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[0:00] This morning we're continuing in our study of Ephesians, and we are going to be in a particularly difficult passage this morning.

[0:14] ! But I want us all to be mindful that as we read it, the reader said,!

[0:30] This is God's word, and we live under it. So let's actually pray that God will minister to us and settle our minds and give us hearing ears to hear his word this morning.

[0:46] Let us pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, we come before you now knowing that in our sinful mind, in our sinful world, sometimes your word, can seem like a hard pill to swallow.

[1:03] But we know that it is medicine to us. But not only that, it is food for sustaining us. So help us, Lord, now to feast on your word, to eat our vegetables, as it were, that your word would nourish our hearts and our minds, so that we would then be able to live godly lives, live as you've created us to.

[1:26] We pray, Lord, for your Holy Spirit's power. Give me words to speak your word rightly and truthfully and faithfully to your people. And give all of us listen, hear, to hear what you have to say to us.

[1:37] We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So we have in these verses things that are in the culture that we live in are not things that are...

[1:53] Well, everything in this passage is really... Everything in this passage is really canto-cultural. It's not...

[2:05] It's not... But I wanted to actually say this off the bat. When Paul wrote this in the first century, it was canto-cultural as well.

[2:18] So there's nothing new here. God's word goes against natural proclivities, sinful proclivities, goes against the culture that we live in.

[2:28] And we, as the children of God, our response to it is to follow God and his word rather than the world around us. And the challenge is here for us, as it was for Paul's original audience.

[2:43] It's here for us as well. Who will we obey? God or man? Or human culture? So let's... I'm tempted to read this again.

[2:55] I am actually... I am going to read it again. And so just hear God's word. You don't have to actually follow on along. I'll ask you to just listen.

[3:11] Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, to your own husbands, as you to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loves the church.

[3:50] And gave himself for her. In order that he might make her holy. Having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. So that he might present the church glorious to himself.

[4:04] Not having a spot or wrinkle or any such thing. But rather that she might be holy and unblemished. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.

[4:22] He who loves his wives loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh. But nourishes and cherishes it. Just as Christ does the church. Because we are members of his body.

[4:34] Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and old fast to his wife. And the two shall become one flesh. This is profound. And I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

[4:48] However, let each one of you love his wife as himself. And let the wife see that she respects her husband. Paul continues his admonition in chapter 5 here.

[5:03] By, in verse 21. Encouraging us to submit to one another in the fear of Christ. I want to say something here. And we'll talk about it in the end of the sermon.

[5:15] But remember, this verb given in verse 21. Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ. is what grammatically we call an adverbial participle.

[5:29] It's actually, it's supporting a prior verb. Earlier on in the chapter. Which is in verse, if you, in verse, I think Brian talked about it last week in verse 18.

[5:46] Right? If you look at the latter half of verse 18. It says, but be filled with the spirit. Be filled with the spirit. That's the main verb there. And every other verb after that.

[5:58] Addressing one another in Psalms. That's an adverbial participle. Supporting being filled with the spirit. That's what being in the spirit looks like. Singing and making melody. That's an aspect of being filled in the spirit.

[6:11] Giving thanks always and everywhere. To God the Father in the name of Christ. And then this last one. Which kind of summarizes, but then also as a heading for the next verses.

[6:21] It goes in. Submitting to one another. Out of reverence for Christ. This is what it means to be part of the household of God. Exhibit the God's character.

[6:33] The family trait. As we've been talking about. Right? It's by submitting to one another. Out of reverence. In the fear of Christ.

[6:45] That's the way in which we're to submit to one another. So, then. Paul goes on. Many people have said. When they go to verse 22. Wives. Submit to your own husbands. In fact, in the original Greek.

[6:56] The word. Submit. It's not there. Right? It says wives. Rather, it says wives. To your own husbands. But, it's. It's. Continual.

[7:06] With the. Submitting to one another. In reverence for Christ. Wives. The logical question. Is. So, the. The translators were right. To include it. Because that's the. That's the.

[7:17] Import of that word. Wives. Submitting to your own husband. So, Paul goes on. In these verses. To talk about. That. What it looks like. To submit to one another. Out of reverence for Christ.

[7:28] In the household. Right? And he talks about the family first. And he. Devotes a long. And a huge portion of it. To families. And especially. To. To the relation between a husband and a wife.

[7:40] I think because Paul knows. Even then. That the relationship. Between a husband and wife. Is vital and essential. For. The society. For the.

[7:52] For the well-being of the family itself. But then for the society at large. And for the church in particular. Right? So. He. He. He. Addresses that. And Paul's. Injunction here.

[8:03] Is. That. Wives. Should submit. The implied verb is there. To submit. To their husbands. As.

[8:14] Unto the Lord. Right? As you submit to the Lord. Um. And then he goes on. He says. Even as Christ. Because the husband. Is the head over the wife. He. He.

[8:25] The. The reason. The grounding. For which. Wives. Are to submit to their husband. Is because. Right? Husbands. Are the head of the wife. Now this is important for us to note as well.

[8:37] It doesn't mean. That husbands. Are the source. Many people will have. Look at this verse. And say. Well. Because Eve was taken from. From. Adam's rib.

[8:48] Then. The wife. Is the source. The man. Is the source. Of the. Of the. Of the woman. That's not. What Paul means. By head here. He's. Actually talking about.

[8:58] What he's been talking about. Earlier on. In Ephesians. Christ is. Because he uses the example. As Christ is the head of the church. He's talking about roles here. Not. Um. There's no ontological difference.

[9:10] Between. A man and a woman. A husband and a wife. He's talking about roles. Um. So. Wives. Submit to your husband. Because. Because the husband's the head of the work. In terms of the husband.

[9:21] Is. As. Has authority. And leadership. In the family. Just as. Christ. Is head over the church. Look at the similarity.

[9:32] In the example. The parallel. That Paul makes there. For he is the savior of the body. And then he goes on. Therefore. The inference. The inference. From that is.

[9:43] Therefore. As the church. Submits to Christ. In the same manner. In the same manner. Wives. Should submit. To their husband. The call to submission.

[9:56] Is not conditional. Note. Note that. This is important to note. The call to submission. Is not. Conditional. On the husband's ability. To be the head.

[10:08] I want to stress that. It didn't say. Submit. To your husband. If he's impressive. In the way. He heals. Wills. His responsibility. His head.

[10:19] Right. This is why. Paul grounds. The imperative. The command. To submit. In Christ. It has nothing to do. With your husband. It has nothing to do.

[10:30] With his impressiveness. Or lack of impressiveness. It has to do. With you. And your relationship. To Christ. Submit. To your husband. As you submit. To the Lord.

[10:41] In other words. The way. You submit. To the Lord. The way. As. As a wife. As a. And as a follower. Of Jesus Christ. The way you exhibit.

[10:52] That. Life. Exhibit. God's trait. The family trait. In the. In the role. And in the relationship. Of marriage. Is by submitting. To your husband. That's the implication. That Paul is making.

[11:04] The wife's obedience. In submitting. Is not dependent. On the husband. But on a relationship. With Christ. It's.

[11:14] It's kind of an implicit. Restatement. Of verse 21. In submitting. To a husband. She's submitting. To a Lord. Christ. However.

[11:28] The wife. Although she's called. To submit. Is not. Inferior. To a husband. They are both.

[11:39] Created. In God's image. Remember. Male and female. He created them. The man. Is an image bearer. The woman. Is an image bearer.

[11:50] Essentially. In essence. Equal. It is in their roles. As husband and wife. That the husband. Bears authority. And notice here.

[12:01] Also. The command. Is that wives. Is to submit to. Who? Their. Own husbands. Right? There is no call here. For women. To submit to men.

[12:13] There is no call for. My wife. To submit to. You. Or vice versa. It is wives. To their own husbands. In the relationship.

[12:23] In the family relationship. This is vital. But. Let's talk about how. This is not. An easy thing. To hear. In the culture. That we live in. I think.

[12:35] Fairly enough. Some of it. Is because. People have misinterpreted. Misapplied. And abused. These verses. And that is a shame.

[12:47] And that is a tragedy. But because people have misapplied. And misinterpreted. These verses. Does not mean. That it is not God's word. And does not demand. Us to obey it. Right. And so we ought to read it.

[12:59] And apply it rightly. Right. God's command. Is for. The wife. To submit to a husband. As unto the Lord. What does that look like?

[13:11] I want to be careful. Not to give you examples. Of what that looks like. Because. Here actually. What Paul is saying is. Notice that he's. Notice here. That he's not saying. Husbands. And oftentimes.

[13:24] Unfortunately. This is sometimes. That's how this is interpreted. Husbands. Make sure. Your wives. Submit to you. There's no. He's not talking about. He's talking to wives here. And it's.

[13:35] It's. He's talking to wives. Wives. It's a willing. Voluntary. In the spirit. Right. Being filled with the spirit. Those who are filled. And.

[13:45] And moved by the spirit. Do this. Willingly. And voluntarily. It's not. It's not a command. For husbands. I want to. I want to make that. Very careful. It's not a command. For husbands. Husbands. Make sure your wives.

[13:56] Submit to you. It is a command. To wives. To submit to the husband. Voluntarily. And willingly. As unto the Lord. That is. That is vital. For us.

[14:06] To take. And it is. Done. In a heart. That is submissive. And submitted. To Christ. Then. Out of the outgrowth.

[14:17] Out of the overflowing. Of a heart. That is surrendered. To God's word. And to Christ. This is also exemplified. In submitting. To your husband. What does it look like. For example. Even in a marriage.

[14:28] That is not between. The wife is a believer. And the husband isn't. Is the wife required. To do. To submit to her husband. Yes. Because she's a believer. And she's a Christian.

[14:38] And she submits to God's word. What does it. What does it mean then. For us. For a wife to submit. In all things. Notice that. We said. We said it here. Well. We haven't said it.

[14:49] The word of God has said it. It's to submit. Right. In all things. It doesn't give qualifiers. In what to submit. But there is. A qualifier. Right. It is. As unto the Lord. That is the one qualifier.

[15:00] That is given there. Right. So we. The wives submit to their husband. As unto the Lord. Right. That means. You submit. As unto the Lord.

[15:11] God being. The primary. And the supreme authority. So that if your husband. Will ask you to do something. That will. Mean that you would disobey.

[15:24] The Lord. You do not submit. In that. In that. In that scenario. You submit to the Lord. This is in keeping. With. A heart and a mind.

[15:34] That is submitted to Christ. First and foremost. And then out of the outflow of that. Submitting. In the. In the. In the. In the role of marriage. Paul. Is writing.

[15:46] To a culture. Where. This is not even something that we. When I said before. It's counter-cultural. It's. Some. It's ironic. Because it's counter-cultural. In sometimes.

[15:56] Opposite ways. There is. In a Roman world. There would not even be. A need. To talk. To even address the wives. In this situation. If this was a Roman.

[16:10] It's. It's culturally acceptable. That the wife. Is. Submits. But in. But the way. The culture. Was. Think of it. Is in a domineering way.

[16:21] So. The reason why the wife. Would not even be addressed. Is because. The injunction. Would have been to the husbands. Husbands. Make sure you dominate. And domineer. Your family.

[16:33] Make your wife. Submit to you. Control. Your. This is. This is. Will be the Roman. Way of. Or even. Even. Perhaps. Even the Jewish. Family structure.

[16:44] But here. The. Agency. Is to the wife. To submit. To the. To their husband. And again. I want to reiterate. It's. It's a voluntary.

[16:54] As unto the Lord. Voluntary. Act. It's an act of worship. In fact. Paul then continues. I want to.

[17:06] Express this to you. We must be careful. Not to confuse. The comparison. Right. Paul makes a comparison. The relationship. Between Christ. And the church. Informs. The relationship.

[17:17] Between the husband. And the wife. You see that. There. Right. Even as Christ. Is head over the church. Right. The same way. That the husband. Is head over his wife. But it's not. The other way around.

[17:28] Right. Christ. And the church. Informs. The relationship. Of husband and wife. The former. Christ. And the church. Is the model. For the latter.

[17:40] Husband and wife. So when we think of equality. In essence. And submission. In roles. We should naturally think of the relationship. Between. Between Christ.

[17:51] And the church. Oftentimes. There. There are. Misapplication. With the address. And we go to. The relationship between. The father. And the son. Paul doesn't actually go there.

[18:02] And there's. There's been some. Some. Some dangers. In doing that. Because then we confuse. The. The. The essence. Between the father. Son. And the Holy Spirit.

[18:13] And we. We lessen it. We lower it to. A marriage relationship. And we. That can border on heresy. We can. We can misinterpret. The nature of God. When we do that.

[18:24] So Paul doesn't do that. Paul says. The example. The analogy. He gives. Is Christ and the church. And husband and wife. And. Christ and the church. Informs.

[18:35] How. Husband and wife. Are to relate. To one another. As the church submits. To Christ. So the wives. You submit. To the church. One. Would be wise. Then.

[18:45] To follow Paul's. Lead. In this. By grounding. The marital relationship. In the relationship. Between Christ. And the church. So the logical.

[18:57] Progression. Of submission. Is. Wives. To husbands. Wives. Are given. An example.

[19:07] By which. They are to relate. To their husbands. Right. The example. Is. The way. Christ relates. To the. The church. Relates to Christ. But now. Paul now. Goes on.

[19:17] In verse 25. And he addresses. Husbands. And he says. Husbands. By the way. This. These. We're.

[19:29] We're trying to get through. All these verses. But. In fairness. This could have been. Two sermons. But. But. Paul now. Goes on. There's a lot more. To say.

[19:39] About the. The verses. The verses. We've just talked about. Since we're trying to get through. All of it. This. This Sunday. Let's move on to what. Paul says. To the husbands. Notice that he devotes.

[19:52] More time. To the exaltation. To husbands. And notice that he's more forceful. In his imperative. To the husbands.

[20:03] Than to the wives. The verb here. To love. The verb in the Greek. Signifies. A continuing action.

[20:15] Towards the wife. Right. Husbands. Love your wives. The actual verb in the original language. Is that. Continuing. Continuing.

[20:26] Ever increasing. Action. To the wife. And he says. Just as. He also again. Introduces the. The comparative. Here. Just as. Christ.

[20:37] Loves the church. Husbands. Are to love their wives. How then. Does Christ. Love the church. And in turn.

[20:49] In what way. Is the husband. To love. His wife. What does that look like? Paul says. It is by giving. Himself.

[21:01] Up for her. Notice the example. He's given. How is the husband. To love. To continue. To love. His wife. Just as Christ. Did. By giving.

[21:12] Himself. Up for her. Again. This is a voluntary. Sacrifice. This is a call. To.

[21:23] Die. To yourself. In the. In the manner. Which you love. Your wife. You willingly. Give. Christ willingly. Gives himself. For the church. Husbands. Willingly.

[21:35] Daily. Daily. Give yourself. For your wife. And then in verse 26. That he might make her. Holy. Having cleansed her.

[21:59] By the washing of water. With the word. This. This is. This. This verse 26. Can be a bit confusing. Because. We might be tempted. To. To think.

[22:10] That the husband's role. Is to sanctify. His wife. That is not. Christ alone. Again. Remember. What we've been.

[22:22] Paul. Paul is not. Speaking against himself here. Christ alone. Sanctifies. Saves. And Christ alone. Saves. Justifies us. And sanctifies us. He alone will glorify us.

[22:32] Right. But it's the comparison. In which way though. Is the husband. To display. This love. To. To. To. To. His wife. And he gives.

[22:43] The. The picture of. Baptism. The picture of. Regeneration. By washing of water. In the word. All right. So how does that look like. For the husband. It is to.

[22:53] Is to. Be grounded. In God's word. Is to use God's word. As the instrument. By which. He. Helps. His wife. So. This is important.

[23:04] The primary responsibility. For a husband. In the. In the married relationship. That is. That is in the family of God. Christian family relationship. Is the husband.

[23:15] Ought to be. Not be absent. Spiritually. In the life of his family. Primarily. First and foremost. In the life. And even in the spiritual.

[23:25] Well-being of his wife. Right. How does Christ love the church? By giving himself for her. And how that he might make her holy. Having cleansed her. By the washing of water. With the word. Right.

[23:36] How does the husband. In the. In the church. Love his wife. By. Attending to God's word. By attending to prayer. For his wife. There's. There's a mutual.

[23:47] Mutuality in this. Between the husband and the wife. But the primary responsibility. Lies. With the husband. That's part of his leadership role. Is to lead. And to. To disciple.

[23:58] And to. Encourage. His wife. In growing. Spiritually. This connection. Gives us a high view.

[24:09] Of. Christ actually. It shows. In some ways. The way in which. Christ. Benefits. And gives himself. For the church. And the comparison. For the husband.

[24:20] To the wife. Paul goes on. In the rest of these verses. He says. So that he might present. The church. How does Christ. What is the. Effectual.

[24:31] Sort of. The end of that. The end of. Of what. Christ does. Is that he might present. The church. To himself.

[24:42] Not having a spot or wrinkle. And in such thing. But rather that she might be holy. And unblemished. Right. The love depicted here. By the.

[24:53] By the. By Christ. Is not a domineering one. It's a sacrificial one. It is. A love that dies. To. Yourself.

[25:06] The love depicted here. Is not a love. That makes demands. It's the love that. That actually. Becomes a servant. That doesn't.

[25:18] That doesn't. Mean. The husband is not to lead. But. In what manner. Does the husband lead. The way. That Christ leads. How does Christ. Leads.

[25:28] I did Christ. I does Christ. How does he. Lead the church. By dying for her. By sanctifying her. By interceding for her. Even now. As risen and ascended Lord.

[25:39] By advocating for her. By seeking after her. Well being. Nourishing her. How does the husband lead. Lead his wife.

[25:50] By loving her. The way Christ does. Which one of you men. Is meat.

[26:03] Or is ready. Or can do any of these things. Can be Christ. To the husband. We'll get there. But I want you to feel. As we read this.

[26:14] Men. I want you to feel. A bit of a foreboding. I can't do this. This is beyond me. This is impossible. I know myself.

[26:28] I often say this. The first year we got married. People will ask. Oh that's married life. And I tell them. Well. I knew I was a sinner. I knew that. I knew that. I'm a selfish person.

[26:39] I knew that. But I didn't know. How much of a sinner I was. And I didn't know. How selfish I was. Until I got married. Because all of a sudden. I had to. Everything. I had to consider somebody else.

[26:51] And I just. I didn't want to do that. I wanted to just be able to like. Take my keys. Go out. And do whatever I want to do. Without having to console anybody. I would ask after everybody's well being. But.

[27:07] Husbands. Even as you feel. Incapable of doing this. The model. That Christ sets. For us.

[27:18] Is that we will actively serve. Actively serve. Our wives. And love them. Now. The way that it works in the world. In the culture around us.

[27:29] Is that. There's. There's a misapplication of this. Again. Look in the text. Paul says. Love your wife. As Christ loves the church. Often though. It's misapplied.

[27:40] Right. Often times. It's dope. Be domineering. This is what it looks like. Maybe. Even. Unfortunately. In some Christian circles. This is what it means to love. Your wife.

[27:51] Is to be domineering. Or. Sometimes. In our culture. The opposite. Be passive. Right. There's. There's two.

[28:01] Sort of extremes. Husbands. That are domineering. Over their wives. Right. Or. There's no. There's no.

[28:11] There's no. There's no. There's no. There's no. There's no. There's no. There's no. Awareness of what goes on. In your family. There's no. Awareness of what goes on. With your wife. There's no. Awareness.

[28:22] Or. Concern for our well-being. In the way. Paul describes here. There's no. Concern for. The family. As. As the father. So.

[28:34] All of those things. Are. Not. Neither of those two extremes. Are what Paul gives. The picture that Paul gives us here. The picture that Paul gives us.

[28:45] Is. Of. The head. Who is attentive. Who leads. By. Sacrificial love. The way Christ does.

[28:57] Giving. Dying. Daily. To himself. Now. I'm a husband. And I. As I read this. I. I'm. With the rest of you. And I.

[29:08] I recognize. I. I. Can't do this. Often. I don't do this. The. The. The comparison. Is.

[29:18] So stark. Isn't it? Jesus Christ. The way he. Leads the church. We. Husbands. Are to lead. And lead our family. And love our wives. Especially.

[29:30] In the same manner. Paul continues. In verse. 28. In the same way. Yes. Love your wives.

[29:41] As your own body. Now. You. You know. The. The. The implication here. He. Loves his wife. Loves himself.

[29:51] Right. Is this. What. In. In. In. In. In. In. Liturgy. To. Become one. One body.

[30:02] Right. Imagine. The. Head. Wanting to be. Separated. From the rest of the body.

[30:13] How does that work? Imagine. The head. Not wanting to. Be. Be. Be. Be. Be. Concern. With. What happens with the foot. How does that work?

[30:26] I love the fact that. There is. Sort of. The picture of the body. Is here. In the macrocosm. Between the husband and the wife. It's also there. Within. In the church at large. Right. Christ.

[30:36] Being the head. And. Us. Being the body. Right. Being united. I love that picture. But. Husbands. Love.

[30:50] Your wife. As your own body. And then he goes on in verse 30. Because we are members of his body. Right. The implication is there. Paul is actually.

[31:02] Therefore. A man shall leave his father and mother. And hold fast to his brother. And two shall become one flesh. Right. Goes back to. Genesis. And this is why it's important for us.

[31:13] To ground this commandment. In God's word. Primarily. Marriage is not a human invention. It isn't. The world might be trying to reinvent.

[31:26] What marriage looks like. And what marriage is. But it's not. Their. Power. Or their responsibility to do so. It's not a human invention. In fact. It's not even the church's invention.

[31:38] Because some people will. You know. It's not the church's invention. It is God's invention. It's a creational order. Right. Right. Right. From the beginning. God instituted marriage.

[31:50] And he's given the order in which it should be. It should be done. And so. Let's just briefly look at our first parents. And the way in which. Their sin. Is marked.

[32:00] By even. Our own proclivity. In sin. In the world. What did Eve do? What did the suffering do? First of all. This is why. It's important for us. To see the. Sort of the.

[32:11] The correlation. Of submitting to God's word. And submitting to God. And we submit to God's word. We submit to God. And we are. We are living rightly. In the presence of God.

[32:22] What did Eve do? She refused to submit to God's word. And. To submit to the words of her husband. The devil came. Right. And. Told lies.

[32:33] And. She. Bought into the lies. She. In a sense. Part of. Part of the. Part of the. God's.

[32:45] God's. Judgment. Over her. Is that she will. Seek. To. Control. Her husband. And the husband.

[32:56] Will domine her over her. It's actually. A statement. Of what is already happening. What Eve. Already exhibited. In the fall. Jesus says. Well that would be the mark then. God says that.

[33:07] That's part of. That's. Then that's. That's the sign of. Your fallen nature. That is what she was doing. In the very act. Of disobeying God. Is that she was. Submitting. To the devil's lies.

[33:17] And the devil's words. Rather than. The words that were being given. By God. To her husband. And then what did. Adam do too. Adam was right there. He was absent. But he was there.

[33:28] If you look in the text. She gave it to her husband. Who was right with her. He remained silent. In the midst of a. Of the serpent. Talking to his wife.

[33:41] And. He failed. In leadership. To correct. To protect. His wife. And the commandment.

[33:51] That's also to him. Part of that. Is that then he will. Seek to. To domineer. And often times. We see that exhibited. In the marriage relationships.

[34:02] In the world. At large. Even in the church. The call then. Is a. This is a redemptive. Passage actually. This passage. For us in Ephesians. What does it look like.

[34:13] For us to live. And exhibit. That. As people who have been redeemed. Were in the family of God. Christ-like trade. Even in the role. In the context. Of marriage.

[34:24] This is what it looks like. This mystery. That Paul says. Is profound. I'm saying that. It refers to Christ.

[34:35] And the church. This. This is profound. It is profound. When you read this. Paul is saying. Essentially.

[34:45] In verse 32. Your marriage. Husband. And wife. Is reflective. Of Christ. And the church.

[34:56] Again. It's not the other way around. Right. Christ and the church. Is the primary. Thing. But your. Your marriage. Paints a picture.

[35:08] Of. Christ's relationship. With the church. A Christian marriage. Ought to do that. That's what Paul is saying. A Christian marriage. Is an. Is an analog.

[35:19] Is an analogy. Of what. Is really. The relationship. Between Christ. And the church. So what happens then. When wives. Fail. To submit. To their husbands.

[35:29] And husbands. Fail to love their wives. As Christ loved the church. They tell a lie. About the gospel. They tell a lie. About the relationship. Between Christ. And the church. And unfortunately.

[35:41] There is. The church. The church. Has failed in this regard. For decades. And perhaps. Even centuries. The. The. The. The. The propensity.

[35:51] Of divorce. The propensity. Of broken marriages. Is. Is here among us. In the church. As it is in the world. We need to acknowledge.

[36:03] There is failure. On our part. As Christians. In this regard. We need to submit. To God's word. But also. We need to recognize. That God is a God. Of grace.

[36:14] And mercy. I said in the beginning. This is a hard passage. For us to. To hear. It's a. It's. It's. It's. And I know that. All of you are sitting.

[36:26] Uncomfortable. To. To. To. To. One extent. Or the other. As you listen. To. To. To. To this word. This morning. But. It's not a damning word.

[36:38] I don't want you to feel that way. It's a gracious word. From our Lord. He's given us. That. What it looks like. To follow him. But he's also offering.

[36:49] Mercy. In ways in which we failed. And. I think we can all acknowledge. We've all. We've all failed. We've all failed. And it's calling us.

[37:02] To what it looks like. To exhibit the family trait. Notice. In the beginning. We said. That this is. The word. To submit. It's sort of an adverbial.

[37:12] Particle. That the reason I talk about that word. Is because. It's actually supporting. The primary verb. In verse 18. Being filled. With the spirit. Right.

[37:23] None of this. Is doable. With human hands. By human effort. Without the power. And the enabling. Of the Holy Spirit. But also.

[37:34] This is the. This is the good news. You do have. If you're in Christ. The enabling. Of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit. So. What we ought to do then.

[37:44] Is to submit. To God's word. To submit to God. And to continue. To let the Holy Spirit. Fulfill us. To energize us. To.

[37:55] Give us the will. And the ability. To do the things. That God has asked us to do. In these ways. To exhibit. The family trait. None of it can be done.

[38:12] Or by our own effort. None of it can be. But we can. God can do it. Through us. By the power of the Holy Spirit. So let's pray. That he would.

[38:23]  So enable us.