The main focus of this essay is on the importance of marriage and how God has outlined the boundaries for this important relationship. Many have continued to keep the virtues of marriage, but even more have strayed away from God’s word and they have perverted the marital union. Mankind needs to invest their standards of marriage in what the Bible teaches instead of having a temporary, earthly union. Our Lord has created rules that have been in place since he started the marital union before He even created Adam and Eve. Marriage was created because the Lord created Man and he saw that it was good, but it was not good that Man was by himself.
God then created Woman to be a suitable helper and to be a companion in one flesh with Man. This special union between Man and Woman was meant to last throughout both of their lives until one met his or her own physical death. Divorce was not be a factor in the martial topic, yet the introduction of sin has also seen the appearance of this ugly separation.
Paul uses the fifth chapter of Ephesians to relate the theme of marriage of Man and Woman with Jesus’s relationship with the Church. This is a key factor in the lives of Christians because living by God’s leads a better life. Life in physical terms may not be the best, but those who follow in Jesus’s steps find the blessings of God’s grace, love, and respect. God is gracious and he gives Mankind so many gifts, but there is so much more to be gained if one creates a relationship with the Lord as his or her true Father. Part of having a healthy relationship with the Father is by having healthy relationships with others like a spouse. Paul uses verses like twenty-one to show that women should respect their husbands and they are to look up to their husbands just like they do to the Lord.
Seeing men as being more can look a little disturbing, but Moyer suggest the opposite. Seeing the husband as the stronger vessel demonstrates how Man should act as the Father’s children. It is not a bad thing to be subject someone else. Jesus is the Son of God, but he is recorded in Luke 2:51 being subject to his parents. He served others and he would go on to be exalted for his humble actions. This does not only relate to the life of Jesus, but also to the lives of everyone. Moyer outlines this theory by providing other examples of humans humbling themselves for their fellow brethren. One of the major examples that people still live by today is honoring our wise men. The apostle Peter makes this known in the fifth chapter of his first book when he calls for the youth to be respectful and to honor their elders. Being respectful and recognizing the wisdom of being humble is a major factor in any relationship according to both Peter and Moyer thus it should be translated into the marital relationship.
There is still one question that pops into the minds of many when they hear that the woman is to submit; “How is the wife to submit to her husband?” It is a valid inquiry that has been given different answers by various groups throughout the centuries. Everyone can say what they want about the matter, but the true answer is given in the biblical text. Moyer cites multiple accounts in Proverbs that require the woman to fear the Lord first before she can be a worthy spouse. She is then required to submit herself to God and then she can submit to her husband for she is then a worthy servant of a higher power.
Now it is made known by Moyer that submission does not have to be a negative practice. He argues shows his readers that submission is not a fight between superiority and inferiority. Submission is an important role that shapes society and builds up families. A husband is to recognize that he has the responsibility of protecting his wife and is to honor her as his fellow heir of the grace of life like what Peter teaches in his book. Women are to return this by knowing her duties to the family and she is to manage the well- being of her home.
All this talk of a beautiful marriage is wonderful, but Moyer makes it known that the apostle Paul wanted the Ephesians to know that marriage is to help us understand what we can have with God. Marriage is a representative of what it’s like to give one’s self to another completely and to share the same value in life. This is important to understand and to apply to life in order to fully enjoy an intimate relationship with our creator. The honor of marriage under God’s instructions is a wonderful blessing and it is the goal to love one’s spouse by seeing them alongside the Lord.
