Wives, likewise,
be submissive
What is submission? The word “submit” comes from two words: under and arrange. A wife is to arrange herself under her husband. This means she fits into her husband’s essential need in his leadership in the home. She is to gear her life to the husband’s role in marriage.
The idea of submission in the Bible deals with authority. Submission was used primarily as a military term with the idea to rank under. This term means to place or arrange under, to post under, to subject. This word comes from two words: 1) “to appoint,” “to order,” with such nuances as “to arrange,” “to determine,” “to set in place,” “to establish,” and middle “to fix for oneself.” 2) the second word is under.
Principle:
The wife’s role in marriage brings order to the institution of marriage.
Application:
Every divine institution has its own duty. If there are two people in an organization, one must have authority for there to be a resolve between them. In marriage God chose the husband to have that authority. The husband may or may not be able to handle this authority. In principle, he has the authority.
Why then does the wife submit herself unto her husband? Because it meets his essential need of respect for the leadership role God gave him. The basic need of the husband is to carry out leadership in the family God intends for him. The wife helps him achieve that goal. In order to do that, the wife must fit herself into his leadership in the home. This is what makes the woman feminine and wonderful to the man.
Christian marriage does not mean that the woman is a slave or inferior. Men who treat women as inferiors lose out. When love does not exist, the wife’s surrender becomes slavery to her. No matter what her husband gives her, it does not satisfy her. There is no rapport, no satisfactory relationship. If there is no rapport it is just two neurotics hanging onto each other. Obviously, their sex life will be less than the best.
A woman first submits her soul, then her body. One of the worst things in life is to have a woman’s body but not her soul. She simply gives her body while thinking of something – or someone – else. She conjures up unrealistic romantic relationships that have no basis in reality. The husband has nothing if he does not have her soul as well as her body.
Submission has nothing to do with the wife’s intelligence. Her intelligence may be 50 IQ points above his. Subjection does not demean the capacity of the wife. Her personality may be more vivacious and wonderful than his. Submission has nothing to do with capacity of the individual biblically. The issue is role. The issue is to fit marital relationship into its proper function.
This verse does not mean that the husband and wife are in a master/slave relationship, as is the interpretation of some. This is not God’s design for marriage.
To the contrary, submission is not slavery, it is something that fulfils a woman — it is an expression of rapport. She yields both her mind and body. She has something beyond description to give to her husband.
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