The Question of Submission
Wives, submit to
your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the
head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now
as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to
their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave
himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her
by the washing of water with the word, ... (Ephesians 5:22-33)
There are
Bible verses instructing women to submit to their husbands in everything. Does
this mean that women are not equal with men?
Of course not. Women are equal children of God, given gifts from God,
led into ministry, have wisdom and many other wonderful traits.
Many women
in the New Testament led churches and taught the Good News to others. Women are
called of God to be ministers of the Gospel just as men are. This topic is very
difficult for both men and women to understand and can cause great difficulty in
marriages.
Submit: hupakouó: to listen, attend to Original Word: ὑπακούω Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: hupakouó Phonetic Spelling: (hoop-ak-oo'-o) Definition: to listen, attend to (Strong’s
Concordance)
We can see in
Strong’s definition, when women are told to be submissive to their husbands,
they are being told to listen to him and attend to his ideas and opinions. This
applies to spiritual things (as the church submits to Christ,
so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands). This
is not a matter of who gets the remote control. This is spiritual. It’s all about the church.
Another word we
need to understand is “everything”.
Pas is the Greek word which means all in
the sense of each part that applies. Looking at the writings to the
church, we can, with common sense, assume that Pas is related to the church and
therefore concerning spiritual matters or each part that applies.
pás ("each, every") means "all" in
the sense of "each (every) part that applies." The emphasis of
the total picture then is on "one piece at a time." (ananeóō)
then focuses on the part(s) making up the whole – viewing the
whole in terms of the individual parts.
In studying
God’s word, it is important to know who is writing, who they are writing to,
and what was going on in that community at that specific time. Add to that
common sense and we will be much closer to the true meaning.
The apostle’s
letters are written to the churches and are concerning church matters. To take
one sentence out of a letter and base our behavior on that one sentence is not
right and we cannot pull out only those scriptures
that support our ideas.
But I want you to understand that the head of every man is
Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God (1
Corinthians 11:3)
As every organization has a head, God desires
the man to be the head of the household as Christ is the head of the man. This
does not mean that there will always be agreement between the husband and wife
or that the wife must always be in an attitude of servitude. Someone must have
the final word as long as that word agrees with God’s word.
Each person in a marriage has different strengths,
experiences and knowledge which help the family unit when making decisions.
Each should be listened to and attention given to their specific wisdom. In many instances the wife will have the
final say because of her expertise. This shows wisdom and leadership on the
part of the husband.
All Scripture is
breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
and for training in righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16)
We are all one in Christ. We are the
church body submitting to and listening to Christ. His word is profitable to us.
His word educates us and leads us into right decisions. The words of husbands
who prayerfully study God’s word and use wisdom in their homes will profit the
entire family.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is
not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or
resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1
Corinthians 13:4-7)
.
Prayer: Lord, help
us to love, always love. Teach those who would use your inspired words for
controlling purposes over their spouse. When we marry, we become one. Help us
to remember that to love our spouse is to love ourselves. May we always treat
each other with love and respect, listening and attending to leadership
wherever you have ordained it. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen
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