Useful Bible Studies > Ephesians Commentary > chapter 5
Paul has said that wives should respect their husband’s authority. Husbands and wives should not think about themselves as separate from each other. God has joined them together by their marriage (Genesis 2:24), as if they are now one person. The different parts of a person’s body support and provide for each other. So, husbands and wives should, if possible, support and provide for each other. However, the different part of a person’s body do not all carry out the same tasks. God has given to the head the responsibility to direct the body. Therefore, a husband and wife need to recognise the different tasks that God has given to each of them.
The relationship of marriage is like the relationship between Christ and his church. Here, the ‘church’ means all true Christians everywhere. Paul calls Christ ‘the head’; and Christians are ‘the body of Christ’. As the head guides and directs the body, so Christ guides and directs his people. As the head provides the food, and therefore strength, to the body, so Christ provides for his people. As the body cannot live without the head, so Christians depend completely on Christ. He alone is their Saviour, in other words, he saves (rescues) them from their sin (evil deeds), from the devil and from death (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Christ’s relationship to his people is perfect - so, we can obey and trust him in everything. However, the relationship between husbands and wives is not perfect; they do many wrong things. Therefore, Christian husbands and wives should try to learn from how Christ looks after his people. They should try to copy the perfect love that he shows.
Next part: The importance of marriage in God's plan (Ephesians 5:25)
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© 2019, Keith Simons.