The greatest enemy of truth is tradition. The definition of a husband as a master and ruler is nothing but traditional and nullifies the image of God.
To rule is something that came in after the fall of man and not something God created at the beginning for man to rule the woman. (Genesis 3:16).
Ruling a woman is what a man under a curse does and that is why no marriage where the male thinks he has the right to rule a woman can thrive and reflect the image of Christ.
To insist that man is a master is to automatically place the wife as slave. That is an abomination of the highest order.
Several teaching go on to nullify the finished work of Christ that has redeemed men and women and made them one (Galatians 3:26-28).
Husband was translated from a hebrew word “baal” which was also the name of a foreign god who operated with dominance and hierarchy instead of mutual respect.
Christ’s coming has restored the original mutual respect that instead of “baal” that refers to master, we use “ishi” to mean husband. “Ishi” also means man, and man is nothing but the image of God and God does not dominate people or insist on being master.
That is a power problem the male is suffering from. Religion for centuries has claimed “love your wife like Christ loved the church” but turns around to suppress the very being the male claims to love.
Christ never suppresses the church with dominance and power. In the beginning God created equality as seen in Genesis 1:27-28.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
The power to dominate was not some special privilege for the male, but for the man, which man refers to both male and female, not male alone.
Male alone does not reveal the image of God, rather male and female. God created equality and fallen man established hierarchy in the marriage and it is the reason many marriages fail.
God has never ordained power to manage relationships. He has ordained love. In fact to build a relationship based on power is to establish idolatry and forced oppression towards the image of God in the female.
Its terrible that most Males want to build relationships based on power. They show off money, muscle, material things etc to prove they have power, and ignorant women fall for them.
The only time ignorant Males feel manhood is when they have power. Many think the only way to maintain this sense of power or dominance is to suppress the woman.
The problem is that religion has masked this hunger for power by twisting scripture to justify this idolatry and dominance over the image of God in the female.
It is heretic to teach that woman was not God’s original idea by twisting Genesis 1:31. But forgetting verse 27 and 28 that come before 31.
You go heretic when you do not understand the word “helper” as God mentioned it.
Additionally, we follow the example of submission that Christ set. Christ is equal with God the Father. Christ submitted Himself not because He was less but because He was equal.
A wife submits not because she is less but because she is equally strong. We submit one to another and submission is not gender sensitive but for anyone who believes in Christ as Lord.
It is important to understand that headship does not mean dominance or rank, but function. True headship is function not position or rank.
In Christ serving others is God’s measure of leading. It’s not a position. Any man who claims Jesus is Lord shall manifest leadership by serving. But oh, how the Male believes headship means to be served!
Any husband following Christ shall lead by serving his wife, not by demanding she serve him. His leadership is exhibited in his willingness to give up his agenda and take care of hers.
He lives for her. This, by the way, is exactly the behavioral expression of Jesus’ sacrifice for the Body. If leadership is service, then there is no room at all for dominance or hierarchy but two people who serve one another as evidence they love Jesus Christ.
I challenge all writers on marriage, and many more to understand that biblical authority is granted by another, not resident in the title or office of husband.
It is the voluntary submission of the wife that bestows authority upon the husband. Marriage is supposed to be a model of Christ’s relationship with the church.
Does Christ make the church obey Him? Is that the essence of love—to be told what to do? Is our relationship with Christ, one of compulsion rather than voluntary love?
Hey Male! Do you want a wife who desires to bless you or a wife who serves you because she has to? Most Males are now dealing with their wives in ignorance, yet the bible commands us to deal with them in knowledge.
A virtuous woman who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. She is competent in management, business and negotiations. Tough in dealing with hardships and circumstances. Powerful and accomplished, goal-setter, money manager. Praised leader.
Certainly not the “silent” woman of religious interpretations of God’s word.
Consider Deborah, Ruth, Jael who delivered Israel from destruction. Sheerah who built a city. Zipporah the wife of Moses and many more. This virtuous woman is loved and feared. She fulfills the purpose God has in mind when He built the Woman.
Written By Pr Cyrus Rod.
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Pr Cyrus Rod is the CEO and Founder of Cyrus Rod Ministries. He is also author of ‘Unlocking Marital Bliss‘, a resourceful and relevant book on marriage.
