The Most Feared Words in the Bible

Aim: To encourage supernatural living in the church (in evil days).

Doctrine: Submission is in the train of the church's radical response to the days being evil. It is as counter-intuitive as ''singing'' and ''thanking,'' and it is clearly ''the will of the Lord.''

Exegesis: The unique privilege of wives in the church: they get to take the lead in exemplifying true godliness (v. 22); they get to ''nest'' under Christ's ''wing'' (through submission) (v. 23); they get to be the first to model the true religion to the watching world (v. 24).

Further application: What this miraculous submission is, and is not: it is not a phony show, designed to impress others; it is a lifestyle so beautiful, that even God falls in love with it.

Key verse: v. 22 ''Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord.''