[Greek] ὑποτάσσω (hypotassō), [Latin] subdare, [Latin] subicere, [French] soumettre, [French] obeir, [Latin] obtemperare, [Latin] humilitas: to be subject to, to submit, to be obedient, to bring under control, to put onself under; 49 scriptures
Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body reflects on God’s design for the masculine and female bodies.
Background information:
Greek Hellenism: This term means to place under, to subordinate, to subdue, to be obedient, to underlie, and to put after.
Polybius’ Histories 3.36.7: The next is to arrange the several parts of the globe according to these points, and always to refer in thought, any place mentioned to one or other of them.”
Polybius’ Histories 3.13.8: “By a liberal treatment of the forces under his command, he established an excellent feeling toward himself in the army.”
Old Testament: This term means to subdue, to threaten, to subject, to keep under, to serve, to revere, to lay upon, and to conquer.
“The Lord God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him.” Gen.2:18
A marital hierarchy was introduced at creation, where the husband was to lovingly exercise authority over his wife and the wife was to respectively submit to her husband.
[Hebrew] ezer neged (suitable helper): The Hebrew ezer means helper, frequently used for God as a helper to man. This term does not suggest helper as a servant or inferior. The Hebrew neged means suitable. This term refers to a suitable rescuer or protector.
“To the woman [Eve] He said: I will intensify your toil in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” Gen.3:16
The punishment of Adam and Eve from the garden serves only to reinforce the woman’s relationship with her husband. Hierarchy between the sexes comes from God’s creation order, not the fall.
New Testament: This term means to be obedient, to be subject, to submit, and to subject. Examples include: Jesus being obedient, demons/hostility being subject to God, creation subject to God, Israel not subject to righteousness, respecting higher authorities, women being subordinate, and marriage relationships. For purposes of brevity, I will focus on human relationships:
1Cor.14:34: Women should be subordinate, as even the law says
Eph.1:22: Christ puts Himself as head of the Church
Eph.5:21: Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Col.3:18: Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord
Tit.2:5: [Women]: be self-controlled, chaste, good homemakers, under the control of their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited
1Pet.3:1: Wives should be subordinate to your husbands, even if they disobey the word, that they may be won over by their wives’ conduct
1Pet.3:5: For this is how holy women who hoped in God once used to adorn themselves and were subordinate to their husbands
Husband and wife: The husband and wife each have an individual sub-mission (smaller mission) to serve each other and to be a gift to each other. The husband serves, protects, and cares (lays down his life) for his wife like Christ serves His Church. The wife serves (nurtures) her husband by allowing him to lay down his life for her like the Church serves Christ.
Obedience: “Houston, how can we solve the problem?” Gender Ideology
As a society we need to step back and understand that man and women are suited for each other. We must celebrate the complementarity between man. Man is more object-driven, while woman is more relationship-driven. (And that is a very good thing).
I submit to you: God knew exactly what He was doing in only creating the masculine and feminine! We need to stop having this “thinking we know best” attitude and submit to His wisdom.
What is a woman? (Feminine Genius): A woman is called to be a mother, sometimes in body, always in soul. A woman is called to be a gift to nourish and nurture life all around us, to encourage, affirm, teach, welcome and pay attention to every person God sends our way. A woman is complementary to the man.
What is a man? (Masculine Genius): A man is called to do (work), externalizing his surroundings. A man is called to be a gift, to care for and lay down his life for the other. A man is complementary to the woman.
How can we solve the problem? One must first stop denying the reality that God created only two genders: male and female. One must understand the physical and psychological consequences of undermining, changing, blurring, redefining, and sterilizing gender. One must understand the enormous moral consequences of acting like God (knowing better than anyone else, “being any gender I want to be”.
I think that each of one us could easily imagine Satan, hiding in the background, saying, “Many of you are really taking to heart these thoughts and ideas I am planting into your heads. Keep up the good work! I am on my way to undermining man (and woman’s) relationship with God.
Instead, one must have humility in understanding the magnitude and gravity of this existential problem!
Etymology: The Greek verb hypotasso means to obey, to place (-tasso) under (hypo-). The Latin verb subdare means to place under. The Latin verb subicere means to throw under. The French verb soumettre means to submit to. The Latin verb obtemperare means to obey: (to show restraint (-tempero) against (ob-).
Conclusion:
Subdue, subject, subjection, temper, temperate, humility, humiliation, submit, submission, obey
In the Old Testament, God creates a nurturing and supporting female partner who is sexually complimentary to her husband.
‘Names written in heaven’ refers to the symbolic reference to the list of God’s faithful people.
1Cor.14:34: We all must acknowledge there existed a patriarchal society in early Christianity.
Rom.8:18-20: The future eternal glory far exceeds the sufferings of the present life.
Rom.10:3: Israel does not recognize (submit itself) to Christ as the Messiah
1Pet.3:1: It seems that throughout history that the wife often needs to set a good example for her husband.
1Pet.3:5: It is very interesting that a woman’s excessive adorning herself for her husband also becomes a form of subjection. Instead, one is called to cultivate one’s interior life, not on external appearances. (Women and girls: great cosmetics advice!) ☺☺☺ This feeds into our society’s preoccupation (both sexes) with physical looks (attractiveness.)
[Greek fun fact: The Greek verb kosmeo (to adorn) ==>cosmetic]
Update: Many of us do not realize that gender ideology seeks to upend and destroy God’s designs for the masculine and feminine gender.
Submitting to God’s will ensures happiness (since God know us better than we know ourselves). Doing whatever we want cannot always assure this happiness
Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body reflects on God’s design for the masculine and feminine body.
Many of us need to mindful that we cannot and should act like God in determining gender, redefining marriage, and killing the unborn (abortion).
Many of us need to mindful of the consequences of “doing whatever we want” and “thinking we know better”.
Perhaps more and more women are realizing that there could be something behind this “trad-wife” phenomenon, not realizing that this practice has been going for countless generations throughout history.
And yet we now have modern feminism advocating that women both despise men and to be like men (which is not attractive to men, duh!). Now many women find themselves alone “hitting the wall”.
“The truth is, if we don’t learn to submit to authority, we won’t ever learn to submit to God.” Joyce Meyer
Next post: God is the perfect poet!