Ephesians 5
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, …
submit:
♦ to yield to governance or authority
♦ to yield to governance or authority
♦ to commit to the discretion or judgment of another
♦ to yield oneself to the authority or will of another
Greek is hupotasso:
♦ hupo: under, of inferior position or condition
♦ tasso: to arrange in an orderly manner.
… as unto the Lord.
In the same manner that the wife would submit to the Lord Jesus Christ she should submit to her husband. There should be no significant difference between the way the wife submits to, yields to, and obeys her husband, and the way she submits to, yields to, and obeys her God. The wife’s respect for and submission to her husband is a very good indication of her general holiness and submission to God
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, …
head: Director, leader, one in charge of a division or department in an office or institution. Marriage is an institution: a significant relationship type.
… even as Christ is the head of the church: …
Just as Jesus Christ is the head, boss, leader, and Lord of the church, the husband is the head, boss, leader, and lord of the marriage and family.
… and he is the saviour of the body.
He has rescued the church, provides for the church, and protects the church from spiritual harm.
24 Therefore …
For this reason, because Jesus Christ is the Head, Leader and Ruler of the church …
… as the church is subject unto Christ, …
subject: owing obedience and allegiance to the power or dominion of another … … just as the church is subject to, submits to, obeys, respects and reverences Jesus Christ
… so let the wives be to their own husbands …
… the wife is to respond to and treat her husband in the same manner …
… in every thing.
… in any facet of life that is of legitimate concern to her husband. What does this include? Is anything excluded?
33b and the wife see that she …
… The wife should make a diligent and focused effort to …
… reverence her husband.
reverence:
♦ to regard or treat with honor or respect
♦ to show devotion and honor to
Greek is phobeo:
♦ to be frightened, alarmed; by analogy, to be in awe of, reverence
♦ translated: be (sore) afraid (Lk 2:9), fear (exceedingly) (Mk 4:41), reverence (only here)
Suggests:
♦ profound adoring, awed respect, a self-denying
♦ acknowledgement of what has an intrinsic and inviolate claim to respect
DISCUSSION
What does this truth imply about a wife’s overall, foremost and primary purpose, calling, priority and duty in life? (Gen 2:18, 1Co 11:9, Pr 31:12, 1 Peter 3:5)
Can a wife be right with Jesus Christ if she has a defiant, insolent, rebellious, disobedient, disrespectful, argumentative, critical, condescending, sarcastic, contradictory, neglectful, careless or otherwise irreverent attitude toward her husband?
Can a Christian wife not be doing well here? (1 Peter 3:6, 1 John 3:7-8)
When the husband is brutal, bitter, harsh, selfish, wrong, misled, unwise, foolish, unloving, insensitive, careless, or otherwise neglectful, does this alter how the wife should obey and reverence him? If so, how wrong does he have to be? (Gen 20; Ex 21:10, 11, 26; 1 Sam 25, 1 Peter 3:1) Who decides this condition? (Acts 5:29, Rom 7:2)
Does a wife have to agree with her husband about everything he says? (Acts 5:9, 1 Peter 3:1) If not, how should she express concern or disagreement? (1 Peter 3:1,4)
Should a wife’s teaching to the children be consistent with her husband’s? (Pr 1:8, 6:20) What does contradiction and inconsistency in the home do to children?
It is ever appropriate for a wife to require personal privacy? (Lev 15:5, 18:19) What should be her motive in this?
How should a wife respond to her husband’s intervention in her spiritual life? (Num 30 7:8, Acts 17:11, 1 Pet 3:15-16)
Who should correct, rebuke or challenge the husband when he is wrong? (1 Sam 25:37, 1 Peter 3:1, 1 Tim 4:2)
What happens when the wife is not submissive, obedient and respectful to her husband? (Titus 2:5, Esther 1:18, Mark 3:25)
Must the wife actually obey her husband? Does submission really imply obedience? (Titus 2:5, 1 Peter 3:6) Under what conditions?
Should a wife ever deliberately sin in order to please her husband? (Acts 5:1-9)
How does Jesus Christ deal with disobedience in the church? (Re 3:19a) How should the church respond? (Re 3:19b) How should a wife respond to correction from her husband? (1 Peter 3:2-5)
Where should a wife first look for counsel and instruction? (1Co 14:35)
How should wives additionally encourage each other in this regard? (Titus 2:3-5)
How should a wife address her husband? (1 Peter 3:6)
How should a wife converse with her husband? Is this consistent with reverence?
For further reading here please see: Be In Subjection.