I'm wondering, when we are singing, how many of you ever take the words and think about
! how they should be applied practically? Do you ever do that? I'm not talking about how
! does a Bible verse fit? And I do that on a fairly regular basis, but we were singing that song,
I'm thinking of the words, I surrender all to you. That was a great song, wasn't it? I was
thinking about if all of the people who sang those words let Pastor Saul know that they were in for a
penny and in for a pound on the nursery, guess what we would have a problem with? We'd have to tell a
lot of you to wait your turn. Does it make sense? We're not having that problem yet, but since we
did such a good job singing the song, it just makes common sense to apply it well. Am I right?
And all God's people said, amen. That was a very, very moderate, temperate, kind of soft amen. You
don't have to say it, just do it, okay? Another thing is we have been working our way through the
book of Ephesians. You can turn to Ephesians chapter 5 verse 21, but we've been working our
way through the book of Ephesians and one of the things that we did earlier was we had a time when
people would recite one chapter at a time. Remember that? It was fantastic. We're coming back to that,
and so I'm making a public announcement that Tish Sheck is going to recite chapter 5,
and we're going to give her a little bit of time to dial up and come up to speed because
I'm catching her on the moment here in however many weeks she needs. But then when we start with
chapter 5, then Michael Danielson, am I right? Did I say Stephen? I didn't say Stephen, did I? No.
The dad is going, no, no, no. Michael Danielson is going to recite chapter 6, and then after 5 and 6
are done, guess what? We have an opportunity for six other individuals to say, I will be part of
public recitation of one of the chapters in the book of Ephesians, and we've had all different
kinds of people. We've had families do it. Wasn't that great? All the different ways in which it's
been done. Now, I'm not going to pigeonhole you. I'm not going to manipulate you, but I am asking the
Lord to provide for a wide diversity of people who will take one chapter. You may want to do three or
four verses and then ask somebody else in your family or a friend to do it, but we're going to
work our way back through the book of Ephesians because we are in the latter part of Ephesians
chapter 5, and there's a probability that we'll finish this book this year. That's a chance.
And how many of you know where we're going next should the Lord tarry, and it is my privilege to
be a shepherd in this congregation. Where are we going? We're going to the book of John. I got a text
yesterday evening that it was a blessing to me. Someone texted me and said, all right, all right,
which chapter? It was one of the young people who said, which chapter are we going to be in?
I want to read it. I want to prepare. I love that. And I texted him back and said, we're going to be
in Ephesians chapter 5. In fact, we're going to be in verse 21. That's where we are. Let's pray.
Father God, this morning, as we as your people come into your presence,
we're reminded of what you told the prophet when you said, not by might nor by power, but by my
spirit, saith the Lord. We're mindful of also what it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, that it is the
spirit that enables us to understand the deep things of God. And so this morning, while we recognize that
you want our intellect, our mind engaged, nevertheless, we would not be so foolish as to
take up this passage of Scripture and not ask with all humility that the Spirit of God
would do a work in us, that the Word of God would have free course and bear fruit among us,
that as we study, that we would also follow up and apply it, that the Lord Jesus Christ, who has
glory and honor in heaven, would also have glory and honor in our lives and our congregation as we
are a people who are governed and gladly obedient to the Word. And we ask this in Jesus' name and for
His glory. Amen. One of the easy things that happens really in a process of preaching through a book is
because we take small pieces of it for the sake of understanding and for the careful exposition of
Scripture, it's kind of fairly easy to sometimes miss the larger flow of the logic of a passage and
fail to see in which all of it fits together for God's glory. And while there are parts of God that
are ultimately completely beyond our comprehension, in fact, there are a number of different passages
that remind us that God is larger than any one of us or all of us together can imagine. Nevertheless,
there are things that He has given to us for our benefit and for our blessing, and it does us good
to see the logic and the order of God in His revelation to us. I would imagine that every one
of you here on one occasion or another have stopped and kind of pondered one aspect or another of natural
creation, and you look at the order and the structure with which things are put together, and you kind of
marvel and say, wow, God is amazing in His infinite wisdom and the way He crafts things.
That is also true with the Word of God. And sometimes it's good for us to step back a little bit and see
the larger picture so that we have it in mind as we kind of drill down and get down to the particular
subject that we're going to look at. And today I want to start with a broad view of the book of Ephesians,
just a minute or so, frame it for you, and then come down into the passage that we're going to look at.
You remember that the Holy Spirit takes three chapters in the book of Ephesians to tell us about
the wonderful salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ. In my prayer this morning, I recited that passage in
Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3 where the apostle says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. We are incredibly blessed in the
Lord Jesus Christ. In particular, we who know the Lord Jesus, man, we are blessed because of what He has done for us.
And as the book of Ephesians kind of plays out in those first three chapters, it explains that salvation is much
more than just some fire insurance. Now it is true that those who know the Lord Jesus Christ are not going to hell.
And God, can I tell you, I want to thank you as a congregation for your prayers for me as I had the
privilege of doing a funeral service on Friday. And I got to tell you, when I stood up, one of the
things that I reminded myself, standing up in front of many people who probably had not come expecting to
hear some plain Jane Baptist pastor give the gospel, I had the privilege of standing there knowing many of
you were praying. And I had liberty of spirit to make the gospel clear and to do it joyfully and
powerfully. And that was because you were praying. And so, as we gather together this morning, we're
reminded that salvation is more than fire insurance. It is a blessing that God has put us together into a
family. He's made us part of His body. In fact, I think it would be fair to say if we were to read the
Bible and trust it to be accurate and authoritative, that being part of the body of Christ is one of the
most significant things in all of our life. Take a second, if you would, and look at Ephesians. You're
in chapter 5, but go back to Ephesians chapter 1, verse 20 and 21. He says that He worked in Christ,
talking about salvation, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him, actually talking about His
resurrection, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority
and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to
come. And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church.
Christ is the head of the church. Now, verse 23, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills
all in all. Do you know what that's saying? It's saying that Christ is supremely glorious,
and we who are part of His body are the visible manifestation and the visible representation of
His glory. That's significant. That's supremely important. You being part of the body of Christ,
the bride of the Savior, are more important than you sometimes imagine, and in particular,
than our evangelical culture today tends to think about the church. Very interesting. Earlier last
year, I had the privilege, along with Pastor Saul, to go listen to several different individuals
preaching. Dr. Greg Gilbert, actually, it was at the OERBC conference, and a godly pastor, teacher,
and he was talking about the blessing he had had of spending some time in China where he had been
teaching the Bible. And as he was there in China teaching the Bible, some of the Chinese Christians
said, hey, come with us. We want to show you something. And so they went into a Chinese bookstore,
and in the Chinese bookstore were all kinds of Bibles. Now, some of us here that are older remember
in the good old days, the Chinese wouldn't let Bibles into China. Remember that? I remember when
my dad went over to China, and he took a suitcase full of Bibles over there. It was rare, and getting
in with Bibles was difficult. Now you go over to China, you can buy Bibles over in China. In fact,
they're printing them. And not only that, but you could walk up and down, and that's what those Chinese
believers, along with Dr. Gilbert, did. They walked up and down the aisles, and he pointed out the titles,
the Chinese friend did. This title is this one, and this title is that. And they were going all over
the different kind of titles that were available there in China. And then he said, is there anything
you see that is missing in all of these books that are available in China? Huh. Well, Dr. Gilbert didn't
figure it out. There were books on how to be a better husband. There were books on how to be a better
wife. There were books on how to be a good parent. There were books on how to manage your money as a
Christian. There were books on how to get along with your neighbors. There were books on books,
all kinds of books. And the Chinese Christian said, there's one kind of book that never shows up here.
It's books about the church and its significance.
You see, the Chinese government is not afraid of individual Christians.
They're very afraid of the corporate body of Christ and believers that are linked together
for the glory of Christ. That's interesting, isn't it?
Ephesians chapter 1 through 3 explains salvation. And it explains that we who have come to faith
through the ministry of the Spirit of God and drawn to the cross by His power and His grace
and His convicting authority, He puts us then into a family of believers and He makes us a team.
Chapters 4 and chapters 5 and chapters 6 are really all about how the team is to operate.
Coming back to the flow of Ephesians, what we find then in Ephesians chapter 5 in particular,
in the passage that we're dealing with, if you put your finger on Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18,
the apostle is explaining there in verse 18 that the characteristic or the energizer of the believer's
life in this unit, in this team, is not just his sweet and affable personality,
but it is being controlled and empowered by the Spirit of God.
Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18 says, don't be drunk with wine in which is dissipation or excess,
but it says what? Be filled with the Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit. And by the way,
can your wife tell when you are Spirit-filled? What's the answer? Not for sure. Not for sure
until you open your mouth. And when you open your mouth, everybody smile because we're all family here.
If you're grumpy, what can she say? You're not Spirit-filled. Or if you're sitting there while we
are singing our hearts out and John is up here just blowing us out with a good song and you're sitting
there like here, that's not my song. And I'm not singing until they sing my song. You know, there's
a probability, there's a small chance that you're not what? Say it with me. Spirit-filled.
I made the statement as we were working through the passage earlier that actually, for me, I don't
have that much problem speaking the Scriptures and I don't have that much problem singing enthusiastically
or joyfully. But when it really comes down to being thankful always, that's where it's a real test of
being Spirit-filled. Do you follow that? Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18 through 21 gives us a broad
overview of what it means to be a Spirit-filled Christian. And where we are today is we are looking
at the fact that having made that statement, Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18, that the believer is to be
Spirit-filled. Paul then goes into explaining five different areas in which Spirit-filled people
behave or how they behave. And if you're looking for a little clue, all those five things end with
I-N-G. Do you follow that? Ephesians chapter 5 verse 19, addressing. So when you're Spirit-filled,
you address one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. When you're Spirit-filled,
you're singing. When you're Spirit-filled, you're making melody. When you're Spirit-filled,
you're giving thanks. And then we come to verse 21, submitting yourself to one another in reverence
to Christ. I want us to think this morning now as we take this passage up, what the Bible tells us
is the biblical duty of submission. First of all, I want you to understand that being submissive to
one another, or for that matter to anyone at all, is not something that is natural to the fleshly mind.
I'll say that again slowly. It is not natural to the fleshly mind. If you're sitting here struggling
a little bit with the idea of submission, recognize that in the flesh or in the normal sense,
that's the way it normally is. If you have any question about this, you need to go into the nursery
and look at the little munchkins that all of us have contributed to genetically,
and what you can see is that they struggle with submission.
You tell them to hang their coat up, and guess what they don't want to do?
I mean, they don't want to hang it up. You tell them to share toys. You tell them to take,
and one thing after another, as much as you as a parent have worked to try to help them understand
that somebody else is in charge, guess what they're thinking in their heart?
They're thinking, if I had my way, I would be king. And it's not just your children,
and it's not just a problem of youthfulness or childishness. We all struggle with that,
and it's part of the character of the heart. So let's remember that submission is seen here in
this passage as a spiritual behavior. Let me say that again so you don't miss it. Really,
submission is a spiritual behavior, and it is one that flows out of a person that is spirit-filled.
Submission is the outcome or the outworking of a person who is spirit-filled.
To put it another way, in one sense, it is actually impossible to be submissive in a spiritual and
Christ-honoring way apart from being spirit-filled. Now, can we, on the outside, play the part?
How many of you have been at work and had your boss, who is a wicked, perverse person and never is
rational in any of his expectations, give you an order and you decide to do it? Only because payday
is on Friday. And on the outside, you have even smiled. But inside, what are you thinking?
Things like, that jerk. I hope he's struck by lightning. You know, there are different things,
ungodly thoughts. And so, truth of the matter is, is that apart from the Spirit of God working,
we are not going to be individuals who submit to anyone or anything, particularly to one another
in the body of Christ. Now, let me explain that what I believe is happening in Ephesians 5,
verse 21, is kind of a two-fold thing. Number one, God is giving us a general principle of what
submission involves, and then He is going to illustrate it in the remainder of the larger part
of what follows in Ephesians chapter 5. He's going to talk about the role of the wife to the husband.
He's going to talk about the role of children to parents. He's going to talk about the role of
employee to employer. And He's going to deal with a number of different areas of the matter of
submission. I do want you to understand that submitting means being under authority and under
orderly arrangement. Submitting means being under authority and under orderly arrangement. It's a
term that comes to us from the military, where troops were lined up in row for battle. In fact,
that's part of what the word means in the Greek, the idea of being lined up in a row according to a
certain structure, a set plan. But not only is it a matter of being lined up in rows,
it is also a matter of being under the explicit authority of another person.
I remember many, many years ago watching one of those little military channel things. If you want
to know what my favorites are, it's a history channel, it's nature channel, and it's sports.
Beyond that, I find myself challenged a great deal by what's on TV. But I remember the military tactic
that was introduced of stabbing sideways. That's something all of you really did need to know,
and so I'm explaining this to you. But what happened in a battle, this small contingent lost
to a much larger army, and in the good old days, everybody stabbed forward, okay? Shield, stab,
shield, stab. Now, when you're stabbing the other guy's shield, it really doesn't do much good. You
know, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. And so one brilliant strategist decided that instead of
stabbing forward, they would stab, guess what? Sideways. Shield in front, stab sideways. Guess what
happens to the guy over here? He gets stabbed, not in the shield, but in the gut. Bad news.
And it took a long time to teach all those soldiers, don't stab straight in front to the guy who's
trying to stab you right here. Stab sideways. It will work. Your friend is going to be stabbing
sideways. He will stick the guy who's trying to stick you, and you stick the guy over here to the
side that's trying to stick your friend. It took a lot of practice because it went against the order
of stick the guy in front. Do you follow that? That is following orders. And can I tell you that
in the military science, it's still about following orders. Your superior gives you a command, a lawful
command, and guess what you do? You do not discuss it with him to find out if there are other options.
Yes, sir. I got it. And you want that done right now. Yes, sir. That's the way it is.
Submitting means being under authority and being orderly arranged. The Bible actually speaks about
submission in six different areas. In James chapter 4, verse 7, it says we're to submit to God.
We're to submit to God. In Ephesians chapter 5, verse 22 through 6, chapter 4, we find that the wife
is to submit to the husband and children are to submit to their parents. In Romans chapter 13,
verse 1 through 7, we are to submit to our government. You may not think the speed limit
on Trebu is really reasonable. In fact, you may exercise your dispute, but when the authority pulls
you over to the side to discuss your personal preferences, guess what? The argument is ended,
and God is the one who has ordained those civil authorities. We are to submit in Ephesians chapter 6,
verse 5 through 9, we're to submit to our employers. In Hebrews chapter 13, verse 17, we're to submit
to spiritual leadership in the church, and we are, as we find here in verse 21 of Ephesians chapter 5,
we are to submit to the people who are part of the body of Christ. Now, our focus this morning is on
the larger issue of submission within the body of Christ, and so let me say that by extension,
a Spirit-filled believer is subject or is submissive to other people's agendas,
to other people's interests, to other people's needs. Submission means that we are willing to help
with a move, even when doing so goes contrary to what our agenda was for the day. And one of the
things that I was so blessed with, right around Christmas time, one of the families in our fellowship
had their home sale. We've been praying about that home selling for, I mean, I think it's almost before
the flood, am I right? A long time we prayed for, am I right? It was a couple, how many years?
Six months. Well, God chose to have that...
Details.
But God chose to have that house sell right around Christmas.
What day was it that we moved?
The weekend before Christmas. And there were, I think I counted, 14 people out there in the rain
and in the snow, helping the rices move. When Steve went into work and said, well, we had this
big crowd helping, someone said, I can't believe you found that many people that were sober the week
before Christmas. Hey, why do we help do things with one another? We are submissive to the needs of
one another. Isn't that right? When the call went out earlier in the week, last week, for something for
the funeral dinner for the Jones family, as they had the funeral for Tim's brother, I mean, one of the
things that I got the biggest kick out of was watching on Facebook and watching on emails, one
little ping after another coming in. I've got the salad, I've got this, I've got that. And I have no
doubt, Jack and Grace working with that, you said, that's enough, am I right? We're good. No, no, no,
we're all right. Where there is a submissive spirit, we're willing to help one another,
and we want to be involved in the ministry of what is good for other people.
Submission means being ready to help with someone else's problems and needs. I can tell you, yesterday,
I had an individual walk up to me and with a good spirit said, hey, I have a question about a car.
You know, it's smoking. Well, it should stop. But I said, you're asking the wrong person.
My grasp of auto mechanics is really, I know where the key goes, and I know how to put air in a tire
and gas in the tank, and beyond that, I know who to call. And so, here's what I said. I said, let me
throw a couple names out. Well, the individual then called someone else, and that person spent part
of the day helping them get, and it was something like a thermostat, $30 thermostat. Can you believe
that? It wasn't complicated for the person who knew, but there's a willingness to serve.
A submissive person doesn't always get their way, their choices.
A submissive person doesn't always have to be heard. Have you ever been around people who,
every time you take a breath, they want to launch in a different path than you were on or the
conversation was on? That's not a submissive person. A submissive person is not full of their
own preferences and insistent upon those things. Now, let's take a look at the passage and understand
what Paul means by that little phrase, be submissive to one another. The Spirit is not calling us to an
exact and reciprocal or kind of back and forth with each other's submission. Here are two proofs.
Number one, if a husband and wife were in a car and the question was asked, where should we go to
dinner? If we took this verse at literal terms, guess what would happen? The husband would say,
you pick. She would say, no, you pick. And he would say, no, you pick. And guess what would happen?
They would never go to dinner. Okay. Now, when I was younger and all four of my children were in the
same car and I'd say, where do we want to go for dinner? Guess what would happen? They wouldn't say,
you pick, no, you pick. Everyone had an opinion. Not only did everyone have an opinion,
but everyone had a logic for why their opinion was the God-approved one. And so we as parents
stepped in to provide a little bit of adult supervision, you know, and here's how we worked
it out. But let me explain that this business of being submissive to one another is larger than just,
no, you go, you go. Turn over in your Bible. You're in Ephesians. Let's go back just a little bit
to Galatians chapter 6, verse 2. This is a passage where we see this one another idea used,
and Paul says, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Incidentally,
what is the law of Christ? Does anybody know? Offhand, you can say, I know, I know. It's
what? It's love one another. Isn't that right? Remember Jesus said, a new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another. So in Galatians chapter 6, verse 2, it says, bear one another's burdens.
Is that saying that you trade mortgages? Huh? What do you think? Well, I wish.
That's what you're thinking. No. No, that's not what it's saying. It's saying that you be sensitive
to the needs that the other individuals have and be responsive to those. You're in this team. You're in
this family, and you're paying attention to what is going on in the family, and you're there to meet
needs in relationship to that unit that you're part of. And incidentally, let me explain. It's very,
very important to the productivity and the health of the body that there is this interdependent
and sensitive spirit towards where one another are.
I do want you to understand that when it says be submissive to one another, it doesn't mean that
we are going to be in perpetual process of just bowing and scraping to one another at the front door
saying you first. But it does mean that we are sensitive to the needs that others have,
and we are laying aside our personal preference and some of our idiosyncrasies to say,
I'm about helping what is important to you.
Being submissive to one another announces that when the spirit is at work in a church,
there is humility and grace in our dealings. It means that we are not all bristly. You know what
bristly is? It's the people that are highly offendable. And really, when you think about
that individual, you just wonder when the next issue is going to be that's going to light their
candle and get them kind of sputtering like a fuse. That's not a person who's submissive.
When you see a church that is governed, and I want you to understand that Ephesians chapter 5 is
actually a church verse. When you see a church that is governed by a submissive spirit, you see a
lack of rancor or divisiveness or disputatious spirit. You see a humble attitude that is willing
to defer to the common good. You see a fellowship that is interested in seeing that the well-being
of other people are cared for. Now, the spirit hammers home the issue of submission with a very
powerful point. So, I want you to look at the latter part of Ephesians chapter 1. It says,
submitting to one another because you're a nice person.
Submitting to one another because you're afraid you're going to be brought up on charges.
Now, in the military, guess why people submit? They signed a contract saying, basically,
I am going to put myself under the authority of the Constitution and this organization.
And they raise their right hand and they take an oath. And if they don't follow through on their
oath, guess what can happen to them? A couple different things can happen. One is they could
be brought up on charges and spend time in the brig. Or they could be dishonorably discharged.
How many of you filled out paperwork and seen the little box that says, check here,
dishonorably discharged? I can tell you, you don't want to check that box.
Now, the reason we are submissive to one another is not because we're afraid
of one another, but because of our reverence for Christ. And so, let's come to why we are to be
submissive. We are to submit because of Christ. Most of us here, or many of us here, probably have the
English Standard Version, ESV. And we may have the phrase there in verse 21, it says, submitting to one
another out of reverence for Christ. The Greek word that is used here is the word phobeo, from which we
get phobia. How many of you know what phobia is? Huh? Some of you have a phobia when you're dark.
How many of you remember growing up with a phobia of the dark? And when the lights went off, monsters
began to kind of manufacture themselves under your bed, and there was no resolution for that phobia
except for a night. Some of you are still sleeping with an eye. That's what I've heard. Okay?
Phobia is talking about having a fear. And I have to say that while there is something to the idea of
reverence, I think it's fair to say we are to submit because we fear Christ. We are to submit because we
fear Christ. By the way, the idea of reverence is one that our culture just doesn't get.
Do you follow that? Now, we do understand irreverence. And we see irreverence in sarcasm. We see irreverence
in a lot of humor. But the idea of having reverence is not on our page. And I got to tell you that
when the scriptures encourage us to be submissive to one another because of our fear for Christ,
I don't think it's necessary to soften that down to where Jesus is your good bud and you happen to
like him. And so, because you reverence him, you're going to do it. I remember three, four weeks ago,
I had the opportunity of being in a home. Individual was explaining how things were changing in their life.
And they pointed to one of those pictures of Jesus.
And they said, well, my good bud, he's the one who's helping me be different.
And I mean, he made reference about three or four times. And this was one of those paint by numbers
pictures. How many of you remember paint by numbers?
And about the fourth pass on this, my good bud, I said, do you mind if I say that he's really my
savior and I have a much higher respect for him than just a good bud? And that kind of changed the
temperature in the house. But I just couldn't go there. You know, it's like my good bud.
You know, it says, hey, we are to be, we're to be submissive to one another because of our fear
for Christ. Well, yeah, but this is Jesus. Oh, let me have you look at a passage. We're going to do
with the passage thing. Turn over to Mark chapter four, Mark chapter four, verse 35 through 41.
Mark chapter four. Let me just tell you the story briefly.
On that day when evening had come, he said to them, let's go across the other side.
And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was, and others were in the
boat with him. A great storm comes up. How'd the disciples, veteran fishermen, handle that storm?
Do you remember how they handled it? They noticed Jesus snoozing in the bottom of the boat.
What's the deal with you? Now look at verse 40. He said to them,
duh, why are you so afraid? Do you still not have faith? And by the way, when he did awaken, what did
he do? He just calmed the wind. And do you know how he did it? Look at verse 39. He rebuked. He said,
that's enough wind. Like that. And the winds all quieted down. And here's what happened.
The fishermen who had been afraid of the storm and the prospect of drowning, look at verse 41.
And they were filled with what? Great fear. Do you know why they were filled with great fear?
Because it suddenly dawned on them that that same Jesus who had been snoozing in the boat
was the Lord of creation and in absolute power over everything, and it terrified them.
They got some inkling of the person that was sleeping in the boat, and they realized that
he was more than just some carpenter from Galilee. I got to tell you that fearing Christ means
being deeply affected by his glory and his person. Fearing Christ means being deeply affected
by his glory and his person. It means loving him so much that you don't want to disappoint him.
It means having a fear of his disapproval and his dealings so that you do not become a self-centered
and self-indulgent person. It means sensing his presence and his infinite worth.
When was the last time that you found yourself in traffic and it was really getting frustrating?
The other day I was driving and the person in front of me really should not have had a driver's license.
I'm persuaded of that.
And I found myself in just a moment beginning to ponder, you know, just the irrationality of this person
being allowed to drive at least in front of me.
And then, honestly, the Spirit of God got a hold of me and said,
what are you thinking? You're full of yourself.
When we fear Christ,
our thoughts
are governed by who he is
and what he said
and what he wants.
Does it make a difference in the decisions that we make?
And the answer is what?
Yes.
Does it make a difference in
whether or not we get our way in every case?
What's the answer?
Yes.
Does it make a difference
if we fear Christ?
It does.
And when we fear Christ properly,
we submit
to one another
in the body.
So let me ask you a question in closing.
Do you fear him?
Does the person
and the glory of Christ
have a front and center place
in your thinking
and your conduct?
Let's close in prayer.
Amen.
Our precious God and Father,
this morning,
as we have studied this passage,
we recognize that its application
is first of all to us
who are believers
and its instruction
that helps us understand practically
that people that are Spirit-filled
are submissive to one another.
We're thankful that you put this here
for our sake
and for your glory.
And we want you
to be honored.
I can't help but think also,
Father,
this morning of
those who are in our fellowship
that are here today
that do not know Christ
as their personal Savior, Lord,
that as we have been studying
this passage
that applies to people
who know Christ,
that for them,
their fear of Christ
is the terror of judgment.
And I pray this morning
that your Spirit
would draw them to the cross
and that they would see
there is no hope,
there is no forgiveness,
there is no remedy
for the darkness of their soul
apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.
help us
who know Christ
to be submissive.
Help those who need Christ
to be drawn to the cross.
We ask this in your precious name.
Amen.
Thank you.