57_Pattern Relationships in the Home.pdf

Volume XV, Issue 2

L EGACY

T HE T EACHING

OF D EREK P RINCE

Pattern Relationships in the Home

To have authority one must be under authority. It is this principle which governs

relationships within the home. When the husband is under the authority of Christ, he has

the authority of Christ. When the wife is under the authority of her husband, she has the

authority of her husband in the home. But if the chain of authority is broken at any point,

then authority breaks down in the home. Here is the major problem of many homes

today—in America and in other lands. There is a breakdown of authority because one of

the links in the chain is out of place. Either the husband is not subject to Christ, or the wife

is not subject to the husband. Often both are out of their place. The result: disorder,

disharmony and rebellion.

here has been a great deal of teaching

about the submission of the woman in the

home. Many Christian women resent this

teaching because they feel it implies that

they are “inferior.” But this results from a basic

misunderstanding of the husband/wife relationship.

and His Father. Being one with the Father, Jesus was

also equal with the Father. Philippians 2:6 tells us

that He had a divine right to be “equal with God.”

He was God.

In the same manner, the husband and the wife are

one. The Bible tells us that they are “one flesh”

(Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5–6). One part of one’s

flesh cannot be “inferior” to another part; all of one’s

flesh is equal. The place of submission of the wife to

the husband in no way implies inferiority, for the

Scripture clearly indicates that God considers the

husband and wife as equals in the body of Christ

(Galatians 3:28).

The second thing that Jesus said about His

relationship to the Father was that God requires

Relationship of Jesus

to His Father

Jesus said three things about His relationship

with the Father, all of which apply equally to the

relationship of the wife to the husband.

First, He said, “I and My Father are one” (John

10:30). There was complete unity between Jesus

Volume XV, Issue 2

“that all men should honor the

Son just as they honor the

Father” (John 5:23). The Father

Himself has honored the Son by

placing the entire creation under

His feet (Ephesians 1:22). The

Father delights to honor the Son

(Philippians 2:9–11). He desires

to lift Him up and have all things

placed under Him. There is never

a word about the Father “putting

down” His Son, or trying to take

more honor than His Son. It is

the Father’s desire to honor,

promote and establish Jesus over

all creation.

The attitude of the husband to

his wife should reflect that of the

Father to Jesus. The husband

should delight to honor and lift

up his wife. He should do

everything in his power to make

her feel respected, honored,

praised and esteemed. God the

Father will not tolerate any slight

of indignity offered to Jesus—

much less give one! The attitude

of the husband toward his wife

should be precisely the same. The

wife should not need to seek her

own honor or establish her own

position. The husband should do

this for her. In this way all stigma

of inferiority is removed.

What would happen if we

men consistently treated our

wives in this way? In most cases

they would gladly and willingly

acknowledge our headship. They

would no longer desire to fight

for recognition or independence.

In Hebrews 1:3 the writer tells

us that Jesus is “the brightness of

His [Father’s] glory.” In

1 Corinthians 11:7 Paul tells us

that the “woman [wife] is the

glory of man.” Here again, there

is a parallel between the

relationship of God the Father to

Jesus and the relationship of the

husband to his wife. The Father

reveals His glory in the Person of

Jesus. The husband reveals his

glory in the person of his wife.

If a wife is restful, secure, and

contented, it brings glory to her

husband. It shows that her

husband is treating her as he

should. But if the wife is bitter,

resentful, and insecure, it brings

dishonor to her husband. It

shows that he is failing in his

responsibilities toward her. A

well-known preacher was once

asked if a certain man was a good

Christian. His answer: “I don’t

know; I haven’t met his wife yet.

I’ll tell you after I’ve seen her!”

This brings us to a third facet of

the Father/Jesus relationship.

Jesus said, “My Father is greater

than I” (John 14:28). Here is an

apparent paradox: Jesus is equal

with the Father, yet He says that

the Father is greater. It is said of

Jesus that He “did not regard

equality with God a thing to be

grasped” (Philippians 2:6 NASB ).

He did not fight for recognition or

authority, but willingly submitted

Himself to His Father and allowed

His Father to fill His rightful place

of headship. By remaining in

submission to His Father, Jesus

maintained the unity within the

Godhead. If He had left His

voluntary place of submission, the

unity of the Godhead would have

been broken.

Likewise, even though the

wife is one with the husband—

and therefore also equal with

him—God calls on her to submit

herself to her husband for the

sake of the unity and order in the

home. If she refuses, there will be

a breakdown of unity in the

home, and disorder will result.

Thousands of happy Christian

wives will testify that the place of

protection and covering, under

the authority of their husbands,

is indeed a God-designed place of

security and peace.

However, this places a

tremendous responsibility upon

the wife. It means that no man can

truly be head of his home unless

his wife yields to his authority. No

head can function without a neck

to hold it up; and no man can

truly be the head of his home

without the voluntary submission

and support of his wife.

What happens if one of the

partners fails to fill his God-

ordained place in the home?

Does that release the other

partner from responsibility? No!

The ultimate responsibility of

each partner is to God, not to the

other partner. Each has a place of

obedience to take before God , and

the teaching legacy of derek prince | dpm archive

Volume XV, Issue 2

the conduct of the other partner

does not change this.

I once heard this principle

vividly illustrated in a traffic

court. The judge was questioning

a man who was charged with

exceeding the speed limit. “Were

you traveling in excess of the

speed limit?”

“There were other cars traveling

faster that I was,” the man replied.

“You are not responsible for

the other cars!” the judge

snapped back. “You are only

responsible for the car that you

were driving. Were you

exceeding the speed limit?”

Reluctantly, the man admitted

that he was!

So it is between the husband

and wife. One day “we must all

appear before the judgment seat

of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

In that day, the husband will not

be required to answer for his

wife’s conduct, nor the wife for

her husband’s conduct. Each

partner will answer directly to

the Lord for the role that he or

she has played in the home.

work. If the father will not

provide proper headship in the

home, the home will fall into

disorder.

In His relationship to the

church, Christ holds three great

offices that have been delegated

to Him by God the Father. He is

Priest, Prophet and King (or

Governor). In every home the

father stands in a parallel

relationship to his family. There

are three main offices delegated

by divine authority to the father,

from which he may never

abdicate in the sight of God.

Every father in every dispen-

sation is called by God to be the

priest, the prophet and the king

of his home.

As a priest, he represents his

family to God.

As a prophet, he does the

opposite, he represents God to

his family.

As a king, he governs his

family on behalf of God.

As a priest, the father is called

upon to intercede for his family,

bringing their needs in prayer

before God, and claiming God’s

protection and blessing upon

them. This he cannot do without

faith . Not the least of a father’s

responsibilities is that of exercising

faith on behalf of his family.

In the Old Testament this is

typified by the ordinance of the

Passover. In each family it was the

duty of the father to kill the sacrificial

lamb and to sprinkle its blood on the

lintel and two doorposts of his home

(Exodus 12:3–7). By this act of faith

and obedience, he obtained the

protection of God for his whole

family.

In the New Testament the

same principle is dramatically

illustrated in Mark 9:20–27,

where the father of a demon-

afflicted son comes to Jesus.

Imploring help for the child, he

says to Jesus, “If You can do

anything, have compassion on us

and help us.” Jesus immediately

returns the responsibility for the

child upon the father and says, “If

you can believe, to him who

believes all things are possible.”

The child’s deliverance hinged on

the father’s faith. A father has both

the right and the responsibility to

believe for his children.

People quite frequently bring

little children to me for

deliverance, but I have learned to

ask them, “Are you the child’s

parent?” Sometimes it is merely

an aunt or a well-wishing

neighbor. All too often the

parents—and particularly the

father—are nowhere to be found.

I find no basis in Scripture for

ministering to a child except on

the basis of the faith of one or

both parents.

The one person who hardly

ever comes to me seeking help for

a child is the father. Our whole

scheme of operation is out of

order, and we wonder why God is

not blessing it. In ministering to a

The Roles of the Father

In my last letter, I pointed out

that the father is the primary

“homemaker.” Unless the father

takes his place, accepts his

responsibilities, and stands as

God intends him to stand as the

head of his household, God’s

program for the home cannot

the teaching legacy of derek prince | dpm archive

Volume XV, Issue 2

child, no preacher can take the

place of a father.

The second office given to every

father by God is that of a

prophet—he is to represent God to

his family. A father does this

whether he realizes it or not—

whether it is a good representation

or not. Most people involved in

counseling or working with

children will bear witness to the

fact that all children form their

basic impression of God from one

source—their fathers. Is it any

wonder so many of our youth want

little or nothing to do with God?

The third office of a father in

his home is that of a king. As a

king, the father is required to

govern his family on behalf of

God. In describing the qualifi-

cations of a leader in the church

Paul specified that he must be

“one who rules his own house

well” (1 Timothy 3:4). The word

rule indicates the exercise of

governmental authority. There is a

direct relationship between

leadership in the home and

leadership in the church. The

home is the proving ground for

the life and ministry of every man.

Let us face up to one simple,

objective fact: If our religion does

not work at home, it does not

work—period! In heaven’s name,

let us not export to the world

something that does not work at

home! The world already has

enough of strife and disharmony.

It needs no more!

The tragic disaster of the

American home is the renegade

male. Some men may feel that the

word renegade is too strong—

almost insulting. However, I use

it advisedly. A renegade is one

who reneges; and the vast

majority of American males have

reneged on their three primary

responsibilities—as husbands,

fathers and spiritual leaders. It

has left us with a matriarchal

society dominated by women.

Let me ask you: Who, if

anybody, normally prays with the

children at bedtime? Who gets

them ready for Sunday school?

Who reads them Bible stories?

Who prays when a child is sick?

In the majority of cases, it is the

mother. The mother should

indeed share in the spiritual

growth of the child, but it is the

father who is called upon by God

to be the initiator and leader in

the spiritual life of the family.

When a child goes astray, we

want to blame the church . . . the

society . . . the schools—every-

one except the person who

chiefly deserves the blame—and

that is the father. Most boys think

that the church and the things of

God are “sissy” because they see

only their mothers involved in

them. Little Johnny grows up

saying to himself, “I want to be

like Daddy.” In being “like

Daddy,” he determines to leave

the things of God to the “weaker

vessel” (1 Peter 3:7).

In due course, when little

Johnny fails at life—when he

becomes a drop-out or a

delinquent—it is not really

Johnny who has failed, but his

father. I have come to see that

there are no juvenile delinquents,

only adult delinquents. It is not

children who are the real drop-

outs, but their parents—and

primarily their fathers.

My friend, let me ask you: How

do you rate as a husband and a

father? You may achieve success in

your business or attain popularity

at the country club—you may

become president of a bank, or

achieve a golf score that startles

your friends—but if you fail as a

husband and a father, then in

God’s eyes you are a failure.

Adapted from a New Wine article

entitled “Fatherhood, Part 2.”

For further study, we recom-

mend Derek Prince’s message

on cd:

How to Be a Father

We are making this material available to

you at no charge. Just use the enclosed

reply slip to request your copy.

Reproduction of articles from

the DPM Archive for free dis-

tribution is permitted. To

receive regular teaching and

encouragement by e-mail,

subscribe at derekprince.org.

Derek Prince Ministries

P.O. Box 19501

Charlotte, NC 28219

704.357.3556

www.derekprince.org

TL072

the teaching legacy of derek prince | dpm archive

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: