If you would, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Paul's letter to the Ephesians. If you were in Philippians, just one book backwards. This morning we'll be looking at chapter 5, verse 21. Ephesians 5, verse 21. And last week we looked at chapter 5 verse 20 together, and the exhortation to be filled with the Spirit by giving thanks at all times for all things to God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. And in that sermon, we saw what giving thanks is. Essentially, to give thanks is to praise or to express gratitude to God in light of and for His bestowed blessings and gifts. And then we saw what we are to, or sorry, rather when we are to give thanks. Namely, at all times, which as we saw means consistently, regularly, and constantly. routinely before, during, and after He blesses us for our whole lives at all times. And then we saw what we are to give thanks for, namely, all things, that is, all things, all blessings, spiritual and material, temporal and eternal, past, present, and future, ordinary and extraordinary, withheld and received, highs and lows, and for ourselves and for others. And we saw who we are to give thanks to, namely God the Father, who is presented to us in the scriptures as the fountain and the giver of all things. And lastly, we saw who we are to give thanks through, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the mediator of every blessing we receive and the only mediator of God and man. Now this morning we'll move on to chapter 5 verse 21 and the general exhortation to be filled with the Spirit by submitting to one another in the fear I say general exhortation for two reasons, mainly because this general exhortation in a way concludes this section we've been looking at from 518 to 521, which has as the main command be filled with the Spirit, or bring yourself under the control of the Spirit, and it gives five ING words, submitting being the fifth of those, which tell you how you are to bring yourself under the control of the Spirit. But then I also say general exhortation because this general exhortation in verse 21 also serves as a somewhat of a transitional exhortation into the next section, which runs from 522 through 6.9, which is often referred to as the Household Code, you see. And it basically goes on to particularly apply this general exhortation of submitting to one another in the fear of God. So with that in mind here now, The Word of God, in the fear of God, because it is His Word. From Ephesians 5 verse 21. Submitting to one another in the fear of God. May God be pleased to bless the reading and preaching of His Word this morning. So as we come to our passage this morning, First we'll open up the text and in the exposition of it, we'll see what the general concept of submission is. We'll see what it means to submit to one another and what this call to submit to one another means and implies. And then we'll see what it means to submit to one another in the fear of God. And then, in a sense, the second main section of the sermon will apply the passage, and we'll see some ways in which we can, you can, and ought submit to one another, and then we'll end by looking at some of the main enemies which often prevent and hinder us from submitting to one another as we ought to do. So coming to our passage then this morning, seeing that we not only want to understand verse 21 and what God is calling us to in this text this morning, but also in light of the fact, as I said, that this in a sense is the transitional exhortation, which is particularly applied in the following verses that we'll look at over the coming weeks. I want us to have a clear and concise, plain understanding of the general concept of submission, of what it means and what it is. And again, I want to emphasize the fact that we're speaking this morning about the general concept of submission. Because as we'll see, as Paul particularly applies it, submission can vary as to exactly what it looks like according to different roles and relationships. For instance, we'll see that this general call to mutual submission to one another is in no way in any conflict with the reality of hierarchical roles within the household, as we'll see. And so even though this general call to mutual submission in a way governs the entire household code, which runs from 522 through 6-9, Again, how it works itself out, how this general submission is to be manifested in each relationship and role within the household will vary slightly as to nuance. What it means for wives to submit to husbands, for husbands to submit to wives, for children to submit to parents, parents to submit to children, and servants to masters, and masters to servant. All of these, as we'll see, have various nuances to them. For example, just briefly so you know what I'm saying, we'll see that what it means for parents to submit to children in no sense indicates that parents are to obey their children. Though for children, the call to submit to parents does include in it the notion of obedience. And so again, what this general call to mutual submission looks like for each role and relationship within the household will have some nuance to it. And so again, this morning, I just want us to get our minds around and to be clear upon this general concept of submission. And so in its most simple and basic meaning, the word that Paul uses here for submit simply means to place or arrange under. To place or arrange under. The more broad and the fuller definition that I think you have on your bulletin inserts is, submitting is aligning or placing oneself under someone or something by placing oneself in the service of another and or by yielding or giving up one's own right or will for the sake of another. I'll repeat that one time because, again, I want us to be clear that this is the general concept of submission. It means aligning or placing oneself under someone or something by placing oneself in the service of another and or by yielding or giving up one's own right or will for the sake of another. As we'll see momentarily, this general concept or this definition of the general concept of submission finds much support and vindication in the scriptures. But for now, having seen what the general concept of submission is, the next question we need to ask that our passage answers for us is, who? Who are we to submit ourselves to? Who are you to place and align yourself under? Who are you to bring yourself under in the sense of and by placing yourself in the service of? Just who is it that you are to yield your own interests and desires to and for the sake of? where Paul says clearly, you are to submit yourself to, you are to bring yourself again under the control of the Holy Spirit by placing and aligning yourself under, bringing yourself into the service of and yielding yourself to the desires and will of one another. One another. Now there are some who will say straight up that this exhortation here in verse 21 actually only applies to those who find themselves in relational authority to others. For instance, they'll say that this passage in verse 21, they would, for one, they would put it with the following verses and say it's not the concluding verse of 518 to 21, but they would say that this call to submit applies only to wives to husbands, children to parents, and slaves to master. And why they do that is I think they, appeal to too narrow or a partial definition of the word submission. And then also they'll point out that in Ephesians 5.22 through 6.9, you see a repetition of the call to submit as wives to husbands, and you see calls for obedience of children to parents and servants to masters, but not the reverse. Nevertheless, this what we could call the authority only view of verse 21 fails, I think, for three main reasons. And one of them is, again, that I don't think they do justice to the broader definition of the word. And I understand that context determines meaning, but I'm about to argue in the next two that the context indicates that the broader Fuller meaning of submission that you have defined on your sheets is the preferred definition. And the first has to do with Paul's use of the phrase, one another, one another. In Ephesians, so in the immediate context. How does Paul use this phrase? Well, in chapter 4, verse 2, Paul says, bearing with one another in love. 425, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 432, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving, one another. So you see that Paul uses the phrase in Ephesians, one another, when he's speaking about every member of the body. And thus in Ephesians, it is most likely when Paul uses this phrase that he is speaking to every member of the body and he's making a general call for mutual submission to every member within the body. So yes, yes, Paul goes on to apply this general call and mutual submission to the roles and relationships within the household just like the scriptures elsewhere go on to apply the general call to submission to other relationships in the church, members to elders, in the state, citizens to magistrates. But there is this call to mutual submission to one another. And so not only does the immediate context based on Paul's use of the phrase, one another, support the mutual submission view and conflict with the authority only submission view, but then also the rest of the scriptures teach. And so the wider context of the whole counsel of God teaches and supports this doctrine of mutual submission to one another. We see this first in Matthew 18, one to four. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And then Jesus called a little child to Him, set Him in the midst of them and said, Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. So they are a call to every disciple of Christ to make and see yourself as little children, which is to say, to make and to see yourself as those who are dependent and who are in submission. Luke 22, 25, and 26. And he said to them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them. And those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But not so among you. On the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger and he who governs as he who serves. So there we see that even those who are in relational, governmental, hierarchical positions of authority according to God's order within this world, family, church, state, doesn't matter, are to see themselves as servants of those under them. Leaders, yes. Leaders with real authority, yes. but servant leaders, leaders who submit themselves as servants to the service of those under their real and legitimate authority. And we see this principle of servant leadership illustrated and exemplified in the lives of our Lord Jesus Christ and of His Apostle Paul. Matthew 20.28 says, The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. So Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who even in His estate of humiliation as to His essential nature as God, had all authority in heaven and on earth, yet He made Himself of no reputation, made Himself a servant coming to serve and not to be served. Not to be served. Servant. Leadership. Our Lord Jesus Christ. But then this one. This is great. John 13, 3-5. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands. See what He's meditating on. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hand and that He had come from God and was going to God. Meditations on heaven. Authority. Exaltation. What did He do? He rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. And after that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with a towel with which He was girded. Like one of the most fascinating things about that. is that He lowers Himself down, gets on His knee to wash His disciples' feet, to do the least service to the least of His disciples immediately after His mind goes to heaven and exaltation and the glory from which He came and the glory to which He's going and the authority that He's going to have. So what do you see? Heavenly mindedness leads to beneficial earthly submission, beloved. The more your heads are in the clouds of more use and service will you be, the more your heads are in the clouds, the more likely you will be to wash one another's feet. That's what we see from our Lord Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4-5, his apostle Paul states, For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves, your bondservants for Jesus' sake. So Paul, an apostle, like the highest authority in the church with the other apostles, calls himself a bondservant to the members of the church. A man who saw himself as a servant to all, even though He had the highest authority over all in the Church. And then elsewhere, we see the doctrine not only taught by example and positive illustration in the Scriptures, but mostly by our Lord Jesus, but we also see it expressly stated in at least three other places. Romans 12.10, Be kindly affectionate to one another, again, one another language, with brotherly love, in honor, giving preference to one another. So to give preference to one another, you are to give respect for and precedence to the legitimate rights, needs, and wishes of one another, even above your own, you see. You're to yield, to yield, you see, to one another's rights, needs, and wishes. Philippians 2, 3-4. Let nothing be done, we already heard this, but let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each one of you look out, not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. So they're the same thing as in Romans 12. You're to esteem others. Place yourself, align yourself under others by esteeming others greater than yourself. You're to subordinate your interests, to align your interests under those of others holding them higher than your own. You see, you are to yield your own wills and interests to and for the sake of one another. And Paul, as we've read, goes on to say and to show that Christ Himself did this. Again, yielding His right. He could have stayed in heaven. It would have been right to demand All worship. That is His right as the Son of God. And yet, what did He do? For you, He came down from the realm of glory to serve, to give His life as a ransom for many. A servant to all mindset. A servant to all mindset characterized the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's to characterize you, His disciples. And then lastly and perhaps most expressly and most clearly of all the passages, even in our own, that teaches this doctrine of mutual submission is 1 Peter 5. Likewise, you younger people submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility. For God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble." So we see there the specific precedes the general. A specific call of the younger to submit to the older, but then Peter, just not able to make himself any more clear, says, all of you, men, women, and children, submit yourselves to one another. That means men, women, and children, submit yourselves to men, women, and children. Clothed with all humility. That's why we don't like it. That's why we don't like it. We don't like clothing ourselves. with humility, it's tough to do, you see. So we see this call in the scriptures. Mutual submission, all of us, to all of us, to one another. And I say that this call This call then to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to bring yourselves under the control of the Holy Spirit by placing yourselves under one another, by bringing yourself, presenting yourself as servants to one another and or by yielding your own interests, wills to one another is in essence a call to obey the general scope of the fifth commandment. In essence, what we're dealing with is a call to obey the general scope of the fifth commandment. And what is the general scope of the fifth commandment? Well, it's on your sheet. The Scriptures teach, as our larger catechism summarizes, the general scope of the fifth commandment is the performance of those duties which we mutually owe in our several relations as inferior, superiors, or equals. And clearly the inferior, superiors, equals there is talking about relationships, roles, and structures, not talking about being. And I don't think it's any accident that the Westminster Assembly quotes Ephesians 5.21 as the primary proof text for this general scope of the Fifth Commandment, and also Romans 12.10, which we just read from a moment ago. And so this call to submit ourselves to one another, place ourselves in the service of one another, to yield our own interests and wills to one another, And for the sake of one another is a call to deny ourselves and to perform the duties which we mutually owe to one another in our several relationships. Those duties that the Lord our God calls us to, and that's how we'll see it unfolded in the household code. husbands submitting to wives by yielding to them the duties that the Lord calls for. Likewise with even parents to children and even masters to servants, and then all of that the other direction as well. And thus it is we see that Paul unsurprisingly ends the exhortation with a call to submit to one another in the fear of God. Depending on the translation you have in front of you, some of you may see something like, in the fear of Christ, or out of reverence for Christ. A little difference in the reading there, but I hope it's plain and clear to all that There's no essential change in the meaning. After all, Jesus Christ is God. And so, regardless of whether you see in front of you in the fear of God or out of reverence for Christ, the essential meaning is the same. Your mutual submission to one another is to flow from reverence and awe for God. Your mutual submission to one another is to flow from a heart desire to submit your will to His revealed will. You see, out of love for God, you are to love one another by submitting yourselves to one another and yielding your interests to one another. Out of recognition of His sovereignty, His authority, His grace, His glory, you are to recognize the legitimate rights, needs, and wishes of one another and to seek to serve and to meet such as you're able. So you haven't been brought under the easy and light yoke and burden of your God and Savior. Well, to view the yokes and the burdens of one another is light and easy, things we delight to bring ourselves under as we serve one another. And so in sum, the basic concept of general submission, general mutual submission, is that of aligning or placing oneself, yourself, under someone or something, one another, by placing oneself in the service of one another and or by yielding or giving up one's own right or will for the sake of one another. Or to put it again in the general scope of the language of the Fifth Commandment. Submission refers to the performance of those duties which we mutually owe in our several relations as inferiors, superiors, or equals. You see, we're to make ourselves, to see ourselves as servants. to one another, to recognize and submit to serving the legitimate rights, needs, and wishes of one another, and to subordinate our own wills and interests to one another. Just to say this does not mean that you cannot have your own will, or that you cannot have your own interests in life. It's simply to say that you are to subordinate those to those of one another. Nor is this call to submit to one another a call to necessarily jump when anyone in here asks you to jump, nor is it a command that prohibits you from ever saying no to a reasonable request that is made of you. After all, we are all in here finite human beings with limited resources and thus we must live our lives according to strict priorities in many ways. And so, for instance, if you've been away from your family all week for whatever reason and someone in the congregation makes a legitimate, reasonable request of you on a Friday evening, you are not sinning or failing to obey this exhortation if you tell them no. Because you have the duty before that to submit yourself to your spouse, to your children, and to serve them. with the time that you have that week. Now, if you've had plenty of free time that week, then you probably ought really think of going and submitting yourself to the request of your brother or sister. So it's not a call. Not a call to never say no or to jump when someone says jump or that you cannot have your own will or interest, but it is. It is a call to real and radical real and radical servanthood, you see. It is a call to see yourself as one who is not to be served, but who comes to serve. It's a call to self-denial in the interests of others, to deny yourself in order to serve others. and in order to perform the duties that you owe to one another, even when you'd rather not. You see, that's what the call is, self-denying submission to one another. Now just note that much like the passage on giving thanks, this one also has apologetic relevance. for this call to a culture of mutual submission and mutual servanthood runs absolutely counter-culture. You see, the philosophy and the culture of most in the world is a philosophy of self and self-service. And even those who serve others are generally doing so out of a desire to serve self. The world promotes a you-do-you. You get yours, mentality. A dog-eat-dog kind of mentality characterizes the world, you see, and it's always been the case. How do we know that? Because Jesus said so, as much in the Luke passage that we read. Ever since the fall, those with power and authority and riches have sought to lord it over. And guess what? As we gain in the world power and authority, the same people do the same thing. Okay? That is the propensity of human nature to lord what it can over those whom it can. And Christ says it's not to be so amongst you. So just like our giving of thanks is a witness to a lost, dying, and confused world, giving thanks to the one true God. So is this culture and these acts of mutual submission to one another. To one another. And so now, what are some ways then? What are some ways in which we can and ought to submit to one another in the fear of the Lord? That's what I want us to look at now and seeing how in the next few weeks we'll see what this exhortation looks like as it applies to superiors and inferiors within the household, again as to role and relationship, not as to being. But we'll see how this applies within the household I want us to focus on, this morning, what are some ways that it applies to us as equals, in the sense that we are all, ultimately, and most basically and fundamentally, brothers and sisters in Christ. That is the relationship, and the only one, that will go on into eternity. For then we will be as angels, neither given nor taking in marriage. Okay? We will be brothers and sisters in Christ. And so how can we apply this to ourselves as equals? Perhaps the first and the most fundamental and basic way that we can submit ourselves to one another, place ourselves under others, esteem others more highly than ourselves, make ourselves servants to one another. is by regularly praying for one another. And not to the neglect of praying for yourself, we should really consider praying for others before you pray for yourself. Perhaps praying for others even more than you do pray for yourself. And you should pray for those suffering and for those thriving. should pray for those closest to you and those who are relationally furthest from you. And for instance, like when have you, any of you on this far left side of the room, when's the last time any of you prayed for anybody on this side of the room? Or when is the last time that any of you over here prayed for these ones over here, or all in between? When is the last time you prayed for those furthest from you? And just like when we saw earlier in Ephesians we're to be praying for the well and for the ill, the same aid to doing such could apply here. Use your directory. Use your directory and hopefully we'll be having a new updated one of those for you soon. But make it a habit to pray through the directory one household per day. And it's not that hard. It doesn't have to be complicated or take forever. We do it in family worship. Pray for a family. It's not got to be hard. Pray for one another. It's how you can submit to one another. A second way of submitting to one another is bearing one another's. burdens bearing one another's burdens. You see, we ought to enter into the struggles and the trials of one another and seek to come under and to help support and bear the load of such burdens that one another have. You see, brothers and sisters ought not let brothers and sisters struggle And this is just how a body works. This is just how a body works. When one member of the body experiences pain, so to a degree do the other members. When you stub your toe, it like goes through the whole body. Like you feel that. And same likewise, right? You've got a knee problem. The other knee, the bones, the back of the rest of the body have to bear the burden and the load. And guess what? Yes, that often leads to injury for the other members. And it will for you, but so be it. So be it. You ought to be willing to be injured physically and spiritually to help bear the burdens of one another. So be it. Who cares, frankly? Who cares? Who cares? And how? How can we do that? How can we imitate? our burden-bearing Savior, who bore every one of your burdens and who bears every one of your burdens. How can we imitate our servant Savior in this? Well, you can bear one another's spiritual burdens by just constantly giving yourself to being a listening ear and a willing counselor to your brothers and sisters. As we talked about the other time, y'all ask people a lot, how can I pray for you? It's an easy way to bear the burdens. They're going to unload their burdens. And you receive and you take them to the throne of grace in prayer. When it comes to being a counselor of one another, I shared this with some of you and my wife the other day. I was reading Job chapter 6, and in Joel Beeky's Family Worship Bible Guide, they made an application of that chapter. He just pointed out that when it comes to counseling one another, Your ability to counsel others who are struggling in various experiences or trials is not dependent on your having experienced that same struggle or trial, but rather on your willingness and ability to point them to Jesus Christ, who can sympathize with them in all of their experiences and trials, you see. Yes, does it help if you can speak from a viewpoint of shared experience? Certainly. But it's not dependent on that, you see. All you must do as a counselor, ultimately, is point a brother or sister to Jesus Christ. Willing counselor, submission to one another. And then also, bear one another's financial burdens and needs. by giving what you can and when you can. And no, that does not always necessarily mean money. You can give of your time, you can give of your energy, you can give of your skills. A brother or sister's got problems, they're financially struggling, their car breaks down, you don't have the money to help them, but you've got the skills to repair the car. Bearing one another's temporal, material, financial burdens, when and how, you can. bear one another's burdens, submitting to one another in the fear of God. A third way to submit yourselves to one another is by condescending. Condescending to one another. That is to say, having a willingness to condescend, to bring yourself to serve even the least of one another by performing the least of services. And this is what we saw with Christ. washing the feet of His disciples and all of them that were present, meaning that even the least of them got their feet washed by the Creator of heaven and earth. Insane. Insane. And thus it doesn't matter. You must be willing to serve the least in our midst, visiting the sick, washing toilets, and everything in between. Nothing ought be below you or anyone below you to serve. Submit to one another by condescending to one another. And then a fourth way to submit to one another is by yielding. Yielding to one another. Yielding to the interest and the wills of one another when issues of truth and sin aren't the issue. Okay? When there are multiple reasonable options on the table for something. The classic example is church carpet, right? Things that split churches. And yes, we all care about good looks. But for the most part, who cares when it comes to stuff like that? Yield to one another when issues of truth and sin aren't the issue. And then lastly, you ought to submit to one another by watching out for one another's best interests, by submitting yourselves to the uncomfortable service of offering constructive criticism to one another and of addressing one another's sins and even of forgiving one another and reconciling with one another. Again, this is a service that requires much self-denial and much self-examination, and yet it is a necessary and most critical way that you are to submit yourselves to one another and the fear of your God and Savior. So just a few ways then that we ought to submit, that you can submit, ought to be submitting to one another. And then again we want to end by asking, why don't we? Why don't we do so? Why don't we do as we ought? And often it's because of a few enemies that remain within. that prevent us in hindrance. And the first and perhaps the preeminent enemy to a servant mindset and to the humility that such a mindset requires and that such deeds require is pride. If you think more highly of yourself than you ought, you are highly unlikely to subordinate yourself underneath others, but all the more likely to subordinate others underneath you. That's what pride in the heart does, you see. And thus you must put on humility, which is to say a proper mindset, a proper view of yourself. Humility is not having a self-deprecating view of yourself, but a proper view of yourself. And it just so happens that for most of us, not necessarily all, some of us do need to have in some ways a higher view of ourself to have a more proper view. But for most of us, and I would say for all of us to some degree, we need a lower view. We need a lower view of ourselves. We need to humble ourselves. And a helpful way to do that is to think more on your God and how great He is, how high and lifted up He is. And that will humble you, humble you rather quickly. So you must lower your own view of your own rights, needs, and wishes if you are to ever have a hope of subordinating yours to those of others. Second, the second main enemy is that of envy, or we could say of sinful jealousy. Envy or sinful jealousy. You see, when we're too busy, too tied up in resenting what others have, We are highly unlikely to serve others with what we do have. If you are too busy resenting what others have, you are highly unlikely to serve them with what you do have, which is what you are called to do. Whatever time, energy, resources, and skills you do have, you're to serve your brothers and sisters. The third great enemy that's been coming up lately in sermons, is that of worldliness, worldly-mindedness. If you're constantly lusting after the flesh and the eyes and the pride of life, constantly striving for these things, you are less likely to serve those underneath you and more likely to climb over them and trample them down to get what your heart really desires. So as we saw with Christ, the key to service of others really is heavenly mindedness. It is what naturally leads to such. Again, if your head is stuck in the clouds, you will only be able to serve. That's it. That's it. Heaven is the key to service, you see. A fourth great enemy is that of having a someone else will do it mindset. Someone else will visit the sick. Someone else will make that meal. Surely someone else will do that thing. Someone else will take care of that need or whatever it is. If you constantly have a someone else will do it mindset, you won't do it. But the Scriptures call you, like you, to do it, to serve one another, to not wait on someone else to do it, to not just assume that one another will serve that other. You, beloved, me, called to serve, submit to one another. And the last great enemy of submitting to one another is that of submitting for one another. And by that, I mean, submitting to one another, not in the fear of God, but submitting to one another in the fear of man. Submitting to one another in order to look good for one another. That is sin, you see. And aren't we all so often prone to that? We're quick to grab the broom, quick to take a meal. We think this I'll look good if I do this. I will be seen as a servant in the church. It makes me feel good about myself. I don't know any of us who don't struggle to some degree with the desire to look good for one another in even religious duties, you see. Or to serve one another, not in the fear of man, but in the fear of the Lord. So you need to ask. Are any of these enemies pride, envy, worldliness, someone else's mindset, fear of man? Are any of these dwelling in your own heart, preventing and hindering you from obeying the command of God? to submit yourselves to one another. And we have to ask, though, ultimately, who in the world is sufficient for such things? I mean, who in this room of yourself is strong enough to conquer and subdue such enemies of your heart? to not have such enemies prevail against you. Who can conquer their own pride? Who can conquer their own envy? Who can conquer their own lust for the world? Who can conquer the someone else will do it, lazy, sinful mindset? Who can conquer the fear of man? And the answer is none. None of us in this room. But does Paul not say in Christ through Paul that you can do all things through He who strengthens you. All things. That means submitting to one another. If you submit yourself to Jesus Christ, You can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, not in your own power but in His, submit yourselves to one another. You can put on humility, be clothed with a servant mindset in the Lord Jesus Christ because of what He's done for you and because of what He is doing for you and because that is His will for you. You see, you can strive in Him to serve one another. And if you do not, if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ this morning, then you need to know that you cannot, you cannot in any way obey this command. You cannot. It is impossible for you to submit to one another, to submit to the law of God. For you are an enmity, enmity, an enemy of the King. You cannot submit yourself to His law to submit to one another. cannot do it, because you are in the flesh, you see, an enemy of Jesus Christ. And so before you can submit to Christ, and you must, you must, everyone in this room must, but before you can submit to Jesus Christ, or before you can submit to one another, you must submit to Jesus Christ. You must look to Jesus Christ. All of us must look to Jesus Christ, the one who came. not to be served, but to serve and to save lost sinners like you. The One who came to lay down His life, to bear the burdens and to bear the sins of lost sinners like you. The One who came to cleanse the heart and the consciences of lost sinners like you. And thus He calls you this morning. and to submit to Him, to bow the knee now in this life, willingly, that you be not forced to bow it in the age to come, and to be destroyed forever, to be submitted finally to Him as an everlasting enemy. He calls you to come. Come to Him this morning. His yoke is light. His burden is easy. And thus He says to you all who are weary and heavy laden, come, let's pray together. Father in heaven, how we thank you that you have submitted us, former enemies of the throne and kingdom of heaven, how you have submitted us to it, and preeminently to the King that sits on the throne, our Lord and Savior, that suffering servant, that Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. So we pray that we would all submit this morning. We who have been submitted, that we would submit to you, and by doing so, submit to one another, as you've called us to this day. And those who have not yet bowed the knees to Christ, who have not submitted to the King of heaven and earth, we pray that they would do so, and do so this day, Lord. For we know not if we have another day. We know not when You will take our soul which You've given from us in this life. So Lord, let us not rest easy. until we come to You. And let us always come to You, Lord. Let us look expectantly in this life to You, to kill our sin, to strengthen us for those things You've called us to, to preach the gospel of free grace, forgiveness of sins to ourselves. Lord, stir us up, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.