Through The Bible in a Year - September 22, 2026

"The husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior…. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 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." Ephesians 5:23, 25–27

Paul's instruction to husbands does not bestow upon them the privileges of those wearing a crown — it outlines the responsibilities of those bearing a cross. The headship he describes is defined entirely by Christ's headship of the church, and that headship expressed itself in self-giving sacrifice. Christ did not use his authority to be served; he used it to serve, to sanctify, and to make his bride radiant to Himself. That is the template Paul hands to every husband.

This means the purposes of a husband's authority are inseparable from the priorities of his service. He leads not to accumulate privilege, but to spend it for the sake of others. He makes decisions not to assert power, but to protect and build up the wife entrusted to his care. The goal Paul sets before husbands is stunning in its tenderness. A husband is to “give himself up for her” that she might grow in godliness, goodness, and splendor based on the example of Christ who similarly provides for his bride, the church. A husband who lives this way is not asking, "What can I claim?" He is asking, "What can I give so that my spouse fully experiences the grace that God intends for her to know and increasingly reflect because of the way that I express His love to her?"

RESPOND: In what areas of your marriage are you more focused on your own comfort or authority than on your spouse's flourishing? What would it look like — concretely, today — to lead by giving?

PRAYER: Jesus, you washed feet. You went to the cross. You made the church radiant by giving everything. I confess how far short I fall of that example. Fill me with your Spirit and your love, so that the one I am called to lead would know, through the way I treat her, more and more how much you treasure her. In Your Name, Amen.