Submit To One Another

We've been talking about the one and others in the Scriptures and we've been seeing that there are a number of them this morning we come to this submit to one another. In Ephesians chapter 5 if you have your place there in Ephesians 5 verse 21 says submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Now when when we mention submission in the Bible what's the first thing that comes to mind? Marriage, right? Marriage husband and wife submit yourself to your husbands and that's probably the first thing that comes to mind because it is an emphasis of Paul. He mentions it three times, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, Peter mentions it once in his first epistle and so it is a common theme in this area of submission but another reason why this is the first thing we think of when we think of submission is because we don't understand the breadth of this topic in the New Testament. It is much broader than just family relationships, husband, wife relationships. When we see the greater use of submission in the New Testament there are three principles that emerge. So what we're going to try to do this morning for a few minutes is to see the greater use of this concept in the New Testament and three principles that should impact us about submitting to one another. The first principle is this submission is a broad concept. It is much broader than wives submit yourselves to your husbands much broader than that. It's a very broad concept. Beginning with the word here found in verse 21 submit to one another in New Testament times it was a military term. Who post also which literally means to stand under to recognize your place in the rank of things and it's a military idea that you are under authority that there's someone who ranks above you and is in authority over you and you recognize that place. You stand under that authority. That's the idea of the word itself but the word is used in the New Testament to incorporate many other ideas not only standing under being in rank under in that sense but also it's used of obedience to one who is in authority over you. Sometimes it's used simply of love putting the needs of someone else first or of yieldedness to someone else. At other times it's used of a servant spirit or respect for someone who is in authority over you or just of a teachable spirit for having the kind of spirit that places yourself under someone to learn a teachable spirit. That's the idea in the word but it involves a number of relationships in the New Testament. I want to for a moment just scan the number the variety of relationships where submission is applied in the New Testament. Here in this passage verse 21 says submit to one another. This is a submission of all of us to each other in the body of Christ in the church. Now it's interesting where this falls in Paul's train of thought. If you go back and look Paul's main command in this passage is in verse 18. This is the main verb. This is the main command in verse 18 when he says do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery instead and here's the main command of the passage be filled with the spirit. Be under the control of the spirit. Let the Holy Spirit have complete control of your life and then he follows that command with five other verbs actually their adjectives, their participles, five words which tell us what it means to be filled with the spirit. To be under the control of the spirit. What does it look like to be under the control of the spirit? Speaking tongues, do miracles? No. So what Paul says? It works itself out in relationships and so to be filled with the spirit results in verse 19 speaking. That's the first part of simple. It's first qualifier. Speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns and Psalms from the spirit. Singing is the second one. Making music in your heart is the third one verse 20. Always giving thanks is the fourth one and the fifth one is in verse 21 submitting all five of those support what it means to be filled with the spirit. So he's saying this is what it looks like to be filled with the spirit. It's from your heart you have a joyful attitude toward God and a submissive relationship toward others and then he uses verse 21 to introduce three relationships where this is true. Three relationships where submission is true. Husband and wife at the end of chapters chapter five, parent and child at the beginning of chapter six, master and slave or employer employee as the closest parallel in our culture later on in chapter six. Those three relationships where submission works its way out but we're to be submitting to one another all of us submitting to each other but the other relationships where this is true in the Bible. The Bible says that young men are to be submissive to older men in the church. First Peter chapter five and verse five says in the same way you who are younger here's the word submit yourselves to your elders and we're going to stop right there for now but younger men are to submit to older men in the church. The Bible teaches another relationship where this takes place. Church members are to submit to pastors. Hebrews chapter 13 verse seven notice it. Remember your leaders what leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority because they keep watch over you that watch over you comes from the word overseer word for pastor. That's the kind of leader he's talking about here. Watch over you as those who must give an account do this so that their work will be a joy not a burden for that would be of no benefit to you. So people in the church are to be submissive to the leadership of pastors. That's one of the ways this works out. Servants are to be submissive to their masters in the New Testament time or employees to employers look at the way this happens in Ephesians chapter six since you're right there in chapter five. Look at Ephesians six verse five slaves obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and with sincerity of heart just as you would obey Christ. So okay slaves are to be submissive to masters employees to employers but also children to parents look back at verse one children obey your parents. Remember it's in the context of verse 21 submitting yourselves to one other how does that look in parent child relationship it looks like children obeying your parents in the Lord for this is right. So children are to be submissive to parents but the Bible also says that citizens are to be submissive to government. Look at what Paul says in Romans 13 let everyone be subject that's our word submissive to the governing authorities for there is no authority except that which God has established the authorities that exist have been established by God Peter says the same thing in first Peter chapter two submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority whether it's the emperor or the governor he goes on to say submit yourself to governing authorities. So you just get a picture here of the many different relationships where submission is found in the New Testament it's not just why I submit to your husbands it's also submit everybody to one another in all relationships young men to older church members to pastors servants to masters children to parents citizens to government there's a wide range a broad concept and so we all need to ask ourselves these kinds of questions how do I view those in positions of authority over me am I submissive to them do I respect and honor them or am I self-willed am I always right or am I have am I teachable do I have a teachable spirit do I honor and respect those over me do I become defensive threatened or am I loving and yielding to those in authority over me we all need to ask ourselves those questions in all of those relationships for the Bible commands submission to those in authority over us but wait a second some of you're just about ready to tune me out there's more there's a second principle that emerges when you look at this wider concept of submission in the New Testament and that is this submission is a two-way street it doesn't just go one way it doesn't just go from those under submission submission is a two-way street in the New Testament in other words what we don't often recognize is that those in leadership positions are also to function with submissive attitudes with attitude of a teachable spirit a humble spirit not lording it over people that they may have under their authority the Bible teaches submission is a two-way street Ephesians 521 our main verse here simply is saying submit to one another and then he gives examples but there's a mutual submission here we saw a few moments ago that younger men are to be submissive to older men in the church but did you notice if you read ahead in the verse what Peter said right after that let's look at it again in the same way you who are younger submit yourselves to your elders all of you that includes the elders all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble now that includes those who were in authority that includes the leaders yes there is a mutual submission there is a clothing of the leader with humility to serve the needs of someone else the same thing is true in all of the other relationships we saw pastors okay if church members are to be submissive to the authority of pastors how are pastors to treat that position of authority Peter tells us in first Peter chapter 5 verse 2 when he says be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care watching over them that's that's leadership that's authority but he says not because you must but because you're willing as God wants you to be not pursuing dishonest gain but eager to what sir and then notice these next words here's the attitude not lording it over those entrusted to you but being examples to the flock no position of authority in God's work allows anyone to dominate to lord it over anyone else so you see there's a mutual submission yes church members are under authority of the pastors but the pastors are under authority of church members too in the sense that we are to put your needs first to be teachable to be open to correction and to lead in a way that is good for you and not good for us that is what the Bible teaches that's a two way street you see submission goes both ways it's also true of in the New Testament times masters and slaves or in our culture employers and employees you remember what Paul said about slaves being in submission to masters but look at what he says to masters in Colossians 4.1 masters provide your slaves with what is right and fair because you know that you also have a master in heaven I'm not going to deal with the cultural issue of slavery in the Roman world that's an entirely different issue I will say that these principles that existed then apply to us today basically in the employer employee relationship if you work for someone else you're to be in submission to their authority but those who are in authority are to take notice of what's best for the employee and to serve their needs at the mutual submission the same thing is true of parents and children children are to be submissive to their parents but parents are to parent in a way that is best for the child that's why Paul says to the fathers in Colossians 3.21 fathers do not imbiter your children or they will become discouraged I don't have the time to deal with what it means to imbiter your children but basically it means to be either to lacks in discipline and training or to authoritarian to domineering to tyrant like if you don't have the right balance of loving your children affirming them and disciplining and training in a way that will build them up not tear them down then you're in violation of this command and so it requires in a sense a mutual submission the same thing is true of government yes we're to be submissive as citizens to the governing authorities but look at what Paul says about the governing authorities and their attitude for the one in authority is God's servant ah they're under authority too God servant for your good now we're not going to debate how often this happens but the way it's supposed to happen is that governing authorities are doing everything they do for the benefit of the citizens that's the way it's supposed to work that's the way God set it up so there's a mutual submission here that is intended same thing is true of husband wife relationship wives be submissive to your husbands in the Lord for this is what God wants in the late in Ephesians five but then Paul goes right on to say Ephesians five 25 husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that is submission in the sense that it is sacrifice it is doing what is best for your wife and so a position of authority in the home does not mean I'm going to crack the whip and tell you what to do it means I am going to serve you and do what is best for you and that's how I'm going to lead our home that's a mutual submission in a sense now please understand this is not a complete mutual submission we're not talking about just putting everybody on an equal plane there is biblically in all of those relationships I've mentioned of proper authority and a proper person under authority but the one in authority and this is the key to it the one in authority is to serve in a way that is best for those under authority and thus in a sense submit my desire to reign and rule and call the shots to the needs of others that's a mutual submission I love what former president Eisenhower once said when he was still serving in ward war two is the general head of where all the European theater and Eisenhower said to a fellow general one time who had spoken of his soldiers as just private he rebuked him said don't you ever call a soldier just a private this army could get along better without its generals he said than its private and he went on to say if this war is one it will be won by the foot soldier on the ground not by the generals in the backroom so he said don't you ever refer to someone as just a private now what general Eisenhower was saying and what he was modeling was we are to be submissive to them too we are to realize their value and worth to this army the same thing is true in any any attitude any submission relationship authority and a person under authority it's a two-way street the last principle is this submission finds its example in Christ now this is what it really looks like if you can find this passage fairly quickly look at Matthew chapter 20 Matthew 20 where Jesus models what it means to have this kind of example of mutual submission submitting to one another shortly before Jesus dies James and John have made a request through their mother that they be considered the top two in Jesus kingdom secretary of state secretary of defense we want to be the top two in your cabinet we want to be the the scalar guys the ones you turn to the most and the Bible says the other 10 got indignant when they heard that because they hadn't thought of it first you know they they wanted their place on the cabinet to be pretty important well Jesus takes them to task and he shows them what true leadership is and this is this is a lesson in leadership this is a lesson in those who lead and those who are in under authority in Matthew 20 verse 25 Jesus called them together and said you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their high officials exercise authority over them in other words that's what works in the world people who have positions of authority lord it over people under them and the only reason they would ever listen to someone under them is if it benefits them if it furthers their agenda they are in authority and they're going to let everybody know it they're gonna squash anything that comes from those under authority notice what Jesus said verse 26 not so with you in the words this is not how it works in my kingdom instead Jesus said whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be your slave just as and here's the example just as the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many I mean Jesus was served in heaven Jesus was the object of worship of all in heaven including the angels and he gave out all those outward trappings of glory and came to this earth to be served to be recognized no to serve he came to this earth as Paul says in Philippians 2 being made in the like this man being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself became a servant and went to death even death on a cross he came to serve and so Jesus says that's the example mutual submission submitting one to another is demonstrated best in Jesus Christ so in your home in your work in this church submit to one another practice submission if you are under authority respond with respect and a teachable spirit to that authority over you if you are in authority over others have a gracious and gentle spirit as you relate to others basically what we're talking about whether you're in authority or under authority basically what we're talking about is be Christ like be like the Lord Jesus who although he was Lord and had the authority was submissive to the needs of those he came to save Sebastian Younger is a journalist who for 15 months recently followed a single platoon of US soldiers in one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan he did it so that he could write a book about what it's like on the ground in Afghanistan his book is simply entitled war and he writes in his book about working and living in the midst of a war zone with this platoon of soldiers and how much the soldiers had to rely on each other he was talking about in this book what you don't do or you do as a soldier affecting everybody else in your platoon I want to quote what he says he says margins were so small and errors potentially so catastrophic that every soldier had a kind of de facto authority to reprimand others in some cases even officers what he's talking about is a mutual submission that every person has the authority to be able to call out the other person because they depend on each other they must be submissive to each other listen to what he says and because combat can hinge on small details there was nothing in a soldier's daily routine that fell outside the group's purview whether you tied your shoes or cleaned your weapon or drank enough water or secured your night vision gear were all matters of public concern and so were open to public scrutiny in other words any soldier could call out any other soldier regardless of rank on any of those kinds of issues or others he goes on to say once I watched a private a cost another private whose bootlaces were trailing on the ground not that he cared what it looked like but if something happened out there and out there everything happens suddenly the guy with the loose laces couldn't be counted on to keep his feet at a crucial moment it was the other man's life he was risking not just his own there was no such thing as personal safety out there what happened to you happened to everyone when I read that I thought what a picture of the church we're engaged in a battle our enemy the devil is against us in seeking to destroy us every day and he uses tactics that are in many cases beyond our ability to withstand on our own that's why we need one another and as soldiers and gods army if you want to call it that we need to be able to submit to one another to be able to call out each other if need be and to be able to receive correction instruction rebuke encouragement from anyone in the body of Christ because we're in this together and if we don't serve together we go down together because what one does affects everybody in the body of Christ for that reason we must submit to one another whether you're in authority or under authority submit to one another let's pray together Father help us to be obedient to your word and regardless of where we are regardless of what our so-called rank may be help us Lord to be submissive to one another to be willing to be teachable correctable to be under authority and even when we have positions of authority to put the needs of those under our care first to love them to serve them whether it be in the home on the job or in the church help us Lord to be submissive to one another for your glory and the advance of your work around the world we ask in Jesus name amen