Photo by Kristaps Ungurs on Unsplash

Ephesians 5:17-21 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Opening: Sovereign Citizen?

I was watching a Police camera video the other day where a woman was stopped for a minor traffic violation. I think she did a rolling stop at a stop sign. Not a big deal. The Policeman asked her, “Please give me your license and registration, along with your proof of insurance”. It was a reasonable request. The woman said, “I don’t have to give you anything. I’m a Sovereign Citizen of the United States.”

I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. I looked it up and found out. The “Sovereign Citizen Movement” is a bunch of anti-government activists who believe that they are not subject to any government regulation or statute that they have not personally agreed to. This idiocy started in the early 70’s in the United States, and has grown and has infiltrated Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. As the officer asked her very politely – more times than I would have asked her – she continued to be a jerk, defying his request. Finally she said, “I have no driver’s license or insurance. I don’t have to have that. I’m a Sovereign Citizen!”

Then she put the car in drive, and took off.

You can guess what happened next. Off she went to jail, in handcuffs, for reckless endangerment of a police officer, resisting arrest, unlawful operation of a motor vehicle, etc, etc. These people actually make up license plates for their vehicles like this:

I think it’s particularly interesting that they quote part of a Bible verse from Luke 2:14:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Having just been through the Christmas Season, you know that this was a sermon preached by Angels the night that Jesus Christ was born. And this verse is all about submission.

The phrase “Glory to God in the highest” is all about submission. “Glory to God” means that all glory should go to God, not to us. He is the Creator, and we are the created. When the Angels sang “to God”, they were emphasizing that all praise goes to Him Who is faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9, 1 John 1:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; Lamentations 3:22-23). And why is there “on earth peace, good will toward men”? Because the Messiah, the LORD of all has come. The Angel of the Lord said:

Luke 2:11 (LSB) For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD.

That Baby in the manger is “CHRIST THE LORD”. He’s not a “good old Boy”. He’s not your buddy. He is “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). God has SUBMITTED HIMSELF to come down and be with us. “CHRIST THE LORD”, the One and Only Messiah, had been born into His creation. Jesus Christ Who is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16) has come from Heaven to this earth. He has come to:

“save HIS PEOPLE from their sins” (Matthew 1:21)

Who does Jesus save? HIS people. Those who belong to Him by faith. Submission is not a dirty word. Submission is the basis for peace on earth and good will toward men.

Our country is scrambling today, struggling in an economic and political swamp. We live in a day where many reject authority. When you read in the Old Testament ….

Judges 17:6; 21:25 (KJV) In those days there was no king in Israel, but EVERY MAN DID THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES.

It sounds just like America today. There was no king in Israel – not even God Himself. People rejected all authority but that which they themselves thought was right and proper. What happened with Israel? The nation was overcome physically by external enemies, and internally by economic disaster. The Old Testament as well as the New Testament picture of Israel, an Israel that did what was right in their own eyes, is that of victimization. We’re headed in that direction in America. Why?

“Submission” is not a dirty word. There can be no prosperity nor blessing without submission. Everybody can’t rule the world. Everybody can’t be the boss. Nothing works when anarchy reigns.

The worst thing that ever happened to America was the removal of the military draft. I remember going to Basic Training. The Basic Training I went through is nothing like the sissified training they give out today. From the time I got off the bus at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, I had drill instructors telling me how to do everything. We were issued everything we needed, and whatever person stuff we brought with us was put in storage until we left training. We were told when to wake up, when to sleep, when to eat, where to go, how to get there. We washed our bodies in mass showers with fixed water pressure and temperatures. We dried our bodies with government issued towels. After washing, we dried our soap off, and put it in containers issued to us. We folded our underwear the same way. We did what we were told, without discussion. And, if we excelled at submitting, we were released from training in six weeks. If not, we went to eight weeks. Do you know what we got out of that? A respect for authority. The ability to work together for the good of our nation. Those who could not or would not submit were dishonorably discharged. Why? Because in the midst of battle, in the midst of fighting for our nation, I needed to know that the man or woman next to me had my back. Nobody wanted to go in harm’s way with an anarchist, a “me first” sort of person.

Right Submission Is The Basis Of Salvation

Ephesians 5:17-18 Wherefore be ye not UNWISE, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

You can’t get better if you don’t submit to the doctor. You can’t be cured unless you surrender yourself to the surgeon. You cannot be spiritually saved and blessed if you will not SURRENDER and SUBMIT to the WILL of the LORD.

There has been so much preaching about “all you need to do is believe Jesus, and you’ll be saved”, and “salvation is a free gift”, without preaching about REPENTANCE. Preaching the Gospel without REPENTANCE is like baking a CAKE WITHOUT FLOUR. It’s like having a BARBECUE WITHOUT PORK. It’s like having a CAR WITHOUT TIRES. It just don’t make any sense. It’s a fantasy that cannot be supported by Scripture.

You are “UNWISE” if you will not submit to the will of the Lord. This is REPENTANCE. Repentance is when God opens your eyes to your state of being, and you choose to follow Him. Repentance is a gift of God (Acts 5:31; 11:18). Repentance is spiritual submission to the will of God.

You will not find any New Testament preaching about salvation in Christ that does not begin with REPENT or REPENTANCE. The Herald of Christ, John the Baptist, preached:

Matthew 3:2 (LSB) REPENT {metanoeō}, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Our Lord Jesus preached:

Matthew 4:17 (KJV) From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, REPENT {metanoeō}: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

When Jesus sent His disciples out preaching, what did they preach?

Mark 6:12 (KJV) they went out, and preached that MEN SHOULD REPENT {metanoeō}.

When people asked Jesus about various trials and problems that were all the news in His day, Jesus told them:

Luke 13:3-5 (LSB) I tell you, no, but UNLESS YOU REPENT {metanoeō}, YOU WILL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH {apollymi}. 4 Or do you think that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were [worse] offenders than all the men who live in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no, but UNLESS YOU REPENT {metanoeō}, YOU WILL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH {apollymi}.

Word Study: The word REPENT {metanoeō} means to change the mind, to submit your mind to another authority than what you were following. People are fond of that Bible School verse we all read:

John 3:16 (LSB) For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not PERISH {apollymi}, but have eternal life.

They say, “Oh, all I’ve got to do is BELIEVE in Jesus, and I won’t PERISH”. Well, that’s true. But believing in Jesus STARTS WITH REPENTANCE. Jesus said “UNLESS YOU REPENT {metanoeō}, YOU WILL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH {apollymi}”. The Christian is the person whose eyes have been opened by God, and who has stopped being a little god and started – albeit imperfectly – following the True God.

Word Study: Believing in Jesus requires submission of your mind, of your life. That word PERISH is the Greek apollymi, which means “to be given over to eternal destruction, eternal wilderness, eternal misery in hell”. The word to PERISH encompasses both temporal as well as eternal judgment from God.

Unless you REPENT, unless you turn your will over to Jesus, you cannot be saved. “Repent” means “I’m going to listen to God and receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior”.

The world follows itself, follows the desires of the flesh. Submission means to let God suppress the desires of the flesh, and let GOD FILL YOUR LIFE.

Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

The Christian submits to the Lord, and lets Him suppress the flesh. The Christian seeks – not the stuff that God can give us – BUT GOD HIMSELF. The goal of the Christian is to be FILLED WITH GOD, not with self.

The lost person turns themselves over to drugs and alcohol. They will not submit their will to God, but submit their will to drunkenness. Have you ever seen a drunk? They give themselves over to alcohol – and lose their ability to function. They slur their words. They drive drunk, and kill people. They get in fights over nothing. The alcohol, the drug, it takes over the will, and destroys the person. It destroys the liver. It destroys the reputation. A drunken woman lies down with a worthless man, gives herself to him, and becomes pregnant. Now she uses her will to destroy the life within her for convenience sake. As she ages, what she did preys on her mind. What will she do? So many go into depression, and some even to self destruction.

The beginning of salvation is REPENTANCE, submission to the will of God. Evangelist Billy Graham spoke of the salvation of the Assyrian capital Nineveh. He preached:

“The Bible says that the greatest Revival, the greatest Evangelistic Campaign in human history took place in Nineveh. It was a city of probably 600,000 people, and the whole city from the king on down REPENTED. And God had mercy not only on the king, but upon all the people, and all the people were SAVED. That can happen here!”

If you are not a Christian, God calls you to REPENT and SUBMIT to Jesus. If you are a Christian, God calls you to DAILY REPENT and SUBMIT to Jesus. The Christian is to be filled not with SELF, but to be “FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT”. Give yourselves fully to Him Who loves you and came to “save HIS PEOPLE from THEIR SINS” (Matthew 1:21).

What Does Following God Offer You? Joy!

I often hear the statement, “You DESERVE to be happy”. Is that true? No, it’s not. In our Declaration of Independence our forefathers – many of whom were Christian men – wrote:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-”

There’s nothing in our United States founding documents that gives you a RIGHT to happiness. Our forefathers said that you have a RIGHT TO PURSUE HAPPINESS, to chase after it.

Do you know where you will find happiness? It comes and goes based on your circumstances. The greater thing, JOY, is only found in the presence of the God Who loves you, and gave Himself for you.

Psalm 16:11 (LSB) You {O Lord} will make known to me the path of life; IN YOUR PRESENCE IS FULLNESS OF JOY; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

If you fill yourself with yourself, you will not find joy. You may find a temporal happiness, but it will not last. So, how can I find joy? Submit yourselves to God your Father. Let God fill your life.

Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in PSALMS and HYMNS and SPIRITUAL SONGS, singing and MAKING MELODY IN YOUR HEART TO THE LORD

Word Study: Look at the phrase “SPEAKING TO YOURSELVES”, the Greek laleō heautou. That’s not speaking to yourself. If you speak to yourself, it’s a bad habit. If you speak to yourself and answer yourself, you are psychotic! This is not “speaking to yourself”, but “speaking to others like YOU”. Submitting your time to be with others who are saved by Grace in Christ. And you are not to just speak anything.

Word Study: The word laleō means “to speak to others so as to build them up, to prosper them, to benefit those around you”. When God possesses you, your communication is not like the drunkard or drug abuser’s. It isn’t nonsense. The Holy Spirit is also called The Word of Christ in:

Colossians 3:16 Let the WORD OF CHRIST dwell in you richly in all wisdom; TEACHING and ADMONISHING ONE ANOTHER in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

The Holy Spirit is given us by God to “guide us INTO ALL TRUTH” (John 16:13). Jesus said,

John 14:26 (LSB) the Advocate, the HOLY SPIRIT, whom the Father will send in My name, He will TEACH YOU ALL THINGS, and bring to your remembrance ALL THAT I SAID TO YOU.

When you repent and yield yourselves to God, God will make your life profitable to those around you. But if you feed the flesh and stay in yourself, you are a curse and not a blessing. Christians are to lift one another toward Christ.

The Holy Spirit does not give new revelation that contradicts Scripture, but guides believers to rightly understand and live out the truth God has already revealed. The Holy Spirit is NOT the conscience, but a Person, the Third Person of the Godhead. He is not a power, but the Empower-er of God’s people.

Birds sing even in the rain. Why aren’t you singing, Christian?

Those who are God’s people SING! Their hearts are filled with God, not themselves. They have “joy unspeakable, full of glory”. Three types of singing are mentioned here:

1. Psalms (psalmos), sacred scripture set to music. The Psalms speak of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and IN THE PSALMS, CONCERNING ME” (Luke 24:44). Christians sing about and celebrate Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of God’s Promise of Eternal Redemption.

2. Hymns (hymnos), sacred songs that celebrate and glorify God. Unlike Psalms, hymns are not written by Divine Inspiration and are not a part of Scripture. This doesn’t mean they aren’t Bible based or doctrinally true. They are. Our Lord Jesus sung hymns. The Bible says that just before His death at the end of the Lord’s Table, “they SUNG A HYMN {hymneō} and went out into the night” (Matthew 26:30). Hymns focus on glorifying not self, but the God Who saves us and keeps on saving us.

3. Spiritual Songs (pneumatikos ōdē), songs that are spontaneous but Spirit filled. Spiritual songs may not specifically sing praises directly to God, but they teach doctrine, encourage others, and inspire us to love and good works. My commentary notes:

“From Psalms to Revelation, the Bible encourages us to “sing a new song to the Lord” (Psalm 96:1; 144:9; Isaiah 42:10; Revelation 5:9; 14:3). Psalm 40:3 says, “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” A new song is one that arises from the spirit of a person whose heart overflows with adoration for God. Paul’s instruction to the Ephesians about music is preceded by the command to “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). When we are filled with the Spirit, then psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are the natural expression of our hearts. A Spirit-filled person is a singing person. One clear indication that a person is filled with the Holy Spirit is a natural desire to sing and praise God. Musical ability has little to do with it. God created us to find great spiritual expression through music (Psalm 135:3; Judges 5:3). Scripture is filled with music, and God delights when we use what He created to worship Him (Deuteronomy 31:19; Psalm 33:2; 149:3)”

Singing To God And Praising Your Savior Is
The Fruit Of Your Salvation

Ephesians 5:20 GIVING THANKS ALWAYS FOR ALL THINGS unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

If you are saved by Grace, a Child of the Living God through the Blood of Christ Jesus, God calls you to a thankful existence. Are you going through a valley now? Thank God anyway! Thank God that He has saved you, and that He has promised never to leave nor forsake you. The Bible tells us that “what you sow, you will also reap” (Galatians 6:7-9). Some of you are miserable all the time because you never thank God for what you do have. You are focused on what you do not have. That’s selfish. The Bible tells us:

2 Corinthians 9:6 (LSB) Now this [I say], he who SOWS SPARINGLY will also REAP SPARINGLY, and he who SOWS WITH BLESSING will also REAP WITH BLESSING.

God has given you surpassing Grace. “Thanks be to God for HIS INDESCRIBABLE GIFT” (2 Corinthians 9:15, LSB). We are to thank God for the good as well as the bad. We ourselves are told:

GIVING THANKS ALWAYS FOR ALL THINGS

Why do we thank God for ALL THINGS at ALL TIMES? Because God is our Maker, our King, our Savior. We know that whatever comes our way, comes our way because the God Who loves us has allowed it. The Bible says:

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (LSB) in EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

The trials that come our way, come to prove and strengthen our faith. The trials come to prepare us for the next stage of life. The trials are not there to defeat us, but to strengthen us. The trials shape us, and make us more like Jesus. God did not just love you at the point of salvation. God loved you from eternity past. God loved you before you were ever formed.

God loved you so much that He submitted Himself to His own creation, even unto death. God became Man, and gave Himself to you for your salvation. You can only be saved if you have given yourself to Him.

Here Is The Constitution Of The Healthy Church

Ephesians 5:21 SUBMITTING yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

The Christian is not like the world. You become a Christian by repenting, by giving yourself to Jesus. The Church is not like the world. We “SUBMIT OURSELVES TO ONE ANOTHER”, not according to human tradition or desires. But “IN THE FEAR OF GOD”. If you are loyal to God, loyal to Christ, you will be a unified Body that honors the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not about what “I” want, but about what Jesus wants. Jesus said:

John 13:34-35 (LSB) A new commandment I give to you, that YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER, EVEN AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if YOU HAVE LOVE ONE FOR ANOTHER.”

How did Jesus love us? He gave up His rights in Heaven, and became part of His creation. He SUBMITTED Himself for us. He SUBMITTED Himself even unto the Cross, so that we might be saved. Jesus rose from the grave, and even now SUBMITS Himself, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, making intercession for us.

As Christ submitted, and now submits, we are to submit to one another in the fear of the Lord. Submission is not a dirty word. It is the heartbeat of the Christian way of life.