<p style="text-align: left;"><b>Summary</b>:<br>The passage recalls that a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh. It then says that this union is a great mystery, and explains that it speaks with reference to Christ and the church. From that pattern, the instruction returns to marriage itself: each husband is to love his own wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.<br> <br><b>Teaching</b>:<br>If a man is to become one with his wife in marriage, he must loosen his ties to all others - parents, friends, and anyone else - and leave to be joined to his wife. He may still love his parents, his siblings, his friends, and even keep his own interests, but he must loosen those attachments, leave, and become one with his wife.<br><br>A husband must receive and embrace his wife, whatever she may be like. If he has entered into marriage, then he must take responsibility for her. Without this kind of faithful commitment, one is not fit to serve in the work of the church.<br><br>There is a sacred privacy to the relationship between husband and wife. Even before their children, there should remain a hidden and private dimension to their marriage. That hiddenness is part of the mystery of the marital union. Therefore, each man must love his wife as he loves himself.<br><i><br></i><i>Excerpt from the sermon by Pastor Lee, Apr 21, 2026</i><i><br></i><i>Ephesians 5:31-33</i><br></p>
<!-- -->
