…“Does a wife have to submit to her husband?”……Submission is a very important issue in relation to marriage. Even before sin entered the world, there was still the principle of headship.…1 Timothy 2:13…13 For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve.…Adam was created first, and Eve was created to be a “helper” for Adam…Genesis 2:18-20…18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”19 So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man[a] to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one.20 He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.…At the same time, since there was no sin, there was no authority for man to obey except God’s authority. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world, and then authority was needed. Therefore, God established the authority needed to enforce the laws of the land and also to provide us with the protection we need. …First, we need to submit to God, which is the only way we can truly obey Him …James 1:21; 4:7…21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.…James 4:7…7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.…We find that the husband is to submit to Christ as Christ did to God. Then the verse says that the wife should follow his example and submit to her husband.…1 Corinthians 11:2-3…2 I am so glad that you always keep me in your thoughts, and that you are following the teachings I passed on to you.3 But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. (Or to know: The source of every man is Christ, the source of woman is man, and the source of Christ is God. Or to know: Every man is responsible to Christ, a woman is responsible to her husband, and Christ is responsible to God.)…Submission is a natural response to loving leadership. When a husband loves his wife as Christ loves the churchthen submission is a natural response from a wife to her husband. …Ephesians 5:25-33…25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word (Greek washed by water with the word.)27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. 28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. 29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. 30 And we are members of his body.…31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”(Gen 2:24)…32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

The Greek word translated “submit,” hupotasso, is the continuing form of the verb. This means that submitting to God, the government, or a husband is not a one-time act. It is a continual attitude, which becomes a pattern of behavior. …The submission talked about in Ephesians 5 is not a one-sided subjection of a believer to a selfish, domineering person. …Biblical submission is designed to be between two Spirit-filled believers who are mutually yielded to each other and to God. …Submission is a two-way street. …Submission is a position of honor and completeness. …When a wife is loved as the church is loved by Christ, submission is not difficult. Ephesians 5:22-24 says…22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.…This verse is saying that the wife is to submit to her husband in everything that is right and lawful. …Therefore, the wife is under no obligation to disobey the law or God in the name of submission.…Matthew Henry wrote: “The woman was made out of Adam’s side. She was not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved.”…Believers are to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ…Ephesians 5:21…21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.…In context, everything in Ephesians 5:19-33 is a result of being filled with the Spirit. …Spirit-filled believers are to be worshipful (5:19), thankful (5:20), and submissive (5:21). …Paul then follows his line of thought on Spirit-filled living and applies it to husbands and wives in verses 22-33. ……A wife should submit to her husband, not because women are inferior, but because that is how God designed the marital relationship to function. Rather, with the help of the Holy Spirit, a wife submits to her husband, and a husband sacrificially loves his wife.…Submission is not a wife being a “doormat” or a “slave” for her husband or to be there at his beck and call.…This is what scripture says about slaves…Ephesians 6:5…5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you.