5) A Christian wife is called on to assist her husband submissively.
6) Submission is not slavery, passivity or inferiority. Nor is submission something only for wives. Submission is part of life for all of us.
7) Her submission is voluntary, yet it is commanded. Her husband cannot force her to submit, she must do so in obedience to Christ. (Eph 5:22, I Pet 3:1)
8) Submission is not merely outward, but from the heart (Rom 6:17).
9) Submission extends to all of life (Eph 5:24). Nevertheless, if her husband asks her to do something unbiblical, she is to respectfully refuse (Acts 5:7-9, 29).
10) Likewise, God wants wives to be helpers (Genesis 2:18). This does not mean that she has no purpose or work outside of helping her husband, it means her role as wife finds fullest expression in working in partnership with the man to fulfil godly aims for the home.
You can be a helper by:
- Being trustworthy and dependable (Proverbs 31:10-12)
- Being frugal, diligent, ambitious and creative (31:13-18)
- Speaking in a loving, open and constructive way, maintaining a good attitude (31:26, 28-29)
- Cooperating with her husband in raising the children (31:26-28) and building loyalty in them towards their father (Mal 4:6)
- Keeping herself beautiful, especially in the inner person (31:30)