Is Submission Degrading to Women? No!

Some people claim submission isn't biblical because it's degrading to women. They cite bad examples and insist it's an anti-woman plot of the “male patriarchy.”

Not true. God designed it at creation (1 Timothy 2:11-15). Nations, businesses, organizations, and churches need leadership to be effective—and so does the family. 

Husbands and wives are equals (Galatians 3:28), but God gave us different roles.

A wife can share advice, opinions, feelings, and desires. But the husband leads the family, so he makes the final decisions (1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 5:22-33, 1 Peter 3:1-7).  See Women's Intuition.

Because Scripture presents family structure as a picture of Christ's relationship with the church, we cannot claim it's “slavery,” “abuse,” or “subjugation” (Ephesians 5:25-32).

1 Corinthians 11:3 explains that the husband is the head of the wife and God the Father is the head of Christ. This proves that submitting doesn't make us inferior.

We don't demand leadership at work, Bible studies, or community groups. So why do we demand it in our homes?

How can we say submission is beneath us when we know that "Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant" (Philippians 2:5-11).

Christ submitted to save us. How can we think submission is below us?  

Note: Feminists sometimes claim that being man's "helpmate" (Genesis 2:18) is an inferior role. But the word used for helpmate (ezer) is also used for God as a helper to men. This is but another proof that submission is not demeaning or inferior.

Gain more insights from these resources:

Bible Org: What Do You Mean "Submit"?

Nancy Le DeMoss and John Piper: What Submission Means, podcast with transcript

Focus on the Family: Submission of Wives to Husbands

Ligonier Ministries: The Beauty of Submission in Marriage 

Bible Love Notes