The metaphor of ‘walking in love’ as matrix for the familial relationships in Ephesians 5:22-6:9.

In this study the Social Identity Theory serves as a tool to provide a theoretical framework for exploring group processes in the Letter to the Ephesians and is fundamental for the discursive processes to determine group identity. According to the SIT the focus of attention is the ‘ingroup model and the ultimate other’ which both feature in the positioning of the discourse of the cultural boundaries.It is also a requirement that groups would provide their members with a positive in-group identity that derives from comparative observations between social groups. This article employs the metaphor of ‘walking in love’ (Eph 5:2) and its contextual meanings to explain the social dynamics of the relations between members of the Christian household, resulting in an alternative construction of household identity. Walking or living in love and living wisely) suggest mutuality rather than hierarchy in the Christian community. The concept of ‘walking in or with’ will be used to challenge the hierarchical structure of household identity. The concept is further used to show the type of social interaction expected between members of the Christian community. It is the church’s responsibility, as they walk in love, to ensure that Christians demonstrate the same kind of love freely to all people.