Understanding Submission: Fitting Relationships in Christ

"Father I pray that it was as we try to understand especially this as, and fitting and in the Lord as it sheds light back on the meaning of submit you would give us spiritual wisdom because I don't think there's any other way to get at Fitness than with god-given Bible saturated, experience informed spiritual wisdom so I pray that you'd work that in us and use this session to advance Us in that wisdom I pray in Jesus name amen." [00:34:20]

"Now before I tackle this this phrase right here let me just draw your attention to the fact that this is an amazingly um shortened version of a longer section together with husbands in Ephesians 5. so in Ephesians 5 you get that much that's a lot of teaching about wives and about husbands and in First Peter you get this much teaching about wives and husbands but in Colossians you get this, that's it for wives and husbands so it's very truncated and Paul has his reasons for why he would do that here but as far as the church getting the fullness of Revelation I included those slides here so that you could linger over them if you want to go into deeper detail about lives deeper detail about husbands in Ephesians at First Peter but for now we're just going to tackle this simple statement that Paul provides for guiding wives submission to their own husbands." [00:79:20]

"Or is it as in the sense that in this way, wives submit to your husband's in a way that is fitting in the Lord and as can do both of those and I would guess that Paul intends for us to hear it both ways this is why wives should submit to your own husbands namely because it's fitting in the Lord and when you realize that there is a kind of Fitness that is permeated and informed and defined by it being in the Lord it also dictates the way it is fitting and the way the submission happens we'll see that as we go along so that's my understanding of the word as here the key thing I want to focus on in this session is just the bigger picture of the word fitting." [00:178:44]

"Lots of people don't realize that in the New Testament there is a strong dimension of biblical ethics or biblical views of right and wrong that is Guided by Fitness, appropriateness what is suitable what belongs which sounds on the face of it very um flexible very uh non-specific and it is non-specific because there are hundreds and hundreds of actions that you take every day that are not explicitly prescribed or forbidden in the Bible right, just think of it should you slurp your soup or should you eat it quietly should you cover your mouth when you cough or should you not should you exercise certain courtesies by extending your hand and shaking hands or not I mean hundreds and hundreds of behaviors that are not prescribed in the Bible and that's why we have parents right we grow up learn to say thank you and learn to stick out your hand and greet people and learn not to put your finger in the electrical socket and on and on some things are already done because they are suitable or fitting to do." [00:241:86]

"Not everything can be solved by a simple list right, that word must never be said that joke must never be told that talk is off limits, there are so many factors that feed into a choice like that from time to time that we simply must have a a category called fitting and in that moment a wise person will say this is fitting or this is not fitting now switching the word now to this word prepay proper or fitting same idea Chapter 5 Verse 3 of Ephesians sexual immorality and all impurity and covetousness covetousness not must not even be named among you as is proper among Saints so there's this concept of propriety." [00:399:90]

"And Christians are supposed to be Discerning about these things and not blow them off as though they're only culturally determined and therefore they don't matter clearly they matter not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire but with what is proper for women who provest godliness so there's the Criterion and what's a daughter to do as she grows up she's to learn from a wise older woman who has lots of experience with what's fitting and what's not and we teach it I can remember what my wife's saying to our little three-year-old talitha that's not fitting that way of dressing is not fitting so telleth that 3 would say that's not appropriate she she didn't even know what she was saying except she could tell Mommy and Daddy have some standards here that are not written down they're just what you know from a wise older person that's not fitting or suitable or appropriate." [00:485:40]

"Here's Titus 2 1. but as for you teach what Accords with sound Doctrine so Accords with replaces fitting or proper there is there's true Doctrine and then there are actions and conclusions and inferences and implications that fit with the doctrine they're not all spelled out in the Bible you have to draw the conclusion remember I always wondered what the Old King James meant here in First Corinthians 13. when it said love is patient and kind love does not envy or boast love is not arrogant or now the King James says love does not behave itself unseemly the ESV translates it is not rude well rude that means there's kinds of attitudes and behaviors and words that if you save them are inappropriate or the old-fashioned word unseemly Unbecoming it's another old-fashioned way to say it." [00:551:82]

"So all of that to say that when we read here that there's a way for a wife to behave towards a husband in regard to submission that is fitting Paul is appealing to what you can discern when you know the nature of wives and husbands male and female manhood and Womanhood femininity and masculinity you have to know something about the nature and you have to know something about the way that relationship is infused with the newness of being in Christ how do you arrive at an ability to live like that and I think Paul answers in 316 let the word of Christ dwell in you richly teaching and admonish one another in all wisdom that's how we get there we we must grow up in homes or if we didn't have good homes we must belong to good churches where mature people are teaching and admonishing and the word of Christ is dwelling richly so that wisdom abounds because wisdom is what discerns Fitness or one more text." [00:625:32]

"Colossians 1 we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with knowledge the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so you pray Paul is pleading with the Lord grant them spiritual that is Spirit informed Spirit guided wisdom so that they will know what is fitting in this world and I would just say to moms and dads as you raise children introduce them early to the category the moral category the ethical category of proper and fitting and appropriate and seemliness and becomingness because if they don't have it they won't be able to grasp these biblical teachings and they won't understand how to pursue wisdom." [00:720:36]

"Now next time we will tackle okay what is then the nature of wife and husband that makes this behavior and this Behavior so fitting." [00:775:50]