Marriage: Christ and the Church
Ephesians 5:22-33
Eph.5.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Αι: ART,nom,pl,f
- γυναικες: NOUN,nom,pl,f
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,n
- ιδιοις: ADJ,dat,pl,m
- ανδρασιν: NOUN,dat,pl,m
- ως: ADV
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- κυριω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
Parallels
- Colossians 3:18 (verbal): Uses virtually the same imperative—'Wives, submit to your husbands'—a near-verbatim household admonition paralleling Eph 5:22.
- 1 Peter 3:1 (verbal): Exhorts wives to be subject to their own husbands so they may be won by conduct—echoes the call to wifely submission found in Ephesians.
- Titus 2:4–5 (thematic): Paulic instruction for older women to teach younger women to love their husbands and be self-controlled/subject—develops the same marital role theme.
- Ephesians 5:24 (structural): Immediate contextual continuation: explains the basis and scope of Eph 5:22 (wives submitting 'as to the Lord') and situates it within the Christ–church analogy.
- Genesis 3:16 (allusion): Proto-narrative background where woman’s relationship to husband is marked by his rule—often read as foundational cultural/theological context for later NT household regulations.
Alternative generated candidates
- Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as to the Lord.
- Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord.
Eph.5.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οτι: CONJ
- ανηρ: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- κεφαλη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- γυναικος: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- ως: ADV
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- Χριστος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- κεφαλη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- εκκλησιας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- αυτος: PRON,nom,sg,3,m
- σωτηρ: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- σωματος: NOUN,gen,sg,n
Parallels
- Colossians 1:18 (verbal): Explicitly calls Christ 'the head of the body, the church,' paralleling the language and imagery of Christ as head in Eph 5:23.
- Ephesians 1:22-23 (verbal): Within the same letter, presents the same motif: God placed all things under Christ and appointed him as head over the church, which is described as his body—background for Eph 5:23's headship and 'saviour of the body.'
- 1 Corinthians 11:3 (verbal): Uses the technical term 'head' in a hierarchical chain (God → Christ → man → woman), echoing the conceptual framework of headship found in Eph 5:23.
- Colossians 3:18 (thematic): Part of a parallel household code (wives submitting to husbands) that corresponds thematically to Eph 5:22–24 and the role-of-husband imagery grounded in Christ–church relations.
- Ephesians 5:25 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same pericope: presents the ethical implication of the Christ–church analogy—husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her—illuminating 'he is the Saviour of the body.'
Alternative generated candidates
- For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church—he himself being its Savior.
- For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and he is himself its Savior.
Eph.5.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- αλλα: CONJ
- ως: ADV
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- εκκλησια: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- υποτασσεται: VERB,pres,pass,ind,3,sg
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- Χριστω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- ουτως: ADV
- και: CONJ
- αι: ART,nom,pl,f
- γυναικες: NOUN,nom,pl,f
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,n
- ανδρασιν: NOUN,dat,pl,m
- εν: PREP
- παντι: PRON,dat,sg,m
Parallels
- Eph.5.22 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same passage: an explicit command for wives to submit to their husbands 'as to the Lord,' same exhortational wording.
- Eph.5.23 (structural): Gives the theological rationale and analogy—husband as head of the wife just as Christ is head of the church—grounding the call to submission.
- Col.3.18 (verbal): Pauline household code with nearly the same instruction: 'Wives, submit to your husbands,' framed as fitting 'in the Lord.'
- 1 Pet.3.1 (thematic): Similar apostolic exhortation for wives to be subject to their husbands, with emphasis on winning unbelieving husbands by conduct.
- Titus 2.4-5 (thematic): Pastoral instruction for older women to teach younger women to be submissive to their own husbands as part of a broader set of household and moral duties.
Alternative generated candidates
- Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
- Now as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives should be in everything subject to their husbands.
Eph.5.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- ανδρες: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- αγαπατε: VERB,pres,act,imp,2,pl
- τας: ART,acc,pl,f
- γυναικας: NOUN,acc,pl,f
- καθως: CONJ
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- Χριστος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ηγαπησεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- εκκλησιαν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- εαυτον: PRON,acc,sg,masc,reflex
- παρεδωκεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- υπερ: PREP
- αυτης: PRO,gen,sg,f
Parallels
- Eph.5.2 (verbal): Uses almost identical language: 'walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us' — the same model of Christ's self‑giving love that husbands are called to emulate.
- Col.3.19 (verbal): Direct household instruction to husbands: 'Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them'—a parallel ethical command concerning marital love.
- John 15.13 (thematic): 'Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.' Provides the broader Johannine principle of sacrificial love exemplified by Christ's giving of himself.
- Rom.5.8 (thematic): 'But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.' Emphasizes Christ's initiating, sacrificial love for the undeserving — the theological basis for the church being loved and redeemed.
- 1 Pet.3.7 (thematic): Instructs husbands to live with their wives with understanding and honor as co‑heirs of grace, complementing Eph.5.25's call to loving, honoring behavior grounded in theological equality and care.
Alternative generated candidates
- Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
- Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Eph.5.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ινα: CONJ
- αυτην: PRON,acc,sg,f
- αγιαση: VERB,aor,act,subj,3,sg
- καθαρισας: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- λουτρω: NOUN,dat,sg,n
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- υδατος: NOUN,gen,sg,n
- εν: PREP
- ρηματι: NOUN,dat,sg,n
Parallels
- Titus 3:5 (verbal): Speaks of salvation 'not by works... but according to his mercy' and 'the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,' echoing Eph 5:26's 'washing of water' and cleansing/renewal language.
- John 17:17 (thematic): Jesus prays 'Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth,' paralleling Eph 5:26's claim that the bride is sanctified/cleansed 'by the word' (ἐν ῥήματι).
- 1 Corinthians 6:11 (verbal): Paul tells believers 'you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified,' using the same cluster of washing and sanctification terminology found in Eph 5:26.
- Hebrews 10:22 (verbal): Urges drawing near 'having our hearts sprinkled... and our bodies washed with pure water,' employing ritual washing imagery similar to Eph 5:26's cleansing by water.
- Romans 6:4 (thematic): Describes baptism as burial with Christ and newness of life—baptismal/washing imagery that thematically undergirds Eph 5:26's cleansing and renewal language.
Alternative generated candidates
- That he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
- that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
Eph.5.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ινα: CONJ
- παραστηση: VERB,aor,act,subj,3,sg
- αυτος: PRON,nom,sg,3,m
- εαυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- ενδοξον: ADJ,acc,sg,f
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- εκκλησιαν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- μη: PART
- εχουσαν: VERB,pres,act,part,acc,sg,f
- σπιλον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- ρυτιδα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- τι: PRON,int,nom,sg,n
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- τοιουτων: DEM,gen,pl,n
- αλλ᾽ινα: CONJ
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- αγια: ADJ,nom,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- αμωμος: ADJ,nom,sg,f
Parallels
- Colossians 1:22 (verbal): Uses almost identical language—Christ 'presenting' believers 'holy and blameless'—directly parallels Ephesians’ purpose of Christ presenting the church without spot or wrinkle.
- Jude 24-25 (verbal): Speaks of God’s power 'to present you blameless' before his glory; closely echoes the eschatological/presentational language of Ephesians 5:27.
- 2 Corinthians 11:2 (thematic): Paul’s betrothal metaphor—'I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ'—shares the nuptial/presentation imagery of the church made pure for Christ.
- Revelation 19:7-8 (thematic): Describes the marriage of the Lamb and the bride 'clothed in fine linen, bright and pure'—apocalyptic bride imagery that parallels Ephesians’ depiction of the church as a spotless, glorious bride.
Alternative generated candidates
- That he might present the church to himself glorious, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and blameless.
- that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and blameless.
Eph.5.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ουτως: ADV
- οφειλουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- και: CONJ
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- ανδρες: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- αγαπαν: VERB,pres,act,inf
- τας: ART,acc,pl,f
- εαυτων: PRON,gen,pl,3
- γυναικας: NOUN,acc,pl,f
- ως: ADV
- τα: ART,acc,pl,n
- εαυτων: PRON,gen,pl,3
- σωματα·ο: NOUN,acc,pl,n
- αγαπων: VERB,pres,act,ptc,nom,m,sg
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- εαυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- γυναικα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- εαυτον: PRON,acc,sg,masc,reflex
- αγαπα: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- Ephesians 5:25 (thematic): Immediate parallel within the same passage: husbands are commanded to love their wives, modeled on Christ’s sacrificial love for the church, expanding the ‘love as self’ ethic.
- Ephesians 5:29 (verbal): Direct continuation of 5:28 — argues from the commonplace care for one’s own flesh (nourish and cherish) to explain why a husband should love his wife as himself.
- Colossians 3:19 (thematic): A parallel household instruction in Pauline literature: husbands are told to love their wives and not be harsh, echoing the ethical demand to treat wives with loving care.
- 1 Peter 3:7 (thematic): A Petrine parallel emphasizing husbands’ responsibility to live with and honor their wives, treating them with consideration and respect — similar marital duty as ‘loving one’s wife as oneself.’
- Genesis 2:24 (quotation): The Old Testament marriage paradigm (one flesh) quoted later in Ephesians 5:31–32 provides the foundation for the idea that husband and wife form a unified body, supporting the ‘love as one’s own body’ claim.
Alternative generated candidates
- So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
- So also husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Eph.5.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ουδεις: PRON,nom,sg,m
- γαρ: PART
- ποτε: ADV
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- εαυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- σαρκα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- εμισησεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αλλα: CONJ
- εκτρεφει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- και: CONJ
- θαλπει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτην: PRON,acc,sg,f
- καθως: CONJ
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- Χριστος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- εκκλησιαν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
Parallels
- Ephesians 5:25 (quotation): Direct parallel formulation: husbands are commanded to love their wives 'as Christ loved the church,' which is the explicit Christ–church analogy cited in 5:29.
- Ephesians 5:28 (verbal): Uses the same idea of a husband loving his wife 'as his own body' and caring for her—verbal and conceptual parallel to 'no one ever hated his own flesh' and nourishing it.
- Ephesians 5:30 (structural): Speaks of believers as 'members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones,' reinforcing the bodily/one-flesh imagery applied to Christ and the church.
- 1 Corinthians 6:15–17 (thematic): Frames Christian identity in terms of bodily union ('the body of Christ,' 'one with the Lord'), thematically related to nourishing/cherishing the body and union with Christ.
- Genesis 2:24 (allusion): The foundational marriage formula 'they shall become one flesh' undergirds the New Testament's 'one flesh' imagery for husband–wife and Christ–church relationships.
Alternative generated candidates
- For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.
- For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church,
Eph.5.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οτι: CONJ
- μελη: NOUN,nom,pl,n
- εσμεν: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,pl
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- σωματος: NOUN,gen,sg,n
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- 1 Corinthians 12:27 (verbal): Explicitly states the same idea: 'Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it,' using the same member/body language about believers' union with Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 6:15 (verbal): Speaks of believers' bodies as 'members of Christ,' echoing the bodily-membership imagery applied to union with Christ.
- Romans 12:4-5 (structural): Uses the analogous structure of many members forming one body in Christ, emphasizing interdependence and mutual membership among believers.
- Ephesians 5:23 (structural): In the same epistle it identifies Christ as the head of the church, his body, directly connecting Christ's headship to believers as his body (context for 5:30).
- Colossians 1:18 (thematic): Affirms Christ as the head of the body, the church, developing the same head/body motif that grounds the claim that believers are members of his body.
Alternative generated candidates
- For we are members of his body.
- because we are members of his body.
Eph.5.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- αντι: PREP,gen
- τουτου: DEM,gen,sg,m
- καταλειψει: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,sg
- ανθρωπος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- πατερα: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- μητερα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- προσκολληθησεται: VERB,fut,mid,ind,3,sg
- τη: ART,dat,sg,f
- γυναικι: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- εσονται: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,pl
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- δυο: NUM,acc,pl,m
- εις: PREP
- σαρκα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- μιαν: NUM,acc,sg,f
Parallels
- Genesis 2:24 (quotation): The source text for Ephesians 5:31; the formula 'leave... and cleave... and the two shall be one flesh' originates here as the creation ordinance for marriage.
- Matthew 19:5 (quotation): Jesus quotes Genesis 2:24 in his teaching on divorce, repeating the 'leave... cleave... one flesh' formula used by Paul.
- Mark 10:7-8 (quotation): Parallel to Matthew 19:5; Mark preserves the same Genesis citation ('the two shall become one flesh') in Jesus' instruction about marriage.
- 1 Corinthians 6:16 (verbal): Uses the language of becoming 'one flesh' (γίνονται σὰρξ μία) to describe sexual union, echoing the phrase Paul cites in Ephesians for marital unity.
- Romans 7:2 (thematic): Discusses the binding nature of marriage ('bound by law to her while she lives'), thematically related to Paul's appeal to the permanent union implied by 'one flesh'.
Alternative generated candidates
- For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
- "Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."
Eph.5.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- μυστηριον: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- τουτο: PRON,nom,sg,n
- μεγα: ADJ,acc,sg,n
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- εγω: PRON,nom,sg,1
- δε: CONJ
- λεγω: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- εις: PREP
- Χριστον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- εις: PREP
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- εκκλησιαν: NOUN,acc,sg,fem
Parallels
- Eph.5.31 (structural): Immediate context: Paul cites the marriage formula ('they shall be one flesh') in v.31, which leads directly into v.32's statement about the mystery concerning Christ and the church.
- Genesis 2:24 (quotation): Source of the marriage saying ('leave...and be joined...one flesh') that Paul invokes in Eph 5:31–32 as the scriptural basis for the Christ–church analogy.
- Matt.19:5 (quotation): Jesus cites Genesis 2:24 in his teaching on marriage; shows the same marital language and covenantal pairing that Paul applies typologically to Christ and the church.
- 2 Cor.11:2 (allusion): Paul uses betrothal imagery ('I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ')—a closely parallel metaphor of the church as Christ's bride and the nuptial dimension of the mystery.
- Col.1:18 (thematic): Affirms Christ as head of the body, the church; echoes Eph 5:32's emphasis on the intimate, ontological union between Christ and the church.
Alternative generated candidates
- This is a profound mystery: I speak concerning Christ and the church.
- This mystery is profound; I speak with reference to Christ and the church.
Eph.5.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- πλην: PREP
- και: CONJ
- υμεις: PRON,nom,pl,2
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- καθ᾽ενα: ADV
- εκαστος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- εαυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- γυναικα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- ουτως: ADV
- αγαπατω: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- ως: ADV
- εαυτον: PRON,acc,sg,masc,reflex
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- δε: CONJ
- γυνη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- ινα: CONJ
- φοβηται: VERB,pres,mid,subj,3,sg
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- ανδρα: NOUN,acc,sg,m
Parallels
- Ephesians 5:25 (thematic): Commands husbands to love their wives 'as Christ loved the church' — provides the Christological model and ethical basis for the husband's love called for in 5:33.
- Ephesians 5:28-29 (verbal): Says husbands should love their wives 'as their own bodies' and nourish them, directly echoing the language and concept of loving one's wife 'as himself'.
- Colossians 3:18-19 (structural): Part of a household code that pairs wives' submission with husbands' love, mirroring the complementary duties assigned in Ephesians 5:33.
- 1 Peter 3:1-7 (thematic): Addresses wives' behavior/reverence and instructs husbands to honor and live considerately with their wives, paralleling the reciprocal responsibilities in Ephesians 5:33.
- Genesis 2:24 (allusion): The foundational 'one flesh' description of marriage undergirds the mutual unity and self-concern implied by the call to love one's wife 'as himself.'
Alternative generated candidates
- However, each of you must love his wife as himself; and let the wife respect her husband.
- Nevertheless, each one of you must love his wife as himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church—his body—and he is its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and blameless.
In the same way husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body.
'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.'
This is a profound mystery—and I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Nevertheless, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife show respect for her husband.