In exhorting wives to submit to the leadership of their husbands (Eph. 5:22-24), Paul reminds readers that submission is not just to her husband, but to the Lord (vv. 21, 22, 24). And he also reminds wives that there is a relationship between their submission and the way the church submits to Christ. In other words, wives can learn what submission looks like and how to submit by examining how the church practices submission to her head.
Peter O’Brien has noted what Paul has expounded earlier in the book about the relationship between Christ and the church:
- God has placed everything under the gracious rule of Christ. The church gladly submits to his kind rule (1:22).
- Christ has been given to the church as the cornerstone and as she looks to Him, she grows in maturity (2:20-21).
- Christ indwells the hearts of His people so they might comprehend the greatness of His love for them (3:17, 19).
- The church is the recipient of Christ’s grace through the giving of spiritual gifts (4:7) and spiritual servants (4:11-12) so that she grows in maturity towards Him (4:13), having received all that she needs from Him for that growth (4:15-16).
- Having been given so much by Christ, they welcomed Him as their teacher and were transformed by His teaching (4:20).
- The church is to imitate the sacrificial love of Christ (5:1-2)
- The church works to please the Lord (5:10) by living in goodness, righteousness and truth (5:9) and by understanding His will (5:17).
- The church sings praise to Him and thanks Him, living in submissive fear and reverence of Him (5:19-21).
“It is these attitudes that the wife is urged to develop as she submits to her husband.” [O’Brien]
Words of Grace 