«　WEEK 7　DAY 3　»

　　Phil. 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross.

　　Eph. 5:22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord.

　　1 Pet. 3:5 For in this manner formerly the holy women also, who hoped in God, adorned themselves, being subject to their own husbands.

　　Ephesians 5 first exhorts the wife. Verse 24 is directed at the sisters, and verse 25 is directed at the brothers….Verse 24 says, “Let the wives be subject to their husbands in everything.” If a sister wants to be married and she comes to me and asks, “Should I marry a certain person?” I will surely answer, “Can you be subject to him?” If you cannot be subject to him, you are not qualified to marry him. You can only marry him if you can submit to him. If you have never intended to submit to him in your heart, you should not be his wife and should not marry him…. Marrying a person means that you are willing to offer yourself up and say, “I am willing to submit.” (CWWN, vol. 38, p. 525)

　　The first function of the sisters is to be submissive. This does not involve the doing of any kind of work, but it is a real function. Being submissive is much greater than any kind of doing. If the sisters are submissive, they are doing the greatest thing in the world. This is the greatest function on the side of the sisters. First Corinthians 11:3 says, “Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.” In this verse we can see the divine order. However, in the entire world today, in every country, in all the schools, and in all the homes, what we see is not order and submission but rebellion upon rebellion. The entire world is rebellious toward God. The world is like a stormy ocean full of the winds of rebellion. In the church the situation should not be like this. The church is God’s chosen vessel to bear a testimony to the universe that is absolutely different from the world. The church is sanctified, separated from the course of the world and from the current of the age. As the church we are not in the flow of the world but in the flow of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1). In the local churches as the local expressions of the Body of Christ, there should be genuine submission.

　　To be submissive requires the supply of life, the enjoyment of grace, the working of the cross, and the denial of the self. We should never try to be submissive by our self. We should consecrate ourselves to the Lord not to do a work for the Lord but simply to be submissive. If the sisters take care of this one matter of being submissive, the church will be strengthened, enriched, and renewed. If the sisters in a local church are submissive, the church will be strong, living, rich, and prevailing. It is much more prevailing for the sisters to be submissive than for them to do any kind of work. This is the first lesson the sisters need to learn. This does not mean that there is no need for the sisters to fellowship with the church, but the sisters must know that their position and standing are to be submissive. (CWWL, 1968, vol. 1, pp. 83-85)

　　Salvation not only brings joy; it also brings submission. If a man is only for joy, his experiences will not be abundant. Only submissive ones will experience the fullness of salvation. Otherwise, we change the nature of salvation. We need to be submissive, even as the Lord was submissive. The Lord became the source of our salvation through obedience. God saved us with the hope that we would submit to His will. When one meets God’s authority, submission is a simple matter, and knowing God’s will is also a simple matter, because the Lord, who was submissive throughout His life, has already given us His life of submission. (CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” p. 146)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1968, vol. 1, pp. 83-86; CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” ch. 5