Who has the authority in a marriage, the husband or the wife?
For much of human history, the men were in charge, and their wives were considered little more than property. Strangely, Paul seems to support this archaic arrangement when he tells the Corinthians:
The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. (1 Corinthians 7:4a)
In other words, she belongs to him. (Can you see the rabbis and philosophers nodding in agreement?)
But then Paul follows up with this stunner:
And likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. (1 Corinthians 7:4b)
In other words, he belongs to her.
Wait, what?
Aristotle and the sexist philosophers of Athens would’ve fallen off their stools. Men belong to their wives? Has Paul lost his marbles?
Who has the authority in a marriage? Husbands belong to their wives and wives belong to their husbands, and they both have authority over each other.
