The "S" Word- Part 1: Three Truths Of Biblical Submission
I once had a dream where I saw this huge and ugly being that looked very angry and was holding a long whip in its hand. I noticed my character (someone that looked like me in the dream) was in a kneeling position with her head and body bowing towards the ground. Suddenly, I saw this ugly being stretch out its whip towards my character with so much anger and while still in the bowing position, I suddenly saw my husband’s character shield her with his body that turned into a steel-like shield from the whip of this ugly being.
The being repeatedly stretched out its whip towards her but every time, my husband’s character would be a shield over her, and no harm came near her. When I woke up, I was wondering what the dream meant and the Holy Spirit began explaining to me that my posture represented me being under the authority of my husband (submission) and when the ugly demonic being was attacking my character, it was not successful because I was under authority.
He went on to explain that if my character was in a standing position, my husband wouldn’t have been able to completely be a shield over me because she would have been exposed in some areas. It is no wonder that the Bible says that wives should be submissive to their own husbands in everything (Ephesians 5:22-23). We cannot afford to allow any area of our lives to be exposed to attack because of a lack of submission in that area.
Misconceptions of Submission
The “S” word: “Submission” is almost an abomination to many ladies today and one of the reasons for this is because there is a lack of understanding of what true submission means and the benefits attached to it.
It is unfortunate that some have painted a wrong picture of what it means to submit. In some cases, it has been portrayed from a slavery perspective, where the woman has no voice in our own home and is stepped upon like a floor mat.
In some other cases, it is wrongfully believed to mean a woman is subdued by any man they encounter in their lives, whether their husband or any man on the planet earth. As such, many ladies have a stern hatred and I mean hatred, for the concept of submission.
In fact, this hatred has been extended to God, Almighty, because they view Him as a God that has it bad for ladies, to even command such in Ephesians 5:22 which says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” (NKJV). Myles Munroe once said, “when the purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable”. Today, let’s take a deep dive into what true submission is.
What True Submission is
It is a Choice
According to the Merriam dictionary, “to submit” means to “to yield to governance or authority”. Submission is a deliberate decision made by an individual to yield or be under the authority of another. In the context of marriage, when a wife submits to her husband, it means she is making a decision to yield to her husband’s authority and deliberately choosing to allow him to lead her in that marriage. For example, when you “submit” an assignment in school, that assignment was not forcefully collected by your instructor, but you chose to write out the assignment and send it in by choice. You had a choice to either complete the assignment and send it in or not.
True submission is not a concept born out of a place of force but a place of love. When a wife submits to her own husband, it is done as a service to God (Ephesians 5:22). This act of service (submission) is a display of our love for God. It is impossible to love without serving and it is no wonder that one of the love languages of God is acts of service (You can read more on this here).
Every time a wife decides to submit to her husband, it is really not because of her husband or anything that he has done but mainly because of Jesus Christ and her love for Him. Hence, it means our submission to our husbands is not conditional on if he loves us or not but based on our love for Christ.
2. It is a Display of Strength
Someone once defined submission as “strength put under control”. At the beginning of creation, when God blessed both male and female, He said:
“Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28 AMPC).
From this scripture, we see that every human has the seed and power to be fruitful, multiply, subdue and dominate. All these are embedded in the DNA of both men and women. It takes a person of great power, not just physical power but emotional, mental and spiritual power to subdue the earth and this great power recedes inside a woman. Hence, when a woman embedded with such great power to subdue the earth, decides to submit to her husband because of her love for Jesus Christ, this is not a thing of weakness but a display of great strength. What she displays goes beyond the realm of physical power or strength but a display of self-control and wisdom.
“People who cannot control themselves are like cities without walls to protect them.” (Proverbs 25:28 ERV)
“A wise man is strong and is better than a strong man, and a man of knowledge increases and strengthens his power” (Proverbs 24:5 AMPC).
It takes strength of character for a person to control themselves, even when they possess lots of power. Someone once said, “mastering others is power but mastering yourself is true power”.
Applying self-control despite the power a wife carries is a function of wisdom. It is no wonder that the bible says a wise woman builds her home but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands (Proverbs 14:1). It takes a lot of strength, wisdom and self-control to build anything of value. Hence, every time you submit to your husband as a service to Jesus Christ, you are displaying great strength, self-control and wisdom. Truly, that is the definition of a strong woman!
3. It is Towards your Husband
Some ladies are scared about submitting because they have the wrong expectation that submission is towards every man on earth but that is not true. Submission here is to your own husband, not your fiancé, not your boyfriend, not another lady’s husband but your own husband.
“Wives, be subject (be submissive and adapt yourselves) to your own husbands as [a service] to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22 AMPC).
Humanly speaking, it is very difficult and challenging to submit to another human and it requires the grace of God to empower and strengthen us to yield to the authority of our husbands. Sometimes, the temptation to give in to pride and rebuff the authority of our husbands rises up and it takes the Spirit of God inside of us to resist that temptation. In the next blog, we will explore the requirements and benefits of submission.
One of the reasons why pride is a temptation that comes up when a wife wants to submit is because the devil wants to steal and rob us of the benefits of submission. In the dream I narrated at the beginning, being in a submissive state was a form of defence for me. It protected me from the evil scheme of the devil to bring pain and sorrow. Likewise, submission is a form of defence for a wife.
The power to resist such temptation of pride only comes and is made available when you have opened your heart unto Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and saviour. He loves you so much and is willing to help you resist that temptation, so you can enjoy the benefits of submission. If you will like to make that decision today, please say this prayer with me:
“Lord Jesus Christ, I believe you are the Son of God and I believe You died for me on the cross of Calvary. I know I am a sinner and today, I come to You to forgive me for all my sins and to make me a brand-new creation. I accept You as my personal Lord and Saviour. Thank you, Lord, for forgiving me and making me born again, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Congratulations!!!! You are now born-again! This means you are part of the family of Jesus Christ.
If you made this decision, I would love to hear from you today and provide resources for your new journey! Please leave a comment on this post or reach out to me at https://www.cccghq.org/contact-us
By: Pastor Ibukun Adewusi