To be honest, many of us are guilty of over-generalizing our ideas about God and his Trinitarian expression. And while I might wish to write on the subject, I believe there are far superior works being offered than I could muster which comprehensively cover the nuances of the doctrines.
Don't be anxious to take a position, by the way. There are people with agendas who have a fixed position with short-sighted and poor theological arguments for support. Don't do that. Take your time, a lifetime if needed, to come to a conclusion. Yes, cut out the clear error but concede where the details require delicate and magnified examination. Do your homework, do not avoid due diligence on the matter which brings me to my blog post.
Question
Paul writes about our Lord, Jesus the Christ, when he was resurrected and entered into heaven with the Father (Philippians 2:9):
9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.Which clearly begs the question, If Jesus is already God and equal with God the Father, how can anything be added to his person and be given a name above all names, doesn't he already possess this?
Answer
The most immediate answer comes from the soulishly staggering fact that when Christ returned, he did not return in the manner in which he left, before his incarnation. Our Lord returned as both God and man, eternal in being.
The second person of the Trinity, God the Son, was not only God in returning but also man, eternally. He took within his person a human nature.
Thus, after his advent on earth and upon his return, where he completed the mission of salvation for man and defeat of Satan, via the plan of co-council of the Godhead, in obedience to God the Father, having humbled, obeyed and suffered, even unto the death of the cross, he did not return just as God but the God-man which required the adjudication and inauguration of his God-man person, as God.
So when we think of Christ as God, understand, he really is one of us. He is human, while God, both eternal. And he pleads for us to God the Father and Paul writes in Romans 8:34:
who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.Final Thoughts
My goal, here, was not an attempt to tackle the issue of Trinitarian subordination rather, it was to stop at this single sidebar and demonstrate that this lone point, itself, in light of the entire matter could take a year or two of a person's life to fully grasp in a theologically consanguineous manner.
So when you imagine you have a fixed position on this issue, stop for a bit. Understand that there are theological subtitles and complexities which simply may not be by-passed and unfortunately are, by some.
It does not mean one cannot come to firm ends on the controversy and teach with confidence, a certain position. But what it should reveal is that as a sophisticated doctrine, you need time and a humbled ego in your spirit-filled pursuit along with an appreciation for the work of others.
If you believe you know the correct position without a careful and prolonged study, you're wrong. You might think you know or you might have been given, by the work of another, what you believe is as good as it gets but if you haven't taken the time to think, study, think some more, identify weaknesses in your views and so forth, you don't know.
As far as its relevance to marriage, it does exist as an example of personal egalitarianism while functioning in an administratively subordinate role, even if it is limited to earth.
But removing it as an example, the Bible is quite clear that in marriage there are two officers, the husband and the wife, male and female, in that order. One is the Commanding Officer, the other, respectively, the Executive Officer. The problem is not the administrative design, it is with the thinking and behaving of its occupants.
*The picture is of a book by the late R.B. Thieme Jr. who is a greatly respected but much maligned, by a vocal minority, Bible teacher and Pastor of 50 years whose work many men use but not enough give him credit for his tremendous contribution to modern dispensational theology.
