Study the Creation narrative of Genesis 2:15-25. What happens in the story before the statement concerning a husband and wife being “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24)? A key to applying Paul’s counsel to wives and husbands is to see his citation of Genesis 2:24 (in Ephesians 5:31) as the culmination of it. As he meditates on the Creation story of Genesis, Paul considers

What new argument does Paul use to encourage husbands to practice tender love toward their wives? Ephesians 5:28-30. Paul’s rules for the Christian household (Ephesians 5:21-6:9) disclose a challenging social context. In Ephesians 5:28-30, Paul addresses husbands who, following the all-too-frequent pattern of the time, may choose to “hate their own flesh” (see Ephesians 5:28-29), abusing and beating their wives. In the

How does Paul use elements of the ancient wedding in appealing to Christians in Corinth? When does the presentation occur? (1 Corinthians 11:1-4). Using one final element of the ancient wedding, in Ephesians 5:25-27 Paul portrays Christ as the One who: (6) presents the bride (to Himself!). In ancient times the bride would be given away by the best man, best men,

Compare Ephesians 5:25-27, Ephesians 5:29 with the foundling story of Ezekiel 16:1-14. What elements of that story does Paul reflect in his own sketch? As Paul, in Ephesians 5:25-27, Ephesians 5:29, shapes his wedding-marriage metaphor for the church and its relationship with Christ, he draws creatively on the customs and roles of an ancient wedding. In relationship to the church as

Paul begins with a hinge passage, Ephesians 5:21, connecting Ephesians 5:1-20 and Ephesians 5:22-33, in which he advocates for church members to submit to each other (compare Mark 10:42-45; Romans 12:10; Philippians 2:3-4). Believers are to do so “out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21, ESV), the first of several times Paul will identify the relationship with Christ as the most important and defining

Image © Pacific Press Sabbath Afternoon Read  for This Week’s Study: Ephesians 5:21-33; Philippians 2:3-4; Ezekiel 16:1-14; 2 Corinthians 11:1-4; Genesis 2:15-25. Memory Text: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself

Further Thought:  Looking back at Ephesians 5:1-20 as a whole, we watch Paul take a strong stance against sin and evil, especially in the form of sexual immorality and crude speech. Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com He is unwilling to accept the presence of corrupt behavior among the people of God. Instead, he calls the believers

In Ephesians 5:18-20, Paul imagines Christians gathered to worship. What does he depict them as doing in that worship? In his final argument in Ephesians 5:1-20, Paul urges believers to turn away from the mind-numbing use of wine and instead experience together the presence and power of the Spirit. Paul bans drunkenness (probably with a quotation from Proverbs 23:31 in

Paul concludes Ephesians 5:1-20 with two clusters of exhortations, Ephesians 5:15-17 and Ephesians 5:18-20, completing a section with sustained interest in sexual purity. The first cluster begins with the exhortation, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15, ESV), restated as “do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17,

Read Ephesians 5:11-14. What powerful warning is Paul giving here, and how does this apply to our present situation? To understand Ephesians 5:11-14, it is helpful to observe that Paul repeatedly offers two exhortations, alternating between them: (1) live a God-honoring lifestyle as “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8; see also Ephesians 5:1-2, Ephesians 5:4, Ephesians 5:9-10, Ephesians 5:11, Ephesians 5:13-14); (2) don’t live