Charis

Cheryl,
Bravo (Ryan?) for noticing this:

“[For] as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives [ought to be] to their husbands in everything” (v24). ..Interestingly, the NASB adds “ought to be” (italics) which actually makes it sound like Paul is commanding the wives to submit

Many Bible translations have added words which distort the teaching (link).

Ryan also says “Look how Paul is describing mutual submission to one another and then continuing to elaborate on how that should look” which is close to acknowledging that Ephesians 5:24 clarifies Ephesians 5:21 (which I think is overlooked by most egalitarians when they consider “mutual submission”). Ryan takes Eph 5:24 and proposes the meaning “in everything the wives should be willingly submissive out of love”.

IN EVERYTHING, IN EVERYTHING, IN EVERYTHING!

I won’t bother proposing scenarios about what “EVERYTHING” could include… My point is that it’s impossible if the wife’s submission is understood as cooperation, yielding, support, etc. And the fact is, despite the appeal of MUTUAL submission (sometimes she yields and sometimes he does), there is no corresponding “IN EVERYTHING” said of husbands.

Wives are subject to their husbands IN EVERYTHING! As Retha mentioned, I think the passive indicative grammar of the hupotasso verb in Eph 5:24 clarifies what Paul/God means by this.

I take Paul’s statement in Eph 5:24 as a repetition of “the facts of life” first reported in Genesis 3:16:

“wives are subject to their own husbands in everything” Eph 5:24 (Paul describing marriage to the Ephesians)

“your [the wife’s] desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you” Gen 3:16 (God describing to the first woman what marriage will be like for her)

Both are descriptive, not prescriptive. You are subject to your husband like you are subject to gravity. There is no volition involved. It’s a state of being.

The power a husband has over his wife emotionally is what Paul refers to when he explains that “wives are subject to their husbands in everything”. Paul proceeds to instruct husbands repeatedly on agape loving (using active and even imperative forms of agape). Every husband HAS “gravitational power”. Paul is teaching him to handle this in a way which lifts up rather than tears down.