Henderson Hills Baptist Church

Why Submission is a Good Thing

"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord."  Eph 5:18-22 (ESV)

Submission is countercultural. We naturally oppose and even defy it. Yet, submitting is a clear consequence of the Spirit’s filling. Remember, there is a list of principles in verses 19-21 showing the effects of the Lord’s controlling, empowering, and permeating in the life of the believer. We will be addressing one another as we worship, giving thanks to the Lord, and in this case, submitting to each other. The interesting thing about this verse is that it is not only in sequence with other results of the Spirit’s work, but it also introduces an important discussion of Spirit-filled family relationships (22-33). In fact, when we are studying these family relationships we must bear in mind that “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” precedes the wife’s call to submit to her own husband as to the Lord (22).

The idea of submission in the church is that we are never to take an “it has to be my way” attitude or approach to matters of opinion or desire. We want the best for others, to bless each other, and to encourage the spiritual progress of our fellow believers. Rather than putting ourselves first, we succumb to the needs of others. We avoid needlessly hurting others because we have chosen to prefer one another in love. Spirit-filled believers are devoted to, love, make peace with, bear burdens of, are kind to, and encourage one another (Rom 12:10, 16; 13:8; Gal 6:2; Eph 4:32; Heb 3:13).

One of my pet peeves is Christians who say, “It is the principle of the thing” when they bite at and devour each other (Gal 5:15). Now, I’m not saying that it is wrong to stand on principle. Stand up for what is right. Resist the devil (James 4:7). Don’t compromise the absolutes. However, remember that it is also an important principle to seek unity (Eph 4:3). What is my point? Actually, it is a point that is hard to define dogmatically. Perhaps that is because we have a relationship with the Lord and not with a list of rules. We have a relationship with other believers and not a regulation manual to follow. Human relationships are messy at best.

Paul’s point is this; believers who are filled with the Spirit are regularly submitting themselves to one another because we have such reverence for Christ. There are times when we are not to submit. These might include those times when clear biblical, moral, ethical, and legal principles are being violated. Yet, we are called to seek, not to be judgmental. We live in the current of life that is overflowing with the necessity of being discerning and having good judgment, yet also loving one another and yielding to each other. How is all of this possible? It must be a work of the Spirit who is filling us. It is much too difficult to implement apart from His leadership and power.

I would guess that everyone reading this Didomi has a tendency to fall in one direction or the other. Do you see things very black and white, have little tolerance for imperfection, and live with the “calling” to fix things and people or walk away from them? On the other hand, do you find that almost everything is gray, and you are filled with so much “mercy” that you do not stand up against error? Which way do you fall? When I was a child, there was a 6’ tall concrete block fence around the back yard. Unfortunately the previous owners who installed the fence laid an inadequate foundation. Therefore the fence was irregular and uneven. For some reason, I found this a challenge and I loved to walk around the wall. The older I got the faster I could go. By age 12 I was running! However, I learned something. Falling off the wall was not a good thing. The neighbors on one side had a dog that bit and the other neighbors had a cactus garden. You know, it didn’t matter too much if I fell one way or the other. Falling off was painful. Perhaps you fall to one extreme or the other in your relationship with other believers. Either way is not good. We all need the Spirit’s wisdom and power to submit, reprove, and love one another.

Today, pray for the Lord to fill you with His power. Seek Him through His Word. Learn what He stands for, what He tolerates, what He hates, and then, choose to do the same. Ask Him to enable you to minister to, serve, accept, acquiesce to, and seek the best for other believers.

2 Peter 3:18
Dennis Newkirk

To read more from Dennis Newkirk click here.