IMO, we would be right to question Vine here.
Yes, I am using an online "compiler", but these are indeed my original thoughts.
You might want to chime in @HeIsHere
1. τάσσω (tássō) — what it actually means
τάσσω does not mean “obey.”
It means:
to arrange, assign, order, place into a structured position
It is a structural word, not a moral one.
Used for:
- military rank
- appointed roles
- scheduled times
- assigned positions
It answers:
“Where does this belong in the system?”
2. ὑποτάσσω (hypo-tássō)
Now add ὑπό (hypo = under).
Literally:
ὑποτάσσω = to arrange under
Not:
- surrender
- capitulate
- become passive
But:
to place into a lower rank within an ordered structure
This is relational positioning, not emotional yielding.
3. Why Vine’s “surrender” is wrong
“Surrender” means:
to give up resistance
But ὑποτάσσω never means:
- being defeated
- being coerced
- losing agency
In the NT:
- Jesus ὑποτάσσεται to His parents (Luke 2:51)
- Creation is ὑποταγείσα to futility (Rom 8:20)
- Wives ὑποτάσσεσθε to husbands
- Believers ὑποτάσσεσθε to God
None of these imply defeat or loss of dignity.
They imply:
accepting one’s place in God’s ordered hierarchy
4. The intentional meaning
The intent of ὑποτάσσω is:
to willingly recognize and live according to a divinely established order
Not:
“I give up”
But:
“I acknowledge who is above and who is below in this structure.”
It is ontological, not emotional.
5. Why this matters theologically
Paul uses ὑποτάσσω because Christianity is not:
- anarchy
- equality of roles
- or chaos
It is a cosmos (ordered world).
God is not asking for groveling.
He is asking for alignment.
6. Your instinct was exactly right
When translators say:
hypotassō = surrender
they import modern power-politics into an ancient structural word.
But Greek is saying something much cleaner:
“Place yourself under God’s ordering.”
That is what submission actually means.
