Embracing Mutuality: Submission and Inner Beauty in Marriage

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Christ, who is co-equal with the Father in all respects, submits from all of eternity to do the Father's will, not because he is inferior to the Father, but because it is vital and necessary for the purposes of God to be worked out from all of eternity into time. [00:01:39]

The husband and wife are equal before God. Now hold on, but in order for the family to function in harmony, the woman, with no loss of dignity, takes the place of submission to the headship of her husband in the same way as Christ, with no loss of dignity, took the place of submission to the headship of his heavenly Father. [00:02:29]

Wives, in the same way, be submissive to your husband so that if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without talk by the behavior of their wives when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. The scenario would seem to be very clear that here is a pagan family, and as a result of the ministry of the gospel, the wife has come to faith in Jesus. [00:04:34]

The missionary impact of the Christian wife on a non-Christian husband is not going to come, says Peter, through the ears, note this, but through the eyes. The wife must resist the temptation to be constantly about the business of conveying her newfound belief to her husband through ear gate. [00:05:35]

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as what? Such as braiding your hair, wearing gold jewelry, and fine clothes. Well, what is this? A legalistic ban on a certain style of hair? So all you ladies sitting out there this morning that had braided your hair before you left, you're immediately clutching up for the back of your head. [00:07:39]

The principle is timeless; the illustration is transient. The principle is a woman's beauty should not be the result of external ostentation. A woman's submission should be displayed in a quiet and gentle way, but so many people down through the ages of the church have built doctrine out of 1 Peter 3:3. [00:09:57]

Outward beauty and such adornment must always and finally be subservient to the focus of internal beauty. That's all. Turn with me to John 6, please. John chapter 6 and verse 27. Here is the same use of language. John 6:27, Jesus said, do not work for food that spoils but for food that endures to eternal life. [00:10:42]

It seems to me that women are especially bombarded by the mentality of them all, and I don't mean that to be a kind of male chauvinist statement because men are too, but it seems that a lady is susceptible in some way to that just because there is such a gush of it. Women's magazines are more than men. [00:11:56]

One of the things that we need to do is that those of us who've been given daughters need to praise our daughters for inner loveliness, for inner loveliness. Tell them the times that their inner beauty shines. Command them for the lovely things that come from within that put a smile on their face and grace and bless others. [00:13:02]

If husbands are going to be considerate as they live with their wives, that part of the husband's consideration must be to exalt and to command and to bless his wife by encouraging her in relation to who she is and what she is, not in terms of what she has and what she sticks on. [00:14:02]

You want to be the daughter of Sarah? What do you do? Two things, he says: do what is right and don't be afraid. People say be like Sarah who obeyed Abram and called him her master, called him Lord. You look up Genesis 18:12, you'll find the reference. [00:17:37]

You want to be one of these daughters? Do what's right, obey the scriptures. It'll make you an alien and a stranger. You'll look like you have big things growing out of your head, and hey, don't be afraid. Just don't be afraid because God looks after his own. [00:19:23]

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