I’ve been thinking about marriage…

The Four Spiritual Laws of Marriage

I call it a lapse of love when either of us looks away from God temporarily in our marriage relationship. A lapse can be easily identified by a predictable result - conflict. Eventually, when we are ready to return to God’s design, The Four Spiritual Laws of Marriage help us diagnose the problem(s).

LAW 1 - LOVING HEADSHIP provides PROTECTION for the wife.
God has placed within the woman a need to feel secure. God has instructed the husband to provide protection. When, with the help of the Spirit of God, he provides an environment that is physically, emotionally and spiritually safe, he is loving her. (Ephesians 5:25-27)

LAW 2 - LOVING HEADSHIP provides HONOR for the wife.
God has placed within the woman a need to be treated with honor. To honor is to recognize the worth God has given her and to treat her with that worth. Listening to what she communicates is honoring her. When a man responds by initiating sacrificial actions to meet the real needs of his wife, he is loving her. (I Peter 3:7)

LAW 3 - LOVING SUBMISSION responds with SUPPORT for the husband.
God has placed within the man a need to fulfill his dreams. A man is incomplete without his wife and knows he cannot carry out what God has given him to accomplish. When a wife partners with her husband to support his dreams for himself, their family and their future, she is loving him. (Ephesians 5:22-23; I Peter 3:1a)

LAW 4 - LOVING SUBMISSION responds with RESPECT for the husband.
God has placed within the man a need to feel respected. To respect or to give reverence to is to believe in him. When a woman treats her husband with reverence, he will attempt to be worthy of that trust. By believing in him, she is loving him. (Ephesians 5:33)

In our experience when one or more of The Four Spiritual Laws of Marriage are violated, the marriage suffers. Either I am NOT feeling protected and/or honored or Darryl is NOT feeling supported and/or respected. Check it out for yourself! I guarantee applying these laws will rapidly return your marriage to God’s design, provided you both desire to be obedient. Even if you are alone in this desire, be encouraged! Joyful rest inevitably follows obedient choices.

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
Colossians 3:1&2

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March 2002