Eph 5:21-33 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Eph 5:21-6:9: 5:21–6:9 Paul gives specific instructions on how believers are to relate to one another in a Christian home (see also Col 3:18–4:1 ; 1 Pet 2:18–3:7 ). Love and respect are to characterize all relationships in the body of Christ as an expression of believers’ commitment to the Lord himself. 5:21 And further, submit to one another: The verb form links it with the command to be filled (5:18 ). This general instruction (cp. Phil 2:3 ) applies to all three relationships that Paul discusses: wives and husbands (Eph 5:22-33 ), children and their parents (6:1-4 ), and slaves and their masters (6:5-9 ). For believers, submission is not expressed out of fear or desire for personal gain, but out of reverence for Christ .

Summary for Eph 5:21-6:9: 5:21–6:9 ^a Paul gives specific instructions on how believers are to relate to one another in a Christian home (see also Col 3:18–4:1 ^b; 1 Pet 2:18–3:7 ^c). Love and respect are to characterize all relationships in the body of Christ as an expression of believers’ commitment to the Lord himself. 5:21 ^d And further, submit to one another: The verb form links it with the command to be filled (5:18 ^e). This general instruction (cp. Phil 2:3 ^f) applies to all three relationships that Paul discusses: wives and husbands (Eph 5:22-33 ^g), children and their parents (6:1-4 ^h), and slaves and their masters (6:5-9 ⁱ). For believers, submission is not expressed out of fear or desire for personal gain, but out of reverence for Christ.
Summary for Eph 5:22-33: 5:22-33 ^j Christian wives are to submit to their husbands, showing them respect. Equally important, Christian husbands are to love their wives (see Col 3:18-19 ^k). Christian marriages become a reflection of the union and relationship between the Lord and the church. 5:22 ^l Submission is part of the life to which the wives’ Christian commitment calls them (see 1 Cor 11:3-10 ^m; 14:34-35 ⁿ; Col 3:18 ^o; 1 Tim 2:11-12 ^p; Titus 2:5 ^q; 1 Pet 3:1-6 ^r).
Summary for Eph 5:23-24: 5:23-24 ^s a husband is the head of his wife: To be the head is to have authority (see 1 Cor 11:3 ^t).

• Christ is the head of the church: See Eph 1:22 ^u; 4:15 ^v; Col 1:18 ^w; 2:10 ^x, 19 ^y.
Summary for Eph 5:25-33: 5:25-33 ^z Christian husbands are to love their wives just as Christ loved the church—that is, sacrificially, for Christ gave up his life for her (5:2 ^aa; cp. Col 3:19 ^ab; 1 Pet 3:7 ^ac).
5:26 ^ad washed by the cleansing of God’s word: The church has been cleansed by the message of good news. God has forgiven the sins of his people through Christ’s sacrificial death (John 15:3 ^ae; cp. Titus 3:5 ^af; 1 Pet 3:21 ^ag).
5:27 ^ah a glorious church without a ... blemish: The church’s sins have been forgiven through Christ’s sacrifice, and her life is purified by the Holy Spirit. As a result, the church stands holy and without fault before God. Cp. 1:4 ^ai; 2 Cor 11:2 ^aj; Col 1:22 ^ak; Rev 19:7-8 ^al; 21:2 ^am.
Summary for Eph 5:28-29: 5:28-29 ^an Husbands should prize and cherish their wives, for in marriage the two have become one (see 5:31 ^ao).
5:31 ^ap The unity of husband and wife should motivate the husband to care for his wife.
5:32 ^aq it is an illustration: Both the unity of husband and wife and the unity of Christ and the church are a great mystery (see study note on 1:8-10).
5:33 ^ar Paul summarizes his teaching on the relationship between husbands and wives (5:22-33 ^as). Christian marriages should be marked by love and respect.