Ephesians 5:22
22 Wives, [gune] submit yourselves [hupotasso] unto your own [idios]
husbands, [aner] as [hos] unto the Lord. [kurios] KJV-Interlinear
22
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. NASB
Relationships are one of
the fundamental principles of Christianity and life.
Our relationship with
God, through Christ, is the principle relationship that determines the
character and outcome of our entire existence. For without that relationship we
would have no future as unbelievers, and certainly no reward for all of eternity,
with no growth.
And as with nearly
everything in this world, all things of life symbolize in one way or another,
the many principles of the spiritual life, which is paramount to our very
existence.
One of those relationships
is one which you have with yourself, in that your volition decides which
direction you will ultimately go in life.
The next important relationship
you will have in life is one with a spouse in marriage. For it is in that marriage that you eventually
open up your entire life to another person to the most intimate inner aspects
of your own life.
However, all
relationships are constructed on authority principles. Just as Christ is our authority, then so too
we all have concepts of authority within society.
In the previous verse, we
studied this principle in general, but now we need to define one single word,
in order to understand the idea better.
Submit, ‘hupotasso,’
means to subordinate, to obey, to be subdued, to put in subjection, to submit oneself,
to place in an inferior position, to assign, to appoint, to determine, to
ordain, to set.
And so when God commands
us to submit ourselves to an authority, that command is not only mandated, but
is at the same time voluntary on your part.
The mandatory aspect means
that it is the right thing to do, and the voluntary aspect means that you
recognize the truth of the mandate and you accept it and do so willingly.
When you believed in
Christ, you submitted to Gods mandate of faith.
You heard the gospel, and you believed it fully for salvation. There is but one way of salvation and you
accepted that and submitted to Gods mandate for faith. You did not try to substitute another method
of salvation, which of course would not work.
The next concept in a
relationship is the spiritual growth aspect.
God mandates daily study under an instructor. Here however, most folks do not accept this
mandate, and thus do not function in their spiritual lives properly. Their spiritual lives become dysfunctional
and problems result.
Anytime you reject Gods
rules, your expectations never succeed.
You always fail.
When Gods mandates and
counsel are disregarded, or when something else is substituted, then you are in
effect choosing a lie or false concepts over truth.
And in marriage, this
principle of rejection is more apparent when couples do not comply with Gods
mandate.
Here wives are mandated
to submit to their husbands as they would to the Lord. And this means quite simply that wives submit
to the principles of truth and comply with Gods truth, not their own, not their
husbands idea of truth, but of what is right.
This does not give the wife the option to decide for herself what is
right and use that as an excuse for disagreeing or controlling her husband.
In submission there is
but one authority and one subordinate.
In any military organization, this concept is used without
question. And order is given and must be
obeyed, lest one be held under arrest or worse.
In the military lives and battle and wars and freedoms rest on the
principle of authority. So the concept
is an extremely important concept and not one that is to be disregarded or
taken lightly.
Marriage is not a war and
not a battle, even though one might think that it is on occasion. However, the fundamental principle of authority
carries through to the children, who likewise need to be raised with many
principles of respect and integrity, so that their lives will be functional and
productive lives for themselves and for society.
Note however, that there
are two persons in a marriage. Neither
of which are perfect. The husband is not
God, and neither is the wife. Both will
have opinions and both will make mistakes.
But the unity of their marriage, regardless of the circumstances of the
life, is more important than any set of circumstances or attitudes they might
be subjected to in life.
If wealthy, then both
parties need to be united in their marriage.
If they are poor, they still should be united in their marriage.
The marriage is not intended
to be a problem solving relationship, but in fact brings more problems into the
relationship, since there are two people involved now rather one. And, since there are two people, then both
need to learn to act as one. The oneness
of the marriage is pictured in the physical and intimate aspects of the
marriage.
Just as in any aspect of
the spiritual life, you cannot pick and choose what you will or will not agree
to as far as the scriptures are concerned.
So too, marriage has many mandates and expectations and responsibilities
and obligations expected of each person.
Neither person can withhold, or control, or compete with the other and
expect anything good to come out of that type of behavior.
In our current verse, the
husband is set as the authority. Later we
will learn that the wife is commanded to respect her husband, while the husband
is commanded to love his wife. Respect
recognizes the authority of God and love recognizes the authority of the
principles of truth, which likewise originate from God. Neither party can make up their own rules
apart from that which the Bible teaches.
Now realize that this
does not make the woman out to be inferior to a man. Most women have much greater abilities in intuition
and in many other areas of life, than men.
Men might have muscle, but muscles are not brains.
So the aspect of the wife
subordinating to her husband, does not have anything to do with physical
talent, with mental abilities, or with anything else in life. This is merely a relationship principle,
which needs to be recognized, respected, and honored, lest you insult God who
created the authority principle.
To promote yourself in
opposition to Gods will, is a fools choice.
To disregard Gods will in any aspect of your spiritual life, is a fools
choice.
To recognize Gods will,
and thus Gods mandates, means that you are complying with and pursuing life as
you should, and for good reason. God did
not place you here in this world, to redefine the world according to you, but
to prepare yourself for your eternal life, which by the way is going to be a
very long time. To make the things of
this life, the details of this life, more important that your compliance to
your spiritual life is a fools choice.
Make your priorities
match that which is best for your eternal life, not the here and now details of
life that will eventually be gone tomorrow, next month, next year, and
certainly after you leave this world.
If you were to die
tonight, what things that you have or want now, would be important?
Any and all things of
this life are equivalent to nothing. So
do not elevate them into something greater than they really are. Certainly do not destroy your life by making
things, more important than your relationship.
As a person, your
relationship with God through Christ is your top priority. You are to be one with Christ, which means
that you need to learn doctrine and grow up in order to acquire that oneness in
you. Doctrine in your soul is Christ in
you.
As a wife, your
relationship with your husband is a priority.
Your husband is an extension of your life and your intimacy with him and
all of the pictures of intimacy demonstrate the importance of that unity, just
as you are to comply with Gods mandates for pursuing your spiritual life. Your pursuit is your husband.
Children are being raised
in order for them to be able to live their lives independent from you.
However the wife is the
principle person who completes the life of her husband and in so doing
completes herself. Both have specific
roles in life, both are inseparable. To
break the marriage principles, breaks the fundamental principles of life.
Doctrine is the principle
ingredient for the completion of each persons life, to disregard doctrine,
breaks the fundamental building blocks of completion of your own existence.
Both go hand in
hand. It is not a matter of choice, but
a matter of compliance.
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