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Ephesians 5:21-25

以弗所书 5:21-25

The Passage

subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ also is the head of the assembly, being himself the savior of the body. But as the assembly is subject to Christ, so let the wives also be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly, and gave himself up for it;

In the other language

又当存敬畏基督的心，彼此顺服。你们作妻子的，当顺服自己的丈夫，如同顺服主。因为丈夫是妻子的头，如同基督是教会的头；他又是教会全体的救主。教会怎样顺服基督，妻子也要怎样凡事顺服丈夫。你们作丈夫的，要爱你们的妻子，正如基督爱教会，为教会舍己。

Theme

Submit to one another

Bring a question to this passage

Many readers arrive here from a real question. These are reflections for how this passage speaks to the questions people bring most often — not an answer about what will happen, but an invitation to sit with it slowly.

How do I face this season of pressure at work?

These words concern mutual submission, marriage, and Christ's love for the assembly, not the authority of a workplace manager. They should not be turned into a demand that you obey every request at work. Still, the opening call to regard one another in reverence for Christ, alongside the picture of love that gives itself, offers something to consider under pressure. Other people are more than obstacles to your productivity, and you are more than a resource to be used. Care can include listening, sharing responsibility, and naming limits honestly. Where might you respond to someone as a person rather than merely as part of the workload?

Carry thisCare for others need not erase your own limits.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 41:10 · 1 Corinthians 7:3-4

I want to learn to love better in this relationship.

The passage begins with mutual submission: making room for one another out of reverence for Christ. Its words to wives and husbands are different, but the love held before husbands is Christ's own self-giving, not the pursuit of control. If you want to love better, you can linger over the difference between giving yourself in love and insisting on your own way. This is not permission for coercion or a demand to endure harm. It invites serious attention to the other person's dignity, alongside your own. How might making room for the other person's dignity, alongside your own, help you love without insisting on your own way?

Carry thisLove makes room for another without erasing your dignity.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 41:10 · 1 Corinthians 7:3-4

What do I need to let go of in the coming weeks?

Letting go can begin with the need to have the last word. This passage opens with mutual submission in reverence for Christ, then addresses wives and husbands, placing Christ’s self-giving love before husbands as their pattern. Its language is not permission to control another person or a demand that you accept harm. It invites you to examine how you hold power, preferences, and the desire to be right. You do not need to abandon your voice to make room for someone else. In the coming weeks, where could you loosen your grip on being right without surrendering your dignity or someone else’s?

Carry thisSelf-giving love makes room for another without excusing harm.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 41:10 · 1 Corinthians 7:3-4

How can I find stillness in a busy life?

This passage does not directly teach stillness; it speaks about relationships shaped by reverence for Christ and love that gives itself. It begins with yielding to one another, and its picture of Christ's love is not grasping for advantage. In a busy life, some of your inner noise may come from needing to manage every interaction or prove your worth. You can pause to notice that pressure without treating your needs or safety as unimportant. The passage invites attention to the person beside you, rather than another contest to win. This passage does not directly teach stillness. Which relationship could you approach with less need to win and more room for mutual care?

Carry thisLove makes room for another without erasing your own personhood.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 41:10 · 1 Corinthians 7:3-4

Have a different question?

Write what you are actually carrying right now, and Lectio will answer it with this passage — Ephesians 5:21-25.

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Ephesians 5 — in context

15Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise;

16redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17Therefore don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

18Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

19speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing, and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

20giving thanks always concerning all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father;

21subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.

22Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

23For the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ also is the head of the assembly, being himself the savior of the body.

24But as the assembly is subject to Christ, so let the wives also be to their own husbands in everything.

25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly, and gave himself up for it;

26that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word,

27that he might present the assembly to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without defect.

28Even so husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself.

29For no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord also does the assembly;

30because we are members of his body, of his flesh and bones.

31“For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will be joined to his wife. The two will become one flesh.”

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