Devotional 20 January 2026

Paul does not introduce a new idea in this verse; he sharpens one he has been pressing since early in the letter. From the beginning, the Corinthians have struggled with independence, pride, and the assumption that freedom means self-rule. Again and again, Paul has dismantled that instinct. “You are not your own,” he reminds them, “for you were bought with a price” (1 Cor 6:19–20). Christian freedom does not mean autonomy, but belonging.

This is why Paul frames marriage, worship, and authority the way he does. In chapter 7, he explains that those who enter into covenant are no longer free in the same way as the unmarried. Husband and wife belong to one another; authority over the body is mutual (1 Cor 7:4). Covenant, by definition, limits independence. That same logic governs Paul’s teaching throughout chapters 8–10, where freedom is repeatedly restrained by love, humility, and concern for others (1 Cor 8:9; 9:19; 10:23–24).

In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Paul grounds this pattern theologically. The relationship between husband and wife is modeled after the relationship between Christ and God. This immediately rules out any interpretation based on value or merit. Christ is not less divine, less glorious, or less worthy than the Father. He bears the name above every name, and every knee will bow to Him (Phil 2:9–11). Yet Christ willingly subjected His will to the Father, saying, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38).

Paul is not naïve about the cost of this order. Both he and Peter explicitly acknowledge that submission within marriage can be costly, particularly for the wife. Peter goes so far as to exhort wives to submit even to unbelieving husbands, not because such husbands are worthy, but so that they might be won without a word (1 Pet 3:1). Paul likewise assumes hardship when he speaks of marriage as a limitation on freedom (1 Cor 7:28, 32–34). This costliness is not accidental; it is patterned after Christ Himself. Christ’s submission to the Father was real, voluntary, and profoundly costly, culminating in suffering and death (Phil 2:8). Yet no one suggests that Christ’s obedience was pretend, symbolic, or softened to preserve His comfort. In the same way, we expect it to be costly for men to submit to Christ, to deny themselves, and to take up their cross (Luke 9:23). Submission is never framed as easy. It is framed as faithful.

Paul’s point is simple and consistent: no one lives unto themselves. The man is under Christ. The wife orders herself within covenant. Christ Himself delights to do the Father’s will. Independence is not maturity, faithful humility is.