“Submitting to one another … Ephesians 5:21-6:4

Ephesians 5 Wake up! (5:10-17) Fill up! (5:18) Find out what pleases God … get into the Bible. (Col. 3:16) Fill up! (5:18) Ask Christ to fill you with all the fullness of God by the Holy Spirit. Wake up – Realise the need and recognsie that only God’s infilling with his own fullness will do to make the difference. We can’t walk the walk, live a life worthy of the calling (identity that we actually have) without the Holy Spirit’s help. Fill Up! Ref Eph 3:19 Key prayer that we may be filled with all the fullness of God! 4:10 it is Christ who is the active agent in this as well asthe measure itself 4:13, and the means he uses is the Holy Spirit both in the sense that the Spirit transforms us and by being in us brings to us the character of Christ/God = fruit of the Spirit Gal. 5:22-23

How can we be Spirit-filled? Be communal: addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, Be praising: singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, Be thankful: giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Be submissive to one another: out of reverence for Christ (Eph 4:2-3; Philippians 2:2-5) 5 verbs of ongoing action which, by grammatical construction may be read as the result of being filled with the Spirit, but can also and so argue more likely be argued as being the means or pathway to being filled with the Spirit. Not as a mechanistic formula, but as 4 indicative attitudes to place ourselves in which enable Christ to transform us by His Spirit into people reflecting his character. Graphic illustration of this in 2 Chron 5:1-14, where the construction of the Temple is celebrated in musical praise and worship and the whole house is filled with the Glory of God.

Submitting to one another Ephesians 5:22-6:9 Working out mutual submission;- In marriage In parenting In the workplace

Submission & headship ?

Can mutual submission work in the 21st Century?

Mutual submission

Mutual submission

submission … the action of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person the action of presenting a proposal, application, or other document for consideration or judgement

submission … Teamwork Archaic - humility; meekness compliance, submissiveness, yielding, malleability,  acquiescence, tractability, tractableness,  manageability, unassertiveness, non-resistance,  passivity, obedience, biddability, dutifulness, duteousness, docility, meekness, tameness, patience,  resignation, humility, self-effacement, deference,  Opposite – Defiance and resistance

Teamwork Philippians 2:2-3 As every work/sport environment knows, effective team work NEEDS mutual submission,. A willing, optimal or even total cooperation with one another ! Philippians 2:2-3

Teamwork Working out mutual “cooperation”;- In marriage In parenting In the workplace

Who is the servant? But whose the “boss”? Jesus wants to know: Luke 22:25-27 “… NOT SO among you !” Jesus wants to know: Who is the servant?

The Concept of “Head” Person in charge/authority Source Prominence Responsibility

The Concept of “Headship” Person in charge/authority – who has the power here? Who calls the shots? Source – Who is the originator and implied owner? Prominence - Who is the public face? Responsibility –Who is to be held accountable?

Three key definitions Authority Headship Leadership The God-given right to be, to say or to do something The acknowledged public representative, being respected and accountable for the other (s) The ability to take a group of people and enable them to function together with you, to achieve a specific goal.

Headship in Teamwork …. More about … Responsibility – Who is to be held accountable? Prominence - Who is the public face or front-facing? Less about ... Person in charge/authority – who has the power here? Who calls the shots? Source – Who is the originator and implied owner?

Headship in the Bible In the” God Team”: God is the head of Christ the Son cooperates with the Father In God’s community Team: Christ is the head of the church The church cooperates In the Marriage Team Husband & wife are one (intimate team) The husband is the head of his wife Christ is the head of the husband

Reflecting God in all we do We were designed for this – made in his image to resemble God (Gen 1:26) … but we fell - badly!

“Man”= The “Male-Female beings” Equal - Genesis 1:26-28; 2:23-24 Distinct – Genesis 1:27; 2:7,22 Complimentary - Genesis 1:27; 2:18,20 Mutually accountable in distinctive ways - Genesis 3:9,13,16,17 = “Headship & Submission”

But we fell … badly ! Some of the Consequences:- Woman’s unique role of child-bearing becomes a source of deeper pain Her God-designed desire to be in team with her husband becomes a desire to control him His God-designed sense of responsibility for her becomes a domineering control of her Man’s (shared) role of working the earth becomes a unprofitable drudgery until death

Teamwork in marriage Jesus sets the standard both ways: Christ the glue of marriage, seen in:- A husband’s loving self-sacrifice for her A wife’s respectful cooperation with him Jesus sets the standard both ways: Submissive respect to His Father Sacrifices his life for the Church (us)

Teamwork in family life The Lord – common point of family life:- Children’s willing obedience Parent’s reasonable instructions God sets the standard: Jesus obedience to his parents The Father’s reasonable expectations of us

But we fell … badly ! Consequences:- Woman’s unique role of child-bearing becomes a source of deeper pain Her God-designed desire to be in team with her husband becomes a desire to control him His God-designed sense of responsibility for her becomes a domineering control of her Man’s (shared) role of working the earth becomes a unprofitable drudgery until death