Families: Total Submission

Ephesians 5:21

You outrank me, how can I help you

Context

Very confusing new paragraph

4:2unity in Christ "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, (3) eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

5:1-2Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering...

3-forwardDiscourse on walking in the light (righteousness). all on application of 1-2

5:21 restatement of verse 2

5:22-6-9Application to family/households - restating the ideal.

Wives - submit (specific application of verse 4:21)

Husbands - love (application of verse 4:2)

Children - obey and honor (obey fits with submission)

Servants - obey Masters. Masters, do the same. (obey fits with submission, reverses with Masters)

5:10+ switches to spiritual warfare, summarizing book.

Notes

Total submission - "subordinate" "under the orders" (military sense). "under authority" "devoted oneself under another"

You outrank me.

Sub-ordinate yourselves is pretty literal.

Bear one-another's burdens

Uses of Submissive

Jesus to parents

Demons to Jesus

flesh is not to God's law

us to governing authorities

women in churches

all things to God... and the Son to God

all things under Christ, the church under Christ 3x

wives to husbands 3x

bondservants to masters 2x

us to rulers and authorities = obedient 2x

Us to Father of spirits (more so than earthly fathers)

To God , resist the devil and he flees

younger to elders

Specific applications of a general principle

We are to submit ourselves to one another

"What can I do for you?"

"What does love require of me?"

Parallels

Galatians 5:13(be a slave of one another)

Philippians 2:(humble-mindedness: thinking of others more than yourselves)

Questions

What about those who would abuse the opportunity?

Commentaries

Submit "a willingness to be responsive and to yield to one another out of love. It is wrong to read hierarchy into this verse or into the passage which follows."

Calling on wives, children and slaves to submit is customary. Calling on all members of a group to submit to one another was unheard of.

Headship is more an image of unity rather than one of authority. (My head is not so much the "boss" of my body as it is critical that it remain one with my body).

Ideas

Harmony - submitting to one another's movements and voices??? Keying off of whoever has the gift to lead in that moment or situation.

"Someone who is Spirit filled doesn't fight for the top; he fights for the bottom"

Let's make it really clear and simple, then see if we can confuse it later.

Experience in the workplace. I don't do what I want to do, I do what they want me to do.

Mutual submission is a dangerous phrase. I can take it to mean "I'll start submitting if you do." That's not what it says. You start submitting, you start with you. Self-submission

"but you don't know my husband (wife, etc...)" It has nothing to do with reverence for them... but reverence for Christ. even in the examples: wives submit to your husbands... as to Jesus (the Lord). Husbands love your wives, with Jesus's sacrificial love as your model. Servants: obey as you would Christ... Master's do the same!

Power, status, leadership, all of those things look very different.

We cannot confuse authority with control. Control really has no place in Christian life. Confusing authority with control is the cause of much grief in the church, through church history, and in the family.

What can I do for you?

Beginner mode: just asking (not even doing)

Intermediate mode: trying to do something

Advanced mode: discovering and meeting their actual wants/needs (techy Christmas gifts)