Col 3:12  Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Col 3:13  Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Col 3:14  And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

Col 3:15  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Col 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Col 3:17  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Col 3:18  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

Col 3:19  Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

God the Father and the Apostle Paul understands that during the saint’s marriage that there will be times (sometimes it seems like it is all the time!) where the husband and wives can become “bitter against” each other. But there is a cure for our problems that we have when it comes to our “forbearing one another.” Moreover it is our understanding and appreciating the love of Christ towards us when He “forgave” us and gave us all that we have “in Christ,” and our letting “the peace of God rule” in our hearts by everything we do “in word or deed.” Therefore we as saints cannot understand this important part of marriage unless we already have come to understand and appreciate the ‘first things first’ doctrine earlier mentioned, (how can one forgive their spouse if they do not understand how they ought to love each other, this is doctrine given in earlier in Ephesian 5), and this accomplished by our letting “the word of Christ dwell” in us “richly in all wisdom.”

1Ti 2:8  I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

1Ti 2:9  In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

1Ti 2:10  But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.

1Ti 2:11  Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.

1Ti 2:12  But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

1Ti 2:13  For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

1Ti 2:14  And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

1Ti 2:15  Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

  And as the saints grow in their marriage their behavior should display godliness as a married godly man and as a married godly woman. And also as they grow older together in the doctrine, they will come to the time where godliness is not only displayed by their way of thinking, but their out-ward man will also display godliness unto others, and make an impact in the heavenly places just as it is designed to. And as such there is a designed order in the marriage which prevents the woman from being victimized by the adversary, (for more on this subject visit the bible study section for the study: “The Woman’s Fuctional Salvation”), and by God the Father’s design, there is a ‘salvation’ that she has in marriage and childbearing that not only gives the woman salvation from Satan’s attack on her, but this display of godliness also has a designed effect upon the angelic realm as well.

1Ti 3:1  This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

1Ti 3:2  A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

1Ti 3:3  Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

1Ti 3:4  One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

1Ti 3:5  (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

1Ti 3:11  Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.

1Ti 3:12  Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

The married man that has a “desire” to become a bishop or a deacon is given the qualifications for their “office,” and as such, part of the requirement of the “office” is one that “ruleth well his own house.” And when the man has come to the point in his education where he understands and appreciates the fundamental doctrine, he now understands the godly design for “ruling their children and their own houses well.” Likewise the wife of a bishop or deacon has a certain behavior she must maintain given the fact that she too should have grown in the doctrine with her husband who has greatly grown in the doctrine whereas he can now teach it to others as well.

Tit 2:1  But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

Tit 2:2  That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

Tit 2:3  The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

Tit 2:4  That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

Tit 2:5  To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Tit 2:6  Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

Tit 2:7  In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

Tit 2:8  Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

The married saints that has “aged” are told that they are to be an example to the younger married saints by what they have learned earlier in their marriage by the doctrine, and they are to teach the younger saints just as they were taught, by a progressive godly doctrinal designed way that the Father has for the married members of His body to grow in marriage. Finally, the designed way for the saints to have a godly marriage is to first understand and appreciate the foundational doctrines and the progressive doctrines that are found from Romans through Philemon, it is the saints being established in the ICorinthians 7 doctrine, (most importantly, the saint must fully understand and appreciate the first stage in the gospel before he can move on to the next stage; otherwise it will not work the way God intended), and then moving on to and through the epistles as they grow as a godly married couple “in Christ.”

Rod Jones