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A Study of Ephesians
Daily Devotionals for February 21-25
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NOTE: This week we pick up our studies in the New Testament book of Ephesians, continuing our weekday preparation for the upcoming Sunday's sermon by Pastor Rob. As you read and meditate on the verses we'll study this week, invite God to speak through this text, praying as Paul did for the Ephesians, that "the eyes of your heart may be enlightened" (Ephesians 1:18).
We thank Hanibal Rodriguez, Iglesia del Pueblo's Pastor of Community/Outreach and Youth, for preparing this week's devotionals.
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 | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21
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| | This week we are focusing on Ephesians 5:25-33, the text of Pastor Rob's sermon next Sunday. Today we'll begin our reading with verse 21:
21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church- 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32This is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
As we begin this week's devotionals, I want to start by pointing out something very interesting in this text: it has nine verses. There are nine verses that are directed toward the husbands while there were only three verses directed toward the wives. This does not mean that God is more concerned about the role of the man in marriage than the woman's. This means something else.
Why do you think that is? Well, to me the answer is very simple: The spiritual life of a husband is of supreme importance. Scripture reinforces this. There was a reason why Joshua said, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). Joshua understood that his personal commitment to God and his own spirituality were essential to fulfill God's purposes. Also, in the book of Genesis, God makes clear that his plan is to use Abraham to teach his family God's commands (Gen. 18:19).
God's message to and plan for husbands is clear. Their spirituality matters. A godly home requires the presence of a godly man who is willing to replicate Christ's love. God also reminds wives that their prayers for the spirituality of their husbands matters.
The personal commitment of a man toward God-and the effects of that relationship in marriage-is the best example of the love of Christ for His Church (verse 25). It is one of the ways in which God in His infinite wisdom chose to make Himself known to a world that has no idea who God is. The command for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church has divine implications.
Father,
I pray today for the husbands and fathers in my family and in our church. I pray that they would understand the opportunity they have to be a model of Your amazing love for Your Church. Thank You for transforming the mystery of Your love for me into terms of human relationships that I can grasp with my finite mind. Thank You for making Yourself known to me through the human relationship of a loving husband and his wife.
Amen
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| TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22
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| This week we are focusing on Ephesians 5:25-33, the text Pastor Rob will teach from on Sunday, February 27. Today we are reading from the English Standard Version:
25Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30because we are members of his body. 31"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Today we have the opportunity to see what the love of a husband for his wife looks like. This is important for us to know since the love of a husband is a "replica" of Christ's love for His Church.
We are part of a culture that defines love in many different ways. The most popular way to describe it is in terms of feelings. It may popular to speak of feelings but that view of love is neither biblical nor permanent. If love is just a feeling and feelings "come and go," then love is never permanent.
On the other hand, the beautiful text you just read gives us a completely different and radical view of love. We can see at least four things: 1) Love is a self-sacrificial decision, 2) love is always benevolent, 3) love is not a contract, and finally, 4) love is irresistible. Over the next four days, we will examine these characteristics of the radical love Paul describes in these verses.
Let's begin with the first characteristic. We know that love is self-sacrificial because verse 25 tells us that "Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." If we are honest with ourselves, if we can recognize our personal struggles, if we can admit how far our hearts can be from God, then, we can see why Christ's love for us was not based on feelings, but it was a self-sacrificing decision. Verses 25 and 26 tell us that our triune God decided to sacrifice Himself to sanctify us and cleanse us. (Sanctify means to separate or set apart. God set us apart for Himself and cleansed us to make us spotless before Him).
God had no reason to love us, yet, He decided to give Himself away. He (Christ) chose to go to the cross so that in His sacrificial love we can be forgiven. This is what we call it the Gospel or "good news." It is this love that we need. It is this kind of love that we are seeking. The only way a husband can love a wife like this is when he remembers that he was chosen to be sacrificially loved by an amazing, merciful God.
We all need this, not just husbands. We all need to remember what the love of God means.
Father,
Thank You for loving me with love that cost You so very much. Thank you that I am forgiven because You loved me with a sacrificial love. Thank you that I was chosen to be one who you love! Deepen my understanding of what it means to truly love others as You have loved me.
Amen
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| WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
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| | This week we are focusing on Ephesians 5:25-33, the text Pastor Rob will teach from on Sunday, February 27. Today we are reading from the English Standard Version:
25Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30because we are members of his body. 31"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Throughout the Bible-and in this passage in particular-one of the main characteristics of love is that it is benevolent. Benevolence is not a very popular term these days. I believe this is due in part to its implications. To be benevolent means to seek the well being of another person. In other words, it is to do or not do something for the benefit of another human being.
This is very hard to do in a culture that is ready to accept and perpetuate the premise that the main goal in life is to gratify our own desires. We live in a self-centered world with self-centered dreams. This is true today. It was true yesterday. And, it also was true in Paul's time-and that's why we have this text.
Even thought this text is mainly directed toward husbands, it offers guidance to all who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This text gives us a perfect illustration of the benevolent love of Christ. Verse 29 uses these two beautiful words "nourish" and "cherish."
The invitation to all husbands is to love their wives the same way Christ loved us. How? By nourishing and cherishing. To nourish could be translated as to "feed." The command here is to provide the wife what she really needs-her "food." We must see this through the cross. When Jesus went to the cross, He went to earn what we desperately needed but find it hard to recognize: God's love. However, when we find it, God's love is like water to the thirsty and food to the hungry; it satisfies, refreshes, strengthens, and enables.
The second word, "cherish" can be translated as "to clothe." This gives us the idea of protection. God's command to husbands is to protect their wives the same way Christ protected us. How? He "covered" us with His blood (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:20; Roman 5:9) and gave us eternal protection (Rom. 8:37).
How amazing it is to know that Christ went to the cross with a benevolent love. He had us in mind. He was seeking our well being. He wanted our salvation.
Father, Thank You that You show Your love for my by giving me what I need the most. Thank You for love that drew me to You and to Your loving gift of salvation through Jesus. Thank you.
Amen
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| THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24
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| | This week we are focusing on Ephesians 5:25-33, the text Pastor Rob will teach from on Sunday, February 27.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church- 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32This is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
This week we've been looking at four characteristics of the the love Paul describes in these verses: The love a husband is to have for his wife, which is the same kind of love Christ has for His bride, the Church. We've talked about how this love is self-sacrificial and benevolent, and today we'll examine why this love is not a contract.
For a husband to love his wife unconditionally, it is necessary that he understands that Christ-like love is not a contract. Verse 31 of this week's powerful text says this, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh" (ESV). Once again, God is very direct and clear about how a husband should love his wife. Paul uses this phrase, "hold fast." That phrase is used in many places in the Bible to describe an oath. This is important for us to know because if the love of a husband to a wife is to be a replica of Christ's love for His church, then this means that God's love for us in Christ Jesus comes as an oath and not as a contract.
A contract is an agreement between two parties in which each party is responsible for his or her own share. If one of the parties does not fulfill the agreements of the contract, then the contract is void. An oath, on the other hand, is made when one of the parties commits himself to the other unconditionally regardless of the other's response.
Many people think of marriage and love as a contract. But that's not how God sees it. God's love for us comes as an oath--an unconditional commitment-and that is the kind of love, His Word says, a husband should have for his wife.
Think how refreshing, how secure, how peaceful it is to know "that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39, ESV).
That is the love with which we are loved as the adopted children of God. And any person that is "possessed" by this amazing love has been given a whole new understanding of what love--even on our human level--can be.
Father,
Thank You that Your love for me is not dependent on how I perform. Thank You that You love me even in the middle of my worst failure. I praise You for the reality that I can rest in the power of Your love and not on how well I perform. Thank you.
Amen
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| FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25
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| | This week we are focusing on Ephesians 5:25-33, the text Pastor Rob will teach from on Sunday, February 27.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church- 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32This is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Paul reminds us in these verses of the kind of love with which we are loved-and the kind of God-like love that we are freed to show to others, particularly as husbands toward our wives. This week we've been looking at four characteristics of the love Paul describes in these verses: love that is a self-sacrificial decision, love that is benevolent--that wants what is best for the other person, love that is not a contract, but is a no-strings-attached oath.
Today we look at how this love is irresistible. I can imagine that as Paul is writing this text, he feels overwhelmed by the power and reality of these words. Christ's love for Him is so real that he is constantly talking about it in his letters. He is controlled by Christ's love (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Because he has been a "patient" of God's love and not just a "doctor" that talks about God's love, he can speak to all husbands with confidence as he says, "Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband" (verse 33, ESV).
It is very significant that Paul uses this sentence at the end of the paragraph. What Paul is trying to show is that the love of a loving husband is so irresistible that the result of that love in a wife's heart is to respond with "respect." It is neither a forced respect nor an earned respect. It is a respect that flows from a heart that has been drawn by such an irresistible love.
Isn't that what happens to us? Doesn't the Bible tell us that we love Him because He loved us first?
We could translate the word respect as love, commitment, care, patience, tenderness, and anything else that is the fruit of a heart that has been exposed to an irresistible love.
Paul was transformed by it and as we are captured the reality of God's irresistible love, we too are transformed by it. All we had to do was to believe that Jesus, the Ultimate Husband, loved us in such self-sacrificial way-with such a benevolent heart-and committed Himself to us. Who could resist that love?
Father,
Clear my mind right now of all that gets in the way of my awareness of Your irresistible love for me. I want to live and think and speak and act today as one who is totally loved by the God of the Universe. Help me to know the depth of Your love and to respond as Your grateful child.
Amen
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