{"id":583,"date":"2010-10-18T05:37:19","date_gmt":"2010-10-18T09:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/?p=583"},"modified":"2013-06-26T11:24:50","modified_gmt":"2013-06-26T15:24:50","slug":"the-christian-home-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/?p=583","title":{"rendered":"The Christian Home (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cHusbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.\u201d<\/strong><\/span> (Colossians 3:19)<\/span><\/p>\n

Having addressed \u201cwives\u201d (v.18), Paul now turns to the \u201cHusbands.\u201d<\/span><\/strong> He lays two requirements upon them.<\/p>\n

The first is to \u201clove your wives.\u201d<\/strong><\/span> The present imperative demands action that is habitual and regular.\u00a0 The word group connected with the verb \u201clove\u201d has been infused by the writers of the New Testament with significant Christian meaning.\u00a0 It should not pass without notice that the only other place the verb is used here in Colossians is in a description of God\u2019s love toward us (3:12).\u00a0 In light of this divine love set upon us we are to \u201cput on love\u201d (v.14) toward one another.[1]<\/a> That this \u201clove\u201d has uniquely Christian content is seen in the parallel passage where Christ\u2019s love for the church is the standard of measure for this command for the husband to love his wife (Eph. 5:25).\u00a0 This \u201clove\u201d now is made specific to the relationship of husbands toward \u201cyour wives.\u201d\u00a0 Paul just used the same verb in a participial form in verse 12 to insist that every believer is \u201cbeloved\u201d of God through His electing (\u201cchosen of God\u201d) grace.\u00a0 Paul went on to demonstrate that in this grace God not only loves the sinner, but sets him apart to Himself as \u201choly.\u201d\u00a0 From the secure base of God\u2019s enduring, covenant love, Paul issued moral imperatives (vv.12-13).\u00a0 That same foundation of God\u2019s love to the husband is what frees him to selflessly love his wife in a singular, unique relationship.<\/p>\n

The second command is \u201cdo not be embittered against them.\u201d<\/span><\/strong> The verb is used only here by Paul and elsewhere in the New Testament only in Revelation (8:11; 10:9, 10).\u00a0 In Revelation it is used literally of something that goes into the stomach and brings bitterness and a violent response.\u00a0 It speaks of that which is \u201csharp, harsh, and bitter.\u201d[2]<\/a> Here it is used metaphorically and points toward anger, resentment and bitterness of spirit.[3]<\/a> The present imperative with the negation (\u201cnot\u201d) \u201cforbids a habitual action.\u201d[4]<\/a> In the passive, as here, it means to \u201cbecome bitter\u201d or to have become \u201cembittered.\u201d[5]<\/a> This must not happen \u201cagainst them.\u201d\u00a0 The preposition (\u201cagainst\u201d) speaks \u201cof the goal or limit toward which a movement is directed.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

What exactly is forbidden here?\u00a0 Is the husband forbidden to become bitter toward his wife (KJV, NASB, NET)?\u00a0 Or is he forbidden to treat her harshly or bitterly (ESV, NIV, NRSV)?\u00a0 The answer is probably, \u201cyes.\u201d\u00a0 Paul forbids the husband to develop an inward bitterness toward the wife which will give vent to harsh and bitter words and actions toward her.<\/p>\n

What would cause a man to be thus \u201cembittered against\u201d his wife and thus \u201cbe harsh with\u201d her (NIV)?\u00a0 The emotional void left in the absence a secure, singular, covenant love will incite the wife to feel insecure and uncertain.\u00a0 This insecurity and uncertainty regarding their relationship tends to create in the wife that which produces bitterness in the husband\u2014qualities such as possessiveness, clinginess, complaining and nagging. \u00a0The husband, resting in the security and grace of God’s love to him, is to take the lead in covenant love with his wife, creating\u2014by God\u2019s grace\u2014an environment of love, tenderness, understanding and security from which his wife is likely to respond to him with the same.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Moo, 303.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Rienecker, 582.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Friberg, 312<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> BAGD, 657.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Thayer, 541.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHusbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.\u201d (Colossians 3:19) Having addressed \u201cwives\u201d (v.18), Paul now turns to the \u201cHusbands.\u201d He lays two requirements upon them. The first is to \u201clove your wives.\u201d The present imperative demands action that is habitual and regular.\u00a0 The word group connected with the verb \u201clove\u201d has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-colossians","post-preview"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgYGxX-9p","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=583"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1592,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583\/revisions\/1592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}