Author	Thread: Godly Authority in Marriage
MyCrownIsGod View Profile History	Godly Authority in Marriage Posted : 13 Oct, 2011 05:31 PM Hi Guys, Just curious what some of you feel about your role as the authority in a marriage. Specifically: What does this mean to you to have Godly authority? How willing are you walk in this authority? (Because it's obvious that some men don't take this seriously.) What do you think Christ centered authority looks like in a marriage? In Fatherhood? Post Reply
ISeeYou View Profile History	Godly Authority in Marriage Posted : 13 Oct, 2011 06:43 PM The scripture plainly teaches that the man is to have authority over the wife (Eph. 5) but goes on to instruct the man to love his wife as Christ loved the church. A man who loves his wife this way will not abuse his authority for selfish reasons but will put his wife and her needs above his own. I would always be considerate of my wife's opinion and actively seek her input. I would never blow off her intuition. It's God-given and not to be taken lightly. In the (hopefully) rare instance where we cannot come to an agreement, we should both table it (when time permits) and seek the Lord in prayer to see if He gives new insight or truth. If we still can't agree, I'm the tie breaker and make the decision. Should that decision become a source of anxiety that becomes a hindrance to the relationship, the couple should seek objective godly counsel from a qualified, bible-believing christian counselor. Any one that wants to marry me has to agree that we go to counseling any time either of us says it's necessary. Post Reply
View Profile History	Godly Authority in Marriage Posted : 16 Oct, 2011 09:09 AM I love it. Some wisdom displayed in the Forum. Right on target brother. That is exactly what the word says (with some common sense insight added): Ephesians 5:22-26 (KJV) 22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 1 Peter 3:1 (KJV) 1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; Post Reply
View Profile History	Godly Authority in Marriage Posted : 16 Oct, 2011 11:49 AM As much as possible it is supposed to look like Jesus - and the word tells us to be gentle because the woman is the weaker vessel Post Reply
Gourd00 View Profile History	Godly Authority in Marriage Posted : 3 Nov, 2011 07:05 PM Imo, a man ruling over a woman came in the Fall- "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.� Genesis 3:16. Christ redeemed us from the Fall, so that we don't have to live in that way any more. I plan to have an egalitarian relationship with whatever future wife I have, where we both make decisions together equally, and when we can't agree, we can always take turns on who gets the final say. No biggie. Some people are stuck on the fact that they think God is a guy, and so therefore men have the higher spot. But the problem with that thinking is, is that God is a spirit. He doesn't inherently have boy parts, and for that matter, when we get to heaven, we may not have boy parts or girl parts either ("30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven." Matthew 22:30). So to assume that women are somehow less human/less capable simply because they don't have an extension like guys do, well that's about as smart as that extension is. And yes, I am aware of what Paul (I believe it was Paul) said, but you also have to take Paul's culture into context, and don't forget that Paul also said that women would be saved through childbearing and that they shouldn't braid their hair or wear gold jewerly (or at least some Christians interpret those things as what was being said). Most Christians would agree that salvation comes through repentance and Christ's blood, not through the need to give birth to a child at some point. Most Christians would also agree that there isn't anything inherently wrong about braiding one's hair. We can't simply pick and choose and say Paul is always right..........*except* that little verse over there and this little verse over here. Either the Scriptures are flawless, or we have to take culture and other signficant factors into context. Paul's culture was a male-dominated one, which is part of the reason why I believe Jesus/Yehoshua was born as a male, as God would be able to have more influence that way. Paul's culture would also give Paul a bend toward men staying in power because that's "how things worked" back then. Paul wasn't perfect; he was human. He wouldn't have all the answers, but we do have his letters. It doesn't mean that God didn't pass along wisdom in Paul's letters, but it also doesn't mean that Paul took his letters and sealed them in super-sealant and put them up on a high altar somewhere and said "This is the Word of the Lord for all mankind!!" He didn't claim to be an infallible mouthpiece of God, and he apologised on at least one occasion in Scripture (Acts 23:3-5). That said, in the least, it appears that what was "In the beginning" has precedence over what happened later in time, as Jesus pointed out in Scripture when he was talking about marriage between one woman and one man. And in the beginning, man and woman were equal. God said: " 26 ... ' Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Gen. 1:26-27. The same power was given to both. That said, and given the fact that that there may not be sex differences in heaven, and given the fact that there is no significant scientific data to back up why women shouldn't be allowed in leadership positiions, I'm going to side with treating the other 50% of mankind as equal human beings who have equal rights as human beings, including the right to be president of America if they want to be. I have a hard time believing that the "ideal" male-authority-ruled relationship according to "as Christ loved the Church" would look that different from an egalitarian relationship to begin with. Women have a lot of bright ideas, and so a smart husband would be listening to his wife quite a bit. I bet the "ideal" husband would start to question why God would want him in an authority position to begin with, seeing as how egalitarian the relationship has seemed to become anyway. Post Reply