Week 2 of 4
He does not only die for her once. He keeps her warm.
For no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it.
Ephesians 5:29
Some men can imagine a dramatic sacrifice and cannot imagine Tuesday. Paul moves from the cross to the body: no one hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it. The words are ordinary and physical. Feed. Warm. A husband who would “die for her” and will not notice that she is depleted has skipped the verse. Cherishing is not softness. It is attention with a cost.
Formal study reading, written for this series
Formal study reading, written for this series
Husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.
Love of her is not a rival to love of self. It is the form love of self now takes.
Christ gave himself up to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present her in splendor.
His aim for her is holiness, not his convenience.
He brought me to the banquet house, and his banner over me was love.
Public honor is part of cherishing.
NASB, the Amplified, and the ESV open on Bible Hub. The Legacy Standard Bible opens on its own reader. Close, Expanded, and Easy on this page are original study readings. WEB is the World English Bible, public domain.
Nourish and cherish are bodily words. Ektrepho is used for raising a child to maturity. Thalpo is the warmth of a body held close. Paul is not decorating romance. He is saying the husband’s ordinary care is an analogy of Christ’s care for the church. Neglect is not a personality. It is a contradiction of the gospel pattern.
Verses 26 and 27 keep the aim straight. Christ sanctifies. A husband who cherishes her only so the house runs, or only so he is desired, has swapped her glory for his use. You are not her savior. You are a man whose care should make the Savior easier to believe.
Learn what actually feeds her: sleep, a conversation without a phone, prayer, help that does not come with a speech. Cherish is specific or it is a slogan.
Honor her in front of the children and in front of other men. The banner is public. Private criticism and public silence is not cherishing.
Stays on this device. No account.
Lord Jesus, you do not only die for your church. You feed her and keep her warm. Make me that kind of husband. Give me eyes for her real need, and kill the use I make of her. Present her, in my small way, toward the glory you intend. Amen.
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