The Role of
A Biblical Wife
“Everyone knows the Apostle Paul was a male chauvinist PIG!”

A moment of (stunned) silence followed.

Submit.
It’s the dirty little word that packs a powerful punch in 21st Century Christian religion. The very idea of yielding one’s will to the oversight, direction, or decisions of another is antithetical to everything taught by the current religious spirit of the age . . . actually, to the spirit of any age.

Unless Jesus is involved . . .

Then the adoration and praise songs about his sovereignty, authority, might, power, lordship are endless.

Submit to Him? No problem (we say). He’s good, righteous, just, merciful, and possesses all power and authority. There’s no qualification to be placed on the authority of Jesus and the Bride’s, the Church’s, responsibility to submit to Him.

But then there’s the ‘S’ word directed to wives about their own husbands.

Submit to him? Not so fast.

Some wives have legitimate reasons not to submit to the men they are married to but, biblically speaking, these are exceptions, not the norm . . . and that’s the critical issue. What is normal for biblical order in Christian marriage? When it comes to reading your own mail – the parts of the Bible directed to you – do you have a normal Christian marriage?  Ephesians 5:22 could hardly be clearer. In Christian marriage, a wife submitted to her husband is normal.  Never has a simple, straightforward passage of Scripture engendered so much anger and acrimony in so many.

Which makes sense.

Nobody’s flesh is going down without a fight. Lisa and I went to hear Elisabeth Elliot speak a few years back. To the horror of many present, she put it like this:

I submit to my husband because the Scriptures command me to.  I do it out of obedience to Christ."

Biblical submission isn’t yielding to your husband’s will. It’s embracing the order Christ established and submitting to Him.  That’s what the phrase, as unto the Lord, in Ephesians 5:22 means. Embracing biblical order in marriage is service to Christ, not subservience to your husband.

If we Christian men walked more consistently in holiness, it would be easier for wives to embrace this Scripture but, it wouldn’t change everything. Jesus is the perfect Head of the Church, His bride. Does His perfection make the Church’s response to Him consistently holy, right, and yielded? No, because despite His perfection, we still struggle against our flesh.

And so it is in marriage. Having the perfect husband will not make you the perfect wife. God gave Lisa an imperfect husband and yet still calls her to obedience in the matter of embracing biblical order. She is not a weak woman. Submitting to us less than ideal husbands isn’t weakness. It’s an exercise of your power to choose obedience and service to Jesus Christ.

Normal biblical marriage is a radical departure from what our flesh naturally wants and what the world says is healthy. There are many stripes, brands, and flavors of Christian-like religion to identify with. For those who aspire to normal, biblical Christian marriage, it’s not complicated, and not particularly sophisticated.

Exercise your power. Submit to your own husband (not men, just your husband)


The Excellent Woman of Proverbs 31
       Her price is far above rubies.
Home
Daily Devotions
for Couples
Daily Devotions