-Building Up One Another -
Submit to One Another
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. - Ephesians 5:21
Introduction
Have you heard the old story of the ship captain who looked into the dark horizon one night and saw faint lights in the distance? Immediately he told his signalman to send a message, “Alter your course 10 degrees south.”Promptly a return message was received: “Alter your course 10 degrees north.” The captain was angered; his command had been ignored. So he sent a second message: “Alter your course 10 degrees south--I am a captain!” Soon another message was received: “Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am seaman third class Jones.”Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: “Alter your course 10 degrees south--I am a battleship.” The reply came “Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am a lighthouse.”
Our verse for the day is Ephesians 5:21, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (NIV). NAS: “and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.” KJV: “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” “Submission” is in essence a synonym for “obedience.” In Scripture it appears in contexts describing servanthood,
humility, respect, reverence, honor, teachableness, and openness. Submission has to do with a “radical decision to act unselfishly toward others.” (Holladay)
1. SUBMIT TO ONE ANOTHER IMPACTS ALL RELATIONSHIPS!
Marriage Relationships.
Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. (1 Peter 3:1-6)
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…
“A wife is to be submissive to her husband in the way that she respects him, and a husband is to be submissive to
his wife in the way that he sacrifices for her.” (Holladay)
Parent/Child Relationships
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Christian Employers/Employees (Slaves/Masters)
Ephesians 6:5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
Ephesians 6:9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
Though Paul did not directly condemn slavery, if his teachings were followed, slavery would be eliminated.
Church Leaders
Hebrews 13:17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
1 Peter 5:2-3 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
Government Leadership
Romans 13:1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
1 Peter 2:13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority…
Obviously in all of these examples, there are times when pride, anger, abuse make submission untenable.
2. SUBMIT TO ONE ANOTHER OUTOF REVERENCE FOR CHRIST
We learn the value and practice of submitting to one another from Jesus Christ. Do you remember that day when the disciples were arguing among themselves regarding who was the greatest?
“…Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt. 20:25-28)
Philippians 2:5-8 “your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!!
3. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Submission is an attempt to put others first.
Submission is an act of love - for God, ourselves, and others. It is not love to allow someone to abuse us in one way or another.
Submission is a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, and doing what is best for others.
Ultimately, submission flows out of our strength, not our weakness. It is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Richard Foster: Self-denial is simply a way of coming to understand that we do not have to have it our own way. Our happiness is not dependent upon getting what we want. (Celebration of Discipline, p. 99)
We cannot read the NT without coming across the call to lay aside our desires – at times – for the good of Christ and one another.
Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mk. 8:34)
Conclusion
"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." - Ephesians 5:21
Submission to one another impacts all of our relationships in the church, family, and even the world.
To submit to one another is to walk in the footsteps of Christ.
Paul tells us to submit “out of reverence for Christ.” Putting others first is actually an act of worship. When you put another person first, that’s when you are most like Jesus. Our Lord stepped out of the glories of heaven to come and serve, not to be served, and to offer his life as a ransom for many. If Jesus submits for us, are we not to submit for each other?
No matter who we are, we must learn to submit to God, and to authorities, and to each other.
If battleships are wise, they will submit to the lighthouse; and so will we.
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why is the topic of submission often such an emotionally thorny topic?
2. Tom Holladay defined “submission” as an attitude that has to do with a “radical decision to act unselfishly toward others”. He also admits that we are all selfish to some degree. How can we deal with our own selfishness, in order to improve our relationships with others?
3. How does the discussion of submission relate to Paul’s reflection of his efforts to win the lost in 1 Corinthians 9:19-22?
4. Our text says “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” - Ephesians 5:21. How does your reverence for Christ strengthen your attitude of submission? How does our submission make us like Jesus? How does our submission demonstrate our relationship with Jesus?
5. The sermon mentioned several relationships that require an attitude of humble submission to flourish. Each one has it’s challenges, we know. But what specific blessing can be produced when there is submission in each of these relationships?
- Marriage Relationships - Parent/Child Relationships
- Christian Employer/Employees - Church Leaders
- Government Leadership
6. This word “submit” in it’s original form is a military term. It has the idea of ranking oneself under another. In other words, lining up or getting in order under the one you are serving. This is done voluntarily. What correlations might be made between Paul using a military term about how we are to relate to each other and the subsequent verses in chapter 6 about putting on our armor?
7. What else did you want to talk about in relation to this text/sermon?
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Resources:
Getz, Gene. Building Up One Another. Victor Books, 1981
Holladay, Tom. Ephesians: Six Choices for Making the Most of What You’ve Been Given. Pastors.com, 2016.
Sermon by David Owens
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/4-submit-to-one-another-david-owens-sermon-on-humility-139828
Sermon by Kerry Haynes
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-power-of-submission-kerry-haynes-sermon-on-submission-234382
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Video of this message can be watched on the YouTube channel of Forsythe Church of Christ.
