How Beautiful is the Submission of the Wife <Ep 5:21-24, 33; Col 3:18; 1 Pe 3:1>

Read <Ep 5:21-24, 33>.

1. Wife is to submit, but not because woman is inferior to man.

1）Example of Holy Son submitting to Holy Father: Equal glory and honor, but different roles.

· Both wife and husband are created in the image of God, with equal dignity. However, wife has different roles from husband.

2）“Helper” can help because she has her own strengths.

· “Helper” is not a lowly status, but a position of strength.

· God is also our Helper.

3）Submission is glorious, instead of weak.

· Christ’s example clearly demonstrates that submission is not weak.

· Wife’s submission to husband does not demean the wife but glorifies God.

· It is not weak to submit. Instead, it takes a lot of strength to submit.

2. Why should wife submit?

Read <Col 3:18>.

1）This is the principle set by God.

· God is not asking the wife to obey a command harder than other Christians. For everyone should learn the lesson of submission, just that the person a wife should submit to is her husband.

2）God’s command is meant for our good.

3）God instructs the wife to submit to her husband, so as to shape her into a woman more beautiful in God’s eyes.

· Let her grow in humility and faith, teach her to deal with her sinful nature, and become a virtuous woman. In this process, she will be compelled to pray more and draw closer to God.

4）The wife’s submission can also bless her husband.

· Read <1 Pe 3:1>.

· Win over the unbelieving husband.

· Help husband become the better man God wants him to be.

5）The wife’s submission in a marriage can be a testimony to the Lord.

3. How can the wife submit to her husband?

1）Willingly, not grudgingly.

2）To submit to husband is to “respect” him <Ep 5:33>.

· Every time when I think of my husband, what are the thoughts in my heart? Are they thoughts that honor my husband, or belittle him?

· Do I make my husband feel respected? How do I speak to my husband in private and in public? (Do my tone and the words I use make him feel respected? Do I often criticise him, dampen his morale, or always encourage him?)

· What do I say about my husband when I talk to others about him?

· In my decisions and actions, do I respect my husband?

3）However, we are not to submit to husband blindly.

· If the husband does wrong or asks us to sin against God, we are not to submit.

· Example of Sapphira <Ac 5>. Example of Abigail <1 Sam 25>.

· First submit to God, then to husband.

· Can correct husband, but it is about your attitude and ways of correcting.

· The submission of the wife should help the husband be more pleasing to God and more Christlike.