Submission!!???

Submission!!???

This blog has been on my mind for a long time. With the help of a very gifted and godly author, Carolyn Custis James, I want to look at what I believe to be the true essence of Biblical submission. When we talk about submission, the most commonly used text is probably Ephesians 5:

22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 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. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

It’s pretty hard to get around it, the Scripture clearly teaches wives to submit. But what is often missed is the context of mutual submission, 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

The paradigm most often presented is that the husband is the head and it’s the wife’s duty to submit to his rule and authority. But how does mutual submission fit into that mix? That paradigm works if you leave out Ephesians 5:21, but otherwise it leaves a lot of questions that beg to be answered or at least honestly asked. So what does this all mean?

To answer these questions, we have to start on common ground, with the understanding that before I am anything else, I am a follower of Christ. That means that I am a wife, but that is under the “umbrella” of being a follower of Christ. I am a daughter, but that, too, is under the “umbrella” of being a follower of Christ. The same could be said of my roles as mother, employee, friend, teacher, or chauffer. If I am a follower of Christ, my desire should be to be like Him—Christ-like in my thoughts and actions. If that is true and I want to be like Christ, I can’t be like Him if I leave out submission.

I love how Carolyn Custis James’ starts her paragraph dealing with submission:

[S]ubmission is another of God’s great power tools for changing human lives....It is the point where the kingdom of God powerfully intersects with human culture and begins to transform it from the inside out as those who follow Jesus learn to pour out their lives for others. (The Gospel of Ruth, 168)

That’s what mutual submission is all about. When Paul calls us to “submit one to another out of reverence for Christ,” he hasn’t excluded anyone. Many versions keep verse 21 in the same paragraph as the other general charges of verses 15-20—commands that are for the benefit of all of His followers. In Philippians 2 he again addresses all believers—men and women alike—to have the same attitude Christ demonstrated when He willingly gave up the majesty and glory of heaven to come to earth, knowing full well, that the cross lie before Him. (Philippians 2:3-11)

Biblical submission is much more than peace keeping or resolving impasses. Quoting Carolyn James again:

A bone-of-my-bone oneness is in view, like the oneness Jesus enjoyed with his Father. Not a reluctant, resentful compliance, but a full embrace of a common vision and a mutual delight. Points of difference are opportunities for us to live the gospel, to embody what we believe, to listen, understand, and care, to lay our lives down for one another, to be like Jesus. (170) Submission isn’t a tiebreaker, a fire extinguisher, a reinforcement of male authority, an act of dutiful compliance, a mindless caving to another’s wishes, or a sign of weakness. It is an act of strength, of sober responsibility, and of commitment to God. (emphasis mine) The voluntary taking up of a cross; the freedom to lay down your life. It is the pursuit of God’s glory and the good of another. It is becoming more like Jesus. Submission is the gospel—God’s kingdom come on earth. (170)

Are wives supposed to submit? Absolutely! But the motivation for submission is our desire to be like Christ, not because he’s the ‘boss.’ It’s the giving up of our ‘rights’ to have our way out of consideration of the desires and wishes of others. It is putting flesh on the gospel by serving, sacrificing, and loving those we come in contact throughout the day, both in our home and outside of it. Again quoting Carolyn James:

Submission is not an occasional event. It is a lifestyle. It isn’t a negative obligation on women, but the natural outworking of the gospel in every Christian’s life. Submission is an attribute of Jesus, so it ought to show up in all (men and women alike, my words) of his followers. (161)

I’m not sure there’s anything else to say; now it’s time to get to work and live it out.

(NOTES: The use of the term “umbrella” is a concept taught by my dear friend and mentor, Denise Hardy. I strongly recommend the books of Carolyn Custis James. She challenges the status quo thinking of what being a follower of Christ looks like, especially as a woman. These quotes came from her latest book, The Gospel of Ruth, Zondervan, 2008.)