Sublime

In verses 22–24, Paul says, controversially, that wives should submit to their husbands. Immediately, however, he tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and “gave himself up for her” (25), which is, if anything, a stronger appeal to abandon self-interest than was given to the woman.

“In the face of recent revelations about the reckless and self-indulgent sexual conduct of so many of our elected officials, it may be worth recalling that sexual restraint rather than sexual prowess was once the measure of a man.”33

If authentic manhood revolves around three primary responsibilities, then the wise father will train his son to embrace these with enthusiasm: a will to obey (God’s will as revealed in the Scriptures), a work to do (not just in the work of his job, but also the work in his home, church, and community), and a woman to love (his wife). If he is going

through marriage that God arranged to perpetuate civilization.