What does "wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands" mean?

This line calls wives to willingly place themselves under their own husbands’ leadership in the home. It is not about all women submitting to all men, but about a wife’s attitude toward her own husband. The passage says this is done “as unto the Lord,” meaning it is part of her service to Christ, not blind obedience to a man. The picture is like the church trusting Christ’s care. It assumes the husband seeks her good, and that her submission never goes against God’s clear commands.

How are husbands called to love their wives in this passage?

Husbands are told to love their wives “even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” That means a steady, self-giving love that puts the wife’s good ahead of the husband’s comfort or pride. Christ’s love led him to lay down his life, to cleanse and care for his people. In the same way, a husband is to protect, nourish, and cherish his wife, treating her as part of himself, not as a servant or rival. His leadership should feel like loving care, not harsh control.

What does it mean that the husband is the head of the wife?

When Paul says the husband is the head of the wife, he compares this to Christ being the head of the church. Headship here points to a role of loving leadership and responsibility, not superiority in worth. The husband is meant to guide, provide, and protect, seeking his wife’s spiritual and practical good. Just as Christ uses his headship to save and care for the church, a husband should use his role to serve, not to dominate. The passage keeps headship and sacrificial love closely tied together.

What is the "washing of water by the word" talking about?

The “washing of water by the word” describes how Christ cleanses his people. The picture is of washing with water, like baptism, joined with God’s spoken promise. People who were once defiled by sin are made clean as Christ applies his word and promise to them. The main idea is that Christ’s love does not leave his church dirty but leads to holiness. In the passage, this shows husbands that real love cares about a wife’s spiritual well-being and gently encourages what is pure and good.

What does "they two shall be one flesh" mean for marriage?

“They two shall be one flesh” comes from the first marriage in Genesis. It means that when a man marries a woman, they form a deep union. They leave father and mother and are joined in a new, shared life. This includes their bodies, but also their loyalties, goals, and daily living. Paul uses it to say that a husband who loves his wife is really loving himself, because they belong together as one. It also becomes a picture of how closely believers are joined to Christ.

Why does Paul call this union a "great mystery"?

Paul calls it a “great mystery” because marriage points beyond itself to something deeper. He explains that he is speaking about Christ and the church. The close bond between husband and wife is like a living sign of the unseen union between Christ and his people. That union is spiritual, created by the Spirit and by faith, not by flesh. We cannot fully grasp how closely Christ and believers are joined, but this picture of marriage helps us sense its depth and tenderness.

How should wives understand "in every thing" in this passage?

When Paul says wives should be subject to their husbands “in every thing,” he is speaking about the normal matters of family life, where the husband bears responsibility to lead. It does not mean a wife must follow her husband into sin or disobey God. Her first loyalty is always to Christ. The sense is that, as far as things are lawful and good, she is not to resist her husband’s role, but to support him with respect and trust, knowing that God sees and honors that heart attitude.

How does this passage apply to husbands and wives today?

This passage calls husbands and wives today to shape their marriage around Christ’s pattern. For husbands, that means laying down pride, harshness, and selfishness, and instead loving their wives with patience, kindness, and real sacrifice. For wives, it means a willing, respectful support of their husbands’ leadership, offered to God as worship. Both are to remember they are “one flesh,” so hurting each other is like hurting themselves. Their home becomes a small picture of Christ’s love for his people.

What does it mean for a wife to "reverence" her husband?

To “reverence” her husband means to treat him with respect, honor, and thoughtful care. It is more than just outward manners. It is an inner attitude that values his role and does not belittle or undermine him. This respect responds to God’s design in marriage and also to the husband’s loving care. It does not ignore sin or silence needed truth, but it avoids contempt and scorn. The passage ends here to stress that, alongside a husband’s love, a wife’s respect keeps the marriage in the pattern God gives.

What does this passage teach about Christ and the church?

The passage shows Christ as the loving head of the church, who gave himself to save it. He did not choose a perfect people, but one needing cleansing. Through his word and work, he washes and makes the church holy, aiming to present it glorious, without spot or wrinkle. Believers are described as members of his body, “of his flesh, and of his bones,” using marriage language to show how close this bond is. Christ’s care for the church is the model and comfort behind every instruction in this section.

Eph.5.22

Ephesians 5:22

KJV

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

Marriage Like Christ and the Church

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.