Marital Duties of the Christian Husband and Wife
Copyright © 2010 Heaven Ministries ~ Marriage Healing Ministry

 

Many of you reading this do not know that God designed marriage to work according to the way he created the man and the woman. Each gender has it’s own marital duties that when practiced appropriately make the marriage thrive. “The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.” (1 Corinthians 7:3)

What are the martial duties that scripture is talking about?  Understand that in a Christ-built marriage the husband has responsibilities to his wife and the wife responsibilities to her husband, lest the marriage would have no purpose—no direction.  When both the husband and the wife are practicing their duties properly in the marriage it keeps the relationship structured, organized, and growing spiritually. Everyone is happy, no one is in need of anything, and no one is looking outside the bounds of the marriage for companionship.

“Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord”. (Ephesians 5:22) It is a wife’s duty to submit to her husband and here’s why. God created a hierarchy in marriage according to how he created her. Jesus Christ is head over the husband and husbands are head over the wife in just the same way that Christ is head over the church, his body, of which he is the Savior”. (Ephesians 5:23)

When a Christian wife rebels against her duty of marriage she is rebelling against God and His plan for her in the marriage, consequently the marriage will have difficulties, much like what we are seeing today. Reality is, if the husband does not fulfill his marital duty to his wife properly she will have a difficult time submitting to her husband. In fact this is where the attitude of feeling like a doormat has been brought into Christian culture.  

Attitudes grow like yeast in bread dough. I would venture to say that ninety percent of the Christian culture has been deceived and they don’t even know it. Women have been deceived into believing that being a wife and mother is not good enough and that they must go to college and have a good career and boss their husbands around. After all, most women have been told they are equal to or above men and will not be treated like a doormat. “No man will tell me what to do” attitude!

More and more men are being emasculated by their wives. Consequently men are looking outside of America for suitable marriage spouses so they may find a good woman who will treat him like a man. I know of many such marriages and the wives are treated with love and almost anything their heart desires. Many American women are really missing out on the blessings that come with a healthy Godly marriage.

If one link in the marriage is weak, ultimately the marriage will have no leg to stand on. Why is it so important that wives honor and submit to their husbands in everything? It is because her husband, being the man that God created him to be has a built in natural instinct to be a protector, provider, and leader.  All men have this ability, even those men who believe they were born without it.

A man needs to be treated like a man for him to be able to properly carry out his God-given calling.  It is wrong for any woman to try and undermine the natural instincts of man because of a messed up attitude that has evolved from a confused culture—it is not natural for a woman to behave like a man and it is not natural for a man to behave like a woman.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loves the church”