Becoming a greater Husband

Ephesians 5:17-29 “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 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. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:”

Introduction:

We learned last week the Holy Spirit is the role model of a wife. We men need to have a role model also. Men are not called to be a husband according to your family history. Do not look to other men – they will fail you; but look to Jesus as your role model. Jesus is the Anointed one! So, what does the anointing look like?

1. First it represents the Glory of God. The glory is a reflection of something or someone. When someone was anointed in the OT they were not dabbed with a little oil but the whole horn of oil was pored over the head so as to shine representing the Glory of God. In 1 Corinthians 11:7 the scripture reads “he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.” In translation this is saying that a man should be a reflection of the God that he chooses; if you are a Christian then you should have the attributes of God (love, joy, peace, patience). The woman, on the other hand, reflects the glory of the man that she chooses. Men your wife is your glory, or reflection.

2. Secondly the anointing is from the Holy Spirit. Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit before he started his earthly ministry (Matt 3:16). Bear in mind that the first name of the Holy Spirit is Holy! Jesus walked and worked through the power of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16-18 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."
Galatians 5:19 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ." If you don’t walk in the spirit you will have sexual problems. But in Acts 1:8 we are told that “ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you” This word power means having moral excellence – doing holy things, living a moral life. The worst way to live the Christian life is to trying not to do what your flesh wants to do. You cannot do it alone. Jesus himself depended on the Holy Spirit for power. When you realize that it is not within yourself to do right but it is your surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit that you will gain victory over the flesh. You have to have your wanter changed to succeed! Galatians 5 goes on to say that the effects of not walking in the spirit are emotional problems, relational problems and behavioral problems Galatians 5:20 - 21 "idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: . . " Sometimes I am not a good husband; I gripe, complain, am selfish: those are the days that I try to control my wants on my own power. I can never have the victory without the power of the Holy Spirit! Regardless of the problems you are under the “influence” and exhibit love, joy, and peace as a result. When the man of the house has peace, when the man of the house is full of joy – it makes a difference and there is only one place to get it!

3. The third note on the anointing of Jesus is that three offices were fulfilled in him:

a. Prophet: A prophet diligently seeks to hear God’s voice and to know God’s word for his family. This includes living a life consistent with scriptural values. You can have more fun in life by just doing what the Bible says to do! Ephesians 5:17-29 “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Jesus is washing us with the word to make us a pure bride that will respond to him and be for him what the bride should be. Men need honor and intimacy: the more your home reflects the Bible way the more you will get what you need.

b. Priest: The priest is a man who sensitively and sacrificially meets his wife’s spiritual and emotional needs! Ephesians 5:28-29 “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:” The role of the priest is to get everyone well in the family. You will never be better than what your wife is! When your wife’s needs are meet so will yours!

c. King: A king is a servant / leader of the home, treating his wife as an equal with a focus on her well-being; he is the initiator of decision making and problem solving without dominance. Ephesians 5:23 “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. A wife does not mind a savior head but does mind a selfish head or a sleeping head! Christ like authority is not domineering but a servant.

To become a Great Husband you must reflect the Golry of God; you must be anointed with the Holy Spirit; you must fulfill the three offices asigned to him: the offices of Prophet, Priest and King. My prayer is that you all become a Greater Husband in 2010.