“What Every Woman Wishes Her Husband Knew About Her” • Ephesians 5:25-33 • October 29, 1995 • #598A 2
by David O. Dykes • Part 32 of 39 in the series “Ephesians: Enjoying Our Riches in Christ”
Discover Life Ministries • P. O. Box 131678, Tyler, TX 75713-1678 • David O. Dykes, Pastor 903-525-1106 • www. discoverlife. tv
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1. EVERY WIFE NEEDS TO BE A PARTNER, NOT A POSSESSION
Number one. Every wife needs to be a partner, not a possession. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:7
“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with
respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing
will hinder your prayers.” If a man doesn’t treat his wife the way the Bible teaches, he’ll have a
very poor prayer life. She is to be treated as a partner, not as a possession. We all look around us
and we see some marriages in which the husband treats the wife like a possession. He often
treats her like a new automobile. Men like new cars. They like that new car smell. They like the
shiny exterior. They like the interior that looks so nice. A lot of times, men will buy a new car
and be proud of it. He’ll drive down the road and people will look at him and he’ll be proud of
the fact that they are admiring his car. But we all know what happens to new cars—they become
used, the tires get a little threadbare the new car smell dissipates and it begins to squeak and
rattle a bit. Sometimes it needs a trip to the repair shop. A lot of times a man says, “No big deal.
I’ll just trade it in on a new model.” The sad fact is some men treat their wives like that. When
they first married, they were so proud of her. They were proud to be seen out in public with her,
because people looked at her and said, “She’s so young and pretty. We all know what happens.
The tires get a little threadbare and sometimes little things go wrong and there begins to be a
squeak here and a rattle there and a lot of men who consider their wives a possession will do the
same thing with their wives that they do with cars: Trade it in on another model.
Your wife is not a possession. She is a part of you. That’s what the word “partner” means. The
Bible says you are to treat her the way you treat your own body. Instead of thinking of your wife
as a new automobile, think of her as your hand or as your arm. She’s an extension of who you
are. She’s a part of you. For you to get rid of her and trade her in on a new model would be like
you saying, “I’m going to cut off my arm and go to the hospital and get another arm.” No. you
don’t do that without pain and grief and loss to yourself. You treat her the way you treat your
own body. You protect your body. If one of you guys was standing up here on the platform, and
I took a rock and threw it at you, you would dodge it. You would protect yourself. Your wife
needs to be protected just like you would protect your own body. How do you protect her? You
anticipate those things that cause her stress or bother her and you try to protect her from it.
What else do you do to your own body? You provide for its needs. I don’t see many of you men
who look like you are missing many meals. No. Whenever you get hungry, you are going to feed
that body of yours. Your wife also has needs and you need to provide for them. So what are her
needs? That’s what we are going to be talking about today.
2. EVERY WIFE NEEDS CONVERSATION, NOT COMPETITION
Number two. Every wife needs conversation, not competition. Men are competitive. We think
everything is a contest, a game, and that’s why when men are dating even use the phrase “I
scored!” To them it’s a competition. Women are not as competitive. They want interaction. They
want conversation, not competition. Women love with their ears. They like to hear it! Men on
the other hand we know we love with our eyes and that’s why women take pains to make
themselves look so lovely. Women love with their ears. When men learn that, they will be able
to meet the needs of their wives by talking to her and listening to her. Sometimes you will see an