What is the meaning of Colossians 3:19? Husbands • God’s Word speaks directly to men who have taken on the covenant role of marriage. The address is personal and unmistakable, just as in Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” • Scripture treats headship as a sacred trust, never a license for domination. First Peter 3:7 reminds, “Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel… so that your prayers will not be hindered.” The spiritual health of a home and a man’s own prayer life rise or fall with his obedience here. Love your wives • “Love” is not left to sentimental feeling; it is a steady, self-giving action patterned after Christ. Ephesians 5:28: “In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.” • Paul condenses the charge into one verb, showing that everything a husband does must flow from love. First Corinthians 13:4-7 paints the portrait: patient, kind, not self-seeking, keeps no record of wrongs. • Practical snapshots: – Speak words that build up (Proverbs 16:24). – Provide spiritual leadership by washing the family in the Word (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). – Serve sacrificially, mirroring Christ’s humility (Philippians 2:5-7). Do not be harsh with them • The negative command guards the positive. Harshness can show up in tone, look, silence, or action. Proverbs 15:1: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” • Paul has already urged believers to “put off anger, rage, malice” (Colossians 3:8). Bringing that same list into marriage keeps love from souring. • First Peter 3:7 again ties gentleness to spiritual vitality. The husband who refuses harshness keeps the channel to God clear. • Simple guardrails: – Pause before speaking; let “your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). – Repent quickly when tone slips. – Cultivate the Spirit’s fruit—especially patience and gentleness (Galatians 5:22-23). Living it out today • The instruction is timeless because marriage is God’s design, not culture’s. • Love first, lead by serving, shut the door on harshness, and the marriage becomes a living parable of Christ and the church. • James 1:22 presses the point: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” summary Colossians 3:19 commands husbands to express continual, Christlike love and to banish every form of harshness. God ties a man’s spiritual vitality and his marriage health to obedience here. Walking in daily, sacrificial love while guarding tone and treatment honors the Lord and showcases the gospel within the home. |
    |