stim@fluke.UUCP (Randy Stimpson) (11/05/85)
................W...........................................R...T.......T...... "For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is head of the church" Ephessians 5:23 "I am among you as one who serves" -- Jesus Luke 22:27
pmd@cbsck.UUCP (Paul M. Dubuc) (11/06/85)
From Randy Stimpson: >................W...........................................R...T.......T...... What was this? Did something mess up some of your article? I'm assuming that the following constitutes the whole of your article: > "For the husband is the head of the wife, as > Christ is head of the church" > Ephessians 5:23 > > "I am among you as one who serves" > -- Jesus > Luke 22:27 Again, the verse in Ephesians is not in context. Verses 21-25 of that chapter read: ... and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is also the head of the Church, He himself being the savior of the body. But as the Church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her. (NASB) First of all, a point concerning mutual submission precedes verse 23. Secondly, it is easy to read into the term "head" our idea of authority and obedience. There is no reason to suppose that metaphors used in the first century carry the same meaning that we associate with them today. In this case, the *heart* was seen as the source of thought and reason (metaphorically), the head was rather the source of life. Although it is true that Jesus has authority over his church, that may not be the point being stressed here. Another thing to notice is that the NASB is one of the few translations that properly places the word "But" (gk. alla) at the beginning of verse 24 (The NIV, TEV, and RSV all omit the "But". The KJV reverses the sense of the word by putting "Therefore" in its place). The "But" is important. It implies a contrast with the previous statement. Putting the verses together, it seems to me that the term "head" could actually denote a servant relationship. If the first century meaning of the metaphor is used, then it could be said that Christ serves the church by being its head, or source of vitality. In the same way the man is "head" of the wife (i.e. her servant). Then the "But" in verse 24 directs the woman to also be submissive to her husband because the church also submits to Christ. In other words, verse 23 may actually mean the opposite of what we commonly read it to mean (especially when we read it out of context). And verse 24 could be taken to mean that the wife ought also to serve her husband *in spite of* his position as her head (servant). Of course, the fourth thing we should notice is verse 25. The kind of self sacrificing love that the man is commanded to have for his wife precludes the kind of "lording it over her" that Scripture is so often accused of advocating. "Would you die for your wife?" Again, as I have done before, I would like to recommend Mary J. Evans' useful overview of biblical passages referring to women's roles. It's called _Woman in the Bible_ (IVP, 1983). If the fact the Evans is a woman bothers anyone, I can recommend a book by another evangelical who is a man: _Beyond Sex Roles_, by Gilbert Bilezikian (Baker 1985). Whether or not one agrees with the interpretation they present, it seems to me that it does need to be considered. I feel that it is sound and as faithful to the text of Scripture as any other I have read (though it may not be as faithful to some of our predispositions). In answer to the question in the subject line, where our house is concerned, my wife and I don't worry about it to much. We each think we ought to concentrate on serving one another, putting each other first. In other words, we each see is as our part to bring each other their slippers and not to worry about whether or not the other brings our slippers. Figure out the difference. I think that is the principle that Scripture is trying to teach. I think it goes beyond mere non-discrimination. -- Paul Dubuc cbsck!pmd
friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen) (11/07/85)
In article <1248@vax1.fluke.UUCP> stim@fluke.UUCP (Randy Stimpson) writes: > > > "For the husband is the head of the wife, as > Christ is head of the church" > > Ephessians 5:23 > > > > "I am among you as one who serves" > > -- Jesus > Luke 22:27 Very interesting and to the point! Is this the time that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, or did he make the same point more than once? -- Sarima (Stanley Friesen) UUCP: {ttidca|ihnp4|sdcrdcf|quad1|nrcvax|bellcore|logico}!psivax!friesen ARPA: ttidca!psivax!friesen@rand-unix.arpa