In recent months and years, with the various governmental and societal pressures pertaining to the coronavirus, many Christians have wondered what it really means to submit to authority. Some have wondered if submitting to authority—whether to a government official, an employer, a pastor, a husband, or a parent—is tantamount to expressing agreement with that authority. For some, this would be a dishonest act because they do not, in fact, agree with what they are being asked to do. So for the sake of conscience, in a desire to avoid acting dishonestly, they have chosen not to submit to authority.
Is this a valid conclusion? When we submit to authority are we stating agreement with that authority? The biblical evidence indicates that this is not the case. In any area where we are not being asked by an authority to violate explicit commands in Scripture, we should submit, understanding that submission does not equal agreement.
To submit, or to “be subject,” is simply to yield to the will of another. The Greek word is hupotasso, and it is used throughout the New Testament. Jesus submitted to His parents (Luke 2:51). The demons submitted to the disciples (Luke 10:17, 20). Believers are to submit to the governing authorities (Rom 13:1; 1 Pet 2:13). Workers are to submit to their employers/masters (1 Pet 2:18). Wives are to submit to their husbands (Eph 5:22; 1 Pet 3:1-6). While the word is not used in Luke 22:42, it’s action is expressed as Jesus yields to the Father’s will in Gethsamane: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
In every scenario, there are two elements present. First, there is a partnership of sorts. That is, there is one or more persons or wills bound together like the front wheels of a car. If the partnership is going to move forward, the two wills must be pointed in the same direction. Second, there is the assumption that the two wills do not coincide. That is, they do not want to go in the same direction. That is precisely why the yielding of one of the wills is necessary. Otherwise, like a car with two front wheels pointing in different directions, the partnership will go nowhere.
God in His great wisdom has designed a way for these heavenly and earthly partnerships to move forward in the presence of wills that don’t agree. He has assigned one member of the partnership the greater responsibility of and and culpability for leading for the good of the partnership (Eze 34:1-10; Jas 3:1; 1 Pet 2:23; 3:7). The other member has the responsibility of and culpability for yielding for the good of the partnership. Multiple passages indicate that the person under authority should see their submission ultimately as an act of submission to the Lord (Rom 13:2; Eph 5:22; 6:5).
The entire framework assumes that there is disagreement about which way to go. Even Jesus’ prayer in the garden shows this reality. Jesus recognized that His will expressed in the desire to forego the cross might conflict with the Father’s will, so He yielded to the Father’s will.
So when a wife submits to her husband “in everything” as Ephesians 5:22 calls her to do, she is not saying to the world, “I agree with my husband about everything.” Rather, she is saying, “In accordance with the wise design of God, in ultimate allegiance to my Savior, and for the good of my family, I am faithfully and respectfully (Eph 5:33) yielding to the will of my husband.”
When an employee wears a mask at the behest of an employer, he or she is not saying, “I agree that this is an effective way to combat any particular illness,” but, “In accordance with the wise design of my God, in ultimate allegiance to my Savior, and for the good of my place of employment, I am faithfully and respectfully yielding to the will of my employer.”
Much more could be said about the right attitude of submission, biblical exceptions, spheres of authority, and other specific applications. These things have been covered at other times. The bottom line in this article is that submission in no way implies agreement with the decision of an authority. In fact, the very call to submission assumes we will often disagree with authority. In all areas that do not conflict with clear biblical teaching, we are to submit to authority as to the Lord. Doing so is not an act of dishonesty, but of obedience.
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