What does Ephesians 5:30 mean?

Verses 30 and 31 focus on unity. In this verse, the unity mentioned is between Jesus and the church, again using the metaphor of a body made of individual members. Believers are united in Christ and with Christ. Our identity is found in Him. Paul's intent in this section is to help husbands and wives realize they share a similar "bodily" relationship with one another. They are not two individuals living in the same household; they are now one unit or "one flesh" (Ephesians 5:31).

This concept of one flesh is found in Genesis 2:24 as Adam and Eve are united in marriage. Jesus affirmed this design for marriage in His ministry as well (Matthew 19:5–6; Mark 10:8). Paul elsewhere notes this principle in 1 Corinthians 6:16 to emphasize the need for sexual purity and to flee adultery and prostitution.

As with the rest of Paul's comments on men and women in marriage, context is critical. Nothing in Paul's instruction allows for men to be abusers or tyrants within their marriage, despite certain cultures' desire to justify exactly that. At the same time, these passages leave no room for the opposite attitude: that a woman should expect her husband to bow and scrape to her every whim. There is an expectation of mutual care, selflessness, and spirituality which Paul demands of married couples. When this is lived out, the various problems society creates between husbands and wives naturally dissolve.