The virtuous body of Christ – Part 4

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The virtuous body of Christ” – Part 4

March 27, 2016

with Steven Crook

Trust is vital to any healthy relationship as we all know. However, the trust the Lord has with His body is slightly different because the trust the Lord gives and has for His wife, the body of Christ, stems from a different source than free will or self-control to make trusting decisions.

In our study today we are going to look at the scriptural support for why king Lemuel’s mother would tell him that the heart of the husband of a virtuous woman trusts safely in her and that he will have no need of spoil.

Trust

 

Pro 31:10  Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
Pro 31:11  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

We covered last week what the spiritual applications of being a virtuous woman are, but what are some of the physically applicable attributes and traits of being virtuous?

We need to ask ourselves this because the “safe trust” of the husband will rely on these things. I think we all know what trust means so I will only red a few verses that show us examples of trust in scripture.

Psa 37:1  A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
Psa 37:2  For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Psa 37:3  Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

Isa 50:10  Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.

Psa 119:41  VAU. Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word.
Psa 119:42  So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.
Psa 119:43  And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments.
Psa 119:44  So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.
Psa 119:45  And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.
Psa 119:46  I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.
Psa 119:47  And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.
Psa 119:48  My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.

“Do good, dwell in the land, you shall be fed, fear the Lord, obey His voice, trust in His NAME, rest upon the Lord, mercies shall come upon you, salvation shall come upon you, I speak the thy word out of my mouth, I hope in your judgments, I keep your law continuously, I walk in liberty, I seek your precepts, I speak your testimony before kings and I am not ashamed in doing so because I delight in your commandments,” are all things that someone who trusts in the Lord can confess among many other things.

That is what we do as the body of Christ towards Jesus Christ, but that doesn’t give us a clear picture of how and why Jesus Christ trusts in US as His wife? After all, the verses we are covering today say, “the heart the husband trusts in His virtuous wife”.

How then does Jesus Christ trust in His body?

Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Eph 4:7  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

We are one body, not two. We are one unit, not two. We were separate and individual on our own but in the marriage with our Husband Jesus Christ, we became One with Him intimately.

The reason that the Lord TRUSTS His wife is because His heart IS THE HEART of His wifes. He doesn’t have two hearts or two minds, He has ONE HEART.

Another way to say this can be found in Ephesians 5.

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27  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.
Eph 5:28  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Eph 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31  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.
Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Eph 5:33  Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

We are one flesh because Christ is come in the flesh. He is within all of us while we are in these earthen tabernacles.

Psa 115:16  The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

We have talked about the spiritual connection between the Lord and His body and what trust looks like back and forth, so what does this relationship look like to the rest of the world who are not currently privy to this relationship?

In other words, the earth (us in the flesh) has been given to the “children of men” so how do we interact with the “children of men” in our lives who happen to be our spouses, children, parents, siblings, friends, peers and foes?

Since this chapter is speaking about a virtuous woman, I will speak about how a husband can safely trust in his wife and the branch off of that into other relationships that we all have in one way or another.

We all know that trust is vital in a relationship. When it is broken the relationship will be broken itself in many ways. As Christians, we must endeavor to handle our relationships as the Word instructs us or we are pretty much just spitting into the breeze and hoping for the best.

Trust shows itself in many different ways but often times we think of trust in terms of being faithful or not. Obviously, we need to be able to trust our wives (and husbands) to be faithful in a relationship. “Innocent” flirting can damage this trust as well, but that is mostly obvious to anyone in a serious relationship.

Trusting that my wife (this applies to husbands as well) will do what she says she will is absolutely vital to maintaining trust. Some unspoken things like fidelity are obvious, but what about when you say you’re going to do something and then don’t?

Num 32:24  Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.

If something happens to cause you not to be able to do what you would have said you would do, then that is one thing, but it is becomes a perpetual habit, then it is another thing entirely.

Psa 89:34  My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

As a parent, this is extremely important as well. If a man is a man of God and desires to have his home be a godly home, then he expects his wife to act the same way he does when he is not around.

If my children are acting up and I tell them to stop or else this and that will happen, and then they don’t stop and I do not do what I said the “this or that” is, I am inadvertently causing trust to deteriorate.

Our children need to see their parents of one mind on how to parent otherwise how can two walk together in successful parenting?

Amo 3:3  Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Our children need to be able to believe what we say and that goes for things we want them to believe as well as for knowing that when we have spoken a thing we will do what we are able to perform that thing.

If I tell my children that the first time is warning and on the second time I say something like, “do it again and you are in trouble”, and they don’t get in trouble on the third time, then I have done them and myself a GREAT disservice as a parent.

We must ALWAYS mean what we say and say what we mean. It only takes ONE TIME of letting things go before your children will wonder if that same pattern of letting things go will be the norm and they WILL test the boundaries on that.

It is a horrible thing to believe you are showing your children mercy by letting them get away with not listening to you. That isn’t mercy but simply slothful.

… So that he shall have no need of spoil

 

Pro 31:11  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

At first glance the end of this verse can seem a bit confusing when speaking about trust at the beginning of the verse.

In order to clear up and confusion we need to look no further than “the sum of thy word”.

H7997
shâlal
Total KJV Occurrences: 13
spoil, 4
Eze_26:12, Eze_29:19, Eze_39:10, Hab_2:8
spoiled, 4
Psa_76:5, Eze_39:10, Zec_2:8 (2)
take, 2
Isa_10:6, Eze_38:13
fall, 1
Rth_2:16
prey, 1
Isa_59:15
purpose, 1
Rth_2:15-16 (2)

A few of these verses listed are:

Eze 26:12  And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.

Eze 29:19  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.

Anything that is considered “riches” is more than what is needed and excess or gain. A spoil is something not had before but is the reward and wage of gaining the spoil.

In the context of this understanding why does a husband who trusts in his virtuous wife not have a need of spoil?

The “riches” are already found in the trust itself.

There is a “movement”, for lack of a better word, that says a man will have a happy “life” if he has a happy wife. This could be no further from the Truth that is Jesus Christ. I always respond to that statement with, “the person who made up that phrase has never been married” to which I usually get unfavorable responses.

Why would I say such a thing?

Well the first thing to understand according to the sovereignty of God is that you cannot “make” any person happy including your wife or husband. Many people have many of the riches of this world fame, power and wealth and they still are not happy.

So what is wrong with the concept of trying to please your wife or spouse and what does that have to do with trust and spoils?

There is nothing wrong with trying to please the person who we have dedicated our physical lives to, however our full devotion, above all those who are in the flesh, is to God alone.

I tell my wife all the time that she is my favorite person in the flesh, but God takes precedence over all.

The worlds wisdom tells me that in order to have a happy life for MYSELF I must make my wife happy, but is that true?

1Co 7:31  And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
1Co 7:32  But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
1Co 7:33  But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.
1Co 7:34  There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
1Co 7:35 And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.

I would much more prefer the joy of the Lord than making my wife’s happiness come before serving the Lord. Outside of that, I do want to please my spouse like anyone else would want to.

There is a balance to be had in making sure to provide for the needs of our family and spouse and serving God, but we are to NEVER do anything to provide for our family and spouse IF it is not in accord with keeping God’s commandments.

From a wife’s perspective, and without even knowing she is doing so, the natural way to interact with her husband is via the filter of the curse that has been placed upon her by God.

What curse am I referring to?

Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to [H413] thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

The KJV doesn’t do this verses justice.  The verse should say, “thy desire shall be AGAINST thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

A verse in the next chapter in Genesis demonstrates this.

Gen 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against [H413] Abel his brother, and slew him.

Job’s way of dealing with his wife is a great example of how we should be doers of the Word and not only hearers of the Word.

Jas 1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Job 2:9  Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Job 2:10  But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

For a lot of women, speaking this way to her may not come across as loving and kind but in all of this Job did not sin against God nor his wife. If a wife is seeking to please God then she will desire and encourage her husband to always follow God above all else and the same is true for a husband encouraging a wife.

1Co 11:1  Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Php 3:16  Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
Php 3:17  Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
A virtuous woman, both physically and all of us collectively as the body of Christ, must desire to be FOR our husband and NOT against him. We must seek peace and the building up of our homes.

Pro 14:1  Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
Pro 14:2  He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.

If a husband or wife seek to please their spouse before God, you will reap what you sow in this and it will only be spiritual death. In fact, we can and certainly do make our spouses idols of the heart because Jesus clearly told us that “ye are Gods”. When we worship and desire to please our spouses before God, they become our idol.

So, how so we practically serve God and how is trust and spoils accomplished as women in a relationship where the husband does not believe in the doctrines of Jesus the Christ?

We’ve already partly covered this, but as a woman you need to follow the lead of your husband and respect his decisions on what needs to be done in a variety of situations. Even if he does not believe the doctrines of Christ, you are representing Christ, and as the anointed one you are an ambassador who must be as Christ is, was and always will be. Jesus Christ is subjected to God the Father.

Eph 4:1  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye WALK WORTHY of the VOCATION (G2821) wherewith ye are called,
Eph 4:2  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Eph 4:3  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Eph 5:24  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be [subject] to their own husbands in every thing.
Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

In Ephesians 4:1 the vocation we are called you means “calling” every other place it is translated.

G2821
klēsis
Total KJV Occurrences: 11
calling, 10
Rom_11:29, 1Co_1:26, 1Co_7:20, Eph_1:18, Eph_4:4, Phi_3:14, 2Th_1:11, 2Ti_1:9, Heb_3:1, 2Pe_1:10
vocation, 1
Eph_4:1

Heb 3:1  Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

1Co 7:20  Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.

As a woman and wife, you are called to represent Jesus Christ’s relationship with His Father in the physical while doing so with the spiritual principles of Christ’s liberty. Likewise, as a huaband we represent Jesus Christ’s role to the church as leading the body in the ways it must go.

Jesus Christ follows God the Father always, therefore a wife must always follow her spiritual Husband first and her physical husband in anything that is not contrary to sound doctrine. That is our calling.

In our next study, we will continue to look at how to practically live out our lives while keeping true to the spiritually doctrines of Christ. We all are to desiring being a virtuous body of Christ to those around is and as representing the church of the Living God to the world around us.

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