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Here it is the Son that speaks, and a relationship is introduced. The same relationship
is seen in I Cor. 15: 24-28:
"Then cometh the end, when He (Christ, of verse 23) shall have delivered up the
kingdom to God, even the Father . . . . . And when all things shall be subdued unto Him
(i.e. Christ, the Son), then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all
things under Him, that God may be all in all."
It is quite wrong to read more into these verses than is there in the purpose of God. To
argue that the Father is one Being, and that the Son is a lesser Being, is to fail to
recognize that a distinction is necessary to understand the relationship between the Father
and the Son. This same Son is recognized as such by Nathaniel, but He has already been
identified by John as "the Word became flesh", Who "was God" (John 1: 1, 14, 49). To
argue that a different Being is spoken of in these verses, is to make nonsense of language.
Whilst it would be quite wrong to pretend to fully understand the Being of God
(and hence the Deity of Christ), enough can be seen to recognize that it is only in the
Father-Son relationship, where the different positions of Father and Son are revealed, that
the word "greater" can be used. A father holds a "greater" position than a son in
everyday life, but it cannot be maintained therefore, that the father is a superior individual
to his son. The reader will be conscious that although care is needed in comparing the
Father-Son relationship, the earthly is in some respects a help in understanding the
heavenly.
Hence, as has been already observed in a previous article, even the Son Himself can
be seen to have a position in the out-working of the purpose of God, and when that
position is fulfilled, when "the end" arrives, even He is "subject unto Him that put all
things under Him" (I Cor. 15: 24-28).
In God's arrangement and order every part of His creation has its place. But so has
also the Father-Son relationship in which God has manifested Himself to us. It is not
within the scope of these articles to develop the meaning of that relationship, simply to
note that it does form part of an overall plan. It also reveals to us just how important the
distinction is between individual standing and allotted position, and that distinction must
be fully appreciated if the true conception of equality between the sexes is to be
understood. "Male and female created He them" so that each would find their place in
His purpose, complementing one another. For either to step out of their God-ordained
positions can only lead to tragedy.
The world, having not understood the above distinction, firstly relegated the woman
herself, and treated her as an inferior being to the man, and then, when the time of
"enlightenment" had come, again misunderstood the true design of God by giving woman
a position never intended for her. No true believer has any excuse for being taken in by
this misunderstanding, since he has the Word of God for his guidance, and the Son of
God for his example. The words "subject" and "obedience" were gladly taken by Him;
they should characterize the believer (he or she) in his desire to honour the Lord and walk
worthy of his calling.