As unto the Lord

Ephesians 5:
22Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

23For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

24Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

Key concepts from Pastor Allen's exposition of this passage:

1. This principle is reflective of God's principle of orderliness: the Trinity governs creation, husbands lead their own wives; governments serve their citizens (who in turn obey they laws), etc.
2. This submission is different from the "pecking order" of the natural world, itself a reflection of the Fall (power struggle for supremacy and unlawful imposition of one will over amother's rights) rather than God's orderly design.
3. A wife's submission to her husband is a reflection of her faith in God; she submits "as to the Lord."
4. It was necessary for Pault to say these things, because the Fall has fostered all manner of rebellion and its glorifcation on earth.
5. Biblical submission is an act of love, reverence, deference, devotion, and joyful obedience.