Tim Challies makes an controversial observation.“Strange though it may seem, submission is a good and beautiful and godly thing. The most perfect relationship in the world, the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit, displays a perfect example of submission. The Son submits Himself to the Father. They are, to echo the Shorter Catechism, "the same in substance, equal in power and glory." Yet the Father demonstrates headship. We speak of Jesus' mission to the earth in two ways. We speak of Jesus being sent by the Father. And this is true. From eternity it was decided by the Father that man would have to be ransomed by a perfect substitute. The Father tasked the Son with this responsibility. But we also speak of the Son willingly giving up his life. This is equally true. The Son's perfect submission to the Father's will meant that a command of the Father was indistinguishable from a decision of the Son. Christ was perfectly willing to submit to His Father's will. This relationship within the Trinity provides us many clues as to the nature of the relationship between husband and wife.” (Challies.com, Headship in the Home, Part 2, Dec 1, 2009)
What do you think? Is the submission of the Son to the Father grounds for submission to the authority of an equal in this life? It has huge repercussions for marriage, church, and life in this fallen world.
Labels: God's Attributes, marriage, theology
On the other hand, Dr. Graham Cole, in his recent book on the Holy Spirit, He Who Gives Life: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Foundations of Evangelical Theology)
disagrees. He writes "I am not convinced that we can be much more specific and erect social models for marriage, church, and society based on speculative reconstructions of the inner life of the Trinity."