Christian Roles of Husband and Wife
Copyright 2009 Heaven Ministries ~ Angie Lewis
Do you know what roles and duties God has assigned
you in your marriage? Why
do you think God gave certain roles to the wife and certain roles to the
husband? God created for husband and wife to share in the same goals but
have different roles. Together they compliment one another and work
together in harmony.
To be able to define the role of husbands in
marriage, we must also define the role of wives in marriage. God equips
men and women for various tasks, but all of these tasks should lead to
the same goal—honoring God. We
honor God by following His commands for marriage.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the
Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was
sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with
flesh. Then the Lord God
made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought
her to the man. Genesis 2:25
Why did God not make woman out of the dust of the
ground like he did man? God made Eve out of the rib of Adam to
illustrate that in marriage a man and a woman symbolically become one
flesh. God chose to make woman out of the flesh and bones of the man.
With God’s help Adam gave life to Eve. Man gives life to the woman
while the woman gives life to the world through childbearing.
Throughout the bible God treats marriage very
seriously. If you are married now or soon to be married are you willing
to keep the commitment that makes the two of you one flesh? God’s
purpose for marriage is complete oneness between couples. This is why it
is so important for husband and wife to respect each others God-given
roles and responsibilities in marriage.
A Christian husbands duty is to put his wife’s
comfort and welfare above his own. This is the model of the living
symbol of Christ and the church.
Husbands love your wives just as Christ does the
church and gave himself up for her, to make her holy by the washing of
water through the word. (Ephesians 5:25-26)
For a man of God it is naturally instinctive for
him to want to protect and provide for his lovingly submissive and
respectful wife. A
Christian wife is commanded to respect her husband’s leadership role
by submitting to his authority in the Lord.
…And the wife must respect her husband.
(Ephesians 5:33)
The bible clearly lets us know that the husband is
the spiritual head of the marriage and family, meaning he protects,
provides and cares for his wife and children in the ways of the Lord.
This is what spiritual headship is.
For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ
is the head of the church, his body, of which is the Savior. (Ephesians 5:22-23)
Submitting to your husband is an
often-misunderstood concept. It doesn’t mean to become a doormat. On
the contrary, it means to follow your husband’s leadership that is in
Christ. Ironically when a wife submits her own life to Christ it
becomes easier to obey God’s command to submit to her husband.
If she is rebellious or even nonchalant to what the bibles says
it is easier to rebel to what the word says. Do you see how that works?
In marriage both husband and wife are called to
submit to each other. For the wife it is submitting to her husband’s
leadership. For the husband it means to put aside his own interests in
order to care for his wife.
A man of God will not take advantage of his
leadership role. And a woman of God will not try and undermine her
husband’s leadership role and take over for him in that arena. When a
wife usurps her husband’s spiritual authority or when a husband abuses
his authority it causes disunity, chaos and friction between couples.
Love
The Man You Married
Love The
Woman You Married
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