Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Having begun to scratch the surface of the apostle Paul’s teaching about marriage we proceed from verse 22 to verses 23-24 of Ephesians 5 today.

Here we are met with an important causal clause for the apostle Paul’s injunction of submission to the wives.

He begins to lay out for both the wives and the husbands an essential metaphor for understanding their roles in marriage:

II.

Christ’s relation to His church is the pattern for husbands’ headship.

A. Christ is the ‘Head’.

Before husbands can understand their headship to their wives, they must first understand Christ’s headship to some degree:

BDAG Definition of head: a being of high status, head… in the case of living beings, to denote superior rank…of the husband in relation to his wife

CWSDNT Definition of head: Metaphorically of persons, i.e., the head, chief, one to whom others are subordinate, e.g., the husband in relation to his wife (1 Cor.

11:3; Eph.

5:23) insofar as they are one body... and one body can have only one head to direct it

Quote: it is better to view κεφαλή not as inherently denoting either authority or source, but rather “preeminence” or “prominence” with the context emphasizing either authority or source (Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 739.)

Headship has nothing to do with being superior in quality.

B. Christ is the ‘Savior’.

BDAG Definition of savior: one who rescues, savior, deliverer, preserver…of Christ!

Quote: ‘it is the function of the head to plan for the safety of the body, to secure it from danger and to provide for its welfare’ (F.

F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm.

B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1984), 385.)

III.

The Church’s submission to Christ is the pattern for wives’ submission