Reading assignments: Read pages 271-305 in MacArthur and Ephesians 5:21-33 and comment on the two posts for week 8.
One of my teachers once said, “Marriage is like a besieged city. Those on the inside want out and those on the outside want in.”
Seriously, our churches will be no stronger than our families and our families will be no stronger than the Spirit filled individuals in the family. Like an inverted pyramid the weight is on the Spirit filled believer to make families, churches, and culture God honoring.
According to Paul, the Spirit controlled believer (5:18) will impact his/her marriage (5:22-33), family (6:1-4), and culture (6:5-9).
There are three results of the Spirit-filled life: Praising God in our music (5:19), giving thanks for all things (5:20), and submitting to one another (5:21).
I want to spend a little time on “submitting to one another” because of it’s importance for the rest of Ephesians and so many of our life relationships. Submission means following the leaders in your life. For example, Paul uses a similar Greek word in Ephesians 1:22 when he writes of our submission to the headship of Christ over the church: God the Father “has put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.” We, believers, in the Body of Christ submit to the leadership of Christ our Head. It will take being Spirit filled to not only submit to Christ our Head but the other leaders in our lives.
As Howard W. Hoehner points out, “submitting to one another” is a hinge verse in 5:21 (Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, page 719). It is not only the last of the consequences of being Spirit controlled that Paul lists, but it is the catalyst that affects the three following life relationships in Ephesians. Hoehner also emphasizes the number of verses Paul writes in each of these relationships to show importance and priority (page 729).
1. The wife/husband relationship in 5:22-33. Paul devotes 12 verses to husbands and wives.
2. The parent/child relationship in 6:1-4. Paul writes 4 verses on this relationship.
3. The employee/employer relationship in 6:5-9. Paul writes 5 verses for those in the workforce.
Perhaps Paul is making a statement that the key relationship is between husbands and wives even over parents and children. If the husband/wife relationship is wrong, the parent/child relationship cannot be right.
The first Spirit filled life relationship is Wives and Husbands in 5:22-33.
First, Spirit-filled wives will submit to their husbands’ loving leadership in 5:22-24. Headship means leadership. Paul writes that wives submit to their husbands “as unto the Lord.” The parallel passage in Colossians 3:18 helps us understand that Paul is saying that part of the wives’ submitting to Christ is submitting to their husbands’ leadership: “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as it is fitting to the Lord.”
Headship or leadership does not mean superiority. In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Paul gives his theological basis for confronting the women in the Corinthian church who were usurping authority over the leadership of the men: “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” Although the head or the leader of Christ is God the Father they are co-equal in Deity. That is why Christ said in John 14:28, “My Father is greater than I.” God the Father is not greater in essence but in leadership. Christ willingly submits to the authority of the Father. Similarly, the wife is not inferior to her husband; she has just been assigned by God a different role.
Someone compared marriage to a football team. The husband is the quarterback. The quarterback is not superior to the running back, as a matter of fact, the running back may even have a higher I.Q. than the quarterback. Someone, however, has to call the plays and that role has been assigned to the quarterback. In some ways my wife is superior to me and in some ways I am superior to her. I can beat her in arm wrestling every time. She can beat me Scrabble every time. But these strengths and weaknesses do not change our God ordained roles. In our next post, we will explore what Paul says about the Spirit filled husband.
The next post for Week 8 is “The Spirit Filled Marriage, Part 2.”
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Week 8: The NEW Bible Institute on Ephesians: The Spirit-Filled Marriage, Part 1
Posted: December 14, 2009 in Ephesians Class, SermonsTags: Ephesians 5:18-33, Harold W. Hoehner's Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, Spirit Filled Marriage
Reading assignments: Read pages 271-305 in MacArthur and Ephesians 5:21-33 and comment on the two posts for week 8.
One of my teachers once said, “Marriage is like a besieged city. Those on the inside want out and those on the outside want in.”
Seriously, our churches will be no stronger than our families and our families will be no stronger than the Spirit filled individuals in the family. Like an inverted pyramid the weight is on the Spirit filled believer to make families, churches, and culture God honoring.
According to Paul, the Spirit controlled believer (5:18) will impact his/her marriage (5:22-33), family (6:1-4), and culture (6:5-9).
There are three results of the Spirit-filled life: Praising God in our music (5:19), giving thanks for all things (5:20), and submitting to one another (5:21).
I want to spend a little time on “submitting to one another” because of it’s importance for the rest of Ephesians and so many of our life relationships. Submission means following the leaders in your life. For example, Paul uses a similar Greek word in Ephesians 1:22 when he writes of our submission to the headship of Christ over the church: God the Father “has put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.” We, believers, in the Body of Christ submit to the leadership of Christ our Head. It will take being Spirit filled to not only submit to Christ our Head but the other leaders in our lives.
As Howard W. Hoehner points out, “submitting to one another” is a hinge verse in 5:21 (Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, page 719). It is not only the last of the consequences of being Spirit controlled that Paul lists, but it is the catalyst that affects the three following life relationships in Ephesians. Hoehner also emphasizes the number of verses Paul writes in each of these relationships to show importance and priority (page 729).
1. The wife/husband relationship in 5:22-33. Paul devotes 12 verses to husbands and wives.
2. The parent/child relationship in 6:1-4. Paul writes 4 verses on this relationship.
3. The employee/employer relationship in 6:5-9. Paul writes 5 verses for those in the workforce.
Perhaps Paul is making a statement that the key relationship is between husbands and wives even over parents and children. If the husband/wife relationship is wrong, the parent/child relationship cannot be right.
The first Spirit filled life relationship is Wives and Husbands in 5:22-33.
First, Spirit-filled wives will submit to their husbands’ loving leadership in 5:22-24. Headship means leadership. Paul writes that wives submit to their husbands “as unto the Lord.” The parallel passage in Colossians 3:18 helps us understand that Paul is saying that part of the wives’ submitting to Christ is submitting to their husbands’ leadership: “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as it is fitting to the Lord.”
Headship or leadership does not mean superiority. In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Paul gives his theological basis for confronting the women in the Corinthian church who were usurping authority over the leadership of the men: “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” Although the head or the leader of Christ is God the Father they are co-equal in Deity. That is why Christ said in John 14:28, “My Father is greater than I.” God the Father is not greater in essence but in leadership. Christ willingly submits to the authority of the Father. Similarly, the wife is not inferior to her husband; she has just been assigned by God a different role.
Someone compared marriage to a football team. The husband is the quarterback. The quarterback is not superior to the running back, as a matter of fact, the running back may even have a higher I.Q. than the quarterback. Someone, however, has to call the plays and that role has been assigned to the quarterback. In some ways my wife is superior to me and in some ways I am superior to her. I can beat her in arm wrestling every time. She can beat me Scrabble every time. But these strengths and weaknesses do not change our God ordained roles. In our next post, we will explore what Paul says about the Spirit filled husband.
The next post for Week 8 is “The Spirit Filled Marriage, Part 2.”
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