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• Today's passage is unpopular, but nonetheless a much-needed section.
• Before looking at the Scripture, three preliminary principles to underscore:
• God is our designer and knows what is best for us; thus this "owner's manual."
• Man is a sinner and in rebellion against God's authority.
• A Christian is a servant acknowledging the authority of God and his Word.

• Wives are to submit to husbands "in the same way" that Christ submitted. That submissive spirit in Christ, far from being degrading, was his glory.
• God had several purposes for delegating leadership to the husband in the home:
• For the orderly function of the home: Any group needs a delegated leader.
• To fulfill a need of your mate: If a man doesn't lead, he has poor self-image.
• For the salvation of an un-Christian husband: He'll notice Christ in his wife.
• To exalt Jesus Christ: The wife brings him honor by submitting. Sarah is held up as an example: She "obeyed Abram and called him her master." Every husband wants his wife to respect him and consider him a hero.

• To be "considerate" means putting the wife's interests ahead of everything else.
• "Love your wives as Christ loved the church…" (Ephesians 5:25). Here's why:
• For the orderly function of the home: She gets the security of knowing she's loved.
• To meet our wife's need to feel cherished: The most important thing in your life.
• Illustration: Russell tells of winking at his wife, who later kissed him and thanked him for that gesture.
• To honor Jesus Christ.
• Illustration: Russell attended the 50th wedding anniversary of a couple in the church, and said to the man, "Fifty years is a long time." The man replied, "Not nearly as long as it would have been without her." That's the model for marriage.
• "Treat her with respect as the weaker partner." It doesn't say "weak," but "weaker," because you're both weak.
• Illustration: Russell holds up a cheap but rugged coffee mug, noting its strength. Then he holds up a $25 Laura Ashley teacup, noting it's "the weaker of the two vessels." It's more easily damaged but also the more valuable.

• Jeremiah 29: " `These are the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord."