Role of Husband in the Bible
Role of the Husband in the Bible – Leader
The role of the husband in the Bible starts with leadership. The Bible states it very clear that a husband must be a leader of his house and have healthy control of his life (1 Timothy3); in talking of two church leadership vacancies usually filled by men, instills that a Deacon and Overseer must manage their household well. Verse 5 specifically says, “If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?”
Ephesians 5:21-24 says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” Again, in 1Corinthians 11:3, the Bible says, “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”
One of the main duties of a man in the Scripture, then, is to lead. Leadership simply means influence/impact. Therefore, a biblically-based man should make an impact to his household. Husbands are not autocrats, they should not demand, they should not rule over their wives. Instead, husbands should influence their spouses and children in accordance with biblical principles. They should demonstrate, with their speech and their actions, qualities that convey glory to God and value to their partner and family. The result of a good biblically based husband is a strong, confident, spiritually mature spouse and family. Two very precise ways a husband impact his house is through his provision and protection.
Role of the Husband in the Bible – Provider and Protector
The role of the husband in the Bible begins with leadership, but comprises provision and protection. A husband will never make an impact to his wife if he does not care for her. He can demand and she may follow as a result, but he will never truly have her heart unless he provides for her necessities, cares for her well-being, and protects her both physically and spiritually. For as the Bible says:
“Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1Timothy5:8).
“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter 3:7).
“Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them” (Colossians 3:19).
God loves His daughters and the children they bear. When He offers one of His daughters to a man, He wishes that the man cares for her. In no place does the Bible show or authorize that women and children be considered second rate or inferior to men. Instead, He finds them so valuable that He asks for special care to be given them; a care that only biblically based men can offer. Women are very proficient of taking care of themselves. However, God did make men and women different and thus due to the physical nature and strength God gave men, He has charged them with the provision and protection of their families.
The physical nature and strength of a man is to be attained with grace and gentleness. God did not form men to lord over women nor did he form women to simply wait on men. He created them both to complement each other through healthy companionship.
Role of the Husband in the Bible – Companion
The role of the husband in the Bible is contented through the heart of companionship. Ephesians 5:25-33 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church for we are members of his body. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a profound mystery but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
The relationship between a husband and a wife is meant to be one of love, respect, and support. They are to support each other. This idea is presented at the beginning of the Bible in the story of the conception/creation of Eve. Adam needed a companion, a suitable partner, yet one could not be found until God created Eve. Genesis 2:20-24 says, “…But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called “woman,” for she was taken out of man.’ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”
This also leads to another comprehension of companionship. God created men and women with natural, physical, and emotional differences. Commonly where one is weak, the other is strong. Therefore, a husband and wife can assist each other by meeting the other person’s needs through physical and emotional intimacy. 1 Corinthians 7:2-5 addresses this, “But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that the devil will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” When the desires of our spouse are appropriately met through healthy companionship, the two can assist each other and can live a successful life together.
Finally, through their companionship a husband and wife work together as a team to develop and grow a family. God’s plan was that every home operates under the precise roles of both a husband and a wife and that through this they raise strong children who honor God with their lives. Ephesians 6:1-3 says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ which is the first commandment with a promise ‘so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’” Children are blessed through the honor of their parents working in unison to train them up in the way they should go.
The companionship between a husband and a wife is directed by the influence of the husband through his provision and protection and is covered by his caring, gentle, and graceful love for his family. Without the biblical characters of a husband being contented by a strong man of God, the family unit risks the complications brought on by sin and spiritual distortion. The devil desires the destruction of the family, but through Christ and proper understanding of biblical roles, the family is a solid and safe place to develop in Christ.