Ephesians 5:23

The head. This phrase appearing twice in this verse is without the definite article in the Greek, thus emphasizing the quality of headship. Paul makes the same assertion in 1 Cor. 11:3. At the same time he emphasizes that before God there is “neither bond [slave] nor free, there is neither male nor female” (Gal. 3:28). Distinctions of sex, class, or race are not found among those who are “in Christ”; nevertheless, the different sexes, classes, and races each have their peculiar contribution to make to each other and to society by virtue of their differing qualities. The headship of the husband consists in his ability and responsibility to care for his wife, in the same way that Christ cares for the church.

The body. That is, the church. As Christ is the “saviour of the body,” the church, so the husband should be the protector and sustainer of his wife and family. No question of inferiority or of headship ever arises in a family where the husband shows the same solicitude for the welfare of his wife that Christ shows for His church.