John Calvin Commentary Ephesians 5:22

"Wives, [be in subjection] unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." — Ephesians 5:22 (ASV)

Wives, submit yourselves. He now comes to the various conditions of life; for, besides the universal bond of subjection, some are more closely bound to each other, according to their respective callings.

The community at large is divided, as it were, into so many yokes, from which mutual obligation arises. These are:

1. The yoke of marriage between husband and wife;
2. The yoke which binds parents and children;
3. And the yoke which connects masters and servants.

By this arrangement, there are six different classes, for each of whom Paul lays down specific duties. He begins with wives, whom he instructs to be subject to their husbands in the same manner as to Christ: as to the Lord. Not that the authority is equal, but wives cannot obey Christ without yielding obedience to their husbands.