Christians who share a high view of Scripture hold differing views on marriage.
Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash
Complementarians believe husbands are to exercise headship, while wives are to submit to their leadership.
Biblical mutualists (egalitarians) believe husbands and wives are created to work together as a team, deferring to one another’s strengths and gifts regardless of gender.
A casual reading of Ephesians 5:22-24 in some English translations seems to support the complementarian view.
“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything.”
Sounds like a wife should submit to her husband as her boss, right? Hold on—before we jump to that conclusion, let’s ask ourselves three questions as responsible students of the Word.
1. What is the historical/cultural context in which Paul is writing?
In the ancient Greco-Roman world, household codes were well-established as a foundational part of the social order. Households were generally much larger and more socially complex than our modern idea of the nuclear family. The male household leader held rule (arche) over his wife, children, and slaves.[i]
Paul does something unusual here. He starts out discussing commonly known and understood household codes—but he addresses wives, slaves, and children directly, giving them agency and a voice rather than relaying instructions through the paterfamilias (as was typical in that time).
Even more astonishing is the way he completely reframes the codes.[ii] Paul’s exhortation to husbands introduces something new, unexpected, and uniquely Christian.[iii]
- What is the literary context of the verses in question?
Before talking about wives and husbands, Paul instructs Christians to follow Christ’s example walk as children of the light (5:1-14) and to be filled with the Spirit (5:15-21).
Examples of Spirit-filled living include edifying one another with song, giving thanks to God, and submitting to one another out of respect for the Lord Jesus. As an example of submission, Paul mentions wives submitting to their husbands as to the Lord.[iv]
Hold that thought as we briefly consider translation biases.
The books of the Bible were written without chapter and verse numbers or subtitles. These were added much later, with the unfortunate potential side effect of changing the meaning of a passage.
Koine Greek, the language of the New Testament, differs greatly from English in its alphabet, punctuation (or lack thereof), and word order.
(Having taken some Greek, I can tell you translating Greek sentences into English is about as easy as reassembling a scrambled jigsaw puzzle, but with upside down pieces and no box top!)
Even though some translations put a break between Ephesians 5:21 and 5:22 and insert a heading such as “Wives and Husbands,” no such break or heading exists in the Greek.[v]
Additionally, though some try to argue a wife’s submission is of a different nature than the mutual submission prescribed to all believers in verse 21, the word “submit” is not in verse 22 at all. It is carried over and implied from verse 21.[vi]
There is no other term or different meaning for “submit” in verse 22.
A more accurate rendering of Eph. 5:21-22, then, is:
“…and submit to each other out of respect for Christ; for example, wives to their husbands as to the Lord.”[vii]
3. What do the words for “submit” and “head” mean in the Greek?
The Greek term translated “submit” is hupossato. Its non-military meaning, applicable to this passage, is “…a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden.”[viii]
When addressing slaves and children in Chapter 6, Paul uses a different term, hypakouo, meaning obey (in an absolute sense).[ix]
He is not instructing wives to obey their husbands in Chapter 5; he is instructing them to yield to their husbands and cooperate with them (which believers are to do for one another in general).
The Greek term for “head” is kephale, meaning a literal, physical head. Its metaphorical usage includes top part, beginning, or source of something.[x]
English readers might assume “head” means “leader” as in the head of a corporation, but kephale refers to status and importance (prominence) rather than authority.[xi]
Keeping in mind husbands were considered as more important than their wives, Paul uses the “head” metaphor to make a point:
Christ, head of the church, laid aside his prominence and lovingly sacrificed himself for her—and this is how a husband should treat his wife.
How this all applies
In the context of a staunchly hierarchical culture, Paul’s task is to protect the reputation of the gospel while subverting the social order of his times.
Inspired by the Spirit, he instructs believers in a radically new direction—not to uphold the cultural norm of hierarchy, but to all serve each another.
So, yes, wives should submit to their husbands—but in the context of believers submitting to one another, not because husbands are CEOs.
Logically, this means husbands submit to their wives, too. Marriage involves voluntary cooperation, yielding, and deferring to one another.
Submission says, “I’m willing to make your priorities more important than mine.”
Unlike the hierarchical marriages of ancient times, mutual submission makes for a healthy, Christ-centered marriage.
To learn about women in ministry leadership, purchase Prophesying Daughters: How Prophetic Ministry and Women in Leadership Strengthen the Church, AND the study guide for under $20. Also available in audio book and eBook.
.
