Ephesians 5:21

My Notes

What Does Ephesians 5:21 Mean?

Paul commands mutual submission: submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Before the household codes (wives-husbands, children-parents, slaves-masters), the umbrella principle is established: EVERYONE submits to EVERYONE. The specific submissions that follow operate under this universal submission.

The word "submitting" (hypotassomenoi — arranging yourselves under, placing yourselves in a supportive position beneath another) is a military term for soldiers positioning themselves under a commander. In this context, it's mutual: everyone positions themselves under everyone else. The submission isn't one-directional. It's circular. You submit to me. I submit to you. We submit to each other.

"In the fear of God" provides the motivation: the submission isn't to each other's worthiness (you're not submitting because the other person deserves it). It's to God's authority (you submit because God, whom you fear/revere, commands it). The reverence for God produces the submission to others.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Does mutual submission (everyone to everyone) precede the specific submissions (wives-husbands) in your understanding of Ephesians 5?
• 2.How does 'in the fear of God' (motivated by reverence, not the other person's worthiness) make the submission possible?
• 3.Is mutual submission practiced in your relationships — or is submission one-directional?
• 4.Does Christ's self-positioning (Philippians 2:5-8) model the kind of submission Paul describes — and can you practice it?

Devotional

Submit to one another. In the fear of God. Everyone to everyone. The universal before the specific.

Paul establishes the overarching principle before any specific household code: mutual submission. Wives will be told to submit (verse 22). But FIRST: everyone submits to everyone. The specific submissions that follow operate inside this universal framework. The wife-husband instruction is a subset of the everyone-to-everyone instruction.

"One to another" — allēlois — reciprocal. Mutual. Each to each. The submission isn't one-directional (some submit, others receive). It's circular (everyone submits to everyone). The husband submits to the wife (through sacrificial love — verse 25). The wife submits to the husband (through respectful deference — verse 22). Both submit to each other. Under the same umbrella: mutual submission.

"In the fear of God" — the motivation isn't the other person's character (they might not deserve your submission). It's God's authority (He does deserve your reverence). You submit to your brother not because your brother is worthy. Because God, whom you revere, commands the submitting. The fear of God produces what human worthiness can't: voluntary, gracious, other-centered positioning.

The mutual submission isn't doormat-ism (I let everyone walk over me). It's Christ-ism (I position myself to serve others the way Christ positioned Himself to serve me — Philippians 2:5-8). The submission is voluntary (I choose it). Motivated by reverence (I fear God). Aimed at the other person's good (I serve them). And mutual (they do the same for me).

Before the wives-husbands. Before the children-parents. Before the slaves-masters. The umbrella: submit to one another. Everyone. In the fear of God. The specific instructions that follow are variations on this theme. And the theme is: I position myself beneath you for your good, because God — whom I revere — positioned Himself beneath me for mine.

Mutual submission is the atmosphere. Everything else is the furniture.

Commentary

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Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture