We come now to the exposition of God's holy word and congregation. Let's take our Bibles out together and we want to turn back to the book of Ephesians. Please turn with me in Ephesians to chapter five as we continue in our exposition of this book. And of course, in these days, we are considering the subject that the Apostle Paul has brought up, namely, the duties and roles and responsibilities in the context of marriage and the home. Ephesians chapter 5, and let me read in your hearing verse 25 and following. Paul writes, and he says, husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 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. For we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 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. Let's now join together before the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we bow before you as again we come before your word. And Father, as we come to your word today, we pray that you would grant us the ministry of your spirit, the spirit who inspired these words originally, the spirit who guides and leads us in all truth, We pray, Father, that he would open up your word to our hearts today, that we would be found as your people, eager, humble, teachable, and receptive to your truth, that we would seek to have your word teach us, instruct us, reprove us, and reform us so that we would be more in our daily lives, in our homes and families, living according to what you have commanded. We pray, Father, that we would be drawn closer to Christ, that we would live for him. Father, that you would draw sinners who do not know Christ to a saving awareness that Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world. Lord, draw those who are apart from Christ according to your sovereign mercy. that they might be saved and delivered from their sin. Father, grant this, we pray, as we ask it all in Jesus' holy name. Amen. As we continue today, of course, we are looking at the relationship in marriage of the wives and the husbands. And Paul here in this section is dealing with the roles and responsibilities of husbands and wives. We already have talked about the responsibility of the wives, verses 22 through 24. We said that they are commanded to submit to their husbands. We said there are four different realities in that submission. What does that responsibility look like? Well, it involves a reverencing of the husband, that is a true respect and honor showed to him, an obeying of her husband, a assisting of the husband. She is a helpmate and she is to be a helper to him. And fourthly, we said an exhibiting of modesty for her husband. We then have been looking, beginning in verse 25, at the responsibility of husbands. We have said that the husband is to love and lead his wife. We said, first of all, that there is this responsibility, as we read in verse 25, that they are to love their wives. And we spent three weeks talking about the nature, the necessity, the duty of that loving your wife. We are to love our wives as Christ so loved the church and gave himself up for the church. And so it is a selfless sacrificial love. Then we move from that and we are considering presently the fact that not only are they to love their wives, they are to lead their wives. And we are looking at this in view of what we read in our text in Ephesians. The fact that as Christ is head of the church, So the husband is the head of the wife, and that is the very language and emphasis and teaching that Paul gives in this section. The husband is not to love apart from leading, and he is not to lead apart from loving. These two things go together. To err in one is to not fulfill that duty and responsibility of a husband. Now, as we have talked about the duty of leading, we have said that as we find Christ as our example, then we should consider that threefold office of Christ as a go-by to show us how, husbands, we are to lead our wives, and yes, our families. This, of course, is a standard understanding found in Reformed theology and Christianity. Whether it is William Gurnall or it is Joel Beakey, we can go down the list of Reformed teachers who have used this threefold office of Christ as a template to explain what this leading is to look like. Now last time we talked specifically about the office of prophet. Just as Christ is prophet, so the husband is to be in his home with his family, with a relationship of marriage and children, the prophet in the home. You say, what in the world does that entail? Well, it basically entails teaching and instructing his wife and his family. Teaching authoritatively. Not in the sense of being bombastic or harsh, but authoritatively in the sense that this is what God has ordained for you to fulfill in the relationship. Teaching, secondly, confidently. Confident not because of ourselves, but confident because of the Word of God. Understanding that it is indeed sharper than a two-edged sword, and when we assume that role as leader and prophet in the home, we do so under the authority Christ has given us, and with the confidence what we teach is able to change lives. Thirdly, we said that we are to teach passionately these truths related to Christianity, our practical daily living. These things are to be taught with a enthusiasm, with a zeal, and with a passion, just like those Old Testament prophets. The word of God was burning in their bones, and that should be true. of someone in the home who is leading and teaching that Word. Husbands, that's your responsibility. It isn't to be done casually or flippantly or dispassionately. but with a zealous intensity that this is what God has called you to fulfill. How are you to teach as a prophet? Well, through family devotions, through being a good example. Your life is teaching moral lessons. And we said, thirdly, by applying the Bible to every area and issue of life. Every opportunity, every occasion, situations in this world, various issues which arise, as we read in Deuteronomy, when you sit down and when you rise up, wherever you are and wherever you go, that's an opportunity to draw that situation, that issue, that occasion to be an opportunity to teach what God's view is on the matter and what God desires of His people in all situations. So we are called as husbands to be leading our homes as prophets. Secondly, we are not only to be leading as prophets, but we are to be leading our homes as priests as priests. And again, I quote to you from the Westminster Shorter Catechism, question number 25, where it gives us a description of Christ's role and office as priest. The question is, how does Christ execute the office of a priest? The answer, Christ executed the office of a priest in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and reconcile us to God, and in making continual intercession for us. Now you might ask the question, what is the difference between a prophet and a priest? Well, a prophet was God's representative. He spoke God's Word to the people. A priest, on the other hand, was man's representative. They represented the people before God. And so there is a very real distinction between prophet and priest. We think about Christ's priesthood. I want you to turn with me in your Bibles back to Psalm 110. Psalm 110, and we want to consider, first of all, Christ's priesthood prophesied in the Old Testament. Prophesied in the Old Testament. The Old Testament scriptures, as Jesus himself said, they all pointed to Jesus. Amen? Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament predictions and promises. And in those predictions, those teachings, those promises, we have this promise of Christ as our Lord. Look with me please, Psalm 110 and beginning in verse 1, Psalm of David. It says, verse 1, the Lord said to my Lord, set at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people shall be volunteers in the day of your power, in the beauties of holiness. From the womb of the morning, you have the due of your youth. The Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. Here we read in verse four this idea of a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Of course, here the idea, speaking of this ruling king, which is stated, is that he will also be a priest. And so in Messiah is that uniting of priest and king in the same office. Melchizedek, that king of Salem, was also a priest, an unusual figure, and yes, a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. This same statement of this uniting of these two offices, priest and king, is found, for example, in Zechariah 6, verses 11 through 13, where there was this crown that was placed upon the high priest, Joshua, and yet that was figurative and that was symbolic. It pointed to, in the words of Zachariah, the branch, Messiah, who would be both priest and king. Turn with me, if you will, in your Bibles to the New Testament book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter six, and I want to read as we think about this idea of a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews chapter 6 and notice verses 19 and 20. And there are many places that we could turn and we could read, but here we want to read Hebrews 6 and verse 19. Says, this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus. having become high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." So here we have this imagery, this typology, as it is declared explicitly, Christ as our priest, our high priest. What was involved in Christ's priesthood? Well, as we just read in the Catechism, it involved His offering up of Himself as a selfless, saving sacrifice for His elect, for His own. That involved propitiation, and in the words of the Catechism, reconciliation. where that enmity was removed. The enmity that the father had with sinners and the enmity that sinners have with the father. And so it is the sacrifice that propitiates. Secondly, there was in the office of Christ's priestly work the continual making of intercession for His own. And so those two ideas form for our husbands, our men in our homes, the way that we are to lead in our families. This means that we are to lead with, number one, a selfless, sacrificial leading. And we are to lead with a fateful intercession in our homes. So, as we think about it, first of all, we are to lead with a selfless, sacrificial type of leading, following Christ's example. And several things I want to say here on this point. First of all, by way of preface, we can never repeat or add to the once-for-all sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Congregation, that is once for all. Amen? In fact, if you're looking here in Hebrews chapter 6, just turn over a page or two in your Bibles, and notice in chapter 10, And look with me in Hebrews 10 verse 10. This must be very clearly understood. Hebrews 10 and verse 10, by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. There is never to be any other sacrifice that atones for sin, because Christ is that once for all sacrifice. Look again in verse 14 of this same chapter, for by one offering, he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. One offering, not repeatedly, but one for all eternity. So whenever we talk about the fact that we are to be a selfless, sacrificial leader in our homes, we are not saying that we in any way add to any of that work of Christ savingly in that reconciling sacrifice of our Savior. Secondly, by way of preface, We can never, as husbands, stand as a mediator between God and our family, our men. Paul declares in 1 Timothy 2 verses 5 and 6 that there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. And so whenever we think about the fact that we have this role as a priest, we must understand that our wife and our children do not go to God through us. They go to God through Jesus Christ. Amen? And Christ alone. He is the mediator. So whenever we talk about the fact that we are to be sacrificial in our leading, We are not saying we're going to add to the saving sacrifice of Christ, nor are we saying that we are somehow mediators in our home through which the members of our family go to Christ. And yet we also read in the Bible that the redeemed people of God are called priests. We are all called priests. In fact, in 1 Peter 2 and verse 9, here Peter says that we as God's people are a, quote, royal priesthood. Every one of us who are in Christ, we are all priests unto the Lord. We read in Hebrews 13 and verse 15 that we are to be constantly offering up spiritual sacrifices unto the Lord. Let us, verse 15 of Hebrews 13, continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. So there is a sense in which all of God's people are priests unto the Lord. And so it should not shock us, surprise us, or be unusual to think that as husbands in our homes, we are to be priests in that family Turning back to Ephesians chapter 5, we see very well this very imagery declared in verse 25 of this very text that we're looking at. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her. That is that statement of his sacrifice for his people. Corrugation, we are to have that same sacrificial love as husbands for our wives and for our families. It is a self-giving sacrificial leading. It is a sacrificing giving of ourselves when we lead in our homes. Now, I do want to be careful here. There is this idea and notion very common today known as the servant leadership model. How many of you have heard this? This is actually in the business world. You'll have books written about, you know, being a leader in the corporate world. Well, you need to be a servant leader. And there are some good things about that and some things that are perhaps a little bit askew. But this idea of servant leadership, whenever we say that we are to be servants and priests and sacrifice ourselves in our families, that is not a rebranding of masculinity to make it somehow feminine in its orientation. We are not saying that we are to so sacrifice ourselves for our wives that we assume the role of the wife in the home. Amen? There is the role of the wife and there is the role of the husband. And yet you will hear often in our day this idea of servant leadership pressed to the point where there is actually a role reversal so that the husband becomes the wife. and the wife becomes the head of the house. That's not what servant sacrificial leading is about. We are to sacrifice ourselves and that speaks about the intensity of giving ourselves to the task of leading in the home. not of advocating who we are as God's appointed leaders in the home. The authority, the responsibility, the role does not change one iota. because we are to be sacrificially leading in our homes. So as priests in the home, we are to have this selfless, sacrificial leading. Secondly, we are to be leading with a faithful intercession in our homes. Turn with me, if you will, in your Bibles back to Romans, Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 and verse 34, Christ's present priestly ministry for us is a ministry of intercession. Christ is still priest. Even though he has made that sacrifice once for all, he still is priest. And he still is functioning as a priest on behalf of his people. And so, if you will, Romans 8 and verse 34, we read these familiar words. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, and then notice the last phrase, who also makes intercession for us. Congregation, aren't you thankful that Christ is making intercession for us? What a glorious reality. Christ did not simply come and pay the price as priest. He is continuing in that office as priest by interceding on behalf of his people. This is stated also, turn back with me to Hebrews, and notice in Hebrews chapter 7, we have this in verse 25, Hebrews 7 and verse 25. This idea of Christ interceding, this priestly role of the Lord. Verse 25, therefore, he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. What a glorious statement. Christ is ever making intercession for us. You say, well, what does that have to do with husbands in the home? Well, if we are following that example of Christ, Christ is our head, then we as priests in our homes are not only sacrificing ourselves in leadership, but we are interceding for our wives and for our children. It is this idea of praying for them that is so important. Listen to what Richard Baxter said in this point, and I quote him. The husband is to be the mouth of the family in their daily prayers unto God. Therefore, we must be able to pray and also have a praying heart. He must be, as it were, the priest of his household, and therefore should be the most holy that he may be fit to stand between them and God and to offer up their prayers to him. If this be cast on the wife, it will be his dishonor. He says there are situations where the wife is the godly one, and the husband is just a dud, and he has no spiritual concerns. And sadly, it's often the wife who is the one who spiritually is praying for the family. And Baxter says, if that's the situation in your home, it's a dishonor upon you. That's not the way it ought to be. You are to be taken that responsibility. So we are as priests to be interceding on behalf of our families. Turn with me, if you will, in your Bibles back to the Old Testament book of Job. And this is one of the more familiar passages that is often referenced by the Puritans and writers on this subject of husbands being priests in their homes. And as you're turning to Job chapter 1, let me just make a book recommendation for you. It is by Dr. Sam Waldron. Most of you know the name Sam Waldron. He has written a little book entitled, A Man as Priest in His Home. And it's obviously exactly what the title says, the idea that the man, the husband, the father is the priest in the home. And he deals with all of these things in great detail. And one of the texts that he would have us turn to is here in Job chapter one and the example of Job. Now we know the story of Job and we read here in this first chapter how he ministered before the Lord as a priest on behalf of his family. Look with me please at verse 1 of chapter 1. We read of his character. It says, There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. And that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. So here we are told at the very beginning, Job was a godly man by every standard. Now, was he a sinless man? Well, no. There was only one sinless man, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen? But we are told here that he was blameless. No legitimate charge could be brought against Job. He was upright. He was a man who feared God and he was a man who shunned evil. He would not participate in evil. We read in verse number two about his children. It says, and seven sons and three daughters were born to him. And so he was blessed with 10 children. Notice in verse number three, we read of his possessions. He says, also his possessions were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. Now, when you read here this list here of all of his possessions, this doesn't even tell us all of the story, does it? Because you'll read there in verse 3, it says that he had a very large household. And when you jump down to verses 15 through 17, you will find out that he was a man who possessed many slaves as well. A blameless, upright man who shunned evil and feared God had many slaves as well. And this was a statement of the blessing of God upon his life. It says that he was the greatest of all the people in the East, a rather profound statement concerning Job. Notice, if you will, verses 4 and 5, we read about his priestly service for his family. It says, and his sons would go and feast in their houses each on his appointed day and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning, and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all, For Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus Job did regularly." Here we see Job in verses 4 and 5 operating as a priest in the home on behalf of his family. And we have here this picture of him offering up, verse 5, burnt offerings for the sake of his sons. Notice three things here. Joel Beekie points this out about Job, and this is again from that book I recommended last week. He interceded for his family, number one, with urgency. With urgency. It says there in verse 5, early in the morning he did this. He did not wait. It wasn't an afterthought. There was a sense of urgency about coming before God and interceding on their behalf. Spurgeon said this, quote, he wanted to hurry to the cross every morning with his children. Oh, what a statement that is and how that should be in the heart of every father hurrying to the cross for the sake of his children. Not only did he intercede with urgency, notice at the end of verse 5, he did this regularly. It says, thus Job did regularly. He interceded on a regular, habitual, continual basis because this was his responsibility. And then thirdly, note if you will in verse 5, he interceded confidently. He says, it may be, as he speaks of them, that they may, his sons, have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. And so he realized the fallen condition of his children, and he used the means of grace as it relates to that role he had in interceding on their behalf. And he was confident in that means of grace that God had ordained. Now, husbands, we are not called, fathers, we are not called to offer up burnt offerings in our homes. We don't do that. But this idea of interceding is this idea of praying. It is this idea of coming to the throne of grace and praying earnestly for our wives, for our children, in all manner of concern for them, physically and spiritually primarily. That is our responsibility. We are to serve in our homes not only as prophets who declare and teach the Word of God, We are to be priests who lay down our lives in sacrifice, in service, and intercede on behalf of our families. Now, let's hasten to that third thing that we want to mention, and that is we not only are to lead as prophet and priest, but number three, husbands, fathers, you are to be leading your home as king, as king. In the Westminster Shorter Catechism, question number 26, the question is, how does Christ execute the office of a king? And the answer is given, Christ executed the office of a king in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies. So there you have this idea of Christ who is King and what that office of King entails. Turn with me please in your Bibles back to Revelation chapter 17. Revelation chapter 17, I want to read just a verse here. Chapter 17 verse 14. Revelation 17 in verse 14, it says, these will make war with the Lamb, speaking of those kings and those horns spoken earlier in the text. And of course, we know who is the Lamb in verse 14? Well, the Lamb is the Lord Jesus Christ. And so these kings will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them. For he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with him are called chosen and faithful." Congregation, Jesus Christ is King of kings, amen? He is the sovereign ruler over all nations and all peoples. Christ is King, and that we declare, and we declare with a confidence because it is the absolute truth. He is our king and he rules, directs, and he guides us. And he is the king of kings. Interestingly, this assumes that there will still be kings when we think about this context. And in the context of the legitimacy of kings, he is the king of kings, stated here in this passage. Christ is not only king of kings, his rule includes defending his people and conquering his enemies, according to the Catechism, and husbands and fathers are kings in an analogous way in their homes. We sometimes even use this kind of language, don't we? We talk about the husband or the man being what? Well, he's the king of his castle. How many of you heard that phrase before? Almost everybody here has their hand up. He's the king of the castle and he has a beautiful queen who reigns with him. We even have laws in America that are called Castle Laws. How many of you have heard of them? Castle Laws are those laws related to defending yourself in your home. Why? Because you're the king of your castle. And as king of your castle, you can defend yourself if an intruder tries to come into your home. And that's a legitimate thing, and it harkens back to this same idea that we're talking about. Jobicki in his book, Living in a Godly Marriage, speaks of this idea of leading or the authority of the husband in terms of ruling, and that's the idea of a king, ruling, and the idea of recompensing. And those are two of the three things that I want to talk about when we think about husbands being kings in their homes. First of all, the husband is to be ruling in his home. He is to be ruling in his home. You say, Pastor, where in the world do you get that? Well, turn with me in your Bibles to First Timothy, First Timothy, chapter three. First Timothy, chapter three. We recognize that these kind of concepts are very foreign in our modern egalitarian age. The idea of ruling and kingship, it's anathema in our almost semi-Marxist environment in which we find ourselves. And yet we read in 1 Timothy chapter 3, and you recognize the issue here about the responsibility as it relates to office bearers in the church. That's the immediate context. The idea of serving in that capacity of an overseer. And I want you to look with me at just one verse for the sake of time, and that is chapter three of 1 Timothy, and look with me at verse number four. This is the qualification of an elder. One who, what? Rules his own household well, having his children in submission with all reverence. You say, pastor, I don't think husbands ought to be ruling in their homes. Well, here we see Paul stating that this is the standard for all husbands and all fathers. They are to be ruling in their homes. And the qualification for an elder is that he rules what well in his home. You show me a man who is not ruling well in his home, who doesn't have his wife in order, who doesn't have his children in order, he is not qualified to be an elder in a New Testament church. Congregation, that is not me saying it, that's the Apostle Paul saying it in verse 4. The wife and the children are to be in subjection, and he is to be ruling in the home well. Well, if it is for the elder to be ruling well, that ought to be true of all husbands in their homes. They are to be ruling and ruling well. This word ruling, it is the idea of directing It is the idea of having real authority ordained by God. It is this idea of guiding and leading in the whole. That's the idea of ruling. Now, Joel Beakey, in his work I just commented on, he gives a couple of warnings and some suggestions about this idea of ruling. First of all, he says that concerning ruling in the home, there is the error of an abusive authority. And that is not what God has ordained. Because God has called the husband and the father to rule does not mean of necessity a kind of abusive authority. There is to be a tender love in the rule that he has in the home. But yet, you see, because of our present situation today, when we think about ruling, the first thing we think is, well, that's a dictator. That's somebody who's very authoritarian, and he's abusive, and he's harsh all the time. No, that is not necessarily what ruling means. And yet, we're still called to rule as husbands and as fathers. It is not to be an abusive authority. And then Joel Beakey says, secondly, it is not to be, on the other end, an abdication of authority. And that's the other side of the coin. A kind of dereliction of duty. A kind of idea that says, well, we live in an egalitarian type of setup and he doesn't rule and I don't rule. It's just kind of like a 50-50 thing. That's not ruling either. That is an abdication of the God-ordained authority that God has given you as husband and as father. No, it is not to be abusive. It is to be with tender love, but you are not to abdicate that authority. It is the authority you've been called to fulfill in the home. Joel Beek, he continues, and he gives three suggestions as to how we are to rule in our homes. He says, number one, And this is great advice. Number one, we are to rule as one who stands under authority. I love that. Men, when you rule in your homes, you must always keep before you that you yourself are under authority. Amen? And that authority is the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't mean that you don't therefore lead or rule, but that you do so with that sense of accountability before Almighty God. You rule, but you stand under authority even as you have been given that authority by God. Secondly, Beakey says that you are to rule with wisdom and determination. There is to be great wisdom in how you work out that ruling in the home. And yes, there is to be determination to step up to the plate and to be the ruler in your home. And then number three, Joel Beakey says that that is to be with ruling with love and with grace. Again, who is our example for ruling? Well, it is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He is that great prophet, that great priest, and he is that great king. And so we follow him in that wisdom, determination, love, and grace as one who stands under his authority. So, number one, husbands are to be kings in their homes by ruling in their homes. Secondly, husbands are to be not only ruling in their homes, but recompensing in their homes. Now, I realize the word recompensing is not a contemporary word. If I were to ask how many people used the word recompense last week, I probably wouldn't get very many hands that would go up. It is an old, rather archaic word that is not so familiar to us. The idea of recompensing is literally to punish or reward appropriately for an action. So a king, this idea of ruling and being a king, is this idea of punishing and rewarding appropriate to actions. Again, this comes directly out of Joel Beakey's book on authority in the home for the husband. He says positively, We are to be commending our wife and children in their well-doing. Now that's the positive side of it. You want a verse that goes with that? Proverbs 31 and verse 28. Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her. So there is that positive recompensing, that is, commending the well-doing of the wife and the children. Secondly, Joel Beakey says, negatively, there is this loving reproving of your wife and children when they do something amiss. You are to reprove them when they do something amiss. You don't just say, well, that's just the way my wife is. That's just the kind of stuff she does. No, you reprove them. You have the responsibility to deal with that if you're the head in your house. This reproving is to be done with gentleness. It is to be done with grace and tenderness and with love. It is to be motivated with a desire for their good. But if you are to be leading in your home, you are to be doing this in that capacity, living out that rule in your home, ruling and recompensing in the home. Thirdly, we are as husbands to be kings in our homes, not only by ruling in the home, recompensing in the home, but number three, husbands are to be the restraining and repelling of all enemies that may come against the home. We are considering here the idea of protection. We actually have talked about this already, the idea that the husband is to be the protector of the home. Well, that's the responsibility, that idea of ruling, that idea of a king. What does a king do? What does the ruler do? He protects his realm, his nation. We call the President of the United States what? Commander in Chief. because he is the head of all the armed forces and has the idea of protecting the nation. So we as husbands, we are to protect our homes. We are to protect our homes concerning physical threats that come against it, creating a safe environment, Realizing that there are all kinds of dangers and we are to be always aware of those things. We are to be concerned about where we have our wives and where they go and we are to be concerned about are they going to be in harm's way. I mean, if you're a husband, you think about that. That's just a part, that should come naturally. My wife's going to go do this with her friends or she's going to go do that. Well, you're thinking, okay, is that going to be a safe place? Is it going to be a place that's going to put her in harm's way? That's a part of what it means to be a protector. We do this same thing with our children. You know, when you have young children, you don't just say, well, you know what, you're big enough to walk, just go out the front door and go wherever you want to go and do whatever you want to do. Obviously, that would be child abuse to even think of something like that. We're constantly thinking about their protection and making sure that they are not in a place where they could come into harm's way. This is what we are to do as it relates to our homes. But not only physical threats, we are to be protectors as it relates to spiritual threats, guarding against sinful influences and inclinations and attitudes and ideas that can so easily creep in to the home. You hear an attitude or you hear an opinion or you hear an idea that comes out of the mouth of your child or your wife and it's not biblical. Well, then you're going to want to try to correct that and encourage the proper understanding of those things. Why? Because you're just some sort of a dictator who likes to wield authority in your home? No. Because you love your wife. Because you love your children. Because you want what's best for them. That you step up to the plate and do these things. Indeed, it is the very essence of not loving them to say, well, whatever, let them do what they want to do and think what they want to think. That's child abuse, amen? Just letting them do whatever they wish. So congregation, when we think about these three offices, husbands are to lovingly lead their homes as prophet, priest, and king. As prophets, they are to be teaching. the Word in their homes, as priests by sacrificially serving and, yes, interceding for their family members, and as kings by ruling, recompensing, and repelling all enemies that would come against the home. Our wives, if they are rightly related to Christ, desire nothing less than this in us. And if they do not want that, well then that's just an opportunity to do some teaching as prophet in your home and correct and show what are the biblical categories of which we are to think about our homes. We as men, as husbands, and as fathers, we are to step up and lead. Amen? We are to say with Joshua in chapter 24, choose you this day whom you will serve. But as for me, and yes, I speak for my house, we will serve the Lord. Men, we've been called to this duty. Let us not shrink back, but let us press forward with grace, with love, and with conviction. to the glory of Almighty God. Let's bow together in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, as we bow before you today, we do so recognizing that we live in such a corrupt and demonic culture that these basic teachings from your Word is recoiled at and hated by those who hate you and hate your Word. Father, we recognize that in many ways our desire to embrace and implement these truths is a good barometer of our spiritual condition. Help us, Father, that as we seek to encourage godly families, that we would have men, husbands, fathers, who teach as prophets in their homes, who sacrifice themselves and intercede in their homes, who rule in their homes as Christ-like kings with love and grace and with diligence, And Father, may that be to the saving of our homes. May it be for the glory of your Son. And may it be a testimony in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation that God indeed supernaturally transforms. And there is power in the gospel to change lives. Father, we thank you for that salvation, that power found in the gospel, and how it revolutionizes and transforms every area of our lives. Father, we pray that you would be honored in all things as we pray this in Jesus' holy and precious name, and for his sake we pray, amen. Amen. Let's all stand together now as we prepare to be dismissed. Again, with the words of Holy Scripture, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. And all of God's people said, amen, amen.