AUV(i)
25 Husbands, you should love your wives just as Christ also loved the church, and gave up His life for her,
26 so that He could dedicate her [to Himself], after cleansing her by means of the washing of water [i.e., immersion], accompanied by the word. [Note: “The word” here refers either to a person’s profession of faith (See Rom. 10:9) or to the Gospel message (See Rom. 10:17), both of which are associated with immersion].
27 [This is] so He could present the church to Himself in all her splendor, without any kind of stain or wrinkle, but that she should be holy and without [moral] flaw.
28 In the same way also, husbands should love their own wives as they love their own bodies. The man who loves his own wife [actually] loves himself.
29 For no [normal] person ever hated his own [physical] body, but [instead] he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ also does for the church,
30 because we are parts of His [spiritual] body.
31 [Gen. 2:24 says], “For this reason a man will leave [the home of] his father and mother, and will cling to his wife, [so that] the two will become one flesh [i.e., united in such a close relationship, as to practically constitute one body].”
32 The secret [truth] of this is great, but I am talking about Christ and the church.
33 However, each of you men individually should also love his own wife the way he loves himself. And the wife should respect her husband.