The Ekklesia of Christ
Chapter 6 - The Ekklesia and Marriage
The metaphor of the husband and wife relationship is also applied to the ekklesia in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. This is not an entirely new concept, for Isaiah spoke of the Lord being the husband of the redeemed: “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called” (Isaiah 54:5). However, Paul goes into some specific details in Ephesians 5:22-27:
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Submit, in this case (v.22), comes from the same Greek word as used in the previous verse when speaking of submitting to one another; this is particularly significant when we realize that Paul is beginning to draw the parallel between Christ’s relationship with His called-out ones and that between a husband and wife. In the previous verse (v. 21) we are told that we are to submit to one another in the fear of God: we are not to lord it over one another, and we are all on level ground before the Lord. Jesus said: “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28). Jesus very clearly declared that there is to be no positional authority ascribed to a “pastor” (unlike what is so prevalent today); we are to practice a mutual submission “in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21), which excludes the unquestioning obedience that many “pastors” demand.
Even though the word submit, in verse 22, is the same as that used in the previous verse, there is one significant difference: it is now a command. Here we are told that the The wife is to be under submission to her husband, not anyone else’s husband, and this is to be like unto her submission to the Lord: the two qualifiers to her submission. In the context of the previous verse, one man cannot tell another man’s wife how she is to conduct herself as a wife (he can tell her, but her obligation is to her own husband, not to another man). Ultimately, her submission is not to go beyond what would be required of her by the Lord; the guiding rule, even with her own husband, is that her submission to him must be as unto the Lord. Anything that her husband might ask of her cannot be outside of the guidelines of what the Lord would require. In this there is safety for the wife, and a responsibility on the part of the husband to know what the Lord wants. Once again, we see the consistency of God: in Genesis 3:16 God told Eve, “…thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee,” and this is God’s instruction to wives after the Lord was ascended to heaven: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” This has nothing to do with equality or value, but everything to do with the role that God has prescribed.
Lest we should miss the importance of the roles that God has ordained, the very next statement provides us with the initial context for this submission: “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23). In the Greek, verses 22 and 23 are more closely linked, and the latter provides us with the reason for the wife’s required submission to her husband; the first word of verse 23 is really because, and it draws the two thoughts together: the wife is to submit because the husband is the head.1
We have just looked at the metaphor of the Body, where it is clearly stated that Christ is the Head (Ephesians 4:15; Colossians 1:18). We might readily recognize that a physical body separated from its head is no longer alive and is a corpse; however, do we so readily recognize that the same is true for the Body of Christ? If a member of the Body of Christ severs himself from the Head, how long will that member continue to function in his designed capacity? It is vitally important that we maintain a personal, living relationship with Christ; unless we continue to abide in the Vine, we will be removed, we will dry up, and be cast into the fire (John 15:6). Yet, here we are called on to carry that thought one step further: in the same way that Christ is the Head of the ekklesia, so the husband is the head of the wife within the marriage relationship. This is God’s pattern for the wife’s submission to the husband – the husband is her head.
The feminist movement shudders at these concepts, and even among Evangelicals there is a “Christianized” version of this movement that advocates “Christ’s liberation from human limitations imposed by gender, ethnicity or class.”2 In other words, there are to be no restrictions based upon the roles that God has called men and women to fill; they would be quick to quote Galatians 3:28 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s message to the Galatians was that through faith in Christ we all become children of God – there is no difference based upon who we might be; however, this cannot be misconstrued to mean that there are no longer gender roles within God’s ekklesia. The organization, Christians for Biblical Equality, claims that if the Bible is “properly interpreted” it will yield the fruit of Christian feminism, and they promote themselves as being a Christian, Evangelical organization.3 Perhaps if women understood more clearly that the husband is to be their head, even as Christ is the Head of the ekklesia, they would object less to the special role to which God has called them. Nevertheless, if they are unwilling to submit to Christ as Lord (and feminism stands contrary to such), then it only follows that they would find it equally difficult to be called by God to submit to their husbands.
However, there is more to verse 23: “… and he [i.e., Christ] is the saviour of the body.” The word saviour means “a savior, deliverer, preserver,”4 and is a reminder to the husbands of Christ’s role in relationship to the Body. Therefore, for the husband to fulfill his role as head in the marriage relationship, he must be willing to sacrifice of himself for the preservation and well-being of his wife. Look at God’s pronouncement of punishment on Adam:
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Genesis 3:17-19).
You’ll notice that there is no mention of the man’s rule over his wife (as compared to the punishment meted out to the woman in Genesis 3:16); the man would now have to labor in order to provide for his helpmeet. Contrary to modern thinking, God’s order for marriage is for the man to be the provider. In the sin that took place in the Garden of Eden, Adam submitted to Eve – he took the forbidden fruit that Eve offered to him. However, in the curse that God placed upon mankind, He clearly re-delineated the roles for the man and woman (Genesis 2:18): the man is to work in order to provide for his wife, and the wife is to be ruled by her husband. Today the husband-wife functions have become blended to such an extent that families are in a terrible mess – small wonder when we have carelessly set aside the God-designed roles for the marriage relationship.
We often acknowledge that repetition within Scripture is an indication of the importance of something, an axiom that we would do well to keep in mind. We now come to Ephesians 5:24 which states: “Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” In case we didn’t catch it the first time, the Spirit of God repeats in clear, unmistakable language what was just said, so that we cannot miss it; in other words, pay attention because this is important! This is a plain, straight-forward declaration of what God wants in a marriage, and the Greek text supports the translation as found in the KJV. However, we must realize that this is contrary to modern thinking, even among Evangelicals. If we consider for a moment how several modern texts handle this verse, we will realize afresh the attack of Satan against the Word of God:
New International Version: “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”
New Century Version: “As the church yields to Christ, so you wives should yield to your husbands in everything.”
The Message: “So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.”
New American Standard Bible: “But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.”
Contemporary English Version: “Wives should always put their husbands first, as the church puts Christ first.”
There is a common theme of variance throughout these translations that are quite prevalent among Evangelicals today: the introduction of the word should, or the phrase ought to, takes the sting out of this plain declaration by the Spirit of God, and makes it more palatable for our modern tastes – and more optional for Evangelicals. This is a very simple and small demonstration of Satan’s effectiveness at undermining the authority of Scripture; despite God’s warnings against adding to or taking away from His Word (Deuteronomy 4:2), these translations continue to enjoy great popularity. Evangelicals may claim the Bible to be their final authority for faith and life, but when they rely upon a modern translation that no longer carries the untainted words of God, their claim holds little merit and we must be cautious!
As we move forward to Ephesians 5:25, we see that the focus shifts from the responsibility of the wife to the responsibility of the husband, and this provides a necessary context for the wife’s submission. It says: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it….” This carries the imperative mood; i.e., it is a direct command from God. God understands our hearts: in Genesis 3 after telling Eve, as the wife, that she would be ruled by her husband, we would expect God to then tell Adam about ruling his wife – but God didn’t do that. We’ve just read, and seen emphasized, the responsibility of the wife to submit to her husband, and might expect God to tell the husband how he is to rule over his wife – but, once again, that is not what we see. After reading of the wife’s need to submit to her husband, and seeing it emphasized, the husband is now commanded to love his wife in the same way that Christ loves the ekklesia. Wow! Notice the parallel here: the wife is to submit to her husband as unto the Lord (Ephesians 5:22); the husband is to love his wife as the Lord loves His redeemed ones. In both cases, the requirement that is to be fulfilled is patterned after the Lord. The incredible thing is that if the husband fulfills his responsibility to love his wife as Christ loves the ekklesia, then as the wife submits to her husband, it will be the same as submitting to the Lord. Once again the husband is reminded that his love is to be a sacrificial love.
The metaphor of the husband and wife relationship is also applied to the ekklesia in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. This is not an entirely new concept, for Isaiah spoke of the Lord being the husband of the redeemed: “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called” (Isaiah 54:5). However, Paul goes into some specific details in Ephesians 5:22-27:
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Submit, in this case (v.22), comes from the same Greek word as used in the previous verse when speaking of submitting to one another; this is particularly significant when we realize that Paul is beginning to draw the parallel between Christ’s relationship with His called-out ones and that between a husband and wife. In the previous verse (v. 21) we are told that we are to submit to one another in the fear of God: we are not to lord it over one another, and we are all on level ground before the Lord. Jesus said: “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28). Jesus very clearly declared that there is to be no positional authority ascribed to a “pastor” (unlike what is so prevalent today); we are to practice a mutual submission “in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21), which excludes the unquestioning obedience that many “pastors” demand.
Even though the word submit, in verse 22, is the same as that used in the previous verse, there is one significant difference: it is now a command. Here we are told that the The wife is to be under submission to her husband, not anyone else’s husband, and this is to be like unto her submission to the Lord: the two qualifiers to her submission. In the context of the previous verse, one man cannot tell another man’s wife how she is to conduct herself as a wife (he can tell her, but her obligation is to her own husband, not to another man). Ultimately, her submission is not to go beyond what would be required of her by the Lord; the guiding rule, even with her own husband, is that her submission to him must be as unto the Lord. Anything that her husband might ask of her cannot be outside of the guidelines of what the Lord would require. In this there is safety for the wife, and a responsibility on the part of the husband to know what the Lord wants. Once again, we see the consistency of God: in Genesis 3:16 God told Eve, “…thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee,” and this is God’s instruction to wives after the Lord was ascended to heaven: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” This has nothing to do with equality or value, but everything to do with the role that God has prescribed.
Lest we should miss the importance of the roles that God has ordained, the very next statement provides us with the initial context for this submission: “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23). In the Greek, verses 22 and 23 are more closely linked, and the latter provides us with the reason for the wife’s required submission to her husband; the first word of verse 23 is really because, and it draws the two thoughts together: the wife is to submit because the husband is the head.1
We have just looked at the metaphor of the Body, where it is clearly stated that Christ is the Head (Ephesians 4:15; Colossians 1:18). We might readily recognize that a physical body separated from its head is no longer alive and is a corpse; however, do we so readily recognize that the same is true for the Body of Christ? If a member of the Body of Christ severs himself from the Head, how long will that member continue to function in his designed capacity? It is vitally important that we maintain a personal, living relationship with Christ; unless we continue to abide in the Vine, we will be removed, we will dry up, and be cast into the fire (John 15:6). Yet, here we are called on to carry that thought one step further: in the same way that Christ is the Head of the ekklesia, so the husband is the head of the wife within the marriage relationship. This is God’s pattern for the wife’s submission to the husband – the husband is her head.
The feminist movement shudders at these concepts, and even among Evangelicals there is a “Christianized” version of this movement that advocates “Christ’s liberation from human limitations imposed by gender, ethnicity or class.”2 In other words, there are to be no restrictions based upon the roles that God has called men and women to fill; they would be quick to quote Galatians 3:28 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s message to the Galatians was that through faith in Christ we all become children of God – there is no difference based upon who we might be; however, this cannot be misconstrued to mean that there are no longer gender roles within God’s ekklesia. The organization, Christians for Biblical Equality, claims that if the Bible is “properly interpreted” it will yield the fruit of Christian feminism, and they promote themselves as being a Christian, Evangelical organization.3 Perhaps if women understood more clearly that the husband is to be their head, even as Christ is the Head of the ekklesia, they would object less to the special role to which God has called them. Nevertheless, if they are unwilling to submit to Christ as Lord (and feminism stands contrary to such), then it only follows that they would find it equally difficult to be called by God to submit to their husbands.
However, there is more to verse 23: “… and he [i.e., Christ] is the saviour of the body.” The word saviour means “a savior, deliverer, preserver,”4 and is a reminder to the husbands of Christ’s role in relationship to the Body. Therefore, for the husband to fulfill his role as head in the marriage relationship, he must be willing to sacrifice of himself for the preservation and well-being of his wife. Look at God’s pronouncement of punishment on Adam:
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Genesis 3:17-19).
You’ll notice that there is no mention of the man’s rule over his wife (as compared to the punishment meted out to the woman in Genesis 3:16); the man would now have to labor in order to provide for his helpmeet. Contrary to modern thinking, God’s order for marriage is for the man to be the provider. In the sin that took place in the Garden of Eden, Adam submitted to Eve – he took the forbidden fruit that Eve offered to him. However, in the curse that God placed upon mankind, He clearly re-delineated the roles for the man and woman (Genesis 2:18): the man is to work in order to provide for his wife, and the wife is to be ruled by her husband. Today the husband-wife functions have become blended to such an extent that families are in a terrible mess – small wonder when we have carelessly set aside the God-designed roles for the marriage relationship.
We often acknowledge that repetition within Scripture is an indication of the importance of something, an axiom that we would do well to keep in mind. We now come to Ephesians 5:24 which states: “Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” In case we didn’t catch it the first time, the Spirit of God repeats in clear, unmistakable language what was just said, so that we cannot miss it; in other words, pay attention because this is important! This is a plain, straight-forward declaration of what God wants in a marriage, and the Greek text supports the translation as found in the KJV. However, we must realize that this is contrary to modern thinking, even among Evangelicals. If we consider for a moment how several modern texts handle this verse, we will realize afresh the attack of Satan against the Word of God:
New International Version: “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”
New Century Version: “As the church yields to Christ, so you wives should yield to your husbands in everything.”
The Message: “So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.”
New American Standard Bible: “But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.”
Contemporary English Version: “Wives should always put their husbands first, as the church puts Christ first.”
There is a common theme of variance throughout these translations that are quite prevalent among Evangelicals today: the introduction of the word should, or the phrase ought to, takes the sting out of this plain declaration by the Spirit of God, and makes it more palatable for our modern tastes – and more optional for Evangelicals. This is a very simple and small demonstration of Satan’s effectiveness at undermining the authority of Scripture; despite God’s warnings against adding to or taking away from His Word (Deuteronomy 4:2), these translations continue to enjoy great popularity. Evangelicals may claim the Bible to be their final authority for faith and life, but when they rely upon a modern translation that no longer carries the untainted words of God, their claim holds little merit and we must be cautious!
As we move forward to Ephesians 5:25, we see that the focus shifts from the responsibility of the wife to the responsibility of the husband, and this provides a necessary context for the wife’s submission. It says: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it….” This carries the imperative mood; i.e., it is a direct command from God. God understands our hearts: in Genesis 3 after telling Eve, as the wife, that she would be ruled by her husband, we would expect God to then tell Adam about ruling his wife – but God didn’t do that. We’ve just read, and seen emphasized, the responsibility of the wife to submit to her husband, and might expect God to tell the husband how he is to rule over his wife – but, once again, that is not what we see. After reading of the wife’s need to submit to her husband, and seeing it emphasized, the husband is now commanded to love his wife in the same way that Christ loves the ekklesia. Wow! Notice the parallel here: the wife is to submit to her husband as unto the Lord (Ephesians 5:22); the husband is to love his wife as the Lord loves His redeemed ones. In both cases, the requirement that is to be fulfilled is patterned after the Lord. The incredible thing is that if the husband fulfills his responsibility to love his wife as Christ loves the ekklesia, then as the wife submits to her husband, it will be the same as submitting to the Lord. Once again the husband is reminded that his love is to be a sacrificial love.
The passage in Ephesians goes on to describe what Christ will accomplish in His ekklesia because He has given Himself for her: she will be holy and without blemish (v. 27) before Him in His purity and holiness. What assurance we have, even as we struggle today to live a godly life, that there will come a day when we will stand before the One Who is truly pure and holy and we will be without blemish – an incredible thought! However, our look at this metaphor would not be complete without this additional thought: “… from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mark 10:6-9). By using the metaphor of the marriage relationship to portray Christ’s relationship with the ekklesia, His called-out ones, God has underscored the unity that is to be found in Christ. As we remain in Christ, we will experience a growing unity of the Body and an increasing unity with the Lord Jesus. The mystery of becoming one flesh in marriage is a picture of what takes place spiritually with Christ and the ekklesia (Ephesians 5:31-32). This is not a unity that comes through our efforts to join with those who purport to hold to a similar faith, but only through having been grafted into the Olive Tree, the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 11:16-22). Isaiah saw Messiah coming and spoke of Him as a “root out of dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). It is only in Christ, the Messiah, “the anointed One,” that we have true unity (John 15:6) – a truth that is so needful to keep firmly in mind in this day when unity through our own efforts has become so common.
The question asked earlier was: “How should we then live?” As we have worked our way through the metaphors of the body and the marriage relationship, what has become evident is that we are inextricably tied to Christ for everything. In ourselves we are dead in our sins, without hope in a world that does not know Christ.
…if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:11-14).
The answer to our question is: we are to live by the Spirit of God; the Lord has given us His Word to be our guide, a Word that is filled with commands to which we are to give heed.
The question asked earlier was: “How should we then live?” As we have worked our way through the metaphors of the body and the marriage relationship, what has become evident is that we are inextricably tied to Christ for everything. In ourselves we are dead in our sins, without hope in a world that does not know Christ.
…if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:11-14).
The answer to our question is: we are to live by the Spirit of God; the Lord has given us His Word to be our guide, a Word that is filled with commands to which we are to give heed.
__________________
1 Strong’s Online.
2 http://www.cbeinternational.org/new/membership/ind_family.shtml
3 The CBE is endorsed by Tony Campolo (Evangelical heretic at large), Gordon Fee (Regent College, Vancouver), Richard Foster (Renovaré – spiritual formation guru), as well as professors at Fuller Theological Seminary, Gordon-Conwell Seminary (Walter Kaiser), and those with the Salvation Army, YWAM, and Inter-Varsity.
4 Vine’s, “Savior.”
1 Strong’s Online.
2 http://www.cbeinternational.org/new/membership/ind_family.shtml
3 The CBE is endorsed by Tony Campolo (Evangelical heretic at large), Gordon Fee (Regent College, Vancouver), Richard Foster (Renovaré – spiritual formation guru), as well as professors at Fuller Theological Seminary, Gordon-Conwell Seminary (Walter Kaiser), and those with the Salvation Army, YWAM, and Inter-Varsity.
4 Vine’s, “Savior.”