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Title: Marriage Roles: Part One; A Primer
Intro:
I want to take this discussion slowly. Not necessarily because I think it will be a difficult study. (To be quite frank with you, I think the Bible is very clear on marriage roles, and we are a Biblically bound church, submitting the Scripture’s authority in our lives and holding each other accountable.)
But rather, I want to take it slowly because this is a very important topic for us to have a sound position and defense on, most especially in 2022 in America.
Therefore, over the next few weeks we will be looking at a subject that has caused much controversy, both in and out of the church, thought I honestly don’t think it should be as much of a controversy within the church as it has been.
And this controversy has picked up some more steam in recent years as issues like social justice have moved more into the mainstream in American culture and thought, to be sure.
Here is the only thing I ask of you over the next few weeks: Make the Bible the priority.
As we look at the Biblical evidence and instruction from Paul over the next several verses, if we remember a few key truths, it will keep us on the right path:
A Few Key Truths:
- The Bible is timeless. These verses are as relevant and binding today as the day they were written. (The world will tell you they are outdated, from an ancient culture, who knew nothing of sociology, science, or the impact of myth.)
- We can be sure the Bible is timeless because it’s author is timeless and immutable. God does not change. His truth remains beyond all the ebbs and flows of humanity’s fickle nature.
- Your view of the Bible IS your view of God. Period. If you feel you have the ability to pick and chose which instructions in Scripture apply to you, and which ones are irrelevant, then you do not serve God. God serves you. (And best of luck with that, BTW.)
Two Important Terms:
Egalitarian: relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
Complimentarian: a theological view in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, that men and women have different but complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage, family life, and religious leadership.
As we study these passages on marriage and family over the next several weeks, my prayer is that you will see one of these positions is much more Biblical defensible than the other.
Let’s Begin!
(Read/Pray)
22 Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Now, before we go any further, it’s important to note that Paul’s mention does of submission does not begin here in verse 22. It actually begins with verse 21, the last thing we looked at last week, when we are first instructed to “subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.”
Paul then builds on that idea of submission within a Biblical marriage by next turning from the headship of our God to the headship of our household.
Guzik:
There is no question that the apostle is continuing the thought from Ephesians 5:21, submitting to one another in the fear of God. In many of the best ancient Greek manuscripts, Ephesians 5:22 doesn’t even have the word submit. It simply reads wives, to your own husbands. The topic is submission and Paul focused on a particularly important realm of submission – the Christian marriage, from the wife unto the husband.
Why is Submission such a touchy subject? First, in General? Then, as wives to husbands?
In General:
- We like to believe we are masters of our own destiny. (Which is a ridiculous oxymoron to begin with)
- We like to believe we are autonomous, independent creatures, with pure free will (which is different from free agency.)
- We are prideful and believe we answer to no one. (Again, hilarious.)
- Others?
As Wives to Husbands:
- Everything, EVERYTHING in our present secular society tell us that this concept is outdated, degrading to women, and dangerous to society.
- In general, there are fewer separations and distinctions between genders, which makes this argument less valid. (I’d like to just point out the “lessening” of these distinctions is not natural, but synthetic and manufactured.)
- BEST REASON: It’s totally Biblical to resist this submission.
As part of the curse of the fall in Genesis 3:16 states:
To the woman He said,
“I will greatly multiply
Your pain [a]in childbirth,
In pain you shall deliver children;
Yet your desire will be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”
4. Any Others?
Closing Question: To whom should one submit?
Answer: To one who is worthy of submission.
Pray/QA