The Principle of Submission
The Principle of Submission is the understanding that true strength is demonstrated not by refusing to yield but by willingly placing yourself under God’s ultimate authority — and then under the human structures He ordains — knowing that submission to the right authority is the pathway to divine protection, wisdom, and elevation.
Living Without This Principle
Without the Principle of Submission, you become an authority unto yourself — and that is one of the most dangerous positions a human being can occupy. Self-authority produces pride, isolation, and uncorrected error. When you are accountable to no one above you, the only voice you hear is your own — and your own voice is the one most prone to rationalization, blind spots, and self-deception. Leaders without submission become tyrants. Believers without submission become spiritually untethered. The rejection of godly authority is never strength — it is vulnerability masquerading as independence.
What This Principle Unlocks
When you practice genuine submission — first to God and then to the authorities He places in your life — you step into a covering that provides wisdom you don’t have on your own, correction you need before it becomes catastrophic, and favor that flows through alignment. Submission is not the end of your agency — it is the right ordering of it. The most powerful people in Scripture were deeply submitted people. Their submission was not weakness; it was the foundation from which God could trust them with extraordinary responsibility. Submission opens doors that self-reliance permanently locks.
Hebrew and Greek Root Words
kāna’ (כָּנַע) — the Hebrew word for humbling oneself, submitting, yielding. It carries the idea of being brought low before a higher authority — not forced down but willingly bending in recognition of what is greater. It is often used in the context of Israel submitting to God after a period of rebellion.
hypotassō (ὑποτάσσω) — the Greek word for submission, meaning to arrange oneself under, to place under proper order. It is a military term describing a soldier taking their proper position in the formation — not degrading but essential for the whole unit to function with power.
Bible Verses on Submission
2 Chronicles 7:14 — “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves (kāna’) and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Psalm 18:44 — “As soon as they hear me, they submit (kāna’); foreigners cringe before me.”
James 4:7 — “Submit (hypotassō) yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Romans 13:1 — “Let everyone be subject (hypotassō) to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
Ephesians 5:21 — “Submit (hypotassō) to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
Examples of People in the Bible Who Used This Principle
Jesus — The most striking example of submission in all of Scripture is the one that cost the most. In the hours before his arrest and crucifixion, Jesus went to Gethsemane and prayed in anguish, asking if the cup could be taken from him. And then, in the defining act of his entire earthly life, he submitted: “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). The eternal Son of God, who existed before creation and through whom all things were made, submitted his own desire to the will of the Father. His submission was not passive compliance; it was the deliberate, costly choice of a person with full authority who chose to lay it down for a purpose greater than his own comfort. His obedience through submission became the source of salvation for every person who has since believed (Hebrews 5:8-9).
Elisha — Elisha encountered the prophet Elijah while plowing a field with twelve yoke of oxen. Elijah threw his cloak over Elisha’s shoulders, a prophetic gesture of calling and transfer. Elisha immediately left his oxen and set off to follow Elijah. What followed were years of active submission as an apprentice: serving Elijah faithfully, traveling everywhere with him, watching how he operated, serving without title or public recognition. When Elijah tried to send him away before his translation to heaven, Elisha refused to leave, insisting on staying close. His submitted posture of service and proximity positioned him to receive the double portion of the anointing he had asked for, and his subsequent ministry included twice as many recorded miracles as Elijah’s own (2 Kings 2:1-15).
Esther — Esther had been raised by her cousin Mordecai after the death of her parents and had grown up learning to value his wisdom. When the crisis of her people’s potential extermination arrived, she continued to operate within a posture of submission to his guidance. She listened to his assessment of the situation, received his counsel about her responsibility, communicated with him during the process, and followed through on the strategy they developed together. Her submission to wise counsel was not weakness or dependency; it was the relational framework within which one of the most courageous acts in Israel’s history was properly planned and executed (Esther 4-8).
Tips for Using the Principle of Submission
- Start with submission to God in your daily practice — before your plans, your opinions, your preferences. Ask Him to align your will with His before you step into your day.
- Identify the God-ordained authorities in your life: spiritual covering, mentors, employers, government. Submitting to them (where they do not violate Scripture) is an act of obedience to God, not just to them.
- Distinguish between submission and blind obedience. Submission is willing, relational, and rooted in trust — not the abdication of your God-given judgment but the right ordering of it.
- Practice submission in small things. If you cannot submit in daily, low-stakes situations, you will not be able to submit in the moments that most require it.
- Pray for your leaders rather than criticizing them. Intercession is an act of submitted engagement — it honors the position while inviting God’s wisdom into it.
- Notice where resistance to submission is strongest in your life. That resistance often points to where pride has the deepest roots and where breakthrough most awaits.
- Remember that God Himself is your ultimate authority. Human authority is derivative — it is real and should be honored, but it is always subordinate to God. Where human authority contradicts God’s clear Word, God’s Word takes precedence.
Connected Principle: Purpose
Submission and purpose are inseparably linked. You will never fully walk in your God-given purpose while operating outside of God’s authority. The Principle of Purpose teaches that your life has divine intention behind it — and the Principle of Submission is how you keep yourself aligned with the One who authored that intention. Submission is not the obstacle to your purpose; it is the road that leads to it.
