Submission by Eve || Punishable by Eve || Week 3

Welcome back to “Punishable by God,” a series diving deeper into the consequences God gave to the snake, Eve, and Adam in the Garden of Eden. 

Over the last two weeks, we looked at the consequences given to the snake, or Satan. We discussed the depth of God’s anger and how God uses it in a corrective rather than a punishing nature. We also discussed what the new Eden would look like in a peaceful with all beings getting along and the snake’s defeat. We changed gears and discussed the importance of the truths behind God’s teachings through Jesus. This principle led some believers to fact-check Paul and Barnabas because false teachers were teaching the Bible wrongly. We wrapped up by sharing that our heart posture dictates how we live using the example of how Jesus lived.

This week is a doozy of a message. We’re looking at the consequences of Eve and how it’s reflected throughout the Bible. I’ve learned A LOT about submission and gained much understanding regarding the contexts of these scriptures that get misinterpreted and misused today. This message may be three separate messages depending on how long I get because the scriptures used are long, deep, and full of crucial information about equality, in my opinion. All of this stems from one verse. Genesis 3:16 says this:

16 Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

Let’s get into this!

The Head Leads the Body

Our first scripture is 1 Corinthians 11:2-6, where Paul shares instructions for public worship to the church. Here’s what he says: 

2 I am so glad that you always keep me in your thoughts, and that you are following the teaching I passed on to you. 

3 But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 

4 A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. 

5 But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. 

6 Yes, if she refused to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.

I highlighted verse 3 because that’s where we see our first troubled scripture when taken out of context. Let’s break down the three concepts listed here: 

• “The head of every man is Christ.” This line is a reminder that Christ is the ultimate authority over every man and every person. 
• “The head of woman is man.” This line IS NOT saying that men should be in control of women. Paul says this to correct some misunderstandings related to worship that the Corinthian women engaged in. We’ll talk about this in a moment.
• “The head of Christ is God.” This line is about Jesus. Paul says that because Jesus came to earth, we receive forgiveness and become united with God and each other.

Let’s gain the bigger context of this verse with the entirety of this passage. 

Wearing hats or head coverings had become a HUGE problem because two cultural backgrounds collided. The Jewish women always wore head coverings in worship. For a woman to publicly uncover her head was a sign of loose morals. Greek women, however, may have been used to worshipping without head coverings. With this in mind, Paul believed his solution came from his want for unity among church members and for appropriateness in worship services. 

Paul did not say this to provide commentary on marriage or women’s roles in the church. His focus, while cultural, was on respect for one’s spouse, reverence and appropriateness in worship, and keeping God at the center of our lives. Paul said this to women because it could keep the congregation from dividing over a petty issue that took people’s minds off Christ.

So, what’s the critical thing Paul is focusing on here? Submission. Submission isn’t surrender, withdrawal, or apathy. It’s not inferiority either because God created all people in his image, and all have equal value. Submission between equals is about submission by choice, not by force. Note that equal doesn’t mean “same.” All people are of different types physically, emotionally, romantically, socially, economically, etc. Yet, we are all equal as children of God. We are all human, so how we treat our relationships should be made with commitment and cooperation. God created submission in specific relationships to prevent chaos. He didn’t make one superior to the other; he made way for husbands and wives to work together. 

Jesus submitted to God to carry out the plan for submission. Man submits to Jesus as a way to replicate that. A wife submits to her husband’s leadership for the sake of marriage and family, as the husband submits to the wife, but we’ll talk about that in the next section. This concept of husband and wife submission considers a patriarchal household and gender stereotypes, so how can we apply this in a 2023 context? Marriage requires sacrifice between both individuals. Life can’t go on as it was in singleness for each person after marriage because there is someone that you are devoted to for the rest of your life. You are sacrificing parts of your social life, finances, and even dreams of making the relationship or marriage work. In a relationship, you become committed to the other person and have the goal of cooperation to make the relationship last. 

So often, I’ve seen 1 Corinthians 11:3 used as a way of putting women down and for the man to be the overbearing, controlling, and potentially abusive partner. This verse isn’t about that at all. This mindset wasn’t the focus of what Paul was saying. This verse was about helping the Corinth church focus on their worship. One could argue that Paul included a mindset of a patriarchal system, and I could see that. The important thing is to understand the intention while acknowledging the background of how Paul grew up, what his knowledge base was, and what made sense to teach to others during this time. It may not align with how the world and culture are in 2023, but it aligned with the Corinth church in the first century. 

Let’s continue to the next section. 

A Spirit-Led Relationship

Our next section of scripture is Ephesians 5:21-30. We will hear Paul share what a spirit-led relationship looks like between man and wife. 

21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 

23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. 

24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. 

25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her

26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 

27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. 

29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. 

30 And we are members of his body.

So, again we see the act of submission taken outside of the context God created it for. Paul is showing a higher standard that marriage should strive for. Paul saw marriage as a picture of the relationship between Jesus and the church. It was something new and good that was happening. Marriage, for Paul, was a holy union, a living symbol, a special relationship that needs tender, self-sacrificing care. Submission in marriage should be the same as how Jesus submitted his will to God. We can honor Jesus by following his example. In marriage, husbands, wives, and partners should mutually submit to each other. For one, it could be following alongside the other’s leadership in Christ which was typical for the wife during this time. For the other, it can mean putting aside their interests to care for and serve the other, which was typical for the husband during this time. 

Why did Paul say this about men and women? Christian women may have found this concept of submission difficult. They had new freedoms through Christ and in Christ. Remember the battle that was going on in the Corinth church that I mentioned earlier? The same battle could have been happening in the church in Ephesus. There is something that Paul tells Timothy, the new pastor in Ephesus, that reinforces this, which we’ll discuss in the next section. It could also have been that Christian men didn’t know or feel comfortable treating their wives with respect and love. Roman culture allowed unlimited power for the head of the family, leading to more than enough power-crazy men controlling their family unit. Unfortunately, we still see issues like this in today’s culture. Power-hungry, controlling, and abusive men still lead their wives and families. Taking Ephesians 5:22 out of the context, Paul intended this for reinforce the credibility of these men to get away with things. Different denominations still have a hard time allowing freedom for women with the leadership in the church. Equal cooperation and commitment between men and women are still as prevalent today as in the first century, just in a new context. 

A wise and Christ-honoring partner wouldn’t take advantage of or abuse their significant other. There wouldn’t be any undermining in the relationship. Paul wants each person to submit to each other by choice. Doing this by choice preserves order and harmony in families while increasing love and respect among family members. If there is love, security, and proper treatment in the relationship, then typically, submitting to each other isn’t a problem. 

There’s one more section I want to discuss. 

Questionable Guidance for Today’s Time

There’s a reason this section is titled as it is. Please read 1 Timothy 2:8-15 and take it at face value, and reflect on how you think this would fly in churches today. Here’s what it says: 

8 In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy. 

9 And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. 

10 For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. 

11 Women should learn quietly and submissively.

12 I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly. 

13 For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. 

14 And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result. 

15 But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.

Yeah. At face value, this wouldn’t fly in most modern-day churches and societies. So, what is Paul trying to tell Timothy here? First, let’s talk about the context of history and culture. 

In the first-century Jewish culture, women weren’t allowed to study. Paul offers women the chance to learn quietly and submissively. NOTE: submissively refers to having an attitude of respect and composure, not in total silence. What Paul did was a significant change in learning God’s word. He even acknowledges that women publicly prayed and prophesied. The women at Paul’s church in Ephesus were abusing their new Christian freedom. Since they were new, they needed to gain the experience, knowledge, or maturity to teach those receiving an extensive scriptural education. It’s fair to ensure that those teaching about scripture has the proper knowledge and maturity to teach a community of people. Experience comes with practice, but my point still stands.

The focus on clothing and attention is still a common issue with school dress codes, and it could have stemmed from this belief Paul gave to Timothy. This context may tell us that the Ephesian women were flaunting their clothing and make-up. It’s not inherently wrong to do that, but there’s a difference between showing attractiveness and being egotistical. Paul’s focus here is on modesty and decency. He discusses how your character should be your focus instead of make-up and designer clothing. No matter how well-groomed you are, it can’t substitute your character. Paul says that our behavior and how we present ourselves should express submission to and respect for Jesus. What you wear can show what you represent. It’s good to be mindful of that in the least.

Many people think Paul is a woman hater, especially with the passages we highlighted. Paul never stated that women should teach; this verse’s context was highly like prohibiting Ephesian women because they didn’t have proper knowledge or experience. Paul has commended women plenty of times for their teaching and leadership in ministry: 

• Priscilla in Acts 18:24-26
• Phoebe in Romans 16:1
• Mary, Typhena, and Persis in Romans 16:6 and 16:12
• Euodia and Syntyche in Philippians 4:1

The Ephesian church had problems with false teachers in the past. Women from Greco-Roman backgrounds were especially susceptible to the false teachings because they didn’t yet have enough biblical knowledge to discern proper doctrine. Again, one of the main reasons Paul likely was prohibiting Ephesian women from teaching.

Some women were also flaunting their Christian freedom by wearing inappropriate clothing. Paul was telling Timothy not to put those women in leadership positions that weren’t mature in their faith. Leadership involves being an example to others. Leaders who can’t properly represent their community shouldn’t be put in that position. Plain and simple.

We have had a fruitful discussion about submission and how it stemmed from the curse and consequences given to Eve. This discussion was super interesting to dig deeper into and expand my knowledge on these verses and how badly they are taken out of context today.

Next week, we look at the consequences given to Adam and how they show themselves throughout the rest of the Bible story. Until then, stay blessed!