Monthly Message 

Husbands are the Head of the House, not the Boss!

REV. GORDON WILLIAMS, June 2010

Last month, some people said, "You forgot Mother?s Day!" That was not the case! We just published our new book, "THE LOST KEY TO CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE". It was exciting to discover as I looked at "Christian Marriage" as described in Greek New Testament, that the only real guarantee for marriage is the Baptism of Holy Spirit. When Paul said,"Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ".

(Eph. 5: 21), it is not a commandment. In fact, in Greek, Paul is asking husbands and wives to volunteer to minister to each other. He is explaining what Jesus explained earlier to his disciples, "You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom of all" (Mk. 10: 42 - 45).

In other words, when Paul says, "the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Saviour" (Eph. 5: 23). He is saying that the husband is not the boss in the family who has the last word on everything. That is Jesus? position. No, not at all! He is saying that, like Jesus, with His bride, the church, it is the husband?s responsibility to make certain that his family, including himself, knows Jesus as their Saviour and Lord and have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

It is his responsibility to encourage them to use the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12: 6 - 8;1 Cor. 12: 8 - 10) in their family so they can all be witnesses (Acts 1: 8) for Jesus Christ to other people. It?s his responsibility to develop worship (1 Cor. 14: 26f.) in his own home so that when they are in a church fellowship, they know how to worship "God in Spirit and in Truth" (Jn. 4: 24). He cannot do everything. He must encourage every member of his family to listen to the Holy Spirit (Rev. 2: 7).

Paul does command "Husbands, love your wives (Eph. 4: 25)." Agape love is the only kind of love that we can be commanded to use(1 Cor. 13: 1 - 4). But we do not receive God?s love until we have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit(Rom. 5: 5). Paul?s wife(1 Cor. 9: 5) must have been shocked when he arrived home after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus road and received the Holy Spirit when Ananias prayed with him. (Acts 9: 4 - 19; 1 Cor. 14: 18).

The mistake that too many Pastors and Christian teachers make is to use Old Testament people as examples for today?s believers like the Proverb 31 woman as an example for Christian women, who had no rights under the Old Testament or Solomon (2 Chron. 1: 11 - 12). No! No! No! We need Christian wives and Christian husbands who are Born Again, Baptized with the Holy Spirit with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12: 6 - 8; 1 Cor. 12: 8 - 10).

We need Christian parents who have the character of Jesus called the "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. 5: 22 - 23) and who have the "mind of Christ"( 1 Col. 2: 16) who pray together about everything (Eph. 6: 18). We need parents who "volunteer" to minister to each other and their families and the people in Jesus? church. Such parents prepare their children and each other, friends and strangers, for the kingdom of heaven. I know this because I am married to such a wife. We need wholly "New Testament" people who are guided by the Holy Spirit (Jn. 15: 7 - 15) and are guided by the Holy Spirit everyday and who witness and volunteer to minister to everybody. HAPPY MOTHER?S AND FATHER?S DAYS!

Rev. Gordon Williams  

http://www.gordwilliams.com/