Many people, especially those in Egalitarian or Liberal Progressive circles like to discuss Ephesians 5:22, which says in almost all bible versions, “Wives, submit to your husbands in everything, as unto the Lord.” But whether or not they include the verse just before it, verse 21, depends much on what they are trying to accomplish.
Almost all bible versions put a break between verse 21, and verse 22, and add a heading like “Husbands and Wives“, or “Christ and the Church“. Most likely because verse 22 begins a parable that compares the marriage of a husband and wife to the marriage of Christ and his Bride, the Church.
This man-made heading puts a break between the mutual submission between believers mentioned in vs 21, and the discussion of Husbands and Wives, or Christ and the Church, that begins in vs 22. This is probably not a good idea. The word “submit” does not actually appear in vs 22. Instead, vs 22 is a continuation of vs 21.
The version I primarily use, the NASB, uses italics to denote words that do not appear in the Greek, and it renders verse 22 as “Wives submit to your husbands…” with the word “submit” in italics. Other versions, even including the ESV and King James, do not do that. But the NASB correctly shows that the word is not there.
So, why was it added? Probably to make it clear that the topic of submission “to each other” in verse 21 is still being talked about in vs 22.
Here’s the whole passage, without break, and the Greek word for “submit” included:
“[All believers] Submitting (ὑποτασσόμενοι, hypotassomenoi) yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit (not in the Greek) unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” Eph 5:21-22
If we requote that again, and this time leave out the word that is not in the Greek, we get this:
“[All believers] Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God; wives, unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord…” Eph 5:21-22
Do you see what Paul is saying? He is simply carrying on the submission mentioned in verse 21 into verse 22.
But do you also see that he adds an additional description of that submission in verse 22 that changes it’s scope and extent? Really condensing it down to his actual thought, it reads like this:
“Submit to one another; and wives to your husbands as unto the Lord.“
Both sets of believers are being addressed: 1) Fellow believers to one another, and
2) wives to their husbands.
He is saying that the essence of the submission between all believers is mutual, but the submission of wives to husbands has the additional characteristic of being a submission that is the same as “unto the Lord“.
It is not the same sort of submission.
So, the submission of wives to their husbands is different than the sort of submission between fellow believers. It would be confusion for “mutual submission between all believers” to mean “as unto to the Lord“, because it can’t go both ways. One person cannot submit to someone “as unto the Lord“, and it be possible then for that person to be submitted to them “as unto the Lord“. That’s no submission at all. The one cancels the other.
The mutual submission in vs. 21 is defined as “out of respect for the Lord“, and the submission of wives to husbands in vs. 22 is defined “as unto the Lord“. These are two very different kinds of submission.
The authority relationship between believers is a lateral relationship.
The authority relation of Christ and his Church is a vertical relationship.
So, what kind of submission “as unto the Lord” can occur between two equal believers that doesn’t result in a contradiction? The kind of submission between a husband and wife AS husband and wife. The wife can submit to her husband “as unto the Lord” while the husband does not. He has a different command from the Lord. While wives are taught to “submit to their husbands as they would to the Lord“, Husbands are taught to “Love their wives as Christ loved the Church.” Because that is a marriage that accurately describes the relationship of Christ and His Bride, and serves as a witness to the world.
Jesus loves his Bride. He does not submit to her. Likewise the husband is to love love his wife. He does not submit to her.
The Church submits to Christ. Christ does not submit to the Church.
Likewise, in marriage, for it to be a model of the Union of Christ and Church, the husband in marriage is not submitted to his wife, but the wife is submitted to her husband. Certainly they can mutually submit to each other, laterally, as fellow believers. But as Husband and Wife, they cannot do that. That relationship is modelled after the vertical relationship of Christ and Church. And if mutual believers are submitted laterally, and husbands and wives are submitted vertically as Christ and the Church, only THEN do we have a consistent model that makes sense.
NOW we can continue on with verses 23 and 24 in a way that makes complete sense, and does not end up in contradiction or confusion. And that is exactly what Paul does, and in doing so, he addresses the actual type of submission involved, and this time he does use the specific word “submit”:
“For the husband is the head of the wife, the same as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore just as the church is submitted unto Christ, so let wives also be to their husbands, in everything.” Eph 5:23-24
THAT is how you properly connect vs 21 to vs 22, and vs 22 to the rest of the passage.
And you will never hear that from these false teachers.
NOTE: There are people out there trying to teach about submission, who are using this passage of scripture. And, like I said at the beginning, they like to tie the mutual (lateral) submission among all believers to the (vertical) roles and models in marriage. So, while they will gladly tell you about vss. 21 and 22, you will rarely, if ever, see them continue and include vss 23 and 24 where Paul repeats the same commandment from the Lord a second time, and specifically defines the wife’s submission as being exactly the same way that the Church is submitted to Christ. You should take Paul’s other admonishment to the Church at Rome and “mark such people who cause division and offenses, and avoid them.” — Ed.
That said, the wives’ submission to their husbands is directly addressed in other passages which will almost never be brought up in a discussion of Authority and Submission.
In Titus 2:5, and Col 3:18, Titus and Paul both restate this command a third and fourth time that “wives be subject to your husbands.“, and in these cases, he does use the word “submit” specifically.
“To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient [submit, or subject in some versions] to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Titus 2:5
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things…” Col 3:8
So this command is given four times in God’s word.
And it is alluded to many other times in God’s Word, such as 1 Cor 11:7 where the order of authority is plainly stated:
“But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.” 1 Cor 11:3-7 ESV
Paul goes on to explain a few verses later that the glory of the woman is her hair.
[I normally use the NASB, but for this citation, I used the ESV because it’s the only translation that (in my opinion) correctly identifies these as marriage roles. He is not saying that all women must submit to all men. This is specifically a marital hierarchy –Ed.]
And there is also 1 Pet 3:1-2, and many other examples of this principle all throughout God’s Word.
So. Now the question is, why do some people want to try to paint this picture with only one color of paint? One kind of submission?
They are trying to get rid of the idea of submission as a vertical authority relationship in marriage. It is a dangerous folly, because if marriage does not involve a vertical submission relationship, and if marriage is a model of Christ and his Church (and it is!), then Christ does not have authority over his own Church!
And unfortunately, there are a lot of false teachers out there teaching exactly this.
Marriage is an institution that God created that uniquely models the relationship of Christ and his Church. Mutual submission amongst believers cannot do that because the Church is submitted vertically to Christ, not laterally to itself. Christ is not submitted to his Church.
Marriage can model this, because marriage has the two elements that Christ and Church has: Husband and Wife. Church submitted to Christ, displayed by and witnessed to the world by a Wife submitted to her Husband.
Brothers and Sisters, beware people who are trying to teach you otherwise. And believe me; they are out there!
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