I recently suggested that the TL:DR (quick summary for those who because something was too long, didn’t read it) of Ephesians 5:22-32 is “husbands are to love their wives and wives are to let them.” The basis for my argument was that we may struggle with authority(headship) and submission language but authority is to do with what you are authorised to do and a husband’s authority is that he is authorised to protect and provide for his wife, even laying down his own life for this purpose. He is to love her. So, if she submits to him by allowing him to do what he has authority to do, then that means she is to let him love her.
Now, when teaching about husbands and wives, Paul says that the mystery of marriage, how two become one flesh is actually speaking about Christ and the church. Jesus is the good husband, the true and better husband who lays down his life for his bride. This really sums up a big theme of Ephesians, God (in Christ)’s great love for his church and so, how we are to respond to that great love. It is to Christ that we first and foremost submit.
How are to do this? Well, if a wife is to respond to her husband’s love for her by letting him love her then the church is to respond to Christ’s love for her by letting him love her. That’s why the Puritans understood that the “end” or “goal” of humanity is “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” God loves us and pours out his grace into our lives. We cannot do anything back to earn, repay or improve on this. Our right response is to enjoy God and his loving kindness towards us.
This should be true individually. I need to allow Christ to love me. This means accepting that I am forgiven and restored in him. It’s also true corporately. The local church needs to learn to let God love her. This means that each of us need to allow Christ to love the local church which we are part of.
Faithroots 