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28 So[houto] ought[opheilo] men[aner] to love[agapao] their[heautou] wives[gune] as[hos] their own[heautou] bodies.[soma] He that
loveth[agapao] his[heautou] wife[gune] loveth[agapao] himself.[heautou]KJV-Interlinear
28 So
husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves
his own wife loves himself; NASB
The principle of relationships here takes on yet another view.
As the wife has complete responsibility toward her husband, yet the husband has an even greater responsibility toward his wife in that where both, when married, became as one person, so then the husband being the head of the marriage, must treat his wife just as he treats himself.
This in effect places the wife in the forefront of the marriage. She is the treasure. She is the object of his love. She is the possessor of the gifts of the marital relationship.
And therefore, the husband being the one desiring those gifts for himself, must now consider his wife first and as an equal in so far as he desires to treat himself.
For this reason the marriage relationship is being used to illustrate the love and desires that a man has for himself, and so as the husband, and having a oneness relationship with his wife, then as one person, so too, he must treat his wife with phenomenal courtesy and kindness.
The husband that places himself above and beyond his wife, is in effect committing sin. Likewise the wife, when she places herself above her husband, in withholding that which is due to him, commits sin.
As far as the function of the family is concerned there is a clear hierarchy of authority. A far as the fulfillment of the functions of the family are concerned, the husband must and is mandated to treat his wife no differently than he would himself. Thus his authority is superseded by responsibility and prevents selfish abuse of his authority.
This in no way makes the wife any less responsible in her role, nor can she be abusive in her position toward her husband.
