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.
Continue reading “Household Interactions and Relationships—Husband and Wife”