|















| |
INDEX
PREVIOUS
NEXT
|
COLLECTIONS
Commentaries,
Word Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
Old and New Testament. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Colossians
3:17 Whatever
you
do
(2PPAS)
in
word
or
deed, do
all
in
the
name of the
Lord
Jesus,
giving
thanks
(PAPMPN)
through
Him to
God the
Father. |
|
Greek:
kai
pan
o
ti
ean
poiete (2PPAS)
en
logo
e
en
ergo,
panta
en
onomati
kuriou
Iesou,
eucharistountes (PAPMPN)
to
theo
patri
di'
autou.
Amplified:
And whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do
everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in [dependence upon] His
Person, giving praise to God the Father through Him. (Amplified
Bible - Lockman)
KJV: And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name
of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Macent: let your discourse and your actions be all in the name
of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father by him.
18 Dames, be submissive to your husbands, as becomes Christians.
19 husbands, love your wives, and do not exasperate them.
Moffatt: Indeed, whatever you say or do, let everything be done
in dependence on the Lord Jesus, giving thanks in his name to God the
Father.
Montgomery: And whatever you do, whether in word of in deed, do
all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God our Father
through him. (NJB)
NLT: And whatever you do or say, let it be as a
representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through
him to God the Father. (NLT
- Tyndale House)
Phillips: And whatever you may have to do, do everything in the
name of the Lord Jesus, thanking God the Father through him. (Phillips:
Touchstone)
Wuest: And all, whatever you do in the sphere of word or deed,
do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, constantly giving thanks to God
the Father through Him. (Erdmans)
Young's Literal: and all, whatever ye may do in word or in
work, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus--giving thanks to
the God and Father, through him. |
|
|
|
|
AND WHATEVER
YOU DO IN WORD OR DEED (lip or life):kai pan o ti ean poiete (2PPAS)
en logo e en ergo:
One notices here that DOING may be in word,
as well as in deed. No secular/sacred split.
Spurgeon
comments that we must...
See how our being Christians does
not relax the bonds of our Christian relationship, but it calls us to
the higher exercise of the responsibilities and duties connected
therewith.
Do not draw any line of
demarcation, and say, “So far is secular, and so far is religious.”
Let your whole life be religious; and if there is anything proposed to
you, in which you cannot glorify God, do not touch it,. “Whatsoever
ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God and the Father by him.”
If any of you go to the theater,
can you go there in the name of the Lord Jesus? Why, you would not
dare to cross the threshold with such blasphemy in your soul! And when
you go to any place of doubtful amusement, can you go there giving
thanks to God and the Father by Jesus Christ? Can you thank the Lord
that you are permitted to go, and pray for divine blessing when you
go, and when you come away? A lady once said to a Christian minister,
“The pleasures of going to the play are very great; there is the
pleasure of thinking of it beforehand, the enjoyment of it at the
time, and then the pleasure of thinking of it afterwards.” “Yes,
madam,” said the good man, “and there is one other pleasure which
you seem to have forgotten, that is the pleasure of thinking of it on
your dying bed; I would like you to remember that.” Let me read this
verse again: “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of
the Lord Jesus.” If you cannot do it in the name of the Lord Jesus,
do not do it at all if you are a Christian; and even if you are not a
Christian, you will be accountable to God, by-and-by, for all that you
do.
ALL IN THE
NAME OF THE LORD JESUS: panta en onomati kuriou Iesou:
It would be spiritually helpful, though,
if we followed the example of musical genius Johann Sebastian Bach.
Often at the bottom of a manuscript he would write the letters INDNJC,
standing for the Latin words...
In Nomine Domini Nostri Jesu Christi
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
Our actions must that say that Jesus is and does exactly what He claims.
Just a few seconds of sin can disgrace the greatest of names. The
Hebrew name Judah means praise; the New Testament equivalent is Judas.
Lewis Johnson comments that
The expression, “in the name of the Lord Jesus,” means under the
authority and approval of Him. George Goodman used to tell a story
which illustrated action under the approval of the Lord Jesus. He
wrote: “I remember hearing a story of a man who was walking behind a
gipsy woman, and when they came to a place where the road divided, the
gipsy woman threw her stick up into the air, and let it fall on the
ground. Then she did it a second time; and a third time. By this time
the gentleman had caught up with her, and, being curious, he enquired:
‘Why do you throw your stick up into the air like that?’ She replied:
‘That is how I determine which way to go; I go whichever way the stick
points.’ ‘But you threw it up three times?’ he said, wondering why she
had done so. ‘Yes, I did!’ she answered, ‘for the silly thing would
point that way, and I wanted it to go this!’“ I think the lesson is
obvious. (Johnson, Lewis: Bibliotheca Sacra, Jan, 64)
GIVING
THANKS THROUGH HIM TO GOD THE FATHER: eucharistountes (PAPMPN) to theo
patri di autou:
Through Him - What a
powerful picture this little phrase through Him conveys. It was
Christ's rending of the
veil that separated us from God the Father that now makes it
possible for us to offer up a sacrifice of praise through Him.
The writer of Hebrews explains it this way...
Since therefore, brethren, we have
confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and
living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His
flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us
draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed
with pure water. (See notes
Hebrews 10:19;
20;
21;
22)
Through Him (our Great High
Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ) then, let us continually offer up a
sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give
thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for
with such sacrifices God is pleased. (See notes
Hebrews 13:15;
16)
Someone has made a statement so
applicable to our need to strive to maintain a heart of gratitude (for
our
old flesh
continually seeks draw us
the opposite direction toward murmuring and complaining)...
Don't complain about thorns among the roses!
Be grateful for roses among the thorns!
S Lewis
Johnson notes that...
We began by pointing out the need for a
marriage between the believer’s position and the believer’s practice,
between his creed and his conduct. In these verses the apostle has
outlined the Christian apparel, and it is indeed a heavenly wardrobe.
These garments are the products of the enabling power of the Spirit of
God. May He motivate believers by reminding them of their cost in His blood, and may He enable believers to don them in His name and for His
glory. (Ibid)
><> ><> ><>
ILLUSTRATIONS OF BIBLE TRUTH
by Harry A. Ironside - COBBLING FOR THE GLORY OF GOD - "Do all
in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col. 3:17).
When I was a boy, I felt it was
both a duty and a privilege to help my widowed mother make ends meet
by finding employment in vacation time, on Saturdays and other times
when I did not have to be in school. For quite a while I worked for a
Scottish shoemaker, or "cobbler," as he preferred to be called, an
Orkney man, named Dan Mackay. He was a forthright Christian and his
little shop was a real testimony for CHRIST in the neighborhood. The
walls were literally covered with Bible texts and pictures, generally
taken from old-fashioned Scripture Sheet Almanacs, so that look where
one would, he found the Word of GOD staring him in the face. There
were John 3:16 and John 5:24, Romans 10:9, and many more.
On the little counter in front of the bench on which the owner of the
shop sat, was a Bible, generally open, and a pile of gospel tracts. No
package went out of that shop without a printed message wrapped
inside. And whenever opportunity offered, the customers were spoken to
kindly and tactfully about the importance of being born again and the
blessedness of knowing that the soul is saved through faith in CHRIST.
Many came back to ask for more literature or to inquire more
particularly as to how they might find peace with GOD, with the
blessed results that men and women were saved, frequently right in the
shoe-shop.
It was my chief responsibility to pound leather for shoe soles. A
piece of cowhide would be cut to suit, then soaked in water. I had a
flat piece of iron over my knees and, with a flat-headed hammer, I
pounded these soles until they were hard and dry. It seemed an endless
operation to me, and I wearied of it many times.
What made my task worse was the fact that, a block away, there was
another shop that I passed going and coming to or from my home, and in
it sat a jolly, godless cobber who gathered the boys of the
neighborhood about him and regaled them with lewd tales that made him
dreaded by respectable parents as a menace to the community. Yet,
somehow, he seemed to thrive and that perhaps to a greater extent than
my employer, Mackay. As I looked in his window, I often noticed that
he never pounded the soles at all, but took them from the water,
nailed them on, damp as they were, and with the water splashing from
them as he drove each nail in.
One day I ventured inside, something I had been warned never to do.
Timidly, I said, "I notice you put the soles on while still wet. Are
they just as good as if they were pounded?" He gave me a wicked leer
as he answered, "They come back all the quicker this way, my boy!"
Feeling I had learned something, I related the instance to my boss and
suggest that I was perhaps wasting time in drying out the leather so
carefully. Mr. Mackay stopped his work and opened his Bible to the
passage that reads,
"Whatsoever ye
do, do all to the glory of God."
"Harry," he said, "I do not cobble
shoes just for the four bits or six bits (50 cents or 75 cents) that I
get from my customers. I am doing this for the glory of GOD. I expect
to see every shoe I have ever repaired in a big pile at the judgment
seat of CHRIST, and I do not want the LORD to say to me in that day,
'Dan, this was a poor job. You did not do your best here.' I want Him
to be able to say, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant.'"
Then he went on to explain that just as some men are called to preach,
so he was called to fix shoes, and that only as he did this well would
his testimony count for GOD. It was a lesson I have never been able to
forget. Often when I have been tempted to carelessness, or to
slipshod effort, I have thought of dear, devoted Dan Mackay, and it
has stirred me up to seek to do all as for Him who died to redeem me.
(Bolding added) (Beloved,
how are you doing your work, whatever and wherever it may be? As unto
the Lord and for His glory? Or just to get by? Don't waste your life
for every deed done in the Spirit to glorify our Father will be repaid
at the Judgment Seat of Christ!) |
|
|
Colossians
3:18 Wives,
be
subject
(2PPPM)
to your
husbands, as is
fitting
(3SIAI)
in
the
Lord.
|
|
Greek:
Ai
gunaikes,
hupotassesthe
(2PPPM)
tois
andrasin,
os
aneken (3SIAI)
en
kurio
Amplified: Wives,
be subject to your husbands [subordinate and adapt yourselves to
them], as is right and fitting and your proper duty in the Lord.
(Amplified
Bible - Lockman)
KJV: Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is
fit in the Lord.
Macent: Dames, be submissive to your husbands, as becomes
Christians.
Moffatt: Wives, be subject to your husbands; that is your
proper duty in the Lord.
Montgomery: Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is
fitting for Christians. (NJB)
NLT: You wives must submit to your husbands, as is fitting for
those who belong to the Lord. (NLT
- Tyndale House)
Phillips: Wives, adapt yourselves to your husbands, that your
marriage may be a Christian unity. (Phillips:
Touchstone)
Wuest: Wives, be constantly subjecting yourselves with implicit
obedience to your husbands as you ought to do in the Lord. (Erdmans)
Young's Literal: The wives! be subject to your own husbands, as
is fit in the Lord;
|
|
|
WIVES
BE
SUBJECT
TO YOUR HUSBANDS: Ai gunaikes hupotassesthe (2PPPM)
tois andrasin:
Be subject (5293)
(hupotasso) (Click for word study on
hupotasso)
Literally, Women, be in
subjection to the men: for the Greek language has no distinctive terms
corresponding to our words wife, husband. But the reference to married
persons is unmistakable.
Note it does not
read
"Women be a door mat for your husbands to step on!" (Husbands take
note).
Be Subject (hupotasso)
strictly speaking means to line up in order under.
Hupotasso is used in (Lu 2:51)
to refer to Jesus’ subjection to His parents, and in (Lu 10:17,
20) to describe demons
being subject to the disciples. In (Ro
8:7), Paul employs the
word to speak of being submissive to the commands of God’s law. (Ro 13:1,
5) refers to the
necessary submission of every person to governing authority, which is
established by God. In both (1Co 15:27,
28
Ep1:22)
hupotasso points to a future glorious time when all
things in the universe will be made subject to Christ and God in
eternal glory.
Hupotasso
was also a military term describing lining up of soldiers under the commanding
officer. The
fact that one soldier is a private and another is a general does not
mean that one man is necessarily better than the other. It only means
that they have different ranks. And so we see that the idea is more
the submission is more to the position than to the
person.
Beet says hupotasso
here indicates
not worse in
quality but lower in position" (not inequality for women
are equal to men before God),
represents "the divine pattern of subordination" and "suggests
arrangement and order".
One must not
think of a wife's being subject as synonymous with “slavery” or
“subjugation.” The wife is not to
dominate or to lead, but to follow her husband's leadership as long as
it does not compromise her loyalty to Christ. Her first loyalty is to
the Lord Jesus and to the authority of His Word.
Remember that Paul's command is given in the context of the initial
command in this chapter to
keep seeking the things above.
(see note
Colossians 3:1) A wise woman will
therefore accept the temporary relinquishing of her ‘rights’,
for the eternal reward that is to come ("the things above"). Implicit
is that if she asserts independence from her husband, it will
adversely affect ‘the things above’, specifically her reward
for the deeds done in the body.
Hupotasso
is
present tense indicating this is to be a
wife's lifestyle. The
imperative mood
is a command (keeping in mind that what God commands, He also enables
or empowers). Finally it is in the
passive
or
middle voice depending on what linguistic source
one examines.
Passive
indicates that action upon the
subject comes from without.
Middle voice
on the other hand signifies that the wife initiates the act of
submitting and participates in the effects or results of her
submission.
It conveys the idea of the wife choosing to put herself under (hupo =
under) her husband, not by compulsion, but with a willing spirit.
Middle voice also conveys a reflexive sense
and can be translated as "subject
yourselves". In any case the idea of submission of the wife is
that of a voluntary attitude and action based upon one's recognition of
God's ordained order and it cannot be forced upon her against her will
by a demanding despot. The wife is a helpmate (a helper suitable to the
husband) and not a slave to suit his every whim.
In Ephesians
Paul also gives this injunction in the context of the command to
be filled with the Spirit (see note
Ephesians 5:18)
If you are not controlled by the Spirit, just try submitting when you
everything in you and every one around you (including the world, the
flesh and the devil) is crying out "Don't do it!". You might
ostensibly "submit" in your own strength or power but you would be the
little by whose mother disciplined him by telling him to sit in the
corner, but who was still "standing up" on the inside! Only the Spirit
can transform our hearts and renew our minds to be subject like our
Lord was subject to those earthly men who were in authority over Him!
See the related topic "Walking in the Spirit" (Galatians
5:16;
Galatians 5:17;
Galatians 5:18;
Galatians 5:19;
Galatians 5:20;
Galatians 5:21;
Galatians 5:22;
Galatians 5:23;
Galatians 5:24;
Galatians 5:25;
Galatians 5:26)
MacArthur
emphasizes the importance of this section of wife's submitting to
their husbands:
All the attacks on this straightforward principle for behavior
deal devastating wounds to the marriage. When a woman submits to the
loving leadership of her husband and follows God’s intention for her,
she is fulfilled and so is the husband. Efforts to reverse or confuse
the duties of wife and husband destroy the blessing each is to be to
the other. (MacArthur,
J. Colossians. Chicago: Moody Press
or
Logos)
God does “all
things...properly
& in an
orderly
manner.” (1Cor 14:40).
If He did not have a chain of command in society, instead of order we
would have chaos. The fact that the woman is to submit to her husband
does not suggest that the man is better than or superior to the woman.
It only means that the man has the responsibility of headship and
leadership in the home. According to the divine
plan, the husband's role is as head of the
house and the woman's role is that of
submission to her husband.
Note that Paul’s words give no comfort to the chauvinist,
since “love” in the following verse tempers and
conditions submission.
Wiersbe
adds some wise caveats noting that...
Headship
is not dictatorship or lordship. It is loving leadership. In fact,
both the husband and the wife must be submitted to the Lord and to
each other (see note
Ephesians 5:21). It is a mutual respect under the
lordship of Jesus Christ. True spiritual submission is the secret of
growth and fulfillment. When a Christian woman is submitted to the
Lord and to her own husband, she experiences a release and fulfillment
that she can have in no other way. This mutual love and submission
creates an atmosphere of growth in the home that enables both the
husband and the wife to become all that God wants them to be. (Wiersbe,
W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor
or
Logos)
The Greek Textus
Receptus (from which KJV is translated) adds the pronoun idios
(own) which is translated as your own husbands but this
Greek word is not found in most Greek manuscripts so it is omitted from the majority
of translations. Wives however are to submit to their own husbands
with whom they have an intimate, personal, vital relationship as
directed by Paul in Ephesians 5:22
(note)
which reads...
Wives, be subject to your
own (idios) husbands, as to the Lord.
Jewish law considered a woman a
"thing" , a possession with no legal
rights. The only way she could divorce her husband was if he developed
leprosy, became an apostate or ravished a virgin. The "sophisticated,
intellectual" Greeks were not much better for in their society a
woman never appeared alone, had to be totally chaste, whereas her
husband could have as many relationships as he desired.
Genuine Christianity consists of both doctrine and holy living. It is
difficult to see how Christianity can have any positive effect on
society if it cannot transform its own homes, and thus in America
today we see an intense attack leveled at Christian homes, especially
Christian marriages.
Christ coming to
live within regenerated men and women brought a new meaning to authority
and submission in the
home for it created a new order by introducing...
A New Presence - Christ Who is our life (see note
Colossians 3:4)
A New Power - The Spirit of
Christ - "Be continually filled with the Spirit" (see note
Ephesians 5:18)
A New Purpose - "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus" (see note
Colossians 3:17)
A New pattern - Christ is the pattern or Model "Husbands, love your wives. just
as Christ also loved the Church." (see note
Ephesians 5:25)
When a woman submits to the loving leadership of her husband & follows
God's intention for her, she is fulfilled and so is the husband.
Confuse the duties or roles of either member of this union & you destroy the BLESSING that each is
to be to the other.
Keep in mind 3 caveats in order to have a Biblical understanding of submission:
(1)
Submission does not imply inferiority (Gal 3:28)
(2) Submission is not absolute and there may be times when a wife must
refuse to submit to her husband’s desires because they violate God’s
Word. Luke records an incident which illustrates this
principle...
(The Jewish rulers speaking to
Peter, et al) "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in
this name, and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching,
and intend to bring this man's blood upon us." But Peter and the
apostles answered and said, "We must obey God rather than men."
(3) The husband's authority is not to be exercised in an
authoritative, overbearing manner, but in the context of a loving
relationship (but
see
1Pet 3:1).
AS IS
FITTING (becoming, proper) IN THE LORD: os aneken (3SIAI) en kurio:
Is fitting
(aneko) means something is fitting or right to do and is
what is proper or is one's duty. Aneko is used of
actions that are due someone and Lightfoot states conveys the
"ultimate meaning of moral obligation".
In (Phile1:8)
the contextual use of aneko denotes not merely that
which is fitting but that which is almost legally obligatory or a
necessary duty. In this use in Colossians aneko is in the
imperfect tense
which speaks of an action going on
in past time. Lightfoot says is that the use of the
(imperfect) past tense points to the fact that the wife’s submission
to her husband is an obligation that is a self-evident one which is
arrived at from reasoning regarding the proper relation of the wife to
the husband. The
Greek form in this phrase expresses an obligation, It is how He designed and commands the family to
operate.
In the Lord
modifies fitting
and thus this obligation on the part of the wife is
fitting in the Lord
in the sense that she is as to her position in salvation, in Christ,
and a person in such a position has the moral obligation to obey the
Scriptures when they command the wife to be in subjection to her
husband.
Many couples are united in wedlock in a rosy fog of optimism. Blinded
to the shortcomings, each sees only the other’s good points. But as
the excitement of the new marriage wears off, they drift to the
opposite extreme and view these same traits as faults. Someone has
called this “reverse reasoning,” giving the following examples: “She
married him because he was ‘strong and masculine’; she divorced him
because he was a very ‘dominating male.’ He married her because she
was so ‘fragile and petite’; he divorced her because she was so ‘weak
and helpless.’ She chose him because ‘he knew how to provide a good
living’; she left him because ‘all he thought about was the business.’
He married her because she was ‘steady and sensible’; he divorced her
because she was ‘boring and dull.’”
Note the repetition of "Lord,” in these last verses of
this epistle (occurring seven times Col3:18, 20, 22, 23, 24 ; 4:1).
MacDonald makes the point that "Paul repeatedly brings these
matters of everyday life under the searchlight of the lordship of
Christ as follows: (1) Wives—as is fitting in the Lord (v.
18). (2) Children—well-pleasing to the Lord (v. 20). (3)
Servants—fearing the Lord (v. 22). (4) Servants—as to the Lord
(v. 23)." (MacDonald, W. Believer's Bible Commentary Nashville: Thomas
Nelson)
The home life is to be pervaded with the acknowledgement of the divine
preeminence throughout. There is a placard, often found in the homes
of Christians throughout the world, which reads,
“Christ is the Head of this house,
The unseen Guest at every meal,
The silent Listener to every conversation.”
|
Notes
on "HUPOTASSO"
(from Dr.
Wayne Barber Ephesians 5:22-33) |
|
(1) First
of all let’s look at the meaning of the phrase "be subject."
The
word "subject" is the word hupotasso. It is more commonly
understood to mean to submit. So when I use the term "submit" I
am saying the same thing as "subject yourself." It
(hupotasso) comes from two Greek words, the word hupo,
which means "under," and tasso, which means "to
set in place." In other words, the word means to set something
in place up under something else. In the context it is talking
about submitting to the authority of another. So Paul is saying
to the wives,
"Be willing to place yourself in a position
under your husband who is the authority of your family. Be in
that position of being submissive."
Now, let’s make
sure we understand what it doesn’t mean. Sometimes when you
look and see what it doesn’t mean, it tells you better what it
does mean. For instance, it does not mean that she is commanded
to obey her husband as a child would obey his parents or a slave
would obey his master. A lot of men treat their wives as if they
are a door mat. They walk all over them as if they have no
sense, as if they have no ability, as if they are inferiors.
That is not what the word means at all. As a matter of fact,
there is another Greek word that is used in that kind of
relationship. It is the word hupakouo. That is
entirely different. Let me show you where it is used. Look in
chapter 6 at verse 1: "Children, obey your parents in the
Lord, for this is right"
Guess what word the
word "obey" is? Hupakouo. In other words, you are
an inferior to a superior and God says you must obey your
parents. You have no option, and it is only by God’s grace they
ever give you a reason why they tell you to do what they tell
you to do. That word (Hupakouo) is never used with
a husband and wife. Look in Eph 6:5: "Slaves, be obedient
to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear
and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ;"
The word
"obedient" is the same word, hupakouo. One (hupakouo)
is of an inferior to a superior. The other is not that at all.
Hupotasso,
the word that is used for wives to husbands, is the word that
talks about two people who are absolutely equal in God’s eyes,
totally equal. There is not one level of inferiority of one to
the other.
But the wife makes a choice to place herself as
an equal underneath another equal, her husband, in order that
there can be order and function in the family. The whole purpose
of it is so that it meets the design that God has already
ordered.
So what is
the meaning of the word hupotasso? Does it mean that your wife
is a slave to obey your every command? Does it mean that you
treat her like a child? NO! If there is a man who thinks for one
second that they have any superiority in God’s eyes over their
wife, they are gravely mistaken from God’s Word. However, by His
design to have a functional family, concessions have to be made.
So God says, "Wives, you make it and you choose to put yourself
underneath the headship of your husband" in order that the
design can be what God says it ought to be. The meaning of it
has nothing to do with inferior to superior. It takes nothing
from the dignity of a woman for her to submit, but rather it
enhances it. It takes great integrity for a person to do what
God says should be done.
(2) Secondly, let’s look at the mindset of submission.
In Eph 5:22 it says,
"Wives, be submissive to your husbands."
It
says nothing about their ability. There are many families in
which the wife is more gifted than the man. Maybe the wife is
full of personality, full of character, full of all kinds of
ability. It is the exact reverse of what you think the model
ought to be. God says, "Wives, I don’t care how much
intelligence you have. I don’t care how many spiritual gifts you
have. I don’t care how much energy you have. I don’t care how
much better you look than your husband. Wives, submit to your
husbands." "But God, my husband is a bully! God, you don’t want
me submitting to my husband, do you?" God said, "That’s right.
You submit to your husband." The mindset comes up in the
verb: "be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord." The
verb there is present tense and middle voice. This
is not something you do one time so you can get something.
Present tense means this is constant: every day be being
under submission to your husband at all times. But even more
than that is the middle voice. The middle voice
means, you yourself make your own choice. If you want to
have a properly functioning family, wives, you yourself make up
your mind you are going to live in the state of submissiveness
to your husband, no matter what he is like. God says, "Submit to
that man in your family." The meaning is of two equals. Oh, what
integrity a person who loves God has who is willing to put
themselves under an equal in order that God’s order and function
may take place in the family.
(3) Thirdly, there is the motivation of being submissive.
Now what in the world would make a woman who is equal, probably
more gifted, probably more educated than her husband, put
herself under submission to him? Well, look at the verse:
"Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord." I have
had people ask me, "You mean to tell me I am to treat my husband
as I treat the Lord? Is that what he is saying there?" No, he is
not saying that. A lot of husbands want to be treated that way,
but that is not what he is saying. Paul is saying, "You do this
as an act of love to the Lord."
What
should motivate you to do this? The verse is saying the
thing that ought to motivate you is because the Spirit of God
controls your life and the Spirit of God has revealed to you
what the Scriptures say. In order for the Lord to make your
family a functional family, you are willing to obey what He
says. It’s not because you love your husband that much, but
it is because you love Jesus that much. That is the key. As I
love the Lord Jesus, I am willing to do whatever it is he tells
me to do. A wife’s love for Christ motivates her to obey.
So, she looks in God’s Word. She is a student of Scripture. She
can’t be Spirit-filled if she is not because the Scripture has
to play a role in our obeying the Lord Jesus Christ. She gets
into the Word. Ephesians 5:22 says, "Wives, be subject to your
own husbands." Jesus said in John 14:21, "If you love Me, you
will obey Me." She says, "Out of loving You, Lord, I am going to
do what You have told me to do." That is the motivation of
submission.
(4) Fourthly, let’s look at the model of submission.
Ladies, God has honored you because He has asked you to do what
He also has done. The model, of course, is the Lord Jesus
Himself. Paul says in Eph 5:23-24, "For the husband is the head
of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He
Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is
subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their
husbands in everything." We will get into some more of th | | | |