Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians

Part 23 (Invite the class to turn to Ephesians 5:18)

In order to get the truth out of the Bible, it is essential to understand some basic ground rules:

bulletThe Bible is divided into two large sections: The Old Testament (Covenant) and The New Testament (Covenant).
bulletThe Bible is further broken down into 66 smaller divisions called books. The Old Testament contains 39 books and the New Testament contains 27 books.
bulletEach book is divided into chapters and the chapters into verses. These divisions have nothing to do with the original manuscripts and as such are not inspired. They were added by the translators to make it easier for the reader to find his way around the books and to cite a reference for others to see for themselves where the preacher/teacher is reading.
bulletBecause the Bible is broken down into verses, it is easy to take a verse out of context. To be understood properly, every verse must be seen in the context of the book where it is found. In my opinion, a book is the smallest portion of scripture that should be studied alone. It is the context, even more than the words, which reveals the true message of the Author.
bulletEach book must be understood within the context of the Testament where it is found and the Bible as a whole. The Biblical history shows the trustworthy-ness of God. He progressively revealed Himself until His final self-revelation in the person of Jesus Christ.
bulletThe Bible cannot be properly understood without the Holy Spirit’s involvement…the wisdom of God is foolishness to the unregenerate human. The deep things of God are not transmitted to our brains first.

With that foundation, let’s review a bit:

The Book of Ephesians was written around 62 A.D. by Paul the Apostle especially to the believers in Ephesus, but probably also to the other early churches in Asia Minor. The book is divided into six chapters; the first three describe the believer’s wealth in Christ: we have been forgiven, accepted, adopted, given an inheritance and a guarantee of that inheritance (Holy Spirit). The last three chapters describe the believer’s walk in Christ. Here Paul describes how this "in Christ" experience is to look in real life. Notice that both the wealth and walk are in Christ! Apart from Christ, the wealth is nonexistent and the walk is impossible!

The verses for our lesson today, are found in chapter 5:22-33, but the context begins in verse 18:

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. (Ephesians 5:18-33)

In these verses and the first nine verses of chapter 6, Paul applies the principal of harmony to husbands and wives; children and parents; and, slaves and masters.

What does it mean to submit? Is Paul saying that children should tell the parents what to do or that masters should obey their slaves?

Submission has nothing to do with the order of authority, but rather governs the operation of authority…how it is given and how it is received. Jesus tried to teach His disciples not to throw their authority around, but on Thursday night, just before His crucifixion, they were still jockeying for position to see who would be the greatest in this new kingdom. When Jesus washed their feet, He gave them a great demonstration of how to properly use authority.

As a husband, I feel qualified to tell you how most husbands view these verses. They read these texts to their wives so they can see that God says they are to submit and be respectful. Unfortunately they do this without ever realizing that their "authority" does not come from their being men, but from their submission to Christ…their only authority comes from Him, not their gender! Women are not inferior to men and are nowhere in the Bible commanded to submit to a husband who has not submitted to Christ!

When a husband submits to Christ and allows Jesus to live in and through him, he will not lord his authority over his wife. He will serve her as Christ serves the church…he will "lay down his life" for her. Does that mean he is willing to die for her? Yes, but it means something that might be even harder…he "lays down his life" by placing her interests above his own in the marriage…his wife’s life is more important to him than his own.

Now since I’m a husband and not a wife, I’m not qualified to tell you how most wives view these verses, so I’ll ask you wives, "How do you view these verses?" Now before you give me some "spiritually correct" answer, understand this, I’m not asking how you "should" view these verses, I’m asking how you really do view these verses! What impact do these verses actually have on your relationship to your husband?

I will submit to you that neither husbands nor wives can experience the true significance of these verses unless and until they have been filled with the Holy Spirit. No amount of human effort or human commitment will ever bring about any consistency of behavior that could honestly be described as submission.

Look back at verse 18: And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit…

Why does Paul contrast being drunk with wine with being filled with the Spirit?

If a person is drunk with wine, he is controlled by the wine. Similarly, if a person is filled with the Spirit, he is controlled by the Spirit. Both have the effect of removing our natural inhibitions, but only the Spirit will produce Godly behavior.

What is "dissipation"?

The KJV translates it "excess", but it comes from the Greek asotia, (a is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and means "not" or "without" when used at the beginning of a word; sozo means to save, deliver, or preserve from danger). The noun form of the word is asotos and means a prodigal, one who spends too much, who slides easily under the fatal influence of flatterers and the temptations with which he has surrounded himself into spending freely on his own lusts and appetites.

Paul is saying that if you get drunk with wine, you’ll act like a prodigal, but if you are filled with the Spirit, you will be able to submit, first to God and then to those in your closest relationships. Remember, submission has nothing to do with the order of authority, but governs the operation of authority…how it is given and how it is received.

When a husband and wife are mutually submitted to Christ and He becomes their very life, they begin to experience "living grace" and submission becomes a non-issue. When it is "each for the other, and both for Jesus", that marriage is truly "made in heaven"!

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