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Just the Three of Us · Enjoying the Journey

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  In our busy world, family time is frequently
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  neglected. It is vital that we give attention to our
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  families while we can, and it is especially important
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  to give attention to what God says in his word about our
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  homes. For the next few moments, let's join Scott Pauley as we
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  open the scriptures and and find God's message for your
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  family.
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  You probably know that the books of 1 and 2 Corinthians deal
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  with lots of sticky subjects,
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  lots of conflict, lots of things that are frequently
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  debated and discussed. They're powerful books.
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  But did you know that 1 Corinthians also deals a great
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  deal with the family, with marriage and the home life? In fact,
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  1 Corinthians chapter 11, which is a chapter that is often
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  discussed and even debated in certain areas, has in it,
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  I think, one of the most powerful truths for Christian marriage.
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  In 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse number 3, we read this:
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  But I would have you know that the head
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  of every man is Christ, and the head
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  of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ
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  is God. I wish you would mark in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 3,
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  man, woman, Christ. Don't miss that.
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  Then if you come down to verse 11 and verse 12, listen carefully.
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  Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman,
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  neither the woman without the man in the Lord. So again,
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  in verse 11, you got the man, the woman, the Lord. And then
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  in verse 12, for as the woman is of the man,
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  Even so is the man also by the woman, but all things of God.
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  So again, in verse 12, the woman, the man,
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  God. Years ago, there was an old secular song
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  that used to talk about just the two of us. Well, may I tell you
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  today that for the Christian in marriage, it's not just the two of us,
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  it's just the three of us. There are 3 people
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  in every Christian marriage. They are the
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  man, the woman, and Christ. Oh,
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  don't miss that— the man, the woman,
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  and Christ. In fact, let me take you back to an Old Testament
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  scripture for just a moment in Ecclesiastes chapter 4 that I
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  think articulates this truth beautifully. You see, everything you find in the Old Testament,
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  there's some connection in the New Testament and vice versa. So let's compare scripture
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  with scripture for a moment. Ecclesiastes 4 and verse 8 says,
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  there is one alone and there is not a second.
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  It's a picture in this verse of someone who is dealing with loneliness
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  by themselves. Remember what God said in Genesis 2, verse 18? It is
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  not good that the man should be alone. Then you come to Ecclesiastes
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  chapter 4 and verse number 9, 2 are better than
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  one. I want to pause and say amen to that,
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  because they have a good reward for their labor. For if
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  they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him
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  that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him up.
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  Again, if 2 lie together,
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  then they have heat, but how can one be warm alone? And if one
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  prevail against him, 2 shall withstand him. So he's giving all the
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  benefits of having a partner,
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  of having someone. And really, this is the foundation of
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  marriage. It's the foundation of friendship. Friends work together
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  and rejoice together. They help one another through difficulties. They minister
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  to one another's needs. They stand and fight for each other. So this
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  is a picture of what marriage is supposed to be— the man and the woman.
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  But then when you come to Ecclesiastes 4 and verse 12,
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  it ends this way: and a threefold cord is
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  not quickly broken. Hold on, I thought we'd been talking about
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  2 being better than one, and 2 lying together and 2 standing
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  together and 2 helping one another along the journey. Yes,
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  and then a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
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  Can I tell you that the threefold cord is the husband and
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  the wife being woven together in Christ? In fact,
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  the, the third here is actually the first. He's the one
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  who brings the strength. He's the Lord. We need one
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  another and we both need Jesus Christ.
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  And so if you go back with me to 1 Corinthians chapter number 11,
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  you see again this principle: the man, the woman,
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  and Christ. May I give you some simple thoughts here that I think
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  will help all of us today? First of all, find your place.
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  Every person has their place in a church, that's true,
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  and also in a home. And when we find our place,
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  things are so much better because God's a God of divine order, and there's
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  always safety in his structure. I hate to say this, but in every home,
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  the great struggle is always this: who gets to be the boss? Who gets
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  to be in charge? Well, let's settle it today. Would you like to settle it?
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  Let's let the Lord be in charge. Let's let the Lord be the Lord.
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  And when God is the boss, when God is in his rightful place and
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  we all find our place under him, then everything runs so
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  much more smoothly. There's peace in the home. There's a principle here.
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  It's the principle of headship. Listen to verse 3 again of 1
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  Corinthians 11. The head of every man is Christ, the head of the
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  woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. For years
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  I've heard people want to talk about the woman being under the
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  headship of the man, and that's true. Of course that's true.
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  We'll come to that in the book of Ephesians. It's the way God intended.
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  Uh, the, the husband is to lead and to give direction.
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  I've heard someone say that he's the head but she's the neck that turns the
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  head. Well, that, that's true as well. But I want to point out to you
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  in 1 Corinthians 11:3 that actually everyone is under a head.
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  Everyone has someone over them. So the head
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  of the woman is the man, but the head of
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  the man is Christ, and the head of Christ is
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  the Heavenly Father. You see the principle of headship here? We all
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  submit. We all have someone that we answer to and are accountable
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  to. This is not about value. This is about order.
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  Think of it this way: if Christ has a head, and that's the Father,
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  Is he any less God? No. This is proof that submission
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  doesn't mean you're less than. Friend, the most valuable
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  thing you can do is find your place and do your part.
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  That's why in 1 Peter chapter 2, the Bible talks about the woman
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  submitting to her husband even as Christ submitted.
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  You see, we all simply find our place in God's
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  structure. This is the Lord's way. And when we do that
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  like we ought to, then God brings his greatest blessing. Just the 3 of us.
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  And then not only must you find your place, but you must remember a principle.
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  Would you like to know what the principle is? The principle is we are all
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  dependents. Listen to verse 11 and
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  12 again. Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman
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  without the man in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man,
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  even so is the man also by the woman, but all things of God.
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  We talk about dependents and we think of those as being our children, the ones
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  we we're responsible to raise and to feed. But in a very real
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  sense, in the Christian home, we are all dependents.
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  The woman came from the man, every man comes from
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  a woman, and all of us need the Lord. That's the
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  principle here. There's a lot of talk today about independence, but I believe God
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  has made us interdependent. Gentlemen, we need the women. Amen to
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  that. Ladies, you need your husband. You need
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  that that honor and that love, uh, that completion
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  with your husband. And all of us, by God's grace,
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  need the Lord. I want you to ponder on this. It's much to
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  meditate on, isn't it? And I want you to think about what the application needs
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  to be in your own home. And with the Lord's help,
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  in our next study, I want to return to the same passage. We'll review
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  briefly what we've learned today, and then let's talk about some
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  applications of it in our family. I think it is so vital
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  that we recognize the place of Christ in our marriage and then
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  our place in our marriage. What place does the
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  Lord Jesus hold in your home? Supposed to be the place of preeminence.
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  He's supposed to be the Lord, the head, the one in charge, the one
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  who sits on the, the throne room of the heart and the home. And then
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  what is your place? It is simply to discover what he wants,
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  his divine commands and obey him.
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  And may the Lord help all of us to discover the wonderful joy
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  and fruitfulness and blessing of living life every day with
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  Jesus, just the 3 of us.
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  For more resources for your marriage and family, visit us at
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  etj.bible and click on the Take the Next
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  Step link, where you'll find many Bible resources that
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  will strengthen your marriage and equip you to raise your
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  children in the ways of the Lord. We highly recommend
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  Scott's book, New Testament Marriage. In it, you'll discover timeless
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  biblical principles from the husband and wife team Aquila and
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  Priscilla, and these principles are very applicable to
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  your marriage today. From all of us at Enjoying the Journey,
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  thanks for listening today, and until next time, We pray
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  that you will enjoy the journey.