So, why did Paul tell wives to submit to husbands when they were in submission already? The clue is in the grammar. The verb "submit" is in the middle voice. Literally, it means "place yourself in submission." Sit down on the inside as well as the outside. You've been sitting down on the outside because you had no choice. Now we give you this voluntary choice, this act of will rather than this legal requirement. Paul was after a heart attitude, a spirit of humility by choice, not coercion. Paul is pro-choice where woman are concerned: the choice to lay down our lives for our brothers, sisters, husbands, and children, because we have laid it down for Christ.

Richard Foster says, "[Paul] made decision makers out of those who were forbidden to make decisions." What an incredible opportunity for the Christian wife in Paul's time. The letter to the Ephesians elevates the concepts.