Praise the Lord. Welcome to this program of R. G. Hardy Ministries because we know faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. I'm Sharon Knotts thanking you for tuning in today because we have a very special message for you if you are married or are planning to be married.
If so, this message by my father Brother Hardy is one you don't want to miss. Two shall be one. Even if you have a good marriage, you can benefit from this down-to-earth biblical teaching. Two shall be one. Now, I'm talking about that when God brings a man and woman together and makes them one flesh.
They complement one another. Each one God is equipped. To do a job. He's given man the aggressive nature so that he would Have that aggressive nature to be able to challenge and take the challenges of the world. Um Bring back The sufficient amount of money So that he could provide for his wife and his family to be the leader.
Had that aggressive a nature to protect his family. And most of all, to love his wife and his family. The wife on the other side. has the passive nature She was to be whole. and take what the husband brought.
Supply Him. A place of refuge. Supply him a decent home. Rear his children and together them to rule the earth for the Lord. Like we said, but a lot of husbands have taken that scripture.
The man or the husband is the head of the woman, and use that to just beat her down. Reduce her to nothing but a bootlicking slave. And that's not God's order. How many say amen?
Now I want to go to Ephesians, the fifth chapter and the 22nd verse. And I'm going to give you these dictators' main scripture. That gives them the right of authority to squash their wife. And it says, wives. Submit yourself unto your own husbands as unto the Lord.
Husband said, I got it. I got it now. How many say amen?
He decides to do something. You see. God, if you let him. Yeah. We'll give you the mate that's a Uh you know supplies your lack.
compliments you. How many say amen?
And a lot of times some husbands ain't got enough sense. to bloat her nose. But they're gonna tell their wife how they're gonna do it. And their wife says, Well, honey, I don't think it'll work. You'll say, Shut up.
Submit yourself to me. I'm your head. Shut up. You haven't got nothing to do with me. Submit yourself and after he makes a whole mess of it.
That he wants to come back. Can't let him say amen. How many's out there? You know what? Funny though, it husband when he found Ephesians 5:22.
Never ever read the The first up top 21. They never did read it. Look at Ephesians 5.21, it says. Submit yourself one to another in the fear of God. And if you go to the Greek text Did you know that the word submit is not in the 22nd verse when it says wives?
How many didn't know that? I know most of you didn't because you're not a Greek scholar. How many say you map? Let me read it the 21st and 22nd together the way it's in the Greek text. It says, submitting yourself one to another in the fear of God.
Wives. Your wives, yourselves unto your own husband is under the Lord. Taking the word submit from the 21st verse. Husbands taking the verse, submit from the 21st verse. In the 25th verse, husbands love your wives.
You see, so submitting. is loving. How many say you meant? You didn't know that?
Now, the word submit is an interesting word. in the Greek text. I got a letter a while back, and from time to time I get a letter. And they always take me down. Because I Say the Greek says this.
Well the Greek says that. And this one fella wrote me back and says, You need to quit saying what the Greek says and get you a good King James Bible.
Well, I thank him for his kind help. But I want to let you know That Paul and the Lord, and none of the disciples or Bible writers, spoke English. I want to let you know that the Lord didn't inspire the English Bible. Hmm, boy, that's gonna roll around some people's heads. What the Lord inspired was the words.
that Jesus spoke and he spoke in Aramaic, Hebrew. And Paul spoke in Greek. And all the Translations, King James, well any other version, French, German, or what. or mayans translations and interpretations. And if you're going to get to the truth of any scripture, you're going to have to go back to the language it was spoken in.
And Paul spoke in Greek. to the Ephesians. How many say you met? And when he said as applied to to the wife. Wives, submit yourself to your own husbands.
When he said that He said that verb in the middle voice.
Now I'm going to give you a little Greek grammar lesson. In the English We mainly only think in two voices: that's the active voice and the passive voice. The active voice is I do something for somebody. I initiate the action. Like...
I shine. Your shoes. That's the active voice. I'm doing something to you. The passive voice is My shoes are being shine.
Somebody's doing something to me. But the Greek have a middle voice, which means I shine my own shoes. I do something. and myself initiates the action and participates. in the fulfillment of the action.
And when it says, wives, submit yourself to your husbands, it means. Nobody can make her. It's not in the act of voice where the hu it didn't say husbands make your wife submit. It's something that she has to do voluntarily. How many's out there?
Nobody can make her and she's not being made. And if she don't choose to do it, it can't be done. Because she's an equal. Don't you say. How many seats would I'm talking about?
And being an equal, she has to do it because she wants to do it. And the reason why she's doing it is because of the love of the Lord. And to honor his government where she. is to recognize her husband as the leader. He can't make her.
He's not to be a dictator with a rogue and say, poo, Shemit. Mills. She's got to do it lovingly and willingly. Because she recognizes it's God's order to only have one head.
Now, the husband cannot expect. His wife In fact, the word is In the Greek, I'll say it probably don't mean nothing to you. Hupotaso. It means Ahupo means under, and tasso means order. She orders herself under her husband.
She takes her place. and looks up to him My man. My Champion. Yeah, so My provider. My protector And most of all, My lover.
But if her husband fails to fulfill all of those. Things She is not obligated. to order herself under him. If he does not lead her right, she does not have to follow the lead. Can I give you Scripture case example.
Ananiah and Sapphira. Ananias lied to the Holy Ghost. about selling the land and keeping the money back, didn't he? And when he lied, what happened? Come on.
God struck him dead.
Now, Safara had no obligation to follow his lead. She didn't have to follow his lead. He made a bad decision. He did a wrong thing. And but she followed his lead anyway and what happened?
She got it too. A wife is not obligated to follow her husband's lead. That's a wrong lead. Come on a good one. Come on, women, get with me.
How many say amen?
Seemed like the word of God's getting on the man the worst because they were the ones that were. Most usual broke these scriptures by being a dominating overlord, overbearing. Hitler type of a husband. How many say amen?
where his leadership and head of that house in entail the duties of to be The protector The provider The leader And the lover. That's what his duties was. To go out in the world and whip the world with his aggressive nature. to bring back the provision that his wife needed to make him a house. And a home, and to raise and supply the need of the children.
How many say amen?
And if he failed that in any part, Then the wife is not obligated. to order herself under him. Paul said in, I think it was First Timothy. That if a man wouldn't provide for his household. See the man provided for the household.
God required the man to provide for the household. Because he equipped him for it. How many say amen?
That He was worse than an infidel and denied the faith. How many say you men? And no wife has Had to bring herself under him. You know what? A lot of these supposedly.
and so-called husbands. Of course, I don't believe it's any here. How many say you men? Had really got a wife. As a good thing.
to send them out every day. To get money while he stays home and so lazy, he won't even turn over twice in bed.
So she can bring the money in.
So he can support whatever his Lust ears. And she hasn't got one write it all and can't open her mouth to do nothing. How many say you men? And a whole lot of them or so lazy they wouldn't work at a pie factory. Their hours would only be twelve to one with an hour off for lunch.
And all the pies they could eat. How many say amen?
And give their wives babies so they can get on the welfare. And when the welfare check comes... They take that check that's supposed to go to those children and they waste it. You know what I would do? Wife.
I would show him the door. Not very gently. Either How many say amen? I'd bring him up to the door, turn him north towards the door, and take my foot in the south of his body. And I'd push him out that door.
And I would tell him. Don't you come back. Till you bring a paycheck. No wife is under obligation to come under the lead of a husband. It's that way.
He's broke the marriage contract. by not being the provider. And I'm sure he's not a lover. I mean, he is a lover. He's not a lover of his wife and his children.
He's a lover of himself. How many say amen?
And God Will not hold a wife accountable. He's going to hold that husband accountable. In fact, he's going to hold that wife accountable if she lets him stay in there and take that. and rob them children of their uh care and their protection and their providing. How many CMM?
You out there? I know it's kind of You know, you didn't know all that stuff was in the Bible, did you? But it's there. How many say amen?
Submit yourself one to another in the fear of God. Wives? Order yourself. Under your husband as under the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body.
Therefore, as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wife be to her own husband in everything. How many say you met? How is the church subject to the Lord? Are we walking around? Like a slave licking his boots.
Scared to death of him. Can't say anything. Can't talk to him. Can't reason with him. How many say you men?
Scared to death and become a nothing. How many's out there? Huh? Husbands Love your wives. How, even as Christ also loved the church.
and gave himself forehead.
Now husband If you expect Your wife They get stuck to you. and become the clinging vine. and look up to you and bat her baby blue eyes. And say, my. champion And my hero And my leader and my provider And my feeder and my protector That you got to love her.
How many say you men? And how are you to love your wife? You'd love her with Calvary love. He? I said, you are to love her with what?
Husbands. Mark it in your Bible. Ephesians 5, 25. Husbands Love your wives how? Even as, just like Christ also loved the church and gave himself.
For it. He gave himself. for the church. How many say ye men? He didn't demand The church to be his slave in food.
Foot and boot liquor. He didn't overrule her with a rod of iron. He sacrificed himself. How many say amen?
In other words, the husband Is to make his wife only second to Jesus. And likewise the wife to the husband. And the husband is to live. A life of sacrifice for her. Amen.
The wife is to sacrifice Who? equality and order herself under her husband. The husband is to sacrifice His will For her. You know. That there's almost no difference between the word submit.
And love Let me say that again. There's almost no difference between the two verbs, submit and love. What does the word mean? Submit me. It means to give yourself up.
to someone. Is that right? You submit by giving yourself up. to someone. What does the word love mean?
The Bible word agape. It means to give yourself up. for someone. Submit. to someone, love for someone.
They both mean the same thing. You see, husbands, love, wife, love your husbands that you submit to him. And you give yourself up to to him. Wife? Husband, love your wife, that you give yourself up.
Haha. Uh That you become her protector, provider, leader, and lover. How many say amen?
That's the two positions. of the wife and the husband. She. gives herself up to him. You're going to be my provider.
You're my protector. You're my lover. How many say amen?
Then the husband Is expected, she submitted to me. I'm going to be her protector. I'm going to provide and supply her need, and I am going to love her, and she is going to be second. Only To the Lord. How many say amen?
And I tell you, when we do that, we're going to have a marriage. Come on, give him a good clap offering. I'm talking about. Finding your place in your marriage. Husband Give yourself up for your wife like Christ.
gave himself up for the church. If a husband We'll live for his wife's benefit and good and love her. Then he can expect her. to order her life under him. and look to his lead.
And rely on him. to supply her need. How many say amen?
And there will be no The visions. No separations. Nobody's going to tear them apart. They're going to have a strong marriage that will weather every storm, every trial. of life that'll come down the path to separate them.
How many say you met? I want to go into another part. This morning It gets a lot of marriages. In trouble. And that's on finance.
How many say amen?
A lot of good strong marriages are wrecked. Because they don't know how to handle the money.
Now. I don't know why. That the man, it just seems like we're picking on the man, man. I'm a man. How many say amen?
Seems I'm picking on the husbands. Because that's mainly where these problems come from in a lot of places. That in the man's macho mentality.
Now, I don't know what macho means, but. You know, it's a great word that they... used about somebody that's supposed to be something that's special But in the man's macho mentality, He won't let the wife Run the house. And he might not have enough sense to be able to add one in one. That it's supposed to be 2 and not 11.
I get a lot of letters from people. The wives said to me, Brother Hardy, my husband won't give me no money to run the house.
Well, how the world is she gonna run the house with nothing? Man, I'd like to have one of them women. Said it unkeep keeps all the money. and expects me to provide him a house.
Well, he's failing to do his job. as the provider. The supplier. How many say amen?
And said he keeps the money. And yet The rent's not paying? The mortgage is not paid. There's no food in the house. Husband, it ain't against your macho-ness.
To let the wife run the bills if you haven't got enough sense to run the bills. Because God Who gave you her to take up that lack? And I got news for you. If my wife want to run the house and pay the bills, go ahead. I don't care.
That don't bother my machoness one little bit. Because I believe One of the most, the job I hate, one of the worst about running a house is. is right now checks her bills. You know why? It costs you money.
for your time. Instead of making money for your time, it costs you money. How many say amen?
I mean If my wife wants to balance the checkbook, go ahead. Because I ain't never been able to balance it in all my life. Cause I'm always good. I'm always coming up with money on my side when it ain't there. I tell that bank person, what do you mean it ain't there?
Look at my figure, she said. I did. Amen. I hope you're blessed by this informative and inspirational message by my father brother Hardy, two shall be one. We feel strongly that every Christian marriage should examine itself in the light of God's word to be sure that they are applying godly principles for a healthy and holy marriage.
This teaching defines and expounds the very important meanings of the terms headship and submission, and these are areas that are often misused and abused in marriage. Also addressed are the questions, what is the biblical role of the husband in marriage? What is the biblical role of the wife? And what about the role of sex in marriage? These issues are soundly addressed in this vital, practical, and enlightening teaching, two shall be one.
Now you may want to add this to your spiritual library or share it with someone who is getting married or someone having marital problems. It is available on a double C D set for love gift of $15 or more to the radio ministry. Request offer 215. That's offer 215. Our mailing address is BrotherHardy PO Box 1744 Baltimore, Maryland 21203.
Or if you prefer order online at rghardy.org that's rghardy.org. Again, this is a 2 CD set for a love gift of $15 or more. Request offer 215. Our mailing address is PO Box 1744 Baltimore, Maryland 21203. Until next time, this is Sister Sharon saying, Maranatha.
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