SUBMITTING ONE TO ANOTHER
Friday – March 3, 2017
Wow, Friday and time for me to remind all of us to pray for this Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of which we are all members. The picture is of a Coptic Church in Egypt. I am not endorsing or impugning any Church I picture. It is very important that we pray for each other, the Church as a whole, this is not a time to let down our guard, the heathen still rage because of the light but righteousness is exalting America.
Now let’s get back to our Bible Study from Ephesians addressing everyone’s favorite topic of submission. At the end of the teaching there will be a link so you can check out my most recent books.
Ephesians 5:20-23 (KJV)
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
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.
There is much that has been written on this topic of submission particularly in the area of husbands and wives. Perhaps some if not all of that controversy is driven by the women’s movement in the United States. Of course, we are all aware of extreme perversions of this between men and women, husbands and wives in other cultures, notably today Muslims and Islam. Some controversy may spring from Bible texts taken out of context while others may spring from what to expect under the curse. By the way, just by way of a reminder we are not under the curse, the curse is all around us, but we are not to ever let the curse into us. Sin is what gives the curse access (always).
The submission referenced by our text has to do with showing deference to the other person. This submission would go arm in arm with showing humility.
Luke 14:11 (KJV)
11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Open the door for the other person, give them your parking space, and let them go first. Be kind, be gentle, and treat the person the way you would want to be treated. Our sowing will reap a harvest of like kind, positive or negative. God is no respecter of persons and neither should we be. That is not to say we do not show honor to people due to their standing in the community or Church. For example when we are in a courtroom and the judge enters everyone rises until he or she sits (Romans 13:7). Of course we are all to be submitted to God and that one fact makes us equal in the sight of God. God responds and rewards according to our love and faith not some other marker of achievement in the community or Church for that matter. It honors God when we submit one to the other for we are all His children made in His image and likeness of like kind. When we honor one of His children it honors Him.
As I move into the section dealing with husbands and wives let’s remind ourselves of what the will of God was in the beginning and then what God said would happen during the time of the curse. By the way, I repeat, those of us who are in Christ Jesus are not under or subject to the curse.
Genesis 1:26-28 (KJV)
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 2:15-17 (KJV)
15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
There is no distinction in authority, no distinction in the Blessing, and no distinction in the commands given to the male and the female. So, there is no difference in the authority given, Blessing given, or assignment. What did God say about the providing of the Woman to the Man?
Genesis 2:18 (KJV)
18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
It was not good for the man to be alone because the mission given mankind by God would be impossible without the woman. The man by himself could not multiply. The words ‘help meet’ mean or describe one that is uniquely equipped and qualified to come along side to do the will of God. This is much more than the physical sexual union to produce children but the unique talents and gifts given by God to the help-meet He has chosen for us. This person (help-meet) is uniquely equipped to multiply the accomplishments either could accomplish alone. We find in the Book of Hebrews that Jesus is the help meet (one who succor’s) of the Church.
Hebrews 2:18 (KJV)
18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
So we can see from these passages that the man is the help meet for the woman and the woman the help meet for the man. I think we can look at this and see how this can work in many circumstances other than marriage like the partners of a ministry for example. Eve, the Woman was in a subordinate but equal position with Adam with regard to accomplishing the will of God in the earth. Once sin entered (thoughts) mankind then God told the Woman, Eve, what their lot would be exploited so long as the curse was in the earth.
Genesis 3:16 (KJV)
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
We see this today with the ‘glass ceiling’ for women in the business world, the pay differences, physical strength differences, exploitation of women in commerce (sex sells), and the outright abuse of women by men far outpaces women abusing men. In a Godly family the husband and wife will be submitted one to the other in the fear (to honor) God and they are both in submission to God. The wife is in a subordinate position to the husband due to the marriage contract she willingly entered providing order before God and before the world. She is not a doormat in any way and neither is the husband, but fellow laborers in this vineyard of the Lord. If the husband is submitted to God and hearing from God, the wife will be hearing the same thing so submission to the husbands lead will be easy because she knows the direction they are about to take is of the Lord. Understanding this relationship is a little like understanding that God is One but three persons. As the head of the Church Jesus does not make any of us do anything and neither are husbands to force their wives to do anything and of course visa versa. I will pick-up here next week.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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