Full Text - Analele Universitatii din Craiova. Istorie

Analele Universităţii din Craiova, Seria Istorie, Anul XV, Nr. 2(18)/2010
They are to love their wives just as Christ loved the Church, by giving Himself
up for her. To that degree and to this quality is the husband to love his wife. He
is to abandon himself to her, and to reject all that is bound to be an obstacle for
the sacrifice. All that he is and all that he has, is to be given to his wife as a
token of absolute love 1 . Wise believers who mutually submit to one another as
the Curch submits to Christ, will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and thus live a
blessed life, full of joy, passion and understanding. Personal experience in the
Christian couple, worths value, security and significance only when exercised
under Christ lordship 2 . We might ask ourselves, what were those limits of
subordination? We might think that Paul understands that subordination must
be reflected in every aspect of life. But such subordination is qualified by the
fact that it is voluntary, as is the curch’s subordination to Christ. Because the
husband is to be understood as the head of the family, he is given tremendous
importance, even if he “can only emulate the cosmic or churchly headship of
Christ very faintly” 3 .
By referring to male headship over the wife, Saint Paul here makes a
parallel between the relationship in the Trinity and the relationship between
husband and wife in marriage. This is very important because it shows that
there can be equality and differences at the same time between persons, but in
Christ the two become one 4 . From the entire message of Saint Paul we must
conclude that each partner in marriage has a privilege. The husband’s privilege
is to put his wife first, as Christ put us first when he died for us. On the other
hand, the wife’s privilege is to set the tone of submission by being responsive
and caring 5 . To better understand what has been said before, and to clarify Saint
Paul’s message for those willing to get married, or who were already married,
1
Ibidem, p.174; B.F. Westcott, J.M. & Schulhof, Saint Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians: The
Greek text with notes and addenda, London, New York: Macmillan and co., limited, The
Macmillan company, 1909, p. 82, Dockery, D.S., The Pauline Letters. In D.S. Dockery (Ed.),
Holman concise Bible commentary: Simple, straightforward commentary on every book of the
Bible, Nashville, TN: Broadman& Holman Publishers, 1998.
2
D.S. Dockery, op. cit., p. 580.
3
T.R.Y. Neufeld, Ephesians. Believers church bible commentary, Scottdale, PA: Herald Press,
2001, p. 256-257; F.H. Paschall & H.H. Hobbs, The teacher's Bible commentary: A concise,
thorough interpretation of the entire Bible designed especially for Sunday School teachers,
Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1972, p. 747.
4
W.A. Grudem, Biblical foundations for manhood and womanhood. Foundations for the family
series, Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2002, p. 49.
5
“Who decides? The frequent argument that this passage does not convey on the husband the
right of final decision misses an important point. The believer’s task is not to decide, but rather
to discern the decision that Christ as head over everything has already made! When the husband
loves as Christ, and the wife responds as the church (v. 22), then together they will discern
God’s will”, L.O. Richards, The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.), Wheaton: Victor
Books, 1991, p. 802.
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