home, God will hold the husband accountable for the safety of his marriage.

· Adam failed to protect Eve (and himself) from the serpent.

· The repercussions of such gross dereliction of duty will be felt by every person forever.

The Wife is Anointed and Appointed by God

Helper = partner

Genesis 2:18 NLT

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”

· Although the wife may be able to clean, it does not make her the maid

· Your wife is not your mama, nor is she a chauffeur, accountant or babysitter while the husband goes out with the guys.

Woman

Genesis 2:23 NLT

23 “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’ ”

Rib = SIDE – not head or foot

· The wife is just as fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God as the husband

· She too has a divine gift

· They too have a divine call

· Wives are anointed too

· Wives have the same Holy Spirit living within them as the husband

· Jesus died for the wife just as much as the husband

A You can’t take authority over the unknown

· You must know what (and who) you are dealing with)

· Lear God’s system, not the world’s opinion

· God designed marriage, so He knows better than anyone (and everyone) how to lead a marriage.

First ME, then WE

· Husbands and wives are to read God’s Word for themselves (for individual growth) as well as together (as a couple).

2 – Man up to LEAD together

Rule TOGETHER

Genesis 1:26–27 NLT

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

First Wedding = Authority

Genesis 1:28 NLT

28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

· They were both commission by God to take dominion over the world together as one.

· They were called to take authority and subdue the earth, not to have the world subdue them.

· The Church is to rule over all systems of the world.

· The church is to reign over every aspect of life.

· The church is to exercise authority in the world of art, education, business, culture, and society with the love of Christ.

Marriage = God’s First Institution

· Before government, before church, before kingdoms, before economies, before armies.

· That’s why the holy institution of marriage is under attack.

· Even the world recognizes the power of marriage, the unity, and the authority as being the bedrock of society.

Adam and Eve Failed in their Authority

Godly Wives do not step on Husbands

· Or to step OVER Adam, or even God – by means of ignoring, side stepping, usurping, refusing to listen to, or rebelling against

· Adam apparently instructed Eve, because she knew what to say to the serpent.

· Instead of unity, the Garden of Eden the scene of mankind’s first power struggle.

Genesis 3:6 NLT

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.

Godly Husbands do not step on wives

· Eve was taken from Adam’s SIDE to rule WITH him

· subdue earth together

Too much authority = abuse

· Adam was not to step on Eve

· This is why some brides are hesitant or even omit the word obey from their marriage vows.

· Your wedding vows set the stage for the rest of your married life.

· Domestic violence is abused authority

Not enough authority = weak

· So many Christian wives and even secular wives wish their husbands would put on their big boy pants and be the man of the house, take charge, delegate, take responsibility, make decisions, and provide stability and security to their marriage.

· Wives want a husband they can respect (submit).

· Extreme case – Ahab and Jezebel (witchcraft spirit)

What SHOULD have happened:

1. ADAM should have rebuked the serpent

2. EVE should have rebuked the serpent

3. ADAM AND EVE should have rebuked the serpent

Life Lesson: Keep the devil out of your marriage!

Second Adam – Restored Authority

Christ is the ultimate example of what a husband should be, he laid down his life for His bride

1 Corinthians 15:47 NLT

47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.

· Jesus was born of a virgin woman, because of the severity of the fall of man.

· This is why Jesus is called the second Adam and the son of man.

3 – Man up to LOVE together

You can’t LOVE who you do not KNOW

Husbands – Lay down life

Ephesians 5:30–33 NLT

30 And we are members of his body. 31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

We are to rule and reign from heavenly places with Christ Jesus according to Ephesians chapter 2 in this life.

· The marriage between Christ and the Church is one of the mysteries of the Bible.

· The bride reigns with Jesus through the millennium.

· The bride reigns with Christ throughout eternity.

· Our future authority they can be trusted is based upon how we exercise our authority now.

Marriages represent Christ and the church.

Marriage Authority Requires Responsibility

· God takes marriage very seriously, but it has become a joke to our society.

· Most couples in America who live together are not married.

· Some of the ones that I have spoken to have a fear of marriage, what represents a fear of failure.

· Most marriages in America end in divorce.

· And those that remarry have an even greater chance of failure than the first time.

· Ironically, the second marriage tends to be like the first person they married.

· Divorce is simply a result of one or both individuals not taking authority over their own lives to change.

· Taking personal authority over their personal thoughts, words and actions.

Marriage Authority Requires Integrity

Man Up and Make it Right

· Couples will buy a house together, but not get married.

· Couples will have babies together, but not get married.

· It should be the other way around. - First marriage, then house and baby.

Marriage Authority flows down

· True Authority is under Authority

· The authority in your marriage is affected by the authority who married you, judge versus pastor

· By the power vested in me, little or a lot. State versus heaven

Marriage Authority Brings Strength

· If the marriage is weak then society is weak.

· If the marriage is strong then society is strong.

· Our children will be strong

· Our schools will be strong

· Our governments will be strong

· Our defenses will be strong

· Our economies will be strong

Society reflects the family

· The state of our society points to the family.

· The family reflects the marriage

Although after the resurrection we are not given in marriage as we are today, but we are married to Christ now and forever.

The Bible ends with the spirit and the bride saying even so come Lord Jesus ,who is our bridegroom. (Rev 22:17)

Call to Action: Man Up to God’s Best for Your Marriage

Marriage is one of the greatest tools for evangelism in the kingdom. When people look at your marriage, what do they say see?

[1]Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.