Ephesians 5:31

Ephesians 5:31, in plain English

Paul quotes Genesis: a man leaves his parents and bonds with his wife, becoming one flesh with her—not just emotionally, but as a complete union.

Why it's here

This is one of the most important verses in the Bible about marriage. Paul is saying that marriage is God's original design, and it supersedes even the parent-child relationship. A man transfers his primary loyalty from his birth family to his spouse. This applies to the Ephesian Christians who need to understand what their marriages actually are in God's eyes.

Who's speaking

Paul, quoting Genesis 2:24

Where it sits in the story

This goes all the way back to creation itself—marriage isn't a human invention or a legal arrangement. It's something God established, and it's meant to show what deep union looks like. Everything Paul has said about husbands and wives fits into this vision of genuine oneness.

The scholarly reading

Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 to show that God's original design for marriage was one-flesh union, and this design is fulfilled—not contradicted—through Christian love.

Language and setting

The citation from Genesis represents Paul's hermeneutical move: he does not overturn creation order but reveals its deepest meaning through the gospel. The phrase ἀκολλάω (akollaō, be united) intensifies the Genesis ἥνωσις (hēnōsis, become one), emphasizing voluntary adhesion. In the first-century Hellenistic-Jewish context, Paul addresses both Jewish Christians familiar with the Torah and gentile converts learning this narrative for the first time. The citation establishes marriage's legitimacy while immediately reframing it through Christ's redemptive work.

Voice

Paul, quoting the Genesis creation account

Significance

This represents Paul's commitment to creation theology—he does not replace the created order but transforms its meaning through the eschaton. The one-flesh union from Genesis finds its ultimate significance in the church's union with Christ, which then illuminates what human marital union should embody.

29Indeed, no one ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.

30For we are members of His body.

31“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

32This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church.

33Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Read all of Ephesians 5 — Imitate God as beloved children. Walk in love. Walk in light. Paul transforms the household codes of his day with a vision of mutual, sacrificial love.