“… And a three-fold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
In Ephesians 5, we find a beautiful picture of a Christian marriage. One man and one woman, filled with the Holy Spirit, “submitting to one another in the fear of God.” Thus, if we are encountering relational problems with our spouses, we can conclude that the first place we need to look is in the mirror.
You see, Christ is the key to marriage. “By Him all things consist”, or literally, are held together. A Christian marriage demands that obedience and submission to the will and word of God be preeminent in all that takes place within the home. If the Lord isn’t building your marriage and your home, then who is?
To say that we love Jesus whom we have never seen, and with the very same breath declare a lack of love for our spouse whom we can see, is a contradiction. Even for those who are unequally yoked with an unsaved spouse who is willing to remain with them, Scripture is clear with instructions to the saved spouse.
Godly principles for marriage attack our selfishness to the core. The natural woman will not submit to her husband, nor the natural man die for his wife. Therefore, Jesus “must increase, but I must decrease.”
So, we have revealed responsibilities for each spouse. Those specific instructions are my responsibility before God. However, my flesh cringes at this responsibility, and apart from Christ I can do nothing.
The conclusion? Yield to God’s Spirit. Draw strength from the indwelling Christ. Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the fleshly lusts. Let Christ work in your marriage, and enjoy the fruit His Spirit produces!
