By IS SUBMISSION CULTURAL? NO.
By Bible Love Notes
Dear Readers, I realize this is not a popular subject, but it’s important. I believe our present confusion about gender began when we quit trusting God’s design for men and women in marriage. When we reject God’s design in one area, it always leads to rejection in other areas. Even if you aren’t married, this devotion can help you understand the difference between a cultural command and a biblical principle.
Part 1 in a three-part series on submission ~Some people claim submission is a cultural practice, not a biblical principle.
If something in Scripture is a cultural practice, it will be clear from the context, the wording, and cross-references. To read about a good example, see Should Women Wear Head Coverings?
Scripture explains this unchanging principle behind the cultural practice of head coverings: “The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” 1 Corinthians 11:13
Cultural practices change; principles don’t.
If submission were only addressed in 1 Corinthians 14:34-38 and 1 Corinthians 11:1-16, we might think submission was cultural because those passages discuss a problem (disruptive church meetings) and a cultural practice (head coverings). But submission is also addressed as an enduring biblical principle in these passages: Ephesians 5:22Colossians 3:181 Peter 3:1-71 Timothy 2:11-15 In fact, 1 Timothy 2:11-15 says the principle of submission originated in Genesis at creation and the fall, not in culture. And Ephesians 5:22-33 ends any argument about it being cultural when it explains that submission is patterned after Christ and the church.
Cultural practices change. Biblical principles don’t. Please read Why Mutual Submission Is Impossible in order to better understand the details of biblical submission.
💙 Beyond 1-minute for my personal testimony 💙
As a woman who has been married for over 50 years to the same man, I can say without reservation that I’m grateful for God’s design.
In addition to my “on-the-job” training, I have my Masters’s degree from seminary, and I have thoroughly studied the different approaches to submission. Most importantly, I have studied the context, original languages, and cross-references of Scriptures on submission. I am not submissive by nature, and I had already been married four years when I became a Christian. But when I read the Bible’s clear teaching on submission, I believed God knew what was best for me and my marriage. That was in 1974, and I have never regretted my decision. My husband is not a perfect leader, and I am not a perfectly submissive wife. However, we have seen the beauty of God’s design, and we believe it has added wisdom, love, and friendship to our marriage.
I have discovered that when I try to usurp my husband’s role, it makes me weaker, not stronger. I hope you’ll enjoy some of my insights in An Army Wife’s View of Submission.
And if you are still having trouble with the concept of submission, please wait for parts 2 and 3 in this series. I believe they will help.
