God’s Image Study • Commandment 5: Father and Mother
Our examination of Father and Mother brings us back to the pair and the relationships that develop through their union.
The fifth commandment names both. Our wider study asks us to follow how Scripture connects their roles with life, care, and fruitfulness.
Preserving the Wording in Genesis
Genesis 1:27 moves through “him,” then male and female, then “them.” Verse 28 follows with God’s blessing and His instruction to be fruitful and multiply. Read Genesis 1:26–28.
Our God’s Image Study has kept this pair in view. We are following the developing pattern:
One → pair → union → fruit → many.
That pattern brings several passages into conversation. Each contributes details we must preserve as we examine the whole.
The Two Become One
Genesis 2 describes the woman being formed from what God takes from the man’s side and being brought to him. The account then speaks of a man leaving father and mother, joining his wife, and the two becoming one flesh. Read Genesis 2:21–24.
Father and mother appear within the explanation of a new union. The joining establishes a relationship that carries forward the possibilities of life, care, and a household.
Paul Returns to That Union
Ephesians 5 quotes the passage about the two becoming one flesh. Paul then identifies the mystery he is discussing with Christ and the church.
The surrounding verses describe Christ giving himself for her, cleansing and preparing her, and nourishing and cherishing the body. Read Ephesians 5:25–32.
This is a connection Scripture expressly invites us to follow. The marriage passage opens into an examination of Christ’s relationship with those joined to him.
Giving, cleansing, nourishment, and care are actions within that relationship. They help us understand what faithful love accomplishes.
Union and the Growing Dwelling
Ephesians 2 describes Christ making peace, creating one new man in himself, and reconciling through the cross. Through him, both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
The passage then moves into the language of citizenship, household, a building growing into a holy sanctuary, and people being built together as God’s dwelling in the Spirit. Read Ephesians 2:14–22.
Our study follows the relationship between the union Christ accomplishes and the wider dwelling being built. We retain the distinction between accomplished reconciliation and the continuing growth described afterward.
This supports the sequence we are examining: Christ’s work, joining, access to the Father, and the developing household.
Returning to Father and Mother
These passages deepen our examination of the fifth commandment. Within the spiritual connections being developed, fatherhood and motherhood concern life and the faithful care through which others are nourished.
Honoring both requires attending to what each contributes. The pair, their union, and those who receive care within the household remain connected.
As we continue, we will follow the children and their inheritance—and return to the promise attached to honoring father and mother.
Threads to Follow
Children of promise: Examine how belonging and inheritance are described.
Life in the given land: Return to the wording and promise of Exodus 20:12.
Faithful care: Keep instruction, nourishment, and love central to honoring Father and Mother.
The books were opened…
🌿 By Maria Emilia
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