1. Gospel-Centered Marriage

I’ve heard it said, “a Godly marriage is the best gift you can give your children” and I believe this statement is true. How can we raise Godly children if we don’t demonstrate to them what a biblical Christ-centered marriage is? As men, we must lay down our life for our wife, so that our children will have a better understanding of what the gospel is, and how marriage is a picture of Christ’s relationship with the church.

Our relationship with our wife is our strongest most effective evangelism method we can demonstrate to our children. Our children will be evangelized everyday as they witness us laying down our lives for our wives, in the same way Christ gave His life for His bride, the church. Our children will be greater drawn to Christ as they witness us loving our wife in the same way Christ loved the church.

In this lesson we look at what scriptures relating directly to the marriage relationship/covenant. As married men, our greatest entrustment from God is our wives. Meditate on these verses and answer the questions below. Remember, this isn’t a thorough study on biblical marriage, just a “warm-up” study. I encourage you to utilize the additional resources available (Books or Sermons) on marriage. Also, spend a few moments and read some great quotes on the man’s role in a marriage relationship posted here. Side-Note: If you’re not married or you’re divorced, I encourage you to still complete this study. God may bring along a wife to you in the future. It’s great to know this stuff before you get married.

Questions:  

1. Why did God established marriage? Read: Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 2:18-23. What did you learn from these verses?

2. What does two shall become one mean? Read: Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4-6, Ephesians 5:31-32. Do you view your relationship with your wife as being one? What else did you learn from these verses? Focus on Ephesians 5:32.

3. What is one of the purposes of marriage? Read: Malachi 2:15-16, 1 Corinthians 7:14. What did you learn from these verses?

4. What does the scripture say about a man who has a wife? Read: Proverbs 18:22, Proverbs 19:14, Proverbs 31:10. What did you learn from these verses?

5. What should be the biblical goal(s) in our marriage relationship? Read: Ephesians 5:25-33, Colossians 3:19. Have you laid down your life for her? Do you wash her with God’s Word? Do you nourish and cherish your wife? Are you harsh with your wife? What else did you learn from these verses?

Pray:

• Spend a few moments thanking God for your wife.
• Ask for God’s grace to help you further lay down your life for her.
• Repent of the sins you’ve committed against her.

Doers of the Word:

• Confess your sins and ask your wife for forgiveness if you’ve wronged her.
• Pray for her daily.
• Pray with her.
• Read these short articles on marriage. The Loving Husband, A Portrait of Christ and Pride vs. Humility in Marriage. Write a short paragraph about what you learned.
• Spend some time listening to a sermon on marriage. These sermons vary in length. Allow these sermons to provoke you. You can find the sermons here.