1. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Session 12
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Scripture Focus:
Ephesians 5:21--6:9

2. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Session 12
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Session Truth:
When we submit to Christ in love, we are able to live lives of proper submission in all our relationships.

3. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Word to Live By
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
Ephesians 5:21

4. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Kingdom Living
What did Paul teach the Ephesians to be and to do?

5. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Kingdom Living
What would the world be like if people lived and related to each other the way Paul outlined in Ephesians 4--5?

6. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Kingdom Living
What examples of relationships might help us understand what it means to live as the ekklesia, the ones whom God calls out of the world to be holy?

7. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Is Utopia Within Reach?
How might the Church and Paul’s vision for relationships within the Church put a little bit of utopia within reach?

8. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Command and Control
• Why do you think so many people dream of being in control?
• How does our culture show it honors those who are in charge?

9. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Command and Control
• What happens when two people who are equally strong-willed both want to be “king of the mountain”?
• How can the need to lead create problems in relationships at work and at home?

10. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Command and Control
• Many follow another “golden rule”: “He who has the gold makes the rules.” Where is submission in such relationships?
• How might submission be a secret to success?

11. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Mutual Submission
Ephesians 5:21
■ What does Paul ask the saints at Ephesus to do?
■ What do you think it means for members of a church to submit to one another?
■ Why might that make some people uncomfortable?

12. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Mutual Submission
Ephesians 5:21
How did Paul’s description of the expected character and behaviors of the members of the Ephesian church in 4:1--5:20 lay a foundation of trust that might make mutual submission sound more realistic?

13. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Mutual Submission
Ephesians 5:21
■ What did Paul say was the reason that they should submit to each other?
■ How does reverence for Christ encourage us to submit to one another?

14. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Example of the Wife
Ephesians 5:22-24
■ After telling all the saints to submit to one another, with what example does Paul start?
■ Why do you think Paul began his examples with a wife submitting to her husband?

15. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Example of the Wife
Ephesians 5:22-24
■ How does Paul use familiar family relationships to help us understand our relationship to each other and to Christ?
■ How would you describe the level of submission in churches to Christ?

16. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Example of the Wife
Ephesians 5:22-24
■ What does Paul’s comparison of the husband to Christ tell about the love and behavior that Paul expects from husbands?
■ How does Paul’s command for all to imitate God in Ephesians 5:1 set the context for wives and husbands’ relationships with each other and for members of the Church?

17. Submission in the Power of the Spirit The Example of the Husband
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Example of the Husband
Ephesians 5:25-27
■ What is the second example that Paul uses to help us understand relationships in the Church?
■ How do verses 2 and 21 set the context for the responsibilities of the husband?

18. Submission in the Power of the Spirit The Example of the Husband
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Example of the Husband
Ephesians 5:25-27
■ How does what Christ did for us make it easier for us to submit to him as the Head of the Church?
■ According to 5:27, how does Christ see the Church for whom he sacrificed himself?

19. The Example of Children and Parents
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Example of Children and Parents
Ephesians 6:1-4
■ What is the second example that Paul uses to understand the relationship between Christ and the Church?
■ How do obedience and honor enrich the meaning of submission?

20. The Example of Children and Parents
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Example of Children and Parents
Ephesians 6:1-4
■ Why do you think Paul qualified that children were to obey their parents in the Lord?
■ To what does “this” refer in verse 1--obedience or obedience in the Lord? How are these different?

21. The Example of Children and Parents
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Example of Children and Parents
Ephesians 6:1-4
■ What does it mean to honor parents? How does this inform our relationship to Christ as his Church?
■ What is the significance of honoring parents being a command with a promise?
■ What responsibility do parents have to their children? What does this responsibility teach us about how Christ views his responsibility to the Church?

22. The Example of Slaves and Masters
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Example of Slaves and Masters
Ephesians 6:5-9
■ What is the third example that Paul uses to illustrate the relationship between Christ and the Church?
■ Why is this example more difficult for us to understand?

23. The Example of Slaves and Masters
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Example of Slaves and Masters
Ephesians 6:5-9
■ Why do you think Paul included master and slave relationships in the example of family?
■ How does knowing that slaves were considered part of the extended family household help to put this into perspective?

24. The Example of Slaves and Masters
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Example of Slaves and Masters
Ephesians 6:5-9
■ Why does Paul’s example of slavery in the first century not provide justification for slavery today?
■ How does Ephesians 6:9 sow the seeds that would eventually dismantle slavery as an institution?

25. The Example of Slaves and Masters
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Example of Slaves and Masters
Ephesians 6:5-9
What can we learn about Christ’s relationship with the Church from the example Paul gave of slaves and masters?

26. Submission in the Power of the Spirit The Master Model of Submission
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Master Model of Submission
Ephesians 5:21 makes radical demands on the kinds of relationships believers have with one another in the Church.
• What does it mean for everyone to submit to one another?
• How do you think the leaders of the Ephesian church might have received Paul’s direction?

27. Submission in the Power of the Spirit The Master Model of Submission
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Master Model of Submission
• What makes it difficult to think of submission as a duty we owe to others?
• How did Christ provide a model of submission?

28. Submission in the Power of the Spirit The Master Model of Submission
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Master Model of Submission
Philippians 2:5-7
• What did Jesus do to submit to the heavenly Father?
• What kinds of things did Jesus do to submit to his disciples?

29. Submission in the Power of the Spirit The Master Model of Submission
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Master Model of Submission
Philippians 2:5-7
How does Jesus’ submission to the Father and his disciples provide a pattern for our mutual submission to one another?

30. Submission in the Power of the Spirit Getting Paul’s Powerful Point
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Getting Paul’s Powerful Point
What does Ephesians 5:21--6:9 teach?

31. Submission in the Power of the Spirit Getting Paul’s Powerful Point
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Getting Paul’s Powerful Point
■ How might using examples from extended families to teach about family relationships distract us from Paul’s greater message?
■ What would have been shocking about Paul’s teaching?

32. Submission in the Power of the Spirit Getting Paul’s Powerful Point
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Getting Paul’s Powerful Point
■ In which of the pairings is it easiest to see the dramatic way Paul redefined responsibilities in these relationships?
■ What does this tell us about how we should relate to one another as the body of Christ?

33. Submission in the Power of the Spirit Healing to Make Unity Possible
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Healing to Make Unity Possible
■ Why is it that the most important and intense relationships can also be the most painful?
■ What can you do to promote healing within the Church?

34. Submission in the Power of the Spirit The Vulnerability Factor
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
The Vulnerability Factor
■ Why is vulnerability an inherent risk that comes with mutual submission?
■ How does Jesus’ willingness to be vulnerable set the example for us?
■ What did Jesus’ willingness to be deeply hurt, even by those closest to him, say about our tolerance for being hurt by others as we submit to one another?

35. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Reality Check
Rate Paul’s vision for mutual submission in the Church on a scale of 0 to 10.
0=Impractical, a nice dream, but it is NOT going to happen.
10=Quite practical! It is the way the Church operates now.

36. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Reality Check
• What problems could arise for congregations that try to implement mutual submission?
• What safeguards need to be put into place?

37. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Reality Check
• What would help make the ideal of mutual submission more practical?
• What would leaders need to be and do in a system based on mutual submission?
• How important do you think it is for the church to strive toward this ideal?

38. Love Makes Mutual Submission Work
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Love Makes Mutual Submission Work
■ How does loving someone make it easier to submit to him or her?
■ How can submitting to someone who loves you strengthen love in both?
■ How can you use love to energize and motivate all your relationships in the body of Christ?

39. Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Worthy of Praise: Ephesians
Submission in the Power of the Spirit
Prayer for Unity
What would it take for your congregation to be a model of unity, peace, love, and mutual submission?