Ephesians 5:22-24
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 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. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Reflection
This passage has gotten a lot of attention and much of that attention has been very controversial. This passage has been used, in some cases, as a biblical means of men having complete and total control over their wives.
The reason this passage has been interpreted in this manner is because it has been lifted out of the context of the total teaching on mutual submission. These verses cannot be interpreted appropriately if it is considered apart from the totality of verses 5:21 to 6:9. Paul is giving several examples of how relationships of all kinds should be based on a mutual giving of themselves to one another. In these four verses Paul is showing how wives can live in submission to their husbands. However, this submission was never meant to be a one way street. To get the full picture we must continue reading and we will deal with the subsequent verses through the remainder of this week.
Can you think of specific ways this passage has been misinterpreted?
Are you beginning to view this scripture differently than you had before?
