Albert Barnes Commentary Ephesians 5:29

"for no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as Christ also the church;" — Ephesians 5:29 (ASV)

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh. This is urged as an argument for why a man should love his wife and show kindness to her. Just as no man disregards the happiness of his own body, or himself, so he should show equal care to promote the happiness of his wife.

A similar sentiment is found in classical writers. For example, Curtius (Book 7) says, Corporibus nostris quae utique non odimus—“We do not hate those things that pertain to our own bodies.” Similarly, Seneca (Epistle 14) states, Fateor insitam nobis esse corporis nostri charitatem—“I confess that there is implanted in us the love of our own body.” The word nourishment here properly means to bring up, for example, children.

The meaning here is that he provides for it and guards it from exposure and need. The word cherisheth (Greek: thalpei) properly means to warm; and it may mean here that he defends it from cold by clothing—and the two expressions denote that he provides food and raiment for the body. He is to do the same for his wife; and in the same way, the Lord Jesus regards the church and ministers to its spiritual needs. But this should not be spiritualized too far. The general idea is all that is needed—that Christ has a tender concern for the needs of the church, as a man has for his own body, and that the husband should show a similar regard for his wife.