Session 9 Bible Study Handout
Ephesians 5:22–6:9
Published April 19, 2026 · Updated April 19, 2026
This is the participant handout for this session of the Abide 101 · Ephesians Bible Study. It provides contextual background blocks for group discovery, the anchor passage in full, space for notes and reflection, and the reading assignment for the next session. The companion Facilitator Guide is available to session leaders.
ABIDE 101 — BIBLE STUDY
Session 9: The Household Code
Anchor Passage: Ephesians 5:22–6:9
Name: ___________________________________ Date: _______________
All Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
About This Session
Today we read one of the most discussed — and most misread — passages in the New Testament. Ephesians 5:22–6:9, known as the "household code," addresses wives and husbands, children and fathers, slaves and masters. To read it faithfully we need two guardrails working together: Progressive Revelation and Harmony.
The Two Guardrails
Progressive Revelation: Scripture builds on itself. Later revelation does not contradict earlier revelation — it completes it. When you read any passage, you need to know where in the story it sits and where the whole story is going. Applied here: the wives/husbands section cannot be read apart from Ephesians 5:1–21, which we studied last session. Verse 5:21 — "submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ" — is the hinge. Everything from 5:22 onward is an application of that mutual posture.
Harmony Guardrail: No verse stands alone. A correct interpretation of one passage will harmonize with the rest of Scripture. If your reading of one verse creates a contradiction with clear teaching elsewhere, the problem is with your reading — not with the Bible. Applied here: the slave/master section must be read alongside Genesis 1, Galatians 3:28, Philemon, and the full arc of Scripture's teaching on human dignity. Any reading of 6:5–9 that endorses slavery cannot harmonize with those texts.
Household Code Context Table
Paul used a literary form well known in the Greco-Roman world — a Haustafel, or household code. But he filled it with a different spirit entirely.
| Category | Greco-Roman Model | Paul's Household Code |
|---|---|---|
| Wives | Subordination assumed, no rationale given | Mutual submission framed by 5:21; husband commanded to love sacrificially |
| Husbands | Authority asserted | Commanded to love as Christ loved (i.e., to die) |
| Children | Property of the father | Instructed and honored |
| Fathers | Absolute authority (patria potestas) | Warned against exasperating children |
| Slaves | No moral recourse | Equal standing before God (6:9); masters warned |
| Masters | Unquestioned authority | Reminded of their own Master in heaven |
Paul's version was countercultural, not conformist. Every party with social power in the Greco-Roman model receives a countercultural command in Paul's version.
The Household Code — Ephesians 5:22–6:9 (BSB)
22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her 26 to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of His body. 31 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32 This mystery is profound—I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless, each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."
4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. 9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.
Observation Questions
Read the passage carefully, then answer each question from the text.
1. In verses 22–24, what relationship does Paul use to explain the wife's posture toward her husband?
2. In verses 25–27, list every verb Paul uses to describe what the husband is commanded to do.
3. Read verse 5:21 aloud: "submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." If this verse is the heading for everything that follows, how does it change your reading of verse 22?
4. In verses 5–9, how many times does Paul reference "the Lord" or "Christ" in the slave/master section? Write them out below. What does that repetition signal?
5. In verse 9, what does Paul say about favoritism? Who does this apply to?
📖 Did You Know? — nourishes and cherishes
In Ephesians 5:29, Paul says Christ nourishes and cherishes the church — and husbands are called to do the same for their wives.
Nourishes translates ektrophō (ἐκτρέφω) — to feed, to bring up, to raise. It is also used in 6:4 for how fathers are to raise children. The word carries the idea of provision and development, not just sustenance.
Cherishes translates thalpō (θάλπω) — to warm, to comfort with body heat. It is used in 1 Thessalonians 2:7 where Paul compares his care for the Thessalonians to a nursing mother warming her child.
Together: the husband's posture toward his wife is not authority for its own sake. It is the self-giving warmth and provision of Christ toward His church — the very One who washed her, died for her, and presents her as radiant.
Application Question
Which of the relationships in this passage — marriage, parenting, or work — most challenges you right now? What would it look like to bring the posture Paul describes into that relationship this week? Be specific.
Lesson 10 Assignment Checklist
- Read Ephesians 6:10–24
- Write down every piece of the armor Paul describes
- Next to each piece, note what you think it represents
- Come ready to share: which piece of the armor do you think you most need right now, and why?