May 12, 2024: Sunday School

Order of Service

• Sermon
• Closing Prayer

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Sermon Title: The Husband's Calling to Sacrificial Love

Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33

I. The Context: The Spirit-Filled Life and Submission

A. Paul's letter to the Ephesians divides into doctrine (first half) and practice (second half), with the second half focusing on purity and unity of the church B. The spirit-filled life (Ephesians 5:18) is expressed in relationships, not merely in private morality or spiritual experience (John Stott) C. Ephesians 5:21 — "submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ" is the transition verse linking the spirit-filled life to Paul's teaching on relationships D. Paul gives three relationship examples:

1. Wife submitting to husband — Ephesians 5:22
2. Children obeying parents — Ephesians 6:1
3. Slaves obeying masters — Ephesians 6:5 E. Two of these three relationships begin in the home; peace in the church requires peace in the home F. Paul's placement of this teaching is strategic — it precedes his teaching on spiritual warfare, recognizing that Satan attacks the church by attacking the home first

II. The Meaning of Submission

A. The Greek word for submit is hypotassō; its root taxis means order — submission is about finding and embracing one's God-given role B. Each of Paul's three relationship examples is followed by the phrase "as to the Lord," indicating that obedience to God's design leads to the greatest contentment and pleasure C. Society commonly mistakes "submit" for "subjugate" (enslave, conquer), which is a gross misunderstanding of Paul's intent D. True submission "as to the Lord" is only fully understood by those who have grasped what Christ accomplished on the cross E. For women, submission in marriage is voluntary — entered freely through the covenant of marriage; Paul is not teaching "wives submit, husband's boss" but "wives submit, husband love"

III. The Radical Nature of Paul's Teaching

A. Paul's teaching elevated the status of women dramatically in its historical context

1. Jewish men prayed daily thanking God they were not a Gentile, not a slave, and not a woman
2. In Greek and Roman society, women had no rights and were confined to managing the home while husbands sought fulfillment elsewhere B. Understanding how revolutionary this teaching was helps believers appreciate the husband's headship more fully

IV. The Basis of Headship — Creation Order in Genesis 2

A. Ephesians 5:23 — "The husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church" B. Paul grounds headship in Genesis 2 (also developed in 1 Corinthians 11 and 1 Timothy 2)

1. Order — Eve was made after Adam
2. Mode — Eve was made from Adam
3. Purpose — Eve was made for Adam C. Genesis 2:18 — "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him"
4. This is the only moment in creation where God declares something "not good" — in contrast to the seven declarations of "good" in Genesis 1
5. This does not imply a mistake by God; it is a purposeful statement explaining Eve's creation D. Eve was uniquely created — not from the ground like everything else, but from Adam, making her distinct among all creation E. Jesus quotes Genesis 2:24 in Matthew 19:4-6, affirming the special creation of Eve and the permanence of marriage

V. The Husband's Love — First Analogy: Christ and the Church

A. Ephesians 5:25-27 — "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" B. Marriage is portrayed as a covenant throughout the Old Testament; Jesus calls himself the bridegroom in Mark 2:18-20 C. Paul uses five verbs to describe Christ's love for the church:

1. Loved — rooted in God's eternal, pre-existent love for us (Ephesians 1)
2. Gave himself up — the cross, dying for the church
3. Sanctified — making her holy in character and conduct through the work of the Holy Spirit
4. Cleansed — the washing of water with the word; Calvin: the sacrament cannot be separated from the word
5. Presented — presenting her to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or blemish (Ephesians 5:27) D. It is the bridegroom, not the bridesmaids, who makes the bride spotless and beautiful — a picture of Christ's work alone accomplishing our holiness

VI. The Husband's Love — Second Analogy: Self-Love as a Standard

A. Ephesians 5:28-29 — husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies B. John Stott notes that Paul offers a dose of realism here — since sinful humans cannot fully comprehend Christ's love for the church, Paul applies the Golden Rule as a practical standard C. Fulfilling this mandate brings great contentment and joy to the husband — the satisfaction of being exactly where God intended

VII. Unity — The Mystery of Marriage and Christ's Union with the Church

A. Paul couples both analogies together with an emphasis on unity, a theme throughout the entire letter B. Christ's bride and Christ's body are the same — he incorporated believers into himself in an indissoluble union C. Genesis 2:24 is quoted three times in Scripture — significant repetition indicating its profound importance D. Paul declares in Ephesians 5:32 that this refers to "Christ and the church" — using apostolic authority ("I say," egō de legō) as Christ did in the Sermon on the Mount E. The mystery of marriage reflects the unity themes throughout Ephesians:

1. Jewish-Gentile unity — Ephesians 3:1-6
2. Destroying the wall of hostility — Ephesians 2:14-15
3. The body, the building, and the bride — all pictures of the church's unity in Christ

VIII. Summary and Application

A. Ephesians 5:33 — "Each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband" B. The passage opens with "submit and love" and closes with "respect and love"

1. Notably, Paul does not command the wife to love her husband here — though God clearly intends it; there is a purposeful order in what God chose to write C. The husband's sacrificial love exists to enable his wife to become all that God intends her to be; the wife's respect is a response that enables her husband to fulfill his leadership calling D. The greatest treasure a parent can leave children is the example of a godly, Christ-centered marriage lived out faithfully before them