The apostle enjoins mutual obedience as a Christian duty, v. 21. Under this head he treats of the relative duties of husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to the duties of husbands and wives. As the conjugal relation is analogous to that which Christ sustains to the church, the one serves to illustrate the others. The apostle, therefore, combines the two sub- jects throughout the paragraph.
Wives should be subject to their husbands as the church is to Christ. 1. The motive to this subject is a regard to the Lord, v. 22. 2. The ground of it is, that the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, v. 23. 3. This subjection is not confined to any one sphere, but extends to all, v. 24.
Husbands should love their wives. 1. The measure of this love is Christ’s love for the church for whose redemption he died, vs. 25-27. 2. The ground of love is in both eases the same—the wife is flesh of her hus- band’s flesh, and bone of his bone. So the church is flesh of Christ’s flesh and bone of his bone. Hus- band and wife are one flesh; so are Christ and the church. What is true of the one is true of the other, vs, 29-381. 3. The union between Christ and his church is indeed of a higher order than that between husband and wife—nevertheless the analogy between the two cases is such as to render it obligatory on the husband