BIBLICAL SUBMISSION: To voluntarily place oneself under the Lordship of Jesus Christ so that He may live out His life in and through us, using our endowed gifts and talents to be a blessing to others, and thus establishing His Kingdom, His will and purposes on earth.

• Definition of God's Blessings: To be endowed with power; given the ability to succeed, to experience the abundant life in spirit, mind, emotions and body.
• Ephesians 5:21-23 : It is the duty of all to submit one to another, but it is a special duty of the wife to submit to her husband-not as a slave to him, but as a slave to Christ, submitting as an expression of her submission to the Lord-not for man's sake, but for the Lord's
• Genesis 1:26 : Man was created first, made a lord of creation, put into position of leadership, authority and power to make decisions and rulings.
• 1 Peter 3:7 : Because of his role, man was made physically stronger to equip him to guard, protect, honor and respect his wife. As head of the wife, and the head of the family, God endowed man with faculties and powers to fulfill his responsibilities.
• Genesis 2:23-24 : God made woman to "complement" man, to make up a "deficiency" in man. Man is not only responsible for himself, but for his wife, for his family, and in all ultimate matters. Therefore, man needs help. His wife is to support him, to aid him in everything, to encourage, to exhort, and to console him, thus enabling him to function effectively as the lord of creation. God placed man into this position, this is not man's idea.
• 1 Timothy 2:11-15 ; Genesis 3:16 : Authority usurped, placed self into leadership. After the fall, woman's subordination to man increased.
• 1 Corinthians 11:3 : We are dealing with God's order of creation, not equality of man and woman. Order of creation is God's plan, not man's. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are co-eternal. But for the purpose of salvation, the Son subordinated Himself to the Father and the Holy Spirit to the Son and to the Father. Likewise, we are to be of the same spirit, fulfilling our roles in order to be the church, to bring forth salvation. Therefore, a woman voluntarily subordinates herself in order to complete man, to comfort, to strengthen, to encourage, to bring forth purposes of salvation. Man is to forsake his own interests in order to meet the needs of his wife.

ISSUE OF AUTHORITY: ERA, unisex, feminism, the aggressiveness of woman challenges God's plan of creation. Today, there is the problem of authority. People are losing respect. Loss of respect really starts in the home, in the marriage relationship. The family is the center of life and of society in order to perpetuate God's plan, the order of creation, the principles of authority and submission in order to bring about salvation for mankind.

ORDER OF CREATION: God ordered and ordained wives to submit to husbands to be the head of the wife as Jesus is the head of the church.
NOTE: Sin started with satan challenging God's authority. Thus, original sin is being independent of God and being one's own god, which is rebellion; rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.

• Ephesians 1:19 : The greatness of His power is in us to bring about an organic and vital union and intimate relationship in the church body.
• Ephesians 4:16 : One aspect of this union is the role of the wife depending upon and supporting the husband, causing growth of the body, the union, building up itself in love. This is the true nature of the Christian marriage-each building the other in love. It is one life, the same way as the life of the church in her relationship to the head which is Christ. Therefore, via dependence and submission, life is flowing. Dependence is related to submission necessitating a spirit of humility-each meeting the needs of the other. An independent spirit stops the life flow. Just as Christ nourishes and cherishes the church, so does the husband nourish and cherish his wife. Thus, as the wife submits, she gives life to her husband which enables him to keep, preserve, guard and shield his wife. To do otherwise is self-defeating.
• Genesis 2:22-24 : Woman was taken out of man, to be a helpmeet, to complement, to make up the wholeness and completeness of the body.
• 1 Corinthians 12:25 ; Romans 12:14-17 : The wife is to husband what the body is to the head, what the church is to Christ. It is an organic, vital unity. Husband and wife are not two kingdoms related by a treaty, in s state of tension, subject to quarrels. The wife is never to be guilty of action independent of the husband, else chaos and confusion will result. The wife must not act before the husband. The initiative and leadership are ultimately the husband's, but the actions must always be coordinated. Coordinated action brings about "one flesh" wholeness and completeness which is to be demonstrated to the world.
• 1 Corinthians 12:25-27 : As the church does in respect to the Lord, wife does to the husband, manifesting the essential spirit of Christianity, building up one another in love. Each family is a unit, learning and training to build selves up in love, serving as examples to others, and helping other families.

PERSPECTIVES

• Ezekiel 18:20 ; John 16:8 : As the church is to Christ, so the wife is to her husband, that nobody should act against his or her conscience. Each is accountable for his or her own moral actions and each is subject to the Holy Spirit. Scripture exhorts us to obey conscience in all circumstances, but that is not the same thing as holding on to your own opinion. It is easy to confuse one with the other. The husband is not to force his opinions, which opinions need not be accepted by the wife. The wife is not to submit to her husband to the extent that this interferes with her relationship to God and Jesus.
• 1 Peter 3:1-5 : The wife can give her opinion, but if the husband is stubborn, she should abide by his ruling. To maintain peace and gentleness, the wife may go to the extreme, sacrificing self for Christ's sake, short of violating God's principles.

HOMEWORK:

¨ Memory/Meditation Verse: Ephesians 4:22-24

¨ Read and Study Unit 2 in "Strengthening Your Marriage," pages 19-25. The husband and wife should do this together, if possible.

¨ BSAF: Select your own verses from this sheet and do a BSAF on at least three verses.

¨ VOSWS: Make a log-list of respective failures with a view of working through the worksheet.

Homework

Memory/Meditation verse :

Ephesians 4:22-24 .

Devotions :

Read and Study Unit 2 in "Strengthening Your Marriage," pages 19-25. The husband and wife should do this together, if possible

BSAF:

Select your own verses from this sheet and do a BSAF on at least three verses.

VOSWS:

Make a log-list of respective failures with a view of working through the worksheet.

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