Description
This course deals with how to find the right husband or wife, whether newly-weds should live with one of their parents, whether a wife should have an outside job, who is to lead in the home and why, latch-key husbands, and much more.
Bible Study Course
Marriage Part 1
Welcome to Book 1 in the Marriage & Family Series of the Liberty Bible Course. The most important decision that you will ever make is whether to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. After that, the next most important decision is probably who you will marry. That decision will either help you or hinder you in living for God from day to day for the rest of your life. If you are already married, you need to know how to have, and how to maintain a happy marriage with the blessing of God. If you are young, you need to know God’s will in choosing the right mate someday. If you are separated, divorced, or widowed, then you need to know what God’s will is for your life. This study is written to be used with the KING JAMES BIBLE, otherwise your answers are going to be incorrect. Please get your Bible, and begin another exciting study in God’s Word, that just might change your life!
Chapter 1
I. The Reasons For Marriage.
A. God ordained it for companionship.
1. The Bible says in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good that the man should be __________.”
2. According to Proverbs 18:22, “Whoso findeth a ________ findeth a ________ thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.”
Note: God ordained marriage so that Adam might have a companion throughout his life to be with him. But why was that really necessary?
3. According to Genesis 3:8, GOD WAS WITH MAN. “They heard the voice of the ________________ walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”
4. The Bible also tells us in Genesis 2:19, 20, that THE ANIMALS WERE WITH MAN. “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every __________ of the field, and every ________ of the air; and brought them unto Adam…”
Note: God and the animals were present there with man, but man had no one after his kind.
5. Genesis 1:21-25 tells us, “And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their ________, and every winged fowl after his ________: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his ________, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his ________: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his ________, and cattle after their ________, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his ________: and God saw that it was good.”
6. I Corinthians 15:39 says, “All flesh is not the ________ flesh: but there is one ONE KIND OF FLESH of ______, another flesh of ____________, another of ____________, and another of __________.”
7. According to Genesis 1:27, the Bible says, “So God created man in his own __________, in the image of ______ created he him; male and female created he them.”
Note: God created man in His own image — not in the image of an animal.
Was God able to experience love and fellowship before
He created man? Was God lonely before He created man?
8. We are told that God Himself experienced a true oneness, love, and companionship in the matter of the Trinity.
a. I John 5:7 tells us, “For there are __________ that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are ______.”
b. Jesus said in John 10:30, “I and my Father are ______.”
c. Jesus was speaking with the Father about His disciples and said, “That the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast __________ me.” (John 17:23)
d. He continues in verse 24 of that same chapter and says, “For thou ______________ me before the foundation of the world.”
e. Once again, verse 26 continues, “And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the ________ wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
f. This same truth is seen right in Genesis 1:26, “And God said, Let us make man in ______ image, after ______ likeness.”
Note: God enjoys a perfect love and companionship in the Trinity, and He thus knew that man could also benefit from having a companion — one who would be one with him, and thus He created woman.
g. “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from ______, made he a __________, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:21-23).
Man was made in the image of God,
but man is man — not God.
Note: Ezekiel 28:9 says, “Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a ______, and no ______, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.” According to John 4:24, “God is a __________: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
Illustration: People sometimes have animals for pets. Pets may provide protection for their owners and/or times of fun, but pets can never bring true fellowship to man. Man and animals are different kinds. Evolution is not true — man did not come from animals, and man has no relationship to animals. We are living in a day when it seems that many people think more of animals than they do of people. It sometimes seems that people who are cruel to animals get more severe penalties, than people who harm other people. Is that right? No, according to the Bible, that is not right. Luke 12:6,7 says, “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of __________ __________ than many sparrows.”
Never put animals before God, or before man, who has
been made in the image of God. People sometimes allow
pets to come between themselves and their husbands or wives.
Never let a pet run the schedule of your home, or dictate
when and where you can go.
Yes, God cares about animals. Not one of them is forgotten of Him. But we are seeing an unnatural affection toward, and an exaltation of animals today. The Bible says in Romans 1:25, “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the ________________ more than the ______________, who is blessed for ever. Amen”.
— The Reasons For Marriage.
A. God ordained it for companionship.
B. God ordained it for an helpmeet.
1. God said that it was not good for the man to be alone, and also said, “I will make him an ________ ________ for him.” (Genesis 2:18)
2. Moses began to grow weary of the continual rebellion of the children of Israel, and he said to God, “I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too __________ for me.” (Numbers 11:14)
3. Ecclesiastes 4:9 says that “______ are better than one.”
4. That verse goes on to tell why, “Because they have a good ____________ for their labour.”
Illustration: That verse says that two “have a good reward for their labour,” because many tasks can be done much more quickly with two people, than with one working alone. That is, it would take one person more than twice as long to do some things alone, than if he had someone helping him.
For instance, think of a brick-layer high atop some scaffolding. He needs more bricks, but he is working alone. Now if he had someone helping him, he could just call down for his helper to load up the forklift with bricks and raise it. But when he is working alone, he must go down the ladder every time to load it and raise it, and then climb back up the ladder to the top. All of the trips up and down are not only going to wear on him, but they are also going to waste a lot of time. He could do the task more than twice as fast with a helper.
5. Ecclesiastes 4:10 continues, “For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is __________ when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”
Illustration: It is like when an elderly person suffers a health problem and has to go into the hospital. When it is time to be released, the doctor may say, “Now I do not want you to live alone for a few weeks until you gain back your strength. Is there anyone who could stay with you, or any place where you could go?” Why is the doctor so concerned? Because he knows if they fall, they will not be able to get up alone.
In the same way, God made man and woman, because He knew that they would need each other. Have you ever known a man who lives alone, and takes the time to cook decent, wholesome meals for himself? There are not too many men out there like that. They usually just go to a restaurant. But how about a woman who lives alone? Do you know of one that will cook regular, decent, wholesome meals for herself? Maybe a few more than men in the same situation, but the percentage is still probably not too high. Many times a married woman will not even cook a decent meal if her husband or children are not going to be present at meal time. She will just snack or fix something quick. She just does not have the desire to go to a lot of trouble preparing a nice meal, if it is just for herself, alone.
What you find here is what God knew all along — man needs woman, and woman needs man. Like with meals, the man needs the woman to cook the decent meal, but the woman also needs the man to have the incentive to cook it.
— The Reasons For Marriage.
A. God ordained it for companionship.
B. God ordained it for an helpmeet.
C. God ordained it for replenishment.
1. In Genesis 1:27, 28, God tells Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and __________________ the earth.”
2. They obeyed this command, and in Genesis 4:1, they had a boy they named ________.
3. They obeyed yet again, and in verse 2 of that same chapter they had ________.
4. Down in verse 25 they had another son, ________.
5. Seth also obeyed this command of God, and in verse 26 he had ________.
6. Children are to be brought forth only in marriage as Hebrews 13:4 clearly shows. “________________ is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”
7. Matthew 1:18,19 reveals that Joseph was “minded to put her away privily” (verse 19) (to divorce and break off his engagement to Mary) because “she was found with __________ of the Holy Ghost.” (verse 18)
Note: Joseph thought it was very, very serious that Mary was expecting a child outside of the marriage vows, and he was going to thus break off their engagement.
Today, women are having babies out of wedlock at an alarming rate. There seems to be no shame about the situation, either. But do not begin to think that they (both the man and the woman) are getting away with anything, and do not think that God has changed His mind about marriage. The Bible says in Galatians 6:7,8, “Be not ________________; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
REVIEW:
1. God said that it was “not good that man should be __________.”
2. God said, “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a ________ thing.”
3. God and the animals were present with man, but man had no one after his own ________.
4. God experienced a true oneness and love and companionship in the matter of the ______________ (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit).
5. God made woman from one of Adam’s ______.
6. Man was made in the image of God, but man was man — not ______.
7. God says that man is “of more __________ than many sparrows.”
8. We are seeing the effects of Romans 1:25 today, where people worship and serve “the ________________ more than the ______________.”
9. In Genesis 2:18, God said that He would make “an ________ ________” for man.
10. God told Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:27,28 to “be fruitful, and multiply, and __________________ the earth.”
11. Although many are having babies out of wedlock today, they are not getting away with anything, because God says, “Be not ________________; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Chapter 2
II. The Responsibilities Of Marriage.
A. In regard to the man.
1. The man is to provide the home.
a. Genesis 2:24 says that a man shall “__________ his father and his mother.”
Note: It is a great responsibility placed upon a man’s shoulders when he gets married, because he is to provide a home for his family. This does not mean that he cannot get married until he has a brand new home of his own, but it does mean that he is going to have to plan ahead and pray for a place to live with his new bride.
Some young men are not too mature when they get married, and they just think of staying with their parents until they get a place of their own, but that is not Scriptural. The Bible clearly says that he is to “LEAVE his father and his mother” when he gets married.
Why is this so important? Because you cannot have a home where there are divided loyalties, or you end up with a divided home.
— Read Ephesians 6:1-3, and answer the following questions.
b. Verse 1 says, “Children, ________ your parents in the Lord: for this is right.”
c. Verse 2 says, “____________ thy father and mother.”
d. Verse 3 says, “That it may be ________ with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”
Note: This is not just talking about children when they are little, because Proverbs 23:22 says, “Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is ______.”
If you are living in your parent’s home, then you must
submit to their decisions (no matter what age you are),
because there can only be one leader in a home.
Matthew 6:24 says, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and ______________ the other.”
If a newly married couple stays in one of their parent’s homes, there is friction in the new marriage, or else there is friction between the couple and the parents. If they stay with the young man’s parents, the young man will be putting his parent’s wishes above those of his new bride’s. If they stay with her parents, then the new husband will not be able to take the leadership of his home in the proper manner without infringing upon his father-in-law’s leadership.
The Bible commandment is very plain: “leave your parents” when you get married, and “cleave to your mate.” The word cleave means, “to adhere, to cling, to stick” (Merriam Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary). Love your parents and honor your parents all of your life — but cleave to your husband or wife — be stuck to him/her like glue!
Sometimes a young man will spend many evenings at his parent’s house, instead of with his wife, or vice-versa. Visit your parents together with your spouse. Wise parents will also be very careful as to how much they drop in on their married children. You may very quickly change from in-laws to out-laws in their sight! Proverbs 25:17 says, “________________ thy foot from thy neighbour’s house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.”
— II. The Responsibilities Of Marriage.
A. In regard to the man.
1. The man is to provide the home.
2. The man is to provide financial support for his family.
a. I Timothy 5:8 says that “if any ______________ not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
Note: An infidel is “an unsaved person.”
If a Christian man will not financially support
his own household, then outwardly he has denied
the very faith which he claims to believe.
b. Jesus said, “Thou shalt love thy __________________ as thyself,” in Matthew 19:19.
c. He said to the disciples in John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have ________ one to another.”
d. I John 3:17 says, “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have ________, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”
Note: It is clearly the man’s responsibility to make sure that the home is financially supported.
e. It was to Adam — not to Eve, that God said in Genesis 3:17, “cursed is the ____________ for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.”
f. In the next verse it states, “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to ________ (to Adam); and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.”
g. In verse 19 it continues “In the __________ of thy face (Adam’s face) shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground.”
Note: It was Adam’s part of the curse of sin to have to work hard for a living. Nothing at all was said here about the woman working.
Adam’s pain and travail would be in earning food
for his family, while Eve’s pain and travail
would be in bearing children.
Note: This does not mean that it is wrong for the wife to do things in the home that may supplement the family income (more on this later in the woman’s section), but it is still the man’s responsibility to provide for the needs of the family.
Question: What about the government welfare system? A man is not fulfilling his Biblical role as a provider if he is lazy and feeding his family off of welfare.
Actually, God never planned for the government
to get involved in feeding people at all.
Who was to help out the poor? Answer the following questions to see how God wanted it done.
1. In Leviticus 19:9, God told His people, “Thou shalt not wholly reap the ______________ of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the __________________ of thy harvest.”
2. The next verse tells them “Neither shalt thou gather every __________ of thy vineyard.”
3. That same verse tells why, “thou shalt leave them for the ________ and stranger: I am the LORD your God.”
Note: God wanted His people to help out the poor with food, but not to put it on their tables for them. He wanted the farmers to leave a little of their harvest out there in the fields, so the poor could come along and pick it up for themselves. In that way, it discouraged laziness.
The poor could have some food,
but they had to go out and work for it.
Also, it was still an incentive for the poor to be ambitious and work and buy a field for themselves, because gleaning is harder than taking the bounty of the harvest. After all, would you rather pick apples off of an apple tree loaded with apples, or would you rather pick apples on a tree where there were a few apples left in the top of this tree, and a few left in the middle of that tree? Which would be faster and easier to pick? Obviously, the tree loaded with apples.
God’s way allowed the poor to have food, but it also gave them a great incentive to get a job and provide for their families.
— II. The Responsibilities Of Marriage.
A. In regard to the man.
1. The man is to provide the home.
2. The man is to provide financial support for his family.
3. The man is to cherish his wife.
— cherish = “to hold dear, to feel or show affection for, to keep or cultivate with care and affection” (Merriam Webster’s 7th New Collegiate Dictionary)
— Please read Ephesians 5:22-33, and answer the following questions.
a. According to verse 25, husbands are to love their __________ even as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it.
b. Making it very practical, verse 28 tells husbands to love their wives as their own ____________.
c. This guarantees a high regard of his wife, because verse 29 says that no man has ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and ____________________ it.
Note: We are living in a day of much fighting and contention in marriages. The man is no doubt responsible for the situation many times, because he is not cherishing his wife.
He may treat her more like a slave than a sweetheart. He may expect her to jump up and get anything he wants at meal time; get his coffee; get his dessert; wash his dishes; wash his laundry; take care of his dirty clothes; run his errands…, and on and on the list goes.
Many of these duties are some of her primary jobs around the house, but some men never lift a finger to help her, because they are tired from working all day. What do they think about her? She has been working all day around the house, too. But she has to continue working all evening to care for the family, unless her husband is willing to help.
Men are often very selfish and thoughtless,
when it comes to helping their wives around the house.
A man ought to help his wife with the dishes after the evening meal, if there is not another household chore that needs his attention. II Kings 21:13 pictures a ______ wiping a dish — not a woman.
If a man really loved his wife as much as himself, he would help his wife finish up the household chores so they could both sit down and relax — instead of just him going and sitting down in the easy chair while his wife works all evening.
d. Colossians 3:19 tells husbands to love their wives, and not to be ___________ against them.
e. According to I Peter 3:7, husbands are also to treat their wives carefully with honor because they are “the ____________ vessel.”
Note: There is nothing any lower than a man who hits his wife, or even threatens to do so to put her in fear. Let that man remember the promise of God in Galatians 6:7 that “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also ________.”
A man that treats his wife in a cruel fashion, is going to get the same back in return by others who are stronger than he, because he is rebelling against God’s commandment. Proverbs 17:11 says, “An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a __________ messenger shall be sent against him.”
Illustration: This principle was shown very clearly in the case of Abigail and Nabal in I Samuel 25. Please read verses 1-38.
1. According to verse 3, Abigail was beautiful and of a good understanding, but Nabal was “________________ and evil in his doings.”
— churlish = “vulgar, rude, difficult to work with or deal with, rough, harsh, ill-tempered” (Merriam Webster’s 7th New Collegiate Dictionary) (Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies)
Note: Some men are just like Nabal with their wives, treating them roughly, and making them afraid of them.
2. In verses 10,11, Nabal refused to give of his __________, __________, and __________ to David’s men.
3. Abigail went ahead and fed David’s men, and when she came to tell Nabal (vs. 36), “he was very ______________.”
4. According to verses 37, 38, Abigail came to tell him in the morning, when he was sober, and she probably expected to be beaten for what she had done, but Nabal’s “__________ died within him, and he became like a stone” (unable to move), and ten days later he died.
Note: Men have a tremendous responsibility before God to treat their wives properly.
— II. The Responsibilities Of Marriage.
A. In regard to the man.
1. The man is to provide the home.
2. The man is to provide financial support for his family.
3. The man is to cherish his wife.
4. The man is to lead the home.
a. Ephesians 5:23 says that “the husband is the ________ of the wife.”
b. According to I Corinthians 11:3, “The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the ______.”
Note: It is important to note that the man is to lead like Christ leads the church. The important word there is lead. Jesus does not drive His church like cattle, but He leads them like sheep. John 10:27 says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they ______________ me.” If you are following someone, then that someone has to be in front of you leading the way.
A husband is to lead his home. He should be right there with them, and leading them in that which is right. A husband/father which tells his wife/children to go to church — while he stays home, is not fulfilling his duty of leading. He is telling them to do that which he will not do himself. A husband/father which tells his wife/children to read the Bible, but then he does not do it himself, is not leading his family. He is trying to drive his family to do something which he is not willing to do.
What a husband and/or father wants
his wife and children to be — he must first be himself.
His job is not to drive them, but to lead them.
c. Ephesians 6:4 says, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the ______________ and ____________________ of the Lord.”
Note: The definition of the word nurture is, “to further the development of; to educate.” (Merriam Webster’s 7th New Collegiate Dictionary). It is the father’s responsibility to see that his children are educated in the things of the Lord. Others will help him along the way: Pastors, Sunday School Teachers, possibly Christian School Teachers, friends and relatives; but in the end, the father is responsible for seeing that the child is taught correctly. This means several things.
Number one, that the father must be in the Word of God himself. II Timothy 2:15 says, “__________ to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” If a father will not study the Word of God, then he will be guiding his children in the wrong way.
Number two, this means that the father must take the time to teach his children. Family Devotions each day is a good time to teach the children. The attention span of little children is relatively short, so the Family Devotions should take this into account. Actually, the father will find that some of the best times to teach children are through the different things that happen in a day. That gives them practical experience in what the Lord actually does.
Illustration: If you just got home from shopping, and as you were getting out of the car you heard air leaking out of one of the tires, what would you do? That is not a time to complain before the children — that is a time to rejoice in the goodness of God before the children. Rejoice? Are you joking? No.
You could say, “Children, the Lord is sure good to us. We could have had that flat tire at the store parking lot, or we could have had a blow-out as we were going down the road. God protected us, and we should thank Him for it.” Psalm 92:1 says, “It is a good thing to give ____________ unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High.” I Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In every thing give ____________: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
The spiritual truths that you teach your children at times like that, will stick with them much longer. Your children will see that you have more than just a Sunday Religion, but that your faith is real, and that it actually works in life.
d. Deuteronomy 6:4-7 says that we are to love the Lord with all of our hearts, souls, and might, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt __________ them diligently unto thy ________________, and shalt talk of them WHEN THOU SITTEST in thine house, and WHEN THOU WALKEST by the way, and WHEN THOU LIEST DOWN, and WHEN THOU RISEST UP.”
Note: Do you see how practical those verses are? We should be teaching our children the Word of God in every way that we can; whether we are sitting, walking, lying down, or rising up. It is the responsibility of the father to make sure that it is done.
Chapter 3
— II. The Responsibilities Of Marriage.
A. In regard to the man.
B. In regard to the woman.
1. The woman is to submit to her own husband.
a. The Bible says in Ephesians 5:22,23, “Wives, ____________ yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.”
b. Colossians 3:18 says, “Wives, ____________ yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.”
Note: The word submit means, “to yield oneself to the authority or will of another.” (Merriam Webster’s 7th New Collegiate Dictionary)
God has set up the line of authority in marriage. It does
not mean that a woman is less than a man — no more than
an employee is less of a person than his employer. It simply means
that there is a chain of authority that must be
followed to have things run smoothly.
c. The Bible says in I Timothy 2:12-14, “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was __________ formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being ________________ was in the transgression.”
Note: God has given two reasons why He has chosen the man to lead the home.
FIRST, because of THE ORDER OF CREATION. Adam was formed first, thus, by order, he was to be the leader in the home.
SECOND, because of EXPERIENCE. When the serpent came and tempted Eve, she actually believed what he was telling her. She actually thought that she (and her husband) would be better off, if they did what the serpent was suggesting — despite it was the opposite of what she knew that God had said.
d. The Bible says, “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall ______ surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be ________________ to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Genesis 3:1-6)
Note: So Eve clearly knew the consequences of eating of the forbidden fruit. Actually, she stated that they could not even touch it, or they would die. God never said they could not touch it — only that they were not to eat of it. But despite knowing that God forbid the eating of it, after hearing the serpent, she believed that it would not only help her, but that it would also help Adam. So she gave it to him, after she had eaten it.
Adam was also wrong in eating of it. The only difference was that he never believed the serpent. He went ahead, knowing full well that it was the wrong thing to do, and that they would suffer the consequences for it.
Both Adam and Eve were wrong, but the Bible uses the situation as an example that the woman is not to lead the home, because she was so quick to doubt God, and then lead her family into sin.
Note: There are two more things to note in the above mentioned passages (Ephesians 5:22,23 & Colossians 3:18).
FIRST, the wife is told to SUBMIT TO HER OWN HUSBAND — not to anyone else’s husband. Some men get it into their heads that all women have to do whatever they say. They think that all women are to wait on them like a waitress in a restaurant. That is not at all the case.
Wives are only told to submit themselves unto their own
husbands — not to any other man. That is one of the
problems with a wife getting a job outside of the home.
The problem comes when she has a man over her at work. That man may say, “You will work this Saturday,” when her husband may have said, “Let’s go visit this certain family this Saturday.” Now she has a conflict. A man (her boss) is telling her to do one thing, and her husband is telling her to do another thing. Biblically, she only has to obey one man — her husband. But placed in that situation, many wives would obey their bosses before their husbands, because the job comes first in their priorities.
SECOND, those two passages show that the wife is only told to submit to her husband IN THE THINGS THAT ARE RIGHT. A woman is never to obey her husband when it means that she would be disobeying God to do so. She is to submit to her husband “as it is fit in the Lord” (Colossians 3:18). A good example of this is in the case of Ananias and Sapphira.
— Please read Acts 5:1-10, and answer the following questions.
e. Ananias and Sapphira sold a parcel of land, but kept back part of the price. Verse 2 says that Sapphira was “__________ to it,” that is, she knew that they were not giving all of the money, but just a portion.
f. Peter confronted Ananias in verses 3 and 4, and told him, “thou hast not lied unto men, but unto _______.”
g. Upon hearing these words, Ananias, “fell down, and gave up the __________” (he died). (verse 5)
h. Three hours later, his wife came in, and did not know that her husband had died for lying. Peter asked her in verse 8, “Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, ______, for so much.”
i. Peter then confronts her with conspiring with her husband to lie to God, and then, “fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the __________” (she died). (verses 9,10)
This passage is very clear that the wife is held account-
able by God to do right — even if her husband will not.
Note: Sapphira could have told the truth and lived, but she followed her husband’s sin, and thus died. Wives must do right, even when their husbands will not. A wife can only submit to her husband as long as it does not make her disobey the Lord.
Note: What about the matter of a man who leaves the home and separates from his wife, or files for a divorce? Does the wife still have to submit to him? Please see the section on “The Termination Of Marriage” for that answer.
— II. The Responsibilities Of Marriage.
B. In regard to the woman.
1. The woman is to submit to her own husband.
2. The woman is to reverence her husband.
a. In Ephesians 5:33, the Bible says, “and the wife see that she __________________ her husband.”
Note: The word reverence means “to show tender devotion, self-denial, honor, acknowledging that which has a claim to respect.” (Webster’s 7th New Collegiate Dictionary)
It is very important that the wife submit
herself to her husband with the proper attitude.
Sometimes you may see a child which obeys his parents outwardly, but is rebelling inwardly. You can see it in his face. The same thing can be true of a wife. She may grudgingly do what her husband asks, but you can see it in her countenance that she is rebelling inwardly.
As you look over the above definition, what you see is the word love. A wife must truly love her husband above herself. She must want to see him succeed. Some wives seem to enjoy making their husbands look like a fool. They mock and ridicule his decisions.
— Please read Proverbs 31:10-31, and answer the following questions.
b. Verses 10,11 say of the virtuous woman that, “The heart of her husband doth safely __________ in her.”
c. Verse 12 says, “She will do him _________ and not evil all the days of her life.”
d. Verse 28 says, “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he ________________ her.”
The virtuous woman reverences her husband.
She does not try to make him out to be a fool,
but works hard to help him succeed.
e. Verse 23 says, “Her husband is known in the __________, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.”
Note: Important decisions were made at the gates of the city. It was where official decisions were made. It was the place where respected and revered men would be found. A wise woman will do her best to protect her husband’s name — not disgrace it.
— II. The Responsibilities Of Marriage.
B. In regard to the woman.
1. The woman is to submit to her own husband.
2. The woman is to reverence her husband.
3. The woman is to be of a meek and quiet spirit.
— Please read I Peter 3:1-6, and answer the following questions.
a. Verse 4 says that a woman is to have “the ornament of a ________ and __________ spirit.”
b. That same verse says that such a woman, “is in the sight of God of great __________” (very valuable to God).
Note: What protection is there for a woman if she cannot vocally demand her way? Her protection is from God.
If a woman will be meek and quiet, then she will be
of great value to God, and He will work on her behalf.
c. According to I Peter 3:1,2, if a husband will not obey the word, God’s instruction for the wife is: “they also may ______________ the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.”
Note: God will have someone else get the Word to him, but it is not the wife’s place to be trying to teach her husband the Bible. She will convince him that he needs to be saved by the sweet, loving, Christian testimony of her life. He will be convinced of his need, when he sees a godly life lived by his wife.
d. I Timothy 2:11 says that the woman is to “learn in ______________ with all subjection.”
e. The next verse says that a woman is not “to __________, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”
f. Verse 13 gives one reason why, “For Adam was __________ formed, then Eve.”
g. Verse 14 gives another reason why, “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being ________________ was in the transgression.”
Note: How sad it is that many women do not believe these verses. Many men who are lost could be won to Christ, and many men who are not leading their homes would take over the spiritual leadership, if the wife would take her proper position in a loving and meek spirit in the home.
Chapter 4
— II. The Responsibilities Of Marriage.
B. In regard to the woman.
1. The woman is to submit to her own husband.
2. The woman is to reverence her husband.
3. The woman is to be of a meek and quiet spirit.
4. The woman is to be a keeper at home.
a. According to Titus 2:3-5, the aged women are supposed “to teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at ________, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
b. I Timothy 5:14 says, “I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the __________, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.”
Note: But how does a couple ever make ends meet in this day in which we live? Everything is so expensive.
How can a family ever make it today with only one income?
Only one way — faith. Faith that if you obey what God says to do,
then He will show himself strong on your behalf.
As we shall later see, the wife can supplement the income in certain ways — but only from the home.
c. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a ________________ of them that diligently seek him.”
— Please read Matthew 6:19-34, and answer the following questions.
d. We are told to lay up treasures in ____________. (verse 20)
e. Where your treasure is, “there will your __________ be also.” (verse 21)
f. Verse 33 says, “But seek ye __________ the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be ____________ unto you.”
Note: What things will be added to you? Verse 31 tells you what: food, drink, and clothes; in other words, those basic things which you need to live in this world. If you put God and His Word and His Work first, He promises to meet your needs.
g. The Bible says in Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your _________ according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
h. Psalm 127:1 says, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in ________ that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”
Note: If you try and go against God’s Word, then your house, and your family will suffer for it. If God tells women to stay home and keep the house, then He will meet the needs.
i. The Bible says in Proverbs 29:15, “a child left to himself bringeth his ______________ to shame.”
Note: If the mother is not there in the home like she is supposed to be, then that child may one day bring his mother to shame. She should have been there with that child.
The older that you get, the more you will see that your happiness is not based upon money, but upon doing God’s will. If you forsake your duty to your children, then you will reap the consequences, other than by the grace of God.
j. Proverbs 10:1 says, “A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the ___________________ of his mother.”
k. The Bible says in Proverbs 17:25, “A foolish son is a grief to his father, and ______________________ to her that bare him.”
Note: Before it is too late, believe God, and make raising your family in a godly way the priority.
In the end, it is not money that helps children to
turn out right, but godly, consistent, spiritual training.
Time is a necessary ingredient in rearing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
— II. The Responsibilities Of Marriage.
B. In regard to the woman.
1. The woman is to submit to her own husband.
2. The woman is to reverence her husband.
3. The woman is to be of a meek and quiet spirit.
4. The woman is to be a keeper at home.
5. The woman is to be ambitious.
— Please read Proverbs 31:10-31, and answer the following questions.
a. Verse 13 says, “She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh __________________ with her hands.”
b. Verse 16 says, “She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she ________________ a vineyard.”
c. Verses 17, 18 say, “She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her ______________________ is good: her candle goeth not out by night.”
d. Verse 24 says, “She maketh fine linen, and ______________ it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.”
Note: These verses do not contradict Titus 2:4,5, which say, “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at ________, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
When you put the two passages together, you simply
see that the wife is to do any work through a home-based
business. This assures that she never places herself
under the authority of another man or woman (that
would be her boss), and which would thus conflict
with submitting to her own husband.
Remember, the wife is never told to submit to another man or woman (other than in the Christian sense of submitting to one another in humility — I Peter 5:5), but to the Lord and to her own husband. There is no way that she can fulfill this if she has an outside job.
But what about in verse 24 above, where she “delivereth girdles to the merchant?” She does not work at a girdle factory. She makes girdles in her own home, and then takes them and sells them to a merchant — one who then sells them to the public. That is a home-based business. If her husband wants to go somewhere or needs her one day, then there is no one telling her that she has to make girdles that day. She makes them at home as she has time, and then takes what she has made and sells them to the merchant.
In verse 16 above, “She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.” She is not working under some farmer — she is buying the property and planting it herself. That means that there is no boss over her. It is owned by her and her husband. They decide what to plant, and when to work in the field. Farming and gardening is still a home-based business.
e. Ephesians 5:22 says, “Wives, ____________ yourselves unto your ______ husbands, as unto the Lord.”
f. Colossians 3:18 says, “Wives, ____________ yourselves unto your ______ husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.”
g. Matthew 6:24 says, “No man can serve ______ masters: for either he will ________ the one, and ________ the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Note: How many secretary’s have run off with their bosses? Many. A wife is to have allegiance to one person, under God, and that is to her husband. There is no way that a wife can have a double allegiance — to her husband and to her boss.
There is a common idea amongst Christians that the wife
only needs to be a keeper at home while a couple still has
small children. After that, they believe she is free to leave
the home and enter the work force. The problem with that idea,
is that it is totally forgetting why God made the woman.
Why did God create the woman? Did He look down upon the earth and see how quiet it was without any little children running around and say, “Hey! We need to make a woman down there so there can be little children!”?
No, that is not what God said at all. God did make woman with the very important feature of being able to have babies, but that was not the major reason that He gave for making the woman.
h. Genesis 2:18 says, “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the MAN should be __________; I will make him an ________ ________ for him.”
The primary reason that God made the woman, was to be a help meet to her husband, so that he would not have to be alone.
Have you ever heard about latch-key children? That is a name given to children who come home to an empty house and have to use a key to get inside, because both parents are out working jobs. Many Christian parents get very concerned about that type of a situation, and believe that it is biblically wrong for children to have to come home to an empty house. They believe that the mother should be there at home for them, and rightly so.
Why do we never hear about latch key husbands?
How many husbands come home to an empty house,
because their wives are out working?
Why did God make the woman? “It is not good that the MAN should be ALONE.” God did not look down from heaven and see lonely children entering houses, and thus decide to create a woman (a mom to be there). God looked down and saw a lonely man. IF A HUSBAND HAS TO COME HOME TO AN EMPTY HOUSE BECAUSE HIS WIFE IS OUT WORKING, THEN SHE IS DISOBEYING THE LORD. SHE IS FORSAKING THE PRIMARY PURPOSE FOR WHICH GOD CREATED HER.
How many husbands come home to an empty, cold house, with no nice, hot meal prepared? What will they do? They may fix a nice meal for themselves, but probably not. They will probably eat something unhealthy, or else they will just start going to the restaurant each night, instead of coming home. And who knows, they just might begin to admire the waitress that is always so friendly to them each evening — the one who brings them a nice, hot meal. It could have all been prevented, if the wife had remembered her number one priority — being a help meet to her husband and making sure that he would not be alone.
i. Titus 2:4 says that young women are to be taught “to love their ________________,” then “to love their children.”
Note: Christian wife reading this, are you obeying that verse in the proper order? Do you realize that you are not only commanded to love your children, but that there is A PRIORITY EVEN BEFORE THAT — YOUR HUSBAND?
We desperately need a revival in the Christian home. Is it any wonder that we are told that Christian marriages now break up at about the same rate as the marriages of the world? Do you see why?
REVIEW:
1. The ______ is to provide the home.
2. A young man is not supposed to get married with the idea that he and his bride will just move in with Dad and Mom, because the Bible says that a man shall “__________ his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.”
3. If you are living in your parent’s home (no matter what age you are), then you must submit to their decisions, because there can only be one ____________ in the home.
4. The ______ is to provide the financial support for the home.
5. God never intended for the ____________________ to get involved in feeding people.
6. The word cherish means “to hold _________, to feel or show affection for.”
7. Husbands are to love their wives as their own __________.
8. The word churlish means, “vulgar, rude, difficult to work with, __________, harsh, ill-tempered.”
9. According to Ephesians 5:23, “The husband is the ________ of the wife.”
10. What a husband and/or father wants his wife and children to be — he must __________ be himself.
11. The man’s job is not to drive his family, but to ________ them.
12. Ephesians 5:22 says, “Wives, ____________ yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.”
13. The word submit means, “to __________ oneself to the authority or will of another.”
14. God has chosen the man to lead the home because of the __________ of creation, and also because of experience.
15. The wife is told to submit to her ______ husband — not to anyone else’s husband.
16. The wife is held accountable by God to do __________ — even if her husband will not.
17. Ephesians 5:33 says, “and the wife see that she __________________ her husband.”
18. The word reverence means, “to show tender ________________, self-denial, honor, acknowledging that which has claim to respect.”
19. The woman is to be of a meek and __________ spirit.
20. I Timothy 2:11 says the woman is to “learn in ________________ with all subjection.”
21. The woman is to be a keeper at _________.
22. Proverbs 29:15 says, “a child left to himself bringeth his ____________ to shame.”
23. It is not money that helps children turn out right, but godly, ____________________, spiritual training.
24. There are no contradictions in the Bible. When you put Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 together, you simply see that the wife is to do any work through a __________-based business.
25. The problem with saying that a wife only needs to be a keeper at home while there are small children, is that it is totally forgetting why God _________ the woman.
26. Genesis 2:18 gives the reason that God made the woman, “It is not good that the ______ should be alone.”
Final Test
Marriage Part 1
Please study this booklet carefully before taking this final test. When you are finished, please return the entire booklet back to us for grading. When it is graded, the booklet will be returned to you, along with the next booklet on marriage. May God richly guide you and give you wisdom from your study of this subject!
1. God said that it was “not good that man should be __________.”
2. God said, “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a ________ thing.”
3. God and the animals were present with man, but man had no one after his own ________.
4. God experienced a true oneness and love and companionship in the matter of the ______________ (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit).
5. God made woman from one of Adam’s ______.
6. Man was made in the image of God, but man was man — not ______.
7. God says that man is “of more __________ than many sparrows.”
8. We are seeing the effects of Romans 1:25 today, where people worship and serve “the ________________ more than the ______________.”
9. In Genesis 2:18, God said that He would make “an ________ ________” for man.
10. God told Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:27,28 to “be fruitful, and multiply, and __________________ the earth.”
11. Although many are having babies out of wedlock today, they are not getting away with anything, because God says, “Be not ________________; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
12. The ______ is to provide the home.
13. A young man is not supposed to get married with the idea that he and his bride will just move in with Dad and Mom, because the Bible says that a man shall “__________ his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.”
14. If you are living in your parent’s home (no matter what age you are), then you must submit to their decisions, because there can only be one ____________ in the home.
15. The ______ is to provide the financial support for the home.
16. God never intended for the ____________________ to get involved in feeding people.
17. The word cherish means “to hold _________, to feel or show affection for.”
18. Husbands are to love their wives as their own __________.
19. The word churlish means, “vulgar, rude, difficult to work with, __________, harsh, ill-tempered.”
20. According to Ephesians 5:23, “The husband is the ________ of the wife.”
21. What a husband and/or father wants his wife and children to be — he must __________ be himself.
22. The man’s job is not to drive his family, but to ________ them.
23. Ephesians 5:22 says, “Wives, ____________ yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.”
24. The word submit means, “to __________ oneself to the authority or will of another.”
25. God has chosen the man to lead the home because of the __________ of creation, and also because of experience.
26. The wife is told to submit to her ______ husband — not to anyone else’s husband.
27. The wife is held accountable by God to do __________ — even if her husband will not.
28. Ephesians 5:33 says, “and the wife see that she __________________ her husband.”
29. The word reverence means, “to show tender ________________, self-denial, honor, acknowledging that which has claim to respect.”
30. The woman is to be of a meek and __________ spirit.
31. I Timothy 2:11 says the woman is to “learn in ________________ with all subjection.”
32. The woman is to be a keeper at _________.
33. Proverbs 29:15 says, “a child left to himself bringeth his ____________ to shame.”
34. It is not money that helps children turn out right, but godly, ____________________, spiritual training.
35. There are no contradictions in the Bible. When you put Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 together, you simply see that the wife is to do any work through a __________-based business.
36. The problem with saying that a wife only needs to be a keeper at home while there are small children, is that it is totally forgetting why God _________ the woman.
37. Genesis 2:18 gives the reason that God made the woman, “It is not good that the ______ should be alone.”
How The Bible Says You Can Be Saved
1. Do you realize that you have sinned? (Rom. 3:23) (I John 1:8)
2. Do you realize the penalty for your sin? (Rom. 6:23)
3. Do you realize that if you die in your sin, you will go to hell? (Psa. 9:17) (Prov. 15:24) (Luke 12:4,5)
4. Do you realize that the Lord Jesus Christ paid that death penalty for you? (Rom. 5:8) (I Pet. 3:18) (I Pet. 2:24)
5. Do you realize that it is only through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that you can be saved, and not through any good works of your own? (I John 1:7) (I Pet. 1:18,19) (Eph. 2:8,9) (Titus 3:5-7)
6. Do you realize that after Jesus died for your sins, He arose victorious from the grave the third day, proving that His sacrifice was sufficient to pay for all of the sins of the whole world? (I Cor. 15:1-4)
7. Do you realize that to be saved you must repent (you must have the desire to turn from your sin and false beliefs, and for the Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse you from all your sin)? (Luke 13:3) (Acts 3:19) (Acts 26:20)
8. Do you realize that after you get saved, God’s first command for you is for you to get baptized and then to live for Him? (Acts 2:41) (II Cor. 5:17)
9. Are you ready to now pray and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you of all your sins, and to save you? (John 1:12) (Rom. 10:13) (I John 5:13)
* If you are, then bow your head right now and confess to God that you are a sinner deserving judgment. Ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you of all your sins, and to save you. Ask Him to cleanse your life, and to give you the power to live for Him. Ask Him to lead you to a good, Bible-preaching church, where you can follow the first command after salvation — that of getting baptized and publicly confessing your faith in Him. Ask Him to help you find some good Christian friends to encourage you in the faith and to help you grow.
q — I have just asked the Lord Jesus Christ to save me.
________________________________________________
(sign name here)
________________________________________________
(date)
* If you have just received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, please write to us at the address below,
or copy this page and send it to us via email, so that we may rejoice with you.
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