Ephesians Chapter Five Part 5
Ephesians Chapter Five – Part 5
Text in parentheses in Bible quotes is mine.
Okay, this section is a big one. Are you ready for all the submit, love, and respect language? You may have heard this taught in some pretty awful ways. Ways that elevate one gender and denigrate the other. I am here to tell you that Father is nothing like that at all. Let us begin by reading through to the end of the chapter.
Ephesians 5:22-33 “22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”
Now we can begin to unpack this. The first thing I want to say is that all of this must be taken in the context of what Paul wrote earlier in this passage. Specifically, the encouragement to be filled with the Spirit and know the will of God, and to submit one to another. Turn back in Ephesians 5 to verse 18 and notice that in many Bible translations there are semicolons at the end of verses 18, 19, and 20. This is because in the Greek those verses are all one sentence. Moreover, Paul sometimes has a confusing way of writing, and that propensity is in evidence here. I will not get into all the details here because it will take away from the point. I just want you to see that these earlier verses are connected with the truth Paul is discussing here.
You may also notice that verse 21 is set as the beginning of a paragraph. Do not get hung up on things like that when studying the Bible. None of that sort of punctuation exists in the original languages. I bring this point up because many people separate these sections based upon that paragraph separation and it leads to poor exegesis and bad teaching. Verse 21 is part of that long sentence about being filled and knowing God’s will. “21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear (this fear is reverent respect) of God.”
Submitting ourselves one to another is a natural thing when we are walking according to the Spirit and when we know the will of God is that we love one another as He has loved us. (see John 6:28-29) Now Paul proceeds to give us some examples of what that looks like.
Ephesians 5:22-24 “22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.”
The key to understanding this is realizing that Jesus is the head over us all, women and men. Jesus is the head of the Church, the head of all that is. Yet He never lords it over us. Here is how He said it in Matthew 20:25-28 (KJV) “25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; (servant) 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Because He loves us in this way, we find it natural to submit to Him. We are convinced He wants what is best for us, so we do not feel less-than when we recognize His loving guidance. He elevates us, encourages us, builds us up. He protects and saves us. He rescues us. It is a partnership. We are on the same team. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. His love is perfected in us. We participate in His nature. He in us, and we in Him.
Ephesians 5:25-28 “28 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. (This connects directly to verse 31) 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”
So this is mutual submission. It is Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. It is Jesus, the very God of the universe, coming to serve, not to be served. It is us submitting to Him not out of duty or obligation, not out of threat of punishment or fear of reprisal, but out of love, respect, and gratitude. Wives and husbands compliment one another, but neither lords it over the other. One is strong where the other is weak, but neither is more important. One may bring feeling, beauty, and comfort while the other brings vigilance, strength, and security, but neither has higher rank. In the end, this passage shows us that marriage is a picture of the relationship Jesus has with us.
