I Promised You To One Husband

2 Corinthians 10:15-11:2 - Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.


Jeremiah 9:23-24 - This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.

Romans 2:29 - No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.

Ephesians 5:25-27 - Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

Application:

· Do I boast in the Lord? Only God and my knowledge of and love for Him are worthwhile
· Have I repented of my hard heart? Have I received the Holy Spirit? Have I been enabled by the Holy Spirit to live a new life characterized by obedience to God?
· Do I entertain any rivals to Christ and His gospel?
· Do I give myself up for my wife? Do I love my wife in a self-sacrificial manner? Do I ensure that my wife finds marriage a source of rich fulfillment and joyful service to the Lord?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV