I think at least every married Christian woman is familiar with what the S-word is: submission! But this word applies to far more than the married women…it is a mandate for both male and female, married and single, young and old. It is meant to be a haven for all who want to live a victorious and godly life. Tragically, its meaning has been distorted until it has become synonymous with defeat, danger and the ungodly use of authority.
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you (James 4:6-8, ESV).
Submission is a refuge that humbles and quiets us with its beauty. Here, the humble are graced as they bow to GOD, resist the devil, and watch him flee. With the tempter and accuser gone, they draw near to God and He draws near to them.
So, let’s look at submission as a framework for all Christians—and not just for women or for married couples. Consider this: the prefix sub means “under,” and mission is an assignment. Put them together, and we can draw a conclusion that submission means “under the assignment or mission.” Our original mission or assignment is found in the book of Genesis:
And God blessed them. (Male and Female) And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 1:28, ESV).
We all know The Fall messed up our original positions. All that was unified became divided, and all that was entrusted became tainted with sin and death. When God and his children were separated, dominion turned into domination on the man’s part and manipulation on the woman's part—and the battle of the sexes began. An orderly earth gave way to chaos as it fell prey to the aftermath of its guardian’s disobedience.
Jesus came to interrupt this destructive cycle: “...for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10, NKJV). Then he gave all Christians the assignment of doing the same.
Submission was never about disempowering women, men, children or church members. It is about God gracing the humble to carry out his mission throughout the earth.
