Freedom in Christ is real freedom, because when Christ sets somebody free, that person is free indeed. The call to submit does not cancel that freedom, though. The call to submit shows that freedom is not a one and done deal where the flesh never tries to wiggle back into bondage. The word submit has a lot of meanings, but the godly center of it is to yield, concede, and surrender.
Ephesians 5 puts submission inside reverence for Christ before it ever talks about a wife and husband. The text says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ,” and that changes the whole picture. Ephesians does not give a slave master setup. Ephesians gives Christ and the church, one flesh, two good forgivers, a husband loving like Christ loved, and a wife respecting in the order God gave. Christ loved the church by putting the Father’s will ahead of his own will, even all the way to the cross. That means a husband cannot use “head” like a club. The picture is not “me up here, her down there.” The picture is a team, a weaving together, a listening and forgiving life where God’s will matters more than getting the last word.
James 4 then gets right in the warehouse. Fights and quarrels come from desires battling inside. Coveting, wrong motives, friendship with the world, slander, judging, pride, and selfish self centered nature all show what happens when somebody wants his own will more than God’s will. James says it plain: “Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The devil is real, and his job is kill, steal, destroy, and deceive. Submission to God becomes protection, because most people do not even have the strength or desire to resist evil unless God is leading.
The call to submit gets practical. Pride wants to be right, louder, and in control. The flesh blames everybody else and says, “If you wouldn’t have done that, this wouldn’t have happened.” God’s Spirit gives a different ability: to say sorry, ask forgiveness, tell the truth, set a boundary, forgive what still hurts, and admit, “This part of life needs God.” Ezekiel’s promise fits the whole thing: God takes out the heart of stone and gives a heart of flesh. God’s grace can clean up the gunk, the junk, the mouth, the blame, and the mess, until a person looks more like Jesus and less like flesh.
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Key Takeaways
- 1. Submission is not slavery
Ephesians 5 starts with mutual reverence before it speaks to marriage roles. The text does not give permission for lording it over somebody, but calls a husband to love like Christ loved, with sacrifice and self giving. Submission gets twisted when human pride defines it, but Scripture puts it under Christ and his cross. [08:48]
- 2. Christ submitted before the church existed
Christ loved the church by placing the Father’s will ahead of his own will. The cross shows that godly authority is not control, but surrendered love that gives life to others. Any claim to lead that refuses surrender to God has already missed the shape of Christ. [14:27]
- 3. Quarrels expose battling desires
James 4 says fights do not begin merely outside a person, but inside the desires that demand control. Irritability, restlessness, and discontentment often reveal a will that has not yet yielded to God. Honest submission begins when blame stops being the hiding place for pride. [17:02]
- 4. Submission strengthens resistance
James ties two commands together: submit to God and resist the devil. Resistance is not just willpower, because the devil deceives and the flesh often likes his suggestions. Submission places a believer under God’s authority, where the strength to say no begins to grow. [18:31]
- 5. Grace changes the honest mess
God’s grace does not flatter the mess or excuse the mouth, the blame, or the hard heart. God gives the desire to say, “I was wrong,” and the power to ask for help instead of defending the old self. The Spirit can take what is yucky, nasty, and ornery, and make it look more like Jesus.
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