Cheryl Schatz

Heidi,
I would refer you to Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon which is listed as the world’s most comprehensive and authoritative dictionary of ancient Greek. Here they give two meanings of the term hypotasso (subject) which fit very well with the head/body term of Christ and the Church.

II. post in the shelter of, draw up behind…underlie, to be implied in or associated with, …of the content or meaning which underlies a writer’s words

Liddell, H. G., Scott, R., Jones, H. S., & McKenzie, R. (1996). A Greek-English lexicon (Rev. and augm. throughout) (1897). Oxford; New York: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press.

In Ephesians 5:21 the grammar is reciprocal as submission is a Christian attitude. Paul then goes on to show that husband and wife like the church and Christ are one with the head joined to the body. How is the church to be with Christ? They are to be joined to Him, sheltered by Him, associated with Him in everything because the purpose of the body is to be in unity. Christ takes the shelter and protection so far as to be the Savior of the body. The emphasis on head/body is one of unity, protection and oneness. It is not an emphasis of government, authority and putting on in their place. The place of the Christian is to conform them self to Christ so that there is unity in the body and the head gives up everything for the body so that the body is placed in oneness and in unity with our head. In the end we know that we will rule and reign with Christ as we are united to Him in His rule.

It cannot be any clearer that we are to be united to Christ not placed under His feet. We ARE His body and His flesh, and we will rule with Him.

I’m not sure where the term co-leader came from, but I can not find it in my bible.

The term is co-ruler:

Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

If God said that both male and female were to rule, then we should have no problem in accepting God’s will.

As I have said many times, wives are to willingly submit to their husbands in love and in respect. But it is not one way nor is it for women alone. It is a Christian practice to be submissive, gentle and loving. This is how Jesus lived His life and all of us are to follow Him.

I wish you would get a copy of my DVD because you should be able to clearly see that Paul’s quoting from the oral law of the Jews is completely opposite to the command of Paul that all should prophesy in the church and not be silent. There were men who were silencing the women in the church and Paul said that it was his command that should be followed, not the commandments of men.

It is because we care so much about God’s Word that we want to be careful in how we handle it, not to rip it from its context, but to carefully and diligently present ourselves approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15)

Paul’s words in 1 Cor. 14 show that all are allowed to speak out with God’s gifts especially to prophesy and that command is indeed a commandment of the Lord. Those who would silence women and stop them from using their God-given gifts are not approved of the Lord and their commands contradict the clear commandment of Paul at the beginning of chapter 14.

Read, research and pray. God’s Word is worth delving into in depth, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.