REVIEW
• We are in a series that is looking at how we are supposed to grow ourselves as disciples and how we are to help make disciples.
• In Ephesians, Paul describes what it looks like to be a disciple in every major area or sphere of our life. We call it the 5 Spheres
o Week 1: the abide sphere. Week 2: the Church Sphere

THE HOME SPHERE
• The home is the most important relational community in our lives
o Much of what we learn in the Bible about relationships is in the context of family.
o The people of Ephesus didn’t know how to be family members that honored God. They had to learn that in the church. (1 Peter 1:18)

Ephesians 5:21-22 shows us what godly spouses, parents and children look like.
• Paul says that not only are men and women different, they have different roles in the family and in the Church. His understanding comes from scripture.

Genesis 2:18 (NIV) The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

WIVES
• Eph 5:21 tells us, once again, that humility is key to godly living.
• Paul says that wives are supposed to submit to their husbands. For many in our culture today, “submit” is a bad word. This isn’t the case biblically.
• After the initial sin in the Garden of Eden, the curse given in Genesis between a husband and wife is that they will desire to control each other

Genesis 3:16(NLT) Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.

o Our problem with submission has to do with our fallen nature. With the help of the Holy Spirit living in us, we can fight the urge to dominate and submit to each other.
• When women submit to their husbands, this is not the action of a weak person, but one who is strong in their faith in God.
• Submission doesn’t equal less than. It is not a value statement. This is talking about roles.
• Jesus submitted to the Father – completely!

John 5:19(NLT) So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.

HUSBANDS
• In the same way, a wife respects her husband in reverence to the Lord, husbands learn to love their wife biblically.
• Those of us who lead biblically, whether it is at work or at home, do so as servants, not for what we can gain for ourselves. (1 Peter 5:1-3)
• We don’t have the right to ask our wives to serve us in a way we don’t serve them. We lead “by our own good example.”
• “Out of reverence for the Lord” means remembering who God is. Besides being God, He is our spiritual father-in-law. Why would he bless us if we are mistreating his daughter?
o Malachi 2:13-15 warns us that if we aren’t faithful to our wife and treat her poorly it actually hinders our prayers and God stops accepting our worship!
• We are supposed to be partners. Each of us has different gifts and abilities. God created men and women different, both in how genders are generally different, and how God has uniquely created individuals.

GODLY OFFSPRING
• At the end of Malachi 2 it tells us what God desires – godly offspring. The primary goal of the parent is to raise children who have a relationship with God.
• Kids are given a role in the family as well. (Ephesians 6:1-4)
o The role of kids, at least while they are in the home, is to be learners. They are supposed to do this by obeying their parents.
o We have a duty to God and to our kids to do more than just provide for them. We must teach them. This requires time and intentionality. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
• One reason we are told to be a part of the church is that we need others reinforcing what we are trying to teach our kids. If we are the only ones our kids see living a godly lifestyle, they will think we are just an anomaly or at least a little crazy.
• Our partnership with our spouse matters when it comes to raising our kids. We need to be pulling in the same direction, towards God.

CONCLUSION:
• God has given us a design for every area of our life – including the home. He has given each of us roles and responsibilities. When we follow God’s design, He blesses that.

For series resources and the Small Group discussion guide go to: thedisciplesjourney.org