Liberty University Master of Divinity
EXEGETICAL PAPER: PASSAGE OUTLINE AND BACKGROUND
Richard Morse
NBST 610
November 2025
Contents
Introduction.............................................................................................................................................................
Historical Background...........................................................................................................................................
Authorship and Audience.............................................................................................................................. Literary
Context............................................................................................................................................
Social and Cultural........................................................................................................................................
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................................................
Bibliography.....................................................................................................................................................
.........
1
Introduction
Paul's teaching on marriage in Ephesians 5:21-33 (AMP) is perhaps among the most
influential and debated sections of the New Testament. Writing to a community of believers
living in a pagan world shaped by social hierarchy and rigid household expectations, Paul
presents a vision of marriage that sharply contrasts with the cultural norms surrounding them.
He argues that the relationship between husband and wife should be patterned after the
relationship between Christ and the Church, locating marriage not in social custom but in the
gospel itself.
For the modern reader, one of the significant challenges is discerning what Paul meant
by key terms like submission and headship. Taken from their ancient setting, these words often
stir tension in modern conversations about equality, authority, and mutual respect. Because of
this, Ephesians 5 requires careful study so that Paul's original purpose may not be
misinterpreted or misapplied in life today.
Thesis: In Ephesians 5:21-33, Paul frames first-century household expectations by
locating marriage in mutual submission and sacrificial love, setting Christ's relationship with the
Church as the guiding model for Christian relationships.
Outline
Mutual Submission (v. 21)
Wives and The Model of the Church (vv. 22–24)
Husbands and Christ’s Sacrificial Love (vv. 25–30)
Marriage as a Mystery (vv. 31–32)
Summary Exhortation (v. 33)
Historical Background
2
Authorship and Audience
The Epistle to the Ephesians has conventionally been regarded as the work of Paul the
Apostle, a view which is strongly endorsed by patristic testimony and by many centuries of
consistent Christian tradition.1 A majority of New Testament scholars of the present day still
defend Paul's authorship on stylistic grounds, by the characteristically Pauline doctrine which
the letter enunciates, and by those passages where the writing speaks in the first person. Some
critical voices, however, have challenged this provenance, arguing instead that the text may
have been the production of some later hand who had thoroughly absorbed Paul’s theology and
attempted to preserve it. The conventional view, based on early Christian testimony, the
inclusion in the canon, and the presence of internal evidence, is that Paul wrote the letter
during his imprisonment in Rome. The dates assigned to this imprisonment fall between the
years 60-62 CE. 2 This date corresponds remarkably with three major concerns expressed in the
epistle: the unity of all God's people, the endurance of hardship, and the absolute incorporation
of Gentile believers into God's salvation plan. These themes are strongly reflective of Paul's
larger missionary enterprise and his pastoral interests.
Situated in Asia Minor, Ephesus was a first-rate, cosmopolitan maritime center marked
by significant economic wealth, deep cultural interpenetration, and a strategic location along
primary trade routes. The great Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient
World, was at the very center of city commerce and religious life and actively attracted pilgrims,
craftsmen, and businessmen throughout the entire Mediterranean basin.3 In addition to its
official cultic institutions, Ephesus demonstrated intense public interest in magic and mystic
rituals. This is dramatically illustrated in Acts (Chapter 19) through the report of new believers
1 Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2016), 25–27.
2 Markus Barth and Helmut Blanke, Ephesians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (New York:
Doubleday, 2019), 112.
3 Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020), 54–56.
3
publicly burning costly parchments associated with these magical arts. 4 This spiritual context
thus produced a very intricate and often syncretistic religious profile.
The civic structure of Greco-Roman life in Ephesus followed strict social stratification.5
Ultimate authority lay with the paterfamilias-the male ancestor of the clan-who enjoyed
complete legal, financial, and social authority over his subordinates: wife, children, and slaves.
These institutionalized structures defined accepted behavior, conceptions of honor, and
relational obligations across the entire population. It was within this distinctive historical frame
that Paul spoke to a profoundly diverse congregation-including Jews and Gentiles, wealthy
patrons and manual laborers, slaves and free citizens-a constituency which truly reflected the
genuine social diversity within the city.
Literary Context
Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians shows his characteristic letter structure, moving from a
basis of theological exposition to directives for practical conduct. The first three chapters forge a
doctrinal bedrock, delineating the believer's new identity in Christ through themes such as
divine election, redemption from sin, reconciliation between God and humanity, and the
formation of a unified people of God. Subsequently, chapters 4-6 transition into moral
imperatives, urging the church to embody this transformed reality through Spirit-infused unity,
ethical integrity, and profound love.
Within this second major section, the passage of Ephesians 5:21-33 is situated precisely
within what is traditionally known as the "household code" or haustafel (5:21). Here, Paul
reconfigures established domestic relationships by interpreting them through the lens of the
gospel message. This specific text serves as a direct extension of Paul's earlier exhortation to be
spiritually filled (5:18), illustrating how a life guided by the Spirit profoundly shapes
interpersonal dynamics.
4 James R. Edwards, The Roman World and the Gospel Witness (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021), 88–90.
5 S. M. Baugh, Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Lexham Press, 2019), 41.
4
Instead of merely affirming the prevailing Greco-Roman social hierarchies of the time,
Paul introduces a transcendent principle: reciprocal submission (5:21). This foundational tenet
becomes the guiding ethical standard for every member of the Christian household. By
positioning this imperative before his specific appeals to wives and husbands, Paul
fundamentally redefines the concepts of authority and responsibility within the home. He
reshapes them according to the pattern of Christlike humility and sacrificial love, thereby
establishing the crucial framework for his subsequent restate of marital relations in 5:22–33.
Social and Cultural
The Greco-Roman world was filled with sexual immorality, temple prostitution, and
socially accepted permissiveness, which often created serious difficulties for early Christian
communities.6 Yet in the face of a culture where illicit sexuality was normalised, often connected
to both religious expression and civic life, the ethical commands of Paul served as a
countercultural summons to a life of holiness. In this real way, his imperatives spoke directly to
the genuine temptations believers faced in their pursuit of a coherent moral life amidst
competing values and social expectations. The spread of the gospel was also economically and
socially traumatic, particularly when its message confronted explicitly idol-centered industries.
Acts 19 is one such famous example of this, seen in the riot initiated by the Ephesian
silversmiths, whose financial livelihood depended on the manufacture of Artemis-related
shrines.7 It was these types of encounters that found the church experiencing a component of
social pressure, marginalization, and the threat of persecution.
Within this multi-cultural, religiously complex, socially stratified context, Paul's teaching
regarding marriage was highly countercultural in tone. Rather than reinforcing structures of
dominance or male privilege, Paul's vision was centered on Christlike love, sacrificial service,
6 David A. deSilva, Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture (Downers Grove: IVP
Academic, 2020), 140–45.
7 Craig S. Keener, The Mind of the Spirit: Paul’s Approach to Transformed Thinking (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,
2017), 203.
5
and spiritual mutuality. His instructions ran counter to cultural expectations by dignifying both
husband and wife and by rooting marital roles in the self-giving love of Christ, thereby
presenting a radically different model of domestic life to the Ephesian believers.
Conclusion
The apostle Paul's counsel in Ephesians 5:21-33 articulates a profoundly re-envisioned
concept of marriage. This understanding not only dramatically transcended the customary
expectations of the first century but continues to challenge believers today. Far from merely
endorsing the rigid hierarchical structures typical of the Greco-Roman household, Paul redefines
conjugal relationships through the lens of the gospel message. He establishes both husband and
wife on a foundation of shared standing, where reciprocal deference and selfless devotion
constitute the fundamental duty for each partner. By situating these instructions within the
broader theological landscape of Ephesians, which encompasses the believer's renewed
identity, the Church's unity, and a life animated by the Spirit, Paul demonstrates that Christian
marriage is ultimately patterned not after societal norms but after Christ's own self-sacrificing
love for His people.8 This divine framework elevates matrimony beyond a mere social
convention, positioning it as a dynamic, living illustration of the profound union between Christ
and the Church.
For the contemporary reader, this passage offers both illumination and correction. In a
cultural environment marked by conflicting viewpoints concerning authority, gender, and the
nature of relationships, Paul's perspective provides a steadfast anchor rooted in divine
revelation, rather than in the constantly shifting tides of social opinion. His earnest call for
humility, mutual respect, and unwavering covenant faithfulness invites Christian spouses into a
distinctive pattern of life that powerfully mirrors Christ's redemptive character.9 Thus, Ephesians
8 Andrew T. Lincoln, Ephesians, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 42 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2018),
360–364.
9 Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020), 750–754.
6
5:21-33 stands not simply as an ancient directive, but as an enduring imperative for a marital
partnership consistently shaped, sustained, and perpetually renewed by the transformative
power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
7
Bibliography
Arnold, Clinton E. Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2016.
Barth, Markus und Helmut Blanke. Ephesians: A New Translation with Introduction and
Commentary. New York: Doubleday, 2019.
Baugh, S. M. Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Lexham Press, 2019.
deSilva, David A. Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture.
Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2020.
Edwards, James R. The Roman World and the Gospel Witness. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021.
Hoehner, Harold W. Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,
2020.
Keener, Craig S. The Mind of the Spirit: Paul’s Approach to Transformed Thinking. Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic, 2017.
Lincoln, Andrew T. Ephesians. Vol. 42 of Word Biblical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Academic, 2018.
