SUMMARY
The bond between JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity. More Christ and the church is extended to the bond of wives and husbands whose duties of raising children are of equal weight in the sight of God. The sense and practice of mutuality start with husbands who are immeasurably summoned to love their wives, echoing God’s creationCreation, in biblical terms, is the universe as we know or perceive it. Genesis says that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the book of Revelation (which speaks of end times) the author declares that God created all things and... More of both male and female. Spiritually, the two are in an equal relationship of protecting and guarding the family, consequently, the analogy used in being stewards of the body of Christ.
ANALYSIS
The author continues to employ Paul’s ethos of what defines members and followers of Jesus Christ. Followers of Jesus Christ who are living as an embodiment of their Master are to live in love, shining the light of Christ, and be guided by the wisdomWisdom encompasses the qualities of experience, knowledge, and good judgment. The Old Testament book of Proverbs, which sometimes invokes a Woman as the personification of Wisdom, is a collection of aphorisms and moral teachings. Along with other biblical passages, it teaches, "The fear of the... More of the HolyHoly is a term that originally meant set apart for the worship or service of God. While the term may refer to people, objects, time, or places, holiness in Judaism and Christianity primarily denotes the realm of the divine More Spirit. Living responsibly and intentionally, submission and obedience to Christ should be the guiding formula governing the relationships and responsibilities between husbands and wives, as well as in raising and shepherding children. The concept of discipleship is well-situated here, and it is in the home that children learn to love, respect, care, and honor others. In the context of the Global South culture and Christian faith, discipleship begins with one’s sensibility to humanize others. We may surmise that PaulThe Apostle Paul, originally known as Saul of Tarsus, was the author of several New Testament letters and the founder of many Christian communities. More, as a Jewish–Christian discipleA disciple is a person who accepts and follows the pronouncements of a teacher. Jesus chose twelve disciples (also called "apostles" in some of the Gospels) to follow him and bear witness to his message Anyone who (like them) follows Jesus is engaged in Christian... More, drew much from his cultural milieu that informed him to be the person he later became as an ambassador, defender of the gospel, and church planter. In a similar fashion, the writer of Ephesians is probably from the Pauline school where the apostle’s teachings were used to train and raise new leaders of the church.
Living in the light of Jesus Christ, spouses are called to walk as ambassadors of the Gospel (5:8-9). As followers of Jesus Christ, the author connects the life of married spouses to that of Jesus Christ who is the Bridegroom of the church. Christ as the husband of the church sacrificed his life to save, cherish, and nourish his bride. Similarly, husbands should imitate Christ’s care and nourishment to their wives. Reciprocally, wives are to mutually submit to their husbands out of respect and as a response to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mutual submission is not meant to oppress or objectify wives, but rather it is done out of reverence for Jesus Christ. In other words, submission is an equal opportunity employer for spouses and their children. It is possible that the author of Ephesians drew some lessons from Genesis 2:24 where a man is said to leave his parents and be united to his wife. This union is both discipleship and a heavenly oriented marriage. The result of mutual living for husbands and wives led to a gospel formation of family lives in the early Christian movement, and in the 21st century global church.
The text echoes Paul’s teaching on the meaning, role, and function of love. As equal members of the same householdA household is a living unit comprised of all the persons who live in one house. A household would embrace all the members of a family, including servants and slaves. In the book of Acts, stories are told of various persons and their households, like... More, parents and children are to love each other, and in doing so, they edify each other. The phrase common in Paul’s letters is “In Christ,” a gospel lesson that calls on believers to put off their cultural and human old selves and their attitudes. Instead, believers are to have godly attitudes that will build fellow members of the household and those of the church. The theological, faith, and spiritual lessons in this chapter are that believers should be kind, loving, empathetic, forgiving, and compassionate (4:31-32). With these virtues in their being, believers will grow in their walk as followers of Jesus Christ, and they will conduct themselves in wisdom. Christian growth is a daily living, and it leads to believers working in redeeming the time and steadily grasping the wisdom of the Lord (5:15–17).
The practice of mutual submission and love is underscored as the pivotal point in any Christian household with Paul pointing to the sacred role of husbands and wives whose mission, ministry, and life is to raise children in love. The submission extends to masters or perhaps company owners that they, too, should not oppress their personnel because Jesus Christ is the master of all humanity (5:22–6:9). manity (5:22-6:9).
