Here are some quotes from Arc. Godswill Akpan. He spoke yesterday on the subject: GOD'S IDEA OF A CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE, at a meeting in a branch of Methodist Church here in PH. I tried putting together all I could remember for the benefit of my friends who believe marriage is God's idea.

Enjoy reading.....

Marriage is more than just the coming together of a man and a woman for the purpose of raising children. It is God's idea to showcase the relationship between Christ and the Church.

Thus, a man is commanded not just to love his wife, but to love her same way Christ loves the church(His bride). That means a wife does not EARN her husband's love. If you know how much the church disappoints Christ daily, the wickedness and the carnality in Church, yet Jesus loves the Church regardless.... same way a man ought to love his wife regardless and lay down his life for her, as Christ to the church (Eph 5:22-29).

Likewise, God commanded the woman to submit to her husband as unto the Lord. That also means her husband does not necessarily EARN her submission. Regardless of the circumstance, poor or rich, so long as he is called husband, she ought to submit to him as UNTO the Lord.

Therefore, any man who is unwilling to lay down his life for his wife, and any woman unwilling to submit to her husband..... should forget about marriage. The world has its own standard, but this is God's standard (John 17:16).

Identification and encouragement of the diversities of gifts in a wife is the solemn responsibility of a husband. A wife comes raw and loaded with potentials. It is the duty of a husband to tend his wife and make her what he wants her to be. Christ died for the church and is purifying the church to present her FAULTLESS TO HIMSELF (Eph 5:27). Jesus takes responsibility for His bride, the church.

Only primitive men marry and make their women total housewives. It does not matter how much you have, learn to challenge your wife's mental capacity by giving her the opportunity to excel outside your home. Imagine if Okonjo Iweala's husband had made her a house wife, Nigeria would have lost a reknowned economist.

Christ does not hide His bride. He invests in her, builds her up, and then showcases her(Eph 3:10). Your bride should be your pride. Prov 31 says, a virtuous woman, her husband's name is heard at the city gate. Men should be comfortable pushing their wives beyond domestic excellence to public relevance.

The reason you drive and look at the buttocks of another man's wife from your rear mirror is because you have not packaged the one you have at home and that's foolishness. That same buttocks you are looking at, you have it at home. Package yours the way you want and others will admire it. 26years after marriage, i still push my wife forward just to admire her buttocks.

Man, if you want food, then marry a cook. If you want a very clean house, marry a maid. But if you want a wife, then you must look beyond your kitchen and house as parameters for choosing a wife. A wife is more than just a cook and a maid.

If you marry because of breasts, what will you do when those breasts eventually collapse? A wife is more that just breasts and buttocks, she is God's idea of companionship...

Any man that beats his wife is mad. If you find a man in your neigbourhood beating himself, slapping himself at intervals..... will you not call him mad? When you understand that your wife is YOU, then your orientation towards her will change.

The bible called the woman 'weaker vessel'. That weakness is not in terms of strength or capacity, rather it speaks of her being delicate; to be guarded jealously. The eye is one of the weakest part of the body, but what can you do without your eyes? So never understimate the capacity of a woman. Only a woman can return from work/church, and straight to the kitchen, even with a pregnancy while the man sits back to watch TV........ Funny enough, both just returned from same place, and that does not seem like a weak person to me. She ought to be guarded with jealousy just as you guard your eyes because of her importance. short mother of the bride dresses

Woman, don't ever get tired of getting your husband's attention at home. Don't always wear long gowns or tie wrappas at home. You may as well put on raincoat and coverall. Common! wear those your hot seducing short dresses when necessary at home. Micro mini is for married women unto their husbands at home.

Pastor, your wife first, then your family, before ministry. Never you put your wife on hold for the sake of ministry. She is your number one and most important ministry, if you miss out on her, you will miss out on the pulpit.

Man, you must learn to listen to your wife. I have lost a lot of money in life because i did not listen to my wife. Women have a way of knowing things they cannot explain. She says don't do this. Then you ask why, she cannot explain it. But try doing that same thing, you will tell the story of regrets.

Finally, according to scriptures, a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife. Thus, in a marriage, if for any reason someone has to leave the home and return to father and mother, it has to be the man. The home biblically belongs to the woman........ for those African men that enjoy saying... I WILL SEND HER BACK TO HER FATHER'S HOUSE.

And more........