First Corinthians

· All of us, as Christians, are in submission – at least to Jesus Christ. That is the very nature of being a Christian. Most of us are in submission to many other authorities as well – governments, church leadership, teachers – the list is very long.

· True submission is to true (legitimate) authority – and that authority flows from Christ, to whom all authority is given.

· The nature of authority – and hence the nature of submission – is determined by the task assigned. Submission as a student is different from submission as a wife.

· With that task and authority comes responsibility.

· The one in authority must always remember that such submission is voluntary; you chose to become a Christian. As my mother tells my wife, “you volunteered for this chicken outfit.”

· The reason for submission is sin. Policemen have authority because of it, for example. Interestingly, the same rationale is given for husbands having authority over their wives.

· Our model is that of Christ – see verse one! – and his model is that of the servant-leader. Therefore, any Christian leader (including husband) should be a servant-leader.

· The beneficiary of the submission relationship – is the person in submission. (That’s one difference between a prince and a tyrant).

· The motivation of any Christian leader – we cannot expect this from our government – must be that of Christ: love.

· And as Christ was exalted for his obedience as a servant-leader, so God will reward those servant-leaders who obey his commands. He will also punish those who don’t.

· Let’s look at the example we are given: Jesus Christ. Is He inferior to the one to whom He is in submission, God the Father? As touching his manhood, yes; as touching his divinity, no – that was the ancient formula. Even though He is equal to God the Father, He made himself nothing and became like us – and was obedient even to death on the cross. With such an example of submission before us, can we really conclude that submission means inferiority?

· Paul makes much the same point here. In one verse it sounds like woman is completely inferior; in the next point he says that man comes from woman (which makes them equal) and then he gives the whole thing up and says that all is from God. Like Christ and the Father, man and woman have the same essence, as Aquinas would put it.

· Most would point to the radical feminists of our day, claiming this to be the problem. There is no doubt that the public school system proclaims the feminist agenda in strident terms, beginning at the earliest age. But can we not dig deeper?

· Perhaps the underlying problem is our sinful nature – though feminists deny the existence of sin (it’s old fashioned, you know). It is just barely possible that feminism is the second wrong desperately attempting to make a right. If Christian husbands modeled Christ to their wives, would we see such things in their children?

· Remember: Satan cannot create anything – he can only twist what God has created. Therefore, let us examine his twistings.

· We are much enamored of the legal fiction that all are equal – as the Declaration of Independence puts it, “that all men are created equal.” It is a very useful legal fiction; but in the church we must put aside fiction and deal with reality. We are all equal in Christ – but we are not all interchangeable parts. Male is not interchangeable with female.

· As Americans, we hold as a matter of principle that it is our duty to rebel against tyranny. But we have now twisted that – making rebellion against authority to be a positive good. You don’t think so? Visit any nearby public high school. Rudeness and rebellion against authority are now considered a normal part of growing up.

· We even twist the words we use so that their meanings will end up as opposites. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet? Consider a few examples. Does marriage really mean two lesbians? Does family mean any conglomeration of people under one roof? Does love really mean nothing but sexual passion excuses all?

· You can use a hammer to drive a screw into wood. Does that make a hammer a screwdriver? No. It makes it a tool misused. Just because it works doesn’t mean it was designed to work that way.

· Men and women are designed differently – and therefore we need to recognize that difference and deal with it in the manner intended by the Designer. Just because we can make a woman do a man’s job doesn’t mean that we should make her do it.

· First, for the sake of the children. If children know that their parents are “equal” they will play one off against the other. They will quickly learn that authority is to be manipulated, not obeyed. I leave the results of this to your imagination.

· Next, this authority is given as a corrective to the man’s physical strength and arrogance. Does this surprise you? Remember the nature of authority: it is to be exercised in servant leadership. The example set before the man is that of Christ himself.

· This authority is also given to correct a woman’s protectiveness of her children.

· The tyrant does not have legitimate authority; the prince does. If you have legitimate authority, it comes from Christ. Therefore, if you are married to a prince, your husband recognizes Christ’s authority over him and is obedient to Christ – especially in the things of marriage. Does your husband have the authority of Christ? Then he is a prince.

· The tyrant’s motive is his own self-interest. The prince cares for his own. His motive is his love for his people. Does your husband place his love for you above his own self-interest? Then he is a prince.

· Finally, the tyrant considers himself his own best example. The prince knows that Christ is his example. Does your husband imitate his Lord and Savior in servant leadership? Does he say to you, follow me, as I follow Christ? Then he is a prince.