Waneta Dawn

“Ryan takes Eph 5:24 and proposes the meaning “in everything the wives should be willingly submissive out of love”.
(quoted from Charis #14)

The problem with Ryan’s statement is that the focus is one-sided. Ephesians 5 balances out the “in everything” with “gave himself.”
Complementarian teaching skims over what Jesus gave up for us, what He did for us. 1st, He left the comfort and continual praise He was used to getting. 2nd, He gave up His status, privilege, and rights, and became subject to pain and discomfort, 3rd, He could have regained some of the comforts of life by being called “Master” and through domination and getting the praise of men, but he didn’t. Even here, He did not claim the rights of authority. People followed Him because they sensed He had innate authority and He used that authority to set them free rather than to dominate them. In spite of the fact that Jesus was not dominating, The only time his disciples resisted His teaching and direction was when he washed feet. (With the exception of Judas, of course.) 4th, He gave himself in both life and death. He suffered big time for our sakes. He loved us so much that he gave up all status, became lower than the angels, and suffered the most horrible beating and death for us.

THAT is the example husbands are to follow. When they focus on “in everything” for wives, they seem to give themselves permission to ignore the depth of what is required of husbands. NIV says “In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives.” So should we say OUGHT TO LOVE, OUGHT TO LOVE, OUGHT TO LOVE, like the comps do when they focus on in everything? Isn’t in everything implied in “ought to love?” At what time do they stop loving and cherishing their own bodies? That is how frequently they are to not love and cherish their wives. So it is “in everything” for husbands, too. Or as the KJV puts it, “Even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it.” So why aren’t they emphasizing “Even as Christ loved and gave himself” as much as they insist on woman submit?