Efesus 5:21

5:21 and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. ¹ 

Efesus 5:23-25

5:23 because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church – he himself being the savior of the body. 5:24 But as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 5:25 Husbands, love your ²  wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her

Efesus 5:29

5:29 For no one has ever hated his own body ³  but he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church,

Efesus 5:32

5:32 This mystery is great – but I am actually ⁴  speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

[5:21]  ¹ sn Eph 5:19-21. In Eph 5:18 the author gives the command to be filled by means of the Holy Spirit. In 5:19-21 there follows five participles: (1) speaking; (2) singing; (3) making music; (4) giving thanks; (5) submitting. These participles have been variously interpreted, but perhaps the two most likely interpretations are (1) the participles indicate the means by which one is filled by the Spirit; (2) the participles indicate the result of being filled by the Spirit. The fact that the participles are present tense and follow the command (i.e., “be filled”) would tend to support both of these options. But it seems out of Paul’s character to reduce the filling of the Spirit to a formula of some kind. To the extent that this is true, it is unlikely then that the author is here stating the means for being filled by the Spirit. Because it is in keeping with Pauline theology and has good grammatical support, it is better to take the participles as indicating certain results of being filled by the Spirit. See ExSyn 639.

[5:25]  ² tn The Greek article has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[5:29]  ³ tn Grk “flesh.”

[5:32]  ⁴ tn The term “actually” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to bring out the heightened sense of the statement.