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• October 13th @ Nicotra Home

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OverviewOverviewEphesians 5:21-6:9Ephesians 5:21-6:9

Setting the ContextSetting the Context

• Walking worthy of the calling (4:1)

• Walking no longer as Gentiles (4:17)

• Walking in love (5:1)

• Walking in the Light (5:8)

• Walking in wisdom (5:15)

Walking in WisdomWalking in Wisdom

• Not being foolish, but understanding the will of the Lord (5:17)

• Not getting drunk with wine, but being filled with the Spirit (5:18)

Spirit FilledSpirit Filled

• Speaking to each other in Psalms… (19)

• Singing and making melody to the Lord…(19)

• Giving thanks to God the Father always and for all things (20)

• Being subject to one another in the fear of Christ (21)

The Flow of ThoughtThe Flow of Thought

• Walk Worthy (4:1)

– Walk in Wisdom (5:15)

• understanding the will of the Lord (5:17)

• being filled with the Spirit (5:18)

–Subjecting to one another in the fear of Christ (5:21)

• Examples of subjecting to one another (3 relationships)

Three Subjecting Relationships Three Subjecting Relationships

• Wives and Husbands (5:22-33)

• Children and Parents (6:1-4)

• Slaves and Masters (6:5-9)

ObservationsObservations

• In each of the three relationships, the group who is to subject themselves is addressed first

• Subjection to one another in the fear of Christ controls the thought of 5:22-6:9 – (Mutual submission / humility)

– Submission implies that one is willing to submit to those who have authority, whether it be in the home, church, or in society

– “The fear of Christ” means that the believer who is spirit-filled submits to others out of fear or reverence for Christ. Submission to others is submission to Christ.

Household CodesHousehold Codes

• Mentioned in several places– Eph. 5:22-6:9– Col. 3:18-4:1– 1 Pet. 2:18-3:7– 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 6:1-10– Titus 2:1-10

BackgroundBackground

• The form of the Ephesian household code appears patriarchal or hierarchical in structure

• In early Greek and Roman households, the patriarchal structure, the male head, had extensive authority over the wife, children, and slaves (he could execute for disobedience or disrespect)

Background: ContinuedBackground: Continued• By NT times most marriages took place sine manus

(without power transferred from the wife’s father to the husband) so that women exercised a greater degree of independence from their husbands. The wife’s father remained head. He could even initiate a divorce from the husband of his daughter.

• Jewish and especially Hellenistic households followed suit in this model

• Paul’s injunctions do not suggest misogyny or sweeping powers of the male head

• More space is given to exhortations for the husband than the wife

SummarySummary

• The Ephesian household code was for the purpose of fostering unity in that community of Asia Minor.

• Specific groups of believers are addressed regarding their responsibilities to other groups who may or may not have been believers.

• The believers were to carry out their responsibilities as to the Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit

Ephesian Household CodesEphesian Household CodesVerse Address Imperative Amplification Motivation

5:22-24 Wives Submit to husbands

As to the Lord Husband is head of the wife as Christ is head of the church

5:25-33 Husbands Love wives As their own body Christ gave himself for the church

6:1-3 Children Obey parents In the Lord Command to honor parents and promise of a long life

6:4 Fathers Provoke not children

But nurture In discipline and admonition of the Lord

6:5-8 Slaves Obey masters As to Christ Lord will reward

6:9 Masters Do right by slaves Forebear threats Lord will judge

Next WeekNext Week

The Role of the WivesThe Role of the Wives

The Role of the WivesThe Role of the Wives

• Command (22)

• Cause (23)

• Illustration (24)

The Command (22)The Command (22)

SubmissionSubmission

• Submitting to “one another” is not always reciprocal (everyone to everyone). In this context it means subjecting to those whom God has placed in authority over you.

• The three examples in the text are primarily addressing the subjection of wives, children, and slaves, to those whom God has placed in authority over them.

Subjection: What it is Subjection: What it is notnot

• The verb employed for a wife’s subjection to her own husband is different than that of children and slaves subjecting to parents and masters

– u`pota,ssw (hupotassō) vs. u`pakou,w (hupakouō)• Hupotassō = willing subordination to those placed in

authority – the wife is to willingly be subject to her own husband’s leadership as he has been placed in authority by God’s design• Hupakouō = hearing w/obedience – slaves and

children are supposed to obey their parents and master’s respectively

InsightInsight“The wife is not commanded to obey (hupakouō) her husband, as children are to obey their parents and slaves their masters (6:1, 5). A husband is not to treat his wife as a servant or as a child, but as an equal for whom God has given him care and responsibility for provision and protection, to be exercised in love. She is not his to order about, responding to his every wish and command. As Paul proceeds to explain in considerable detail (vv. 25-33), the husband’s primary responsibility as head of the household is to love, provide, protect, and serve his wife and family – not to lord it over them according to his personal whims and desires.” – John MacArthur

Result of the Fall?Result of the Fall?

• Is wifely subjection to her husband a consequence of the fall?

The “S” wordThe “S” word• Literally “The wives to the own husbands, as to the Lord” –

The verb “submit” is supplied from v. 21

• Hupotassō = willing subordination to those placed in authority – the wife is to willingly be subject to her own husband’s leadership –

• “as to the Lord” - as she submits, she is obeying the Lord. Not, “obey him as she would the Lord” (see Col. 3:18)

• The constraint is for the wife to willingly subject herself to her husbands leadership, love, and protection (middle verb). The command is not for the husband to make her subject, but for her to willingly submit herself to his authority – Example - pastors and congregants

• The command for the wife to subject is not dependant upon the leadership style or abilities of the husband

Imperative vs. IndicativeImperative vs. Indicative

• The husband is the head of the wife, the wife does not make him head

• “Head” in the context of the letter– Two possibilities

• Rule