Ephesians 5: Marriage Is Not Sacred—Christ Is

Ephesians 5: Marriage Is Not Sacred—Christ Is


"This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church."

— Ephesians 5:32


For centuries, Ephesians 5 has been read as a divine endorsement of marriage—lifting it up as a sacred institution, a holy bond, and even a mirror of the Gospel. But what if that’s not what Paul intended at all? What if Ephesians 5 isn’t about making marriage sacred, but about using marriage as a metaphor for something far more eternal: the union between Christ and His body?


The Mystery Is Christ and the Church, Not Marriage


Paul plainly states his purpose in verse 32:


“This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”


This is the interpretive key. Paul isn’t elevating marriage—he’s redefining its relevance under the new covenant. The focus is not on preserving or sanctifying a human institution, but on using a familiar social relationship to communicate a spiritual reality. Marriage is the metaphor. Christ is the message.



Submission Was Cultural, Not Sacred


Much of the controversy surrounding this passage comes from verses like:


“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.” (v.22)


But Paul was writing within a Greco-Roman context where household codes and male dominance were normal. He’s not creating divine law—he’s working within cultural expectations to introduce mutuality:


“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (v.21)


This sets the tone. The revolutionary part of the passage isn’t the wife’s submission—it’s the husband’s Christlike love, which was unheard of in ancient patriarchal systems.



Marriage Is Temporary—Christ Is Eternal


Jesus said there would be no marriage in the resurrection (Matt. 22:30). The resurrection life began in the new age after 70 AD. That means the kingdom reality we live in today does not revolve around human marriage. Instead, it revolves around the new creation, the Church, and our union with Christ. Paul himself de-emphasizes marriage elsewhere:


“Those who have wives should live as if they do not.” (1 Cor. 7:29)


If Paul truly saw marriage as sacred, why would he speak of it so functionally—even temporarily?



Marriage Serves the Gospel—It’s Not the Gospel


Ephesians 5 doesn’t lift marriage onto a spiritual pedestal. It subordinates marriage to the greater truth of Christ and His body. Just as temple sacrifices pointed to Christ but were never the final reality, so marriage is not the spiritual goal—it’s a shadow pointing to something greater. This should free us from idolizing marriage or enforcing rigid gender roles under the guise of holiness. Our true calling is not in roles, but in embodying Christ’s sacrificial love and the Church’s faithful response, in whatever form our relationships take.



Conclusion 


Ephesians 5 is not about elevating marriage—it’s about revealing the mystery of Christ. To make this chapter about the sanctity of marriage is to miss the point. Marriage is not eternal. It is not sacred in itself. It is a parable of the sacred, not the sacred itself. Let’s stop making the metaphor the main thing and preach the mystery that really matters: Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.

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