Let us take as our fundamental position then that the husband occupies the place of the
“head,” and the wife the place of the “body.”
Ver. 23, 24. Then, he proceeds with arguments and says that “the husband is the head
of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the Church, being Himself the Saviour of the body.
But421 as the Church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their husbands in everything.”
Then after saying, “The husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is of the Church,”
he further adds, “and He is the Saviour of the body.” For indeed the head is the saving health
of the body. He had already laid down beforehand for man and wife, the ground and provi-
sion of their love, assigning to each their proper place, to the one that of authority and
forethought, to the other that of submission. As then “the Church,” that is, both husbands
and wives, “is subject unto Christ, so also ye wives submit yourselves to your husbands, as
unto God.”
Ver. 25. “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church.”
Thou hast heard how great the submission; thou hast extolled and marvelled at Paul,
how, like an admirable and spiritual man, he welds together our whole life. Thou didst well.
But now hear what he also requires at thy hands; for again he employs the same example.
“Husbands,” saith he, “love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church.”
Thou hast seen the measure of obedience, hear also the measure of love.422 Wouldest
thou have thy wife obedient unto thee, as the Church is to Christ? Take then thyself the
same provident care for her, as Christ takes for the Church. Yea, even if it shall be needful
for thee to give thy life for her, yea, and to be cut into pieces ten thousand times, yea, and
to endure and undergo any suffering whatever,—refuse it not. Though thou shouldest un-
dergo all this, yet wilt thou not, no, not even then, have done anything like Christ. For thou
indeed art doing it for one to whom thou art already knit; but He for one who turned her
back on Him and hated Him. In the same way then as He laid at His feet her who turned
her back on Him, who hated, and spurned, and disdained Him, not by menaces, nor by vi-
olence, nor by terror, nor by anything else of the kind, but by his unwearied affection; so
also do thou behave thyself toward thy wife. Yea, though thou see her looking down upon
thee, and disdaining, and scorning thee, yet by thy great thoughtfulness for her, by affection,
by kindness, thou wilt be able to lay her at thy feet. For there is nothing more powerful to
sway than these bonds, and especially for husband and wife. A servant, indeed, one will be
able, perhaps, to bind down by fear; nay not even him, for he will soon start away and be
421 [This “but” is by no means easy of explanation, but probably is to be understood thus: He is the saviour
of the body that man certainly is not, “but, nevertheless,” as the Church is subject to Christ, so let wives be to
their husbands, etc.—Ellicott, Meyer, Bengel, Calvin, and Alford.—G.A.]
422 [“If you put all the arguments of orators together, you will not persuade husband and wife to mutual af-
fection as Paul does in this place.”—Bugenhagen, quoted by Meyer.—G.A.]
267
Ephesians 5:22-24