The Power of the Wife-Part 1
Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
Genesis 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
If you take your time and read these verses and study them, you can see how much sense that makes. God has chosen one woman to be with one man. There is a special mate for everyone. A lot of times, we make poor decisions and suffer the consequences. Speaking from personal experience, I was married once before and was divorced after over 15 yrs of an abusive marital relationship to an unsaved husband. We both made poor choices. I have trusted the Lord as my personal Savior after that divorce and now I am happy and blessed to have my present saved husband as my mate for life.
Nothing happens by accident and God has a plan for each of us. Wives have power that she may not know she possesses. What the wife does with that power determines if she is following the will of God. As Genesis 2:24 says, a man and his wife shall be one flesh. Read that again- a man and his wife shall be one flesh. Yes ladies, you are the completer of man. A man is not complete without his wife. Please note that woman was made for man and not man for woman.
Any woman can hold a special place in a man's life- a mother, a sister, a friend- but a wife has a spot that no other woman can occupy.For that reason, God has given the wife a guide to complete her husband. Here are some major pointers:
1. The husband is the head of the household.
Genesis 3:16 Unto the woman he said, .... thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Yes ladies, that means you are subject to him. There is a heirarchy in order for God's plans for the marriage to be fulfilled.
1 Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
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.
2.The husband is the spiritual leader of that household.
The woman shall be in subjection to the husband in everything. That does not mean that the husband can treat his wife like dirt.It just means that the wife must be respectful and obedient to her husband and likewise the husband should love his wife the same way Christ loves the church-his bride.
1 Timothy 2:11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
1 Timothy 2:12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
1 Timothy 2:13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
1 Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
1 Timothy 2:15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
Wives have power over the husband and if that power is used wrongly, then tragedy occurs. For example: Eve, Sarah, Rebekah.
3.The wife in a marriage represents the bride of Christ- the church.
Ephesians 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Christ wants his people to serve Him, love Him,obey Him and be faithful to Him. We need to have an intimate knowledge of Him. The same way, a wife is to be subject to her husband and display these qualities.