²²Wives, follow the lead of your husbands as you follow the Lord. ²³The husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church. The church is Christ’s body. He is its Savior. ²⁴The church follows the lead of Christ. In the same way, wives should follow the lead of their husbands in everything.

²⁵Husbands, love your wives. Love them just as Christ loved the church. He gave himself up for her. ²⁶He did it to make her holy. He made her clean by washing her with water and the word. ²⁷He did it to bring her to himself as a brightly shining church. He wants a church that has no stain or wrinkle or any other flaw. He wants a church that is holy and without blame.

²⁸In the same way, husbands should love their wives. They should love them as they love their own bodies. Any man who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹After all, people have never hated their own bodies. Instead, they feed and care for their bodies. And that is what Christ does for the church. ³⁰We are parts of his body.

³¹Scripture says, “That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two will become one.” ³²That is a deep mystery. But I’m talking about Christ and the church.

³³A husband also must love his wife. He must love her just as he loves himself. And a wife must respect her husband.

Children and Parents

6Children, obey your parents as believers in the Lord. Obey them because it’s the right thing to do. ²Scripture says, “Honor your father and mother.” That is the first commandment that has a promise. ³“Then things will go well with you. You will live a long time on the earth.”

⁴Fathers, don’t make your children angry. Instead, train them and teach them the ways of the Lord as you raise them.

Slaves and Masters

⁵Slaves, obey your masters here on earth. Respect them and honor them with a heart that is true. Obey them just as you would obey Christ. ⁶Don’t obey them only to please them when they are watching. Do it because you are slaves of Christ. Be sure your heart does what God wants.

⁷Serve your masters with all your heart. Work as if you were not serving people but the Lord. ⁸You know that the Lord will give you a reward. He will give to each of you in keeping with the good you do. It doesn’t matter whether you are slaves or free.

⁹Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. When you warn them, don’t be too hard on them. You know that the One who is their Master and yours is in heaven. And he treats everyone the same.

Read in Logos

Ephesians 6:2–3: “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”