Ministry begins at home

We believers need to put it into actions what we learn in the Word of God, it is very important to apply God’s teachings to our daily way of living.

Many churches & denominations emphasize in ‘serving’ (to minister) inside our churches & also out side to the poor & needy, this is good an necessary, (sadly some teach ‘leadership’ erroneously copying it from the world) but very few these days see the importance of equipping believers into the main ministry, which is inside their own homes.

Ministry begins at home. The cell of any society is the family, & way before God instituted the church He first created marriage & the family. And when He instituted the church we can find that among the requirements for choosing people to serve or minister at His Church is to look at how well they have managed their own families. For if a man know not  how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? 1 Tim. 3:4-5. To the Lord this is a matter of great importance, in the New Testament we see the emphasis in the qualifications for the people who are to guide the affairs of the church. One of the biggest mistakes made by churches today is that they do not adequately examine & prepare candidates for biblical leadership, for worship ministry, etc. You can learn more about this subject at “The Church- Biblical leadership.

It is important for believers to find out what is the will of God for our way of living & to do so we need to study the Scriptures:

Eph.5:15 “See then that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise men, 16 making the most of the time because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is“.

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, & that the husband is the head of the wife (Col.1:18; 2:10, Eph.5:23, 1 Cor.11;3), so everything must starts there, & when the head is at the right place, submitted to Christ, then all the member of the body will align into their right place.

The Bible teaches us about the different ministries of the husbands & the wives

“Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.” 1 Pet.3:7

What does 1 Peter 3:7 mean by referring to wives as the ‘weaker vessel’? this verse has unfortunately been misused by some denominations, please check here.

We find more insight about a godly marriage on Ephesians 5:

15 See then that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise men, 16 making the most of the time because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 Do not be drunk with wine, for that is reckless living. But be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. 20 Give thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 being submissive to one another in the fear of God.

Wives and Husbands

22 Wives, be submissive (G5293) to your own husbands as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head and Savior of the church, which is His body. 24 But as the church submits to Christ, so also let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 and that He might present to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 In this way men ought to 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 the Lord cares for the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I am speaking about Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

The Greek word used for submit in the verses is G5293=hupotasso, which means to voluntarily submit to, to yield to another’s advice, to place one’s power under the authority of another. Many problems we see today with submission it’s because the head is not really summited to Christ & therefore abuses its authority. So no one wants to voluntarily submit to someone like that. The wive submits to her husband voluntarily, because she feels loved & secured, because he earned her respect first & she understand that it needs to be order in her house.

Col.3: 18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Also always remember what Jesus taught us about godly leadership vs. worldly leadership, Mark 10:42-45.

42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over (G2634) them, and their great ones exercise authority (G2715) over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

In the Bible we find about divorce:

4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.”

5 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

10 In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. 11 So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” Mark 10

^{– “}But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality (G4202) causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery“. Matt.5:32

-It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment. . .

12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 1 Cor.7:1-14

“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”   Hebrews 13:4