EPHESIANS LIVE-IT-OUT GUIDE

(MEMBER VERSION)

 

SESSION 10: EPHESIANS 5:22-33

 

OPENING DISCUSSION:  

 

#Relationshipgoals – Last summer, I was attending a Christian conference in Malaysia. Although the session on the first night ended rather late, I remember getting up early the next morning to go for a run. As I stepped out of my hotel room, I bumped into a woman in the corridor. She had a baby in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. Quickly I recognized her to be the speaker’s wife. “Good morning Mrs Wong! I’m surprised to see you up and about so early.” Smiling gently, she replied, “My husband and I are used to getting up so early. Ever since we got married, he would make me a cup of tea every morning, so that I can go straight to reading my Bible and doing my morning devotions.” Wow! What an excellent example of a husband’s loving headship. This certainly increased my respect for the speaker and his family.  

 

In your life, is there any husband-and-wife team that you greatly admire? If so, what do you admire about their relationship?

 

Alternatively, what would an ideal husband-wife relationship look like to you?

 

GOING DEEPER

 

Read Ephesians 5:22-33

 

Brief Recap: Last session, we saw how Christians are called to live wisely and to be filled with the Holy Spirit (3:15-18). One evidence of being filled with the Spirit is to live in submission to one another (v21). Paul goes on to explain this duty in the context of 3 relationships that can be found in almost every Ephesian household: husband and wife, parent and child, master and slave. Today’s session focuses on the first pair: the relationship between husband and wife.

 

1)      In verse 22, Paul instructs wives to “submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (ESV). Notice Paul is telling wives to submit to their own husbands, not to other husbands or men in general.

 

a)      For what reason must a wife submit to her husband (v22-23)?

 

 

 

 

b)      In the ancient world, women were greatly oppressed. Even under Jewish law, a woman was not a person but a thing. She had no legal rights whatsoever, and was absolutely in her husband’s possession to do as he willed.

 

If women in the first-century were already forced to be subject to their husbands, why does Paul bother to tell wives to submit? What effect does this have on women?

 

 

 

 

 

c)      Consider verse 24. In what ways is the Church submitted to Christ? Practically, how does this help us to understand a wife’s submission?

 

 

 

 

 

2)      The exhortation to husbands is 3 times longer! Paul does not tell husbands to “exercise your authority” but to “love your wives, as Christ loved the church” (v25).

 

a)      What do verses 25 to 27 tell us about Christ’s love for the Church? How should this affect a Christian husband’s love for his wife?  

 

 

 

 

 

b)      How is Christ’s love for the Church further explained in verses 28 to 30? What does it look like for a husband to love his wife “as his own [body]” (v28)? Share practical examples.

 

 

 

 

 

3)      What do verses 31 and 32 reveal about marriage?

 

 

 

 

a)      How does the union between a man and woman help us to better understand our relationship with Christ? If you are married, try to share from your personal experience.

 

 

b)      Why is it so important for Christians to live out a biblical view of marriage?

 

 

 

 

 

4)      Application – Bringing it home:

 

a)      [Married]: What challenges do you face in submitting to your husband or loving your wife? How does this passage motivate you to be more Christ-like in your marriage?

 

 

 

 

 

b)      [Singles]: How does this passage affect the way in which we look for a future spouse?

 

 

 

 

 

c)      [Dating]: Do you think this passage is relevant for unmarried couples? Should girlfriends submit to boyfriends?

 

 

 

 

 

d)      What is something you can do to help another Christian couple strengthen their marriage?

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLOSING PRAYER

 

Close the session with prayer, thanking God for the mystery of marriage and how it points to the gospel. Ask God to strengthen the marriages in your LG and in PMC.