Season 5 Episode 3
Do you know what the eleven Hebrew words mean that God spoke to the woman in the Garden of Eden? We put that and more in The Book of Eden, Genesis 2-3. We invite you to get a copy today and make sure you have a solid foundation for understanding the seven key passages on women and men in the Bible. It turns out when Genesis 3:16 becomes clear all the other passages become clear too! You can learn more at our website Tru316.com.
Ephesians chapter 5 is often misrepresented as the most important passage on marriage in the New Testament. Yet the Apostle Paul points us to his key idea in this passage. It is the Great Mystery which previously was hidden but then revealed. In verse 32 Paul says that the great truth is the unity of believers with one another who all are joined together with Christ. Ephesians 5:15-6:9 is about Christ and the church!
We go into this in detail in book two of the Eden series. It is titled Beyond Eden, Ephesians 5-6.
I think most people have missed the flow of Paul’s thoughts in Ephesians 5-6 because they don’t take into account the whole passage. They pick only a few verses and focus on them.
This is the recipe for taking verses out of context. It leads time and again to missing the points being made in a passage. Let’s look deeper.
If you look on Amazon for Beyond Eden, Ephesians 5-6, here’s the book description I’ve put there.
Description. Many people look to Ephesians 5 for its teaching on being filled with the Holy Spirit. Many think Ephesians 5-6 is all about marriage. But the main idea of Ephesians 5:15-6:9 is Christ's relationship with believers and their relationships in the church. This is the Great Mystery now revealed in 5:32.
It is essential to recognize the literary structures built into this passage by Paul. It starts with 5:15 and ends with 6:9. Paul uses a “jump, jump, high jump pattern” throughout. The high point of the high jump, and therefore the controlling idea of the passage, is 5:32.
The chapters of Beyond Eden, Ephesians 5-6 make special reference to this pattern throughout the book. Readers become thought leaders on this passage as they grasp the big picture and the patterns in this passage.
The high jump (of verses 5:22-6:9) takes off from 5:21. In verse 5:21 Paul redefines submission. The traditional “vertical” meaning of submission is replaced with a “horizontal” reciprocating submission. Spirit-filled believers submit themselves to the teaching and correction they receive from one another as we learn from the parallel verses of 19a and 21.
Great marriages between two believers embody the kind of reciprocating care Paul teaches in this famous passage. Most of all Christ’s example embodies his sacrificial care and love for the church. (Ephesians 5:22-31).
Great families also embody this kind of reciprocating care. Husbands-and-wives do so on the horizontal level. And even in the vertical relationships of children-and-parents, and slaves-and-masters, all practice reciprocating care for one another in Spirit-filled and beneficial relationships. (Ephesians 5:33-6:9)
What is not taught in Ephesians 5:15-6:9?
- There is no teaching on gifts of the Spirit.
- There is no teaching on “headship” in any way.
- There is no teaching that husbands are responsible for a wife’s wrinkles, physical or spiritual.
- There is no teaching that wives must obey their husbands.
- There is no teaching that fathers are leaders in the home any more than mothers.
- There is no teaching that some are called to be maste
Published on 4 years, 4 months ago
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