“God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

 

The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s

image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is

to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.

 

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.” BF&M 2000.

I. The Instructions for a Christ-Centered Marriage (Ephesians 5:22-24)
a. Picture of marriage
b. Purpose of marriage
c. Provided hope for marriage
II. The Identity of a Christ-Centered Husband (Ephesians 5:25-33)
a. A man who practices sacrificial love (Ephesians 5:25)
b. A man who participates in sanctifying love (Ephesians 5:26-27)
c. A man who portrays a satisfying love (Ephesians 5:28-31)

III. The Ideal Christ-Centered Father (Ephesians 6:1-4)  

a. Be the Father that models honor and respect (vv.1-3)
b. Be the Father whose mission is discipleship (v.4)

How can a Father make discipleship the main priority? (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.

1. Be Watchful– There is a general concern for the welfare of others, especially one’s family. Psalms 82:4 “Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” Is my family being nourished spiritually, or have I as the spiritual leader fallen asleep at the wheel?
2. Make Christ the Foundation– Matthew 7:24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Am I standing firm on Christ, or am I looking towards the world to solve problems?
3. Be Strong– A sole dependency upon God. Psalm 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”
4.Be Loving– Discipline and sacrifice. John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” This passage shows the sacrificial love that Jesus had and has for His children. We must have this sacrificial love for our family!