Sermon Tone Analysis

Good morning, my name is John Lee and I serve Mission Church as the lead pastor.

I am thrilled to be with you this morning, especially in this context, as we continue our current sermon series through the book of Ephesians entitled Gods Plan for God’s People.

Please grab your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Ephesians 5.

Our text this morning begins in v. 22 but for context let’s begin our reading in v18.

When you’re there…and if you are able…please stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Ephesians 5:18–33 (CSB)

18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.

22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.

He is the Savior of the body.

24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word.

27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.

28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies.

He who loves his wife loves himself.

29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of his body.

31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.

32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.

33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

This is the Word of the Lord.

You may be seated.

The exhortation of our text over the next few weeks is intensely practical as Paul gives us explicit instructions for the Christian home…today we will focus on marriage and next week on parenting.

For this reason.... it may be tempting for those who are single, divorced, or who have no children to check out.

And.....If this is you.....

I challenge you to stay engaged…stick with me…for ....within these verses is perhaps one the most beautiful explanations of the gospel and the relationship between Christ and the Church.

In other words …if you are a Christian there is much here that will both encourage and strengthen your faith.

Now…before we jump into our text…let’s pause and pray together.

Pray

What is the biblical idea of marriage?

Well.....consider this summary from John Stott.

He says,

Marriage is an exclusive heterosexual covenant between one man and one woman, ordained and sealed by God, preceded by the leaving of parents, consummated in sexual union, and issuing in a permanent mutually supportive partnership... (Stott, Involvement,163)

The covenant of marriage is permanent, sacred, intimate, mutual, and exclusive..

And ultimately.....marriage is a shadow of the eventual marriage of Christ and the Church.

You see…a faithful Biblical marriage is a tangible expression of the gospel.that is meant to point people to Jesus.

Now....there is no greater source of controversy today than the topic of marriage and the family.

Over the last half century... differing philosophies and opinions of marriage, sex, and gender have radically changed the way our Western culture perceives and understands the point and the purpose of marriage.

As a result…the Biblical perspective..of how men and woman relate in marriage …which was accepted by most for generations....is now being questioned and rejected.

Andreas Köstenberger puts it well in his book, “God, Marriage, and the Family.”

He says....

For the first time in its history, Western civilization is confronted with the need to define the meaning of the terms “marriage” and “family.”

What until now has been considered a “normal” family, made up of a father, mother, and a number of children, has in recent years begun to be viewed as one among several options.

(God, Marriage, and Family, page 25)

In other words…the foundation for marriage is crumbling all around us.

What many have defined to be a cultural war…the war over marriage and the family…is actually a spiritual war in which the enemy is doing his best to confuse people ..why? Well....so that he might destroy God’s plan for marriage ....with ultimate purpose of muting the proclamation of the gospel.

Martin Luther said it like this.....

There is no estate to which Satan is more opposed as to marriage.

Martin Luther

Ands....the result of this spiritual war is a society that is confused… confused about sex, gender, and marriage and some are even hostile towards God’s instructions for marriage.

So... what do we do?

As we live in the midst of a spiritual war zone....

How can we build gospel-centered marriages that reflect the glory of Christ?

Well… in our text this morning.... Paul provides us with a treasure map that will help us solve the mystery of marriage.

And what we are going to find is that.....

When we look to God, who ordained marriage, Christ, who set the pattern for marriage, and the Spirit, who empowers marriage, we can have faithful Christ-exalting marriages.

Now...let’s look at Paul’s first instruction … Christlike Submission.

1. Christlike Submission

Look at Ephesians 5:22

Ephesians 5:22 (CSB)

22 Wives, submit...

Stop here.....before we continue.....we have to recognize that this verse requires us to tread very carefully…in fact we must approach Paul’s instruction here with measured care.

You see…in our culture of liberation...this word “submit” is essentially a time bomb waiting to explode.

The idea of submission is about as countercultural as you can get!

In fact …this word implies assumed synonyms like oppression, subjugation, or dominance.

Just by bringing up the subject of submission....one runs the risk of being misunderstood and vilified.

Why?

Well…consider how this text has been misused, perverted, and abused by sinful men.

You see....God’s Word in the hands of a fool can do massive harm....and I have observed sinful men treat their families like slaves....adulterous and hateful men with the domestic ethics of Jabba the Hut…they quote this verse and order their wives around sinfully.

I have observed insecure men who won’t even let their wives go to the store without their permission.

But understand.....even though evil men have perverted and twisted God’s Word …that’s not a reason to throw the baby out with the bath water.

You see....Most problems in Christian marriages have come from either an ignorance of God’s Word or an arrogant disregard for God’s Word.

It’s sad…but most Christians have adopted the cultural ego-centric approach to their marriage.

Then....when they experience difficulties or challenges....when this marriage thing gets hard …and believe me…it get’s difficult....or when marriage is no longer serving me the way I think it should.....well.... I’m out…I quit.

You see…what we need today is a clear understanding of and a return to God’s plan for marriage....And when we fully understand what Scripture means by words like “submit”…we'll discover that there’s nothing degrading or dehumanizing about the ordered equality of God’s instructions.

In fact..... Paul’s instruction in Ephesians 5 is rooted in the story and in the order of Creation found in Genesis 2. …Paul’s instruction points us to Adam and Eve and the head-with-helper paradigm.

The call to a wife to submit to her husband....Paul links not only with the order of creation but with the entire drama of redemption in Christ.…and

by doing so Paul dignifies this idea of submission and points to it as the primary way a Christian wife reflects the gospel.

Look back at v. 22.

Ephesians 5:22 (CSB)

22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord,

Take notice....Paul does not say, “wives submit to every man.”

No! ..God calls her to live out this Christian mentality of submission towards her husband alone.

And.....men…you need to understand…Paul is not saying that your wife is supposed to treat you like you are God.

NO! Women…you are not called to treat your husband as though he is God but rather....your submission to your husband is a service …it’s an act of worship to God.

You see....wives submit to their husbands because they want to glorify Christ…In other words…the godly wife sees her responsibility of submission as a part of her Christian discipleship.

Therefore...she is motivated by her love for Christ and a desire to be conformed to His image!

You see...When a woman voluntarily submits to her husband....she is simultaneously submitting to the Lord

And....submission to God is what the Christian life is all about.

You see…before his instruction to Christian wives to submit…Paul commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit.....and one of the evidences that you’re filled with the Spirit is found in how you submit.

Look back at v. 21

Ephesians 5:21 (CSB)

21 submit[ting] to one another in the fear of Christ.

When we are full of the Holy Spirit…all of us......husbands and wives.....parents and children....we will defer to and serve each other with the same mindset as Christ.

Now....you might ask.....What was mindset of Christ?

Well consider Philippians 2.

Philippians 2:5–8 (CSB)

5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.

7 Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity.

And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.

In other words... Jesus voluntarily submitted to the Father’s will.... which ultimately led to his death on the cross.

You see…our greatest need....humanity’s greatest need is to be reconciled to God…and Jesus selflessly and humbly did what was necessary to meet our greatest need…he died on the cross for sinners.