A Biblical View of Submission

Christian Discipleship Series, #17

What does it mean for a Christian to submit? The Bible says to "submit to God" (James 4:7); "submit to one another" (Ephesians 5:21); "wives submit to your husbands" (Colossians 3:18); "younger men submit to your elders" (1 Peter 5:5); "servants submit to your masters" (1 Peter 2:18); and "everyone submit to the governing authorities" (Romans 13:1). Although these are all different situations, the same Greek word hypotasso is used in each case. Therefore, in order to accurately understand what submit means in each situation, we must examine the individual context in which the Greek word hypotasso is used. Otherwise, when we read the Scriptures and come across the word "submit," we may not understand what kind and level of submission the verse is describing. This eBooklet focuses on two types of Christian submission: 1) a wife's submission to her husband, and 2) the saints' submission to their church leaders. Both these forms of submission are "internal" to the household of God; that is, ideally in both cases, the one receiving submission and the one giving submission is born again and belongs to the family of God. Grievously, however, corrupt men under the guise of Christianity have distorted the Biblical truth about Christian submission and misused their authority: 1) as husbands to subjugate, oppress and abuse Christian women, and 2) as pastors to control, manipulate and defraud Christian men and women. We pray this eBooklet provides Scriptural clarity on the truth about submission, and sets Christians of every race and gender free from the oppression of sin and sinful men.