Ephesians chapter 5 has some of the most controversial and argued over pieces of Scripture. In this excerpt from my book “Is God a Chauvinist?” I delve into the original Greek text.
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There Is Only One Kyrios And Only One High Priest
“ one Lord, one faith, one baptism ” -Ephesians 4:5
Ephesians 4:5 clearly states that we have but one Lord or kyrios. This sets the tone for what is said next in Ephesians 5. Christ is called Kyrios several places in the New Testament, but I want to focus on one passage in particular that most in the church are familiar with.
21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. -Ephesians 5:21-24, NIV (emphasis added).
There are many passages that could be covered here, but I think this one is the most crucial to drive the point home.
The place where the word “submit” is bolded does not exist in the original Greek text.
The word “submit” was added by translators. Both instances of “submit” were added to the verses pertaining to wives. Some Bible translations such as NASB italicize them because they know those words were added. We are going to break Ephesians 5:21-24 down verse by verse.
What Does The Word Submit Mean?
Let’s start first with what submit means for the body of Christ as a whole.
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” -Ephesians 5:21, NIV (emphasis added)
The word translated “submit” is the Greek word hupotasso. It means “a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden.”1 This is the same word used throughout the New Testament wherever we see the word “submit” (sometimes translated “subject” depending on the translation version) in terms of the church family or the husband and wife unit.
What verse 21 says according to the original Greek is:
“[have an attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying the burden with] one another out of reverence for Christ.”
It’s very simple. It takes a theologian to make it confusing. This is a command for the whole church and it includes husbands and wives.
Why Is There So Much Confusion Over The Word “submit”?
The New Testament was written in a version of Greek called Koine. Koine means “common”. The Koine vernacular was spoken from 400 B.C. to 600 A.D.2 It is also called “Alexandrian koine”3. The Greek language was spread by the conquests of Alexander the Great and his armies all over the ancient world. The city of Ephesus – the location of the church for which the book of Ephesians was written – was captured by Alexander in 334 B.C.4 Koine was spoken by the everyday Greek-speaking person including the Apostle Paul.
The origins of Koine were historically militaristic and it was reflected in the language. Due to this fact some words gained both a militaristic and non-militaristic meaning and usage. Hupotasso is one of those words. What does that mean? It means that the definition of hupotasso changes depending on the context.
Hupotasso has two meanings the military and the non-military definition.
In a military context hupotasso means:
“to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader”. This militaristic definition is the one we see in our Bibles and where we get the translation of “submit” or “subject”.5 It is incorrect. The church and the family is not a military setting.
The non-military definition is what applies to the church, the family, and to believers in general.
In a non-military context hupotasso means:
“a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden”.6 I gave this definition earlier. “Non-military” is pretty self-explanatory. This definition of hupotasso was the way the word was used outside of any military or warlike scenario. In the context of Ephesians 5, there is nothing militaristic. The non-militaristic definition is what should have been used for Ephesians 5. The entire passage is about the community of believers and their families.
Ephesians 5:21 also references both men and women. Paul is talking about the body of Christ as a whole. It makes no sense for the military definition to be used between believers. We can’t all be submitting to each other in a militaristic fashion. That would cause total chaos! The non-military definition fits much better with what Paul is conveying. Women would never have been referred to in a militaristic sense in this time period. Even today, militaristic terms are still used primarily for males.
The non-military meaning was considered the everyday usage of the word among common people and so the meaning would have been understood by the early church correctly. No wonder Paul had no issue with women being pastors and starting churches!
The word hupotasso is also used in the middle or passive voice of Greek grammar here. This means that the person is choosing to take the action of their own volition. They are not under compulsion or someone else’s directed authority. This is more evidence to the fact that God does not intend for Ephesians 5 to be about hierarchies and rankings between believers. Now that we’ve established that on to the next verse.
Keep It Simple!
“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.” -Ephesians 5:22, NIV (emphasis added)
The words “submit yourselves” doesn’t exist in the original Greek text. The “you do” doesn’t either. That was added by translators. Let me repeat that. These words were added later by translators.
The verse reads literally:
“Wives to their own husbands as to the Lord.”
What are wives commanded to do here? They are commanded to do what the whole church is commanded to do in the previous verse – hupotasso. We are supposed to work together. All believers are commanded to cooperate (work together), assume responsibility, and carry the burden.
The question then arises why wives are specifically called out in verse 22 if verse 21 applies to the whole church?
Paul is calling women to have and to share equal responsibility with their husbands. Actually, with men in general. This stands in stark contrast to centuries old theology that teaches men have the ultimate responsibility for their homes and families. Paul is not using these verses to establish a hierarchy between believers (including husbands and wives), but rather to encourage teamwork and joint effort in the Kingdom of God. You’d never be able to discern that though from the translation. I don’t blame people one bit for being confused by these verses! It would be impossible for an English reader to discern any of this.
Hupotasso Who?
Who are we to aim our hupotasso at? “the Lord”. The word “Lord” in Greek is kyrios. Who is called the master or head of the household here? Jesus! Most translations interpret this verse to mean that wives are to submit to the authority of their husbands as we also submit to Christ’s authority. Wrong! Only Christ is Kyrios.
So what do verses 21-22 look like when we put them together?
“[have an attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying the burden with] one another out of reverence for Christ.”
“Wives [assume responsibility and carry the weight of the burden with their own husbands, do this] as to the [Lord/Kyrios].”
None of this is complicated. It is just made into something very complicated by man-made imposed ideas and by translators who add words and apply incorrect meanings. Paul is actually telling wives to assume responsibility alongside their husbands like the rest of the church does. This is actually a position of elevation for women and not establishing a set of rules for family order like many believe. Paul was not simply restating the current social order of the ancient world but he was establishing a new one.
If we skip ahead, the same goes for verse 24.
“24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” -Ephesians 5:24, NIV (emphasis added)
The italicized “should submit” doesn’t exist in the original. As we know, “submit” is hupotasso.
It more clearly reads
“Now as the church [has an attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying the burden with] Christ, so also wives their husbands in everything.”
Just as the church cooperates, assumes responsibility, and carries a burden with Christ, wives are to likewise participate in the spreading of the Gospel with their husbands.
Takeaway – husbands and wives are supposed to co-labor together in the Gospel with Christ as their leader. For years women have been told to submit to their husbands. This is incorrect and one of the largest doctrinal errors that exists in the church. This revelation needs to be brought to light because it is the linchpin to so many other incorrect teachings about women and the basis upon which they are built.
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References:
- “Hupotasso,” The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon, 1999, Bible Study Tools, https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/hupotasso.html.
- “koine,” Merriam-Webster, accessed 30 Dec, 2019, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/koine.
- A.-F. Christidis, A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity (New York: Cambridge, 2007), 676.
- Joshua D. Mark, “The Hellenistic World: The World of Alexander the Great,” published November 1, 2018, Ancient History Encyclopedia, https://www.ancient.eu/article/94/the-hellenistic-world-the-world-of-alexander-the-g/.
- “Hupotasso,” The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon, 1999, Bible Study Tools, https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/hupotasso.html.
- Ibid.