Becoming His Help Meet Week 4

This week I am covering the word submission. The idea sounded simple enough, and then I began to study and dig a little lot deeper.

I started where I always do, looking up the word submit in the good ole Merriam-Webster.
                                    Submit-to yield to governance or authority, to yield oneself to the authority                                         or will of another.
This sounds simple enough to me. However, I went deeper. I wanted to get to the root of this word in the scripture from Ephesians 5:22 where wives are told to submit to their husbands as the church does to the Lord. 
I did a few parallels and found that most every translation is worded the same. They just seem to use submit and be subject interchangeably.  
Next, I decided to dive-in head first. I found the original Greek. (deep breath)

 I am new to studying scripture this way.

 I am embarrassed to tell you that I have never dug this deep until this study.

 I am learning a whole new way to look at things.

 I am also learning that prayer and being lead by the Spirit is incredibly important when conducting studies of this magnitude. 

That being said, please stay with me. 

If you do see anything in my writing that you feel is error,

 please do not hesitate to contact me.

 I am humble enough to know that I am a baby in this area. 

Okay, now on with my findings...

       In Ephesians 5:22 the Greek word for subject or submit is hupotasso: hupo-under tasso-arrange in an orderly manner. This a military term used to explain troops under their commander. In Greek the verse reads slightly different than our translations. The literal translation is:     

The wives to their husbands as to the Lord. 

as the church is subject to Christ, 

so also the wives to their husbands in everything.

The word as is the Greek adverb hos- in the same manner as.

I found all my information here!

There are several commentators on this site and they all explained things basically the same way. I will try to give a brief summary:

The word submission is used throughout the Bible to all Christians. It is a command. However, it is also a voluntary act. We have to make that choice to follow God's command in this. We are told to submit or place ourselves under our husbands not as a belittling command, but as an act of putting things in order. (even though we are 'one' Gen 2:24) Jesus submitted to His Father, though they were one in the same. The Bible also says in verse 21 of Ephesians 5 for Christians to submit themselves one to another. 

Basically, submission should be a more common term used and practiced by Christians, both men and women. It is an act of humbling ourselves. Romans 12:3 puts it this way:

"For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."

As I have gone back through this study, I have learned a few things that I had missed in my previous studies. I think that is the awesome part of God's Word, you never stop learning about any one subject.

I pray that you are being encouraged by this study the same way that I am. I am going to continue to make Tuesday Tidbits all about marriage and the challenge that we have to be better wives to our husbands. 

Blessings,

Michelle