1 Pet. 3:1-7; 5:5-7, Submission in Relationships (2)

upotagh: subjection (noun)

·       2 Cor. 9:13: subjection (obedience) to our confession of the gospel

·       Gal 2:5: Paul did not subject his truth to any false brothers.  Those “false brothers” were the Judaizers who exerted a lot of influence, and able to quote the OT in their defense.  But, of course, they omitted the NT truth in Christ.

·       1 Tim 2:11: women learn quietly w/submissiveness

·       1 Tim 3:4: bishop must keep children in subjection w/dignity

Area of subjection           Scriptures

• Child to parent                   Lk.2:51; Hb.12:9; 1Tim.3:4
• Wife to husband                Eph.5:22,24; Col 3:18; Tit 2:5; 1Pt.3:1,5
• Person to God                    Rom 8:7; 10:3; James 4:7
• Citizen to government      Rom 13:1-7; Tit 3:1; I Pt 2:13
• Women in church              I Cor 14:34; I Tim 2:11
• Church to leadership         I Cor 16:16; I Pt 5:5
• Each believer to the other Eph 5:21; I Pt 5:5
• Slaves to masters              Tit 2:9; I Pt 2:18
• All things to Christ           I Co 15:27f; Ep 1:22; 5:24; Ph 3:21; Hb.2:5-9; I Pt 3:22

Jesus, in Matt. 28:16-20, said that all authority was given to Him, given by the Father.  God is the source of all authority.  He gave authority to Mankind in the Garden, authority to have dominion over the rest of creation.  He also granted authority to governments, church leadership, and husbands and parents in the home as well as to masters in the workplace.  If all authority has been given to Christ, then all these lesser authorities exist because of Christ.  Not only are those under authority to be submissive, those given authority are to exercise that authority. 

Another thing we learn about these relationships is that “authority” is not synonymous with “domination.”  By “domination” I am referring to the sinful exercise of authority referred to in Gen. 3:16 with God’s curse on the woman: she would sinfully desire her husband’s authority and he would rule over her.  The “rule” is not the proper term of “ruling one’s household” but is an oppressive rule.  The words “desire” and “rule” are used together in the next chapter (4:7): sin lies at the door.  And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.  The authorities God has put in place are there for the good of family and society.  A good illustration is Joseph in the OT.  God promised that he would rule over his family.  The brothers resisted that “rule” (Gen. 37:8).  But in the end Joseph saw that his “rule” was God’s means of preserving the entire family (45:4-8).  The authority/submission relationships are the results of God’s wisdom and goodness.