Question 1

What are the responsibilities of a husband to his wife?

Accepted Answer

Matthew 19:4-6“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’ And he said, ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”A husband should be totally committed and faithful to his wife.Ephesians 5:25-26, 28For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. . . . In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.A husband should love his wife the way Christ loves us, sacrificing for her.Colossians 3:19Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.A husband should be kind, never treating his wife “harshly.”1 Peter 3:7In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.A husband should honor his wife and protect her.1 Timothy 5:8Those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.A husband should care for his wife physically, emotionally, and financially.1 Corinthians 7:3The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs.A husband should love his wife sexually, being sensitive to her needs.Ephesians 5:21-23Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.A husband should be the servant-leader of his wife and family.

Question 2

What are the responsibilities of a wife to her husband?

Accepted Answer

Ephesians 5:21-24Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.Colossians 3:18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.Wives are called in Scripture to submit to their husbands’ God-given authority. As the church submits to the gentle, loving headship of our strong and kind Savior, Jesus Christ, so wives should submit to the gentle, loving leadership of their husbands.1 Peter 3:4-5You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands.Wives honor God by accepting the loving authority of their husbands.Proverbs 12:4A worthy wife is a crown for her husband, but a disgraceful woman is like cancer in his bones.Proverbs 31:25-26She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.Wives are to be strong of character. When a woman carries herself with kindness and dignity, she blesses her husband and family and honors God.Proverbs 31:11Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.Wives are to be trustworthy.1 Corinthians 7:34A woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband.Wives are to consider how to please their husbands.1 Corinthians 7:3-5The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control.Sexual intimacy is a good, God-given gift for husbands and wives. Fulfilling one another’s sexual desires is an important part of a marriage relationship.

Question 3

How can a wife help her husband if he doesn’t know Jesus as Savior and Lord?

Accepted Answer

1 Corinthians 7:13-16If a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the believing husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.) Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?1 Peter 3:1In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over.Displaying love and godliness is the best way to witness to an unbelieving spouse. In time, this may bring him or her to Christ.

Question 4

How should a wife expect to be treated by her husband?

Accepted Answer

1 Corinthians 13:4-7Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.Ephesians 5:25, 28, 33For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her . . . In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. . . . So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.Husbands should love their wives sacrificially, with the depth of love that Christ showed when he died for us.Proverbs 31:28-29Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”Husbands should admire their wives and praise them openly.Colossians 3:19Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.Husbands should love their wives with kindness and gentleness.