Revision #13179
Ephesians 5:22-25
Localized for English-speaking readers
Status: approved
Changes from the previous English revision
= ## Context
- Ephesians 5:21-6:9 is a so-called "household code" addressing the relationships between wives and husbands, children and parents, and servants and masters. A similar form appears in Colossians 3:18-4:1 and 1 Peter 2:18-3:7, and Greco-Roman writings on household ethics from the same period also employed it. The immediately preceding verse, verse 21, reads, "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Some of the oldest manuscripts lack the verb "submit" in verse 22, so that the verse depends on the verb of verse 21. In verse 32, Paul says that all of this is a great mystery spoken "concerning Christ and the church."
+ Ephesians 5:21-6:9 is a so-called "household code" addressing the relationships between wives and husbands, children and parents, and servants and masters. A similar form appears in Colossians 3:18-4:1 and 1 Peter 2:18-3:7, and Greco-Roman writings on household ethics from the same period also used it. The immediately preceding verse, verse 21, reads, "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Some of the oldest manuscripts lack the verb "submit" in verse 22, so that the verse depends on the verb of verse 21. In verse 32, Paul says that all of this is a great mystery spoken "concerning Christ and the church."
=
= ## Interpretation
= - **Complementarian reading**: Husbands and wives are equal in dignity and worth but differ in role; according to the order of creation, the husband is to lead with a self-sacrificing, Christlike love, and the wife is to follow that leadership willingly. Proponents cite verse 23, "the husband is the head of the wife."
- - **Egalitarian reading**: The mutual submission of verse 21 is the governing principle of the entire passage, and verses 22 and following apply that principle within the household structures of the day. Just as the instructions to servants and masters in the same passage do not endorse slavery, so the husband's authority is likewise a cultural form of that time.
+ - **Egalitarian reading**: The mutual submission of verse 21 is the governing principle of the entire passage, and verses 22 and following apply that principle within the household structures of the day. Just as the instructions to servants and masters in the same passage do not endorse slavery, the husband's authority is likewise a cultural form of that time.
= - **A radical demand in its day**: Whichever view is taken, there is broad agreement that commanding husbands to love their wives as Christ gave himself was a radical demand in a society that emphasized the rights of the head of the household. Paul devotes more space to husbands than to wives.
=
…
= Critics both inside and outside the church have charged that this passage has been used to justify domestic violence or one-sided control over wives. Complementarians and egalitarians alike hold that such misuse directly contradicts the standard of Christ's self-sacrificing love. The interpretation of this passage is also connected to the debate within the church over the ordination of women.
=
- ## In the Korean Church
- The passage is frequently used in Scripture readings and officiants' addresses at wedding services, as well as in family ministries such as marriage seminars and Father School programs.
+ ## In Korean Churches
+ In Korean Protestant churches, the passage is frequently used in Scripture readings and officiants' addresses at wedding services, as well as in family ministries such as marriage seminars and the Father School program.
=
= ## Related Passages
…
Full revision
A passage that moves from "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord" to "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." It is frequently read at wedding services, and interpretations of what it teaches about the relationship between men and women and about authority in the home differ sharply.
Context
Ephesians 5:21-6:9 is a so-called "household code" addressing the relationships between wives and husbands, children and parents, and servants and masters. A similar form appears in Colossians 3:18-4:1 and 1 Peter 2:18-3:7, and Greco-Roman writings on household ethics from the same period also used it. The immediately preceding verse, verse 21, reads, "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Some of the oldest manuscripts lack the verb "submit" in verse 22, so that the verse depends on the verb of verse 21. In verse 32, Paul says that all of this is a great mystery spoken "concerning Christ and the church."
Interpretation
- Complementarian reading: Husbands and wives are equal in dignity and worth but differ in role; according to the order of creation, the husband is to lead with a self-sacrificing, Christlike love, and the wife is to follow that leadership willingly. Proponents cite verse 23, "the husband is the head of the wife."
- Egalitarian reading: The mutual submission of verse 21 is the governing principle of the entire passage, and verses 22 and following apply that principle within the household structures of the day. Just as the instructions to servants and masters in the same passage do not endorse slavery, the husband's authority is likewise a cultural form of that time.
- A radical demand in its day: Whichever view is taken, there is broad agreement that commanding husbands to love their wives as Christ gave himself was a radical demand in a society that emphasized the rights of the head of the household. Paul devotes more space to husbands than to wives.
Controversies and Issues
Critics both inside and outside the church have charged that this passage has been used to justify domestic violence or one-sided control over wives. Complementarians and egalitarians alike hold that such misuse directly contradicts the standard of Christ's self-sacrificing love. The interpretation of this passage is also connected to the debate within the church over the ordination of women.
In Korean Churches
In Korean Protestant churches, the passage is frequently used in Scripture readings and officiants' addresses at wedding services, as well as in family ministries such as marriage seminars and the Father School program.
Related Passages
- Ephesians 5:21, 28-33
- Colossians 3:18-19
- 1 Peter 3:1-7
- Genesis 2:24