Making Marriage Work

1 . Align With God’s

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” —Genesis 1:26

So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female. —Genesis 1:27

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” —Genesis 1:28

It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him. —Genesis 2:18

And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man. This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame. —Genesis 2:23-24

But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate. —Mark 10:6-9

So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. —Genesis 3:6-7

Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you. —Genesis 3:16

2 . Accept Your

Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ. —Ephesians 5:21

Wives:

Respectfully

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. —Ephesians 5:22-24

But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. —1 Corinthians 11:3 ESV

To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband. —Ephesians 5:33

Husbands:

Sacrificially

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her —Ephesians 5:25

: Give Direction - Ephesians 5:23 - The husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.

: Give Correction - Ephesians 5:26-27 - to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.

: Give Affection - Ephesians 5:28-30 - In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, since we are members of his body.

Both: Leave,

, Weave

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband. —Ephesians 5:31-33