"Submit to One Another" 2-5-23

Overview

Submit to One Another

In Ephesians 5:18-21, Paul contrasts being "drunk with wine" — under the controlling influence of alcohol — with being "filled with the Spirit." He then describes what Spirit-filled life looks like through three participles: singing, giving thanks, and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. The fuel source for biblical submission is not willpower but the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit fills us, submission flows out as an act of worship, an expression of reverence for Christ Himself.

Submission, in Paul's vocabulary, simply means counting the other as more important than yourself. Jesus embodies this perfectly. In John 13, the Son of God girds Himself with a towel and washes His disciples' feet — the work of the lowliest slave. Philippians 2 tells us He did not exploit equality with God but emptied Himself, becoming obedient even to death on a cross. And in Mark 10:43-45, He teaches that true greatness is rooted in service: "the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many." The genesis of greatness is service, and the genesis of service is submission.

Paul illustrates this with three concrete relationships. Husbands and wives Ephesians 5:22-33 are called to count each other as more important — husbands loving with the agape love Christ showed the church. Parents and children Ephesians 6:1-4 live in mutual submission too: children obey, while parents serve their children by not provoking them and by faithfully bringing them up in the Lord — not abdicating authority, but exercising it as service. Masters and slaves Ephesians 6:5-9 likewise share one Master in heaven who shows no partiality, so masters too must "do the same to them" and stop threatening.

Honesty compels us to admit how often we fail here. Like Peter's threefold denial in Matthew 26, each of us could name multiple moments this past week when we did not submit to the Lordship of Jesus or count others as more important than ourselves. But the One who knelt with the towel, who took the form of a slave, who submitted Himself unto death, has borne even the sin of our refusal to submit. By His grace He bends our knees in adoration and recreates us from the inside out. We will fall short this side of heaven, yet the Spirit is at work producing in us the very submission God calls for. So consider today: who is it — a spouse, a child, a parent, a coworker, a fellow believer — whom you can count as more important than yourself?

Transcript

Would you open your Bibles please with me to the book of Ephesians the 5th chapter for our study today page 172 Ephesians the 5th chapter? 2s

It is called the rule of three, the rule of three. 16s

The rule of three is a principle that we understand ideas, concepts, situations, if they are bundled together. 24s

Our brains are wired to like bundles. 39s

And so the rule of three says that if you put things in groups of three, you'll have better comprehension. 44s

For example, the good, the bad, what's the third, the ugly, how about this one? 55s

Stop, look, yep, or snap, crackle, right, okay. 64s

So you see it's the rule of three and it provides all areas of life. 75s

Doesn't it? Dickens in the Christmas Carol. 81s

Remember how many ghosts there were? 85s

Past and present and future. 88s

Shakespeare, Mark Anthony. 95s

Friends, Romans was a third, countrymen, right? 97s

Or it's a far cry from Shakespeare, but go the locks and who the three bears. 103s

It's the rule of three that we understand concepts, ideas, situations better. 112s

We'll remember them better if they're grouped together in a three. 121s

Paul was no stranger to this. 133s

And of course, since the writing of Ephesians was inspired by God, God is no stranger to the rule of three. 135s

In fact, what you see in Ephesians throughout is this manifestation of the rule of three. 147s

Turn with me, please, to chapter one of Ephesians, verse 18. 156s

It'll catch us mid-thought here, but it'll make sense. 163s

Chapter one, verse 18. 168s

Paul writes, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the, here we go. 170s

Hope to which he's called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints? 179s

And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power? 187s

There's the rule of three. 197s

Or, turn over to chapter four, would you please? 200s

Chapter four, we'll pick up in verse 11. 204s

Paul writes, the gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. 212s

Two, here we go. 220s

Equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ. 222s

Last one, we could do more. 233s

Chapter five, verse 14, Paul is referencing a him here. 236s

Therefore it says, sleeper, here we go. 243s

O wake rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. 248s

The rule of three, concepts, situations, ideas are comprehended more if you bundle them. 257s

If you bundle them into a group of three. 264s

So also with our text. 272s

Look, please. 276s

Chapter five, verse 18. 277s

Paul writes, do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery. 282s

But be filled with the spirit. 288s

You see, if one is drunk with wine, they are under the control, they are under the influence of the alcohol. 293s

Paul is saying, don't be under that type of influence, that type of control. 301s

But be filled with the Holy Spirit. 306s

Be filled with that control. 310s

Then he goes on to give three participals. 315s

Three expressions of how being filled with the Holy Spirit, how it manifests himself. 320s

Verse 19. 327s

As you sing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, 330s

here come the three participals. 334s

Singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 339s

giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 344s

And then here's the third in the Greek, it's actually a participle here. 353s

Subjecting, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, singing, giving and submitting. 360s

I really like how the English standard version translates this because they understand this use of three in the Apostle Paul. 369s

And they also, they also mirror what the Greek is doing. 379s

And so they take verse 21 which is a standalone in the NRSV. 383s

They put it up with a paragraph as part of the next part of verse 20 into 21 and they keep the part as simple, 389s

subjecting or submitting. 397s

That's much closer to the Greek than what you see here in the NRSV. 399s

Singing, giving and then submitting. 405s

I want to focus on the last one today. 408s

The last one of these three, submitting. 412s

Because it falls into what we're studying, these one another passages of submitting to one another. 419s

Counting the other as more important than yourself. 431s

That's the meaning of submitting. 438s

Counting the other as more important than yourself. 441s

The second member of the Holy Trinity gives examples of this. 450s

Three, come to mind. 461s

John, the 13th chapter. 466s

There are the scripture tells us that Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, 469s

and that he had come from God and was going to God. 477s

God up from the table took off his outer robe and tied a towel around himself. 482s

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 488s

The second member of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, giving an example of what it means to count the other as more important than yourself. 500s

Doing the job of the lolliest of slaves in the day of washing a person's feet. 517s

Counting the disciples as more important than himself, washing their feet, counting them as more important than himself, teaching them of what it means to be a servant. 526s

Here's the second of the three, Philippians 2. 543s

Speaking of Jesus, it says, though he was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 547s

but empty himself taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and being found in human form, 555s

he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross. 565s

That personifies the definition of submitting, doesn't it? 576s

Counting the other as more important than themselves, counting us of that importance, and going to the cross and bearing our sin, 581s

so that we would be reconciled unto God. 596s

Counting the other as more important submission, third example, more ten, Jesus says, 600s

whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 610s

For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. 623s

Jesus says, you want to know what true greatness is? 631s

True greatness is rooted in service. 636s

The genesis of service is submission. 643s

The genesis of service is submission. 650s

It is counting the other as more important than yourself. 654s

The genesis of greatness is service born out of submission. 664s

It all flows out of counting the other as more important than yourself. 677s

But here's our problem. 690s

Counting the other is more important than yourself, submitting to one another. 695s

That's hardly on the front burner for us. 706s

So often. 712s

Right? 712s

It's hardly on the front burner. 715s

Could you come up with three examples of when it hasn't this past week? 725s

Matthew the 26 chapter. 740s

We have Peter. 743s

A servant girl comes up to Peter and says, you were with him. 746s

Speaking of Jesus. 752s

Peter responds by saying, I do not know what you are talking about. 754s

One another servant girl comes up and says, you were with him. 759s

You were with him. 766s

Peter responds, I do not know the man to the bystandards come around. 769s

And they say, you were with him. 780s

You're accent. 784s

You're accent. 786s

Patreys you. 787s

You were with him. 788s

And the scripture says that Peter began to curse and also to swear and oath saying, I do not know the man. 790s

Three. 813s

See, there was no submittal to the Lordship of Jesus by Peter, right? 818s

And Peter didn't count those that he had opportunity to witness to as more important than himself. 824s

He didn't count them as more important than themselves. 833s

No, he moved into the threefold denial. 841s

Can we come up with three quick examples in all of our lives where we haven't submitted to the Lordship of Jesus? 853s

Yes. 865s

Where we haven't submitted to one another, where we haven't counted the other as more important than ourselves. 868s

But amazingly, the one who girded the towel, the one who took the form of the slave, the one who defined greatness as service, 890s

the one who submitted to us counting us as more important than himself. 909s

Goes to the cross and bears all of our sin, including all of the sin of our lack of submitting to God and to one another. 920s

And in his grace, to the forgiveness one, to the blood of the cross, in his grace, he bends our knees in adoration to him. 939s

And he recreates us from the inside out to be the one who submits. 955s

Will we fall short this side of heaven? 971s

There won't be a day that goes by where we don't have any confession in this area. 974s

But God is at work bringing forth from us the submission that he desires. 980s

Look again, please. 992s

Verse 21 of chapter 5, using the part of simple, submitting, subjecting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 995s

You see, in the God-produced submission, that submission is an act of worship to God. 1013s

It is out of this reverence, this expression of reverence for Christ, that submission then occurs. 1023s

And notice that the submission that we are called to be about is tied to what? 1031s

It's tied to back up into 18, but be filled with the spirit, because then comes the clause. 1040s

Here are the expressions of being filled with the spirit. 1049s

One of which is the submitting to one another. 1052s

What does that tell us? 1058s

It tells us then that the fuel source for the submitting is the spirit. 1059s

That the submitting is the result of being filled with the spirit, and being filled with the spirit then births and gives rise then to the very thing that God calls for. 1066s

And to reinforce the point, Paul then gives us examples. 1087s

Actually, what do you know? Three of them. Three. 1095s

Three examples of what it means to submit. 1102s

Ephesians, the fifth chapter, verse 21. 1107s

Here's the relationship between wives and husbands. 1110s

Verse 21, subjecting to one another out of reverence for Christ, example one. 1114s

Wives be subject to your husband as you are to the Lord. 1122s

Verse 25, husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. 1128s

Man, that's a gopate love. 1139s

There's no greater example of submission than a gopate love, because what love does Jesus show us. 1142s

It's a gopate love as he submits himself, counts us as more important than himself, and he goes to the cross to die and to rise for us. 1149s

Paul says, this is what it looks like. 1163s

Here's example one. 1166s

Husbands and wives, it's subjecting yourself to one another. 1168s

What does that mean? It means you count the other as more important than yourself. 1172s

That is the opposite of the ways of the world. 1180s

It's the opposite of the ways of the world. 1183s

This is bowing to one another out of service to one another. 1187s

You're counting the other as more important than yourself. 1193s

That arises than the unity that God desires for the marriage. 1200s

That's example number one. 1204s

He says, here's example number two. 1207s

Go over to chapter six here. 1210s

Children and parents. 1213s

Verse one, chapter six. 1215s

Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. 1217s

Children submit them to the parent. 1222s

They count the parent as more important than themselves. 1224s

But now watch this. 1229s

The parent then submits to the child, counting the child as more important than themselves. 1232s

That's not abdication of the role of being a parent. 1241s

Not at all, but it is the act of service of the parent to the child. 1246s

Verse four. 1253s

Right after the call to the children and says, 1255s

And fathers do not provoke your children to anger, 1257s

but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. 1263s

See, that's an act of service. 1267s

That's an act of service parents, right? 1269s

When we count our children as more important than ourselves, 1271s

when instead of other priorities or other things that we may want to do, 1276s

this is the priority to do. 1281s

We count them as more important. 1285s

That is an act of submission of the parent to the child. 1288s

Paul says, submitting yourselves to one another. 1296s

Husbands, wives, there's example one. 1298s

Parents and children, there's example number two. 1302s

Then he takes an historically rooted example of masters and slaves. 1306s

To give a third example here, the rule of three. 1311s

He says, to slaves, verse seven, 1316s

render service within enthusiasm as to the Lord and not to men and women. 1319s

Verse nine, now here comes the submission of the master to the slave. 1327s

Master is due the same to them, stop threatening them. 1332s

For you know that both of you have the same master in heaven 1335s

and with him there is no partiality. 1339s

He takes this historically rooted example. 1343s

And he says, in the relationship between the slave and the master and the master and the slave, 1348s

there's submission. 1355s

Husbands, wives, parents, children, masters and slaves. 1358s

So who is it? Who is it today that you can submit to? 1368s

Who is it today that you can count them as more important than yourself? 1377s

Who is it? 1392s

I don't know. 1396s

To maybe three examples come to mind. 1397s