Journal: Emmaus Journal
Volume: EMJ 17:2 (Winter 2008)
Article: Frustration Or Fulfillment, Or: What The Well-Dressed Couple Should Wear This Year
Author: David J. MacLeod

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EMJ 17:2 (Winter 2008) p. 111

Frustration Or Fulfillment, Or:
What The Well-Dressed Couple Should Wear This Year1

An Exposition Of Ephesians 4:25-32

David J. Macleod

Dave MacLeod is Dean for Biblical Studies at Emmaus Bible College and is Associate Editor of The Emmaus Journal.

William McRae, one of our leading, contemporary, evangelical advocates of marriage enrichment, has said that there are often three stages to a marriage:2 Stage #1 is the honeymoon. It may last one day, one week, one month, or one year, but it will not last forever. Stage #2 is the disillusionment. This takes place in almost every marriage when the illusions of an overly idealistic partner are shattered. He or she begins to question whether he has done the right thing. “Have I made a mistake?” “Maybe we should never have married.” At this second stage the glow fades, and romance becomes routine. While this stage may last a few minutes, a few days, a month, or even a year, it won’t last forever. There is a third stage that will inevitably come. Stage #3 will be marked by either frustration or fulfillment. Which one of the two it will be will be determined by how a given couple handles the disillusionment. What leads to frustration, and how may we avoid it? What leads to fulfillment, and how may we achieve it?

At the heart of this question is how we as husbands and wives communicate with each another about our problems. There is no passage in Scripture which addresses this question as well as Ephesians 4:25-32.3

EMJ 17:2 (Winter 2008) p. 112

By way of introduction to our passage, let me remind you a little bit about Paul’s letter to the Ephesian Christians. In chapters 1-3, the first half of the book, he set forth the grand and wonderful plan of God’s redemption. He showed how God, from the foundation of the world planned and in time executed that redemption in the coming of Jesus. At chapter 4 the apostle turned from the so-called doctrinal section of his letter to practical application. In chapters 4-6 Paul was concerned with the Christian’s “walk,” i.e., his daily manner of life as a Christian.

In 4:1 he said that we are to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” In verse

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