How far did Christ’s love for the church go?
Christ's love for the church went to the ultimate extent: He died for her. It is total love, extending to the point of giving His life. This self-sacrificial love is the pattern for husbands loving their wives. That is the measure of His love.
Les explains that Christ's love for the church is total love, extending to the point that He died for her. He applies this as the standard for husbands: they are to have the same attitude toward their wives that Christ has toward the church. When a husband loves like that, Les says, there will be no divorce problem, because the attitude is completely different. He asks how many American husbands would actually die for their wives, calling it a real test. Les also notes that Scripture commands husbands to love their wives, but never commands wives to love their husbands, tying this to creation—Adam was given the ability to love, Eve the ability to respond—and to salvation, where we love Him in return.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
More Questions
Why did Christ give Himself for the church according to Ephesians 5:25-26?
Christ gave Himself for the church in order that He might sanctify and cleanse it.
Who is the church that Christ loved and gave Himself for in Ephesians 5:25?
In Ephesians 5:25, when Paul speaks of the church Christ loved and gave Himself for, he is speaking of us believers, we who are members of the body of Christ.