A LITTLE MORE SUBMISSION
Wednesday – March 22, 2017
Greetings from The Three Minute Word in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wow, Wednesday already, hump day, and what a handsome Bactrian camel I have pictured. God is good, God is imaginative, and God has a sense of humor. Glory be to God forever and ever amen.
Now let’s get back to our text in Ephesians.
Ephesians 6:9-11 (KJV)
9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
As brother Paul is making the transition from the topic of submission to the armor of God he gives one last instruction and makes an observation. First he admonishes the ‘masters’ which in our current society would be employers or a boss at any level, to not threaten their servants or employees. Some synonyms for threaten include: lurk, hover, creep up, intimidate, bully, pressure, menace, warn, terrorize, frighten, or make threats). The opposite or antonym is to protect and reassure. Let’s put this in prospective.
Each business is hopefully producing something that is of general benefit to others, the society in general and each employee (person who serves that business, servant) has a responsibility to perform their assigned duties in such a way that they add value. In this added value is the profit which allows expansion, bonuses, and dividends to stockholders and so on. Each company has a way of operating and that can be found in a policy and procedure manual. Perhaps in a smaller company it will be an oral manual but none the less there is a standard, a culture for that company. This manual will generally spell out the duties and goals of the company and the consequences of not following the policy and procedure manual. Employers are not to threaten or terrorize their employee no more than God threatens or terrorizes us. As employers or others in authority we are to lay out the rules, the commands, and the consequences of not obeying the rules. Each employee in the secular realm and each child and son in the Kingdom of God is expected to function in excellence.
Remember we are in the image and likeness of God, of like kind, and we are to be excellent as He is excellent. In the spiritual realm when we choose not to be in the will of God, we ourselves open the door to the enemy to come in and steal, kill, and destroy in our lives. This is not a mystery brother and sister. The problem is that many times we are way too proud to accept that so we develop a theology that excuses us and leaves a perception of mystery. That theology may go along the lines that God is teaching us something or working something out in our lives but praise God He is in control. All of that is a lie of the devil. Or this false theology may go along the lines that God works in mysterious ways, and His ways are above our ways and our understanding. Or you may hear the statement “well it is just one of those things, happens to us all”.
Each of us, whether we be the employer or the employee (if saved) both serve God and our service in either capacity is as unto the Lord, our Master. Paul ends this section with the phrase; “neither is there respect of persons with him.” In the Kingdom of God there is not one set of rules for one who is assigned as an employer and other for one assigned to be the employee. They both serve that company and on a much higher level they serve the same God, Master. Each will be judged as to what they have done in this life in the flesh and both by the same measuring stick (Policy and Procedure Manual which for the Kingdom of God is known as the Bible). Now we come to the following verses.
Ephesians 6:10-11 (KJV)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
We find this phrase above; “be strong in the Lord” and this does not have even a hint of something we are to try to be but this is a command, we are to be strong in the Lord. A major step into this reality is submission, total and complete, to the will of God which can include your husband, or our boss. Now each of us is on a learning curve and therefore in ignorance we open the door to the enemy however God extends mercy when we are pushing forward in the Kingdom not coasting. Let’s look at a couple of verses for our meditation and will pick up right here tomorrow.
Luke 12:47-48 (KJV)
47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
Leviticus 5:17-19 (ESV)
17 “If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity.
18 He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven.
19 It is a guilt offering; he has indeed incurred guilt before the LORD.”
Romans 8:1 (KJV)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
