Submission is awesome, isn’t it? Don’t you love that? Yes, submission is one of my favorite topics. Not most women’s favorite topic. Why? It has been misused and misunderstood, and we’ve been led by society to bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan and never let men forget they are men. When you understand submission the way God intended it, it might be the most freeing attitude you’ve ever employed in your life.
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Let’s start with 1 Peter 3:1, which speaks first to us women. Why? Because of our natural bent to rebel. After all, Eve did defy authority and bite the fruit. And simply because it is incredibly difficult for a man to lead a woman who is not submitted to Christ.
Wives, in the same way, be submissive to your husbands… – 1 Peter 3:1
If your excuse for not submitting to your husband is that he isn’t a Christian and if he were a Christian you would submit to him, then read on, understanding the verse in the context of the entirety of Scripture. The Bible is the best commentary on the Bible. So let’s just keep reading. Does the bible say ‘wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the Word they may be won over with many words by the nagging of their wives?’ Um, no.
It doesn’t work that way. Have you ever met that guy who says ‘my wife nagged me to Jesus’? No. It comes back to submission.
Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives… – 1 Peter 3:1
The first area of submission in your life is your submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Submission literally means you’re a follower of Jesus Christ. Being a Christian is being submissive to the lordship of Jesus Christ. It’s understanding the gospel, which is, “This is God. This is me. I was so far from Him nothing could bridge that gap except the cross of Christ. Jesus died on the cross, took my place. I received the payment He made for my sins, and I’ve surrendered my life to Jesus.”
First and foremost, you were created as a woman to submit to Jesus and that’s your number one role. Not as a wife, not as a mom, but as a woman, a follower of Jesus. You can not be submitted to your husband as God intended if you’re not first submitted to the Man, Jesus Christ. And our submission to Christ is SO powerful, God tells us it may be the very thing that wins our husbands’ submission to Christ.
I didn’t know that in the first twelve years of our marriage…but I realized that being the boss of my life, marriage and home wasn’t working. In fact, it broke our marriage in so many ways.
Submission, through the lens of Scripture, is an incredibly freeing thing. It’s powerful. Submission to Christ and His leadership is the first step in submitting to your husband. Tomorrow we’ll talk about submission to our husbands!!
Note to the single ladies: don’t you dare date and marry a guy that you don’t believe is submitted to Jesus. If you are dating (or considering dating) a man who is not submitted to Jesus, YOU are not submitted to Jesus. 1 Peter 3:1 is for WIVES to win their husbands over to submission to Christ, not for single women to win their boyfriends to Christ.
About Sherry
Hi Sherry!
My husband and I are at the end of divorce proceedings. We are both Christians…We have a 15 month AMAZING LITTLE GIRL!!! She inspires and moticates me to be a better woman, mother and Christian and everything else! He has been in an adulterous affair for a few years now off and on, now on. We’ve been married 7 years Oct 1st and together 12 years. I’ve left him and yes, gone back numerous times over the years due to his anger, yelling etc…! The yelling and mean talk continued after my daughter was only 2 months. He had controlled his behavior and behaved better than he ever had during my pregnancy, felt sorry for me I guess, my pregnancy was really rough. My co-dependency issues (mainly financial) did not help our relationship at all but helped it spiral downward! I want to reconcile but I know I can’t because he is currently still in this adulterous relationship. My heart is aching knowing that we as Believers can win and be victorious at anything that tries to come against us when we are in God’s Will but not when the other persons’ will and actions are against God’s will!!! I am going to get stronger and I am on the road to financial stability, get a job first of all, for my daughter and myself to begin a better life!!! Sadly, after all of this most everyone even other Believers around me are telling me, yes you should follow through with the divorce, and now I agree. I’m encouraged to continue to pray for marriages even more because of testimonies of restoration like your marriage and family was! I WILL CONTINUE TO BELIEVE GOD FOR A “GODLY” HUSBAND. My daughter must have a “Godly” Father married to her “Godly” Mother in the same “Home’. I know that is the Will of God. Didn’t mean to write so much but thank you all (marriage help ministries) for being there for people like me!
Please know you are helping sooooooo many!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANK YOU.
Renee, thank you so much for sharing your story and what God is doing in your heart. Know that I’m praying for God to break your husband’s heart for Him and for you; thanking God for His awesome redemption in your life. I’m excited about what He’s got in store for you!