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Daily Devotions

Ephesians

Ephesians 
Day 
Day 287

"That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word."

Text: Ephesians 5:26

MANY OTHER CHALLENGING TASKS

The work of the Christian husband is much more than just to love his wife and to provide for the family. There are other challenging tasks that the Christian husband must seek to perform and to fulfill.

1. “That He might sanctify and cleanse her”

a) The first task

The Lord Jesus is depicted as the Husband in this context. He shows the Christian husband what he must do. The first task is to demonstrate love for the wife. He did this by giving Himself for His bride, the Church.

b) The second task

This work follows immediately after the first one. This work is called “sanctification”.

i) This work is done through teaching.
ii) This work is done through the cleansing of sin.
iii) This work is done through applying the Scriptures.

2. “With the washing of water by the word”

This is one task that many husbands fail in miserably:-

a) They do not know how to teach their wives the Word of God.
b) They are afraid to deal with sin-problems in the characters of their wives.
c) They do not know the Scriptures well enough to teach effectively.
d) They are too caught up with other aspects of family life they fail to fulfil this role.

CONFLICTS MAY BE EXPECTED

Conflicts may indeed be expected. The difficulty of teaching wives is compounded by other complications.

1. There is natural rebellion when sin is pointed out.

2. There is difficulty in listening and obeying because the husband does not have the love of Christ reigning in his heart and life.

3. There is further difficulty when the husband is in need of further sanctification and cleansing in his own personal life.