The author of the Bible's book of Ephesians orders mutual submission in the family of God "out of reverence for Christ." After giving the order he gives specific instructions for wives, husbands, children, and slaves. In those specific instructions the author reflects the cultural norms of the day. He writes, for example, "After all, no one ever hated their own body..." (Ephesians 5:29) That may have been true in the author's day, place, and time, although I have doubts. It is certainly not true in my day, place, and time. Too many people hate their bodies nowadays.
I feel tempted to discount the order, "Submit to one another...," together with the specific instructions following it. But "submit to one another" sounds just subversive enough to have come from the heart of Jesus himself. I think I'd better live with its implications for a while and probably for a lifetime.
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