Request your free, three-month trial to Tabletalk magazine. You’ll receive the print issue monthly and gain immediate digital access to decades of archives. This trial is risk-free. No credit card required.
Try Tabletalk NowAlready receive Tabletalk magazine every month?
Verify your email address to gain unlimited access.
Ephesians 5:17–33
“Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17).
The question of roles in marriage is a very volatile one in our day, a major source of conflict. Many movements have arisen in recent decades with goals ranging from merely protesting the treatment of women by men to attempting to blur the very distinctions between the sexes.
The apostle Paul, because of his teaching on the roles of the husband and wife in today’s passage, has drawn extraordinary criticism and has been pilloried as a male chauvinist by some in the feminist movement. Ironically, however, Paul’s teaching in Galatians 3 has been cited by those who hope to show that there is no difference between men and women. In verse 28 of that chapter he writes, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” On its surface, this verse does seem to do away with male/female distinctions. But that interpretation is radically inconsistent with the rest of Paul’s teaching. In actuality, Paul is simply saying here that there is only one way to enter the kingdom of God, the same way for all. It does not matter who or what you are, you may come to God if you will put your faith in Christ.
That leaves us with Ephesians 5. Verse 17 of that chapter sets the stage for Paul’s discussion of roles in marriage. There he says that we must understand what the will of God is. Paul is telling his readers that God has a will for His people, a will expressed in His law, and it is the duty of every Christian to seek to understand it—and obey it, or submit to it. Submission to God is the first rule for every believer. Furthermore, all of us, at certain points, are called to be in submission to human authorities. And beyond that, Christians are to submit to one another, just as Christ submitted to file will of His Father. The spirit of submission is to mark every child of God, for its absence is the lawlessness that is at the root of all sin.
Nevertheless, God has established a structure for the marital and familial relationships. The husband is me head of his wife and of the family. The wife is called to submit to him, and the children to both parents. We will consider these roles in more detail beginning with tomorrow’s study.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
What is your attitude toward the authorities God has established? Do you submit to the civil authorities of your nation, state, city, or town? Do you submit to the leaders of your church? Take time today to write down all the authorities to whom you owe submission, then honestly rate your success. Ask God to make you submissive.
For Further Study
- John 19:11
- Colossians 3:18
- James 4:7
- 1 Peter 2:13–14
- 1 Peter 5:5