Sermon for Saturday
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands, as unto the Lord. Ephesians 5:21,22
Part of our text is a favourite of the women’s liberation activists, as they criticize the Bible and declare that ‘religion’ would force them to be slaves. Other critics of the Bible also point to this verse, and declare it to be proof that the Bible is irrelevant and would force women into subjection to tyrannical husbands. The text does not say that, of course, nor does the Bible support the repression of women. Those who claim that this verse gives men domination over women are taking it entirely out of its context. If we read the entire portion, we find the type of husband to whom the wife is to submit herself. And there is no woman in the world who would not be better off by submitting herself to such a husband. Most husbands fail to live up to the ideal, and some unfairly expect their wives to be submissive to them regardless of their own behaviour. But our text makes it plain that submitting ourselves to each other is God’s desire.
There are rules, of course, to submitting ourselves to each other, to a wife submitting herself to her husband. And the first rule is found in our text – in the fear of God. The fear of God (respect for God’s authority) will cause us to seek direction from His word on how we are to conduct ourselves. The wife will want to know what the Scriptures say about her submission to her husband. And the husband will seek Scriptural guidance on how he should care for his wife. The Word of God has much to say on these topics, and the married couple would do well to study and put into practice what is written. And if they do, there will be no problem with submission, nor any reason for either wife or husband to be unhappy about the arrangement. In fact, the marriage will be a wonderful blessing to themselves, to their family, and to all of those they encounter.
A second rule concerning submission involves respect. It is difficult for a woman to want to submit herself to a man who does not respect her. Nor does a woman have any desire to submit to a man she does not respect. Each must recognize the value and honor of the other, and show respect. At the same time, each must be the type of wife or husband who deserves respect. And if they are, theirs will be a fulfilling relationship.
There is no one in the world who a man should love more than his wife. And there is no one in the world a woman should respect more than her husband. And there is nothing in the world that will show the love of Christ for us more than such a couple. -Jim MacIntosh