Commands for Husbands | Ephesians Study

Ephesians 5:25

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Parallel verse: Colossians 3:19, "Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them."

Husbands are also given the example of Christ and the church. Before the church was even in being (Jesus spoke of the church in Matthew 16:18 as something yet to come: "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."), Jesus gave Himself for her. He proved His love to her by His actions. He did not simply give a bunch of commands and sit back only as commanding officer; rather, Jesus Christ gave Himself and gave His life as an example for the church to follow (Philippians 2:5-8). What would an in-depth study on Jesus Christ look like for a pattern for husbands to follow? This verse should entice the husband to study more of the person and character of Jesus Christ, so they better know how to follow Him.

Ephesians 5:28-29

(28)  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

(29)  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

We were given just a small glimpse of Christ's love and faithfulness to His bride, the church (verses 25-27). With this example in mind, husbands ought to love their wives faithfully. They are to revere them as their own body - care for, nourish, cherish it. For a husband to hate his wife is for him to hate himself. For a husband to bring pain to his wife is for him to bring pain to himself. The husband and wife are joined as one (vs. 31) and their actions towards each other are hurting or restoring themselves as an individual.

Think of how Christ nourishes and cherishes His church. "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:" (2 Peter 1:3) Jesus Christ has given us everything we need to be nourished. He has promised to love us eternally, unconditionally ("Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35-39). With this as a man's example, he ought to love and nourish his wife - caring for her physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Just like a wife cannot submit to her husband until she has first submitted to God and His Word, a husband cannot love his wife until he has first loved God and His Word.