Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn
and this is Dr. Tom Sheperd
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who is a Professor of
New Testament interpretation
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at Andrews University Seminary
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and also the Head of
the Doctoral Programs
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for the Ph. D. and
Theology, excuse me,
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in Religion and a
Ph. D. in Religion
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and we're just so thrilled
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to welcome you to
Heaven's Point of View.
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This is kind of
an exciting topic
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and our topic is...
our series is on Love,
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Marriage, Sex and Divorce,
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now, he teaches
this class at Seminary
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and it's interesting,
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they wouldn't let
him use the word, "sex"
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in his class description
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but we decided to
leave that in because
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truly what the Bible
has to say about that
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and we are talking about it,
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is that it is something
holy and sanctified by God,
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so we don't
think it's a bad word
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and today, though, we
are continuing our study
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that we started last time,
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we were speaking
of Ephesians chapter 5
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and on through verse 21
through Ephesians 6 verse 9,
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which was Paul's
instructions on submission
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and we're going to
continue that today.
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Last time, Tom, we were talking
about mutual submission...
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this idea and...
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let's kind of pick
up where we left off.
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Okay, so what we said last time
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as we were noting that Paul
makes a statement in verse 21,
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in Ephesians 5
verse 21, he says,
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"Submitting to one another
out of reverence for Christ,"
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we've described
in previous programs
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how this is actually the
concluding remark that he makes
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in terms of how it means to
be filled with the Holy Spirit,
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all the way through there,
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he is describing that you're
addressing each other in Psalms
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in spiritual songs,
singing, making melody,
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giving thanks...
this is all an expression
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of being filled
with God's Spirit
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and then he says,
"Submitting to one another"
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so this concept
becomes his thesis statement
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for the whole
discussion of the home...
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description of the home...
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and we said that,
verse 21 and verse 22 are...
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are actually linked together
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because, verse 22 in
Greek doesn't have its own verb.
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So, it would read,
in the Greek, verse 21,
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"Submitting to one
another in the fear of God... "
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in reverence of
Christ, in verse 22,
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"wives as to your own
husbands as to the Lord,"
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so, it doesn't
actually say, "wives submit"
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because it is referring...
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or it is... links to
the previous Scripture
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so "submitting" is inferred.
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That's right, it's implied from
verse 21 and that's how you know
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that it connects in here, so
this is the thesis statement,
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we indicated that this
thesis has to apply to everybody
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in the Christian home,
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otherwise it's not
a thesis statement,
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and he has these pairs
of people we've noticed,
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wives and husbands,
children and parents,
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slaves and masters,
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three groupings
within the Greco-Roman home
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and he always speaks to
the one who is submitting
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or the one who
has less authority
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to the one... then he
speaks secondly to the group
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that has more authority
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more power or that has that role
in the Greco-Roman household.
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So, he's speaking to
wives first into submitting
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and then husbands' instructions,
what they are to do,
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then to the
children to submit to parents
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and parents... how they
are to interact with children
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to the slaves and
then to the masters
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and how they are to
be kind to the slaves.
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Yeah, which is kind
of interesting because
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in the power structure
of the Greco-Roman world,
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you would think you
would talk to the father first,
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Right... Right...
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and you would talk
to the parents first,
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and you would talk
to the masters first,
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but Paul flips
it, he turns it around
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which may be one of
the indications that
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he's flipping or changing or
modifying the power structures
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that were typical of
the Greco-Roman world
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in the Greco-Roman world the
father was... he was in charge,
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the term was "Pater familias"
and he really had quite a lot of
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almost absolute power in
the Greco-Roman household
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and Paul changes that
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and limits that power
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that's this idea of
submitting to one another
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in the fear of Christ
so there's much more to say
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about this before we
conclude but we come then to
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understand a little bit more
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about how Paul works with
this whole idea of submission.
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And he puts limits on
submission does he not?
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He does, he puts limits,
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yeah, people really get
upset about this when it says,
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"Wives submit to your husbands"
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because of the concept of
"submission" that they have,
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that submission means...
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it must mean
that you're inferior,
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it must mean that you...
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you don't have a
personal relationship with God,
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and you're going
through your husband
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or you're going through your
parents or something like that,
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or that you are simply a doormat
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and they can do
whatever they want
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they have total control
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and if you have that
kind of concept of submission,
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it's not hard to see
that it's repulsive...
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Shelley: Good word.
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Yeah, and reprehensive,
it's just not something that
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makes a person want
to desire that at all,
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if you had that kind
of idea, you would say,
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"Why would I
want to get married?"
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"Why would I want to stay
in a household like that?"
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It would be like the
old days of the Indians
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where the Squaw had
to walk behind the Buck,
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and I've actually met
people in some interesting
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denominational churches
that... where they believe
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that the wife should
walk behind the husband
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to show submission, so,
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this isn't what
Paul's talking about.
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No, so really, we want to take
a look at different Bible verses
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that help us to understand
this idea of submission
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and what it means
and what it doesn't mean,
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so the first one
that I want to turn to
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is in the book
of Luke, chapter 2,
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Luke chapter 2 verses 48 to 51
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now, I love the book of
Luke, it's just beautiful
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the way it describes the
birth of John the Baptist
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and the birth of Jesus
and everybody is singing
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and everybody is talking,
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they're being
filled with God's Spirit,
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it's just wonderful,
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now, Jesus is in
Nazareth with His parents
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and every year His
parents go to Jerusalem
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for the Passover, and
when He is 12 years old...
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now, 12 year's old becomes an
important time in Jewish life,
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they have this thing
they call the Bar Mitzvah
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and it's... when a person...
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the "Bar" is the
Aramaic word for son
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and so, Bar Mitzvah... he
becomes the "son of the law "
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I've been in
Jerusalem and seen the
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the great joy they have...
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when they're going to do this
Bar Mitzvah and they come...
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people are...
they have all this...
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there's always music and
there's... kind of dancing
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and clapping and singing and
always... there's this canopy,
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and there's this young
fellow and he's all dressed...
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wearing the proper
prayer shawl and everything
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and they're bringing the
Torah that he's going to read
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when he goes to the...
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there to the
Western Wall to pray,
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and he's come of
age, so to speak, so...
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And there's such a joy...
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we've seen many when
we've been to Jerusalem
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it is a joyful...
it's a joyful occasion
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Yeah, there's joy
in a relationship...
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this is really
celebrating what God has done
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so, Jesus is 12 years
old and He goes to Jerusalem
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He's probably, maybe,
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I don't know what they had
back in the day exactly but
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it's interesting, He's
12 years old when He goes,
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and as you know
how the story goes,
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they go to the feast,
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there are thousands and
thousands of people in Jerusalem
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and they go in groups,
they come back home in groups,
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Shelley: Kind of a
traveling caravans...
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Caravans, that's right,
right, and they would be
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singing, and just
having a wonderful time,
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this is like a wonderful
vacation with your friends,
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you know, and so they
would come to Jerusalem,
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and they spent
these days in Jerusalem
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and then they
returned, so, Mary and Joseph
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were so used to
Jesus always being there,
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always taking care, you know,
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always... he was such
a responsible young man,
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that they didn't worry,
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and they get a day
out from Jerusalem...
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Shelley: Thinking
he's in the caravan...
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And He's not there and
they can't find Him anywhere
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you read that beautiful
book, "The Desire of Ages"
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and Ellen White talks
about how they were afraid...
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that it was like
when He was a baby
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and Herod tried to kill Him,
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and they started
to reproach themselves
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that they had not
kept careful watch for Him,
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they went back to
Jerusalem, it took three days,
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finally... and up in the Temple,
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they finally end up
there and here's Jesus
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and He's sitting at the
feet of these religious leaders,
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the Rabbis and He's
asking them questions and
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they're asking Him questions
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and He's giving
answers to their questions
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and there's a back and forth and
everybody is like... amazed...
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at what this
young man is saying,
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so this is where
we pick up the story
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and it's in Luke
chapter 2 verses 48...
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and we'll read through verse 52.
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All right, Luke
chapter 2 verse 48,
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"So when they saw Him,"
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and the "they" is
his mother and father,
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"when they saw
Him, they were amazed,
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and His mother said to Him,
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'Son, why have
You done this to us?
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Look, Your father and I
have sought You anxiously. '
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And He... Jesus... said to
them, 'Why did you seek me?
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Did you not know that I must
be about My Father's business?'
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But they did not
understand the statement
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which He spoke to them.
Then He went down with them
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and came to Nazareth,
and was subject to them,
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but His mother kept all
these things in her heart.
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And Jesus increased
in wisdom and stature
00:10:48.84\00:10:52.88
and in favor with God and man. "
00:10:52.91\00:10:55.88
Okay, now this is an interesting
conclusion to this story,
00:10:55.92\00:10:59.75
His parents see
Him, they're astonished
00:10:59.79\00:11:02.09
and then His
mother reprimands Him,
00:11:02.12\00:11:04.23
She says, "Why have
you treated us like this?
00:11:04.26\00:11:07.23
We have been
looking everywhere for you,
00:11:07.26\00:11:10.00
we've been distressed,
00:11:10.03\00:11:12.70
we were worried about you"
00:11:12.73\00:11:15.34
and His response is,
"Why were you looking for me?
00:11:15.40\00:11:18.57
Did you not know that I
must be in my Father's house?"
00:11:18.61\00:11:22.44
Now, I want you to
think for a minute, Shelley,
00:11:22.48\00:11:25.28
what would most mothers say
00:11:25.31\00:11:27.75
if their children
answered that way?
00:11:27.78\00:11:29.22
What would their next words be?
00:11:29.25\00:11:32.59
I'm not even going to say
what my mother would have said,
00:11:32.62\00:11:35.76
parents would think that
you're being disrespectful
00:11:35.79\00:11:43.20
by saying something
like this "and you mind me
00:11:43.23\00:11:46.37
and you get over here and
come-with-me-now" type thing...
00:11:46.40\00:11:49.04
So they would... they
might pull him by the ear
00:11:49.07\00:11:50.77
and they might say,
00:11:50.81\00:11:52.14
"You just wait until
we get home," you know.
00:11:52.17\00:11:53.51
Shelly: wait till
I tell your father.
00:11:53.54\00:11:55.14
Yeah, this is like being
very cheeky, very disrespectful
00:11:55.18\00:11:59.21
as you said, okay,
00:11:59.25\00:12:00.68
now, Luke,
recognized that this saying...
00:12:00.72\00:12:06.82
coming from the story
of Jesus and... assuming...
00:12:06.86\00:12:09.59
this is his first recognition
that He is the Son of God,
00:12:09.62\00:12:12.89
that you have
expressed, you know, by Him,
00:12:12.93\00:12:16.40
and Luke presents
that, that's important,
00:12:16.43\00:12:19.87
His Father's House, God
is... this is God's house
00:12:19.90\00:12:22.57
and He is God's Son, so
He's in the right place,
00:12:22.60\00:12:25.21
right, but Luke realizes
that any reader... reading this
00:12:25.24\00:12:29.11
would say, "Poooof, why that...
00:12:29.14\00:12:31.38
disrespectful young
man, how could He do that?"
00:12:31.41\00:12:34.12
So Luke, careful
writer that he is, he says,
00:12:34.15\00:12:37.09
"And they did not
understand the saying
00:12:37.12\00:12:38.92
that He had spoken to
them and He went down with them
00:12:38.95\00:12:41.69
and came to
Nazareth and was submissive"
00:12:41.72\00:12:45.69
our subject... "He
was submissive to them"
00:12:45.76\00:12:49.33
it's the same word as
was used in Ephesians 5
00:12:49.36\00:12:53.03
all right, the same
word, now here's the question,
00:12:53.07\00:12:56.71
was Jesus
inferior to His parents?
00:12:56.74\00:12:59.07
Absolutely not, He
was the Son of God.
00:12:59.14\00:13:01.41
He was the Son of God, He
was superior, if anything,
00:13:01.44\00:13:04.18
and yet He
submits to His parents,
00:13:04.25\00:13:07.35
you see, submission
does not mean inferiority,
00:13:07.38\00:13:11.19
it doesn't mean it,
it doesn't imply it,
00:13:11.22\00:13:14.99
too many people take it
that way that means that...
00:13:15.02\00:13:17.43
"No, Jesus Himself
submitted to His parents"
00:13:17.46\00:13:20.70
but He was in no
way inferior to them.
00:13:20.73\00:13:22.93
And this is...
00:13:23.00\00:13:24.50
even with the Master-Slave idea
00:13:24.53\00:13:27.40
and now-a-days, I guess,
you would compare that to...
00:13:27.44\00:13:30.21
if you're working
in the Corporate world,
00:13:30.24\00:13:32.34
or if you're
working in a ministry,
00:13:32.37\00:13:34.28
it doesn't mean that an
employee or staff member
00:13:34.34\00:13:37.78
is superior to... or
inferior to the President,
00:13:37.81\00:13:40.82
it is that the
President of that Corporation
00:13:40.88\00:13:44.29
has a certain
responsibility, if you will,
00:13:44.32\00:13:47.66
and... either to stockholders
or in ministry to God,
00:13:47.69\00:13:51.83
so it's something that
you subject yourself to
00:13:51.86\00:13:56.77
the purposes of the Corporation,
00:13:56.80\00:14:00.10
see... all of
us... all of us in life,
00:14:00.14\00:14:02.54
it doesn't matter who we are,
we have to submit to somebody,
00:14:02.57\00:14:05.81
we have some relationship
where somebody is over us.
00:14:05.84\00:14:08.88
Shelley: To our Government?
00:14:08.91\00:14:10.25
Yes, to our
Government, to our Leaders,
00:14:10.28\00:14:11.88
to any kind of individuals
00:14:11.91\00:14:15.28
so, submission does
not imply inferiority.
00:14:15.32\00:14:19.29
Now, the second one is
00:14:19.32\00:14:20.76
"Submission does not deny
personal relationship with God"
00:14:20.82\00:14:24.93
and then we just go
back to Ephesians 5.
00:14:24.96\00:14:27.23
Okay and in verse 22, it says,
00:14:27.26\00:14:31.30
"Wives submit to your own
husbands as to the Lord. "
00:14:31.33\00:14:35.64
Now, the question here
is, who is talking here,
00:14:35.67\00:14:40.41
who is writing
this? Shelley: Paul...
00:14:40.44\00:14:42.74
Paul... and to
whom is he writing?
00:14:42.78\00:14:44.85
He's writing to the Ephesians,
the Church of Ephesus.
00:14:44.88\00:14:48.48
The Church of
Ephesus, and in particular,
00:14:48.52\00:14:49.95
who is he
writing to in this verse?
00:14:49.98\00:14:51.32
Shelley: Wives...
00:14:51.35\00:14:52.69
Wives, yeah, so Paul recognizes
that they are related to God,
00:14:52.72\00:14:58.66
that they have a relationship
themselves with God,
00:14:58.69\00:15:02.13
he doesn't just speak
to the husbands and say,
00:15:02.16\00:15:04.37
"Now tell your
wives what to do,"
00:15:04.43\00:15:05.77
he speaks to the wives
themselves as moral agents,
00:15:05.80\00:15:10.44
he doesn't tell the husbands
to subjugate their wives,
00:15:10.51\00:15:14.84
he tells the wives to
voluntarily themselves choose
00:15:14.88\00:15:19.21
to submit to their husbands
00:15:19.25\00:15:21.08
so he
recognizes that these wives
00:15:21.12\00:15:23.65
have a moral relationship,
00:15:23.69\00:15:25.69
they are moral entities
that deserve respect themselves
00:15:25.75\00:15:29.72
and deserve to be appealed to,
00:15:29.76\00:15:31.89
right, so, submission
does not mean inferiority,
00:15:31.93\00:15:35.63
submission does not deny
personal relationship to God,
00:15:35.66\00:15:40.07
he tells the wives, actually,
00:15:40.10\00:15:41.44
that they are to
relate to their husbands,
00:15:41.47\00:15:43.74
they are to submit to
their husbands as to the Lord
00:15:43.81\00:15:46.24
so, the wives have a personal
relationship with God themselves
00:15:46.27\00:15:49.61
the third is a very
interesting idea and that is
00:15:49.64\00:15:52.78
that the submission
does not imply or mean
00:15:52.81\00:15:56.22
a doormat mentality, you know,
00:15:56.28\00:15:59.55
"I'm a doormat, you can
do with me whatever you want"
00:15:59.59\00:16:02.12
kind of a thing,
00:16:02.16\00:16:03.53
now, several texts that we could
look at in relationship to this
00:16:03.56\00:16:08.26
our time is
quickly fleeting away,
00:16:08.30\00:16:11.77
so, I want to turn over to
00:16:11.80\00:16:14.00
Matthew chapter
5 verse 38 and 39,
00:16:14.04\00:16:17.17
Mathew 5:38 and 39.
00:16:17.21\00:16:21.04
Shelley: Matthew chapter
5... Tom: Verse 38 and 39...
00:16:21.08\00:16:24.51
In the Sermon on the Mount,
00:16:24.55\00:16:26.21
Jesus is talking
to all disciples,
00:16:26.25\00:16:28.08
Matthew 5 verse 38,
"You have heard it said,
00:16:28.12\00:16:32.09
'An eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth. '
00:16:32.12\00:16:35.42
But I tell you not to
resist an evil person.
00:16:35.46\00:16:38.59
but whoever slaps
you on your right cheek,
00:16:38.66\00:16:41.76
turn the other to him also. "
00:16:41.80\00:16:44.27
Now somebody will say,
00:16:44.30\00:16:45.63
"Now, wait a minute
Dr. Sheperd, wait a minute,
00:16:45.67\00:16:47.00
that sure sounds
like a doormat to me.
00:16:47.04\00:16:49.07
You know, they
strike you on one cheek
00:16:49.10\00:16:51.17
just turn to them,
00:16:51.21\00:16:52.54
let them hit the
other cheek as well,
00:16:52.57\00:16:54.18
isn't that a doormat?"
00:16:54.21\00:16:55.78
Well, let's look at another text
because it's very interesting
00:16:55.81\00:16:59.65
to see where
this might lead you,
00:16:59.71\00:17:01.55
turn over to the book of Acts,
00:17:01.58\00:17:03.39
Acts chapter 16,
beautiful story, Acts chapter 16
00:17:03.42\00:17:10.76
it's the story
of Paul at Philippi
00:17:10.79\00:17:14.16
and when he goes to Philippi,
00:17:14.20\00:17:18.33
he ends up
getting thrown in jail
00:17:18.37\00:17:22.10
you know, they
freed this young lady
00:17:22.14\00:17:26.21
of a demon and
then her controllers
00:17:26.24\00:17:30.28
got them thrown in jail,
00:17:30.31\00:17:32.71
they get beaten and
they get thrown in jail
00:17:32.78\00:17:36.18
and they are singing
at midnight even though...
00:17:36.22\00:17:38.89
This is going to be
Paul turning the other cheek,
00:17:38.92\00:17:41.49
let's listen...
00:17:41.52\00:17:43.53
They're singing at midnight
00:17:43.56\00:17:44.89
and suddenly there's
this great earthquake, right?
00:17:44.93\00:17:48.43
And all the doors fling
open and the jailer sees this
00:17:48.46\00:17:52.03
and he thinks that all of
the prisoners have escaped
00:17:52.07\00:17:55.57
he know that means
he will be put to death
00:17:55.60\00:17:58.27
because he didn't keep them,
00:17:58.34\00:17:59.67
he pulls out his sword and
he's about to kill himself,
00:17:59.71\00:18:02.18
might as well
die by his own hand
00:18:02.21\00:18:04.85
than be tortured or
killed by somebody else,
00:18:04.88\00:18:08.08
Paul says, "Wait,
stop, we're all here,"
00:18:08.12\00:18:11.25
now that's a surprise in itself,
00:18:11.29\00:18:13.46
none of the other
prisoners ran away,
00:18:13.49\00:18:16.12
why not? Well,
probably because of the
00:18:16.16\00:18:18.73
influence of Paul and
Silas and their singing,
00:18:18.76\00:18:20.40
there was something about this
that just kept everybody there
00:18:20.43\00:18:23.57
and the jailer, you
know, he has his famous line,
00:18:23.60\00:18:27.87
and he brings
them out and he says,
00:18:27.90\00:18:29.30
"What must I do to
be saved?" Shelly: Amen.
00:18:29.34\00:18:31.14
And they said, "Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ,
00:18:31.17\00:18:33.38
you and your household,
and you will be saved"
00:18:33.41\00:18:35.71
so he takes them
home, he washes their wounds
00:18:35.74\00:18:38.01
he and his
family hear instruction,
00:18:38.05\00:18:40.18
they're all baptized that
night, it's a wonderful story
00:18:40.22\00:18:43.49
that seems like a
wonderful place to end the story
00:18:43.52\00:18:47.26
but we read verse 37,
well it started on verse 35,
00:18:47.29\00:18:50.99
okay, Acts 16,
and start in verse 35
00:18:51.03\00:18:57.33
and read through verse 40.
00:18:57.37\00:18:59.10
All right, so we're going
to see how well Paul is...
00:18:59.13\00:19:03.14
how well he does at
turning the other cheek,
00:19:03.17\00:19:05.41
Verse 35, "And when it was day,
00:19:05.47\00:19:07.84
the magistrates
sent the officers,
00:19:07.88\00:19:10.18
saying, 'Let those men go.
' So the keeper of the prison
00:19:10.21\00:19:13.95
reported these
words to Paul, saying,
00:19:13.98\00:19:16.45
'The magistrates
have sent to let you go.
00:19:16.48\00:19:19.39
Now therefore
depart, and go in peace. '
00:19:19.42\00:19:22.29
But Paul said to them,
'They have beaten us openly,
00:19:22.32\00:19:26.66
uncondemned Romans, and
have thrown us into prison.
00:19:26.70\00:19:31.03
And now do they
put us out secretly?
00:19:31.07\00:19:34.04
No indeed! Let them come
themselves and get us out.
00:19:34.07\00:19:38.17
And the officers told
these words to the magistrates,
00:19:38.24\00:19:42.28
and they were afraid when they
heard that they were Romans.
00:19:42.31\00:19:46.08
Then they came and pleaded
with them and brought them out,
00:19:46.11\00:19:49.88
and asked them to
depart from the city.
00:19:49.92\00:19:51.92
So they went out of the prison
and entered the house of Lydia:
00:19:51.95\00:19:56.06
and when they had
seen the brethren,
00:19:56.12\00:19:58.16
they encouraged
them and departed. "
00:19:58.19\00:20:00.20
Well, this is in
the Bible too, you know,
00:20:00.23\00:20:03.90
Jesus said to
turn the other cheek.
00:20:03.93\00:20:05.53
Is Paul turning
the other cheek here?
00:20:05.57\00:20:08.04
I'm going to wait for
you to answer that question
00:20:08.07\00:20:10.97
you're setting me up.
00:20:11.01\00:20:12.67
It doesn't quite
sound like it, you know,
00:20:12.71\00:20:15.81
he's pretty... he
stands up for his rights,
00:20:15.84\00:20:19.58
he said... and he
makes this contrast
00:20:19.61\00:20:22.48
between the public
and the private, he said,
00:20:22.52\00:20:25.82
"They beat us publicly,
00:20:25.85\00:20:27.19
we were
uncondemned Roman citizens
00:20:27.26\00:20:30.73
and now, they want to
send us away... secretly... "
00:20:30.79\00:20:34.96
He says, "We're
not going to do that,
00:20:35.00\00:20:37.07
they can come here and
escort us out of the prison"
00:20:37.10\00:20:40.74
but when the magistrates
heard that these were Romans,
00:20:40.77\00:20:44.37
I tell you what...
they were really worried
00:20:44.41\00:20:46.68
because you weren't
supposed to do those things
00:20:46.71\00:20:49.18
and they had just
listened to these other men
00:20:49.24\00:20:51.68
and had not stood up
the way they should have
00:20:51.71\00:20:54.12
as good judges so
they come and say,
00:20:54.15\00:20:55.88
"We're very sorry,
please come out... " you know,
00:20:55.92\00:20:58.95
now, what do we
gather from this?
00:20:58.99\00:21:01.12
There are
limits... there are limits
00:21:01.16\00:21:03.46
to turning the other
cheek, there are limits,
00:21:03.49\00:21:06.06
where the honor of
the gospel is at stake,
00:21:06.09\00:21:08.70
where the honor of the gospel...
that's what happened here...
00:21:08.73\00:21:12.20
this isn't just
about Paul personally,
00:21:12.23\00:21:15.00
this is about the
respect for the gospel,
00:21:15.07\00:21:17.87
the gospel
message... and so Paul says,
00:21:17.91\00:21:20.64
"No, the gospel is honorable
and it deserves honor,"
00:21:20.68\00:21:24.78
so, where the honor of
the gospel is at stake,
00:21:24.81\00:21:27.88
that's where the
turning of the cheek stops,
00:21:27.92\00:21:30.92
you don't do it
just to prevent...
00:21:30.95\00:21:32.92
just for your own protection,
00:21:32.95\00:21:34.89
but you do it for
the good of the...
00:21:34.92\00:21:36.69
for the
protection of the gospel.
00:21:36.73\00:21:38.43
And this is important
to hear what you're saying
00:21:38.46\00:21:41.43
as far as... that...
00:21:41.46\00:21:43.10
being submissive does not
mean that you're inferior,
00:21:43.13\00:21:46.30
being submissive does
not mean that you don't...
00:21:46.33\00:21:49.57
that a wife doesn't
have a personal relationship
00:21:49.60\00:21:52.81
with the Lord because she's
being submissive to her husband,
00:21:52.84\00:21:55.34
but most importantly,
that she is not a doormat
00:21:55.38\00:21:57.91
because, there
are, unfortunately,
00:21:57.95\00:22:01.68
many instances
of abuse in the home
00:22:01.72\00:22:05.19
and some women think that...
00:22:05.25\00:22:08.42
they're supposed
to take it and...
00:22:08.46\00:22:10.59
in fact, my own
sister, her first husband,
00:22:10.63\00:22:12.96
was very abusive,
00:22:12.99\00:22:14.33
he put her in the
hospital three different times,
00:22:14.36\00:22:17.17
and she developed that
"battered wife syndrome"
00:22:17.20\00:22:20.00
and thought it was her
own fault and it's not,
00:22:20.04\00:22:22.77
and even the church recognizes
abuse as a reason for divorce.
00:22:22.80\00:22:27.51
Yeah, yeah, and it was...
there are limits to authority
00:22:27.54\00:22:32.68
and you're not
supposed to use your authority
00:22:32.71\00:22:34.98
to abuse or use other people,
00:22:35.02\00:22:37.12
you're supposed
use it to bless people.
00:22:37.15\00:22:39.05
Even when Paul
was out of prison,
00:22:39.09\00:22:41.52
I believe it was
Paul or was it Peter
00:22:41.56\00:22:43.99
when he said that,
they were trying to tell...
00:22:44.03\00:22:45.73
it was Peter...
when they said...
00:22:45.76\00:22:47.10
"Don't go and
preach again in His name,"
00:22:47.13\00:22:48.46
and he said, "To whom do we owe
00:22:48.50\00:22:51.33
our allegiance,
00:22:51.37\00:22:52.70
are we supposed to
obey you or obey God?"
00:22:52.73\00:22:54.34
We must obey
God rather than men.
00:22:54.40\00:22:56.20
We must obey God
rather than man, so...
00:22:56.24\00:22:59.27
God doesn't call for
affirmation of abuse,
00:22:59.31\00:23:02.31
abuse is wrong,
it always has been,
00:23:02.34\00:23:04.91
it always will be, and so,
there are those kinds of limits,
00:23:04.95\00:23:09.15
and this
illustrates the story of Paul,
00:23:09.18\00:23:11.22
this funny story
about him in Philippi,
00:23:11.25\00:23:14.09
illustrates that idea that
for the sake of the gospel,
00:23:14.12\00:23:17.23
there's a place where you say,
"No, we don't submit to that. "
00:23:17.26\00:23:20.83
Yes, so now, we've covered a lot
00:23:20.86\00:23:24.27
but let's focus
in on Ephesians 5:22,
00:23:24.30\00:23:27.30
"Wives submit to your
own husbands as to the Lord,"
00:23:27.34\00:23:31.04
what is Paul teaching here?
00:23:31.07\00:23:32.41
Okay, the first thing we
know is there's not this verb...
00:23:32.44\00:23:36.78
it's borrowed from verse 21
00:23:36.81\00:23:38.45
and it's usually inserted
there in English, which is fine,
00:23:38.48\00:23:42.28
in English, it's
fine translation,
00:23:42.32\00:23:43.92
but it means that the
two are interconnected
00:23:43.99\00:23:46.32
the focus of the
wife's submission,
00:23:46.35\00:23:48.62
according to Paul
here is to her own husband,
00:23:48.66\00:23:51.79
he's not talking
about outside the home,
00:23:51.83\00:23:53.73
he's not talking
about, "to another person,"
00:23:53.76\00:23:55.63
this is
instruction about home life
00:23:55.66\00:23:58.10
not about life outside the home.
00:23:58.13\00:24:00.44
There are sometimes
people who will say,
00:24:00.47\00:24:02.54
"Well, women
shouldn't be outside the home,"
00:24:02.57\00:24:06.01
but frankly, I've
found that women in service,
00:24:06.07\00:24:09.48
we have women who
work in the ministry,
00:24:09.51\00:24:12.01
our new
Associate Dean is a woman,
00:24:12.05\00:24:14.72
and she is good,
she works very well
00:24:14.75\00:24:17.35
in positions with...
when we have committees,
00:24:17.39\00:24:21.26
she makes wonderful suggestions,
she helps to solve problems,
00:24:21.29\00:24:24.86
I personally have no
problem with women in ministry,
00:24:24.89\00:24:28.53
women in leadership, this
is not in the home setting,
00:24:28.56\00:24:32.20
this is outside
the home setting,
00:24:32.23\00:24:33.60
it's not to
suggest that in the home,
00:24:33.64\00:24:36.10
they are now suddenly...
this little tiny person,
00:24:36.14\00:24:39.84
or something like that,
00:24:39.87\00:24:41.21
there's respect back
and forth within the home,
00:24:41.24\00:24:44.01
but her submission
is to her own husband
00:24:44.05\00:24:48.08
not to somebody else,
00:24:48.12\00:24:49.45
then the manner
of this submission,
00:24:49.48\00:24:52.05
that Paul describes
here, is, "as to the Lord,"
00:24:52.12\00:24:55.46
so the relationship to
Christ, as we already have said,
00:24:55.49\00:24:58.79
is the paradigm
00:24:58.83\00:25:00.16
by which everything
is measured in the home,
00:25:00.20\00:25:02.63
the paradigm by which
everything is measured
00:25:02.66\00:25:05.43
and I have this
wonderful little plaque
00:25:05.50\00:25:07.47
at the door of
our house that says,
00:25:07.54\00:25:09.47
"Christ is the
Head of this House.
00:25:09.50\00:25:11.37
He's the silent
listener to every conversation
00:25:11.41\00:25:15.98
and He's at every meal,
Christ is the Head of the home"
00:25:16.01\00:25:18.98
and that's really...
00:25:19.01\00:25:20.35
it helps you to keep things
set in the right direction
00:25:20.38\00:25:24.49
so you stop thinking...
it's some kind of human head
00:25:24.52\00:25:28.49
but that Christ is
in charge of the home.
00:25:28.52\00:25:30.89
Then the center of
power actually, has shifted...
00:25:30.93\00:25:34.26
it has shifted from the
husband to God, to the Lord,
00:25:34.30\00:25:37.60
Paul is addressing
the wives as moral agents,
00:25:37.63\00:25:40.77
they have an individual
relationship with Christ
00:25:40.80\00:25:42.90
and they have an individual
relationship with God,
00:25:42.94\00:25:45.81
and secondly, to their husbands.
00:25:45.84\00:25:48.34
So this is different
than the Greco-Roman world
00:25:48.38\00:25:50.48
where the wife was
actually supposed to worship
00:25:50.51\00:25:53.38
the gods of her husband,
00:25:53.42\00:25:54.75
just think, if you
had a Christian wife,
00:25:54.78\00:25:57.19
no... she can't
submit to the husband's gods,
00:25:57.22\00:25:59.79
so her submission to her husband
is not total, it is different.
00:25:59.82\00:26:04.99
In the Greco-Roman world
women were seen as inferior,
00:26:05.03\00:26:08.36
they were to be
ruled by their husbands,
00:26:08.40\00:26:10.93
but Paul breaks out of this
00:26:10.97\00:26:12.97
by addressing the wives
themselves as moral agents,
00:26:13.00\00:26:16.10
so the lesson here,
that we come down to is that
00:26:16.14\00:26:19.17
submission to the Lord teaches
how to submit to your husband,
00:26:19.21\00:26:23.91
it also teaches you the
extent of human submission.
00:26:23.95\00:26:28.55
There is a limit to it
it's... as to the Lord, so...
00:26:28.58\00:26:33.15
And you know, to point this...
00:26:33.22\00:26:35.32
just to point this out quickly,
God is not a controlling God
00:26:35.36\00:26:39.36
when He asks us to submit,
it is a willing surrender
00:26:39.39\00:26:44.60
because of His loving kindness,
and so, this is something that
00:26:44.63\00:26:48.30
a husband should
understand is that...
00:26:48.34\00:26:50.17
he cannot be a
controlling husband but rather,
00:26:50.21\00:26:53.21
he needs to... out of his
love, by his demonstration
00:26:53.24\00:26:56.81
of loving kindness
will his wife to submission.
00:26:56.85\00:27:00.15
You see, everyone is
made in the image of God
00:27:00.18\00:27:03.49
and because they
have that image of God,
00:27:03.52\00:27:06.99
that image of God
calls for respect.
00:27:07.02\00:27:10.43
Shelley: We are
co-heirs. Tom: Yeah, co-heirs.
00:27:10.46\00:27:12.76
And so Paul will
say these kinds of words
00:27:12.79\00:27:15.13
to describe this
kind of concept of...
00:27:15.16\00:27:17.53
that we all have a
relationship to God,
00:27:17.57\00:27:19.83
we are co-heirs with Christ,
everybody has the image of God,
00:27:19.87\00:27:22.64
so everybody deserves respect,
00:27:22.67\00:27:25.14
you cannot disrespect them
00:27:25.17\00:27:27.58
and still follow what God
is trying to teach us to do.
00:27:27.61\00:27:30.71
And it's really a beautiful
thing and as I've said,
00:27:30.75\00:27:33.52
when it is done properly,
00:27:33.55\00:27:34.88
a wife will be happy
to submit to her husband
00:27:34.92\00:27:36.99
if he is allowing Christ
to be the Head of the home
00:27:37.02\00:27:40.16
and he is... as Christ has
their eternal benefit in mind,
00:27:40.19\00:27:44.86
and if the husband has
the wife's benefit in mind,
00:27:44.89\00:27:47.60
it makes it easy
to submit to him.
00:27:47.66\00:27:50.00
Again Tom, thank you...
00:27:50.07\00:27:51.40
this time... just
continues to fly from us,
00:27:51.43\00:27:54.07
we're so glad
that you're tuning in
00:27:54.10\00:27:56.34
and we're hoping
that this is something
00:27:56.37\00:27:58.57
God is really speaking to you
00:27:58.61\00:28:00.08
through these teachings
00:28:00.11\00:28:01.64
and now, our prayer is that
God will multiply His mercy,
00:28:01.68\00:28:05.45
His love and His
grace to you. Bye for now.
00:28:05.51\00:28:08.38