Ephesians 5:21-6:9 Lesson 376

Ephesians 5:21-6:9
Lesson 376

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

The Christian home.

Husbands, wives, and children.

Study Tip:

Write down and memorize important Bible verses; ponder their meaning.

The Epistle of Paul The Apostle To The Ephesians

The King James Bible

Ephesians 5:21-6:9
Husbands and wives

21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

23 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.

24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27 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.

28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Ephesians 6:1-9

Children and parents

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;

3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.

Margin notes:

"Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." (5:21) - To submit means to defer to another, to assume responsibility for, care for, or carry the burden of another. We should submit to others out of love and humility (1 Peter 5:5).

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands." (5:22) - Spouses should submit (care for, serve, defer, etc.) to each other (see verse 5:21). Submission should not be demanded by one spouse over the other but must be given willingly out of love.  We are all equal in Christ (Galatians 3:28).

"He is the saviour of the body." (5:23) - "Jesus is the savior of the church."

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church." (5:25) - To love as Christ loves (even giving His life) is the highest form of love. See also Colossians 3:19.

"The washing of water by the word." (5:26) - This is a metaphor. Just as water washes our body, God's Holy Word washes our spirit (John 15:3).

"For we are members of his body." (5:30) - See Romans 12:5.

"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother...and two shall be one flesh." (5:31) - From Genesis 2:24 and repeated in Matthew 19:5 and Mark 10:6-8.

"This is a great mystery." (5:32) - "This is a hidden truth."

"Nevertheless." (5:33) - "Therefore."

"Children, obey your parents." (6:1) - This teaching is reinforced in Colossians 3:20.

"Honour thy father and mother." (6:2) - Repeated from Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16. Jesus also said it in Luke 18:20.

"That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." (6:3) - From Deuteronomy 5:16.

"Provoke not your children to wrath." (6:4) - Harsh parents raise unhappy children.  Don't discourage them or build resentment with angry words (Colossians 3:21). Love your children and teach them with caring discipline, respect, and wise advice.

"According to the flesh." (6:5) - According to secular (as opposed to spiritual) things.

"In singleness of your heart, as unto Christ." (6:5) - "With sincerity in your heart, as you would Christ."

"Not with eyeservice." (6:6) - "Not just when being watched."

"Servants of Christ." (6:6) - Many Bible scholars believe a more accurate translation would be "slaves of Christ."

"Doing the will of God from the heart." (6:6) - This is the believer's greatest joy.

"Bond or free." (6:8) - "Slave or free."

"And, ye masters...forbearing threatening." (6:9) - "And you masters, avoid threatening (those under you)."  See Job 31:13-14.

"Knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him." (6:9) - "Know that your God and their God is the same and that He doesn't play favorites."

For more on submitting, see Luke 6:27-38.

New Living Translation

Ephesians 5:21-6:9
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Wives and Husbands

21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.

24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.

25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her

26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God's word.

27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.

29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.

30 And we are members of his body.

31 As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one."

32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.

33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 6:1-9
Children and Parents

1 Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.

2 "Honor your father and mother." This is the first commandment with a promise:

3 If you honor your father and mother, "things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth."

4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

Slaves and Masters

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.

6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart.

7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.

9 Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don't threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's question:

1. Why is Paul talking about marriage?

Pray for the strength to resist sin. Ask for forgiveness when you fall to temptation and give thanks when you don't.

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. Besides giving good marital advice, Paul uses marriage as a metaphor for the church.  Married couples should love, cherish, and put each other first.  Just as Jesus came to serve mankind, married couples should serve each other. Husbands and wives should be as one person (Matthew 19:5-6).

"Paul devotes twice as many words to telling husbands to love their wives as telling wives to submit to their husbands. How should a man love his wife? (1) He should be willing to sacrifice everything for her. (2) He should make her well-being of primary importance. (3) He should care for her as he cares for his body. No wife needs to fear submitting to a man who treats her in this way."

(The "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois, page 2358).

"The relation between husband and wife is here represented as being a counterpart of the relation between Christ and the Church (5:25, 5:32). The exhortation is to mutual love and devotion, and in no way suggests that a man has a right to make a slave of his wife. Each is dependent on the other, because of the different functions that each has in human society. Each, in serving the other, best serves self (5:28). He that loves his wife loves himself: husbands, take note."

("Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; page 616)


Additional note: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 gives a good account of love's characteristics and enduring nature.

Application thought for the day:

God has no favorites. We are all equal (6:9).

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
© 2022 evolke

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