Ephesians 5:22-33
Chain of Submission
December 7, 2014
Lynchburg, Virginia
EXHORDIUM
We
look at a passage today that is most famous. It is often quoted at weddings. It
is often quoted by those with a hopeful view of the gospel. It is often quoted
by those seeking to establish the proper sort of headship within the church,
home, and workplace. It is often quoted in our CREC circles and at Providence
Church. My hope is that we quote this passage in the right way and for the
right purposes. It is a powerful and therefore dangerous section of Scripture.
It is powerful because the Spirit is
giving us the key to Christian living. If we learn this key, it opens the doors
of faithful and content Christian living. I think a synonym of faithful and content is obedient and happy.
Who among us does not want to be obedient and happy? If so, heed this word.
But this passage is dangerous. It is
dangerous in two ways. As Christians heed these words, they become dangerous.
They become a force to be reckoned with to destroy the works of the evil one,
to tear down strongholds, to put the enemy to flight, to usher in the kingdom
of God, to live in a way that pleases the Lord and to gain the victory secured
in Christ to put down the principalities and powers.
And it is dangerous in another way as
well. There are those who would subvert its message. There are those who would
emphasize and teach exactly the opposite of what the passage teaches. There are
those who would exalt authority, demanding control. And such dangers always
have and always will exist until Jesus reduces them to footstools.
I have read and studied this passage
many times and only in this reading did I see or read that which is clearly and
has always been the case. It is amazing to me that our pre-conceived ideas can
so easily blind us to the obvious, even in something as simple as reading
Scripture. It is hard to read simply from the text without reading into the
text.
Let me read from the text for you. Keep
in mind, this is the key to understanding this text and our key to
understanding faithful Christian living.
5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own
husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the
head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the
saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church
is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands
in every thing.
Eph. 6:1 Children,
obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the
first commandment with promise;)
5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your
masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your
heart, as unto Christ;
There
you have it, the key to Christian living. I think we are done now. Did you
catch it? Let me say it again,
Wives submit yourselves to your own
husbands, Children, obey your parents. Servants, be obedient to them that are
your masters. That is the key. Aren’t you glad you have it? So, go unlock some
doors.
Wait a second, you need some help using the key. The key is
a modern swipe key and there is an unlock code for it. You have to call in and
give this code to get the key activated. Here it is. This is for wives,
children and servants. Submit and obey in this way.
6: 6 Not with eyeservice, as
menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the
heart; 7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord,
and not to men: 8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man
doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or
free.
Now you’ve got an activated key. You are all set.
Let’s finish with that. No? You need more helping understanding? Let us continue.
If you are chafed a bit right now, why is that? If
we leave Christian virtue on the doorstep of submission, why is this
unsatisfactory? Are you able to gladly submit to the authorities in your life
without a list of qualifications? If so, good, you are learning. If not, why
not? What is troubling you?
I want to get back to our passage and talk about
some of the qualifiers but I have accurately read the passage to you. There are
qualifiers but the qualifiers are just that. They qualify but do not make the
main point. The emphasis in this passage is on submission, not on perfect
authorities. The authorities mentioned are all flawed and fallible and the
Apostle calls for a huge level of submission. If we run to the qualifiers, are
we skipping past the main point of submission. Submission chafes at us. I
understand that. I feel it, too. But why?
Creation Order- Submit to God. Adam and Eve.
Their
refusal to submit to God brought about difficulty in the world. This made Eve’s
submission to Adam very difficult. But the creation order is submission to God,
wives to husbands, children to parents. Without sin, this is good and glorious.
Re-creation- Jesus submits to death for humanity. He
was teaching the disciples the true order of authority. They had a hard time
with it but eventually got it.
The submission to earthly authority is not absolute. When
the Apostles get called before the civil authorities and are commanded not to
preach in Jesus’s name, they refused, citing their requirement to submit to
God. But we must remember that their refusal to submit to one authority was the
requirement to submit to a higher authority.
EXEGESIS
25 Husbands, love your
wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the
washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it
to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;
but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So
ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife
loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but
nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh,
and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a
man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they
two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery:
but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
33 Nevertheless let every one of you in
particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she
reverence her husband.
In the Bible, faithfulness
is defined by submission
The world does not like
this definition
It
wants faithfulness to be defined by independence, self-reliance,
self-actualization, self-fulfillment.
This self centeredness is a denial of the glory of the Trinity. The
Trinity exists in a divine mutual submission. But there is a hierarchy. The
Father sends the Son and the Spirit. The Son submit to the Father. The Son
sends the Spirit. The Spirit submits to the Father and the Son. But these
mutually submitting persons are co-equal. The fact of the Sons submission to
the Father does not make Him less than the Father.
1. Christians to the One
True God
Everyone
in this room is subject to God directly. This means workers, children, wives,
husbands, deacons, elders and pastors. Everybody is subject to somebody. Even
the king is subject to God. Even Jesus is subject to the Father.
God has given gifts to His Church and
men are subject to Christ in His Church and the fallible authorities God has
established in His Church. This subjection is real though, not ultimate or
infallible. The check with we have on this authority is the Word of God. This
is why the Reformation was so important. Sometimes the Word has to protect us
from usurping authorities. They cannot bind our conscience where God has not
bound our conscience.
a. God treats us perfectly
Only
in submission to God, can we become all that God meant us to be. He requires
absolute obedience. This is not difficult if we understand that God is our
benevolent Father. Remember the story of Joseph. His lot was a difficult one.
Man meant it for evil. God meant it for good. Can we grasp this and submit to
His will in our lives?
2. Wives to Husbands
The
command is simple. The submission is harder. Learn to respect your husband and
Christ respects the Church. It is more difficult for you to do so which makes
your reward that much more glorious.
If you must throw off your lawful
authority, you can only do so to his authorities. That would be the church, the
civil magistrate, his own boss. You do not have free reign to complain and
grumble about your husband. Submit to him. Honor him. Respect him. Your service
to him in this way may be the only true Christian service he ever sees.
a. Husbands
act like Christ
We finally get to the qualifier. Ladies, breathe
a sigh of relief. Your husband must be subject to Christ and is given the great
burden of acting like Jesus. I am glad that many husbands in this room do act
like Jesus. Not perfectly but intentionally. Men, you are not subject only to
God. You are subject to the elders of Providence. You are subject to the
police. You are subject to the tax man. You are subject to the CREC. These are
God’s authorities in your life and your wife gets to hold you accountable to
them. Just as husbands ought not to provoke their children, and elders are not
to lord their authority over the flock, so wives ought not to lord their
husband’s accountability structure over him. But it is real and may be needed.
3. Children to Parents
Children,
do not chafe at your parent’s authority. Learn to be obedient gladly to God by
being gladly obedient to them. Learn this in what you wear, who your friends are,
what you listen to, what books you read, how you spend your time, where you go.
Gladly obey your parents, even if the restrictions are unreasonable in your
eyes. Eve thought the restrictions on the fruit were unreasonable, too.
a.
Fathers don’t provoke your
children to wrath
Fathers and mothers, do not put unnecessary
stumbling blocks in the path of your children. Do not be angry yourself. Rules
are one way to provoke. Fewer rules is generally much better. God keeps it
simple for us. Just love God and love your neighbor. If you need a little more
detail, don’t make idols, go to church every Sunday, don’t murder, commit
adultery, steal, lie or covet. That pretty much sums it all up.
So, parents, take your authority and rule
structure from God and keep is simple. Make obedience simple.
4. Slaves to Masters
Men,
work for your bosses with a right good will. Do it cheerfully as unto the Lord.
If you have unreasonable bosses, work for them cheerfully or change your boss.
But don’t complain and grumble. Don’t justify stealing from them because they
are unreasonable to you. Do not return evil for evil.
a.
Masters don’t threaten
with violence
Bosses, be a good boss. Don’t threaten your
employees. You can fire them but don’t threaten them with firing. They need to
be motivated by God to do well. If they will not do it, then cut ties. Be a
cheerful boss just like a cheerful employee. Understand that your employees
also answer to God as well as you and be content to leave it there.
EXHORTATION
1.
Learn to submit and trust God for the consequences.
2. Whenever you throw off any
authority, you must put on a higher authority. You are never the higher
authority.
Submission to your proper lawful
authorities is submission to God. I define proper the way the Bible does. Your
own husband. Your own parents. Your own boss. Your own local civic authorities.
God, therefore, receives your submission as
submission to Him. On the reverse side of this, if you refuse to submit to the
lawful authorities in your life, you are refusing submission to God. God also
takes account of this.
So, we Christians must have learned the
inverted authority structure of Jesus Christ. It does not fit the usurped
authority structure of the devil or the principalities and powers. However, it
does fit the authority structure that God instituted in Adam and Eve and
re-created and re-established in Jesus Christ. Therefore, we will not fear but
will gladly submit to God in Christ. Amen.
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