Iron Rose Sister Ministries

Ephesians 5:21-33 has often been a controversial text among women. Discussions about women’s role and reactions to the word “submission” overshadow one of the most beautiful facets of the text, which we will spend a moment highlighting.

What we are talking about is Christ and the church.

Please read the text below paying special attention to the references to Christ and the church (bolded for emphasis).

21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as
Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ,
so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,30 because we are members of his body.
31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Now, go back and read only the bolded sections.

Christ loves the church! He demonstrated this love by giving himself up for her. That kind of sacrificial love inspires respect and trust.

When we are hesitant to submit to the head, to Christ—to His teaching and to His Word—it is often because we have lost sight of the depth of love He has for us. He wants us to “be holy, without blemish.” He truly wants what’s best for us.

Do you trust that Christ wants what is best for you personally and for His church?

He “nourishes and cherishes” us. We are members of His body and He would never want to do things that cause us, and thereby Himself, harm, but rather what ultimately builds us up. Christ loves us, protects us, and saves us, even from ourselves.

Submitting to the head, that is Christ, who loves, protects, honors, and cares for us, becomes easier when we remember the depth of love demonstrated by Who He is and what He has done. It feels less like a chore of submission, but rather like the wisdom of allowing the head to make the decision instead of the foot trying to decide what the hand should do.

Christ is the head of the church and of each of us individually. As members of His body, may we remember to always seek Him as the head and submit to His will, rather than striving to enforce our own.

Written by Kath Bittner, volunteer of Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Colorado Springs, CO.

“From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”(Ephesians 4:16)

Have you ever wondered about the little things in life? You know, those obscure things we would probably miss if faced with suddenly not having them. First sip of morning coffee. Fresh sheets. Grins. Earlobes. Good hair day. On the surface, these things appear to be inconsequential in the whole scheme of life. Yet we are often wholly dependent on these peripheral parts.

I am reminded of a time when I sprained my pinky toe on a coffee table. Before that moment, I would go each day without any mind to that particular toe. It was there, yes, but it never seemed to be of any real significance. After spraining it, though, I realized just how significant a part of my body it was. Walking was awkward. Wearing socks or shoes was agonizing. Pedicures fell by the wayside and my feet became calloused and dry. Foot rubs were a no-go, too. I missed them on those long days of chasing toddlers. And I felt life would be so much easier if the toe just wasn’t there. What good was it doing?

Sometimes as women, our spiritual life can feel like this. We may see our roles as insignificant to the whole body of Christ. Many times we serve behind the scenes as a church secretary, children’s or women’s bible class teachers, building custodian, communion preparers, etc. We may feel as though these are mundane parts, but they are as crucial to the work of God as any other in the church.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)

No matter what part you play in the body of Christ, it is significant. The same Spirit that moves the preacher, song leader, elders and deacons, and even the apostles is the same Spirit that works in you. In whatever you do.

Women in the background have been renown throughout biblical history and were of great importance in the kingdom. Dorcas (Acts 9:36), Priscilla (Romans 16:3, Acts 18:26), and Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:1-3, Mark 15:40-41) all had meaningful parts in the life and work of Jesus.

“Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”(1 Corinthians 15:58)

How we do our part is much more important than what part we play. If our part is done “without selfish ambition or vain conceit” (Philippians 2:3) then whatever we do matters.

"God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.”(Ephesians 2:10)

Our part is important because the Lord God has called us to do it. There is no small part.

Written by Rosa Perez, volunteer for Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Little Rock, AR.

As human beings, we have been created to connect with each other. Our existence pretty much depends on the relationship we make with one another. We can’t live isolated, otherwise, we could die. Therefore, we become part of something bigger than ourselves. We become part of a group in which we usually contribute. We become participants since we have gifts or abilities to offer. In our society, some of the groups that we know are schools, universities, and private or public businesses. Sadly, our society has composed these groups in a different way where people’s gifts are divided differently than what Jesus has taught us. We have divided people’s roles in levels of importance. Some roles are placed higher than others. For example, the role of the CEO is more important than the guard that opens and closes the door of the company. In our society, we don’t honor the small parts that people give humbly, but instead we diminish them and ignore them. Sometimes we diminish the small parts that people have in the church.

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function.” (Romans 12:3-4)

The body of Christ, that is, the Church, has many members with different functions, since we have different gifts. Each gift is a blessing from God. We haven’t done anything to receive those gifts. In the same way, we shouldn’t brag about them or belittle others’ gifts.

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” (Romans 6:12a)

We have an example in the gospel of Mark where a woman poured precious perfume over Jesus’s head. She, being a woman from a small town, gave costly perfume to Jesus. “She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial” (Mark 14:8). What she did was essential and very important. She was part of something really big. She contributed for the precious sacrifice that Jesus made for the entire world.

Like the woman that gave a small part for something really big, we also have small parts for something bigger than ourselves. That is what Jesus taught us when he talked about the Kingdom of God in Matthew 13: “Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches” (Matthew 13:32). From such a tiny seed, a huge tree grows so that even the birds can stand on it.

Small parts are important and can have great functions that sometimes we don’t realize. Consider the example James gives us, “Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go” (James 3:4).

We come to be part of something bigger than ourselves, and that is the Body of Christ. “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Each member of His Body, even the smallest ones, become part of his precious Body.

“So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12:5)