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Despite
the many instances of obedience seen within the Church, there is always a
general unwillingness by individual Christians to obey the Lordship of Jesus in
every area of their lives. This is because, as sinners, we have all inherited an
urge, or inner response, to withhold a proportion of our lives from God’s
control. (A)
For
example, we may surrender our physical energy, but keep back some of our
finances when we know that by doing so we are disobeying our conscience. Or, we
may surrender our time, but not get rid of certain CDs or videos, which we know
contain material offensive to God. Or we may think that, because we are healthy
and all is going well for us, that we are ‘walking in the light’ - whereas
the truth is we are carefully avoiding the Bible because we suspect that it may
have something critical to say about out our lifestyle.
A
fine example of this reluctance to submit entirely to God is seen in the way
Pharaoh, king of Egypt, repeatedly told Moses that the People of Israel
could leave, BUT (said the king) only this or that may go, and never quite everything
which Moses demanded. (Gen. 10:9 Moses listed who was to leave : "We will
go with our young, old, sons, daughters, flocks, herds". But Pharaoh’s
response "Go, you who are men.")
The
irony of all this is that there is a misconception which says that submission to
God equals either unhappiness, or restriction of freedom, or a sort of
‘dulling down’ of life. This is usually because people do not understand
what the Bible means by ‘submission’.
It
helps to know, first of all, what submission does not mean. It does not
mean slavery, or the emptying of all rights and privileges. One may (outwardly)
obey but not (inwardly) submit, as in the case of the soldier who obeys the
sergeant but at the same time utterly despises the sergeant. And one may also
submit for the wrong reasons, as in the case of the grovelling coward, who wants
to either stay uninjured, or earn some sort of favour from a bully or overlord.
Submission
and obedience are not synonymous.
The
sort of submission which God requires is that which comes from a true
understanding of how things are. A child, out of sheer appreciation,
understanding what his parents do for him, may submit to his parents. A
Christian, out of understanding the true situation (i.e. relationship of
creature to Creator) may submit to God as an act of free will. This second
response may be called the love-response - but then again, it is not some sort
of 'payback' to God, as in the case of the ‘primitive’ whose life is saved,
and from thereon pledges servitude to the one who saved him. God does not look
for 'payback' submission, as it is not done with the correct attitude.
Examples
of submission in Scripture :
1.
The Angel of the Lord told Hagar to return and submit to Sarai Abram’s wife.
Hagar obeyed, deliberately placing herself in a very unpleasant, hostile
situation. As Sarai’s maid, Hagar obeyed God first, and Sarai second.
2.
Another kind of submission is that which is brought about through fear of
domination, or because of great respect, or awe, as when David said that
strangers would submit to him (2 Sam.22:45, Ps. 18:44) and to God (Ps. 66:3,
68:30).
3.
In this case Paul mentions the new converts of a certain family, and commends
them for their devotion to "the ministry of the saints", i.e. the work
they do in helping other Christians. Paul says to "submit to such, and to
everyone who works and labours with us". The principle here seems to be 1.
Identify those in the Church who are fully committed to Christian work, and 2.
Obey their lead, go along with them, support them, obey them. These are the
‘power-generators’ in the church, the people who get things done, who
organise outreach events, who make displays, who run holiday clubs and so forth.
Without these valuable people, the Church would not grow, change, adapt and move
with the times. 1 Cor. 16:16.
4.
Wives are to submit to their own husbands. More on this to follow.
"Submission" = Greek "hupotasso" comes from two words "hupo"
= under, and "tasso" = get in order. Therefore it means "to place
in an orderly fashion under something". Eph.5:22 and Col.3:18.
5.
Christians are expected to submit to those in the Church who assume leadership
roles (Heb. 13:17) - that is, as long as those in leadership roles are within
Scriptural limits themselves. (There is always a great temptation within the
Church for individuals to abuse their power. Usually with ‘power’ come the
sacerdotal clothes, the building, the rituals, the willingness by many to be led
about, the prestige of having the title Pastor, Reverend, or Minister attached
to their name. The main reason why this power-abuse occurs is because the
leaders themselves fail to submit to God.)
6.
Christians are told to submit to God. (James 4:7) In the same verse they are
also told to resist the devil. It is interesting that the devil is the exact
opposite to a submissive Christian. The devil’s motto (if he had one) is
"Do your own thing". The last thing the devil would do is submit to
God, therefore, by the very act of submitting, the Christian does two things :
1. He becomes an opponent to the devil and all that the devil controls, and 2.
He resists the devil, that is, aggressively opposes him. Warfare and submission
go together. The Christian who refuses to submit to God is actually behaving
like Satan.
7.
In general, Christians are expected to submit to all the rules and regulations
made by fallen Mankind - the traffic rules, the building rules, the Tax rules,
the pedestrian rules, the library rules, and so on. The only time Christians are
not expected to obey Man-made rules is when these rules contradict those already
given by God. (Acts 5:29)
8.
Younger Christians are expected to submit to older Christians, and all
Christians are expected to submit to each other. (1 Pet.5:5) If this were
followed, there would be no room for the individual who thinks that authority
equals importance.
Animals
have no choice when it comes to submission. What we call instincts are really
the absence of free will or choice. If humans were instinct-driven, there would
be reason for a Redeemer, or for the Bible.
(B)
9.
Wives are to submit to their husbands. (1 Cor.7:3,4. 14:34, Eph.5:21-24,
Philippians 2:6-10, Col. 3:18, Titus 2:5, 1 Peter 3:1-6) For many women this
command sticks like a fish-bone in their throat. The world does not teach
Biblical submission, neither do the Public schools, and television rarely
portrays correct submission - frequently the women are portrayed as free agents
in some sort of power-manipulating role.
There
are several good reasons why submission (specifically and generally) is a wise
way to behave.
1.
Submission is a heart attitude, which shows itself by our behaviour. But it is a
very difficult thing to yield to the Holy Spirit in everything, because, like it
or not, every time we yield to Him, we have to fight a battle against either the
world, the flesh (our physical desires) or the devil. But the more we submit,
the more useful we are to God, and the more like God we become. (This is not
always a good thing of course, because then we may even be persecuted by other
Christians!)
2.
Submission is not the same as bondage or servitude, although to the woman of the
world it certainly looks like that. For the Christian woman, submission means
that she gains increased blessing, protection and covering from God. Under the
best circumstances, she goes through her childhood under the blessing,
protection and covering of her father, and then, when she marries, she passes
under the blessing, protection and covering of her husband - who, under the best
conditions, is a Christian man already submitting to God. Num.30 expands on
this.
3.
Submission is not something which Satan knows much about. As the ‘god of this
world’ - 2Cor.4:4, and Ephesians 2:2 "Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience:"
Disobedience is the mark of those who refuse to submit. The world is full of
defiance, of a desire to be ‘independent’, and to ‘have it my own way’.
A distilled summary of evolutionism is the banishment of God from the affairs of
Man, and therefore of His authority over Man.
Exodus
5:2 "And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let
Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go."
Acts
7:39 "To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in
their hearts turned back again into Egypt,"
4.
Submission is a picture of the relationship between the Father and the Son, the
Son and the Church, the husband and the wife. Jesus submitted to the Father’s
will, even to the point of tiredness, hunger, criticism, loneliness, weakness,
pain, death, and isolation, and he also submitted in resurrection, elevation to
glory, and headship.
In
the example of Jesus, we can see that there are always two sides to godly
submission. Its ‘downside’ is the struggle to let go of ‘rights’ but its
upside is the magnificent reward of holiness, inner peace and the knowledge that
we are in harmony with God. Philippians 2:5 - 11.
5.
Submission often appears to be weakness, as in the case where the wife has a
better plan than the husband, but having made the suggestion she then retreats
from an argument and lets the husband make a poor decision. This battle between
submission and disobedience is especially obvious in marriages where the husband
is not a Christian, and therefore he lives as a worldling, perhaps drinking,
smoking, swearing, and probably spending a lot of time and money on worldly
pursuits. His influence over any children he may have can also be destructive.
In this case the wife must live with her eyes on God, and submit to her husband
in everything except when the unsaved husband expects her to contradict what
the Bible says.
6.
Submission takes faith. 1 Pet.3 speaks of women who submitted to unsaved
husbands, and this is mentioned in the Bible because God would have these women
know that their lives are not unnoticed by Him.
(A)
Despite
the many instances of obedience seen within the Church, there is always a
general unwillingness by individual Christians to obey the Lordship of Jesus in
every area of their lives. This is because, as sinners, we have all inherited an
urge, or inner response, to withhold a proportion of our lives from God’s
control.
This
urge to be free of constraint and external authority is a strange thing, because
it can be seen as both pro-God and anti-God.
Because
God created us, we humans all carry the divine image, though greatly marred by
the ‘fall’. In many ways we reflect the One who made us - in our ability to
be creative, in our desire to be independent from our environment, in our drive
to control things, and to communicate, and to understand, and to procreate, and
so on. In many ways, just by ‘being’ we are a testimony to the One who
created us. Yet, on the other side, this ability to be self-aware and to
individualise can become our greatest problem, because it can lead us away from
God.
It
has been pictured in terms of a scientist who makes a highly intelligent robot,
and then adds to the machine the ability to either love or hate, then, to the
scientist’s horror, the machine decides to not only hate the scientist, but
also to destroy itself.
So
by creating free will agents, God risked rejection, and although all the failure
is completely on the side of the created beings, God loses something every time
He is rejected. This is a mystery of course, a sort of ‘divine
contradiction’, because God is totally self-sufficient, yet in some way, He
has made it possible to increase Himself, by making shadows or images of
Himself.
(B)
9.
Wives are to submit to their husbands. (1 Cor.7:3,4. 14:34, Eph.5:21-24,
Philippians 2:6-10, Col. 3:18, Titus 2:5, 1 Peter 3:1-6) For many women this
command sticks like a fish-bone in their throat. The world does not teach
Biblical submission, neither do the Public schools, neither do many mothers to
their daughters, and television rarely portrays correct submission - frequently
women in the media are portrayed as free agents in some sort of
power-manipulating role.
(a)
"Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also
the wife unto the husband.
The
wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the
husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife." 1 Corinthians 7:3
This
instruction refers to physical, sexual love. By placing this in His Word, God
acknowledges that humans normally have a strong physical attraction for at least
one other person. This desire is God-given, and, used in the right way, can be a
wonderful blessing to both the man and the woman. But it is this sexual blessing
which Satan regularly distorts, often portraying it as ‘love’, or the
natural culmination of a friendship - for example, how often does the ‘hero’
in a movie have sex with a woman. Any ideas of modesty, chastity, immorality or
adultery are swept aside, and justified by the lie that all must fall before
"love’.
(b)
"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto
them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the
law.
For
if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it
is shameful for women to speak in church." 1 Corinthians 14:34,35
This
verse and 1 Timothy 2:11-12 "Let the woman learn in silence with all
subjection.
But
I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in
silence." In both cases, the context is about orderliness in the
fellowship. Often, when a group of people gather, there is a lot of talk, and
sometimes someone has to clap their hands or call for quiet. Interruptions, and
chatter do not help to make a good fellowship.
That
women are certainly allowed to speak in a mixed fellowship is shown by the
following verses :
1.
"As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and
haling men and women committed them to prison.
Therefore
they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word." Acts
8:4 (Men and women went everywhere preaching the word.)
2.
"But every woman who prays or prophesies (teaches) with her head uncovered,
dishonours her head . . ."1 Cor. 11:1-16. The context shows that there is a
structure of ‘headships’ in the Church. The Father is head of the Son, the
Son is head of the Man, the Man is head of the woman. This is not a structure of
inferiority, but of orderliness. As a token of this structure, the Christian Man
is to have his head uncovered - and few men ever object to this. (It is a custom
to remove one’s hat on entering a church building even today.) And also as a
token of this structure the woman is to wear something (small, modest) on her
head - but many Christian women object strongly to this.
Having
said this, Paul goes on to say that IF a woman has her head covered, she is free
(logically) to "pray" or to "prophesy" which means speak
forth, or teach. This means that female Sunday school teachers are OK, and women
who join the prayers, or read from the Word, or teach with permission, or share
a testimony, or sing, are all OK. The only rule after that is that they should
not " usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." 1
Timothy 2:12. It is when women try to ‘take over’ that they are
transgressing.
If
we were to take this verse literally, we would be condemning all the women who
have gone out as missionaries, all the school teachers, all the women who
instruct in the military, in business, and in social programs, and even our
political leaders such as Gold Meir or Margaret Thatcher. The narrow, legalistic
Brethren view has hugely diminished the fellowship within hundreds of churches,
and reduced the women to mere listeners.
The
first evangelist was a woman - Mary Magdalene, John 20:1,2, and it was a group
of women who announced the disappearance of the body of Jesus to the 11
disciples - Luke 24:10.
3.
The
coming of the Holy Spirit heralded the way for women as well as men to preach
the gospel. Joel 2:28,29 says " . . .I will pour out My Spirit on all
flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy . . . And also on my
menservants and my maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those
days."
In
Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit arrived and manifested as
"tongues of fire" and in the room they were all filled with the
Holy Spirit". The women joined the men in announcing in the different
languages the good news of salvation, as the crowd itself said "are not all
these who speak Galileans?" and then Peter referred to Joel and said that
what was happening was a fulfilment of Joel’s words.
4.
"And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy".
Acts 21:9 In other words, this man had four daughters who were evangelists.
There
is division over the role of women in the church, to name just one area! One way
to resolve apparent contradictions is to apply this rule : if there are
(say) 10 verses on a subject, and 8 of them agree, while two seem to contradict,
then the two which seem to contradict must be seen in the light of the other
eight. The main reasons why people have difficulty understanding the Word is
usually because: 1. They are too lazy to study the Word thoroughly, and 2. They
are too lazy to study the Word thoroughly. (There is a third reason but it is
the same as the first two.)
(c)
"Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Wives,
submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
For
the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church:
and he is the saviour of the body.
Therefore
as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands
in every thing. Ephesians 5:21-24
For
some wives, submitting is all very fine as long as the husband gives them what
they want, but when the husband makes a ruling which the wife disagrees with,
she may show her true colours, which can sometimes be rather ugly.
(d)
"Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God:
But
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men:
And
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every
name." Philippians 2:6
Here
we see the two sides of submission. For Jesus there was a grand purpose behind
his submission. He had a redemptive work to accomplish. For the wife (or church)
there is a similar case involved. The more Christians, or wives, submit to what
God wants, the more successful will be the work.
For
example, I have read testimonies where the husband is converted simply because
of the godly, forgiving, patient witness of his wife. In everyday life, the
impulse to ‘hit back’ is suppressed, and in this way the world is overcome.
In marriage, the husband may positively ‘glow’ when he finds his wife
working as his helper rather than his rival. In a family, the submissive wife
sets the best example to the children of God’s headship over the husband. In
this way the boys learn leadership from their father, and the girls learns godly
obedience from their mother. One of the main reasons why children today are
turning to wrong role models is because many Christian parents are either
abandoning their proper roles, or reversing them. There is many a man who lacks
self-esteem and feels redundant because of his proud, dominant, unsubmissive
wife ‘ruling the roost’ so to speak - his children do not respect him, and
his plans for the family are constantly subverted. In some ways its like
adopting Satan as a boarder.
(e)
"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the
Lord". Colossians 3:18
A
submissive wife is a glorious and beautiful thing. Happy and fortunate is the
man who has one. She is a heavenly adornment to him, and her witness speaks as
loudly as a public address system.
(f)
"To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own
husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." Titus 2:5
(g)
"Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any
obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of
the wives;
While
they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. (respect)
Whose
adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of
wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; (this means women should avoid
ostentation, worldly fashions, seductive cuts, flashy jewellery and so on)
But
let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even
the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great
price.
For
after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God,
adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:
Even
as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye
do well, and are not afraid with any amazement". 1 Peter 3:1-6
It
is interesting that Abraham should be mentioned here, because of all men he was
one of the wealthiest in the world at the time ("And Abram was very rich in
cattle, in silver, and in gold. Genesis 13:2), so it was possible for his wife
to dress like royalty, but she was a godly woman, so she wore no flashy
ornaments or obviously rich garments.
Easton’s
1897 Bible Dictionary - "woman" was "taken out of man" (Gen.
2:23), and therefore the man has the pre-eminence. "The head of the woman
is the man;" but yet honour is to be shown to the wife, "as unto the
weaker vessel" (1 Cor. 11:3, 8, 9; 1 Pet. 3:7). Several women are mentioned
in Scripture as having been endowed with prophetic gifts, as Miriam (Ex.
15:20), Deborah (Judg. 4:4, 5), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Noadiah
(Neh. 6:14), Anna (Luke 2:36, 37), and the daughters of Philip the
evangelist (Acts 21:8, 9). Women are forbidden to teach publicly (1 Cor.
14:34, 35; 1 Tim. 2:11, 12) For notes on these two verses see below. Among
the Hebrews it devolved upon women to prepare the meals for the household (Gen.
18:6; 2 Sam. 13:8), to attend to the work of spinning (Ex. 35:26; Prov. 31:19),
and making clothes (1 Sam. 2:19; Prov. 31:21), to bring water from the well
(Gen. 24:15; 1 Sam. 9:11), and to care for the flocks (Gen. 29:6; Ex. 2:16).
The
word "woman," as used in Matt. 15:28, John 2:4 and 20:13, 15, implies
tenderness and courtesy and not disrespect. Only where revelation is known has
woman her due place of honour assigned to her.
Notes
on 1Cor.14:34,35 and 1 Tim. 2:11,12. Taken literally, and by themselves, these
three verses seem to indicate total suppression of female input in all Christian
fellowship, but seen in context, and seen in the light of other passages, it is
clear that :
1.
Men only are to be the leaders in the Church
2.
Women may share in almost all ways in any fellowship
3.
Women are not permitted to take leadership roles unless the men allow it
4.
Women are not permitted to chatter or interrupt a fellowship
One very good reason why God places the Man at the head, is because of the ‘maleness’ of the Godhead. The Father is designated Head of the Son. The Son, a Man, is designated Head of the Church, and the Church is pictured as a Bride. The Man is designated Head of the wife. To have a woman in a headship role in the Church would be to upset the order of Scripture, which means that it is not right to have female Ministers, Pastors or Priests. Men represent God to the world. Women, however sincere and holy, do not.