What does reverence mean?
Hi, Bellaberry.
First, here is the portion of scripture that I was referring to:
Ephesians chapter 5
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22] Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
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23] For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
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24] Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
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25] Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
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26] That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
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27] That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
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28] So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
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29] For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
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30] For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
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31] For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
[
32] This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
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33] Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself;
and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
God ordained marriage to be a natural reflection of the spiritual union between Christ and the church.
With such being the case, the husband is called to love his wife and give himself for her in the same self-sacrificing way that Christ did for the church. He's also to sanctify and cleanse her with the word of God that she might appear one day as holy and without blemish before the Lord in the same manner in which Christ seeks to do for the church. Furthermore, he's to love his wife as his own body while nourishing her and cherishing her in the same manner in which Christ does for the church.
Let's pause here for a moment...
Does Christ selfishly lust after the church for his own carnal pleasures?
Of course, he doesn't, and neither should any man behave in that manner towards a woman. If that upsets any men here, then take it up with God...the one you claim to belong to and serve.
Moving on to the wife, she is called to submit to her husband as the church submits to Christ.
OF COURSE, this does
NOT mean that she should ever submit to anything
SINFUL that her husband is doing or attempting to do. I covered this rather extensively in a recent long post that can be read here:
https://christianchat.com/bible-discussion-forum/should-women-teach-should-you.198735/#post-4547539
In relation to your question, a wife should also reverence her husband in the same manner in which the church should reverence Christ.
The underlying Greek word which is here (in the opening text) translated as "reverence" is "phobeō" (yes, like in phobia), and here is how it is translated in the KJV Bible:
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G5399&t=KJV
Outline of Biblical Usage
- to put to flight by terrifying (to scare away)
- to put to flight, to flee
- to fear, be afraid
- to be struck with fear, to be seized with alarm
- of those startled by strange sights or occurrences
- of those struck with amazement
- to fear, be afraid of one
- to fear (i.e. hesitate) to do something (for fear of harm)
- to reverence, venerate, to treat with deference or reverential obedience
In this passage of scripture, the bold-faced definition would apply.
This is God's design for marriage, so I would heartily suggest that any man or woman with a "sex drive" put it in neutral as they concentrate on fulfilling their God-ordained roles within the confines of a marriage that represents Christ and the church to the world.
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