What Are the Roles of the Christian Husband and Wife?

If you’re seeking a Christian marriage, you may be interested to read what the Bible specifies are the roles of the husband and wife:

The Husband

• The husband is the leader of the home: ‘But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God’ (1 Cor 11:3); ‘For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body’ (Eph 5:23).


• The husband’s leadership reflects Christ’s love for the church: ‘Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her’ (Eph 5:25); ‘So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church’ (Eph 5:28-29); ‘Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered’ (1 Pe 3:7).


• The husband provides for his family; his failure to do so has spiritual consequences: ‘But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever’ (1Tim 5:8). This does not mean that the wife cannot assist in supporting the family, but the responsibility is not primarily hers, but her husband’s.

The Wife

• The wife submits to her husband: ‘Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything’ (Eph 5:22-24). But it’s crucial that the wife remembers that she must not submit to her husband if she will disobey God by doing so, as her relationship with Him is the most important (Deut 6:5).


• The wife respects her husband: ‘Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband’ (Eph 5:33).


• The wife cares for her home and family: ‘She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all”’ (Pr 31:27-29).

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