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Title: The Application for a Strong Marriage
Intro:
Does anyone else cringe when they hear the term “self care”?
Why?
Where do you see a tension between the concept of “self care” and the biblical concept of growth?
For me the difference is this: the end goal is different. One is about taking care of ourselves, the other is about taking care of others.
(Read/Pray)
28 So husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are parts of His body.
Review from 2 weeks ago:
In their natural state, no one ever hated his own body, but cherishes it, this is what we covered two weeks ago.
Applications:
To love one’s wife biblically is to love one self.
To Cherish and nourish it
Because we are parts of his body.
(Illustration: 1. Care for self (is) care for marriage (is) care for Church)
“Nourish”
Greek: ektrephō (ek-tref’-o)
Definition:
to nourish up to maturity, to nourish
to nurture, bring up
Only one other use in the NT:
Eph. 6:4
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Application:
How do we nourish ourselves? How do we nurture ourselves? How do we bring ourselves up?
- We give ourselves proper nutrition
- We take care of our bodies with exercise
- We train ourselves through experience to (hopefully) avoid previous mistakes and repeat previous victories.
- Others?
Now, let’s apply these concepts to a healthy marriage and repeat the same questions.
Now, look at verse 29b. Let’s again apply these same concepts to how Jesus demonstrates his love for the church.
“Cherish”
Greek: thalpō (thal’-po)
Definition:
to warm, keep warm
to cherish with tender love, to foster with tender care
Only one other use of thalpo in the NT:
1 Thes. 2:7
But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
Application:
How do we Cherish ourselves?
1. We understand our worth because we understand what we are
2. We don’t treat ourselves as less than our worth
3. We don’t allow others to treat us as less than our worth
4. Others?
Now, let’s apply these concepts to a healthy marriage and repeat the same questions.
Now, look at verse 29b. Let’s again apply these same concepts to how Jesus demonstrates his love for the church.
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