No concept today seems more controversial than the biblical teaching of submission. Our society values independence and the thought of submitting to anyone else is distasteful. Yet, men and women live submissive lives. Our society would not function without submission.<\/p>\n
Submission is the complementary state to leadership. If one person has authority then those who follow that person are in submission. When you take a job, the boss rightfully expects you to follow his directions \u2013 to be submissive to his will. It does not mean that you live for your boss\u2019s every whim or that you break the law just because your boss tells you to do so. We understand there is a hierarchy of authority. A boss cannot act independent of his superiors, the laws of the land, or God\u2019s laws.<\/p>\n
When we obey the traffic lights, we are submitting our will to the laws of our country. We understand that they are for the betterment of the society as a whole, even though it may slow us down from reaching the other side of town. Yet our government has a higher authority over it. God is the one who has ordained governments. It is He who puts leaders into place and causes governments to topple. Even when they do not acknowledge God, governments are subject to the law of God.<\/p>\n
When we discussed the husband\u2019s role as head of the family, we looked way back to the beginning when Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. One of the consequences of Eve\u2019s sin was that women would desire their husbands and that husbands would have rule over the wife (Genesis 3:16). If the husband leads as he is required, then when a wife follows his lead she is in submission. Paul said that submission is fitting in the Lord (Colossians 3:18). In other words, a wife submitting to her husband is right and proper in God\u2019s sight. To refuse to follow your husband\u2019s lead is to rebel against God.<\/p>\n
Now submission does not imply that a wife must follow her husband in wrong doing. Paul said in Ephesians 5:22 to submit to your husbands as you would submit to God. Husbands cannot do anything they desire. They are supposed to be in submission to Christ (I Corinthians 11:3).<\/p>\n
Notice that submitting is a voluntary action. No verse exists that tells someone to make another person submit. The person in submission must do so of his or her own free will. The writer of Proverbs said that forcing a person to submit is impossible. \u201cA constant dripping on a day of steady rain and a contentious woman are alike; He who would restrain her restrains the wind, and grasps oil with his right hand.<\/i>\u201d (Proverbs 27:15-16).<\/p>\n
Submission is more than simple obedience. A child can obey his parents while grumbling about the injustice of taking out the trash. A wife can do as her husband asks and then make his life miserable by bringing up constant reminders of his shortcomings. True submission is not done because you must, but because you want to submit. Such an attitude is seen in the wife\u2019s actions. In I Peter 3:1-6, Peter refers back to a seemingly small incident in the life of Abraham. Even though Sarah laughed at the idea of her and Abraham having a child in their old age, notice how Sarah thought about her husband in Genesis 18:12. The fact that she referred to Abraham as a lord tells us a lot about her attitude toward her husband. Is there any doubt that Sarah was in submission to Abraham? Peter is not saying that women today must call their husbands \u201clord.\u201d What he is saying is that the actions of the wife must show her willingness to follow her husband\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPreparation for a Lifetime\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Submission No concept today seems more controversial than the biblical teaching of submission. Our society values independence and the thought of submitting to anyone else is distasteful. Yet, men and women live submissive lives. Our society would not function without submission. Submission is the complementary state to leadership. If one person has authority then those…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":8138,"menu_order":12,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8209","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42411,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/how-to-live-in-a-hostile-world-a-study-of-i-peter\/submission-to-government\/","url_meta":{"origin":8209,"position":0},"title":"Submission to Government","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Submission to Government Text: I Peter 2:13-17 Study Questions: Why are we to submit to the national government? Why are we to submit to the local government? Why does God want us to submit to human governments? If we are under a government, does that mean we are not free?\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57865,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/christ-in-you-a-study-of-colossians\/relationships\/","url_meta":{"origin":8209,"position":1},"title":"Relationships (Colossians)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Relationships Text: Colossians 3:18-4:1 Family Relationships - Colossians 3:18-21 Wives (Colossians 3:18) Paul gives a very similar statement to this one in Ephesians 5:22. If the husband is to be head of the family, then it follows that the wife is to follow her husband's lead. Paul said that submission\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43232,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/how-to-live-in-a-hostile-world-a-study-of-i-peter\/submission-in-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":8209,"position":2},"title":"Submission in Marriage","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Submission in Marriage Text: I Peter 3:1-7 Study Questions: I Peter 3:1 says \"in the same way\" or \"likewise.\" In the same way as what? Does submission mean wives are inferior to husbands? If the husband is an unbeliever, why must the wife take care in how she behaves? What\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41192,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/pauls-letter-to-the-romans\/service-to-government-submission\/","url_meta":{"origin":8209,"position":3},"title":"Service to Government: Submission","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Service to Government: Submission Paul's discussion about governments is particularly interesting when you remember that he lived under the Roman Empire, a corrupt government that supported idolatry. Governments exist because of God\u00a0(Romans 13:1-2) Paul gives a list of reasons why everyone is required to be in subjection to their governments.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43003,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/how-to-live-in-a-hostile-world-a-study-of-i-peter\/submission-to-employers\/","url_meta":{"origin":8209,"position":4},"title":"Submission to Employers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Submission to Employers Text: I Peter 2:18-25 Study Questions: Are we only asked to submit to employers we enjoy working for? Why does God find it favorable when we submit to unjust employers? What if we are being treated poorly because we did something wrong? 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