The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
Romans 5:5opening encouragement read before worship: hope will not lead to disappointment because God has given us His Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love
5 and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
do not get drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit, speaking in psalms and hymns, singing, giving thanks, submitting to one another in the fear of Christ
18 Don’t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing, and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 giving thanks always concerning all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father;
21 subjecting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.
cited as a passage complementarians use for permanent gender distinctions in church roles
1 I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men:
2 for kings and all who are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
4 who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave himself as a ransom for all; the testimony in its own times;
7 to which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth in Christ, not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
8 I desire therefore that the men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands without anger and doubting.
9 In the same way, that women also adorn themselves in decent clothing, with modesty and propriety; not just with braided hair, gold, pearls, or expensive clothing;
10 but (which becomes women professing godliness) with good works.
11 Let a woman learn in quietness with full submission.
12 But I don’t permit a woman to teach, nor to exercise authority over a man, but to be in quietness.
13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14 Adam wasn’t deceived, but the woman, being deceived, has fallen into disobedience;
15 but she will be saved through her childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and sanctification with sobriety.
Christ sanctifies the church by washing of water with the word, to present her holy and blameless
26 that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word,
27 that he might present the assembly to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without defect.
masters do the same to them, give up threatening, knowing their master and yours is in heaven and there is no partiality with Him
9 You masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with him.
briefly noted as containing a parallel passage to Ephesians 5:18-21
1 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.
5 Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry;
6 for which things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.
7 You also once walked in those, when you lived in them;
8 but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth.
9 Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings,
10 and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator,
11 where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.
14 Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.
17 Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
18 Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives, and don’t be bitter against them.
20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers, don’t provoke your children, so that they won’t be discouraged.
22 Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God.
23 And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
25 But he who does wrong will receive again for the wrong that he has done, and there is no partiality.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This was a continuation of First B Jackson's series in Ephesians 5, preached by the preacher. He worked through the household codes in chapters 5 and 6, covering wives and husbands, children and parents, and slaves and masters, framing the whole section around the hinge verse of mutual submission in the fear of Christ.
What was said
Before getting to the household codes, Pastor Van took time to re-read a stretch of what Paul says to believers in the first three chapters of Ephesians. The long list of blessings, chosen before creation, adopted into God's family, sealed with the Holy Spirit, heirs of a guaranteed inheritance, was not decorative. The argument is that the instructions that follow in chapters 4 through 6 only make sense when you know who you already are in Christ. Without that foundation, the commands can sound like a wagging finger.
The hinge on which the whole section turns is verse 21: "be subjecting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ." Pastor Van spent time on the Greek grammar, noting that the verb form is either middle voice (I do this for myself, because it benefits me) or passive voice (I open myself to God doing this in me). Either way, it is a command, and it governs everything that follows. The five things Paul lists after verse 18, speaking psalms, singing, making melody, giving thanks, and subjecting yourselves, are all participles describing what it looks like to be filled with the Spirit.
Before walking through the household codes, Pastor Van acknowledged that two theological camps, complementarian and egalitarian, read this passage differently, and he laid both views out plainly. Complementarians hold that men and women have equal value but distinct roles, with husbands holding primary responsibility in the home. Egalitarians hold that the gospel removes gender-based restrictions and that marriage is built on mutual submission with no designated hierarchy. He noted that the section headings translators put into different Bible versions reveal which camp those translators lean toward, and he asked for grace on all sides, saying he was trying to read the passage from the perspective of the whole of Ephesians.
When he got to wives and husbands, Pastor Van pointed out that Paul is not speaking to women and men in general but specifically to married people. He also noted that in Papyrus 46, the oldest manuscript of Pauline letters, there is no separate verb in verse 22. The word "submit" is borrowed directly from verse 21, which is why some translations put it in italics. The instruction to wives, to subject themselves to their own husbands as to the Lord, flows directly out of the mutual submission command above it.
The longer and weightier part of the passage, he argued, is directed at husbands. The instruction to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her was striking in its original context because women were property without equal legal standing. Calling a husband to agape love, the self-effacing, others-focused love that took Christ to the cross, was not a word of dominance. It was a word of sacrifice. Pastor Van drew a direct parallel to Ephesians 5:2, where Paul had already told all Christians to walk in love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. The husband's instruction is the same sentence applied to marriage.
The children and parents section moved more quickly. Children are told to obey, which Pastor Van noted is a different and stronger word than the submission language used for wives and husbands. He connected it to the fifth commandment. The word to fathers, not to provoke their children to anger but to bring them up in discipline and instruction, was the counterbalance. The slaves and masters section he updated carefully, suggesting workers and employers read it as addressed to them. The pattern holds: the last word in each pairing is not for the one with less power but for the one with more. Masters are told to treat slaves the same way, to give up threatening, knowing that God shows no partiality.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Pastor Van read through a long list of what Paul says believers are in the first three chapters of Ephesians, things like 'chosen,' 'adopted,' 'redeemed,' and 'sealed with the Holy Spirit.' Which one of those descriptions is hardest for you to actually believe about yourself, and why does it matter that Paul lays all of that out before he gets to any instructions?
The sermon described two broad camps, complementarian and egalitarian, and said both have biblical backing. How do you personally handle passages where sincere, Bible-believing people land in different places? What does 'being diligent to keep the unity of the spirit' look like in a conversation like that?
morning, everybody. Would you stand and would you stand and join us in song? Thanks for being here. Here's an encouraging word from Romans five to lead us into worship. It says, hope will not lead to disappointment for
we
know how dearly God loves us because he's given us his Holy Spirit to fill our our hearts with his love. We're gonna start by singing my hope is in you.
Literally, a couple of announcements from me today. One of them, you've seen these little cards is revival at the Rodeo grounds. Revival at the rodeo grounds starts on the fifteenth. It's a Monday night. We're gonna do five Monday nights at the Rodeo Grounds.
Revival at the Rodeo. The fifteenth, there's a meeting about that on the fourteenth here in the Fellowship Hall. That's one announcement. The next one is this is starting back up at the McCooey's place, North Roberta Drive. Wait a second.
Yeah. That's it. Right? Yeah. Okay.
North Roberta Drive out behind the airport. They are there's a group called Seeking Truth in Your Twenties. So if you are in your twenties from high school, we'll give eighteen, nineteen a chance. But if you're in your twenties, this is for you. Seeking Truth in your twenties is a good place to make friends, to discuss the Bible, to sing some songs together, and have some fun.
So those are the two. The revival at the Rotary Grounds happened on the fifteenth with the pregame on the fourteenth. And then today, June 7 tonight at six out there to at the McCooey's. And I'm gonna invite up Mike because it's graduation Sunday. And then Van, would you and the Andersons be making your way up here?
Hey. There we are. Hey. It's good to see you guys. It's grad Sunday, and what a year it's been.
This was the biggest graduating class from Jacksonville High School. Think it was like 270 something kids. So ton of students. Can we give them a round of applause? Wow.
Graduating is such a big deal, and this year was huge. Our high school ministry has grown and 27 students graduated from our high school program to take that next step. And I just wanna mention a couple names to you guys. Ryan Block's daughter graduated yesterday. Hayden Block.
Hayden Hayden Block, Andy Abad, Trinity Green, Bente Summers, Parker Gotham, I see him in the back, Cora Robertson, Bill Robinson, Elijah Waldron, Will Harper, Walter Stradley, James Maximin. More and more and more, there's so many students. I just wanted to mention that so that you guys knew that these people are taking that next step. So when you see them around, just congratulate them. And let me say a prayer for them, and then we'll invite Alex up and Van.
God, thank you so much for our high school students. God, taking this step from high school out into the quote unquote real world. God, I pray that you would illuminate their path. God, that you would guide them to not only where they need to go, but how they need to conduct themselves. God, in a way that honors and glorifies you.
God, pray that they could take steps that are pleasing to you and that you would bless their path. So watch over them, God, and we just love them. So be with them. We ask this in Jesus name. And everyone said, amen.
Tell them who you are.
Good morning, everybody. So good to see you all this morning. Alex and Emily Anderson are from Idaho. They live there right now. I mentioned a couple weeks ago when I was preaching on Ephesians five, like the difference in worldly wisdom and biblical wisdom and how it's really crazy to think if in the world's mind, missionary stories when they sell all their stuff, and in this case, move into a camper to live in instead of a home in the mountains.
So anyway, their story, you've heard before, but just in brief, wanted to get them up here. It's their last Sunday today and just have a a little bit of a question and answer just between me and them. You don't have to think of any questions. But if you have questions for them, they'll be in the back after service. But Victory Bible Camp is a a camp that does gospel ministry in Alaska, and they had a fire that burned down their central gathering place.
So there's an obvious physical need for them to continue in doing this gospel ministry, and they had put out an advertisement that they had seen. And Alex, you can share a little bit about just that process of finding out the need and then what what you're gonna be doing, what both of you will be doing to meet that need.
So Victory Bible Camp in October, their chapel burned down and they used that for food and ministry and sharing the gospel. And after that happened, they put out a Facebook request for prayer for a general contractor or client liaison, somebody to help lead the charge for getting that put back. My sister saw that and she forwarded it to me and I immediately knew, man, I'd love to do that, which usually takes me like three to four business days according to her to make a decision. And so I responded and we went back and forth for a while. And in February, they invited us to come up and look at the project and the scope.
It was much bigger than they initially proposed and thought, and the Lord is changing the direction slowly and consistently into where he's taking it. They're hoping to make the building big enough for the next ten to fifteen years of growth. And that's hard to predict because they are helping more and more people year round all the time.
So once the you y'all had that sense from the Lord to to go, like this is the thing that that you're gonna do. I know that y'all met with with us, some of the elders, and got a big thumbs up, the missions committee. But can you, Emily, tell us just a little bit about the process that y'all have been going through?
So when we found out about Victory Bible Camp in I think it was November of last year, we pretty much immediately knew this is what we're gonna do. So we started kinda slowly getting rid of possessions. We have lived in our house for almost eight years, so things accumulate. So we started that process and started talking to our friends and our family and seeking wisdom and advice because this is a big thing. What else did we do?
Pray.
Yes. Lots of praying. Lots of praying. And just making plans even before we knew for sure that that's what we're doing. We started making plans as if that is what we were going to do.
And then in February when we found out, we're like, okay, we have about three months to get build building the home we're gonna live in, pack up the home we do live in, and finish the projects we started on that house we thought we were gonna be in for a long time.
And shut the business down.
Yeah. And wrap up clients and projects he was working on with the business. It's been a very, very busy about about three months now.
Yeah. That's a lot. And so for us, I know the missions committee is already committed to your first 10% of your first year's needs, which is awesome. And there's other ways for us to partner with them other than giving. So we're gonna have some trips.
Whoo. Yes. I don't know exactly when the first one is probably next year. Spring. Spring.
Okay. Spring next year. So, that'll be a really fun trip to go and encourage them and and maybe get some work done on the new chapel and pray with them and just if y'all have ever been out out of a lot of you don't live near your family and how great it is when your family comes to visit. Right? So, we can be that their their spiritual brothers and sisters to go and and help encourage them.
But what are your needs now? What how can we partner with you? I know that is your budget all the way met? Do you still have needs in that area?
It's amazing. We are at least at 67% for this year. And it's kinda hard because there's a interesting delay on figuring that all out. But God is taking care of us and we are okay for this year no matter what. We would love support in prayers.
And next week, if there's people running around on our side of the valley I'm sorry, this week. I don't know what week it is. We need to build a small structure which shouldn't take long and a couple other small things to wrap up. And our house and life looks like chaos and it's embarrassing to ask for help. But if you guys wanna just be a part of the chaos, you're more than welcome and you can get ahold of us.
We'll be in the back after the service.
Okay. Awesome. We're gonna have a little bit pray a prayer at the end, but we'll pray now also. Lord, thank you so much for for Alex and Emily and their kids that we didn't even mention. They're all moving their lives to follow your lead, lord and I pray that it's encouraging to all of us in this room that we can be in tune to the the things and the way that you are calling us to walk in obedience to your word and and the things that you have for each of us.
In Jesus name, we pray.
Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.
We'll mention it again towards the end of the service, but this is the last week they plan on being here. So if you wanna see them, see them. Okay? Saying good goodbyes is an important part of the process. And so Tanya and I left home 26 ago this week to move to Mexico.
And we left fourteen years ago this week to move here. I'm gonna try not to cry during the summer. Would you all stand up and we're gonna Yes, go.
Say hi to your neighbor for a minute. That'd be great.
It is good to praise you lord and make music to your name of most high it is good to praise you lord and make music to your name almost high it is good to praise you it is good to praise you and make use to your name oh Amen. Your faithfulness is what beside me. The winter storms may wait for spring. Depend on you I depend on you for return life to be raised You can have a seat.
We're gonna invite the ushers to come forward for the worship of through giving part of our service. And Ray, could you pray for us?
God Almighty, we thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. Thank you, Lord. It's good to be back. Saw so many new friends and so many old friends that have returned back here. Family in town, half of us have guests.
It's beautiful. And we're here together. We're seeking after you, Lord. Looking for your will and your way. That's what we want.
We wanna be a part of doing your will and your way. Would you show us, Lord, the next right step to take individually and collectively that we would be reflecting your goodness and your glory and we'd be part of the evidence that we sang about. Lord, we look around, we see your promises all over our life. I pray, Lord, that other people will see even in the times of sorrow and sadness that there's a hope within us that's not like anything else in the world. Lord, would you allow us that?
Would you bless the gift and the giver? We wanna do your will and your way. King's work in front of us and we wanna see the gospel advance. In Jesus name, always. Amen.
Spirit
Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Children's Church. Is it happening? It's happening.
They're headed that way. If it comes up on the screen, I should just believe it. There they go. There's more space up front if you wanna come up front. When the kids leave, it's like Swiss cheese.
Lots of holes up here. Oh, before we get going this morning, we're gonna be continuing on in Ephesians five. That's where we're gonna be. I'm gonna take a moment because it's been three weeks since I've been the one up here and that makes me more nervous than anything else. Okay?
Imma take a deep breath and pray as we continue. Lord God almighty, thank you. Thank you. Thank you that you inhabit the praise of your people and that you illumine your word. Thank you for doing one of those and now we ask you to do the next.
Lord, we want to see it for what it says. We want to live it in Jesus name. For his sake and for ours, amen. So, here we are. Children's Church.
Continuing in Ephesians five. So, I preached in Ephesians five three weeks ago. Van continued forward two weeks ago and then, Brad, we call it shot the cannon. He just had one that had been stirring in there and we let him loose and I'm thankful we went up. Danny and Jenny are just stepping right here right now, sending the kids off.
We were up for a funeral last week for Eric Anderson, one of my favorite people in the world and we were able to hang out with the family the next day. So, thank you all for that that grace and for praying for us. I'm on to go back and backtrack just a little bit. Actually, we're continuing Ephesians five but if you hadn't heard any of these sermons and you just come in today and you hear instruction from the word without hearing the foundation for those instructions, it can be confusion and sound like a wagging bandaged finger. Okay?
So, I'm going to read just some of what Paul has already said. My assumption is the majority in the room are already believers in Jesus. I know there are some of you here who are just here with your mate or with your friend and you're just here, right? And I know that but to hear from Ephesians, Paul is writing a letter to these people and these are some of the things that he says about them. Now, last time I did this, I read through the whole of first three chapters of Ephesians.
I'm going shorten it a little bit. You have the title of saint, believer, sinner saved by grace is a saint, holy one. You are described as the faithful in Christ Jesus. Your greetings are marked by an extension of grace and peace from God. You are blessed with every spiritual blessing.
You are chosen and pursued by almighty God. You were known before the creation of the world and you because of the cross are holy and blameless in God's sight. You are the recipient of the love of almighty God, agape. Seeking the best for the other. You are adopted into God's family.
You're the beneficiary of Jesus' work. You're the object of God's pleasure. You are the recipient of his glorious grace. You have redemption through his blood. You have forgiveness for sins.
You have you get to experience the riches of God's grace. You're given what you need to understand what that means. You're the one in whom he delights to show the mystery of his will to people who don't yet know him. Carriers of his grace. You have been brought into unity with all of his creation under his headship.
You are chosen to be an integral part of his plan. You are a source of praise for his glory. You are included in Christ Jesus. You're the recipient of truth that leads to salvation. You are one who believes despite the circumstances.
Paul says, I'm a marked man and I'm sealed with the Holy Spirit and then he says, and so are you. I have a guaranteed inheritance, so do you. You are his possession and will therefore experience a final act of glorious redemption at his return. If you should tarry and he should come before you die. You're known as one who lives by faith.
You're known as one who loves others. You are an encouragement to others. You are to be upheld by the prayers of your companions. You're invited to receive the Holy Spirit's gift of wisdom and insight into knowing God better. You're also invited to experience a spiritual enlightenment so that you may know the hope you have in Christ and hope in the Bible is absolute certainty of something that has not happened yet.
The riches of his glorious inheritance and the incomparably great power that is at work within you as a believer. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead and sealed him at his place of total authority. That's just chapter one. That's good stuff. Sometimes in marriage counseling, this is from this was from I took this from marital, premarital, and family counseling class in seminary, and he had couples that were not able to get along, sit across from each other and say this because both of them are believers.
If both of them are believers, this is this is the truth. And the underlying truth of God's word helps when it gets to some time of instruction. So here we go. In chapter four, we start the instruction. In the fourth chapter, Paul calls back to his prisoner status.
Therefore, Paul, a prisoner of the Lord, urge all of y'all, it's plural, to walk in a manner that's worthy of the calling with which you have been called with all humility. Does that describe Jesus? With all gentleness, does that describe Jesus? With all patience and be bearing with one another in love. The reciprocal commands of scripture, the things that we are supposed to be doing to and for each other, the one another.
Be bearing with one another in love. I know I'm exasperating. Would you bear with me? Right? Being diligent to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace.
This is a lot of what Ephesians is about, is unity in the body. And here in this room, we have probably 40 something denominational backgrounds present, and I love that. This is why we are trying to keep a diligence about keeping the unity of the spirit. You can't create it. God's spirit supplied you with it.
Now you can mess it up. Okay. Going on from there, there's one body, one spirit. Just as you were also called in one hope of your calling, one lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and father of all who is overall and through all. One one one one one one.
All all all all. We are all one in Christ. Chapter five, we're gonna skip the rest of chapter four. Chapter five starts off strong. Therefore, because of everything chapter four said, and three, and two, and one, Be mimics of God, imitators of God.
Just as beloved children because you spend time with your heavenly father, you begin to act like him. The imitators of God as dearly beloved children. Extend grace and mercy and love and forgiveness and share the truth but do so in love. Walk in love. Be walking in love technically.
Be walking in love just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us collective. An offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. And then this is Van's passage from a couple weeks ago. We'll skip what I said. We'll get to what he said.
Good job. Wherever you are. There you are. Good job. Just to get a sense of the flow.
So then, be careful how you are walking, not as unwise people but as wise, and be making the most of your time because the very days are evil. Can I get a witness? Therefore, don't be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. And don't get drunk with wine in which there is debauchery but be filled with the spirit. That's not it yet.
Sorry. Do not get drunk with yeah, it is. That's where it starts. Right there. 18 starts on that.
Do not get drunk with wine in which there's debauchery but be filled with the spirit. Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord. Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and father and he closed out with this. Subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ. Now, this is the hinge right there.
This is the point of verse 18. Be filled with the spirit and then after that, those underlying things are all participles. Good job. Participles which it's a description of how being filled with the spirit looks. You will be speaking to one another and you'll be quoting Psalms and hymns to em.
It's good to praise you, lord. We did that this morning, Psalm 92. Speaking to one of our Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks and in English present participle will go, and you've seen it. But on this last one for some reason, they didn't. It.
You it. Okay? When you're studying Greek, say, it man, it. So it's be subjecting yourselves. It's an imperative command.
Right? And it's imperative and it is be subjecting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ. Now I'm gonna get super technical here for the word nerds soon. In Papyrus 46, okay? This is a manuscript from about 01/20 and that word, is the hinge.
18 comes down to 21 and then which I mentioned means together for each other reciprocal commands. It says which is the plural that Here we go. That's it. It is a verb. It's a verbal noun actually.
It's a verbal form. It's like a gerund, an ing. Present imperative participle middle or passive, nominative masculine plural. It's an ambiguous form. And so for all of you in the room that say, I don't care what any of this means.
It can mean either two things. Okay? It is either middle, I do this for myself or it is passive. I am to experience it being done to me like be being filled with the spirit is that. That's a passive.
No doubt about it. Passive is be being filled. This one is either I'm doing this for myself or because I need to, I mean, it's a command. Be doing this. It will benefit you.
That's one way of looking at it. Or be opening yourself to God doing this to and for you and others. Okay? So that's the hinge on which the whole section swings. So here's the section again and be subjecting yourselves.
Actually, a lot of Bibles, that's middle voice. I did this on the slides. I thought about it ahead of time. Be being subjective is past his voice. So it's like this.
Be subjecting yourselves or be being subjected to one another in the fear of Christ. And it does say fear as you pointed out last time. It is reverence but it's phobias, phobia. We get the word phobia from that. It is because Jesus is awesome and mighty.
He is ours and we belong to him but he is not like us. He is God and man and so there's a little bit of fear when you think about Jesus. Now, he is on our side. Don't get me wrong but with the fear of God or fear of Christ, we revere him and so we do what he says and there we go. Because of all those blessings from first three chapters of Ephesians, we get to this and it says, and be being submitted to one another or be subjecting yourselves to one another.
Be being subordinated. Oh, we love that word. Subordinated. Oh my goodness. I'm sweating like a pig up here.
To one another. So this is do you do you agree this is for all Christians of all times everywhere? It is. So it says, don't be doing this but be doing this. Be being filled with the spirit.
Speaking to one, singing, making melody, giving thanks, and being subordinated to one another. That closes it out. But it doesn't. It's the hinge. So that's on one side you've got this and on the next side you've got what follows and this this.
Now, I'm gonna acknowledge something before before we go further. In the church today, there are two groups. Is that okay? Unity in the body, unity in the body, unity in the body. That's what this book is about.
So I think it is okay because some of us can't help but think one way and some of us can't help but think the other, but you can have grace and mercy and love and you can all pull each other towards Christ. You can do that. Complementarian and egalitarian. Being diligent to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace and realizing that a God that is almighty and infinite and we are finite and we are not almighty. Our understanding is limited.
So, complementarian, if you don't know what it is, a bunch of you do from your look on your face. An egalitarian. Complementarian has a core belief that God created men and women with equal value but distinct and complementary roles. They complete one another. They're designed to reflect the relationship between Christ and the church, primary leadership and teaching roles like elders and senior pastors.
This passage does not get into that. Okay? This passage did not hit that at all, but that's what complementarian is. Women are encouraged to serve in other vital non ordained ministries. Husbands called to hold the primary responsibility to be the loving head of the family.
Wife is called to submit to husband's leadership. That's complementary. Male headship is viewed as foundational order established at creation, not just a cultural construct. These usually use writings like first Timothy two and often Ephesians five for these permanent distinctions. Now, egalitarian, both of them have biblical backing.
I'm not arguing for one side or the other myself. Okay? I'm really not. I'm trying to share this with y'all so that you know. When you hear sermons.
So egalitarian, the gospel removes all gender based restrictions. Men and women share the same gift gifting purpose and calling. There are no gender barriers in church leadership. Women can serve in all positions of leadership including pastors, elders, and teachers. Marriage is built on mutual submission and shared responsibility rather than a designated hierarchy.
The passages that restrict women are viewed as culturally and historically specific to the early church, while text like Galatians three twenty eight establish the foundation of there's no male nor female, that situation. Right? As foundational standard of equality. I share that with you because the theological background of it is a little bit it's helpful. It's helpful to understand the argument because this is the third rail.
You'll hear a lot of people that if they preach on it, they pound the pulpit and they are clearly on one side or the other. I'm trying to look at it from the idea of the whole of Ephesians. Okay? From the whole of Ephesians with all those blessings we list and then the instruction from there forward. So here we go.
This is a brief survey of chapters five and six just using the section headings from most Bibles. Okay? From the English translation of the Bible. Walk in love, wives and husbands, children and parents, bondservices, masters, that's as far as we're going today, maybe. The whole armor of God and final greetings.
That's the next two chapters five and six, and that is the English standard version. And if you see where they make the paragraph distinctions, you can see where they've decided that which camp they're in. Okay? This one's pretty complimentary. If you go NASB, that's the Bible that I use most of the time here because when I I'm sure sure not not sure That's NASB.
There's a if there's a break there too. I'll come back to in a minute. This one is the HCSB or now they're called the CSB, the Christian Standard Bible. And the break there is the same, pretty complementarian. This is the NIV and it puts the break in a slightly different place.
One verse earlier. Okay? Instructions for Christian households and it starts with verse 21. I'll get to all of this. That's an IV.
This is the New Living translation. New Living does the same thing. These are both decidedly egalitarian. Actually, not decidedly. Egalitarian translations.
And then there are a couple of it use the NRSV that is a neutral translation. They try their best to be neutral. It's hard to be neutral. You have to make decisions when you're translating. So that's normal.
This one is the King James version and it just verse by verse by verse. They never put any kind of breaks in there because they want to let you, the reader, be able to just read it for what it says. Honestly, it's a political translation that has lasted five hundred years. So from is that right? Four hundred years.
1611. Four hundred and fifteen years, they because they're not putting their opinions in there. Okay. It helps to have the section titles when you're looking for something it does, but they're not divinely inspired and you have to be aware of that. So this is Young's literal translation and this one cracks me up because he puts an exclamation point after wives.
I love it. New King James. New King James is my normal translation I use, not when I'm preaching but just because that's what I have everything memorized in. So it has its own distinctions. And in this case, it's in '22, not 21.
We'll get to this in a minute. NLT, spirit guided relationships, wives and husbands, and then children and parents, slaves and masters. Okay. Here we go. I'm gonna start with 21.
I'm gonna start with 21 because it's a hinge. It doesn't just end that last sentence. It starts this. So here we go. From ESV, you see submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ is above the paragraph and it's above the heading.
So when you start the next paragraph, it says, wives. Okay. NIV. When it starts the paragraph, it stops the paragraph right here and it it it's one of five participles, Van. Why did they leave it out?
They didn't leave it out, they just put something in between. It's completing that thought and it's starting the next one. Are you all still awakened with me? Okay. Good.
I've got five minutes left. So many don't want another out of reverence for Christ. There is a literary subgenre of this time that is household codes. You get it in most of the ancient Near East. They say this is how people ought to live.
And in almost every case, women are subjugated. In fact, it's awful. If you read those other household codes. It is my belief based on what's written that Paul was lifting up women, not pushing them down. Okay?
So we are not talking about men and women here. We're talking about wives and husbands. How do you get to be a wife? You get married. That's right.
Thank you. How do you get to be a husband? You get married. This is not talking to women and men as a general rule, it's talking to wives and husbands. And if you look at this, that's what we're supposed to cover right there, all of it together.
We're not going to do that in that slide. But I started with 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, and I'm just going put that at the top of the slide. That's what we're doing. Here we go. That's about wives and husbands.
Wives are that first little paragraph up there and husbands are the rest. You see it's kind of it's not weighted equally. Children and parents, and then bond servants. This is the ESV. I just I had these are from the ESV for some reason.
I don't know what I was thinking. Didn't click the thing on home Bible Gateway. Bond servants obey your masters. This bond servants and masters. So, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, this is that section.
Wives, husbands, husbands, wives, wives, husbands, wife. It goes back and forth. Children, parents, father, mother, you, you, fathers. That's that. And then bond servants and earthly masters.
It's specific ways that you who fit these roles can submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. So here we go. Submit into your here we go. Here we go. Wives, not wives.
So if you're a husband or unmarried, get up and go get some coffee. No. I'm joking. Don't do that. Please don't do that.
It'll take forever to get out of here. When I was in the seventh grade, miss Lib Atkinson was my biology teacher and she said, today class, I'm gonna take the boys over there and miss Barnes is gonna take the girls over there because we're discussing some stuff called giggling material. Since it's directed at wives, I'm saying wives, to your own husbands. Y'all will love this. Hideous, idiot, it looks like idiot.
It's not. It's not. It means different or distinct. Hideous, ideous is to your own husbands. It's your husband.
So to your own husbands as to the Lord. Now, do you see submit in there? It's it's in there because it's subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ above it. In the papyrus 46, it goes right after Aliloyce immediately to this and it doesn't have a verb in this sentence. Wives, to your own husbands as to the Lord.
Now, it's still there because it's borrowing that verb from above it. That's why I say it's the hinge, that's grammatically the reason why I say, this is the way that this is. So wives, if you look at the New American Standard, it'll be in italics because they supplied that word based on good scholarship from the verse above. So subject yourselves in 21 becomes subject yourselves in 22. Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife and the Christ also is the head of the church. He himself being the savior of the body. And if that makes you uncomfortable, are the head and the body in the same body? They are. And Christ gets to be the Christ because why?
Because of his church, because of people who put their faith in him. Now, God ordained it but if only two people followed him, that would have been the bride of Christ. Gratefully, he is building his church. He is working at it all the time and we are working within that same body. He's the head.
We're the body And this is saying the husband is the head of the wife just in that same way. So you're in the same body. Okay? You're the same. He himself being the savior of the body.
But just as the church is subject to Christ, also the wives, to their husbands, and everything. You see the italics there, the ought to be. If you pound the pull it, pulpit on ought to be, it is saying it. Don't get me wrong but it's saying it in such a subtle and loving and general and generous manner, Okay? It's saying, wives, to your own husbands as to the Lord.
The husband's ahead of the wife. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands and everything. This is the section on husbands altogether. Gracious. How did I think I was going to get through all of this?
Husbands, love your wives. Actually, we can supply that same verb because this governs this whole passage, alright? Subject to yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ. For husbands, this is what it looks like. Wives, get up and go get the coffee.
Not for the husbands. I'm just saying. Y'all go get go get the coffee. We'll sit and listen and get our lesson. Alright?
Husbands, love your wives. Justice Christ also love the church and he gave himself up for her. Oh. Oh. Oh.
That doesn't mean I just get to say what I want and she's supposed to do it. Snap, snap. No. This says, husband subject yourselves to your wife in this way. Love her.
At the time, that was weird. Women were property. She didn't have the same rights as a man. She didn't have the same bodily rights as a man. Men had better inheritance, adoption, all that sort of stuff.
She didn't have the same kind of right. When he says love your wives, he's saying, really agape. That is others focused, self effacing love. That's what Christ did. Just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for.
If you look at this, it's verse 25. If you look at I think I have it in here. The similarities between five two which I read to you right after be imitators of God, it says this, and walk in love just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us. And this is almost exactly the same thing. It's saying, husbands love your wives just as Christ also loved.
It's the same exact verbiage. You can't read this and not not see this and gave himself up for her, us, cause the her is the church, that's us. Right? So it's the same exact thing that he was saying earlier which is a command to all Christians. And then he says, husbands, you're no different.
You are to be subjecting yourself to your wife in this way. Love her. Love her like Christ loves the church and not just be willing to give yourself up for. Give yourself up for her every day. That's gracious.
Why? Christ did it so that he might sanctify her. Having cleansed her by the washing of the water with the word. Is that what Christ still does for us? He does.
Through the word, he illumines it and he washes us and he takes care of us and he makes us better. Christ is looking for our highest good and what he has done on the cross and what he has done in his intercessory prayer at the right hand of the father is continually be seeking our best good. And husbands, that's what we're supposed to be doing for our wives. We are supposed to do the best we can to let her be the best that she can. And we're supposed to love her with grace and mercy beyond that.
Like Christ loves the church. Have we been wrong before? Oh my goodness. Yeah. So that he, Christ might present to himself the church in all our glory.
He's done everything that he can for her. Do we resist Christ sometimes? Yes. Do wives resist husbands sometimes? And they're looking to help?
Yeah. Sometimes. He's seeking that church would be holy and blameless. And husbands, we ought to be looking for the best for our wife that she would be holy and blameless and we are to cover her. So husbands, you ought to love your wives agape again.
That's that godly kind of love that self effacing others focused. Husbands, you ought to be loving your own wives just as you take care of your own bodies or just as you love your own body. He who loves his own wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes it and cherishes it just as Christ also does for the church. Christ knows who he is.
And husbands, we need to know who we are. And the first three chapters of Ephesians tell us who we are and the way that we get to submit is in loving like Christ loves the church. That's the way. Because we're parts of his body, we are. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother.
Doesn't say that about the woman by the way. Okay? The man leaves his father and mother. He says, this is now the primary relationship in my life. Me and you baby against the world.
For this reason, the man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh and I love the next verse. Paul said, this mystery is great. He's a single guy. This mystery is great. But I'm speaking with reference to Christ in the church.
He says, I don't understand all of how this works. I really don't. The mystery is great but there's a parallel there. The way that Christ loves the church is the way husbands ought to love the wife and the way that the and we love, do we love Christ? Are we upset with him for being who he is?
No. Do we understand him? Not always. There are a lot of times I expect him to flip over table and he just loves a man. There are other times when I think, how leave that doesn't seem like Jesus to me.
The mystery is great but I'm speaking with reference to Christ in the church. Nevertheless, as for you individually, folks, each husband is to love his own wife the same as himself and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. There's a book by Emerson Eggerich that some of y'all just say, this saved my marriage and I'm glad it did. Think it's the most repetitive book I've ever read in my whole life. Read that verse 1,400 times.
Actually, he gives a lots of good examples. But it's called love and respect. Emerson Eggerich, think that's his name, isn't that his name? It's good. It's good.
It's good especially if you don't if you're talking past each other and you just can't get there. Okay. Now we're going to children. These are faster than that last paragraph. Children, obey your parents.
I highlight obey there because it's a different word. Submitting, subjecting, subordinating is not the same thing. It's obey. Okay? Obey your parents and the Lord.
It is obey. It is. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise. That's just restating the Old Testament decalogue, the 10 commandments. So that it may turn out well for you and that you may live a long life on the earth.
Honor your father and mother. Generally speaking, they're looking out for you. I know some of you had some bad experiences, but this is a good rule. Children, obey your parents. In the Lord, it does say in the Lord.
Sometimes your parents try to lead you down the wrong path. Obey obey your parents in the Lord. He comes first but he's established them over you. Honor your father and mother and fathers. This comes back around the last word is not for the kiddos.
Fathers, don't provoke your children to anger. Bring them up in the discipline and the instruction of the Lord. Let them know about God's love and mercy. It's not just discipline. You know, but there's a time for it.
Grammar, logic, rhetoric. You learn the rules. You know the rules and then you can see when those rules apply and when they don't. Right? That's the way it goes.
Fathers, don't provoke your children to anger. Slaves. And it says slaves. Okay? It says it.
Now I know we don't have slaves anymore. Most of us. It still exists in other places in the world. It's still real. But slaves, bond servants in the ESB, slaves.
Be obedient to those who and it says obedience here too. Right? Be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh. Do so with fear and trembling in the sincerity of your heart and do so as to Christ. This is submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ for even a slave.
Now, I can update it and say for workers. If you work for somebody, then treat this like it's talking to you. I think so. But slave is about as bad as it gets. Right?
Slaves lowly and don't have many rights. And you might think, employees don't either. But slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling and sincerity of heart as to Christ and not just when they're watching by way of eye service. Not just being people players but as slaves of Christ, you are his and because of all these blessings from first three chapters and you want to live that out, you want to show who Christ is in the worst circumstances act like Jesus. Doing the will of God from the heart.
What did Jesus do? He left the glories of heaven and he came at the father's command, walking in the spirit the whole time, he voluntarily humbled himself and walked it out as difficult as it got multiple times with them trying to kill him, multiple times with them trying to charge him with blasphemy and all those things. And then ultimately, the cross, but that wasn't the end of the story. He's saying, follow after him. Do the will of God from the heart.
With goodwill, render service as to the Lord and not to people. Knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive this back from the Lord whether slave or free. God will repay. He will. He knows it.
He sees it. Even if the boss doesn't see it, he knows it. He sees it. And masters, oh, now we got a word for the masters. The last word is not for the slave.
Last word is for the masters. And it's because within the body of Christ, we've got both. We don't just have employees, we have employers. We don't just slaves, we have slaves and masters. And when a master receives the word of how he or she is supposed to subject themselves to one another in the fear of Christ, it says, do the same to them.
It's not just our service. Don't just try to make it look good. Give up threatening them, please. Knowing that both their master and yours is in heaven and there's no partiality with him. He's writing this into a society that had slaves and he knows that that's not God's will.
He knows that that's not God's way. He is saying, for the time being, the situation is dire and within your household, you treat your slaves well, employees well, you treat everyone well, you treat strangers, people, tourists, treat them well. Dude, please. That's it. This all comes from that verse right there, from 18 down.
But be being filled with the spirit. And I'm gonna ask y'all I'm gonna ask Alex and Emily to come on back up front. Be being filled with the spirit, speaking to one of those psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Be singing and making melody in your hearts. Be giving thanks, and be subjecting yourselves to one another.
Be lifting each other up. Colossians three has a parallel passage. Is that the end? You've already won. Hey, you've already won.
That's the last song we're gonna sing. But I'd like for the elders to come forward. Board of trustees come forward. Former elders come forward. Anybody that knows them and loves them and wants to put their hands on them come forward.
That's everybody. We're gonna get you right down here. How about this? Y'all can lean towards. Would you stand up?
And I'll ask before I I won't close off the sermon before we do this commissioning for them. But I wanna say, if I have said anything that has upset your apple cart today, I pray that you'll give me the grace of coming to me and saying, hey, man. How can this be? Okay? We're gonna see it this way or that way.
I'm trying not to see it either way except for the unity of the body of Christ and we're gonna send out this. Amen. Alex and Emily and their youngins lord have accepted the call to go forward. Go you therefore. Lord, they're doing that and they're doing it on faith and they're doing it this week and so I pray lord that you would that you would encourage them in this decision and that you would embolden us, lord, to just follow after you come what may.
Thank you for that. I pray that you'd prepare Victory Bible Camp for their arrival. I pray that you'd prepare their hearts for whatever you have before them that they are discovering along the way. It's just like you said, Abraham, leave the place that you know and go to a place that I will show you. So, Lord God almighty, I pray that because they have believed you and they've stepped out on faith, you would make many disciples in that area of Alaska that was spread all over the world.
In Jesus name, we commission them to go forth and carry out the gospel. Amen. Amen. Amen. We're not going sing you've already won.
We're going to sing the doxology. Can we do that together? We'll just guess at a G. Alright. Here we go.
Did somebody almost G? Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above, ye heavenly host. Praise father, son, and holy ghost.
Amen. May the Lord bless and keep you, make his face to shine upon you, and may it reflect onto someone else. Amen. Amen.
