for a husband is head of the wife, as also the Christ [is] head of the assembly. *He* [is] Saviour of the body.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
But even as the assembly is subjected to the Christ, so also wives to their own husbands in everything.
This verse turns a household instruction into a picture of something far larger. The wife's place beside her husband follows the church's place beside Christ. So what kind of subjection is this, and how far does "in everything" reach?
The command does not stand alone. It rests on what has just been said about headship, so the wife's submission follows from the position she has been given rather than from a decision she makes.
This Scripture shows that the position of the wife is one of subjection. The wife is indeed told to obey, but the ground of it is the place she holds. A word or two added in the translation has somewhat hidden this. We read, "As the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be." But leave out the word "let." The italics show it was added. Then we have a simple statement of fact: "As the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives to their own husbands in everything." This matters. The obedience asked of the wife then flows out of the position she is set in — the natural fruit of the relationship. In other words, obedience to her husband is not left to the wife's choice; it is to be given because of her relative place.
The comparison holds even though the visible history of Christians makes a poor advertisement for it. The apostle points to the place the church holds, not to how she has behaved.
The apostle speaks of the place where the church has been set, that of subjection to her Head. He is not speaking of her actual practice. Sadly, how much self-will and losing sight of the Headship of Christ has spoiled that practice! But the truth stands: "the church is subject to Christ." He is her glorified Head. The Christian wife is to learn the great principle and act on it.
Notice how the sentence is built. It does not just say "in everything." It says "as the church submits to Christ." That comparison brings Christ's own dealing with His people into the standard.
Such is the general principle. But then, you will notice, there is always a measure and a guard in every such word of Scripture. It is not simply said, "Therefore, let the wives be subject in everything to their own husbands," but "Therefore, as the Church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be." So Christ's own blessed way of caring for the church, and of dealing with it in its due subjection to the Lord, becomes the pattern for wives towards their own husbands.
The phrase is broad. But it has one boundary, and the wording in Colossians shows where it lies.
There seems to be one limit to this statement. The words in Colossians show it: "Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord" (Col. 3:18). Suppose the husband's will interferes with the wife's own responsibility to the Lord. Suppose it clashes with the Lord's will as given in His word. If she must choose between obeying her husband and disobeying the Lord, then the Lord must have the supreme claim. With this one exception her submission to her husband must be complete.
Notice who receives which instruction. The command about subjection goes to one side only, and not to the side with authority.
Wives are told to submit to their husbands. Husbands are never pressed to keep their wives in subjection. The duty pressed on them is to love their wives.
Marriage carries marks of the fall. Yet the verse lifts it up, because of what it now pictures.
The subjection of the believer to the Lord, or of the Church to Christ, is no curse or bondage. These are now the models for the wife's subjection. She is to be subject to her own husband, "as to the Lord," and as "the Church is subject to Christ." How beautiful to see a human relationship turned into a picture of the mystery — and a relationship that draws part of its character from the fall! In that mystery God displays His "manifold wisdom" to "the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places."
- Pattern. The church's relation to Christ her Head sets the model for the wife's place.
- Position. Her subjection grows out of the place she holds, not out of a choice she makes. Take away the added word "let" and the verse reads as a plain statement of fact.
- Measure. The same comparison that commands her also guards her. It brings in Christ's own way of caring for the church as the pattern.
- Limit. "In everything" has one boundary. If obeying her husband would mean disobeying the Lord, the Lord comes first.
- Dignity. The pattern brings no bondage, but honour. A human marriage becomes a picture of the mystery in which God shows His wisdom to rulers in heaven.