What's God Got To Do WIth It? Part 3
Notes
Transcript
Announcements:
Pray for Kyle and Amanda
Worship:
Blessed Be Your Name
The Rock Won’t Move
God I Look to You
Introduction:
We are in a series called “What’s God Got to do With It?” And so far we have talked about:
1. Review of part 1: the purpose of marriage
Procreation: have babies and raise them in the way of the Lord in order to make an impact in the world
illustrate the relationship between Christ and the Church
2. Review of part 2: the role of husbands in marriage
Lead in love
Lead in the Word
Lead in righteousness
Lead in selflessness
Lead in intimacy (illustration of train track with charity, mom and sister and choose one to save)
This morning we will be finishing our series on marriage and the family.
There are so many other nuances in a family unit nowadays that it would take a long time to cover each and every one. But, I do want to speak for a moment to the widows and single parents [widows share and speak life into others regarding what you have learned and experienced; single parents have others they can depend on in the Body of Christ to help juggle all the responsibilities they have; they don’t have to do it alone]
This morning we will be talking about one of the most uncomfortable and misunderstood principles in the life of a believer and specifically the marriage relationship between a husband and wife.
So let’s begin with context and work our way through our message this morning on submission.
Body:
I. Context is everything (Ephesians 5:15-21)
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.
16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.
17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,
19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
A. Walking the walk looks like this
1. not as unwise but as wise
2. don’t be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is
3. don’t get drunk with wine but be filled with the Holy Spirit
B. Being filled with the Spirit
1. Continuously
2. It is written in the passive tense which means it is done to us and not manufactured
3. It is written in the imperative which means it is a command and not optional
C. How do you know someone who is filled with the Spirit:
1. is a worshipper (v. 19)
2. prayerfully thankful (v 20)
3. submitting to others (in the fear [love and respect] of Jesus Christ (v 21)
II. What is submission?
A. Submission defined is to be under rank (a military word)
B. Submission can also mean “sub-mission.”
For one to choose to set aside their individuality for the bigger mission/purpose for the team.
B. It is about order and not value (Jordan and Hannahlynn at the gym while she is the lead)
3 But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
It is about order because God the Father is not more valued that God the Son!
Illustration:
If you were in the military, you could see a sergeant with 10 years experience and a lieutenant with 10 months experience. When the lieutenant gives the sergeant an order, the sergeant has to obey. Not because he is of less value because his 10 years is definitely of greater value than the lieutenant’s 10 months. He obeys because it is about order.
(Yes, in the US Army any lieutenant, even if they just received their commission yesterday, outranks any sergeant, even a sergeant major with thirty years of service. A lieutenant is an officer and a sergeant is a “non-commissioned officer” - in other words, an enlisted man/woman/whatever. And officers outrank enlisted personnel, period.)
C. God-appointed order
1. At the beginning of creation, God set the order in Gen 1:26-28
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”
God – man – woman – dominion over beasts/animals
2. When sin entered the world, it was because the order flipped in Genesis 3
The beast took dominion over the woman, the woman took dominion over man and man tried to take dominion over God by eating the fruit.
3. And Romans 5:12 tells us that sin came in the world by not one couple or one woman but by one man because Adam did not exercise his headship and it was his responsibility. That is God’s ordained order.
D. Submitting to one another in verse 21 doesn’t mean “You submit to me and I submit to you”
1. 1 Cor 5:1-5 Paul exercised his authority
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and the kind of sexual immorality that is not even tolerated among the Gentiles—a man is sleeping with his father’s wife.
2 And you are arrogant! Shouldn’t you be filled with grief and remove from your congregation the one who did this?
3 Even though I am absent in the body, I am present in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who has been doing such a thing.
4 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
5 hand that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
2. Heb 13:17 Submit to leaders
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
E. It is not about individuality but being part of the whole Body of Christ/ part of a team and something bigger than one person
F. Our motive for submission is not social kindness or because of the Law of God.
G. It is about respect for Jesus Christ
1. fear = love and respect
a. not wanting to disappoint Jesus or grieve Him
b. When you really respect someone, you care about pleasing him/her and are afraid to disappoint them.
III. Paul gives us examples of what submission looks like in more specific situations:
A. wives and husbands (5:22-33) [“as to the Lord” is the motive of choosing to submit to her husband]
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.
And it’s found also in:
18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
And it’s also found in:
1 Peter 3:1-2 (for those with unbelieving husbands)
In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the word, they may be won over without a word by the way their wives live 2 when they observe your pure, reverent lives.
1. priority is her home
2. Titus 2:3-5
3 Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good.
4 These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children,
5 to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.
3. Example of this
a. not being just barefoot and pregnant!
b. Prov. 31:10-31
10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies.
11 Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She finds wool and flax and busily spins it.
14 She is like a merchant’s ship, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She is energetic and strong, a hard worker.
18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.
19 Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber.
20 She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy.
21 She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes.
22 She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
23 Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders.
24 She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.
26 When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.
27 She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.
28 Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:
29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
31 Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.
1) industrious
2) intelligent
3) works hard
4) prioritizes her home above all else
B. children and parents 6:1-4)
C. slaves and masters (6:5-9)
1. more of what we consider employee to employer
D. It is only one way, the masters aren’t told to submit to the slaves or parents to their children or husbands to their wives
Conclusion:
This is the hardest part of this message series because it goes against what our culture is teaching. Our culture claims that Christianity is oppressive to women and devalues women. But, according to the Bible and the picture of a Biblical marriage, the baseline for a Biblical wife is that she MUST be submissive.
Submitting to one another and submitting according to the order that God has put in place can only be done by those who are filled with the Holy Spirit and are continually being filled with the Holy Spirit through prayer and spending time in God’s Word.
Submitting to others is about the fear (love and respect) we have for Jesus Christ and wanting to follow His example and other Biblical examples of submitting:
• Jesus submitted to His parents (Luke 2:51).
• Demons submitted to the disciples (Luke 10:17).
• Citizens should submit to government authority (Romans 13:1 and 5, Titus 3:1, 1 Peter 2:13).
• The universe will submit to Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:27 and Ephesians 1:22).
• Unseen spiritual beings submit to Jesus (1 Peter 3:22).
• Christians should submit to church leaders (1 Corinthians 16:15–16 and Hebrews 13:17).
• Wives should submit to husbands (Colossians 3:18, Titus 2:5, 1 Peter 3:5, Ephesians 5:22–24).
Husbands should submit to Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3)
• The church should submit to Jesus (Ephesians 5:24).
• Servants should submit to masters (Titus 2:9 and 1 Peter 2:18).
• Christians should submit to God (Hebrews 12:9 and James 4:7).
Someone who is not submitted others, and in these contexts, a wife who does not submit to her husband; children to their parents; slave/employee to master/employer, in essence is not submitted to God. This is a character issue.
22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord,
Why does a Biblical wife submit to her husband?
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.
Because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church. And if you have to try to justify and make up “What if” scenarios then you don’t get it! Submission happens out of love and respect for Jesus Christ! And, in marriage, it illustrates the relationship Christ has with the Church.
Have the same mind of Christ in Philippians 2:5-8
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.