SUBMITTING TOGETHER
Opening Prayer
Lord, keep my heart open to hear what You want to speak to me through these verses.
Read Ephesians 5:21–33
Instructions for Christian Households
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”[b] 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 5:26 Or having cleansed
- Ephesians 5:31 Gen. 2:24
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Have you heard these verses get a bad rap? Withhold judgment to see if you can discover what the verses are truly saying.Verse 21 is crucial, introducing both this and tomorrow’s reading. Why must we get this straight first? Why is it to be done ‘out of reverence for Christ’? Take a moment to reflect on areas of your life where this is especially hard.
Verses 22–24. Notice that every instruction is given in terms of our relationship to Christ. This is the starting point. ‘Submit’ is a loaded word; isolated from the rest of Ephesians, the paragraph is crushing. But it is inseparable from verses 25–33. Perhaps it helps to see submission as simply ‘accepting leadership.’ Any biblical role differences in life never imply differences in value. Paul never commands others to enforce submission (including a husband). The parallel of the church to Christ is instructive: the more we know Him, the more it’s unthinkable we wouldn’t want His leadership.
Verses 25–33. This is truly radical. No Roman who considered wives to be possessions could ever have written it. If the wife’s job seems tough, check this out… How does Paul alternate between marriage and church relationships here (28, 29)? Despite the challenging roles both marriage partners have, how is their equality still clear?
Apply
Spend some time in prayer today. If married, focus on your responsibilities. Pray for humility, grace, and repentance. If not married, pray for the attitude in verse 21.
Closing prayer
Jesus, I know so many marriages in our world are hurting. May Your people begin to serve one another out of reverence for You.
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