Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 5:21 NIV
Submission is not a popular concept. It carries the idea of doing what someone else wants rather than what I want. It is putting myself under someone else—into a subservient position. And my human pride rebels against that. While I may not necessarily want to be over people, I certainly do not want to be under them.
That makes it tempting to jump over this verse as we read through Ephesians, going instead to the following passage about wives submitting to their husbands. A passage that generates much, sometimes heated, discussion. But this is a much more general instruction.
As a husband, it tells me I should submit to my wife. As a local church member, I should submit, not just to the church leadership, but also to those who seem the least significant. There should be an element of submission in all of us toward each other.
Why? Paul tells us here to do it out of reverence for Christ. We honor the one who gave himself on our behalf when we follow his example of self-giving service, serving one another in love (Gal. 5:13).
And, as counterintuitive as it may seem, submission is the path to greatness in the kingdom of God. When James and John sought the places of honor in Jesus’ coming kingdom, Jesus made it clear to his disciples that greatness in his kingdom is measured differently than in the kingdoms of this world. It is the one who serves who is the greatest rather than the one who is served (Matt. 20:20-28).
For many, if not most, of us, submission does not come easy. And it can be more challenging with some than with others. But it should be our goal, to look to the interests of others ahead of our own (Phil. 2:3-4), and to honor Christ as we do.
