Tag: Egalitarianism

In this chapter, I will argue that not only does Ephesians 5:22 allow wives to work, but they may also take the role of lead wage earner.  I am arguing on the basis that our exegesis has demonstrated that whilst “headship” and “submission” are transcultural requirements, their expression is culturally contextualised, so that:

We now come to the climax of the instruction to husbands and wives.  These verses hold the whole instruction together and show how Christ’s relationship to the church is the basis for the marriage relationship.  As we noted earlier, Paul has been building up to this point by introducing body and flesh language in v29-30.[1]

The instruction to husbands could be seen as the key, radical point within Paul’s instructions.[1]  Paul devotes more space to this instruction than to the other aspects of the Household Codes[2] and the command to love supplies a surprising twist.

3.1. Two Views We now get into the body of Paul’s instruction to wives and husbands.  So what does he mean by “wives submit” and why does he require it?  As we have seen already, Egalitarians treat any requirement for wives to be subordinate and husbands to lead as a temporary cultural requirement. 

Our understanding of Paul’s instructions to husbands and wives will be influenced by how we understand the phrase hupotessomenoi allelloi  Here we have two apparently strong concepts.