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"Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ" (Ep.5:21). This has become a favourite verse for many preachers who want to nullify the teaching of the Bible that says, "Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord" (v.22). They say that based on v.21, it is a mutual subjection that is required, e.g., husbands to their wives too! They also point out that v.22 in the original Greek does not have the phrase 'be subject', and that therefore, there is really no instruction for wives to be subject to their husbands! Some people are going to be very thrilled by this teaching! But what does the Bible really say?

Read it together. "Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ, wives, to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church." The wife is not the head of the husband, or the church the head of Christ! So, haven't we been wrongly extending the meaning of v.21? The proper understanding is that there are different situations in life where we have to be subject one to another. And then it goes on to take specific examples of wives to husbands, children to the parents, and servants to masters. Nobody has so far interpreted it to say that masters must submit to the servants and parents to the children also!

Wives and husbands are equally important to God, and one is not inferior to the other, but both have different functions and roles. Having accepted that, God has placed certain hierarchies and subsequent authorities among us so that life can go on smoothly. Clarity about the order of authority in every situation is needed to avoid confusion about who is in charge. The other side of authority is responsibility. For example, it is not for husbands to treat their wives without any respect because if anything goes wrong, he is the one to be held responsible. Knowing that men may have a tendency to misuse their authority, God particularly instructs them to love their wives, as Christ with the church.

The teaching of egalitarian marriages has come up from the pressure of society to oblige the feminists, and also because many husbands have abused their wives. But the question is, should we take the Bible as the inspired word of God and follow its teachings, or adapt what we will apply depending on the current mood of society? Yes, understanding the culture in the times of the authors of the Bible and the present will be helpful in understanding the application, but do we have the right to adapt God's word according to our times, throwing out what is not convenient, what society will frown upon, and accepting only things that will cause no offence? Don't we have to stay true to what God says, unperturbed by opposition by people around us? It appears that such voices of those who are willing to be pleasing to God at the cost of ridicule from others is fading down. May we remain faithful to the Bible which we claim as being inspired!

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