Torch, Summer 2001

Marriage is great, but you need to know that it’s not always going to be great. External forces will put tension on your marriage. But isn’t it wonderful to know that God is in control? God can bring you through whatever it is you are facing. Wives can honor God and His role in their lives by being submissive toward their husbands. Although it is a primary focus in the Ephesians passage, submission is not the only biblical instruction to wives. Wives should also be attractive. This is not a reference to outside appearance nearly as much as it is to inner attitude. I Peter 3:1-6 states: “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading 10 TORCH / Summer 2001 that when a parent exerts proper authority over a child, there are really very few times when there has to be some overt act that affirms that authority. Parents shouldn’t need to periodically remind the child, “I’m the parent, I’m in charge.” In the same way, a godly leader does not have to periodically remind people that he is the leader and that everyone needs to be submissive to whatever he says. It is the exception when a leader is forced to emphasize, “Look, I know that someone had to make this decision; someone has to determine the future of this institution. We’ve made decisions, and you may not like them all, but this is the way it goes.” Leaders should have to do that on only rare occasions. It should be that way in Christian homes as well. The Submissive Spouse very idea of a woman submitting to her husband was degrading. Well, that is not what the Word of God teaches. The classic example is the church’s submission to Christ. Far from being degrading, submitting to Christ is the church’s glory. Consider this context: Philippians 2:5-9 describes how Jesus Christ, being in the form of God, made himself of no reputation and became submissive to the Father. That’s not degrading. Wives have the choice to submit to their “head” just as Christ chose to submit Himself to the Father. Also consider I Corinthians 11:3: “Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” Is Jesus Christ degraded because of His submission to God? Absolutely not! Neither is a woman degraded because she submits to her husband. This submission relationship is similar to parenting. My experience is Continued on page 12