act differently according to their different roles, and marriage in
Scripture from beginning to end is intended by God to be only
between one man and one woman, not between one man and
another man or one woman and another woman. If Galatians 3:28
truly abolished all differences between men and women, then how
could anyone say that homosexual marriage was wrong? But homo-
sexual conduct is surely forbidden by Scripture (Rom. 1:26-27;
1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim. 1:10). (Egalitarians within the evangelical world
agree that homosexual conduct is prohibited by Scripture.) Clearly,
Galatians 3:28 does not abolish differences in roles between men and
women.
Objection 2: “Mutual submission” in Ephesians 5:21 nullifies male
authority in marriage.
Ephesians 5:21 says, “Be subject to one another out of rever-
ence for Christ.” Egalitarians say that this teaches “mutual sub-
mission,” which means that just as wives have to submit to their
husbands, so husbands have to submit to their wives.Doesn’t the text
say that we have to submit “to one another,” they ask? And doesn’t
this means that there is no unique kind of submission that a wife
owes to her husband, and no unique kind of authority that a hus-
band has over his wife? Sometimes egalitarians will say something
like this: “Of course I believe that a wife should be subject to her
husband. And a husband should also be subject to his wife.” Or, “I
will be subject to my husband as soon as he is subject to me.” And
so, as egalitarians understand Ephesians 5:21, there is no difference
in roles between men and women. There is no unique leadership
role, no unique authority, for the husband. There is simply
“mutual submission.”^30
I want to affirm, of course, that people can mean different things
by “mutual submission.” There is a sense of the phrase “mutual sub-
mission” that is different from an egalitarian view and that does not
nullify the husband’s authority within marriage. For instance, if
“mutual submission” means being considerate of one another, and
caring for one another’s needs, and being thoughtful of one another,
then of course I would agree that “mutual submission” is a good thing.
The Key Issues in the Manhood-Womanhood Controversy 51