Re-reading the Notion of "St. Paul's Analogy of Union of Head and Body Does Not Destroy Individuality of the Person" in Theology of the Body in Light of the Reinterpretation of Household Code in the Book of Ephesians

Re-reading the Notion of “St. Paul's Analogy of Union of Head and Body Does Not Destroy Individuality of the Person” in Theology of the Body in Light of the Reinterpretation of Household Code in the Book of Ephesians

Addson CHAN

John Paul II uses Ephesians 5 as his biblical support for his proposal of the concepts “bi-subjectivity” and “union” in conjugal relationship in his theology of the body. John Paul II proposes that husband and wife are united by the bond of marriage while in this union and, at the same time, retain each of their own individuality. Love is the essential element that joins individuals while at the same time enables individuality.

In New Testament studies, the analogy of Christ and the Church in conjugal relationship is understood in relation to Ephesians 5:21, “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (ESV). The idea of “submitting to one another” in Ephesians 5 was subversive because in the first-century Greco-Roman culture, wives were supposed to be submissive to husbands while on the contrary, husbands were not supposed to be submissive to wives. The submissiveness of wives was suggested in the household codes in Greco -Roman culture. Household code was a long-standing tradition that helped maintain the stability of the power hierarchy in a society. It maintained political stability through empowering the male head in a household with status, entitlement and superiority. Wives, children, freemen, and slaves were submissive to the male head in a family according to the household code. Political stability was ensured with familial and social stability. In Ephesians 5, however, a new hierarchy was introduced. Christ is the head in the hierarchy of a Christian household . Out of the reverence for Christ, husbands and wives were supposed to submit to one another.

The Gospel is the parameter. In Ephesians 5, Christians are asked to reexamine their values and world views according to the Gospel. In the first-century, Christians worshiped at home. True and Spirit-filled worship (Eph 5:18-21) should lead to transformation of interpersonal relationships within a household. While Paul the Apostle requested followers of Christ to transform their values and world views, not according to the long-standing culture and tradition, but to the Gospel, he was also challenging the ideology behind the social culture.

The reinterpretation of the household code in Ephesians reminds us today that we should let the Gospel speak for its superiority in our culture. The reexamination of values and world views in our culture in the light of Gospel is challenging. Paul himself works on his theology in real life situation that speaks to a long-standing tradition and ideology. The Gospel has the subversive power to challenge and to transform. Reinterpretation of Scripture serves the purpose of letting the Gospel speak for its superiority, worthiness and meaning at different times.