As Christ: A Man and Marriage
This soon to be released and discounted new book is an update from the 2011 book, “Christ Died For His Bride, So What’s Your Problem?“ We are editing and adding even more of a power-packed clarion call for the professing men of our generation to rise up and be men, husbands, and fathers. You can still download a FREE pdf copy of the first edition here.
“This is an excellent book for all to read! There is so much wisdom packed in this book! It is a must read for all!” ~Karen Rosenkrantz
Below I have included the My Prayer and Intro to the second edition, As Christ: A Man and Marriage. Look for this 2nd edition to hit Amazon in the near future. Also be sure to check out the comments From the Ladies.
My Prayer
Taking into serious consideration the day and age that the sovereignty of God’s hand has placed us, my prayer is for all men, including myself, would be grieved of our sins leading unto repentance.[1] That we would allow God to plow up the arid ground of our hearts with His Word and by His Spirit.
And how shall we move forward, fighting back the evils of this world in tearing down wickedness in high places? How shall we be about the right path of God honoring love and service to our wives in Christ? How shall we be the example we are called to be? So as was said to Zerubbabel, so is said to us, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of hosts.”[2]
So let us move forward making the best use of our time.[3] May we set our sights[4] clearly on Christ, for “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When he was reviled, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.”[5] Let us be men who are as Christ to our wives, our children, and to everyone we meet along the way. “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”[6]
Intro
| It is through Jesus Christ that we may know the mystery of His will.[1] His will was set forth in Christ as a plan to unite all things in Him.[2] His will has been clearly revealed to His children and executed through the loving of their wives and the loving of the brethren. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in Him.[3] To love as God loves is a continuous desire of every true Christian.
Verbally saying that you love your wife means absolutely nothing if you yourself are not consumed by the true love[4] that Christ Himself supplies. All forms of loving your wife without the power of God’s love, as Christ loved the church,[5] will fail. Often our love is centered on our own humanistic appetites, and when backed by a profession of faith,[6] we stand to be held accountable on judgment day. If our Christian claim is not valid, our very best works for our wives will be burned as dross from silver leaving us as dead waste awaiting eternal damnation. If indeed we do not love our wives by the power of God’s love, we give way to the possibility that we are unregenerate.[7] Can this be said of us? If yes, we need to clearly see that we are destined for eternal torment while temporarily suspended over hell’s grips.[8] If we profess Christ in our life, we should be diligent and careful to love our wives as Christ has displayed for us.[9] As Christ died for His bride He showed no anger, no rebellion, no retaliation, but displayed complete denial of self;[10] all the while, it was His forthcoming bride[11] who was putting Him to death. He stood in our law place[12] even though we deserved to be condemned forever. How can we ever run to the risen Savior and say, “I deserve a right to get even because of how my wife is treating me?” To love our wives as Christ loves the church, means we must understand His sacrifice, His gospel, His commands, and His price of redemption; it also means we must admit our guilt, expose our failures, examine our present spiritual condition, repent of our sinful ways, and seek God as never before. A man who does not deny himself and sacrifice all worldly pleasures for his wife is not devoted to God as he may think.[13] Marriage exists and refers to Christ and the church; in other words, Christ and His bride.[14] Jesus refers to Himself as the bridegroom[15] and if we are truly a part of His Church, then we must act as He expects – a bride in preparation for her wedding day. Men, let’s prove the authenticity of our faith through sacrificial love, denial of our selfish desires, and a God honoring commitment to uphold the covenant relationship we have made with our wives.[16] May we seek to be sanctified[17] all of our days, and may we carry this working onto fulfilling God’s plan for marriage in the privacy of our homes and in light of a godless world. Additional Note: Having said these things, I want to be completely up front regarding the timing of this edition and a new chapter that I was intending to add at the end. If there has ever been a chapter I find exceedingly difficult to write, without a doubt, it is the one regarding the topic of knowing the good I ought to do and not doing it as it relates to my marriage. I find that it is absolutely necessary for me, at this time, to let God’s Word do a more thorough cleansing in me before I put it to publish; let me try to express my concerns. It should be no surprise that the timing of the Devil and all his schemes would shoot arrows upon all aspects of my soul, my flesh, and my good intentions. And yet, to be merely cognitive of this war does not give me any excuse to be lax in repentance of my sins and to actually “do the good I know I ought.”[18] For if I do not act accordingly, it would be far better to turn my pen from the paper into a dagger for the killing of my flesh,[19] a sword for the slicing of the ungodly intentions of my heart. It would be better for me to cut off my hand than to sin.[20] Indeed the words of Jeremiah ring true: |
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.”[21]
and…
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”[22]
I find that I must be about the renewing of my mind,[23] about the putting to death of my sin,[24] and the right motivations, convictions and power of the Spirit.[25] For without the conviction of the Spirit of God, the right motivation to honor God, and having a rooting, the very centering upon Christ alone, I am unable to completely fulfill the good unto my wife and my family.
Oh what a hopeless state I would remain if I were without the true working grace of God! Oh wretched man I am is right![26]
May the Lord be pleased to grant me, once again, repentance deep in my soul. I need a complete renewal by Christ, so that I may become more of a “living sacrifice”[27] for the spiritual worship and obedience to my Lord – this I pray for the eternal building of my wife and family and to the eternal end of God’s glory. And truly this I will do if I willfully choose to carry my cross and deny myself.[28]
“For the kingdom of God does not consist of talk, but of power.”[29]
Intro Footnotes
[1] Ephesians 1:9
[2] Ephesians 1:9b-10 ESV – (capitalizations of Him, He, His are mine showing emphasis on God are throughout this book)
[3] 1 John 3:15
[4] agape
[5] Ephesians 5:25
[6] Matthew 7:21-23
[7] Never having been saved; no conversion
[8] Thought owed to Jonathan Edwards – Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
[9] and in those of us who have truly been born again
[10] 1 Peter 2:21-25
[11] Meaning it was rebellious, sinful and depraved man prior to salvation
[12] Romans 5:6-8; 2 Corinthians 5:21
[13] 1 John 4:20
[14] Ephesians 5:32
[15] Matthew 9:15
[16] The marriage covenant was established by God early in human existence. The idea of covenant was God’s plan and promise for the redemption of Israel. Marriage is displayed by God throughout the Old Testament in His love for Israel. In the New Testament, Christ displays His love for the church as a bridegroom who loves His bride, especially when she did not deserve to be loved. Christ’s display of love for His Church is the ultimate example of how a husband’s love for his wife ought to be. The unity Christ has with His body and oneness with His Church (John 17:20-23) is the oneness and unity of a husband with his wife. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.” (Ephesians 5:31; Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5) Please note that the purpose of this writing is not to debate theology. I also don’t wish to debate whether the KJV is correct as it refers to the Church in Ephesians 5 as “it”. The ESV, NASB, and NKJ all agree that the proper translation that Paul refers to the Church in Ephesians 5 is “her”. Usage of the feminine word her does not refer to men as women nor does it give approval for homosexual relationships. Ephesians 5 does not refer to any one individual as the bride of Christ; rather this refers to the Church as a corporate whole. To this end, whenever I refer to Christ’s bride, I am referring to the Church. The purpose of this writing is to call husbands to deny themselves and truly love their wives. *Bride of Christ – those who are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and given a new heart; the corporate whole of regenerated believers who are in a process of sanctification and leading unto righteous deeds and dressed in fine linen. The bride of the Lamb is the New Jerusalem and nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life [Revelation 21:27]. Whether the New Jerusalem is a real physical place or whether it is just a representation of a spiritual reality [as some do believe] in God’s kingdom is not the main concern. The author’s concern regarding this is for all to take note that the New Jerusalem will be filled with the Glory of God and lit by the living Savior, and only those who are in the book of life having been regenerated by Christ, the Bridegroom Himself, will be present.
[17] The process by which we are continually growing in holiness, purity, and righteousness through the person of Christ Jesus. It is to be in a continual process of being washed by the word of God and transformed in the inner man.
[18] James 4:17
[19] For those who do not understand this type of speech, please read and study the context of Romans 8:13.
[20] Matthew 5:30, 18:8
[21] Jeremiah 17:5
[22] Jeremiah 17:9
[23] Romans 12:1-2
[24] Romans 8:13
[25] Zechariah 4:6
[26] Romans 7:24
[27] Romans 12:1
[28] Luke 9:23
[29] 1 Corinthians 4:20
My Prayer Footnotes
[1] 2 Corinthians 7:10
[2] Zechariah 4:6
[3] Ephesians 5:15-16
[4] Hebrews 12:1-4
[5] 1 Peter 2:22-23
[6] Hebrews 13:4
ForgeFlower 
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