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Sermon #4164

The Analogy of the Body

A Sermon on Ephesians 5:22-24

Originally preached Feb. 7, 1960

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Scripture

Ephesians 5:22-24 ESV KJV
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to …

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Sermon Description

According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the biblical view of marriage is not a sacrament or simply a legal union. The biblical view is a covenant union between a man and woman that reflects the relationship between Christ and the church. Because marriage is a picture of this relationship, Christians are not to marry someone who does not have faith in Christ. In this sermon on Ephesians 5:22–24 titled “The Analogy of the Body,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that husbands are to care for their wives in the same way that Christ cares for His church, and that the wife is to submit to the husband as the church submits to Christ. This submission is to be seen in the broader context of a loving relationship where both seek the good of the other. This does not make the wife inferior or less than the husband as some claim. Nor does this mean that the wife has to do everything that the husband commands without exception. The wife is to serve God and Christ before any other. All believers are ultimately under the authority of Jesus Christ.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The apostle Paul exhorts wives to submit to their husbands in Ephesians 5:22-24.
  2. Paul considers marriage in a Christian manner, unlike the world. Marriage is a privilege, not a joke.
  3. Paul exhorts all Christians to submit to one another in Ephesians 5. Wives submitting to husbands is one example.
  4. The first reason wives should submit is because of the order of nature. The husband is the head of the wife, as ordained by God in creation.
  5. The second reason is because of the relationship between Christ and the church. The husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.
  6. Only Christians can understand the relationship between Christ and the church. Non-Christians cannot understand the Christian view of marriage.
  7. Christians should not marry non-Christians. A Christian marriage service is only appropriate for Christians.
  8. The relationship between husband and wife is like that between Christ and the church, an organic union.
  9. The wife should submit to the husband like the church submits to Christ. But the wife is not inferior, just different with a different role.
  10. The wife should not act independently of the husband. That would be like convulsions in the body acting apart from the head.
  11. The wife should not act before the husband or delay in acting. She should act in coordination with him, under his leadership.
  12. The wife should live to please and help her husband, enabling him to function as the head. She should say "love, cherish, and obey" in the marriage service.
  13. The wife should submit to her husband in everything, but not against her conscience, not to commit sin, not if he loses his mind, not to interfere with her faith, and not if he commits adultery.
  14. Practical helps for wives in trouble: remember why you married him, pray for him, apply 1 Peter 3:1-4, examine yourself before God.
  15. The relationship between husband and wife should be a privilege, like between Christ and the church, if viewed rightly. Wives will receive reward for suffering and submission.

The Book of Ephesians

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.