Modern Submission

There are many Biblical concepts that are difficult to understand and/or put into action. Submission is one of those concept that causes the most contention. Living by the Bible will not come naturally.  It must come, not through the flesh, but instead through the Spirit.

Jesus is the Head of all.  All things were made through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).  A biblically structured marriage has Christ as the Head of both husband and wife.  Next in the chain of command is the husband, then the wife, then the children.  This God-designed chain of command is not a military unit, although we can apply the military model to help bring the picture into sharper focus.

Every organization must have structure to function.  Otherwise, you have chaos.  In a military organization you have a chain of command, and this allows the unit to function properly.  Each person has a job to do, and each is important in his or her own way.  Without each function, the results will be flawed.

This order in the household has nothing to do with assigning one function as more valuable than another.  The wife is not lesser than the husband, any more than the husband is lesser than Christ with respect to the husband’s service to his family.  Christ is the role model for the husband to imitate as he leads and guides his family.  Jesus leads and guides with love, gentleness, and patience.  The husband, if he is to fulfill his God-given role, must lead his wife and family in the same manner.

The wife leads the children in like fashion, and the family functions properly, each part important to the whole with each person contributing to the family functions.  The Apostle Paul said the body of Christ needs all gifts working together, each in its place.  His example of this model, and how it is to function, is the physical body.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.  Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?  But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”  1 Corinthians 12:12,15-21

The Christian faith is all about serving others, and what better place to start than at home?  The husband serves the wife; he is a protection over her, shielding her, loving her as Christ loves the church.  As Christ gave Himself for the church, so the husband’s role is to give himself for his wife.  He leads and follows making sure she is cared for and protected.

The wife watches over her husband, and serves him with loving kindness.  She is attentive to his needs.  Far from being bondage, this is freedom to craft a marriage that will bring security, satisfaction, love, and joy in Christian homes, where Christ is honored and each family member honors the others. If we desire peace in our homes, a place where we can escape the pressures of the world, we cannot run our homes like the world. If everyone desires power, struggle is all you get in return.  If you do what Jesus says, peace is what you will receive in return.

How has Satan twisted this concept, attempting, as he always does, to create chaos?  He told Eve God was withholding something from her in selfishness, not wanting her to be wise.  He tells wives God is withholding power she should have, wanting her to be a servant.  God has already given the ultimate sacrifice in the person of Jesus Christ the Lord.

The King of the universe and the maker of the stars gave up His Heavenly glory, making Himself nothing to serve us all.  How will we follow His example?