Love Her Selflessly
“So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.”
Ephesians 5:28-29 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/eph.5.28-29.NKJV
Our love for the Church is best seen in comparison to a husband’s love for his wife. Each husband should love his wife.
Each Husband ought to love his wives as he loves his own body.
For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.
No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.”
Families and churches have numerous similarities!
In the book, Making Peace with Your Past: Help for Adult Children from Dysfunctional Families, written by Tim Sledge, published by Lifeway in 1992, the author provides a list of Characteristics of a Dysfunctional Family.
Focuses its attention on an emotionally needy family member.
Places limits on the expression of feelings.
Discourages open talk about obvious problems.
Permits destructive roles for the children in the family.
Fails to provide appropriate nurture for developing children.
Is closed to the outside world.
To illustrate the love of the Bride of Christ selflessly it will be helpful to understand the steps taken for marriage in Biblical days.
““Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:1-6 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jhn.14.1-6.NKJV
Proposal vs. 1
Preparation vs. 2
Parting vss. 3, 4, 5
Proclamation vs. 6
In Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby listed
The Seven Realities of Experiencing God
God is always at work around you.
God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.
God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you
Dr. Terry Robertson
Executive Director
Baptist Convention of New York
