Paul’s command to the church at Ephesus when he says “wives [be subject to] your husbands” (Ephesians 5:22) is the single verse that started me down a year of deconstruction. I wrangled with this word for years, through premarital counseling and women’s retreats and scoldings from church leaders. The word upotassomenoi (Ὑποτασσόμενοι) actually only occurs in Ephesians 5:21, where it is accompanied by the word allelois. In the famous Ephesians 5:22 passage, the sentence points back to verse 21 for its verb. So first, we can define upotassomenoi allelois, and then we can insert in back into these two verses. ὑποτασσόμενοι | upotassomenoi | be submitting to The term is a combination of the verb tasso (τᾰ́σσω) and the preposition hypo- (ῠ̔πό). Upotassomenoi is passive, in this phrase, and the passive mood of the verb tasso is translated specifically to “fall into rank”. Hypo- means under, making the word, “fall into rank under.” The verb overall is an infinitive present participle, so it would be said “be falling into rank under”, implying a constant presence in the decision. So who are we placing ourselves under? ἀλλήλοις | allelois | to one another, mutuallyThe dative pronoun that follows upotassomenoi is the key to interpreting the subsequent verses. Allelois means that a verb is done to one another and is reciprocal. In this sense, verse 21 means that “I submit to you and you submit to me”. This asks a new question: what does it mean to place yourself under someone else? Webster’s dictionary defines submission as yielding to another person’s will. As Jesus People, we know that we yield to God’s will alone, which means to submit must align with that. I propose that this submission means yielding to another person’s best interest, because of the following qualification. We should be submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. We should honor God in the way we treat Their children, in yielding our own best interests in favor of theirs. What does this mean for verse 22, then? First, this idea of mutual submission is directly referred to when describing the relationship between husbands and wives. Paul could have restated the verb or used a new word for servitude or obedience. But he does not. He speaks of serving each other as followers of Christ and then says, “wives, do this to your husbands.” This implied correlation, then, is that husbands should also submit to their wives as equals in Christ. This verse has been used for decades to oppress women, especially in countries where women are not granted legal rights. The reality of this verse is that it does the opposite. Paul takes a culture where women have no rights and men hold power, and tells them to live as equals, humble, and serving for the sake of Christ. The women in Ephesus would have been subject to Pax Romana, a Roman law that defined women as property with no legal rights of their own. Paul flips this idea on its head, telling women that their submission should be done out of love and not law and (most shockingly) that husbands should do the same. To argue in favor of a hierarchy with this verse achieves only two things: first, it denies salvation through Christ alone, and second, it elevates Rome over God. The submission in these verses would place women and their spiritual growth under the men in their lives when we know that Christ died so that everyone would have equal access to their Parent, God. Not only that, but accepting the legal oppression of women in Rome as inerrant places the ideas of an ancient people over the rest of the Bible, which clearly tells us to love one another and give up our whole selves for our neighbor in the name of Christ. Further Reading:Pax Romana Wikipedia
ushistory.org, “The Pax Romana”, Ancient Civilizations Online Textbook, Accessed 26 September 2021, Web. https://www.ushistory.org/civ/6c.asp Byrd, Aimee. Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Zondervan, 2020. Osiek, Carolyn A., et al. A Woman's Place: House Churches in Earliest Christianity. Fortress Press, 2006.
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All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NASB It’s nearly impossible to exist in Christian culture without hearing someone patronizingly remind you, “all scripture is God-breathed” when they disagree with your interpretation. The phrase has been used to defend the spectrum of Biblical (in)errancy. Some say this phrase is evidence that the words of the Protestant Canon Bible were divinely dictated by God, who guarded Their words through countless translations and councils. Others say this speaks only to its weight as something greater than other historical documents, prone to error but still set apart. Θεόπνευστος | theopneustos | God-breathedΘεόπνευστος (theopneustos) is a compound of two simple words: Θεό (theo) and πνευσ (breath). The Bible has a close relationship with breath. When They created humanity, God used Their breath to give life (Genesis 2:7). This same life-giving breath was used to revive dry bones in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:1-14). Elihu tells Job that the “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4). The Old Testament harkens constantly back to the life-giving breath of God, the breath that made us Theirs. This is not forgotten in the New Testament, but the metaphor finds a new life in, well, New Life. No longer is God’s breath bringing people to physical life. Instead, God breathes the Holy Spirit upon us (John 20:22; Acts 2:2). The breath of God symbolises a new spiritual life instead of a new physical one. This new spiritual life frees us from both physical and spiritual death, however. Spiritual death is considered what happens when we sin and are separated from God, but when we receive the Breath of Life, we are no longer separated and are promised life in the New Creation. We are promised spiritual and physical life in place of death. Jesus reminds of us the Breath of Life when Nicodemus asks him how someone could possibly be born a second time. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”” John 3:7-8 NASB With this reminder of the Breath of Life also comes a reminder that we cannot predict where that breath will come from or what it will call someone to do. When we are born again with the spirit, the evidence of it is seen everywhere but that does not give us the right to predict it.
The idea that scripture is God-breathed speaks to the life of it. It is more than just words on a page, or evidence of history. Scripture lives because God breathed life into it. In the same way that we live because of the Breath of Life but still stumble and grow and disagree, the Bible is a product of God intersecting with humanity. We do not know where it comes from or where it is going, but we know that it is alive and growing and points to our God. We are all God-Breathed. This does not make us infallible or inerrant, nor does it make scripture human-proof. Scripture is evidence of that Breath working through the world, blowing through unexpected people. It blew through prostitutes and the sick and Pharisees and hermits and kings. People who had failed and continued to fail even after that Breath filled them. A part of what makes it useful “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” is that it is messy and surprising and fallible. Scripture grows and changes, blowing us toward something bigger. We see what happens when humans fail, what happens when we are given grace. We see who gets that grace. And we see that that breath continues to blow, pushing us toward Life. "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ." Ephesians 5:18-20 NASB "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16 NASB Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs can seem like the same word. While the repetition of a word three times is poetry in itself, each of these words had different implications for Paul’s readers in Ephesus. ψαλμοῖς | psalmois | words set to musicThe word Psalm comes from the Greek word ψαλμοῖς (psalmois), which means “to twitch” literally or “words set to music.” While the usage of the word probably wasn’t limited to what we understand as the Hebrew Psalms, Paul’s Jewish background coupled with the other two references to songs hints that ψαλμοῖς would have been understood as “scripture set to music” when it comes to Koine Greek. Hermann Gunkel identified five types of praises in the Hebrew Book of Praises (Gunkel, 1967):
Because several of these categories are reiterated later in his list, Paul was likely referring to Israel’s traditional worship songs and poetry. We have the advantage of several thousand more years of praises to draw from, though. I would include most of what we call “hymns” and some contemporary songs that set scripture to new music. Psalms, in this sense, have several significant advantages. First, by setting scripture to music, it’s easier to remember our holy texts. A lot of our scripture is written in a meter or repeated in a way (as in a chiasm) that makes it easier to repeat orally. Second, it connects us with fellow believers in the past and allows us to hold a tradition of worship and honor. ὕμνοις | hymnois | a song that gives honor, praise, or thanksgivingHymns existed in other ancient religions alongside Judaism and Christianity. The word comes from the Greek word hydeo (to celebrate). It’s unlikely that the hymns within the book of Psalms were referred to as such in the first century, so Paul is probably referring to what the Greeks and Romans understood. There are three distinct types of Greek hymns, which the Romans drew from, but while they differ in meter, they are consistent in theme: praise. Hymns praised, called upon, and told the greatness of gods. Some were only a few lines long; some were borderline epics. These songs wouldn’t necessarily need to quote specific scriptures but would instead include songs that focus on God’s glory, Their goodness, and Their love. There are several instances where Psalms and Hymns intersect. To the joy of Worship Ministers everywhere, Oceans falls into the hymn category in this case. ᾠδαῖς | ōdais | a song, odeThe ode is the hardest word to pin down in its origin and usage during the Greco-Roman reign. Across history, odes are defined as “an elaborately structured poem praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally” (Wikipedia). While the Greeks usually read their odes to music, they were recited without music by the time of the Roman Empire. In general, odes were victory lyrics, celebrating Olympic or war accomplishments. Odes were primarily choral pieces, where people would come together to perform the many parts of the lyric. Paul specifies that these victory poems should be πνευματικαῖς (pneumatikais), or spiritual, in nature, emphasizing that our odes shouldn’t be of our own victories but Christ’s and the Holy Spirit’s victories in our lives. weorþscipe | worship | worthinessPaul chose three specific words to refer to lyrical worship: scriptures, praises, and victory poems. These things had two heart-orienting things in common: first, they were shared in a community; second, they were focused on God’s authority and love. The psalms were shared in a variety of ways. Some were parts of sacred rites and individually recited to groups while others were sung in unison as a community. Hymns were written to be shared within a community of believers, to share stories of God’s work in their lives. Odes were created to sing as one people, and to a community. The words used were significant to the culture of the first-century church. They would have seen the gods of the Greeks and Romans worshipped with formal and impromptu lyrics and understood the content of those lyrics was focused on the glory of those gods. The context of this verse doesn’t change our view of worship, but it might expand it. We don’t limit our worship to the specific art forms of these three lyrical types, and it’s reasonable to believe that the first-century church didn’t either. Even in Rome, songs took a variety of forms and styles and shifted across the decades. What matters from this verse is the why and the where of lyrical worship. Paul calls us to draw attention to God’s glory within our community. It’s a tool to create one-minded reverence and to teach and, most importantly, give due honor to our Creator. The word worship is Old English in origin. Weorþscipe would be directly translated as worth-ship. While there is no single word used in the Bible for praises, thanksgiving, recitation of scripture, and prayer, we have collectively decided the best word is worship. The header, “Instructions for Worship,” was given to 1 Timothy 2, which discusses the way people should publically honor God. In verse 10, the word NIV translates as worship is a phrase: ἐπαγγελλομέναις θεοσέβειαν (epangellomenais theosebeian), or professing adoration of God. Worship, then, is more than just psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. It’s anything we do to draw attention to the glory of God intentionally. We are only limited in our worship by our ideas, abilities, and definitions. Just as art takes a variety of forms with ever-increasing multimodality, worship can too. It can be a song, or poetry, or a painting, but it can also be a scientific journal, a business, or even a word study. God’s power and love exist in all creation; all we have to do is highlight it and be thankful for it. ReferencesIn my previous post, I discussed the three loves mentioned in the Bible. They each demonstrate different aspects of the Love of God, and most of them deal with some type of service. The three loves not directly mentioned in the Bible are not absent from it in spirit, however, and instead focus on the more self-involved aspects of love. Physical love, familial love, and self-love are evident in the bible, in spirit if not by name. ἔρως | éros | a physical, intimate loveErotic love, or romantic love, is rarely the subject of scripture. Marriage was rarely about love in the ancient world and sexual intimacy was a requirement first and foremost. The word ἔρως (éros) is never even mentioned in the New Testament. However, Song of Solomon most thoroughly exemplifies the Greek word for intimate love. The song details in poignant metaphor every physical beauty of the woman he loves. It celebrates her physicality and the connection that comes from it. “Your stature is like a palm tree, And your breasts are like its clusters. “I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree, I will take hold of its fruit stalks,’” cries the poet (Song of Solomon 7:7-8). This kind of erotic poetry would certainly make anyone sitting in a pew during sermon blush, and yet Song of Solomon is considered wisdom literature. It’s not just sexual intimacy, either. There is an aspect of human connection that resides in touch. A slap on the back that fills you with pride, the engulfing hugs of a friend who makes you feel known, the kiss of someone who appreciates exactly who you are at that moment. Gary Chapman includes physical touch as one of his Five Love Languages, highlighting the importance of someone’s physical presence. It’s no mistake that Jesus healed through touch. One of my favorite scenes of The Chosen was when the leper of Matthew 8 approached Jesus, asking to be healed. The disciples jump back, reminding the audience that a leper is not to be touched. They are contagious and they are unclean. Jesus takes his hand to heal him, though, and does not just take away his pains but reminds him that he is alive and valued. στοργή | storgē | love between parents and childrenThe word “storge” is only used a handful of times in the Bible, and only in its negative form. Paul uses an antonym of storge twice in his letters. The first time is in his letter to Timothy, when he describes how difficult the ‘last days’ will be because people will be, among other things, ἄστοργο (astorgoi). The Greek word here, simply being ‘without storge’, is often translated as unloving. The second time is his letter to the Romans (Romans 1:31), when he again describes people who have turned from God as ἀστόργους (astorgous). This word is the same as that in 2 Timothy, often translated as heartless or unfeeling here. Both times that Paul calls on the idea of absent natural or familial love, God is also absent from people’s hearts. A logical step would then be to say that those who know God, know and display storge. Storge is often described as familial love - a love that is natural and instinctive, like that between a parent and child. Familial relationships are a tangled web in the Bible. The New Testament goes to great lengths to remind us of Jesus’ lineage, Paul calls for children to honor their parents, and Jesus himself performs a miracle from God to protect his family’s honor. And yet, Jesus also renounced his earthly family repeatedly. To Jesus, the biggest priority was not his earthly mother and father but his heavenly Parent. When Jesus went to the temple as a child, his parents scolded him for leaving his family. Jesus reminded them that he was with his Father (Luke 24:48-49). Jesus reminds us, in some ways, that the best place to find storge is in the arms of God. Storge is immediate and instinctive, but even instinctive love requires discipline in action. Paul’s reminder that storge exists with God tells us that They love us, immediately, before we have done anything to prove worthy of love. Storge is a love that reflects the immediate connection and tenderness shared in a family, a bond that Paul shows us how to demonstrate in his letters. Paul writes to the Ephesians, reminding them that parents should be gentle with their children and children should revere their parents (Ephesians 6:1-4). The storge of parenthood is used analogously throughout both the Old and New Testaments to describe God. Their womb, Their authority, and Their protection all recall the image of Mother and Father. Paul, applying storge to those not related by blood, describes his gentle ministry approach as fatherly in 1 Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 2:11). Storge is a complex love because it carries both the hierarchy of a parent trying to instruct and the gentleness of a parent trying to support. This love is shown by the Apostles as they teach new believers in Thessalonica, it is shown by the early churches as the powerful help the powerless in Rome, and it is shown in the guidance and grace of God who loves us. φιλαυτία | philautia | the love for oneself and one’s own happinessI think Self-Love is by far the most neglected love in the Christian church. Facebook Theologians tend to scoff at Millenials and Gen-Z who promote “self-care” and cut out “toxic” people. The Bible calls us to put ourselves on the line for Christ, after all, and we should find peace even in our suffering. They are not wrong, of course, that being a Jesus person comes with a lot of discomforts.
I will preface this word study by saying that there is no occurrence of philautia in the Bible that I could find, nor is it necessarily a positive trait. Self-love receives criticism for valid reasons because there is not a clear line between self-love and pride. Augustine, in his De civitate dei, took a stab at distinguishing the two. He claimed that self-love, in moderation, was healthy. It showed thankfulness and joy in God’s creation. However, self-love in excess was the root of all sin, because it overshadowed God’s work. There is no perfect metric for where self-love ends and pride begins because everyone’s bar of needs is different. Giving your time and money to help others is certainly not going to be comfortable, abstaining from enticing sins is never easy, and forgiving those who hurt you can feel like a stab to the gut. The thing about self-love, though, is that it requires self-reflection. Are you just trying to make things easier on yourself, or are you appreciating God’s work in you? Self-love is acknowledging that you were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14), and you are loved for who you are. Self-love is protecting yourself and caring for your health because your body belongs to the service of God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Self-love is taking time to pray and meditate by yourself, instead of being run over by the crowds (Jesus was an introvert; change my view). Paul cared about his own happiness, but first, he worked hard to align his joy with Christ’s. He reminded the Philippians, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am” (Philippians 4:11). Paul was in prison at the time, and yet he found things in which to be thankful and content. Self-love is in recognizing your purpose, your beauty, your worth, and your impact on the lives of others. |
AuthorWren Bouwman is a student of linguistics and literature and a passionate Christo-feminist. Her works primarily focuses on advocated for equality in church leadership and marriage, although she has plenty of opinions on other things. ArchivesCategories |