Search — Theology Explorer

Ephesians 5-6 household codes personal responsibility Ephesians 5-6

Ancient household codes typically told men what BOTH spouses should do; Paul doesn't

Mike highlights a genuine innovation in Paul's approach.

internal contradiction Craig Keener cultural binding

Alternative egalitarian view: Paul meant authority imbalance but only for that culture

Mike addresses the 'cultural binding' interpretation of Ephesians 5.

Titus 2:5 1 Corinthians 14:34 1 Corinthians 11:3 creation order Titus 2:5 1 Corinthians 14:34

Biblical justifications for wifely submission vs slave obedience are completely different

Mike lists the actual biblical reasons for each and compares them.

Ephesians 6:5-8 Titus 2:9-10 Ephesians 6:5-8 Titus 2:9-10 slavery not creation-grounded

Biblical reasons for slave obedience: purely situational, not creation-grounded

Mike examines what the NT actually says about why slaves should obey.

Ephesians 6:5-9 Ephesians 6:5-9 divine impartiality warning to masters

Ephesians 6:5-9 to masters: threats and divine judgment, not divine institution

Mike reads the slave passage to show its different character from the marriage passage.

Ephesians 5-6 Ephesians 5-6 wives vs slaves comparison slavery objection refutation

Comprehensive list of differences between wives and slaves in Scripture

Mike provides a systematic comparison.

Proverbs on discipline Ephesians 6:1-4 wives-children parallel Proverbs on discipline Ephesians 6:1-4

Better parallel is wives and children, not wives and slaves

Mike suggests a more appropriate comparison.

internal contradiction Craig Keener mutual submission vs cultural binding

Internal contradiction in egalitarian interpretations: mutual submission AND cultural binding cannot both be true

Mike identifies a fundamental tension in the egalitarian case.

1 Corinthians 11:3 Ephesians 5:22-24 kephale headship 1 Corinthians 11:3

Traditional view of verse 3: God's divinely given authority structure through headship

Mike presents the traditional interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11:3.

Ephesians 5 1 Peter 3 1 Corinthians 11:11-12 Ephesians 5 1 Peter 3 1 Corinthians 11:11-12

Verses 11-12: mutual dependence balances headship -- not refutation but nuance

Mike explains the 'however' of verses 11-12 in the traditional view.

Ephesians 5:22-24 1 Corinthians 11:8-9 Ephesians 5:22-24 1 Corinthians 11:8-9 cultural hermeneutics

Evidence that headship is transcultural: creation order, Ephesians 5, and the danger of cultural relativism

Mike builds his case that headship is not culturally bound.

Ephesians 5 1 Corinthians 11:11-12 Philip Payne kephale Ephesians 5

Push back on kephale as 'source': even if source, it still implies authority; verses 11-12 prove too much

Mike addresses two independent problems with the source interpretation.

Romans 1:26-27 Galatians 4:8 Romans 2:14 Tom Schreiner physis Romans 1:26-27

Paul uses physis nine times consistently: never means 'custom'

Mike examines all of Paul's uses of physis.

Ephesians 5 Ephesians 5 gyne aner

Question 9: Is this about men/women generally or husbands/wives specifically?

Mike examines the woman/wife ambiguity in the Greek.

1 Peter 1 Corinthians 11:10 Genesis 6:2 1 Peter 1 Corinthians 11:10 angelic observers

Question 12: What does 'because of the angels' mean? Four views evaluated

Mike evaluates the four main interpretive options for this phrase.

Mike Winger idea 2022-12-04

The refutation view has Paul rejecting submission -- something he teaches everywhere else

Mike points out that the refutation view would have Paul rejecting the concept of wifely submission.

Genesis 1-2 1 Peter 3 Ephesians (submission teaching) submission Genesis 1-2 1 Peter 3

Colossians Ephesians 5:23 1 Peter 3:1 kephale headship mutual submission

Ephesians 5:23 — headship extends to all marriages, not just Adam and Eve

Mike shows NT application of headship to marriage in general.

Ephesians 5:25-27 abuse prevention Ephesians 5:25-27 self-sacrifice

Ephesians 5:25 — husbands must self-sacrificially love like Christ

Mike presents husbandly self-sacrifice as an essential part of the biblical framework.

Ephesians 6:1-2 parental authority Ephesians 6:1-2 women's authority over children

Three areas where the Bible speaks of women having authority: (1) over children

Mike begins listing specific biblical domains of women's authority.

Proverbs 31 Ephesians 6:1 Proverbs 31 Ephesians 6:1 women as bosses

Proverbs 31 woman as entrepreneur and boss with male employees

Mike uses the Proverbs 31 woman to address women as bosses.

Ephesians 4:11 pastor title church role confusion Ephesians 4:11

Confusion of 'pastor' title across churches — example of 8 different pastor titles

Mike shows how the word 'pastor' has become muddied in modern church usage.

Ephesians 4:11 1 Peter 2:25 Hebrews 13:20 Ephesians 4:11 1 Peter 2:25 Hebrews 13:20

Definition of pastor: a shepherding/caretaking leadership term synonymous with elder

Mike defines how he uses the word 'pastor' based on scripture.

Mike Winger idea 2023-11-22

View 3: Women saved spiritually by literally having children

Mike evaluates and rejects the view that bearing children contributes to women's spiritual salvation.

1 Corinthians 7 1 Timothy 2:15 Romans 3:28 1 Corinthians 7 justification by faith 1 Timothy 2:15

Mike Winger idea 2017-12-27

Ephesians 5:15-17 — 'Walk circumspectly' as a call to wise, 360-degree self-awareness and time stewardship

Scriptural support for Tip 3. Mike quotes and exegetes Ephesians 5:15-17.

Ephesians 5:15-17 wisdom Ephesians 5:15-17 circumspectly

Mike Winger idea 2018-01-24

Mormon phrase: 'saved by grace after all that we do' — contrasted with Ephesians 2:8-9's 'by grace you have been saved through faith, not of works.'

Mike highlights the definitive Mormon phrase that encapsulates their works-based soteriology, directly contrasting it with the key Pauline text.

Ephesians 2:8-9 Ephesians 2:8-9 sola gratia Mormon soteriology

Mike Winger idea 2018-01-24

The exaltation requirement to 'love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and neighbor as yourself' means no one meets it — creating either despair or self-deception.

Mike focuses on one specific exaltation requirement (the Great Commandment) to show that the Mormon salvific bar is humanly unachievable.

Ephesians 2:8-9 Ephesians 2:8-9 LDS soteriology works-based salvation

Ephesians 2:8-9 Ephesians 2:8-9 sola fide grace

Protestant position: salvation by grace through faith apart from works — Ephesians 2:8-9

Setting up the Protestant side of the debate

James 2:14-26 hermeneutics contextual interpretation James 2:14-26

Proper methodology: verse-by-verse contextual study of the passage being debated rather than countering with other passages

Mike's positive hermeneutical proposal

Romans James 2 Galatians Romans James 2 biblical harmony

Harmonization: James perfectly harmonizes with Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians when properly interpreted

Showing that the Protestant reading creates biblical coherence

Ephesians 2:10 works as result not cause Ephesians 2:10 good works

Ephesians 2:10 — 'created for good works which God prepared beforehand' — saved FOR works, not BY works

Using Ephesians 2:10 to show the role of works in salvation

James 2 Ephesians 2:8-10 James 2 sola fide works as result not cause

Ephesians 2:8-10 echoes James: saved by grace not works (vv.8-9), then created for good works (v.10)

Final synthesis between Ephesians and James

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-22

The simplest test for distinguishing true from false teachers is the identity of Jesus (who is he?) and the means of salvation (how am I saved?) — 1 John and Ephesians 2:8-9

Q&A: question from Zipa Duck about how new Christians can identify false vs. true teachers.

1 John Ephesians 2:8-9 1 John Ephesians 2:8-9 Christology

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-16

Soteriology enters: Sye argues if a person contributes anything to their salvation (including the choice of faith), salvation becomes a work; leads into the faith-as-a-gift debate

Sye introduces Calvinist soteriology as the foundation for the apologetic difference

Romans 8 Ephesians 2:8-9 Romans 8 Ephesians 2:8-9 Calvinism

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-16

Winger holds that faith is not a work (the Bible says so), but is a choice to trust; Sye argues the Bible's statement that faith is not a work does not resolve the logical problem if faith is something you do

Core soteriological exchange

Ephesians 2:8-9 Romans 4 Ephesians 2:8-9 faith Romans 4

Mike Winger idea 2018-10-24

Q&A: Ephesians 5:11 ('unfruitful works of darkness') refers to common sins, not specifically to Halloween or occult rituals

Viewer asks whether Ephesians 5:11 condemns Halloween participation

Ephesians 5:11 Ephesians 5:3-6 Halloween Ephesians 5:11 Ephesians 5:3-6

Mike Winger idea 2018-11-14

Ephesians 4:26 — 'be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger' is about harboring anger in your own heart, not about resolving every marital dispute before bed.

Common misuse of the verse corrected; the passage is linked to Cain's sin in Genesis 4.

Ephesians 4:26 Genesis 4 marriage anger Ephesians 4:26

Mike Winger idea 2018-11-14

Q&A: It is okay to be angry about bad theology — Ephesians 4:26 permits anger, but you must then not sin and move through it.

Q&A on anger toward theological error.

Ephesians 4:26 discernment sin Q&A

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-19

Ephesians 2:8-9 — saved by grace through faith, not of works; personal story of Catholic friend Tony

Mike illustrates grace alone with a personal anecdote

Ephesians 2:8-9 Ephesians 2:8-9 sola gratia sola fide

Mike Winger idea 2019-01-23

Heaven and miscarriage — Scripture does not specify the state or 'age' of those who die before birth

Q&A — question about the state of aborted or miscarried children in heaven

Ephesians Ephesians abortion heaven

Mike Winger idea 2019-01-30

119 Ministries chosen as the representative case study for this video because they engage actual scripture

Mike explains his research methodology and why he selected 119 Ministries as his primary dialogue partner.

1 Corinthians Ephesians Colossians 1 Corinthians Ephesians Colossians

Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

Once saved always saved: Mike withholds judgment due to genuine biblical tension

Viewer asking about eternal security / once saved always saved

Ephesians 1-3 Hebrews 6 perseverance of the saints eternal security once saved always saved

Mike Winger idea 2019-03-13

Ephesians 5:18 — "be filled with the Spirit" is a CONTRAST to being drunk with wine, not a comparison; "drunk in the Spirit" is a misreading.

Mike addresses "drunk in the Spirit" and "slain in the Spirit" claims.

Galatians 5:22-23 Ephesians 5:18 Galatians 5:22-23 Ephesians 5:18 Drunk in the Spirit

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-22

Acts 20:27 -- Paul declares he gave the Ephesians the whole counsel of God. If Torah observance was required, he would have included it -- but he did not.

Paul's claim to have given the whole counsel of God

Acts 20:27 Torah observance Ephesus Paul the Apostle

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-05

Paul uses OT law as wisdom: Ephesians 5 cites the fifth commandment; the principle rather than the code

Q&A: how NT epistles apply OT law

Ephesians 5 Ephesians 5 Old Testament application Ten Commandments

Ephesians 2:1-3 election limited atonement intercession

Ephesians 2 refutes the intercession argument: the elect were still under wrath after the cross, before believing

Mike uses Ephesians 2 as a direct rebuttal to the Calvinist intercession/atonement link.

Ephesians 2:8-9 Ephesians 2:11-13 Ephesians 2:8-9 faith atonement

Ephesians 2:11-13 reinforces: benefits of Christ's blood applied at the moment of belief, not at the cross

Further use of Ephesians 2 to argue for the extent/application distinction.

John Owen faith universalism unlimited atonement

John Owen's trilemma answered: extent and application are distinct; the trilemma conflates them

Mike's direct rebuttal to John Owen's trilemma / false dilemma.

Ephesians 2:1-3 faith limited atonement trilemma

Owen's trilemma implies the elect were forgiven before they believed — which Ephesians 2 contradicts

Secondary refutation of the trilemma from Ephesians 2.