God’s Word of Faith
Introduction
Ephesians 5:21—6:4: In today’s reading, Paul describes relationships among family members to emphasize the oneness of God’s people in union with Christ. In addressing wives and husbands, he reflects on the levels of authority in households and compares the marriage relationship to that of Christ and the church.
Scripture Reading
Wives and Husbands
21Submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence for Christ.
22 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body. 24And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands just as the church submits itself to Christ.
25 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. 26He did this to dedicate the church to God by his word, after making it clean by washing it in water, 27in order to present the church to himself in all its beauty—pure and faultless, without spot or wrinkle or any other imperfection. 28Men ought to love their wives just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. ( 29None of us ever hate our own bodies. Instead, we feed them, and take care of them, just as Christ does the church; 30for we are members of his body.) 31 As the scripture says, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.” 32There is a deep secret truth revealed in this scripture, which I understand as applying to Christ and the church. 33But it also applies to you: every husband must love his wife as himself, and every wife must respect her husband.
Children and Parents
1 Children, it is your Christian duty to obey your parents, for this is the right thing to do. 2 “Respect your father and mother” is the first commandment that has a promise added: 3“so that all may go well with you, and you may live a long time in the land.”
4 Parents, do not treat your children in such a way as to make them angry. Instead, raise them with Christian discipline and instruction.
Today’s Key Verse: Ephesians 5:21
Submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence for Christ.
Reflect
Today’s reading begins with a key principle regarding relationships with others (5:21). How do you understand the application of this verse in your relationships with others? What do you consider to be important in your relationships with people you know (i.e., parents, spouses, siblings, children, friends, co-workers, those in positions of authority) – love, trust and loyalty, honesty, equality and fairness, forgiveness, other …? Explain.
Pray
Almighty God, teach me to be obedient to your Word. In my relationships with others, may all I do and say reflect your love and grace and give glory and honor to you. Amen.
Tomorrow’s Reading
Ephesians 6:10-24: The apostle Paul encourages believers to clothe themselves with the spiritual armor of God.
