What does the Bible actually mean when it says wives should submit to their husbands?
According to Paul in Ephesians 5, wives submit to their husbands as unto the Lord, because the husband is head of the wife as Christ is head of the church. This never gives a husband authority to downtrod his wife; she is not a slave but part of him, for they are one.
Les explains that Ephesians 5 begins with believers submitting themselves one to another in the fear of God, and Paul writes to believers, usually in Gentile congregations. The wife's submission to her husband is 'as unto the Lord,' because the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church. But Les stresses that people miss the point if they think this means the husband is over the wife and she is merely submissive. The Bible never gives the husband authority to downtrod his wife; she is never to be his slave and servant. Instead, she is part of him—they are one. Paul, by inspiration, makes it plain that the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church.