God's perfect plan for Marriage

GOD'S PERFECT PLAN FOR MARRIAGE

By Lorene Hall

HEADSHIP: Servant Leadership

In Biblical headship, the husband is assigned the primary responsibility for Christlike, servant leadership in the home [Ephesians 5:23-29]. The wife is then expected to respond in honoring and affirming her husband’s leadership Ephesians 5:21, 22, 33; 1 Peter 3:1-4]. A balance between leadership and servanthood is necessary. Our Lord is the pattern for such leadership. Jesus’ servanthood did not cancel His leadership. His servanthood defined leadership [Luke 22: 26; Hebrews 13; 17].

Headship should not merely prescribe who does what but rather should be a basis for moving forward the goals of a family in an orderly manner. Who will indubitably recognize how the help meet or spouse can enhance the marriage and also you as the head of the household. Respect what he or she has to bring to the table. There must be consideration for each ones abilities so that there will be a balance in the union. Headship is a responsibility to assume with humility and not a right to demand with pride.

THE CREATION OF THE WOMAN

God identified Himself as a “Helper” to Israel [Exodus 18:4]. The word does not imply inferiority. It describes function rather than worth. No one loses value in humbly assuming the role of helper. As a “helper” to the man, the woman became his partner spiritually in the overwhelming task of obedience to God and dominion over the earth. She was also to be a vital part of extending the generations.

The woman, as ultimate friend to the man, would bring him comfort and fellowship. [Genesis 1:23, 24]. No one else could encourage and inspire him as she was created to do. The phrase “comparable to him” [Heb. Kenegdo, lit. “corresponding to what is in front of him] occurs only here and in verse 20, emphasizing the commonality of the man and the woman. Designed as the perfect counterpart for the man, the woman was neither inferior nor superior, but she was alike and equal to the man in her personhood while different and unique in her function.

God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion” [Genesis 1:26]. God has gifted men with great capacities for leadership.
The man was created first [Genesis 2:7], and the woman was created as his helper so that he would not be alone in his dominion over the world [Genesis 2: 18]. The woman was not an afterthought. She was always part of the divine plan for fellowship, continuing the generations, and doing the work assigned by God.

The apostle Paul further clarified how headship was established as he reiterated the order of creation and stated that the woman was created for the man and not vice versa [1 Corinthians 11:2-12].

Just as man was formed from earth, woman was formed from man. She amalgamates perfectly to the man, the same flesh and blood, and in “the image of God” equal to him in every way. By the creative act itself, she is inseparably linked to the man. God’s plan for marriage is introduced and repeated in the Gospels. In marriage two hearts are grafted together, making them contingent on one another for life.

Marriage was designed by God, before there was any creative activity, to be a picture of His own relationship with His people, then to pattern the relationship between Christ and His Church. The Fall introduced sin, and the relationship between husbands and wives was distorted: loving servant headship was replaced by tyranny and a desire for power or by an indifference and unwillingness to offer spiritual leadership.
The husband is to lead his wife in a partnership that glorifies God. In loving headship, the husband humbles himself to meet the needs of his wife---loving, nourishing, and cherishing her as a treasure [Ephesians 5: 25-29; 1 Peter 3: 7].