BEAUTY FOR ASHES – HELP FOR A HURTING WIFE
DAY 14 – What Does it Mean to Come Under Submission?
EPHESIANS 5:23 – For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the Saviour of the body.
This Does Not Mean That Women Are Inferior
This is a verse which has caused many debates over the years. In the past, I didn’t like it, because I wrongly came to the conclusion that it meant wives are inferior to their husbands. However, it doesn’t say this at all. The bible tells us that men and women are ‘equal in status in Christ’, but each have distinct roles in life. It is biblical for men to have the authority, but this doesn’t mean that we are ‘under the thumb.’ Men and women need one another. In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 1 Corinthians 11:1. Men are to respect women the same as women are to respect men. So the husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image.
Matthew Henry wrote: “The woman was made out of Adam’s side. She was not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved”
Submitting is Not Always Easy
Submission should be a natural response to a loving husband, a continual attitude. When a husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25-33), then submission will be easy from a wife to her husband. Unfortunately, not all men make it easy for a wife to submit. Some are selfish and do not love their wives as Christ loves the Church. God does not intend marriage to be a one-sided submission of a believing wife to a selfish, domineering husband. Submission is a position of honour and completeness. Submission is not a wife being a “doormat” for her husband. However, as wives, we must submit in reverence and obedience to Christ. God will give you the strength to submit when you surrender to Him first.
You Do Not Submit to Anything Unbiblical
Ephesians 5:24 says, “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”
A wife should submit to her husband in everything that is biblical. Your husband has no authority to overrule your conscience by asking you to join him in a sinful act. If you are a godly woman, and your husband asks you to do things according to HIS corrupted will, and those things are sinful and contrary to the bible, you should not do them. You are not being submissive to your husband according to GOD’S will and for the good of your husband. Even if your husband is a godly man, and commands you to do something against God’s will, you should not do it, as your husband is acting in a fleshly way. Please don’t blame yourself if your husband gets angry or quarrelsome when you do the right thing. His bad choices have absolutely nothing to do with you. It is up to him to choose life or death, blessings or curses.
Prayerfully and with a meek and quiet and submissive spirit, you can win your husband to obey God’s word.
Before Sin, God was the Only Authority
Adam was created first and Eve was created to be a “helper” for him (Genesis 2:18-20). Because there was no sin, there was no authority for man to obey except God’s authority. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world, and then authority was needed. Therefore, God established authority to provide us with the protection we need. First, we need to submit to God, which is the only way we can truly obey Him, then 1 Corinthians 11:2-3 tells us that the husband is to submit to Christ as Christ did to God and the wife should follow his example and submit to her husband.
True wisdom is submitting to and obeying the authoritative Word of God, with the power of the Holy Spirit, of course. When we do this, we will live under the blessings of God and develop strong healthy homes.
Beauty for Ashes
Gen3x – Helping wives of men who are involved in sexual sin