“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21)
Submission. I jokingly called it the “S” word because the very sound of it sets many people’s teeth on edge. The idea of submission is distasteful to our fallen human natures; we want to be our own masters. Not long ago I was in a group of people where the subject of submission came up, and several men said “Oh, that’s an issue for women, not men.” That is not correct. Lest someone think that that is a liberal, feminist viewpoint, I like the footnote in the MacArthur Study Bible, written by John MacArthur, who would never be accused of being either a liberal or a feminist:
“Paul here made a transition and introduced his teaching about specific relationships of authority and submission among Christians (5:22-6:9) by declaring unequivocally that every spirit-filled Christian is to be a humble, submissive Christian. This is foundational to all the relationships in this section.”
Every Christian is called to submission, first of all to the Lord Jesus Christ, but also, as Eph 5:21 indicates, to other Christians. In addition, Christians are called to be subject to governmental authorities (Romans 13:1) and to employers (the modern day equivalent of master/servant or master/slave relationships for which there are many verses, such as Eph 6:5)
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4 comments:
I definitely struggle with it. I've often wondered why, but in the end I think it's pride.
I agree. Pride was the original sin ("You will be like God") and is a challenge for me too.
Good stuff, Beth,
I am reading Thomas Merton these days and he has a lot to say about submission as he choose to live in a monastery and even there struggled with submission - to God and to the Abbott.
take care
ron
Thanks, Ron. Last year in my "Christian Spirituality" class at Fuller we read "The Rule of Saint Benedict", a short book listing the 1500 year old rules of a religious community. It would be very difficult to live such a disciplined life. I am working (in a not very disciplined way) on becoming more disciplined, and it is very hard!
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