Chapter Five Headship and Submission

Headship and Submission

1 Cor. 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Eph. 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body.

This is a topic that will take more than one post to look into. Here again there are treasures to be found and beauty that has too often been hidden by the enemy of our souls. Satan does not want us to find this treasure that God has for us to enjoy. He has been very busy endeavoring to keep God's people blinded and deceived. However, I have a feeling that many who read this, may be pleasantly surprised as we remove the covering Satan has placed over the truth. He is the deceiver of the world, but our Savior has defeated him by his death and resurrection!

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: …

This is a new day; a day the Lord has made and it is a day for rejoicing in the God of our salvation! Get ready then, to begin to pull out treasures from the treasure chest of God's precious Word! Get ready to receive them as your own! Get ready for joy and blessing!

In this first part on the topic of headship and submission, we will look primarily at the relationship of God the Father and God the Son. God is, of course our highest example of all that is good and perfect. And as the scriptures above tell us, God is the 'head' of Christ. So let's take a look at what their relationship looks like, before we go on to a closer look at that of the husband and wife.

Here again is an amazingly beautiful picture. Think carefully about the picture that is being painted and take in the wonder and beauty of it all!

First consider that ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD' OF CHRIST YET -
They are ONE. Jesus said -

John 10:30 I and my Father are one.

Likewise we are told of the man and woman -

Matt.19:4-6 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made then male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.

So whereas the marriage was to be a reflection or likeness of God, so the husband and wife were to be one, as they are one. This then, is a good place to look at how this role of headship is played out.

ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD' OF CHRIST -
They remain unified. THEY ARE ONE!

ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD' OF CHRIST -
They have close communication.  It would seem that what Jesus did on earth, had already been agreed on before he ever came to earth to accomplish it. Christ was not merely responding to spontaneous orders from his 'head', that he had no idea were coming.

Genesis1:26 And God (which is in the Hebrew, elohym, the plural of elowahh, meaning God) said, Let us (plural) make man in our (plural) image, after our likeness: and let them (plural) have dominion  …

So God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who are united, (See Deut. 6:40) each a part of the other and making up the one and only true God, were in agreement when the decision was made to create man in their image. And according to Revelation 13:8 the decision was made, that Christ would be slain for our salvation, even before the earth was formed.

Revelation 13:8 … the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

So we see Christ, being in on the decision to create man in God's image and knowing it would mean his being slain for our salvation, before the world was made. John tells us that Christ was in on the creation. The Bible tells us that Christ, who was one with the Father, who was God himself, did the work of creation.

ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD' OF CHRIST -
Christ was our creator!


John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.

So although God is the head of Christ, they were unified. And it would appear that they had been in agreement on what was going to be done before it was done. And Christ himself made everything that was made!

ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD' OF CHRIST -
They are so unified that to know one is to know the other! Jesus said  -

John 14:6&7 Jesus saith unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: ...

John 14:9 … he that hath see me hath seen the Father; …

Wouldn't it be something if you knew that when a person knew you, they also knew your husband, and vice versa, because you were so much a unified part of each other?

ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD' OF CHRIST -
Yet Christ was not inferior to his head!

Colossians 2:9 For in him (speaking of Jesus) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

Jesus lacked nothing! He had the power and might of the God that he was. Yet he was willing to put that aside to take on human flesh in order to pay the penalty for our sins. While in human form, we might say that the Father 'had his back' or more precisely that he went before him as his head, to guard and protect, guide and strengthen him as he partook of our humanity! Not because he did not have all the fullness of the Godhead already. But because he had been willing to lay all that aside to step into our situation and redeem us; to give birth to children of the kingdom of God!

It is not that the woman lacks anything, but she chooses, for example, to lay herself on the line for those she loves. This is seen in childbearing, mothering and being a wife; a helpmate to her husband. She gets down where the children are to minister to their needs in every way. She takes them to her breast and her body works to provide life giving nutrition. She feeds, diapers, teaches and comforts. But while she is doing so, her 'head' is to be a protective covering for her, as the Father was for the Son.

Philippians 2:5-7 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal to God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD OF CHRIST -
Christ did not think he was taking anything away from the Father by being equal to him, but he chose to take on the form of a servant for our sakes.

What was the Father's response to this?

ALTHOUGH HE WAS THE 'HEAD' -
Was his response to take advantage of Christ and make a show of his subservient position? Not at all!

Philippians 2:9 - 11 Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven , and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

These are awesome verses! They tell us that the 'head' of Christ, highly exalted him because he had been willing to set aside his high position, to save man and birth children for God. They also tell us that exalting Christ, brought glory to the Father!

Would it not be a wonderful blessing, if a husband were to honor his wife in such a way, when she had been willing to give respect and honor to the 'head' God had given her; as she laid down her life, not only to birth and raise children of her husband, but also to be a partner and help meet for him? If he were to lift her up to such a position of honor, it would actually bring honor to himself. When others saw the excellent wife he had, it would bring honor to him!

ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD' OF CHRIST -
He demands that we obey, worship and honor his Son!

ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD' OF CHRIST -
God never left him alone! They were always in communication!  

John 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
John 5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

While in the form of a man, Jesus followed the leading of his Father and did what he showed him to do. This required constant communication. He did not seek glory for himself.

John 8:50 And I seek not mine own glory: ...

ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD' OF CHRIST -
Christ still had authority and power!

Mark 1:22 … he taught them as one that had authority, …
Mark 1:27 … with authority commandeth he even unclean spirits, and they obey him.
Matthew 28: 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying. All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Notice the word 'given'. Jesus had been willing to make himself a servant, but he was 'given' all power!

ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD' OF CHRIST and Jesus came in his Father's name (John 5:43) -
It was in Jesus' name that salvation would come to us!

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Looking at how the Father and Son functioned together, with God being the 'head' of Christ, we can see something both interesting and beautiful. It demonstrated a true love relationship. And isn't that what we desire the most in a marital union; the ultimate love relationship?

ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD' OF CHRIST-
He gave All things to his Son!

John 3:35 The father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

Yes - ALTHOUGH GOD IS THE 'HEAD' OF CHRIST - 
He trusted him enough to give everything over into his hands.
He had confidence in his heart and his ability to handle things as He himself would want it done!


So as we look at the relationship of Christ and his 'head', we see God the Father sending his Son to earth for the salvation of mankind and to restore them to himself. We see the Son being in agreement with the Father before the foundation of the world. We see him willingly setting aside his position and reputation to take on the role of servant and being obedient to his Father to the point of death.

Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Notice the word 'became'. This was a choice. He and his Father had always been one, but he was willing to become a man, begotten of the Father and to obey him!

We see Christ passing all glory upwards to his Father and the Father in turn raising him up to a position of glory and honor, to the extent that every knee would bow to him, in heaven, earth and beneath the earth. And so much more are we able to see, that it may well be worth the time, for you to ponder these things and consider the depth and power and intensity of such a relationship, before we go on to look at the headship and submission in the marital union of husband and wife.

Soak in a bit of the beauty already seen in these scriptures and prepare to be blessed abundantly in the next part of our study, that hopefully will meet you where your heart is!