How Beautiful is the Submission of the Wife <Ep 5:21-24, 33; Col 3:18; 1 Pe 3:1>

 

Read <Ep 5:21-24, 33>.

 

1. Wife is to submit, but not because woman is inferior to man.

1Example of Holy Son submitting to Holy Father: Equal glory and honor, but different roles.

·     Both wife and husband are created in the image of God, with equal dignity. However, wife has different roles from husband.

 

2“Helper” can help because she has her own strengths.

·     “Helper” is not a lowly status, but a position of strength.

·     God is also our Helper.

 

3Submission is glorious, instead of weak.

·     Christ’s example clearly demonstrates that submission is not weak.

·     Wife’s submission to husband does not demean the wife but glorifies God.

·     It is not weak to submit. Instead, it takes a lot of strength to submit.

 

2. Why should wife submit?

Read <Col 3:18>.

 

1This is the principle set by God.

·     God is not asking the wife to obey a command harder than other Christians. For everyone should learn the lesson of submission, just that the person a wife should submit to is her husband.

 

2God’s command is meant for our good.

 

3God instructs the wife to submit to her husband, so as to shape her into a woman more beautiful in God’s eyes.

·     Let her grow in humility and faith, teach her to deal with her sinful nature, and become a virtuous woman. In this process, she will be compelled to pray more and draw closer to God.

 

4The wife’s submission can also bless her husband.

·     Read <1 Pe 3:1>.

·     Win over the unbelieving husband.

·     Help husband become the better man God wants him to be.

 

5The wife’s submission in a marriage can be a testimony to the Lord.

 

3. How can the wife submit to her husband?

1Willingly, not grudgingly.

 

2To submit to husband is to “respect” him <Ep 5:33>.

·     Every time when I think of my husband, what are the thoughts in my heart? Are they thoughts that honor my husband, or belittle him?

·     Do I make my husband feel respected? How do I speak to my husband in private and in public? (Do my tone and the words I use make him feel respected? Do I often criticise him, dampen his morale, or always encourage him?)

·     What do I say about my husband when I talk to others about him?

·     In my decisions and actions, do I respect my husband?

 

3However, we are not to submit to husband blindly.

·     If the husband does wrong or asks us to sin against God, we are not to submit.

·     Example of Sapphira <Ac 5>. Example of Abigail <1 Sam 25>.

·     First submit to God, then to husband.

·     Can correct husband, but it is about your attitude and ways of correcting.

·     The submission of the wife should help the husband be more pleasing to God and more Christlike.