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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eph_5:22-24
22Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
Eph_5:22 "wives, be subject" There is no verb in the Greek text of Eph_5:22. It is supplied from Eph_5:21 (which is one of five present participles describing the spirit-filled life). In this context it is not a command, but a present middle or passive participle. The only command was directed toward husbands in Eph_5:25 (present active imperative)! Husbands are to act in sacrificial, self-giving love toward their wives, who then voluntarily submit.
However there are several parallel passages which urge the submission of wives to husbands:
1. a Present passive imperative in Col_3:18
2. a present passive participle in Tit_2:5 used as an imperative
3. another present passive participle in 1Pe_3:5 used as an imperative
These parallel passages force interpreters to take the participle in Eph_5:21 as a present passive participle used as an imperative (cf. 1Pe_3:1). It is still significant that the voice is passive. Wives must allow the Spirit to perform this task in their lives.
Both the Analytical Greek New Testament by Barbara and Timothy Friberg and An Analysis of the Greek New Testament by Max Zerwick and Mary Grosvenor call this verb a passive voice, but The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised, edited by Harold K. Moulton; Word Pictures In the New Testament by A. T. Robertson; and "Ephesians" in The Anchor Bible Commentary by Markus Barth call it a middle voice. Koine Greek was in the process of merging these two voices into one.
Paul illustrates the Spirit-filled life by using the three members of the Greco-Roman domestic scene who had no rights-wives, children, and slaves. He showed how the Spirit changes cultural relationships into spiritual relationships, rights into responsibilities.
▣ If the participle is middle it emphasizes the wife's voluntary participation in marital submission for the benefit which comes from a peaceful, loving marriage with a believing spouse. If the participle is passive it denotes the wife's need to allow the Spirit to do His work in her heart (cf. Eph_5:18) which affects both the husband and the children, as well as the domestic slaves.
▣ "as to the Lord" One should compare Col_3:18, "in the Lord." It is not that the husband is the ultimate authority, but that wives are to respect their husbands because of their own relationship to Christ. Jesus sets the pattern for both submission to authority (i.e., always the Father's will) and the exercise of authority (i.e., over the church, cf. Eph_5:25).
Eph_5:23 "the husband is the head. . .as Christ is the Head" Christ is depicted as the husband and the church as the bride (cf. Rev_19:7; Rev_21:2; Rev_21:9). Husbands need to act in their God-given leadership position just as Christ did. He gave Himself for the church. It is not a control issue, but a giving-of-self issue.
Male headship is a very controversial issue in our modern western society. This is for several reasons:
1. we do not understand servant leadership
2. we do not like patriarchal societies because of our modern egalitarian emphasis on the worth of the individual
3. we are confused by the Bible's paradoxical way of asserting male headship in some passages and equality in others
In my opinion the answer lies in the example set by Jesus of true headship in relationship to the church and true servanthood (submission) to God the Father. This submission in no way expresses inequality, but administrative functional design. Male headship addresses a kind of leadership which serves the needs of others in a self-giving way. Our modern society rejects authority, yet seeks power!
I can personally accept male headship as a result of the fall (cf. Gen_3:16; 1Ti_2:12-14). I can also affirm it as a biblical concept in light of Jesus' leadership of the church (cf. Eph_5:22-33). But what I find difficult to accept is a patriarchal mandate (i.e., male dominated societies) as God's revealed plan for every age and society (cf. Rom_3:27; 1Co_12:7; 1Co_12:13; Gal_3:28-29; Col_3:11). Does the mutuality so obvious in Gen_1:27; Gen_2:18 which was lost in Adam and Eve's rebellion (cf. Gen_3:16), return in salvation? Is the curse of sin and subservience both dealt within Jesus' redemption? As the new age breaks into the lives of believers now, does also the restoration of complete fellowship with God as in Eden also begin now?
I would also like to make a hermeneutical point. As an interpreter of what I believe to be the self-revelation of the one true God and His Christ, I am surprised by the cultural aspect of Scripture. We see it obviously in the OT (circumcision, food laws, leprosy laws, etc.) But it is much more difficult for us as modern Christians to see it in the NT. I am sure this is (1) because of our love and respect for the Bible and (2) our tendency toward propositional literalism.
The two issues which stand out to me to have obvious cultural aspects (1) male dominated societies (patriarchy) and (2) slavery. The NT never attempts to address the unfairness of these cultural pillars of the ancient world. Possibly because to do so would have meant the destruction of Christianity. Yet the gospel through time is abolishing both! God's truth never changes but societies do change. It is a grave mistake for us to attempt to turn first century Greco-Roman culture into God's will for all people in all places and of course the same is true for Israelite culture. Into each of them God revealed Himself in powerful and permanent ways. The real task is how to get the eternal absolutes out of its cultural husk. A good book which discusses this very issue is Fee and Stuart, How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth.
One way to try to determine what is eternal and, therefore, binding on all believers in all periods and what is cultural or personal preference it is to see if the Bible (OT & NT) gives a uniform message or does it record a variety of opinions (cf. Fee and Stuart's How to read The Bible for All Its Worth).
My fear is that I might let my denominational training, personality, culture and personal preferences silence or diminish a revealed truth! My ultimate authority is God and His revelation (i.e., in His Son and in a written record, the Bible). But I realize He revealed Himself to a specific period of history, to a particular culture and everything in that culture was not His will. Yet, God had to speak to people of that culture in terms and categories they could understand. The Bible then is a historical document. I dare not ignore its supernatural aspect or its cultural aspect.
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Eph_5:24 "but as the church is subject" The form of this verb is either present passive or Present middle indicative (see note at paragraph four at Eph_5:22). As the wife submits to her husband for (1) her own best interest (middle voice) or (2) because she is enabled by God's Spirit (passive voice), so too, the church must submit to Christ.
▣ "church" See notes at Eph_3:10 and Special Topic at Col_1:18.
▣ "in everything" Christ, not husbands, must be the ultimate authority (cf. Mat_10:34-39). This verse does not chain a believing wife to an abusive husband nor does it condone evil actions or deeds demanded by an authoritarian husband.