For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body
Truth to Learn
Submission is part of God’s plan and it honors Him.
Behind the Words
“Head” is translated from kephalē, which means “the uppermost part of something” or “the head.” Thus, it is used both literally and figuratively to refer to the head of something.
The word “Christ” is from the Greek word christos, which is derived from chriō, meaning “to anoint.” In the Old Testament, a prophet or high priest anointed a person with oil as a symbol that the person was chosen by God for a specific purpose. The Jews believe that the anointed one (Hebrew Mashiach or Messiah) is God’s chosen redeemer who will come to rescue the Jews. Christos is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew title Mashiach.
The word translated “church” is ekklesia, which is a compound word made up of ek, meaning “out” or “out of” and a form of kaleō, meaning “to call.” Thus, this term refers to “the called-out ones.” Originally, this term was applied to any group of people called out to a public assembly. The Jewish equivalent of ekklesia is sunagogē (those who are gathered together). Since the church was often considered a sect of Judaism, a church body was initially referred to as an episunagogē. However, wanting to distinguish themselves from the members of the Jewish faith, early Christians referred to their assembly as ekklesia.
Meaning Explained
Yesterday’s verse introduced a topic that many Christian women today find troubling. They think that it is demeaning to expect a woman to submit to her husband. There are two important things to remember in this discussion, however. The first is that Christianity was directly responsible for raising up the position of women from that of a man’s possession to that of a man’s partner. The second thing to remember is that God expects more from a man because he is head of the family unit. “But, it’s not fair that it is always the woman who has to submit to the man,” you might say. However, it is no more unfair than that Jesus Christ, who is completely God, always has to submit to the will of the Father and that the Holy Spirit always has to submit to the will of the Father and the Son. It is the way that God determined it to be.
In today’s verse Paul tells us that the reason that a wife is to voluntarily submit to her husband is because God designed the marriage relationship with the man as the head. It is God’s plan that a man be the head of the family just as it is His plan that Christ is head of the church. The church, also called “the body of Christ,” is elsewhere referred to as “the bride of the Lamb”:
Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. (Revelation 19:7)
So the picture of the church submitting to Christ is the same as the wife submitting to her husband.
Application
Ladies, your act of submission to your husband is not demeaning, it is God honoring! Submitting to your husband is an act of obedience to God and He will bless you for it.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved.