1 Corinthians 11:3 (NKJV) But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
Ephesians 5:23-24 (NKJV) For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Saviour of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
First, God created mankind; second, Christ redeemed us from our sins. Therefore, He is the Lord of our lives and has authority over all of us. The church is subject to Christ, and we submit to His Lordship. God is the supreme being over all creation, and Christ is the head of both the husband and the wife, who receive instructions from Him. When we refer to someone as the head of something, it means that person has authority and a higher position in ranking.
Because Christ is the head of the church, submitting to authority should not be foreign to believers because we submit to the Lordship of Christ. For a marriage to prosper, both the husband and wife must willingly submit to the Lordship of Christ in every aspect of their lives, including who should lead the family, and how the family should function based on the teaching of the Bible—the manual for our lives. As believers, we accept and believe in the inspiration and authority of the Bible. Therefore, we submit to it. Submission keeps us humble before God.
Now that we understand God’s order—Christ, man, woman—and that the church submits to Christ, it will be easier for the woman to submit to her husband in all things, just as the church submits to Christ in all things. When a couple accepts and understands that this is God’s ordained order, there will be less tension, strife, and division between them. We demonstrate submission to God’s plan for our lives by living out the consecrated life; we submit to His will, especially in important decisions such as whether to migrate, accept a company posting, or start a new business. We should not pursue our own will but pray that His will be done in our lives, as it is in heaven, just like what the Lord Jesus taught us in the Lord’s prayer: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). As we do that, we are submitting to His plan for us because He is the head of the church. There will be no conflict between God’s will for our lives and the desires of the couple because both the husband and the wife desire to do God’s will in their lives. Likewise, there will be complete agreement and no friction when the couple submits to God and each other. Peace, love, joy, and unity will prevail when we submit to His authority, leadership, and the divine order in the family.
Sermon Series:The head of woman is man?
当婚姻中有神的次序时
哥林多前书 11:3 我愿意你们知道,基督是各人的头,男人是女人的头,神是基督的头。
以弗所书 5:23-24 因为丈夫是妻子的头,如同基督是教会的头,祂又是这身体的救主。教会怎样顺服基督,妻子也要怎样凡事顺服丈夫。
首先,是神创造了人类;其次,基督救赎我们脱离罪恶。因此,祂是我们生命的主,在我们众人之上拥有主权。教会顺服基督,我们也当顺服祂的主权。神是至高者,是一切受造物之上的主,而基督是丈夫和妻子的头,他们都从祂领受指引。当我们称某人为某事的“头”时,意思是他有带领的责任,具有一定的权柄与次序上的角色。
因为基督是教会的头,信徒对于顺服权柄的概念并不陌生,因为我们已经顺服在基督的主权之下。若要婚姻蒙福兴旺,丈夫和妻子都必须在生命的各个层面甘心顺服基督的主权,包括家庭应由谁来带领,以及家庭应如何运作——这一切都应以圣经这本生命的使用手册为根基。作为信徒,我们相信圣经是神所默示的,并具有权柄。因此我们愿意顺服其中的教导。而顺服使我们在神面前保持谦卑。
当我们明白神所设立的次序——基督、男人、女人——并认识到教会是如何顺服基督的,女人在凡事上顺服自己的丈夫就不再是困难的事,就如同教会凡事顺服基督一样。当夫妻二人都接纳并明白这原是神所设立的次序时,彼此之间就会减少张力、争执与分裂。我们活出分别为圣的生命来顺服上帝对我们人生的计划;尤其在重大决定上,如是否移民、接受公司外派或创办新事业时,我们更当降服于祂的旨意。我们不应追求自己的意愿,而要祈求祂的旨意成就在我们生命中,如同成就在天上——正如主耶稣在主祷文中的教导:「愿你的旨意行在地上,如同行在天上」(马太福音6:10)。我们如此行,就是顺服祂为我们所定的计划,因为祂是教会的头。上帝对我们人生的旨意与夫妻双方的意愿不会冲突,因为丈夫和妻子都渴望遵行上帝的旨意。同样,当夫妻双方共同顺服上帝并彼此顺服时,他们就能完全同心、毫无摩擦。当我们降服于祂的权柄、带领和家庭的神圣秩序时,平安、爱、喜乐与合一就必充满其中。
讲章系列:女人的头是男人?
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