Household Codes

The household codes are the instructions concerning how members of a family, or household, are to relate to each other. Household codes are found in Ephesians 5:22-6:12, Colossians 3:18-4:1, 1 Peter 2:11-3:12

Not surprisingly, this is a controversial subject. There will be different understandings of submission, the "headship" of the husband etc.. There might be different understandings here. Listen and seek to discern what God is really saying through these passages. The Bible does say, "wives submit to your husbands". We have to take it seriously but to take it seriously we must understand it properly.

Mutual Submission

Ephesians 5:21 says, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ". That is mutual. The command for husbands to love their wives (especially, when linked to "as Christ loves the church", means that the husband does submit to his wife because he puts her needs first.