Living in the Image of God M05S13
This study continues a series on individual responsibilities in household interactions and relationships, anchored on the understanding that God creates every person to represent him in human interactions with others. He calls every person to represent him as the channel for his human presence and interactions with others in a dynamic human interactions network. Household interactions and relationships form the core of a person’s human interactions network. Thus, every member of a household owes responsibility as God’s representative in human interactions with other members. The current study discusses husband-wife interactions, to understand that the responsibilities of husband to wife anchor on love, because love conditions the husband to perform all other responsibilities. Similarly, the responsibilities of wife to husband anchor on submission, because submission conditions the wife to perform all other responsibilities.
This study continues the series on individual responsibilities in household interactions and relationships, which started in a previous study with a discussion of the responsibilities of the head of household for spiritual commitments and prayer on behalf of the household. The series is anchored on the understanding that God creates every person to represent him in human interactions with others: to be for the others what God would be for them if he lived as human among them. The current study begins with understanding that household interactions and relationships form the core of the human interactions network that God establishes for every person. The study also discusses husband and wife interactions as the nucleus of household interactions and relationships. The series will conclude in a subsequent bible study with a discussion of interactions regarding child and househelp.
The study uses an example from Christ teaching, regarding the Parable of Faithful and Wise Servant (Matthew 24:45–51), to understand the aspect of human relationship with God whereby he establishes a dynamic human interactions network for every person. He calls each person to serve others in the network as God’s representative in human interactions with them. Because household interactions and relationships form the core of a person’s human interactions network, human interactions in the network begin with human interactions at home. That is, God calls every member of a household to serve other members as his representative in human interactions with them.
Based on Paul’s letter to Ephesians regarding individual responsibilities in household interactions and relationships, we discuss husband and wife interactions (Ephesians 5:21–33) in this study and interactions regarding child and househelp (Ephesians 6:1–9) in a subsequent study.
Human Interactions Network
Through the Parable of Faithful and Wise Servant, Christ provides an example of a person that God placed in position to serve others on his behalf. In the parable, a master of several servants appointed one of them to care for the others in his absence [Matthew 24:45]: “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?” The relationship illustrates the responsibilities of a person that God has assigned to represent him in human interactions with others: to be for the others what God would be for them if he lived as human among them.
God calls each person to serve others as the channel for his human presence among them, human interactions with them, compassion toward them, messages to them, and any other purpose that he may choose. That is, God calls every person to serve as his channel for aspects of human interactions that he chooses. In the parable, the master (representing God) placed the servant (representing an individual person) in charge of all other servants (representing the human interactions network around a person) to feed them timely (representing any service that God may assign to a person).
The parable describes human relationship with God whereby God appoints each person to represent him in human interactions with others. Thus, each person represents a node in God’s human-interactions network. Christ uses the parable to explain that God blesses those that perform their responsibilities in the human-interactions network [Matthew 24:46–47]: “It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.” In contrast, he punishes those that decline their responsibilities: “He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” [Matthew 24:51].
Household As Core of Human Interactions Network
Household interactions and relationships form the core of the human interactions network around a person. Also, husband-wife interactions and relationships form the nucleus for household interactions and relationships. Therefore, responsibilities in husband-wife interactions begin with the husband and wife and extend to the household and to the wider human interactions network.
In his letter to Ephesians, Paul describes the individual responsibilities regarding household interactions and relationships. The hierarchy of responsibilities relies on household leadership, which we summarize based on our previous studies.
Household Leadership
As we discuss in a previous study (Isaac-Rebekah Individual Responsibility Honor-Support Family Leadership, M04S18), the household leadership structure consists of the husband as overall leader while the wife is the spiritual gateway. Also, the wife can be occasional leader in specific matters, at times delegated by the husband and at times by circumstances. God uses the family leadership structure to communicate his will to the family and relies on seamless husband-wife communication. He calls members of the household to honor and support the family leadership.
Honor and support of family leadership entails several responsibilities: such as understanding the leader’s objectives and difficulties; and respect, appreciation, assistance, and, most important, love for the leader and follower as they perform their responsibilities.
Husband Responsibilities to Wife
The responsibilities of husband to wife are anchored on “love your wife” and include honor and support her leadership of household affairs when she has a leadership role, appreciate her contributions, and assist her when necessary.
Paul describes husband responsibilities to wife in terms of love: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” [Ephesians 5:25]. A husband’s love of his wife prepares him to perform his responsibilities to his wife [Ephesians 5:28-30]: “In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body.”
Wife Responsibilities to Husband
The responsibilities of wife to husband are anchored on “submit to your husband,” which means that your attitude, words, and deed convey a promise of obedience. Submission prepares a wife to perform other aspects of her responsibilities to her husband: honor and support his overall leadership, even when you have a leadership role; appreciate his contributions; and assist him when necessary.
Paul describes the responsibilities of wife to husband in terms of submission [Ephesians 5:22–24]: “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”
Summary of What We Learned
The study continues a series on individual responsibilities in household interactions and relationships, anchored on the understanding that God creates every person to represent him in human interactions with others. He calls every person to represent him as the channel for his human presence and interactions with others in a dynamic human interactions network.
Household interactions and relationships form the core of a person’s human interactions network. Thus, every member of a household owes responsibility as God’s representative in human interactions with other members.
The study discusses husband-wife interactions, to understand that the responsibilities of husband to wife anchor on love, because love conditions the husband to perform all other responsibilities. Similarly, the responsibilities of wife to husband anchor on submission, because submission conditions the wife to perform all other responsibilities.