Via Church

Toward the end of his letter to the Ephesians Paul addresses six groups and pairs them off: wives and husbands, children and parents, and slaves and masters. These were common groupings of relationships in households in the ancient world. Women were viewed differently in ancient Judaism and the Greco-Roman world which made the relation of Christian wives to their husband was a source of scandal to non-Christians. In Christ, there was neither Jew, Gentile, slave, free, male, nor female (Galatians 3:28). This was revolutionary! When God is given control of our lives individually, we can experience harmony at home, in the workplace, and in the church. The thought of our text starts in verse 21: “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Paul now gives examples of how people in various life situations can submit to one another.