Submit to One Another

Mutual Submission

(Ephesians 5:21)

The fundamental principle of interpersonal relationships that God has commanded for us in Christ is mutual submission. This principle must be upheld among members within the church, and furthermore, it must also be observed in relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and servants.

1. Respect and Submission
Mutual submission demands more than mutual respect. Respect involves considering others while still holding onto one’s own rights, but submission means relinquishing even those rights. While the word “submission” may carry a negative connotation, in reality, it is a fundamental principle that upholds the order of all existence and sustains life. No organization, including a nation, can be maintained if its members do not submit to authority. This is even more true for the church. Moreover, submission within the church is even more crucial because it directly impacts an individual’s eternal destiny.

2. The King’s Submission
The submission that God emphasizes is not one-sided but mutual. The ultimate model of mutual submission is found in the sacrificial life of Jesus Christ. As the King of the eternal kingdom, He is fully deserving of His people’s submission. Yet, instead, He submitted Himself to the happiness and joy of all His people. Through this, we received salvation, and now we live within the principle of mutual submission.

3. Those Who Submit to One Another
All Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit are those who submit. If a husband demands submission from his wife while harboring resentment and complaints, he is failing in his duty to submit to his wife’s happiness. Likewise, a wife should not feel discomfort about submitting to her husband. Submission in Christ is based on equality. Just as Christ, though equal with God, submitted to Him, a wife’s submission to her husband is not a matter of superiority or inferiority but a difference in function. It is rooted in the authority of submission that responds to Christ’s love.

Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim