Thursday, July 5, 2012

Misunderstood Bible Passages, Part 39 of 47

TEXT: "Submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.  Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own 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 the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband" (Ephesians 5:21-33).

IDEA: To misinterpret or misapply a passage of Scripture has consequences, some of them serious.

PURPOSE: To help readers to read the Bible rather than to read into the Bible.

Have you ever been in another culture where you've done something that seemed natural to you but was insulting to others?

Like crossing your leg and showing the bottom of your shoe in an Arab culture?

Like accepting a gift with one hand rather than two in Hong Kong?

We often read our culture into the culture of the Bible and misinterpret it or misapply it.

I. We may do that with a passage on marriage in Ephesians 5:21-33:

"Submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.  Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own 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 the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

The passage seems clear: it teaches the headship of husbands in the family and that wives are to be submissive to their husbands in everything.

Once we have said that, we have already made up our minds about what Paul means and how that should be worked out in a marriage.

II. We may read into the passage meanings from our own culture.

One noted teacher talked about the family as a "chain of command." The husband was like the general, the wife was the colonel, and the children were the privates.

What was the image behind that teaching?

When the image of "head" is used, what is implied? Authority, leadership.

Is the image of a chain of command, in which the head person is a general or the big boss, actually the image behind the word "head" in Ephesians 5? Why might we assume that?

The image is of a head joined to a body.

Paul applies the image first to Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:21-29). What does Christ do for His church in this passage?

He loves the church with a sacrificial love (Ephesians 5:23).

He seeks the very best for his church (Ephesians 5:26-27). Like what?

Then Paul applies this image of Christ and His church to husbands in their relation to their wives: "In the same way" (Ephesians 5:28).

Husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies (Ephesians 5:29). We feed and care for our own bodies.

Husbands must love their wives as they love themselves (Ephesians 5:23).

A Christian husband must always ask, "What is best for my wife? What can I do to enable her to grow and develop to be all that she can be?"

When Paul declares, "The husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior," is Paul asking and answering the question, "Who's the boss?"

Conclusion:

How does this flesh out the "headline" of the passage—"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ"?