Question: I have a concern. When women get married are we supposed to submit to our husbands and do what they tell us to do? My fiancée said that there is a Scripture in the Bible that says women must submit to their husbands and obey them. Is this a biblical truth? Please let me know.

Thanks for your time.

Marion

Answer: Dear Marion,

The primary passage that most refer to is in Ephesians 5:22-23. The word picture that Paul uses to help teach husbands and wives about their relationship is the relationship between Christ and the church. The husband’s role is likened to that of Christ, while the wives’ is likened to that of the church. The husband’s role, given this parallel, is critical, for the church would not be able to respond to Christ unless Christ demonstrated his love for us first. Christ does not begin his relationship with humans by an insistence that we do everything he says and submit – but in fact he demonstrates his love of us by "submitting" himself to us – by showing us his love – and as a result of his love showing us why we should submit to his Lordship.

Some note that the passage immediately follows verse 21, which says "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

Children are to obey their parents "in the Lord" – see Ephesians 6:1 – some teaching there in terms of husbands and wives. Submission is a two-way street – and husbands who "lord it over" their wives are not doing so in Christ.

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht