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The Excellent Wife

Book Review

What is the role of the wife? How can a woman honor God with her marriage?

Dec 13, 2018

What is the role of the wife? How can a woman honor God with her marriage? What is submission? In The Excellent Wife, Martha Peace seeks to answer these and other important questions regarding womanhood and marriage. This work offers practical instructions and encouragement for the wife who is seeking to honor God with her life. The vast topics discussed include motherhood, ministry, submission, intimacy, abuse and unbelieving husbands.

Martha begins by explaining several fundamental truths that every woman must know and understand. These include the Scriptural view of God, sin, and marriage. Next, Peace explains the wife’s responsibilities as laid out in Scripture. The wife’s first responsibility is to the Lord and second to her husband and family. This includes her responsibility in the home and to love, respect, submit and remain faithful to her husband.

Peace does not shy away from the controversial issue of submission. Rather she seeks to define it biblically. Women were created equal to men yet were designed by God to be in submission to their husbands. This example of joyful submission is demonstrated by the Son and the Holy Spirit who are equal to the Father yet willingly submit to Him.

Towards the end of the book, Peace devotes an entire chapter to the issue of fear. A wife may fear losing her husband or failing as a mother. Regardless of the source of her fear, the excellent wife can replace this anxiousness with trust in God. Peace encourages the reader to pray once she begins to feel anxious and align her thoughts with the description in Philippians 4:8. The antidote to fear is trust in God and faith in His sovereignty.

One of the greatest strengths of this book is its commitment to Scripture. Peace highlights countless passages throughout the book showing that God’s Word is the final authority for life and godliness (2 Timothy 3:16). The book is not written on the basis of human wisdom, but according to the teaching of Scripture and the description of the excellent wife contained therein. Whether you’re seeking practical encouragement for your own life, or hoping to gain a biblical theology of wifehood to aid in your counseling ministry, The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace is an excellent place to start.

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 31:10).

Helpful Quotes

  1. “God’s will for every wife is that her most important ministry be to her husband.”
  2. “That’s the purpose of this book that you might first consider what it means to be an excellent wife and then faithfully commit yourself to that end.”
  3. “As a beautiful flower in the light of the morning sun reflects the glory of God’s creation, an excellent wife reflects God’s glory by her attitudes and actions.”
  4. “In spite of the husband’s imperfections, God has chosen to place the wife under the authority of her husband.”
  5. “Helping each other become more like Christ so that they can glorify Him more is God’s purpose for marriage.”
  6. “God has always intended for the home to be the wife’s domain.”
  7. “The Bible teaches that God has provided several ways to protect a wife whose husband is sinning and that it is the wife’s responsibility to take advantage of His protection.”
  8. “Biblical principles concerning the wife’s submission: 1.) A wife is to be submissive to her husband in all things unless her husband asks her to sin. 2.) A wife is to be submissive even if her husband is not a Christian…”
  9. “The excellent wife is one who ‘opens her mouth in wisdom.’”
  10. “Not being afraid is an element of trusting God, of being a godly person, and of being a godly wife. In fact, being fearless is included in the description of the Excellent Wife in Proverbs 31.”
  11. “Realize that you can still be the excellent wife God intends whether your husband is closed off from you or not.”