Day 4 | Philippians 1:27-2:2
“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.
One in Mind, Spirit, & Purpose
Christ’s earnest prayer for His followers is “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” John 17:21
This oneness, for the purpose of preaching the gospel to the world, is especially critical in the marriage relationship, as the man and woman were created in the image of God and His Son—the divine pattern of Source and Channel.
I Cor. 8:6 “For us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”
Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness… So God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Genesis 2:7, 18, 21-23 “And Yahweh God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (…) And Yahweh God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (…) And Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which Yahweh God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
John 8:42 “Jesus said unto them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me: for I proceeded forth and came from God…”
John 16:27-28 “… I came out from God. I came forth from the Father…”
I Cor. 11:3 “… The head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”
The Son of God was brought forth from His Father to be His Helper, His Companion, His Right Arm, The Word through whom He would create, uphold, and redeem all things. And in God’s infinite wisdom He designed the relationship of husband and wife to preach the beauty of this relationship to the entire universe.
Hebrews 1:1-3 “God … has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, … the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person…”
I Cor. 11:7-10 “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.”
Just as Jesus is the glory of His Father, the woman is the glory of the man. God designed that all of the love and blessing the husband pours into her, she would magnify to the children, church family, and community in their midst, just as the love of the Father was magnified to the universe through His Son.
This all goes back to the great controversy which began in heaven. Lucifer coveted to be invited into the counsels which the Father only shared with His begotten Son. (Zech. 6:12-13) Not wanting to submit to Christ, Lucifer began planting doubts in the minds of the angels about the identity and authority of God’s Son. This is why Paul describes the symbol of authority on the woman’s head being because of the angels. God desires to use the Source/Channel relationship between husband and wife to reaffirm to all the angels what His relationship with His Son is like, and why no other being can take the place of His Son in that relationship.
For us as married couples to fulfill this great and holy calling, we must understand the oneness that exists between the Father and Son. (For a full study of this topic, please check out the short booklet, Blueprint of Blessing!)
John 17:22-23 “… That they may be one just as We are one… that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
So what does this oneness look like? Well, Jesus testified that His Father withheld no good thing from Him, and that all He had, He had joyfully received from His Father.
John 5:26 “For as the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the Son to have life in Himself”
Colossians 1:19 “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.”
John 17:7 “Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.”
John 3:35 “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.”
Because of Jesus’ faith in His Father as a Source of all blessing upon Him, He rested joyfully in submission to His Father, never doubting His love, protection, and provision. He had no desire to seek His own will, speak His own words, or do His own works. (John 5:30, John 6:38, John 7:16-18, John 12:49-50, John 14:10). He also never felt a need to prove His identity when Satan tempted Him to do so (Matt. 4:1-11), because His Father’s word of assurance was all He needed.
Mark 1:11 “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
His life mission has only ever been to glorify His Father, and in turn, the Father has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name (Phil. 2:9). This beautiful experience of the Source/Channel relationship is what God designed for every marriage. If the Father and Son were not in one accord, with one Spirit, and one purpose, the plan of salvation could never have succeeded.
This is why this oneness in a marriage—the husband receiving his will from Christ (who has received it from the Father), the wife submitting to this same will, the husband trusting all he has in the hands of his wife, pouring love and spiritual blessing into her continually, that it may be magnified to their children and the community through her, the wife doing all to the glory of her husband, upholding him as the head of their home, that he may do all to the glory of God—is the number one evangelistic tool that God has designed on this earth. But if a couple refuses to walk in the glorious light of their divine design, they can never attain to true oneness, and be the powerful witness God desires them to be.
As a couple continues to study the Father/Son, Source/Channel relationship, and each seek to walk in their God-ordained roles, their conduct will certainly be found worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Making it Practical!—Headship Re-examined
I Cor. 11:3 “But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”
Husbands—Find as many verses as you can that show how the Father relates to His Son, and how Jesus relates to His church. This will help you understand what it means to be the head of your wife, and relate to her according to God’s design.
Wives—Find as many verses as you can that show how Jesus relates to His Father, and how we as believers are to relate to Christ. This will help you understand how to relate to your husband as your head.
Based on what you each learn through your personal study, write a renewed list of marriage vows to share with your spouse 💛
