Retelling the Gospel through Relationships

Paul's household codes in Ephesians 5 have been some of the most misused and misunderstood verses in the entire Bible. We read Paul's words about submission and almost immediately react defensively because of the ways that these verses have been used to prop up male authority and patriarchal systems.

However, what if we've so misunderstood these verses that we inadvertently use them to prop up the very systems that Paul was seeking to dismantle? What if we've taken a command to submit to one another in love and have misused it as permission subjugate others, particularly women? What if the good news of the Gospel really is good news, and begins to undo the damage of inequality between men and women, freeing them to walk in the way of love as Christ has loved us?

But what if we've so misunderstood these verses that we inadvertently use them to prop up the very systems that Paul was seeking to dismantle. What if we've taken a command to submit to one another in love and have misused it as permission subjugate others, particularly women. What if the good news of the Gospel really is good news, and begins to undo the damage of inequality between men and women, freeing them to walk in the way of love as Christ has loved us.