Chapter 2 (PAGE 2)

B. In regard to the woman.

   1. The woman is to submit to her own husband.

        a. The Bible says in Ephesians 5:22,23, "Wives, ____________ yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body."

        b. Colossians 3:18 says, "Wives, ____________ yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord."

God has set up the line of authority in marriage.

        c. The Bible says in I Timothy 2:12-14, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was __________ formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being ________________ was in the transgression."

   Note: God has given two reasons why He has chosen the man to lead the home.

   FIRST, because of THE ORDER OF CREATION. Adam was formed first, thus, by order, he was to be the leader in the home.

   SECOND, because of EXPERIENCE. When the serpent came and tempted Eve, she actually believed what he was telling her. She actually thought that she (and her husband) would be better off, if they did what the serpent was suggesting — despite it was the opposite of what she knew that God had said.

        d. The Bible says, "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall ______ surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be ________________ to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." (Genesis 3:1-6)

    Note: So Eve clearly knew the consequences of eating of the forbidden fruit. Actually, she stated that they could not even touch it, or they would die. God never said they could not touch it — only that they were not to eat of it. But despite knowing that God forbid the eating of it, after hearing the serpent, she believed that it would not only help her, but that it would also help Adam. So she gave it to him, after she had eaten it.

    Adam was also wrong in eating of it. The only difference was that he never believed the serpent. He went ahead, knowing full well that it was the wrong thing to do, and that they would suffer the consequences for it.

    Both Adam and Eve were wrong, but the Bible uses the situation as an example that the woman is not to lead the home, because she was so quick to doubt God, and then lead her family into sin.

    Note: There are two more things to note in the above mentioned passages (Ephesians 5:22,23 & Colossians 3:18).

    FIRST, the wife is told to SUBMIT TO HER OWN HUSBAND — not to anyone else’s husband. Some men get it into their heads that all women have to do whatever they say. They think that all women are to wait on them like a waitress in a restaurant. That is not at all the case.

Wives are only told to submit themselves unto their

    The problem comes when she has a man over her at work. That man may say, "You will work this Saturday," when her husband may have said, "Let’s go visit this certain family this Saturday." Now she has a conflict. A man (her boss) is telling her to do one thing, and her husband is telling her to do another thing. Biblically, she only has to obey one man — her husband. But placed in that situation, many wives would obey their bosses before their husbands, because the job comes first in their priorities.

    SECOND, those two passages show that the wife is only told to submit to her husband IN THE THINGS THAT ARE RIGHT. A woman is never to obey her husband when it means that she would be disobeying God to do so. She is to submit to her husband "as it is fit in the Lord" (Colossians 3:18). A good example of this is in the case of Ananias and Sapphira.

— Please read Acts 5:1-10, and answer the following questions.

        e. Ananias and Sapphira sold a parcel of land, but kept back part of the price. Verse 2 says that Sapphira was "__________ to it," that is, she knew that they were not giving all of the money, but just a portion.

        f. Peter confronted Ananias in verses 3 and 4, and told him, "thou hast not lied unto men, but unto _______."

        g. Upon hearing these words, Ananias, "fell down, and gave up the __________" (he died). (verse 5)

        h. Three hours later, his wife came in, and did not know that her husband had died for lying. Peter asked her in verse 8, "Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, ______, for so much."

        i. Peter then confronts her with conspiring with her husband to lie to God, and then, "fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the __________" (she died). (verses 9,10)

This passage is very clear that the wife

   Note: Sapphira could have told the truth and lived, but she followed her husband’s sin, and thus died. Wives must do right, even when their husbands will not. A wife can only submit to her husband as it does not make her disobey the Lord.

    Note: What about the matter of a man who leaves the home and separates from his wife, or files for a divorce? Does the wife still have to submit to him? Please see the section on "The Termination Of Marriage" for that answer.

1. The woman is to submit to her own husband.

    2. The woman is to reverence her husband.

        a. In Ephesians 5:33, the Bible says, "and the wife see that she __________________ her husband."

    Note: The word reverence means "to show tender devotion, self-denial, honor, acknowledging that which has a claim to respect." (Webster’s 7th New Collegiate Dictionary)

It is very important that the wife submit

    Sometimes you may see a child which obeys his parents outwardly, but is rebelling inwardly. You can see it in his face. The same thing can be true of a wife. She may grudgingly do what her husband asks, but you can see it in her countenance that she is rebelling inwardly.

   As you look over the above definition, what you see is the word "love." A wife must truly love her husband above herself. She must want to see him succeed. Some wives seem to enjoy making their husbands look like a fool. They mock and ridicule his decisions.

— Please read Proverbs 31:10-31, and answer the following questions.

        b. Verses 10,11 say of the virtuous woman that, "The heart of her husband doth safely __________ in her."

        c. Verse 12 says, "She will do him _________ and not evil all the days of her life."

        d. Verse 28 says, "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he ________________ her."

The virtuous woman reverences her husband.

        e. Verse 23 says, "Her husband is known in the __________, when he sitteth among the elders of the land."

   Note: Important decisions were made at the gates of the city. It was where official decisions were made. It was the place where respected and revered men would be found. A wise woman will do her best to protect her husband’s name — not disgrace it.

2. The woman is to reverence her husband.

    3. The woman is to be of a meek and quiet spirit.

— Please read I Peter 3:1-6, and answer the following questions.

        a. Verse 4 says that a woman is to have "the ornament of a ________ and __________ spirit."

        b. That same verse says that such a woman, "is in the sight of God of great __________" (very valuable to God).

   Note: What protection is there for a woman if she cannot vocally demand her way? Her protection is from God.

If a woman will be meek and quiet,

        c. According to I Peter 3:1,2, if a husband will not obey the word, God’s instruction for the wife is: "they also may ______________ the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear."

   Note: God will have someone else get the Word to him, but it is not the wife’s place to be trying to teach her husband the Bible. She will convince him that he needs to be saved by the sweet, loving, Christian testimony of her life. He will be convinced of his need, when he sees a godly life lived by his wife.

        d. I Timothy 2:11 says that the woman is to "learn in ______________ with all subjection."

        e. The next verse says that a woman is not "to __________, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence."

        f. Verse 13 gives one reason why, "For Adam was __________ formed, then Eve."

        g. Verse 14 gives another reason why, "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being ________________ was in the transgression."

   Note: How sad it is that many women do not believe these verses. Many men who are lost could be won to Christ, and many men who are not leading their homes would take over the spiritual leadership, if the wife would take her proper position in a loving and meek spirit in the home.

3. The woman is to be of a meek and quiet spirit.

    4. The woman is to be a keeper at home.

        a. According to Titus 2:3-5, the aged women are supposed "to teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at ________, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

        b. I Timothy 5:14 says, "I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the __________, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully."

   Note: But how does a couple ever make ends meet in this day in which we live? Everything is so expensive.

How can a family ever make it today with only one

    As we shall later see, the wife can supplement the income in certain ways — but only from the home.

        c. Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a ________________ of them that diligently seek him."

— Please read Matthew 6:19-34, and answer the following questions.

        d. We are told to lay up treasures in ____________. (verse 20)

        e. Where your treasure is, "there will your __________ be also." (verse 21)

        f. Verse 33 says, "But seek ye __________ the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be ____________ unto you."

    Note: What things will be added to you? Verse 31 tells you what: food, drink, and clothes; in other words, those basic things which you need to live in this world. If you put God and His Word and His Work first, He promises to meet your needs.

        g. The Bible says in Philippians 4:19, "But my God shall supply all your _________ according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

        h. Psalm 127:1 says, "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in ________ that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

   Note: If you try and go against God’s Word, then your house, and your family will suffer for it. If God tells women to stay home and keep the house, then He will meet the needs.

        i. The Bible says in Proverbs 29:15, "a child left to himself bringeth his ______________ to shame."

   Note: If the mother is not there in the home like she is supposed to be, then that child may one day bring his mother to shame. She should have been there with that child.

    The older that you get, the more you will see that your happiness is not based upon money, but upon doing God’s will. If you forsake your duty to your children, then you will reap the consequences, other than by the grace of God.

        j. Proverbs 10:1 says, "A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the ___________________ of his mother."

        k. The Bible says in Proverbs 17:25, "A foolish son is a grief to his father, and ______________________ to her that bare him."

    Note: Before it is too late, believe God, and make raising your family in a godly way the priority.

In the end, it is not money that helps children to

   Time is a necessary ingredient in rearing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

II. The Responsibilities Of Marriage.

4. The woman is to be a keeper at home.

   5. The woman is to be ambitious.

— Please read Proverbs 31:10-31, and answer the following questions.

        a. Verse 13 says, "She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh __________________ with her hands."

        b. Verse 16 says, "She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she ________________ a vineyard."

        c. Verses 17, 18 say, "She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her ______________________ is good: her candle goeth not out by night."

        d. Verse 24 says, "She maketh fine linen, and ______________ it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant."

   Note: These verses do not contradict Titus 2:4,5, which say, "That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at ________, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

When you put the two passages together,

This assures that she never places herself

    Remember, the wife is never told to submit to another man or woman (other than in the Christian sense of submitting to one another in humility — I Peter 5:5), but to the Lord and to her own husband. There is no way that she can fulfill this if she has an outside job.

    But what about in verse 24 above, where she "delivereth girdles to the merchant?" She does not work at a girdle factory. She makes girdles in her own home, and then takes them and sells them to a merchant — one who then sells them to the public. That is a home-based business. If her husband wants to go somewhere or needs her one day, then there is no one telling her that she has to make girdles that day. She makes them at home as she has time, and then takes what she has made and sells them to the merchant.

    In verse 16 above, "She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard." She is not working under some farmer — she is buying the property and planting it herself. That means that there is no boss over her. It is owned by her and her husband. They decide what to plant, and when to work in the field. Farming and gardening is still a home-based business.

        e. Ephesians 5:22 says, "Wives, ____________ yourselves unto your ______ husbands, as unto the Lord."

        f. Colossians 3:18 says, "Wives, ____________ yourselves unto your ______ husbands, as it is fit in the Lord."

        g. Matthew 6:24 says, "No man can serve ______ masters: for either he will ________ the one, and ________ the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

   Note: How many secretary’s have run off with their bosses? Many. A wife is to have allegiance to one person, under God, and that is to her husband. There is no way that a wife can have a double allegiance — to her husband and to her boss.

There is a common idea amongst Christians

    Why did God create the woman? Did He look down upon the earth and see how quiet it was without any little children running around and say, "Hey! We need to make a woman down there so there can be little children!"?

    No, that is not what God said at all. God did make woman with the very important feature of being able to have babies, but that was not the major reason that He gave for making the woman.

        h. Genesis 2:18 says, "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the MAN should be __________; I will make him an ________ ________ for him."

    The primary reason that God made the woman, was to be a help meet to her husband, so that he would not have to be alone.

    Have you ever heard about latch-key children? That is a name given to children who come home to an empty house and have to use a key to get inside, because both parents are out working jobs. Many Christian parents get very concerned about that type of a situation, and believe that it is biblically wrong for children to have to come home to an empty house. They believe that the mother should be there at home for them, and rightly so.

Why do we never hear about latch key husbands?

    Why did God make the woman? "It is not good that the MAN should be ALONE." God did not look down from heaven and see lonely children entering houses, and thus decide to create a woman (a mom to be there). God looked down and saw a lonely man.

   IF A HUSBAND HAS TO COME HOME TO AN EMPTY HOUSE BECAUSE HIS WIFE IS OUT WORKING, THEN SHE IS DISOBEYING THE LORD. SHE IS FORSAKING THE PRIMARY PURPOSE FOR WHICH GOD CREATED HER.

   How many husbands come home to an empty, cold house, with no nice, hot meal prepared? What will they do? They may fix a nice meal for themselves, but probably not. They will probably eat something unhealthy, or else they will just start going to the restaurant each night, instead of coming home. And who knows, they just might begin to admire the waitress that is always so friendly to them each evening — the one who brings them a nice, hot meal. It could have all been prevented, if the wife had remembered her number one priority — being a help meet to her husband and making sure that he would not be alone.

        i. Titus 2:4 says that young women are to be taught "to love their ________________," then "to love their children."

   Note: Christian wife reading this, are you obeying that verse in the proper order? Do you realize that you are not only commanded to love your children, but that there is A PRIORITY EVEN BEFORE THAT — YOUR HUSBAND?

    We desperately need a revival in the Christian home. Is it any wonder that we are told that Christian marriages now break up at about the same rate as the marriages of the world? Do you see why?

REVIEW:

    1. The ______ is to provide the home.

    2. A young man is not supposed to get married with the idea that he and his bride will just move in with Dad and Mom, because the Bible says that a man shall "__________ his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife."

    3. If you are living in your parent’s home (no matter what age you are), then you must submit to their decisions, because there can only be one ____________ in the home.

    4. The ______ is to provide the financial support for the home.

    5. God never intended for the ____________________ to get involved in feeding people.

    6. The word cherish means "to hold _________, to feel or show affection for."

    7. Husbands are to love their wives as their own __________.

    8. The word churlish means, "vulgar, rude, difficult to work with, __________, harsh, ill-tempered."

    9. According to Ephesians 5:23, "The husband is the ________ of the wife."

    10. What a husband and/or father wants his wife and children to be — he must __________ be himself.

    11. The man’s job is not to drive his family, but to ________ them.

    12. Ephesians 5:22 says, "Wives, ____________ yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord."

    13. The word submit means, "to __________ oneself to the authority or will of another."

    14. God has chosen the man to lead the home because of the __________ of creation, and also because of experience.

    15. The wife is told to submit to her ______ husband — not to anyone else’s husband.

    16. The wife is held accountable by God to do __________ — even if her husband will not.

    17. Ephesians 5:33 says, "and the wife see that she __________________ her husband."

   18. The word reverence means, "to show tender ________________, self-denial, honor, acknowledging that which has claim to respect."

    19. The woman is to be of a meek and __________ spirit.

    20. I Timothy 2:11 says the woman is to "learn in ________________ with all subjection."

    21. The woman is to be a keeper at _________.

    22. Proverbs 29:15 says, "a child left to himself bringeth his ____________ to shame."

    23. It is not money that helps children turn out right, but godly, ____________________, spiritual training.

    24. There are no contradictions in the Bible. When you put Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 together, you simply see that the wife is to do any work through a __________-based business.

    25. The problem with saying that a wife only needs to be a keeper at home while there are small children, is that it is totally forgetting why God _________ the woman.

    26. Genesis 2:18 gives the reason that God made the woman, "It is not good that the ______ should be alone."

Chapter 1, 2(page 1), 2(page 2), Final Test   Liberty Bible Course Directory