Marriage Monday

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Bible Study
Submission is a Decision - NOT a Dirty Word

by e-Mom at Chrysalis

"Wives, submit [hupotasso] to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits [hupotasso] to Christ, so also wives should submit [hupotasso] to their husbands in everything." Eph 5: 22-24

A. Submission in Marriage:

• Hupotasso [hoop-ot-as-so] Greek: To subordinate, to obey, be under obedience, put under, subdue unto, be or make subject, to be put in subjection to or under, submit self unto. (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
• Submit: Surrender oneself for control, give way, make submission, yield, cease or abstain from resistance. (The Concise Oxford Dictionary)
  Subject: Under government, not independent, owing obedience to. (The Concise Oxford Dictionary)

Please read Ephesians 5:22-33

1. Who are wives commanded to be subject to?

• They are commanded to be subjects to their husbands.

2. Who else are wives commanded to be subject to?

• They are also commanded to be subjects to the Lord.

3. Is submission an emotional feeling or a decision of the will? Why?

• Submission is definitely a decision of the will. It is the will to follow Gods plan for your marriage and this can't be an emotional feeling, because if it was a feeling it would be against our human nature, our nature of selfishness. So it has to be an active decision on our part.

4. Who is the head of the wife?

• The husband is the head of the wife.

5. Who is the head and Savior of the Body (Church)?

• Christ is the head and Savior of the Body which is the church.

6. In what area of their lives are wives commanded to be subject to their husbands? Give examples.

• It says we are suppose to submit to our husbands in everything. And that means - everything. It is so not easy, and I am so not good at submitting. Here some examples where we are suppose to submit to them. - job - children - housework - with their bodies, and these are just a few.

7. Why do you think the commands in this passage on marriage are given to the wife first?

• At first I did not know what this question meant. But then I peaked at the next question and it dawned on me. Yes, women are on the bottom of the hierarchy. We are the once to submit to Jesus and to our husbands.

8. What is a hierarchy?

• Hierarchy is a constellation of the establishment of power.

9. Which marriage partner is do you think is responsible for establishing the hierarchical relationship described in this passage, the wife or the husband?

• In my opinion both partners are responsible for that establishment. The wife is suppose to submit, so the husband can be the head and leader of the household, and the husband has to take this responsibility and step up to this calling. The wife has to submit and follow and and the husband has to step up and lead.

10. What are husbands commanded to do in regard to their wives?

• They are to love their wives as they love themselves.

11. Do you think this kind of love is an emotional feeling or a decision of the will?

• This kind of love, the kind of love only Jesus can enable us to give is more than an emotional feeling, it is just as submission a decision of the will.

12. According to this passage, what did Christ do to demonstrate his love for the church?

• Christ gave himself up for the church and died for her.

13. Why did Christ give himself up for the Church?

• Because he loved the church.

14. Define the word “sanctify.”

• The word sanctified its defined even in these verses. It means to make holy, to cleanse, to make blameless.

15. With what does Christ cleanse his church?

• He cleanses the church with water and through the word.

16. Based on this passage, which of the five senses does the wife use to perceive her husband’s love for her?

• That is a great question. A wife receives her husband's love through hearing - through words, and through feeling - through touch.

17. What imagery is suggested by the words “washing with water,” “spot,” and “wrinkle?”

• That something needs cleansing, that it's dirty, stained.

18. From this passage, whose body is the wife a part of?

• The wife is a part of her husbands body.

19. Whose example should a husband follow? How should he treat his wife?

• They should follow Jesus example. Just as he loved the church, the husband should love his wife as he loves himself.

20. From this passage, what does the “one flesh” relationship between a husband and a wife represent spiritually?

• In my opinion it represents Jesus and the church as one.

21. Do you think a wife’s participation in sexual relations with her husband communicates her submission to him?

• Yes, I do think it communicates submission to him, because she is meeting a need her husband has and that is also submission.

22. Besides being subject to their husbands, what are wives also commanded to do?

• A wife is also commanded to respect her husband.

23. Why are not wives commanded to love their husbands?

• I think wives aren't commanded to love their husbands because respect meets the need of a husband more. Not that husbands don't want to be loved, but if they could choose, they would choose respect over love.

24. What does this passage say to you about a husband’s greatest need in relation to his wife?

• See answer at number 23. I think that a husband's greatest need is respect.

25. What does this passage say to you about a wife’s greatest need in relation to her husband?

• It says that a wives greatest need in relation to her husband is to be and feel loved.

B. Other Important Passages To Study:
Submission in Marriage. 1 Peter 3:1-7
Submission to God. Romans 10:1-4; James 4:5-10
Submission to Government. Romans 13:1-10;1 Peter 2:13-17; Titus 3:1-2
Submission to Church Leadership. 1 Timothy 2:11-15; 1 Peter 5:5-7
Submission in the Workplace. 1 Peter 2:18-25
Submission Between Christians.Ephesians 5:15-21