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Unity to All Under Christ – Part 24 – Ephesians 5:21–6:9 – The Gospel-Shaped Household
As we continue our journey through the book of Ephesians, we remember how Pastor Jackson last week led us through Paul’s call to Spirit-filled living, urging us toward wisdom, gratitude, and unity in the body of Christ. This week, we step into one of the most debated sections of the letter, Ephesians 5:21–6:9, where Paul addresses household relationships. At first glance, these verses may seem to reinforce hierarchy, but when read in light of verse 21, we see that Paul reframes the household not around power but around mutual submission and Christlike love. In contrast to the rigid Greco-Roman household codes that protected the strong and silenced the vulnerable, Paul centers every relationship on Jesus, calling husbands, wives, children, parents, slaves, and masters to embody humility, service, and dignity. The household becomes a living picture of the church itself—a community where love redefines authority, submission is practiced by all, and Christ’s sacrificial love sets the pattern for every relationship.
Discussion Questions
- How do we navigate the reality that our English translations of the Bible can sometimes make interpretive decisions that detract from the original text’s purposes? What are some ways we, as a community, can study the Bible more faithfully?
- Why is it impossible to separate Ephesians 5:21 from 5:22?
- What are household codes? How is Paul using the format of these codes in his writings? Do some reading on popular household codes from the ancient Greco-Roman world and compare them to Ephesians 5-6.
- Paul’s household code advocates for mutual submission, humanizing the most vulnerable, and a radical redistribution of power. How can we apply these realities to our church community?
- If the household is representative of the larger society in the context of Ephesus, how are the households in the Christian community representative of the church as a whole? Consider Ephesians 5:32.
- How does our communal relationship with Jesus change our relationships in both the home and the church? What is it about who Jesus is and what he does that changes things so dramatically?
Watch this sermon on Philpott's YouTube Channel!!!!
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By Philpott ChurchAs we continue our journey through the book of Ephesians, we remember how Pastor Jackson last week led us through Paul’s call to Spirit-filled living, urging us toward wisdom, gratitude, and unity in the body of Christ. This week, we step into one of the most debated sections of the letter, Ephesians 5:21–6:9, where Paul addresses household relationships. At first glance, these verses may seem to reinforce hierarchy, but when read in light of verse 21, we see that Paul reframes the household not around power but around mutual submission and Christlike love. In contrast to the rigid Greco-Roman household codes that protected the strong and silenced the vulnerable, Paul centers every relationship on Jesus, calling husbands, wives, children, parents, slaves, and masters to embody humility, service, and dignity. The household becomes a living picture of the church itself—a community where love redefines authority, submission is practiced by all, and Christ’s sacrificial love sets the pattern for every relationship.
Discussion Questions
- How do we navigate the reality that our English translations of the Bible can sometimes make interpretive decisions that detract from the original text’s purposes? What are some ways we, as a community, can study the Bible more faithfully?
- Why is it impossible to separate Ephesians 5:21 from 5:22?
- What are household codes? How is Paul using the format of these codes in his writings? Do some reading on popular household codes from the ancient Greco-Roman world and compare them to Ephesians 5-6.
- Paul’s household code advocates for mutual submission, humanizing the most vulnerable, and a radical redistribution of power. How can we apply these realities to our church community?
- If the household is representative of the larger society in the context of Ephesus, how are the households in the Christian community representative of the church as a whole? Consider Ephesians 5:32.
- How does our communal relationship with Jesus change our relationships in both the home and the church? What is it about who Jesus is and what he does that changes things so dramatically?
Watch this sermon on Philpott's YouTube Channel!!!!