Lesson 14-The Excellent Wife

It is my earnest prayer that by now all of us have come to the realization and proper understanding of what the number one goal of a Christian woman should be--that of bringing honor and glory to God in all that we do and say. In order for us, as Christian wives, to fulfill that goal, we have a very important foundational lesson to learn. We must learn to see things from God's perspective. This week we will look together at God's design and plan for the role of husbands and wives. Let us consider these five issues:

God's Perspective

1. Men and women are created in the image of God.

"And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27

Because we were created in the image of God we have certain responsibilities to fulfill. First, God has put us in charge of His creation and intends for us to glorify Him.

"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Genesis 1:26, emphasis added

"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1st Corinthians 10:31

Also, as God's creation you are accountable to God to make responsible choices. Joshua 24:15 tells us to "choose for yourselves today whom you will serve." And, Romans 3:19 says, "..that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be accountable to God. Even though God created male and female with very obvious physical anatomies (both body and mind), He still however, created both men and women of the same basic nature--that of His image.

2. In the order of creation, man was created first.

"Then the LORD GOD formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being...Then the LORD GOD said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." ...So the LORD GOD caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. And the LORD GOD fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man." Genesis 2:7, 18, 21-22

"For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve." 1st Timothy 2:13

Can you see the significance in the order in which God created male and female? Adam was created first and given dominion to rule over all the earth. Eve was later created in order to be a "helper" for Adam. Although God did indeed create both male and female in His image, all throughout the Bible He makes it extremely clear that men and women are to have very distinct roles.

3. Woman was created for the man, not man for the woman.

"For a man is in the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; for indeed man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake." 1st Corinthians 11:7-9

So you see, dear sister, God's original intention was for man to glorify God and for woman to glorify the man. On pages 49-51, Mr. Buck Hatch, retired professor from Columbia Bible College explains by using the Trinity as the role-model. Within the Trinity, there are three distinct roles :

The planner who make the plans--God the Father.

The one who carries out the plans--God the Son.

The one who also carries out the plans as well as keeps and empowers Christians--God the Holy Spirit.

"In the Trinity, of course, there is perfect harmony. All are satisfied with their roles. There are no "power plays" or role confusion."

Please read the following verses carefully:

Jesus said, "I must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming when no man can work." John 9:4

"Jesus therefore said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." John 8:28-29

"But, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." John 14:26

"Jesus said, " But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak of His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify Me; but He shall take of Mine; and shall disclose it to you." John 16:13-14

Jesus also said, "I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do." John 17:4

In using the Trinity as our role-role model for marriage you will find some interesting things in the verses above. First, the Holy Spirit (representative of the wife) never seeks to draw attention or glory to Himself. Rather, He seeks to honor the Lord Jesus (our picture of the husband). In addition, Jesus had no desire to bring attention to Himself but to God the Father. His desire was to be obedient to God, bring honor and glory to His name and to do the works that God had sent Him to do. What a beautiful picture of a biblical wife--one who's heart's desire is to glorify her husband because she understands that she was created for just that purpose.

4. The effects of the fall of man.

As we noted earlier God created male and female with specific roles. The man was to rule over the earth, the woman was to be a "helper suitable" for the man. Because God is a just God He was forced to pass judgment upon them when they sinned. Male and female were both cursed that day and that curse has been passed down to all mankind. The man would now have to work by the sweat of his brow to provide for his physical needs, there would be pain in childbirth for the woman, but most significant of all there would now be a power struggle within all marriage relationships. Please note:

"Yet your desire (to control or overtake) shall be for your husband, and he shall rule (to have power) over you." Genesis 3:16, emphasis and parenthetical comment added

Mrs. Peace states on page 52, " Whereas before the fall there was harmony between Adam and Eve in fulfilling their roles, now there would be a power-play as they both sought to dominate the other. It soon resulted in much grief, turmoil, bitterness and misery. Indeed, one of the impacts of the fall was the beginning of sinful conflict. Subsequently, Christ came to redeem us from the curse and if you are "in Christ" (as Christians), you and your husband have the potential to regain much of what was lost at the fall of man. Therefore you do have the capacity to have the harmony in your marriage that God intended....Certainly, the deep unity and intimacy that God intended between husband and wife has been marred by the fall of man. This is but one area that God intends to set right through His plan of redemption."

5. The husband was and still is to be the head of his wife.

What does it mean to be for a man to be the "head" of his wife? Does it mean that he is to boss and bully his wife and children? By no means. What it does mean, however, is that he is responsible for managing his home. This includes delegating responsibilities not only to his children, but also to you, his wife. We will learn more about this principle next week as we study our God-intended roles through the analogy of Christ and His Bride, the Church.

Taken from "The Excellent Wife" by Martha Peace, pp 47-52. Copyright 1999, Focus Publishing, Bemidji, Minnesota. Used with permission for the purposes of this devotional series only. May not be reproduced or forwarded without the express consent of the publisher.