Ephesians 5:20 ESV

giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

• God has a perfect BATTLE PLAN for your marriage. God’s perfect plan for marriage is in Ephesians 5. When you follow this plan, your marriage will be successful.

Ephesians 5:31-33 ESV

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

The Battleplan:

#1) ATTRACT EACH OTHER

• How a wife attracts her husband is different than how a husband attracts his wife.

MEN (Boxes | Testosterone | Stress Strength) vs WOMEN (Wires | Estrogens | Emotions)

How a wife attracts her husband:

A) Wife HONORS Husband

Ephesians 5:21-24 ESV

submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 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. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

Honor = to respect and value.

• A man is attracted to a respectful and encouraging woman.

• When a wife’s behavior is respectful, she can change her husband. No words needed.

1 Peter 3:1-6 NIV

Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

How a husband attracts his wife:

B) Husband LOVES Wife & Provides SECURITY

Ephesians 5:25-30 ESV

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body.

• A woman is attracted to a selfless, sacrificial man.

• A husband can change his wife as he sacrifices and loves her.

• You want to know how to love your wife? Get to know how Jesus loves us! Love your wife like Jesus loves you.

John 15:13 ESV

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

• Jesus sacrificed His life for all of us. So as a husband, you should sacrifice whatever is needed for your wife.

• A woman is sexually attracted to her husband when he is a servant, especially when he is doing housework.

#2) RELEASE THE POTENTIAL

1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

Hebrews 3:12-13 Voice

Brothers and sisters, pay close attention so you won’t develop an evil and unbelieving heart that causes you to abandon the living God. Encourage each other every day—for as long as we can still say “today”—so none of you let the deceitfulness of sin harden your hearts.

• Encouragement can be a weapon against disbelief.

How a husband releases his wife’s potential:

A) Husband should NOURISH and CHERISH his wife.

Nourish means to feed to maturity. Cherish means to protect.

• Men reflect the nature of God while women reflect the nature of their husband.

1 Corinthians 11:7 ESV

For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.

How a wife releases her husband’s potential:

B) Wife should be a CHEERLEADER & ENCOURAGER.

• Men gravitate to where they receive honor.

Proverbs 24:26 NIV

An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.

Proverbs 18:21 Passion

Your words are so powerful that they will kill or give life, and the talkative person will reap the consequences.

• A wife can destroy her husband’s manhood or build his priesthood.

#3) BE SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS

A man will naturally meet his wife’s needs by:

A) Speaking SECURITY

• In every decision you make, make it while continuing to speak security.

“To be a man is to make decisions. To be a good man is to make good decisions. To be a Godly man is to make Godly decisions.”

A woman will naturally meet her husband’s needs by:

B) Speaking HONOR.

Genesis 2:18 NLT

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”

• The culture of God’s Kingdom runs on honor.

• You are better off honoring your husband, whether he is proving to be worthy of it or not, because you will be honoring God himself.

CONCLUSION

• When a husband loves his wife like Christ loves the church, he listens to her. He meets her needs and serves her without having to be nagged. He is committed to putting her first.

• A wife who submits to her husband respects him and understands that her words and actions are meaningful. She begins to value the things that are valuable to him. She is committed to putting him first.

• When we fulfill the roles, the battles plan in Ephesians 5, we will experience deeper intimacy and we will have a victorious marriage.