Submission-the S Word

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord…..Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it…”  Ephesians 5:22,25

If you want to start a controversy, make the statement directly from scripture in which Paul told wives to submit themselves unto their husbands.  The world view that is held concerning this statement, particularly by women whether married or not, is pictured as a wife, enslaved at home, pregnant and barefoot, waiting on her husband hand and foot, being verbally and possibly physically abused by him.  Was this Paul’s intention for how wives were to relate to their husbands?  Of course not.  So what did Paul mean by his statement?

To submit is to yield to the control, decisions, or judgment of another person or authority.  A believer yields his or her heart, mind, and body to Christ.  There is no other option for one who has repented of sin and placed faith in Christ.  Sinners, those who have not received Christ as Lord and Savior and whether or not they are aware, yield themselves to Satan.  Every individual throughout the ages has either been the servant and friend of Christ or a slave to his or her sin and thus to the devil.  Everyone submits one way or another.  The employee submits to his supervisor; the supervisor submits to his manager; the manager submits to his director; and the director submits to the CEO of the corporation.  Even the CEO and/or president of the company are accountable to the shareholders.  All people are held accountable to a higher authority.  Almighty God is the only One who is not accountable to anyone.  Even Jesus is accountable to His Father.  He told His disciples in John 14:10 that He only spoke the words that His Father gave Him to speak.  He was also willing to go to the cross of Calvary and give His life a ransom in obedience to His Father (Matthew 26:39).

When God created humans, He made Adam first and then made Eve from one of Adam’s ribs–“bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh” (Genesis 2:23).  Every organization, corporation, business, club, church, nation, and home must have a leader, one who is responsible for decisions and one who accepts blame for bad decisions–“the buck stops here”.  The family was the first institution made by God.  The man is the one who takes the initiative to form a new family unit.  He is the one who buys the ring and proposes marriage to the woman he loves, and with whom he desires to spend the rest of his life (Genesis 2:24).  The man is the one who asks the woman’s father for his permission to marry his daughter.  The man is responsible for providing for his family, for making sure their needs are met, for securing their safety, and for heading the family spiritually.  It is his part in procreation which determines whether conception renders a boy or a girl.  He must be a servant/leader, strong and firm, yet compassionate and understanding of his wife and children.

A wife who understands submission unto Christ, understands submission to her husband.  Marriage is symbolic of the union between Christ and His church, the body of believers.  Many individuals who reject Christ as the sovereign authority over mankind will be those who have no genuine respect for any authority.  These folks will obey out of necessity in order to earn a living or escape the consequences of disobeying the law.  It is the pride within individuals that cause them to think that they are not answerable to God or to others.  Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan into thinking that they were no longer accountable to God, and that they could become their own gods.  From this time of disobedience forward, God placed Eve under the rule of Adam (Genesis 3:16) because she was the one deceived.  Sin has far-reaching and long-lasting consequences.  The bottom line is that we are all accountable to God and to each other, and that includes wives to husbands.  However, the husband is also held accountable as to how he values and treats his wife.

Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave His life for it.  A husband who truly loves the Lord and truly loves his wife will never intentionally do anything to abuse his position as leader of the home.  If he is the servant/leader, emulating the servant leadership of Christ, his wife will have no problem submitting to him.  He would never allow his position as head of the home to cause him to be harsh, judgmental, or hurtful, but rather kind, understanding, and compassionate realizing that he, too, is subject to Christ, who forgave him of his sins.  Society has been harsh upon the male species.  Television shows and commercials many times portray the father in the home as stupid which reflects Satan’s success in diminishing the importance of the father.  Children get their view of God from how they view their father.  If you have or had a good father, thank God for him.  If your father is not the man that he should be, then pray for him, because fathers need all the prayers they can get.  I heard a preacher on the radio say one time that if children know that their parents love and respect each other, that goes a long way to make up for the many mistakes that parents make.