Paul the apostle wrote to
the church members in Colosse concerning their relationship with God
the Father through Jesus Christ and with one another as they related
to Him. They were to “put on charity” and allow “the
peace of God” and “the word of Christ” to dwell
within them, and their hearts were to be filled with thankfulness and
gratitude for Jesus. In chapter three and verse eighteen, Paul began
to be more specific concerning their relationships with one another
as he began to write to them about marriage. His first instruction is
to the “wives” where we read:
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands,
as it is fit in the Lord.
The verse begins,
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands,”
Let us notice first of all to whom this verse was written – to the
“Wives”. Paul has
narrowed his attention toward the women in the church who were
married. It is as though he is speaking directly to them at this
point. His directive was “submit yourselves”
which means “to arrange under, to subordinate, be subject to or
yield” “to your own”
or “pertaining to one's self, one's own or belonging to one's self”
“husbands”. The
idea was to “come under the authority of” their own husbands and
not someone else's. We must remember there were the false teaching
and heretical Judaizers and Gnostics who were among them, and they
loved to exercise authority over anyone who would allow it.
The verse continues,
“as it is fit in the Lord.”
Paul gives the reason wives were to submit to their own husbands, “as
it is fit” or “come up to,
arrived at, reached, due or duty to do “in the Lord”
which means “within the bounds of the relationship with the Lord
Jesus”. Paul saw the relationship of a wife to her husband as a
reflection of the relationship the wife had with the Lord. It was
“fitting” that she demonstrate her submission to the Lord through
the relationship with her husband.
This is a very
controversial verse in our day. The idea of “submission” is not
one that anyone relishes, and the wives who have been abused in their
present or past marriages especially struggle with this. We must
remember that the scriptures are “Divinely” inspired, and Paul
wrote as he was directed by the Holy Spirit, so in reality it was God
who gave this directive to the “wives”.
This is why it is “fitting” in the Lord, as “submission” to a
husband was a reflection of “submission” to the Lord. God knows
men, and He knows how men like to be in control even when they are
not in control. When a woman submits to her husband, she plays into
the very core of who her husband is, and harmony between them is
gained. Of course, this never condones abuse of any sort from a
husband, and there is much more to say to him, but we shall take that
up in the next verse. For now, let us meditate upon the fact that God
knows the most about relationships and marriage, and He gave this
instruction through Paul. May the Lord bring us all to the
understanding of His words.
Next
time Paul continues to write to the Colossians about marriage and
addresses the husbands, so
read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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