How vital it is that husbands are the authority in the home.  I’m going to say it, again, because of some of the feedback.  A little bit of the feedback we’ve heard that we want to make sure that many of us, men, and I’m not just speaking to the young men or the young marrieds.  That helpmeet is for the purpose of standing beside you, assisting you, giving feminine input, a co‑laborer.  We emphasized it in the last session.  Don’t make any kind of major decisions without getting counsel and input from your wife; amen?  It’s God’s anointing on them, as females.  That was His purpose, that’s their role, and so God will anoint them to fulfill their role.  Can I say that again?  To show you how it’s a supernatural thing.  That’s their role, and God anoints whoever He calls to fulfill their role.  You don’t even, in yourself, have the privilege of making the decisions, but you are anointed as the head.  Not based upon your physical knowledge or your experience; you’re anointed by God to fulfill that role.  You need to believe for that anointing to manifest itself when you’re making those decisions.  Not trusting your own wisdom, not trusting your own knowledge, not being alone.  Because, men, if we exclude the input of our wives, we’re alone again.  It’s vital for us to allow God to fulfill that. 

So, He admonishes us here, husbands.  He said, “I want to talk to you for a minute.  Dwell with your wives.”  Dwell with your wives.  That word literally means “to continue to cohabit.”  Dwell, “continue to cohabit.”  That doesn’t just mean to live in the same house.  It means to be in unity.  Some might have even asked, as we started this teaching, “What’s going on?  Are there problems in the church,” and somebody would think along those particular lines.   Let me remind you of something.  You can be divorced and be living in the same house.  Divorce is not a legal act; it’s a spiritual act.  We saw the handwriting of divorcement, and it was given because of a spiritual consequence of the hardening of the heart.  But the divorce doesn’t start the day that document is presented.  It starts the day you remain unteachable.  You love yourself more than you love your wife or vice versa, but we’re talking to the men right now.

The divorce starts when you don’t need their counsel, in your own thinking.  The divorce starts when you begin to be married to your job or your leisure time.  The divorce starts when you begin to have business relationships, friendships with women on the job.  We talked about you not receiving compliments from these strange women but let me, again, also insert into that, don’t be giving compliments to any women.  Are you hearing me?  Especially in your wife’s presence.  I’ve heard people do that and in their wife’s presence, tell some other lady how nice she looks, and whatever‑it‑is or something that would edify or built that other person up.  What has the Spirit of God spoken toward as it pertains to your wife.  In this passage, here, showing them honor as they fulfill their role as a subordinate partner.

We talked about never speaking anything negative about your wife’s physicality.  So, in that same role, never speak toward another woman’s physicality in your wife’s presence.  “Oh, I love your hair.  What a pretty dress.”  Whatever else that it might be that manifests itself, your edification, your compliments, your love is addressed to your wife, and to her only.  This cohabiting is one of spirit, not just locality.  Cohab, continually build upon that coming together of one heart and one mind, make sure that there is that agreement together.  Always listen to your wife when she has insight to give you.