Day 2: Strength and Submission

Ephesians 5:21-33

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 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 Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

The word “submit” definitely has a negative connotation, especially when referring to wives submitting to their husbands. However, it is essential not to forget to read Ephesians 5:21, which tells spouses to “submit to one another.” Wives are called to submit to their husbands as the leader of the household. And husbands are called to submit to their wives by loving them as they love themselves. Both types of submission require sacrifice and a willingness to honor God’s perfect design for respect, love, and equal partnership in marriage.

A woman who is wife material is not threatened or intimidated by God’s design for marriage. She understands that a man’s strength and leadership are a blessing, not a threat. And a woman who is thinking biblically has come to peace with accepting a man’s role in the relationship. She knows that doing so does not take away or invalidate her own strength.

Proverbs 31 paints a picture of a Godly woman, which we know means a woman who “submits” to her husband. And the woman in Proverbs 31 “works with eager hands,” “provides food for her family,” “sets about her work vigorously,” “opens her arms to the poor,” “makes linen garments and sells them,” and “watches over the affairs of her household.” Does that sound like someone who is weak? Or someone who doesn’t have a say in her family and household affairs? Not at all–it’s quite the opposite, actually. A wife can (and should) submit to her husband as the head of the household and still play a vital leadership role in the family.

A man who is husband material is prepared to love his wife fully and lead his family honorably. A woman’s willingness to submit to her husband only works well when the husband fully submits to his wife and God. A man who loves selflessly and follows God wholeheartedly is ready to assume the responsibility of being a faithful husband and a leader worth following.

Submission in a marriage is essential, but that submission goes both ways. A woman who is wife material will submit to her husband’s leadership. And a man who is husband material will love his wife, devote himself to God, and lead with honor and integrity.