January 20, 2017

Final Essay
In Genesis 3:16, God says something to Eve that represents a controversial topic in
todays age: Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. The idea of being
ruled over is never particularly appealing to anyone. Add to that the modern mindsets of
equality and feminism, and the thought of men being above women is outrageous and often
incites anger and disputes.
In Ephesians, Paul writes that wives must submit to their husbands. In our culture, a call
to submission suggests a power imbalance. It often brings to mind oppression and tyranny.
However, this is not what Paul means when he says this.
The whole passage in Ephesians reads, Wives, submit yourselves to your own
husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of
the church, his body, of which he is the saviour (Ephesians 5:22-23). It can be broken down,
and each section helps explain more of what Paul means for a wife to submit.
The first part says, Wives, submit to your own husbands. This is not a call to submit to
all men, just your own husband.
The next section says, As you do to the Lord. The wife submit out of reverence for
Christ. When she submits to the husband, she is submitting to Gods authority. Behind the
authority of the husband she should see the Lord.
The final part says, For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the
church, his body, of which he is the savior. I was listening to a sermon recently, and the pastor
mentioned that in Ephesians 4:15, headship is used to describe Jesuss care for the church. He
pointed out that the word headship invokes authority, but also service. Marriage is a reflection
of Christs relationship with the church.
In Ephesians 5:25 Paul says, Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the
church and gave himself up for her. Jesus didnt crush the church, or abuse it, or take
advantage of it just because he had authority over it. He gave himself up for it. The Bible doesnt
just call wives to submitit also gives husbands the responsibility of caring for their wives and
loving them. This point comes across again in Ephesians 5:28. In this same way, husbands
ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Once a man
and woman are joined in marriage, they become one flesh. A husband is called to look after his
wife as if she were a part of him, which she is.

Once again, the word dignity comes up. As John Yoder said, Equality of worth is not
identity of role. Equality and role are not the same thing. Dictionary.com defines equality as
the state or quality of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank or ability. It
defines role as the rights, obligations, and expected behavior patterns associated with a
particular social status. In Genesis 1:27 it is written, So God created mankind in his own
image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. We are all
created in Gods image. Everyone has equal dignity before God, but he has appointed different
roles to each of us. Women are called to submit to their husband. Men are called to look after
their wife.
Finally, it is not undermining yourself to submit to someone else. Jesus voluntarily
submitted to the will of God, took the role of a servant, and humbled himself to the degree that
he let himself die for the sins of the world (Philippians 2:5-8). When Jesus submitted to the
Father, he didnt become unequal. He didnt become less divine or less honourable. In fact, in
Philippians 2:9-11 Paul goes on to say that God then exalted Jesus to the highest place, and
gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father. My pastor mentioned a quote by Kathy Keller, and I
thought that her words illustrated the truth of this passage perfectly. She said, If it was not
assault on the dignity and divinity (but rather led to the greater glory) of the Second Person of
the Godhead to submit himself, and assume the role of a servant, then how could it possibly
injure me to be asked to play out the Jesus role in my marriage?
Jesus submitted out of respect and love for the Father. Again, we see that there can be
dignity in submission. John Stott once said, When a person is voluntarily amenable to another,
gives way to him, and places himself at his service, he shows greater dignity and freedom than
an individual who cannot bear to be a helper and partner to anyone but himself.
To conclude, the wife submits out of reverence for Christ, yet the husband also has a
calling: to love and care for his wife. Jesus set the perfect example for us by the way he treated
the church. He nourished it, cherished it, and ultimately died for it. His death was also the
perfect example of submission to the Father. Jesus showed that there can be dignity in
submission.
I believe that the Bible makes it very clear that men are not better than women. God has
designated different roles to us, but we are all equal before him.

Works Cited
BibleGateway.com. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.

Equality. Dictionary.com. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.

Harms-Wiebe, Ray. "The Profound Mystery of Marriage." 5 Nov. 2016. W
illingdon.org. Web. 19
Jan. 2017.
"Role." Dictionary.com. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.