Every day, Goggle and other search engines bring visitors to Chapter 3 Ministries who are looking to read about submission in marriage. Interest in the Bible’s teaching on submission, what it means, and how to live it still exists. Surprising? That’s a definite yes if all we consider is the times we live in. It’s a joyful, resounding no if we consider the mighty work and grace of God!
As long as there are women on this earth who love God, read the Bible, and respond to the conviction of His word with obedience, willful submission of wives to husbands will continue, much to the chagrin of certain anti-Bible, anti-man, and feministic segments of our society. Those voices are loud and crushing, to some. But they cannot squash the regenerated, submitted woman’s born-of-God spiritual imperative to follow God and obey His word. His voice booms in her heart; so by comparison, their cries of foul about submission sound hollow. But she can understand those cries and have compassion towards those who rail against submission. Biblical, wifely, submission requires great strength and understanding. It also requires the help of God. Pride isn’t an option. Neither is a cold heart towards antagonists. Their quarrel is actually with God anyway. Her proper response is kindness and prayer for hearts to be changed by the grace of God.
This next installment in the series Do You Take This Verse? takes a close look at a verse about submission. As I have written before, submission is a beautiful, complicated, and sensitive topic that needs to be discussed gently, carefully, and often. With that in mind, I wanted to bring a verse about submission into this series early on.
In case you are unfamiliar with the Do You Take This Verse? series, here’s the scoop. The name is a play-on-words that brings together what has been traditionally asked during a marriage ceremony (Do you take this woman/man?) with the idea of living out Bible verses in our marriages. It focuses on one verse at time. So far we have looked at two other verses. You can find the topic in my blog. I have a list of other verses I hope to write about in time, but that will probably have to wait till after my upcoming break from blogging. More about that in a moment.
There are a number of verses about submission I could have chosen for this post, but I already have a four-part series written that centers on Ephesians 5:24.
“But as the church is subject to Christ,
so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.”
(Ephesians 5:24)
If you truly wish to understand Biblical submission as it relates to Christian wives, nothing will get you into the deep end faster than the two words “in everything” at the end of Ephesians 5:24. Prayerfully and carefully studying these words in context and in light of relevant verses can go a long way in helping one grow in understanding and obedience to God’s word in the area of submission in marriage.
I invite you to read through the four articles in the series below in order. I pray they give encouragement and gentle guidance to those seeking to understand submission better; so they may live it as God has called them, to His glory.
Ministry News
After considerable thought and prayer, together with my husband, I have decided to take a break from blogging. It will begin after my upcoming series on the deity of Christ is finished, which I mentioned was in the works in a post back in August ’17. The series got put on hold for a few reasons, but now the path is clear to resume. I am taking a break from blogging because I wish to finish my book. My health situation is improving but can still seriously limit how much I can get done each day. In order to finish my book (and hopefully get to two others in the future), I will need to put some things on hold. It is not an easy decision because there is still so much I wish to blog about and to add to this ministry. As an outlet, I do plan to still post to my social media accounts whenever possible. If you are not already and would like another way to keep in touch, you may follow Chapter 3 Ministries on Facebook and follow me on Twitter. Please keep me in your prayers for the upcoming deity of Christ series and for the work that, Lord willing, will be done after. I am deeply grateful for every iota God permits me to produce in service to Him and you, and praise Him for all He provides.
Series Posts
1. Are Wives Really to Submit in Everything?
Ephesians 5:24 is a familiar verse to many Christian wives. It is one of a group of verses that speak of submission to husbands, and it gives us a model for our submission namely the church’s subjection to Christ. Though this verse is describing something beautiful, it ends with something that can be difficult to accept and understand. I’m referring to the word everything. The idea of submitting is challenging enough for many of us, but submitting in everything can be a real stumbling block. Everything is a lot!
2. What Does it Mean to Submit in Everything?
The context of Ephesians 5:24 gives us a clear indication about what it means to submit in everything. In Ephesians 5:22–24 we see two relationships that a wife can draw from to understand her submission to her husband. The first is her relationship to Jesus and the second is the church’s relationship to Jesus. Let’s take a look at the second one first since it is in verse 24.
3. Real Life Situations For Submitting in Everything
This article contains situations in which submission could occur under the umbrella of “everything.” This is more about the application or the action of submission than the internal heart condition of a wife that out of obedience to God and His word consistently acknowledges her husband’s God-given leadership. I am presenting these situations because specific examples can help clarify what submitting in everything can entail. It can also help reveal any areas we have not yet submitted to our husbands’ leadership.
4. How to Begin Submitting in Everything
This post puts forth suggestions for how a Christian wife might begin to submit to her husband in everything. In all the material I have read over the years about Christian marriage, I don’t ever remember reading about that. Sure, there were plenty of teachings that wives are called to submit to their husbands as to the Lord and that husbands are called to lead, but how to begin living those roles was not focused on. I present these suggestions with the hope that they might give encouragement and support for wives who are ready to take that step into “everything” out of obedience to God.
Ministering in the spirit of Titus 2:3-5 and encouraging women to contend for the faith.
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