Submit to her husband?

1. "Submitto her husband?" – 11th
August 2016
“Wives,submityourselvesto your ownhusbandsas youdo to the Lord”(Ephesians5:22).
Submissionis the state of beingobedient:the actof acceptingthe authorityorcontrol of someone else.
We submittosomeone whoismore “aware”or “knowledgeable”thanourcurrentsense.If one
determinesthathe or she ismore knowledgeable,submissiontothe other personwouldbe difficult.
Therefore submissionisanimportantissue inrelationtomarriage.Here isthe plainbiblical command:
“Wives,submityourselvesto your ownhusbandsas youdo to the Lord. For the husbandisthe headof
the wife as Christis the head of the church, hisbody,of whichhe isthe Savior.Now asthe church
submitsto Christ,so alsowives shouldsubmitto their husbandsineverything” (Ephesians5:22–24).
Evenbefore sinenteredthe world,there wasstill the principleof the headshipof the husband.We can
learnthisas saidin 1 Timothy 2:13, “For Adamwas formedfirst, then Eve”. Adamwas createdfirst,and
Eve was createdto be a "helper"forAdam(Genesis2:18–20). God has establishedseveral typesof
authorityinthe world:governmentstoenforce justice insocietyandprovideprotection;pastorstolead
and feedthe sheepof God;husbandstolove andnurture theirwives;andfatherstoadmonishtheir
children.Ineachcase,submissionisrequired:citizentogovernment,flocktoshepherd,wife to
husband,childtofather.
The Greekword translated“submit,” hupotasso,isthe continuingformof the verb.Thismeansthat
submittingtoGod,the government,apastor,or a husbandisnot a one-time act.Itis a continual
attitude,whichbecomesapatternof behaviorforthe Christianfamily.Firstandmostimportantly,as
Christians we needtosubmittoGod,whichis the onlywaywe can truly obeyHim. Therefore we must
‘humblysubmit’tothe Wordof God because withoutthisknowledge we are lost: “Therefore,get rid of
all moral filthandthe evil that is so prevalentand humblyaccept the word plantedin you, whichcan
save you” (James1:21).We can learnthat we are protectedfromthe evil one whenwe fullysubmitto
God. We read thisinin James4:7, “Submityourselves,then, to God.Resist the devil, andhe will flee
from you”.Furtherto the above teachings,asChristianswe are advisedthat we shouldliveinhumble,
readysubmissionto eachother: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21).
In regardsto submissionwithinthe familyunit,the husbandistosubmittoChrist - as Christdidto God
the Father- and the wife isto submittoherhusband. We can learnfrom 1 Corinthians11:3,“
But I want
you to realize thatthe head ofevery man isChrist,and the head of the womanis man,and the head
of Christis God”. There ismuchmisunderstandinginourworldtodayaboutthe rolesof husbandand
wife withinamarriage.Evenwhenthe biblical rolesare properlyunderstood,manychoose toreject
theminfavor of a supposed“liberation”of women,withthe resultthatthe familyunitistornapart.
Althoughseendifferently, Submitisnota badword.Submissionisnota reflectionof inferiorityorlesser
worth. The word submitsorsubmissionmeanstosubmitunderthe authorityorpowerof someone else
and isusuallydeemedmandatoryorobligatory.Forexample we submittothe authoritieseverytime we

2. obeythe speedlimit.We submittothe lawsof the countryeverytime we file ourtaxesreturns. Christ
constantlysubmittedHimself tothe will of the Fatherwithoutgivingupaniota of His worth.
To counterthe world’smisinformationconcerningawife’ssubmissiontoherhusband,we should
carefullynote the following asstatedabove inEphesians5:22–24: It clearlysaysthata wife istosubmit
to one man - herhusband - notto everyman.The rule to submitdoes notextendtoa woman’splace in
societyatlarge as wronglypurported. A wife istowillinglysubmittoherhusbandinpersonal obedience
to the Lord Jesus.The example of awife’ssubmissionisthatof the church to Christ.There isnothing
saidof the wife’sabilities,talents,orworth;the fact that she submitstoher ownhusbanddoesnot
implythatshe is inferiororlessworthyinanyway.
We mustalsonotice that there are no qualifierstothe commandto submit,except“ineverything.”So,
the husbanddoesnothave to pass an aptitude testoran intelligencetestbefore hiswife submits.It
may be a fact that she is betterqualifiedthanhe toleadinmanyways,but she choosestofollow the
Lord’sinstructionbysubmittingtoherhusband’sleadership.Insodoing,agodlywife canevenwinher
unbelievinghusbandtothe Lord“withoutwords”simplybyherholybehavior.We canlearnfrom 1
Peter 3:1, “Wives,inthe same way submityourselvesto your own husbandssothat, ifany of them do
not believe the word, they may be won over withoutwords by the behaviorof their wives”.
Whena wife islovedbyherhusbandas the church islovedbyChrist,submissionisnotdifficult.
Ephesians5:24 says, “Nowas the church submitsto Christ,so alsowives shouldsubmittotheir
husbandsineverything.” In a marriage,submissionisapositionof givinghonorandrespecttothe
husbandand complementingwhathe islacking.ItisGod’s wise planforhow the familyshouldfunction.
We can readfrom where MatthewHenrywrote,“The womanwasmade out of Adam’sside.She was
not made outof hisheadto rule overhim, nor outof hisfeettobe trampleduponbyhim, butout of his
side tobe equal withhim,underhisarmto be protected, andnearhisheart to be loved.”