Ephesians 5:22
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
This verse, taken out of context, has been the justification for many overbearing and unloving husbands … but it has also been used as an excuse for many resentful and quarrelsome wives. Both sides are wrong.
Context is king when studying the Bible, and so it is important to note how radical these New Testament teachings were in the Roman and Jewish context. Christianity was elevating the status of women to be equal with men whereas the culture considered them to be nothing more than property. And while Christianity sees no difference in worth between men and women, it does declare a difference in roles.
Another contextual consideration is that this type of submission is a key virtue throughout Scripture and must always be looked upon as such. We must willingly submit ourselves to God’s Word, and to the Spirit’s counsel, and to one another’s best interest. We must willingly submit ourselves to biblical authority, the governing authorities, church authority, a master’s authority, and for a wife … to her husband’s authority. Submission crucifies the self, which frees us to live out God’s will for our lives.
So … here is what happens when you put this into practice:
A home where the husband, wife, and children are submitting themselves to the Lord’s teachings, to one another’s needs, and to the family structure God has designed. They each love the Lord the most; each other second, and themselves last. The children obey the parents, the parents nurture the children, the wife submits to her husband’s authority, and the husband loves his wife like Christ loves the Church.
“Success in marriage is more than finding the right person; it is being the right person.” -- Unknown
