WEBVTT 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:06.540 Welcome everyone. It is great to be here again, isn't it? To be able to worship God and to be 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:13.939 ready now to listen to his word and what he has to say to us. I confess when I was asked to speak 00:00:13.939 --> 00:00:19.280 on the verses that we're about to read in Ephesians chapter 5, I did look and think, oh dear, this is 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:26.940 quite tricky. We're going to be looking at teaching about husbands and wives, about children and 00:00:26.940 --> 00:00:33.740 parents and about slaves and masters. So we've gone from all of the wonderful teaching at the 00:00:33.740 --> 00:00:40.320 start of Ephesians about all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ and how it is that we can be 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:46.520 part of God's family and know absolute acceptance and forgiveness through to the last couple of 00:00:46.520 --> 00:00:52.980 weeks where we've had some really hard-hitting teaching about how God now expects his children, 00:00:52.979 --> 00:00:58.619 those who are part of his family to live. And now we come on to this further really practical 00:00:58.619 --> 00:01:07.340 teaching about human relationships. And as I've prepared this week, the overarching question in 00:01:07.340 --> 00:01:15.599 my mind and the question that I'd like us to reflect on is this. What difference has being a follower of 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:30.179 Jesus made this week in our relationships? Because I think that what you'll see time and time again 00:01:30.179 --> 00:01:35.439 as we read these passages and as we think about them is that what it presents to us is a picture 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:41.519 of a people following Jesus and as a result their relationships look radically different to what 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:48.079 they might otherwise have been. So let's reflect on that as we go to read. But I do also want to 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:53.699 say that I think there are two important things to bear in mind that have been in my mind as I've come to 00:01:53.699 --> 00:02:01.659 think about this. First is that as we read it, we do need to recognize that 2,000 years ago, 2,000 years 00:02:01.659 --> 00:02:08.599 later, there are some very different factors of our culture which are relevant. I'm not saying for a 00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:14.519 minute that we can in any way disregard any of this teaching. We mustn't. We believe this is God's 00:02:14.519 --> 00:02:20.019 inspired word. But there are important differences in culture which can make some of these passages 00:02:20.019 --> 00:02:27.479 seem quite difficult. So the most obvious example here is that Paul talks about slaves and he makes 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:33.740 no comment on whether or not it was right that there was slavery. Okay? And I think that what we're 00:02:33.740 --> 00:02:38.500 seeing here is that he's speaking into the circumstances that pertained in that church 00:02:38.500 --> 00:02:45.879 in Ephesus where it would be unimaginable to have anything other than a system of masters and slaves. 00:02:46.379 --> 00:02:52.760 And so we need to look at that, not see it as an endorsement of a system of slavery. I think it 00:02:52.760 --> 00:02:59.480 certainly does not constitute any endorsement of that, but as teaching that is spoken into that situation 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:05.219 and teaching for masters and slaves. And I think we can readily see there that there is relevant 00:03:05.219 --> 00:03:11.359 teaching for the workplace, for all those of us who are in or are contemplating being in the workplace. 00:03:12.039 --> 00:03:17.359 And I think the second really important bit of culture to understand is the way in which women 00:03:17.359 --> 00:03:23.099 would have been treated in the circumstances that Paul was writing into. And it's when we understand 00:03:23.099 --> 00:03:31.780 that, we see that what Paul has to say about husbands and wives is absolutely radical and counter-cultural. 00:03:32.099 --> 00:03:38.419 Because in those days under Roman law, women were treated as basically part of the man's property. 00:03:38.979 --> 00:03:45.319 Okay? Women had almost no rights of their own. So the man was in charge of everything and women, 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:52.579 children and slaves were the property of the man. So can we bear in mind that bit of, that important bit of 00:03:52.580 --> 00:03:59.900 culture as we read this. So culture, I think, is important. And secondly, our own personal experiences 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:07.500 are also relevant as we read this passage. Why do I say that? I am so conscious that as we read these 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:17.480 passages of scripture, it is easy for us to feel condemned or judged or failures. Because we reflect 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:25.120 on our own childhoods, our own experience of being a parent, or in some cases, the marriages that we've 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:32.160 either been in or have experienced. And so my prayer is, as we look at this passage of God's words, 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:41.840 the grace of Jesus Christ is what will be seen most clearly. And all of us will be left with a sense of 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:49.379 hope and a sense of the difference that Jesus can make in every single relationship in our life from this 00:04:49.379 --> 00:04:55.959 point forward. Okay? Rather than reflecting primarily on the failures that may have been in the past, 00:04:56.019 --> 00:05:02.439 because we're so conscious of the sin and failure that does indeed surround us. So with that, by way of 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:08.079 introduction, let's get stuck in and read these verses together. We're in Ephesians chapter 5, 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:13.199 and we're starting in verse 21, and it says this. Paul says, 00:05:13.300 --> 00:05:20.959 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:28.419 as you do the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, 00:05:28.799 --> 00:05:37.199 his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:47.000 to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:53.899 himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 00:05:54.599 --> 00:06:02.719 and to present her to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:11.460 and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves 00:06:11.460 --> 00:06:18.600 his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body 00:06:18.600 --> 00:06:26.200 just as Christ does the church, for we are members of his body. For this reason, a man will leave his 00:06:26.199 --> 00:06:33.360 father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery, 00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:40.680 but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:49.379 as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, 00:06:49.379 --> 00:06:55.259 for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, 00:06:55.259 --> 00:07:02.259 so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy a long life on earth. Fathers, do not 00:07:02.259 --> 00:07:07.779 exasperate your children. Instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:16.060 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and with sincerity of heart, just as you would 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:23.079 obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, 00:07:23.399 --> 00:07:29.920 doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:36.519 not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:42.300 they are slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, 00:07:42.300 --> 00:07:50.420 since you know that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism 00:07:50.420 --> 00:07:59.019 with him. And may God bless his word to us this morning. I want to give you a very quick overview of 00:07:59.019 --> 00:08:04.800 what I think are eight of the different categories of relationships which are caught up here, and then 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:09.720 we're going to delve into a couple of them in a bit more detail, and we'll see how many of them we can 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:15.340 get through. So first of all, I think it's important that we see in this passage teaching for every 00:08:15.340 --> 00:08:20.800 single one of us about what being a Christian actually means. This is a starting point here, 00:08:20.860 --> 00:08:27.040 because this is very clearly teaching that's given into a context where people are already seeking 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:34.860 to follow Jesus. So verse 22, wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as you do to the Lord. 00:08:34.860 --> 00:08:40.360 I'd like just to reflect on that. Not focus so much on the wives bit, but submit to your husbands 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:45.300 as you do to the Lord. So you see that Paul's speaking to people, he's saying, first and foremost, 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:53.740 you are people who have chosen to submit yourselves to the Lord. And I think that's a lovely description 00:08:53.740 --> 00:08:58.279 of what being a Christian actually means. So I want to just offer you that at the start. If you're 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:04.720 thinking about what is it that being a Christian actually means, somebody who has submitted themselves 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:09.860 to the Lord, somebody who said, Lord, you're the ruler, you're the king, you're the saviour, and my 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:16.980 life is yours, and I am submitted to you. I wonder if that's a description of us. First of all, teaching 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:22.199 for all of us about what being a Christian means. Secondly, teaching about what being part of a church 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:28.759 means, and teaching indeed about how God sees the church. So the church is described here in the most 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:35.660 magnificent of terms, and I think our opening video caught some of that really nicely. So we're told 00:09:35.660 --> 00:09:41.540 that being part of a church means we're part of a glorious body. We're being made perfect, clean, 00:09:42.040 --> 00:09:49.300 holy, and blameless. That is, we read that Jesus died for the church in order that we might be holy 00:09:49.299 --> 00:09:58.179 and clean, in order that ultimately we might be without any spot or wrinkle. And let's just reflect 00:09:58.179 --> 00:10:06.519 for a minute on the privilege of being part of this body of Jesus Christ. We are part of this body 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:16.819 described here as the bride for which Jesus Christ laid down his life. Why? In order that we might be pure, 00:10:16.820 --> 00:10:21.820 in order that we might be holy, in order that we might be clean, in order that we might be without 00:10:21.820 --> 00:10:31.300 any spot or wrinkle, and one day might be presented to Jesus, our Savior, as an absolutely glorious bride 00:10:31.300 --> 00:10:42.120 for Jesus Christ. Important teaching about the church, and how might that impact on our attitudes 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:50.720 to one another in the church here? If we focus primarily on this local expression of the church, 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:56.100 and indeed on our attitudes to other Christians who, while not part of this church, are part of the 00:10:56.100 --> 00:11:04.039 global church, this global, beautiful, albeit still full of fault, body of Christ that he is 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:11.299 making clean and making pure, in order one day to present, to be presented to himself spotless. 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:19.080 I wonder if our response to that is to say, Jesus, you are in charge of all that goes on in this 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:27.360 place. We are yours. Mould us, shape us, increasingly transform us, so that we might indeed be a fitting 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:35.899 bride for you, Jesus Christ. Glorious stuff about the church. There's teaching number three for Christian 00:11:35.899 --> 00:11:41.299 homes. And we see that as we look at a combination of husbands, wives, children, 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:47.779 and the key point that I take about from there is that God cares, firstly, about what goes on in our 00:11:47.779 --> 00:11:53.500 homes, right? What goes on in our homes isn't of lesser importance than what takes place in the church. 00:11:53.740 --> 00:12:00.519 With God, it's all part of this one transformation that he's working in our lives. He cares about what's 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:06.240 going on in our homes. And secondly, what's going on in our homes is intended to serve as an example 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:14.779 to others of the work that he's doing in our lives and in the world. Fourthly, teaching for men and husbands. 00:12:15.299 --> 00:12:23.980 God has high expectations of all of us men in terms of how we will act as men. And that applies, I would say, 00:12:24.060 --> 00:12:29.180 whether or not we are husbands. And we're going to come back to that. Fifthly, teaching for women and wives. 00:12:29.179 --> 00:12:37.759 God wants you to have high expectations of the men who are around you and also wants you to rejoice 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:45.519 in all that he has done for you. Sixthly, teaching for children. One of the Ten Commandments, which 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:51.939 Jesus makes clear is every bit as applicable nowadays as it was when it was first given. 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:58.459 Number seven, teaching for parents. Don't frustrate your kids. This is tricky stuff, isn't it? I've already 00:12:58.460 --> 00:13:04.600 frustrated my son today. He whispered to me as I was trying to sing, Daddy, you're giving me a sore ear. 00:13:05.220 --> 00:13:11.720 So there we go. How can we manage not to frustrate our kids? But there's teaching for parents. And then 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:16.320 finally, teaching for the workplace. I don't know if we're going to have long to look at this, 00:13:16.700 --> 00:13:22.780 but it seems to me that the key teaching for us in the workplace is don't be a skiver, because God is 00:13:22.779 --> 00:13:31.860 actually looking at you in the workplace and work as though you are working to God. I like the word 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:36.919 skiver. I thought it was Scottish, but apparently it's not. It's actually from the French. Aileen, 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:42.939 you may know this through your time in Brussels. From the French, esquive, which means to slink away. 00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:48.600 Okay, isn't that quite powerful? You know, that's maybe the temptation of a lot of us in the workplace. 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:56.120 Just get by doing as little as possible. Just esquive, just slink away. No, we're told here in 00:13:56.120 --> 00:14:02.879 the workplace, work as though you are working to the Lord. And then for those who might have a 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:12.120 management responsibility, we're told, remember bosses, that God shows no favoritism. Remember bosses, 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:20.500 that everyone stands on a level playing field before the maker of all of mankind. Remember that 00:14:20.500 --> 00:14:25.840 you came to earth with nothing and that you will leave earth with nothing. And as a result, treat 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:33.100 everyone with fairness and respect. What incredibly impactful teaching in those eight different facets 00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:40.139 of life and relationship that this passage has to speak to us about. And I'd encourage you to 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:47.659 look at it in more detail. But I want to turn for a few minutes now specifically to the teaching that 00:14:47.659 --> 00:14:58.039 this passage has got, first of all, for the men. Dan and Bethany Lansaw lived in Missouri, a young couple, 00:14:58.699 --> 00:15:08.519 only six years married. And only two or so years ago, tragedy hit their town in Missouri, 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:16.559 as with so many other places in America. A tornado hit their home. And their home was caught up in the 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:24.579 very epicenter of that tornado. And you can only imagine, can't you, the devastation as those swirling 00:15:24.579 --> 00:15:30.079 winds caused even the foundations of their house and the bricks and all of their possessions to start 00:15:30.079 --> 00:15:38.360 swirling round about them. What was Dan's response as the husband of Bethany Lansaw? 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:48.059 It was to throw himself on top of his wife in order to try and save her from the swirling debris 00:15:48.059 --> 00:15:54.899 that risked her. He took a pillow, he threw it over her head, he threw the rest of his body over her. 00:15:55.319 --> 00:16:04.019 She didn't fight it. She allowed him to protect her. And as the winds died down, 00:16:04.019 --> 00:16:17.079 she looked to see if she could rescue him. But it was too late. He had died in that swirling tornado. 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:25.480 He had given his life in order to rescue her. She says, in her words, 00:16:25.980 --> 00:16:34.879 he got on top of me to take the brunt of most of it. And he's my hero. I mean, the house was ripping 00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:43.700 apart. It all happened so fast. All the pillows were flying off us. The only thing I could do was keep 00:16:43.700 --> 00:16:55.540 one in front of my face. There is an example of a man who I think demonstrated the sort of love 00:16:55.540 --> 00:17:02.860 which men here are told that they are expected to demonstrate. Let's look at it again in verse 25. 00:17:02.860 --> 00:17:13.640 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Verse 28, 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:21.160 in the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. Verse 33, each one of you must 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:27.079 love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband. There's an awful lot more here 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:33.339 in terms of volume about the men and the husbands than there is about the wives. And what an incredible 00:17:33.339 --> 00:17:39.779 challenge there is to all of us as men and husbands as to how God would expect us to show 00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:49.179 love to our wives and indeed love to others. Can we take Jesus as our role model? Men, there is no 00:17:49.179 --> 00:17:57.059 higher standard and there is no more difficult calling, I guess, than to accept this challenge, 00:17:57.079 --> 00:18:06.699 that he is our ultimate role model. He's not bossy. He's certainly not bullying. He's strong, 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:10.000 he's tender and he's loving. 00:18:12.419 --> 00:18:19.579 As I think of Jesus as the role model, we think of him laying down his life on the cross. He didn't need 00:18:19.579 --> 00:18:25.960 to but he chose to because of his love for us. And I think of some of the other incidents where we look 00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:33.519 at Jesus, think of him in John 21, just a little bit after his resurrection, where what does he do? 00:18:34.019 --> 00:18:41.319 He recognizes his disciples in their fear and in their uncertainty. And he goes along to that beach 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:47.740 and he doesn't just preach at them. He provides breakfast for them by the fire. And we could look 00:18:47.740 --> 00:18:59.099 at 101 other examples of Jesus as the model that we are expected to emulate as men. What a contrast to 00:18:59.099 --> 00:19:03.740 what we are seeing so often in the world around us. Elizabeth and I were shocked a few weeks ago 00:19:03.740 --> 00:19:11.500 to be waiting at the traffic lights in Kirkliston. And we saw a bit of an altercation going on outside a car. 00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:21.740 And suddenly the guy got out of his car and just started to thump and punch this other individual 00:19:21.740 --> 00:19:28.599 until he was lying sprawled on the pavement outside the cash machine. And as he struggled to get up, 00:19:28.940 --> 00:19:34.660 he continued to be punched and thumped by this other individual. And as I've looked at this passage 00:19:34.660 --> 00:19:40.539 and seen this model of what a man and a husband is meant to be like, 00:19:41.500 --> 00:19:50.380 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church, giving himself up for her. 00:19:54.059 --> 00:20:01.519 I think how skewed is our image at times of power and strength and authority that might be associated 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:08.759 with what men are sometimes about. And here instead we have an example of sacrifice. 00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:19.039 of the ultimate in love and commitment. Rabbi Zacharias, writing in a book about marriage, says this, 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:24.779 love is a commitment that will be tested in the most vulnerable areas of spirituality. 00:20:25.339 --> 00:20:32.839 A commitment that will force you to make some very difficult choices. It is a commitment that demands 00:20:32.839 --> 00:20:41.659 that you deal with your lust, your greed, your pride, your power, your desire for control, 00:20:41.659 --> 00:20:49.220 your temper, your patience, and every area of temptation that the Bible clearly talks about. 00:20:49.659 --> 00:20:57.859 It demands the quality of commitment that Jesus demonstrates in his relationship to us. 00:20:58.439 --> 00:21:01.959 You'll see why I said at the beginning that my aim is not that we all go out feeling like miserable 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:09.400 failures. Because I absolutely know if I look at myself and my own commitment and my own love that 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:18.420 I see how far short I fall. But this is the gold standard that is presented for us men, which can 00:21:18.420 --> 00:21:25.519 only be achieved through grace, which can only be achieved as we bask in all that the Lord Jesus has 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:32.579 done for us. But nonetheless, we cannot shirk it. We are told that the standard is that we might 00:21:32.579 --> 00:21:41.079 display the quality of commitment that Jesus demonstrates in his relationship to us. Maybe some 00:21:41.079 --> 00:21:47.420 of us are thinking, you don't know how difficult it is in the relationships that I am in. I was struck by 00:21:47.420 --> 00:21:51.680 this comment from Timothy Keller in his book, The Meaning of Marriage. He says this, 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:58.840 Jesus loved us, not because we were lovely to him, but to make us lovely. 00:21:59.960 --> 00:22:06.680 That is why I am going to love my spouse, he says. Speak to your heart like that, and then fulfill the 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:12.880 promises you made on your wedding day. Now, I'm not going to suggest that any of you might be finding 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:19.680 your husband or wife difficult or hard to love, far be it from me to go into that area at all, 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:26.340 certainly not in presence company. But nonetheless, look at this passage, this quote rather, and just 00:22:26.340 --> 00:22:34.759 let it sink in. He loved us, not because we were lovely, but to make us lovely. Do we desire that 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:41.100 through our love for our spouse, they might know that it doesn't matter what they've done, 00:22:41.840 --> 00:22:47.299 doesn't matter about the times where they might not be being lovely. We're going to love because 00:22:47.299 --> 00:22:56.579 Jesus is our standard, and he died, not because we are lovely, but to make us lovely. I think there's 00:22:56.579 --> 00:23:02.460 a wee challenge for men, just before I take the focus away from men, around how we view ourselves 00:23:02.460 --> 00:23:08.379 here as well. I don't want to make too much of this, but you'll do see that in the same way as we're told 00:23:08.379 --> 00:23:13.359 that husbands have to love their wives in the same way as Christ loved the church, verse 28 says, 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:21.419 husbands must love their wives as their own bodies. And then 33, each of you must love your wife as you 00:23:21.419 --> 00:23:29.379 love yourself, and the wife must respect your husband. So I don't think it's stretching it to say that there is 00:23:29.379 --> 00:23:38.139 a challenge here around how we men view ourselves. I think there is a challenge here around some 00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:48.080 healthy, not pride, but a recognition of who we are in Christ, a recognition that we are deeply loved, 00:23:48.620 --> 00:23:57.100 that we are absolutely forgiven, that we are not held back by our past, that we have a glorious future 00:23:57.100 --> 00:24:04.880 ahead of us. And as a result, we will have, can I describe it as a healthy self-respect 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:12.240 through what Jesus has done in our lives? And as a result of that, we will be better able to love 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:21.780 our wives. What about the wives? The bit of the passage that's perhaps the most seemingly 00:24:21.780 --> 00:24:29.200 counter-cultural when we read it first of all. Can I suggest there are three really important things 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:36.180 to get our heads around in the teaching to wives in order to properly understand this, 00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:42.740 what seems a strange instruction in verse 22, wives, submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord, 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:47.500 for the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. Firstly, wives, it says, 00:24:47.779 --> 00:24:54.360 you have submitted to the Lord. So it's absolutely clear this is teaching given to Christian women, 00:24:54.359 --> 00:25:01.579 women who have experienced what it is to say to Jesus, Jesus, you're in control, you come first. 00:25:02.279 --> 00:25:07.859 And wives, you've seen the blessing that that brings. You've seen the blessing of submission to 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:14.859 Jesus Christ. You've seen that it brings security, freedom, and a knowledge that you are loved. 00:25:15.659 --> 00:25:23.719 Secondly, wives, you're part of a church that submits to Christ, its head, and crucially, 00:25:23.720 --> 00:25:31.259 your husband is also part of a church that is submitting to Christ as its head. And indeed, 00:25:31.380 --> 00:25:38.059 in verse 21, you're submitting to one another out of reverence to Christ. So not only have you 00:25:38.059 --> 00:25:44.440 personally, wives, submitted to Christ, you're part of a community, and your husband is also part of this 00:25:44.440 --> 00:25:51.519 community of mutual submission, mutual submission to Christ, and indeed, mutual submission, verse 21, 00:25:51.519 --> 00:26:00.039 to one another out of reverence for Christ. And thirdly, wives, you're married to someone who is 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:08.279 seeking to love you with the same sort of love that Jesus himself displayed as he laid down his life for 00:26:08.279 --> 00:26:17.460 you on the cross. Aren't those three really important facts that help us understand why it perhaps makes 00:26:17.460 --> 00:26:26.120 absolute sense for the instruction which is then given, which says, wives, would you now voluntarily 00:26:26.120 --> 00:26:34.500 and freely submit to your own husbands as you do to the Lord? And in this glorious act of mutual 00:26:34.500 --> 00:26:41.420 submission to one another, would you allow him to love you? Would you allow him to support you? Would you 00:26:41.420 --> 00:26:49.680 allow him to provide guidance? Would you respect rather than undermine? I think we should be absolutely 00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:58.960 clear from the context that this is not a license for any sort of machoism or male dominance. Absolutely 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:08.240 not. It's a tough challenge for both men and women with clear instructions given to both. And I hope that 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:13.819 for some of us there might be something that we can take on board from that really practically as we 00:27:13.819 --> 00:27:21.039 reflect on the differences that being a follower of Jesus Christ makes in our every relationship. 00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:29.160 I want to go back to one of the verses just as we come towards a close earlier on in Ephesians, 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:36.500 as we perhaps reflect on the relationships that we are in. And it's Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10, 00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:43.839 and it says this, for we are God's workmanship, or other verses will say we are God's masterpiece, 00:27:44.839 --> 00:27:52.680 created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 00:27:53.400 --> 00:28:02.180 We're God's masterpieces. God has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things 00:28:02.180 --> 00:28:10.759 he planned for us. We're God's masterpieces. And as such, he wants his glory and goodness to be 00:28:10.759 --> 00:28:16.940 displayed in every single aspect of life. Our relationships between husband and wife, 00:28:17.620 --> 00:28:24.220 relationships between parents and children, and relationships in the workplace. 00:28:24.220 --> 00:28:32.200 we're going to close with just a moment to reflect on what our relationships look like. 00:28:33.420 --> 00:28:41.920 And let's invite him to work in every one of them in order that his glory might increasingly 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:45.200 be displayed. Let's pause and then pray. 00:28:45.200 --> 00:29:00.519 Lord Jesus, we ask that being part of your church might be something which fills us with thankfulness, 00:29:00.819 --> 00:29:10.340 with awe, and with wonder. We are part of this body for which you have died. 00:29:10.339 --> 00:29:24.159 And first and foremost, we ask, Lord Jesus, that in response, we might be people individually, 00:29:25.379 --> 00:29:30.859 and we might be families that voluntarily submit ourselves to you. 00:29:30.859 --> 00:29:35.959 in the days ahead, this day, 00:29:36.959 --> 00:29:49.479 help us to increasingly live out what it means to be people, communities, and families that are submitted to you. 00:29:51.699 --> 00:29:57.599 And may we reflect your glory in all of our relationships, 00:29:57.599 --> 00:30:06.199 so that others might see more of your love and more of your grace in and through us. 00:30:08.599 --> 00:30:10.339 Help those of us who feel 00:30:10.339 --> 00:30:18.480 that our lives have been deeply marked and scarred by relationships which 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:26.579 did not reflect anything of the love that Jesus demonstrated to us. 00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:35.139 Help those even here whose backgrounds might be marked by abuse, 00:30:35.899 --> 00:30:39.179 by loss, 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:43.019 by the absence of a parent or a partner. 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:48.559 Help each one of us to turn to you, Lord Jesus, 00:30:48.980 --> 00:30:51.179 to look again at your love, 00:30:51.379 --> 00:30:52.480 at your sacrifice, 00:30:52.779 --> 00:30:53.759 at your grace. 00:30:53.759 --> 00:30:58.700 And may you be our model and example going forward. 00:30:59.740 --> 00:31:01.720 And may you heal us 00:31:01.720 --> 00:31:07.480 from the negative experiences and examples that we have had in the past. 00:31:08.440 --> 00:31:10.220 Some of us look at our own lives, 00:31:10.259 --> 00:31:13.920 and we see where we too have fallen greatly short 00:31:13.920 --> 00:31:17.879 from the example that you would challenge us to pursue 00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:20.900 through the passage of Scripture that we've been looking at. 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:22.260 And by your grace, 00:31:23.260 --> 00:31:26.640 would you help us to know forgiveness from the past 00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:29.740 and renewed hope 00:31:29.740 --> 00:31:33.600 as we submit ourselves to you, Lord Jesus, 00:31:33.740 --> 00:31:36.620 and take our place in this glorious church, 00:31:37.060 --> 00:31:38.820 the bride of Jesus Christ, 00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:42.740 recognizing that you are making us holy and pure. 00:31:42.740 --> 00:31:45.620 So we worship you and we look to you for help 00:31:45.620 --> 00:31:48.259 in this crucial area of life, Lord Jesus. 00:31:49.180 --> 00:31:49.500 Amen.