Ephesians 5:21 Biblical Submission Aug 03
Thesis: Biblical submission.
Introduction: When we hear verses like 5:21 and 22, which deal with subjection to one another in the church and in the home, it often brings up negatives thoughts and feelings. It is a part of our culture to resist and disdain submissiveness. We think of someone who is submissive as being weak and ineffective and as somebody who cant or wont stand up for themselves.
When we think of submissiveness, we often think only in terms of marriage and of the wife being submissive to her husband.
That, however is not the Biblical teaching on submissiveness or being subject to one another. There is a wide variety of teaching on this subject in the NT.
I. Biblical Submission– What It Means.
What does the Scripture mean here in verses 21 and 22 when it speaks of being submissive or subject. The Bible says in verse 21 ‘be subject to one another in the fear of Christ’, and then in verse 22 the Bible says ‘wives be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.’ These two verses deal with two different areas where submissiveness is to be displayed. These two areas are in the church and in the home.
A. What it does not mean. It does not mean being subservient. It does not mean inequality. When we speak of Biblical submission we are not speaking of spiritual or physical superiority, but rather a respect of roles.
Through out the Ephesian epistle we are taught that Christ has made every believer a part of His body and the members of a new race with a new home in heaven. We are members of one body. All the parts have equal value but they do not share the same roles.
B. What does Biblical subject mean? The word submission comes from the word ‘hupotasso’ which speaks of a soldier under the military command of an officer. It was also used to mean ‘to subordinate, to subject, to subject one’s self, obey, to submit to one’s control, to yield to one’s admonition or advice, to obey, be subject.’ Someone has remarked that ‘it was "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden".
1. The Bible here speaks of being submissive one to another. What does it mean to be submissive to one another.
a. To be submissive to one another is not natural. We are taught in our culture to be self assertive. Biblical submission is the opposite of self-assertiveness, it is a ‘sweet reasonableness of attitude’. It is a disposition that is brought into our lives because of our union with Christ.
b. Biblical submissiveness is a voluntary action. It is an attitude that is assumed by the one doing the submission. Here in Ephesians 5:21 the word submit is in the middle voice in the original language. This emphasizes that we are responsible for adopting this kind of attitude because it is not natural to us but is a learned discipline.
While Biblical submissiveness is not servitude, it does require a servants attitude and a servants heart.
II. Biblical Submission- Where It is to Occur
Where is Biblical submission to happen?
A. It is to happen in the church. That is the basis of Ephesians 5:21. In 1 Peter 5:5 tells us to be submissive to one another. This is in the worship and work of the church. In what ways are we to be submissive to one another. This means that we are line up in the church where God has put us.
1. We are to submit to one another’s gifts. The Bible tells us in 1 Cor. 12:7, ‘But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.’ In each believers life the Holy Spirit manifest Himself in various ways. These are the gifts of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit may manifest Himself in one believers life through enabling that believer to exercise great faith and He may manifest Himself in another’s life by gifting that person to teach the word of God. In whatever way the Holy Spirit manifest Himself in our lives, that manifestation is given to us for the benefit of the body of Christ.
For example, the Bible tells us in the book of Ephesians that God has given to the church certain ones who serve the church as evangelist. The Bible also says that we are to do the work of an evangelist, meaning that we should seek to win the lost. However, I am not called to be an evangelist that travels from church to church sharing the gospel with the lost. I am called to be a pastor and to teach and preach to the same people week by week. It would not do for me to try to become a traveling evangelist because God has not gifted me nor has He called me to be an evangelist. Yet at the same time in the place where I pastor, I am to seek to do the work of an evangelist by seeking to win some to Christ. When it comes to being an evangelist by the gifting and manifestation of the Holy Spirit, I submit or give place to the evangelist, and likewise the evangelist gives place to the pastor. That is what Biblical submission is about in the work of the church when it concerns what we are gifted to do.
2. We are to submit to the leadership God has placed in the church. Hebrews 13:17 says, ‘Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.’ Here the original Greek word for submit is different than in Ephesians 5:21. Here it is ‘hupeikete’. It means to yield. When you are entering onto an interstate and you drive upon that exit ramp and look to see what is coming, and you see that 18 wheeler barreling down the lane you want to get in, you yield to that truck. We are to yield to those that are over us in the Lord because (1) they watch for our souls, and (2) they will give an account before the Lord. The motivation behind this yielding that one day those that are over us in the Lord will stand before Him to give an account and whether the accounting they give of their ministry among us is joyful or grievous is up to us. The account that will be given on judgment day will be of our own making, and rest assured we will give an accounting before God.
Action Point: The question we have to answer within our own hearts is whether we are being submissive to one another in the body. Are we recognizing the gifts that others have through the presence of the Holy Spirit, and are we recognizing the ones who God has given us as leaders in the church.
B. It is to happen in the home. The next verse in Ephesians 5 says...
1. ‘Wives, submit to your own husbands’. Now this verse has caused a great deal of angst and controversy for many people because they don’t like the sound of it. They don’t like to hear this, that a wife is to submit to her own husband, but we must deal with it for that is what the Bible says.
Let us be sure of what means. It is the same word as is found in verse 21. It is the hupotasso. Do you remember what it means? It means to get in line where God has put you. Just as God has arranged for there to be a certain order in the church, so He has arranged for there to be a certain order in the home. When things are out of order, whether that is in the church or in the home, trouble is going to come.
For a wife to be submissive to her husband does not mean she is his slave, but she is to respect the role that God has given to the man as the head of the home. A Biblically submissive wife is not second rate or unequal to the man, it is that she serves in a different role. I want you men to notice that this verse says the wife is to submit to your leadership in the home. It does not say obey, for obedience is saved for the children. Notice in the verses that follow what Christian marriage represents.
The Christian home is a mirror image of the relationship the church has with the Lord Jesus. The wife is to be submissive to her own husband as the church is submissive to Christ.
Then notice what the verses say to the husband. Men we are to love our wives as Christ loves the church and that is self-sacrificial, unconditional love.
2. The children. In verse 1 of chapter 6 we find this verse, ‘Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this right.’ The parents are the rulers of the home, not the children. The children are to be submissive to the authority of the parents and not the parents to the children. Far too often today, the inmates are running the asylum in the home.
C. It is to happen at work.
Employees. In verse 5 of chapter 6 we find this passage. ‘Servants, be obedient unto them that according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not in the way of eye service, as men-pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;’. Now on the job you are not the mans servant, but you are his employee. The principles we can draw from these verses are these. Respond to your employer as you would to Christ and seek to be pleasing to the Lord.
D. It is to occur in our relationship to governing authorities.
Not only are we to exercise Biblical submission in the church, and in the home but we are also to exercise submission towards governing authorities. The Bible says in Romans 13:1, ‘Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God; and the powers that be are ordainedof God.’ We are to get in line under the governing authorities, for they are ordained of God.
As far as government does not contradict the commands of God we are to be submissive to their authority. John Piper has well said, ‘The ultimate criterion of right and wrong is not whether a ruling authority commands it but whether God commands it.’ Piper goes on to say, ‘the demand for subjection is relative, not absolute. It depends on whether the demands of the governing authorities require us to disobey Jesus. If they do we will not be subject at that point but will say with Peter, "We must obey God rather than men." We will honor God above the state.’ But where the laws of the state do not contradict the laws of God, we must obey the state. 1 Peter 2:13, says, ‘Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king, as supreme;.’
III. Biblical Submission- Who Is Our Model
What model do we have of Biblical submission? We, of course, have the Lord Jesus. The Savior, being creator God in human flesh, submitted himself to the authority of His parents. (Luke 2:51) The Lord Jesus was submissive to the governing authorities. One example of this is that Jesus paid taxes. (Luke 20:25) He submitted Himself to others in order to be benefit them. (John 13: 1-17)
In John 13 Jesus demonstrated servant leadership. He submitted himself to His own disciples in washing their feet so that He might give them the benefit of an object lesson. The lesson was that just as He had done by being a servant to all of them, they should do the same to one another.
Yet the greatest demonstration of Biblical submission on the part of the Lord Jesus is found for us in Philippians 2:5-11. ‘Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.’
Jesus is God, but He willingly came into this world, added to His deity the limitations of human flesh, became a servant (Mark 10:45 says, ‘"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’), was found in the likeness of men, and became obedient even to death, the death of the cross. That my friends is the greatest example of Biblical submission that exist.
Action Point: What are we to do? How are we to respond? Are we greater than our Savior who willingly submitted Himself to the will of God for our benefit? Are we willing to follow the pattern and the precepts of submission Jesus has laid down for us to follow? The question is this, are we willing to be submissive.
In order for you to be saved, you must submit to God. You must turn from sin and repent, confessing your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you willing to submit before God.
Believer, submission is a lifestyle. We are to be ever ready to give place to others so that God might receive the praise honor and glory.
