First, let me thank again all of those who have over the months memorized different parts
! of Ephesians and then have willingly come to the front here and with all humility recited
! for us. We have been blessed by the wide diversity of individuals that have tackled that
challenge. Agreed? And probably more than once, as others have done it, you've thought to yourself,
oh, I respect that, and I'm glad somebody else is doing it. I bring this up because we are,
I am going to encourage one more pass at the book of Ephesians, and I want you to know already
that Ephesians chapter 1 has been taken, and I understand that there is a small group that is
working behind the scenes to pull this off. Remember, you don't have to do it solo. We've
had a number of different groups do it different ways, and I appreciate the diversity, but we have
Ephesians chapter 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 that still remain to be taken for one last pass. And I bring
this up to encourage you to prayerfully think of whether or not this is something that you
can talk someone else into doing.
Do you follow me? So husbands could say to their wives, honey, I've been praying about this, and I
think it's a great idea for you. Ah, I'll be in trouble. But I'm just encouraging you, just giving
you a heads up that we're going to be looking for people that are willing to take, willing to give
their best and work at Ephesians chapter 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 in the last pass. And I trust that I will be
just absolutely swamped with volunteers so I don't have to ever bring it up again in the next week or
two. Now, that being said, I want you to turn in your Bibles this morning, but before you do,
I want you to hold it up like this. I want you to hold it. Some of you are holding up phones.
I saw a most touching video, little clip, this week. Someone posted it on Facebook
of believers in China receiving their first copy of the Scriptures.
came in a suitcase. And these believers opened up. They were waiting in this room,
and they opened up the suitcase, and they took out their Bibles for the first time, their own copy.
And some of them kissed the Bible and opened their Bible and wept.
Oh, how I love thy law. It is my meditation all the day.
Now, I don't know about you, but I can't help myself sometimes.
I kiss this book, not because I love this book, but because I love the Lord Jesus,
who this book is all about.
And this book has been one of the principal ways He has blessed me,
not only with salvation, but by progressive sanctification.
I want you to turn in your Bibles this morning to Ephesians chapter 5.
And we are going to be looking together at Ephesians chapter 5, verse 26 through 30.
Begin in 25, because that's actually where the thought picks up, but let me read it to you.
Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word,
so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies,
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it,
just as Christ does the church.
Because we are members of His body.
Father God, this morning,
we are blessed by the undeserved privilege of prayer.
And as the author of Hebrews instructs us,
we are to come boldly before the throne of grace,
that we may find help in time of need.
And we come this morning with humility,
confessing the frailty of our flesh,
the fickleness of our hearts,
the effect that the culture we live in has upon our thinking.
And we ask that Your Word would be opened unto us,
and that we would see the glory of Your wisdom,
and that we would know the power of Your grace,
and that we would grow in our walk
for the testimony and the glory of Christ.
And I am mindful, Father, this morning,
that preaching is not merely the exercise of a human heart and will,
but it is also a dependent discipline
upon the enabling of the Spirit of God.
And this morning, I need Your help.
And Your people need Your help.
And we plead with You to answer our prayer.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Let me start out by kind of getting to the end
and helping you see what is really going to be the heart of our lesson this morning.
I want you to put your finger,
or even if you are so bold,
go ahead and underline two little words.
They are in verse 29.
And they are translated various ways in the English.
Tish, I think she used the word feed.
In verse 29, feed and cherish.
In the ESV, it is translated as nourish and cherish.
And it is actually, I think, probably a more accurate rendition of the text.
And I'm in no way belittling the translators,
but the more accurate way to handle that word
is over in Ephesians 6, verse 4,
where it says,
Fathers, don't provoke your children to wrath.
But then it says,
But bring them up.
That translation, that word, bring them up in the Greek,
is the same word that is used over in 29,
where it says,
Nourish.
We'll get to that later.
So I want you to circle those two words,
Nourish and cherish.
And what I want to announce this morning
on the authority of the Word of God
is that a Christian husband is responsible
for the spiritual development of his wife.
In fact, God's intent
is that he
is to be the most significant instrument
apart or second to the Spirit of God.
And so,
if you are at the point
where you can nudge your husband
and say,
You've got this.
Let's go home.
Go ahead.
Or you may think,
Well, maybe a little refresher course.
I mean, I've got this.
It's basic.
But it's all right.
We'll sit and listen.
I want you to know that Satan's a liar.
And really,
he doesn't care
which lie
you are affected by
so long as
he can lead you away
from the wisdom
and the grace of God.
God intended from creation
that many of his blessings
should flow through marriage.
And through the respective roles
that he has appointed
for a husband and a wife,
and Satan,
knowing God's plan
and God's purpose,
has done his very level best
to lead men and women
away from God's wisdom
into their own inclinations
and into his lies.
I mention that
because what we're going to learn
this morning
from God's Word
about a husband's role
is really at odds
in a very sharp way
with our contemporary culture
and its virulent feminism.
But unless we get carried away
with the idea,
Well, things are a whole lot
worse today
than they used to be.
I want you to understand
that what is written here,
written almost 2,000 years ago,
was as much at odds
with the culture of that day
as it is on this day.
Guess what?
When Jeremiah penned the words
in 17.9
that the heart is deceitful
above all things
and desperately wicked,
he wasn't just talking
about ancient Israel.
He was talking about,
guess what?
Me, you.
We all struggle
with the reality
of our own heart.
And so while we
would have to confess
that the pendulum
has swung
from one extreme
to the other,
nevertheless,
it is not where
God wants
our thinking to be.
And so this morning,
we with humility
must take up the text
and say,
what is God saying
to us
that reflects
His wisdom
and His will
and His goodness?
The ancient world
often viewed women
as primarily valuable
for producing
legitimate offspring,
caring for domestic order,
or for man's
personal entertainment.
I'll put it
in a little more
crass vocabulary.
The idea was
that she's good
in the kitchen,
she's good
in the laundry room,
and she's good
in the bedroom.
That was the attitude
of the ancient world.
Now,
we'd have to say
that the modern world
may have made
some minor
amendations to that,
but the truth
of the matter is
is that the modern world
really has
not a radically
different view.
And so I want you
to imagine
just for a moment,
just stop and think
with me,
of how unbelievably
challenging it was
to become a Christian
as just a classic
pagan in the ancient world
and discover that God
had some pretty pointed
things to say
about your marriage.
I thought getting saved
was just about
going to heaven.
And here's God
telling me
as a Christian man
that I have some
profound responsibilities
in relationship
to the wife
that I have.
And so I want you
to understand
as we take up
this passage
that here is the point
that the Scriptures make.
It is made
on the authority
of the Word of God.
The Christian husband
is responsible
for his wife's
spiritual growth.
If the idea
was unusual
in the ancient world,
let me tell you,
it's unusual
in the modern world
as well.
I wouldn't deny
that there are men
who probably
have some idea
that they have
some responsibility,
but when it really
comes down
to the practice,
I don't see much
of it.
My experiences
in premarital counseling,
in being involved
in marital counseling
and just general ministry
for over 30 years
do not,
by any stretch
of the imagination,
provide a final authority
on the subject.
One of the things
I did this week
was I checked
with Amazon.
I mean,
that's the final authority
after all.
And I went to Amazon
and I checked
on how many books
have been printed
or have been authored
by Christian authors
about parenting.
And can I tell you
that, you know,
on the little scroll
down at the bottom
it says,
one, two, three,
dot, dot, dot,
and you know
how it goes on?
I got the read
from that
and I just kind of
paged down,
and you know
how it is.
I had a couple
extra minutes
and so I thought,
wow, there are people
that are cranking out books
on how to be a good mommy
and a daddy
by the bunches.
And a lot of women
have done a reasonably
decent job
about writing
how to be a good
godly wife.
Can I tell you
that the number
of books
that are written
about being
a godly husband,
in particular,
in relationship,
now track this,
to being the spiritual
leader of the home,
are not very many.
In my Sunday school class
several weeks ago,
I asked the question,
we have a well-informed
body of believers
for the most part.
I probably nag you
incessantly about
what does the Bible teach,
you know,
but for the most part,
pretty reasonably
informed scripturally.
And I remember asking
the question
in my Sunday school class,
how many of you men
in here
were trained explicitly,
you grew up
in a Christian home,
I said,
how many of you did?
The majority of the guys
in the class
grew up in a Christian home.
How many of you men
were trained explicitly
at the responsibilities
of being the spiritual head
and leader of your home,
not a one of the men
raised their hand,
oh yeah,
my dad worked at that.
So I want you
to understand that
while we've heard,
I'm not going to preach
a passage that you guys
have heard
for the first time
this morning.
You've heard it many times.
But I want you
to understand that
it is not a passage
that is applied
or practiced.
And God has a clear word
for us.
So let's take up
the text
and mark what it says
as I did in reading
that in verse 25
it says,
husbands,
love your wives.
Oh yeah,
right,
I do.
So,
well,
do it like Jesus.
Oh.
And Jesus in His love
for His wife,
He was willing,
as it says there,
to give Himself
for her.
And so what I would like
us to do this morning
is understand
the broad flow
of what Christ's model
in love looks like.
I mean,
when the Bible says,
husbands,
love your wives
like Jesus did,
if you're sitting there
and thinking that
Jesus is like the neighbor
next door,
you're thinking,
well,
I'm doing what He's doing.
In fact,
maybe I'm a little upstep
on Him.
I'm better.
Love your wife like,
we better know
what Jesus' love
is like.
So I want you to understand
that Christ's love
for the church
meant,
as we see in verse 25,
that He was willing
to die in her place.
He was willing
to die in her place.
He was willing
to take the wrath of God
and suffer the punishment
that we deserve
so that our defiled
and filthy lives
can be covered
and made clean
with His blood.
Man,
we are blessed
beyond our imagination
at the love of Christ
that was willing
to die
for our sins.
His love also
means,
as we find in the text,
that He set her apart
for a special purpose.
I like the passage
that John read earlier
where Jesus,
in His high priestly
prayer,
He commented
on the fact
that I sanctify myself
so that she might
be sanctified.
He was willing
to take upon Himself
a special purpose
for the sake
of the one
that He loved
to make her special.
I want you to understand
that to sanctify something
is to take something
that in Scripture
is really pretty common
and ordinary
and to set it apart,
particularly in the context
of the Bible,
for God's glory
and for His purposes.
So,
Christ's goal
in dying for the church,
in addition to our salvation,
was to make us special
for the sake of God,
to make us valuable
to the one that He
so dearly loves.
And He did this
with His own blood.
Now,
in verse 26,
it says that He,
let me read the passage,
He might sanctify,
having cleansed her
by the washing of water
with the Word.
And let me just kind of
give you the short story
on this one.
There are some
who look at this
and believe that it means
baptism.
I don't buy that at all.
And for several
different reasons.
For one,
I do not find in Scripture
that baptism
is something
that precedes conversion.
I had an individual
not long ago
who said,
would you baptize me?
I said,
absolutely.
Once you know Christ.
This morning,
after our sermon,
we are going to have
the privilege
of hearing one young lady
share her testimony
of faith
and then following that,
I'm going to baptize her.
It would be my privilege.
Her family is down here
somewhere near the front,
I think.
But that baptism
in the Scripture
follows.
It's like putting on
a wedding ring.
It's a declaration.
Hey,
I know Jesus!
It's what it is.
And I want you
to understand
that when it says here
the washing of the water
by the Word,
I believe what it's saying
there is that
the way in which
people come to Christ
is through the ministry
of the Word of God.
How shall they hear?
Paul asks
in Romans chapter 8
unless,
actually it's 10,
how shall they hear
unless someone is sent?
How beautiful
are the feet?
The fact of the matter
is that our understanding
of the depravity
of our heart
and the desperate condition
of our soul
takes place
through the preaching
of the Word of God,
through the announcing,
here's what God says
about your condition
and here is the solution
in the blood of Christ
that's been shed for you.
to summarize then
what we see
in the Scripture
here in this passage
that he died
for the church
to save her
and to sanctify her.
Now woven into the text,
I believe in verse 25
and 26 in particular
is the idea
that his work
of sanctification
in part
is positional.
There is a sense
in which you and I
are never going to be
any holier
than we are
by virtue
of the blood of Christ.
Do you understand that?
We are declared,
we have,
get fancy here
with words,
but we are given
the righteousness
of Christ
and it is attached
to our account.
Do we earn it?
No,
we receive it
by faith
and so there is
a sense in which
his salvation
sets us apart
from the moment
of our salvation
and puts us
into this relationship
and puts us
into this state.
I do want you
to understand,
however,
that his salvation
also does a work
of sanctification
that is progressive.
In other words,
it continues
to move us forward
in spiritual development.
I love,
I love
being able
to say to people
when I'm sharing
the gospel,
I've got incredibly
good news for you
after I've announced
the fact
that they are condemned
in the eyes of God
for their own sin.
I say,
good news,
Jesus died
to pay the penalty
for your sins
and he is ready
to forgive you
for all of it.
And then I like
saying this,
and by the way,
you don't have to
stay the way you are.
I love that!
And the scriptures
make it clear
that one of the marks
of genuine conversion
is that we stop
the way we used to be
and we begin changing
to be more like Jesus.
Isn't that right?
One of the things
that I did this week
as I was studying
and praying for you,
I was reviewing my heart,
the lives of a number
of you who I have known
as a pastor
and as a shepherd
and one of the things
that I took comfort
and encouragement
was saying,
man,
I've seen that change.
I like that.
That makes sense,
doesn't it?
I think about the passage
over in Philippians 2,
verse 12 and 13
where Paul says,
work out your salvation
with fear and trembling
for it's God.
What?
It's God that works in you
both to will.
Do you know what changed
my want to?
It was Jesus.
Both to will
and do His good pleasure.
If you're sitting here
and there hasn't been
some touch to your will
and your doing,
you probably ought to
roll out the birth certificate
and double check.
Whoa, do I really know Jesus?
Because genuine conversion
brings a change.
And it's important
that we understand
here at the beginning
that Christ's work,
yes, it saves,
but it also brings about
progressive sanctification.
So, with that as background,
and I'm kind of pressing together
verses 25, 26,
and a little bit 27, okay?
Make holy and without blemish.
I want you to go now
to 28.
And in 28,
the apostle is just kind of
giving us some understanding,
some application,
moving it forward
so we can make the connection
for the real zinger.
Do you know what
a real zinger is?
It's a fast hardball
driven by the batter
right at the pitcher.
So, they're starting to wear
these dorky helmets.
Do you follow that?
I mean, they're not going
to wear them, trust me.
But anyway, here we go.
Let's look at the verse.
In the same way,
what's that saying?
That's saying,
hey, Bubba,
since you said I do,
you took on some responsibility
here, guy.
In the same way,
like Jesus,
husbands should love their wives
as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife
loves himself.
For no one ever hated
his flesh,
but nourishes and cherishes it
just as Christ
does the church.
Now,
woven into this whole thing
is the idea
that a Christian husband,
I'm not talking to people here
that don't know Christ.
I want you to know that.
This sermon is not
for any man
who is here
who doesn't know Jesus.
It just doesn't work.
First thing is,
come to Christ.
Not that I'm dismissing
the evangelical call
to a person's salvation,
but this is for Christians.
And by the way,
it's for Christians
who are filled with the Spirit.
Do you get that?
That's Ephesians 5.18.
Okay.
So let's understand
Christ's model.
Let's fit it in.
Verse 28 announces,
love your wives like Jesus.
That's in essence
what it's being said.
Follows along,
and we find in the passage,
care for your wife
like Jesus cares
for his own body.
It's very interesting.
The Holy Spirit
puts a great deal of emphasis
on this in verse 28 and 29
so as to dispel
the husband's natural tendency
of being self-deceived.
What do we mean by that?
You ask the average husband
in a Christian circle,
do you love your wife?
What is the Bible answer
supposed to be?
Yeah.
Duh.
I hired on for that job.
Yeah, I love her.
Do you really?
And what I want you to do
is ask yourself this question.
I want you to be honest
with the Lord.
Do you love your wife
like Christ loved the church?
Question.
The answer,
Christian man,
is found in whether or not
you fit this model
that we have in this passage.
Does that make sense?
That's what we're reading,
and that's what we're discovering.
Do I love my wife
like Christ loved the church?
And so we understand
that caring for your wife
is like Jesus cares
for his own body,
and he uses an analogy
from human life
that we all understand.
Look at that just for a little bit.
In the passage,
it says that,
sorry,
it says that a man
should love his wife
as his own body,
and by the way,
when you're cold,
what do you do,
man?
We have two choices.
We either turn the thermostat up,
and your wife says,
oh, it's awful hot in here,
you know,
but we either turn the thermostat up,
or what do we do?
We go get more clothes.
Am I right?
We're hard.
When you're hungry,
what do you do, guys?
I don't love my body.
You know,
just suffer.
I'm not eating.
I don't love my body.
No,
we take care of ourselves,
right?
Now,
kind of stretch this out a little bit.
I want you to understand
that loving your wife properly
is reasonable and rewarding,
and when you take care of your wife,
like you take care of your own body,
you're paying attention
to the things that are,
and follow this,
because this is tricky,
the most important,
okay?
It says here,
he who loves his wife
loves himself.
Now,
let me take a little bit
on this.
This passage,
because one of the things
I have,
now,
do you know what it means
to go apoplectic?
No,
you don't.
It means to get really
kind of irritated.
Now,
pastors aren't supposed
to do that.
You follow that?
I mean,
pastors are supposed
to be very calm
and kind of,
you know,
naturally sweet people.
That's not me,
but I'm trying.
I'm working at it.
So,
when I have people
in my office
and I say,
so what's your problem?
And they say to me,
well,
I don't love myself.
I say,
what?
Where did that come from?
I really don't get that animated,
but,
you know,
and the truth of the matter is
I've never had a person
in my office
that wasn't room temperature.
How many of you understand
what room temperature means?
Dead.
I have never had anybody
in my office
that wasn't room temperature
that really didn't love themselves.
Paul is using a comparison.
He's saying,
guys,
you're on it
when it comes to
taking care of yourself,
right?
What's the difference
between a man and a boy?
You know that answer?
Price of his
toys.
You knew that?
Guys,
take care of your wives
the way you take care of yourself.
And he says,
in verse 29,
he says,
for no one ever
hated his own flesh.
I mean,
you hit your thumb
with a hammer,
what do you do?
I mean,
everything in life
comes down to this
little index
or digit right there
and there you are.
Honey,
I hurt myself.
So,
I want you to understand
that
the practical part
of what Jesus
is saying here
and the Spirit
is saying is
when you give yourself
away for Christ,
you're blessed by Christ.
That's what it means
when it says,
husbands,
if you love yourself,
you're loving your wife.
It works out
that giving your love away
brings back benefit.
Now,
I want us to really focus
on how Christ loves
and a husband should love.
And so,
we come down
to verse 29
and this is
very,
very important.
How Christ loves
and a husband should love
really is focused in
on these two words,
to nourish
and to cherish.
Actually,
a more accurate
translation of the text
would be to say
bring up.
The Greek word,
I'll give the Greek
here to you,
but the Greek word
is only used twice
in the New Testament.
It's actually used
a number of different times
where the Greeks
translated the Hebrew
Old Testament
into Greek.
I'll get bored with that,
but the word
appears often
in the Old Testament
in the Greek rendition.
And it's a word
that speaks about
nurturing someone
on an upward path.
Okay?
That's the reason
in Ephesians chapter 6,
4,
it says that fathers
are to bring up
their children.
Now,
husband,
if you're hearing
from the Spirit of God
this morning,
what it's saying
is that as you're
driving home,
don't say to your wife,
hey,
I'm in this
to help you grow,
but think it.
In fact,
if you have the nerve,
go ahead and say it.
Here's what the Bible
is driving the point
towards.
The Christian husband
nurtures
when he cares
for the spiritual development
of his wife.
That's your job.
He has implemented
divine order
and he has charged
the man
with being
the spiritual head
of his home
and he is responsible
for the spiritual leadership
of the home
and the wife
that he gives,
that man.
The wife's principle
spiritual encouragement
and enrichment
should come first
and foremost
from her husband.
A pastor
should be a helper.
A godly woman
should be a helper.
And I've been here
long enough
that when women
in our church
call me
and ask me an opinion,
guess what I often do?
That first question is,
so,
have you talked
with your husband?
What are his thoughts?
I want to encourage
that mindset
which is biblical.
biblical.
I want you to understand
as you look
at this passage
that it is not
an exception
to a Bible rule.
There are two different
things that I bring
to your attention
that make it clear
in God's economy
and God's thinking
that the husband
is to be the spiritual
developer
of his wife.
Two passages
come to mind.
One is in Genesis
chapter 2
where God
gave to Adam
instruction
that was literally
spiritual death
or life.
How many of you
are aware of that?
Eve was the one
who sinned
as it says
but Adam was the one
who received
the instruction
when God said
to Adam,
listen,
y'all don't be
eaten of that tree.
I mean,
he made the point,
don't do this.
Who did he tell?
He told Adam.
And when sin
came into the garden,
who did God address?
He addressed Adam.
There's another passage
I want you to take
a look at
just for a moment.
Turn over in your Bible
to 1 Corinthians
chapter 14
verse 35.
Now,
by the way,
hey,
everybody look up.
I'm just the mailman.
How many of you
understand what I just said?
What's my job?
Deliver the mail.
If it gets put
in your box,
somebody else sent it.
1 Corinthians 14
35,
look at the passage.
It says,
if there's anything
they desire to learn,
let them ask their husbands
where?
At home.
For it's shameful
for a woman
to speak in the church.
Now,
I believe that has
application in particular,
and we find other passages
in relationship
that's over in
1 Timothy chapter 2,
but I believe
that the particular
application is
characteristic
of the learning
style and structure
that took place
in the church.
And a lot
of the teaching
methodology
was more interaction,
Q&A,
and challenging.
Oh, yeah?
Where did you get
that idea from?
You know,
there's a pastor
up there teaching,
and, you know,
a woman raises her hand
in the church
and says,
hey,
where did you?
And Paul,
and by the way,
who told Paul
what to write?
Does anybody know?
Was it his culture
or was it the Holy Spirit?
What's the answer?
It was the Holy Spirit
that said,
hey,
you have a question,
ask your husband.
And by the way,
a lot of husbands,
including back then,
they'd come from
pagan backgrounds,
so when the husband
was asked the question
at home,
guess what he had to say?
Same thing that probably
some of you should be saying,
well,
let me do some research,
I'll get back to you.
I can tell you,
a lot of times
I don't have answers,
but I do know
the resource
to try to lie on.
And so,
here we have
the apostle saying,
hey, listen,
the husband is responsible
for the spiritual development
of his wife.
The second word
that is used there
says that he is
to cherish.
And that is
a very interesting word
that we probably
benefit from
just understanding.
It means to really,
to be affectionate
of her.
Can I say that again
slowly?
I just want the men
to look up.
Just the men.
To be affectionate
of her.
Well, I'm not really
into affection.
I'm not into
the warm fuzzies.
I want you to turn over.
Remember,
I'm delivering the mail.
That's what we're doing here.
1 Thessalonians 2,
verse 7.
Actually,
this word cherish
that we find
in Ephesians 5,
29,
appears one other time
in 1 Thessalonians 2,
verse 7,
where it says this,
Paul,
we were gentle
among you
like a nursing mother
taking care
of her own child.
Do you have any idea
what a nursing mother
is like?
Like,
they're all over it
when it comes
to that little child.
Am I right?
And having watched
my wife care
for four of our children
and nurse all four of them,
and I don't say that
because I'm a member
of La Leche League.
I just happened to say it.
But here's the deal.
I mean,
now I'll tell you,
cleaning bottoms,
that's one thing,
but nursing,
I mean,
that was a moment.
She had to have
a special place.
There's a lot
that went into that.
And she just loved,
loved, loved, loved,
loved that child.
Paul says,
hey, husbands,
you're responsible
for the spiritual upgrade
of your wife's life,
and you're responsible
to be affectionate,
to be,
man,
you're to wrap up in her.
I know one young man said,
well,
I'm afraid I love my wife
too much.
What?
How close are you
to doing it
like Jesus does?
Well,
I'm not there.
It's all right.
You've got room to go.
Go for it.
Okay?
Paul says,
look at the passage,
a husband is to care
for his wife tenderly.
So,
and I'll close with this,
if you're a Christian
husband today,
and the Holy Spirit
is speaking to your heart,
you understand that
he is not asking you
if you'd like to do this.
This is not a suggestion.
It's a command.
And it is one
that I find profoundly humbling
and drives me to prayer.
I,
Tim Kenoyer,
am responsible
for my bride's
ongoing
sanctification.
You,
husband,
are responsible
for your wife's
ongoing
sanctification.
salvation.
And all God's people
said,
amen.
Let's enjoy
our baptism.
And John,
come and lead.
Amen.