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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eph_5:25 to Eph_6:3
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30because we are members of His body. 31For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. Eph_6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.
Eph_5:25 "Husbands, love your wives" This is a present active imperative which is the only imperative in the paragraph. The husband should set the spiritual atmosphere in the home by continuing to love his wife as Christ loved the church. This was a radically positive statement in its day, but in our day the whole passage seems negative because it reflects the theological concept of male headship in the home (cf. Gen_3:16; 1Co_11:3; 2Ti_2:13). However, Christian husbands are servant leaders, not bosses.
▣ "gave Himself up for her" The Greek preposition huper means "on behalf of." This refers to the vicarious, substitutionary atonement of Christ. It is also the kind of self-giving love required of husbands.
Eph_5:26 "He might sanctify her" The main verbs in Eph_5:26-27 are both aorist active subjunctives (cf. Joh_17:17-19; Tit_2:14; Heb_10:10; Heb_10:14; Heb_10:29; Heb_13:12). The word sanctify is from the root "holy." The purpose of justification is sanctification (cf. Eph_1:4; Rom. 8:29-20). The subjunctive mood adds a note of contingency. As the church must cooperate, so too, the wife.
NASB "having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word."
NKJV "cleanse it with the washing of water by the word"
NRSV "by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word"
TEV "by his word, after making it clean by the washing in water"
NJB "He made her clean by washing her in water with a form of words"
This is possibly an OT metaphor for cleansing (cf. Joh_15:3; Tit_3:5). It may refer to
1. the liturgy of baptism (cf. Mat_28:19-20; Act_2:38; Tit_3:5)
2. the public confession of faith at baptism (cf. Act_22:16; 1Co_6:11)
3. a continuation of the marital imagery, a ritual bath of the bride before the ceremony, as a cultural symbol of purity
"The word" probably does not refer to the Bible, but to the words of the administrator of the baptism or of the profession of faith of the candidate.
Eph_5:27 "He might present to Himself the Church" This is another aorist active subjunctive, which presents an element of contingency. This seems to refer to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (cf. Rev_19:6-9). Just as Jesus' love for the church revolutionized the church, so too, a husband's love for his wife should stabilize and bless the Christian home.
▣ "spot" This is literally "no impurity."
▣ "wrinkle" Literally this means "no sign of age."
▣ "holy" This is from the same root as "sanctify" in Eph_5:26 (cf. Eph_1:4). See Special Topic: Holy at Eph_1:4.
▣ "blameless" This is an Old Testament sacrificial term (cf. 1Pe_1:19). This same concept is mentioned as God's will for the church in Eph_1:4. See Special Topic: Blameless at Col_1:22.
The cumulative weight of all of these terms is that God desires the complete holiness of His people (Eph_1:4). The goal of Christianity is Christlikeness (cf. Rom_8:28-29; Gal_4:14). The image of God in man will be restored!
Eph_5:28 "as their own bodies" When Christian husbands love their Christian wives, they love themselves because in Christ they are "one flesh" (cf. Gen_2:24). As the Church is the extension of Christ, husbands and wives are an extension of each other.
Eph_5:29 "nourishes" This is a bird metaphor that means "to feed to maturity." It is used of the rearing of children in Eph_6:4.
▣ "cherishes" This is another bird metaphor, "to warm." These two terms should motivate every mature Christian husband's actions toward his wife. Husbands are stewards of their wives' (and children's) gifts as well as their own! The spiritual leader of the home must seek the maturity of each member of the family in Christ.
Eph_5:30 "we are members of His body" The church as a physical body is one of Paul's corporate metaphors which stresses unity amidst diversity (cf. 1Co_12:12-27).
Eph_5:31 This is a quote from the Septuagint (LXX ) of Gen_2:24. As the Christian family is an organic unit, so is the church and Christ. The family is to be one inseparable unit, just as the church and her Lord are (cf. Joh_17:11; Joh_17:21-22) one body (cf. 1 Corinthians 12). This truth rejects the exclusivism of the false teachers of that day and every day.
Eph_5:32 "mystery" The Latin Vulgate has "sacrament," but this is a textual insertion following Roman Catholic sacramentalism. Paul uses the term "mystery" several times probably because it was a favorite term of the Gnostic false teachers. Paul uses it in several ways. Here it relates to the metaphorical comparison between husbands and wives/Christ and the church. For a full discussion see Eph_1:9 and Eph_3:3.
Eph_5:33 "love. . .respect" This is a present active imperative and present middle (deponent) subjunctive. The husband is commanded to continue to love his wife as himself (one flesh, Eph_5:31) and wives are called on to yield to and respect their husbands, which would enhance and strengthen the bonds of love between them. This is the summary statement of the entire passage (Eph_5:21-33).
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