Some preachers tend to avoid Ephesians 5 with the line: “Wives be subordinate to your husbands.” It reflects a time of patriarchy which seems out of sync with modern sensibilities. However, a more careful look at the text provides a better understanding of what St. Paul is urging. The passage begins, “Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.” The Apostle is urging all Christians to be subordinate, to defer, to put others interests ahead of one’s own. In that way we imitate Jesus who subordinated himself for our sake. Wives and husbands are just one example of that. And the fact that the Apostle tells husbands to “love” their wives demonstrates a Christianization of Roman law which treated wives as property.
