those who are early should wait for the others, who are late. Here
again, all∑lousmeans “some to others,” or “some” are to wait for “oth-
ers.” The New Testament has many other examples of this (e.g., Luke
2:14; 21:1; 24:32).
Therefore, “be subject to one another” in Ephesians 5:21 can take
the sense “some be subject to others” if the context fits or requires this
meaning. And, as we have seen, the word translated “be subject to”
(hypotassø) requires this sense, because it is never used to speak of a
reciprocal relationship between persons but always signifies one-
directional submission to an authority. Therefore we can paraphrase
Ephesians 5:21 as, “Be subject to others in the church who are in posi-
tions of authority over you.”^36
No idea of “mutual submission” is taught in Ephesians 5:21. The
idea itself is self-contradictory if hypotassømeans here (as it does every-
where else) “be subject to an authority.”
With respect to your own churches, if you want to add a statement
on men and women in marriage to your governing document or pub-
lish it as a policy statement (as did the Southern Baptist Convention
and Campus Crusade for Christ), and if in the process someone pro-
poses to add the phrase “mutual submission” to the document, I urge
you strongly not to agree to it. In the sense that egalitarians understand
the phrase “mutual submission,” the idea is found nowhere in
Scripture, and it actually nullifies the teaching of significant passages
of Scripture.
Yet, I must add one further word of caution. Some people who
hold a fully complementarian view of marriage do use the phrase
“mutual submission” and intend it in a way that does not nullify male
leadership in marriage. I have found that some people who want to use
this language may simply have genuine concerns that men do not act
like “dictators” or “tyrants” in their marriages. If this is what they are
seeking to guard against by the phrase “mutual submission,” then I
suggest trying this alternative wording, which is found in the Campus
Crusade for Christ statement:
In a marriage lived according to these truths, the love between
husband and wife will show itself in listening to each other’s view-The Key Issues in the Manhood-Womanhood Controversy 55