The Most Challenging of All Relationships (Part One), Part 1

There's a cultural movement in our times to redefine male and female role practice become even more complicated than that, as men and women openly declare their decision to identify not with their biological gender. But one of their own choosing today on Insight for living Chuck Swindoll has no plan to address controversial trends but instead is intent on sharing what God's word teaches one of the most complicated partnerships in life and our ongoing study in Ephesians is come to Paul's timeless instruction for husbands and why, in the midst of a wonderful section of Scripture that I've titled the most challenging of all relationship.

No officer you have in mind the husband-wife relationship. There are many challenging relationships in life, but I discovered none more so than this one in our current cultural climate in which materialism is valued above all else the passage were going to cover today from the fifth chapter of Ephesians verses 21 through 24 represents unfamiliar and often unexplored territory tell you the truth I feel like I'm walking through a minefield of explosives representing everyone's fears regarding what I might say today so very cautiously and thoughtfully. I plan to approach these concepts regarding authority submission and daily self-sacrifice. So, in preparation for that I like you to open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 5 I read verses 21 through 24 from the new American Standard version and then after that I want to read the same verses to you from the message first from the new American Standard, 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. And now I always appreciate the writings of Eugene Peterson specially like the way he translated this passage same verses in Ephesians 521 to 24 from the message. Out of respect for Christ be courteously reverent to one another.

Wives understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ, the husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church not but domineering, but by cherishing so just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands to search the Scriptures Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures by going to Insight world.or/studies.

Today's message is titled the most challenging of all relationships. Chuck begins with prayer.

Father, we thank you for the truth that sets us free. Thank you for relief from the things that bind us for joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.

Thank you for the family so much fun.

Thank you for the joy of grandparenting.

Thank you for the challenge and pleasure of being a mom or dad. Great idea you came up with Lord and of all things you let us have children and you gave us homes not perfect places, but places to grow and learn so that, of all things, we find ourselves at this age and stage in life. Sitting in a big gymnasium with the Bible in our lab, loving, and for some wondering where they've missed it through much of their lives. Lord, this is your word and I bow before it, and I give myself to it just is. Is as if you were saying this to me directly and I promise to take it personally thank you for your grace and mercy and peace we give from our from the bottom of our hearts, Lord, we give our praise to you as we get to know other and we say our prayers to you as we would pray to know whether we pour out our hearts to you as we would pour them out to another and we give from our wallets and purses because you own it all and you have a right to it all were learning what it means to be really generous with your work, our fears, those especially who give sacrificially remind us that you if you've never seen your children forsaken her baking bread and give us in this place, our refreshing touch authentic Christianity like Christ would be a part of. If he were here on earth.

We pray in his everybody's some sections of Scripture are more like minefield full of explosives than treasure chest full of truth and you you realize when you get into them that this is this is really controversy in light of the times in which we live, you ever saw a and an ancient map.

I mean a really old man that had sections on it that had never been explored before seen a map that old interesting when you when you come to those remote mysterious areas.

Some of the old maps I've seen show flyers fire breathing creature with big scales of the serpentine tail and the words here be dragons seen a map like that because of fear or because of imaginations. Those who have never been to those parts of the world's world think of them as full of dragons. Ephesians 522 through 69 here be dragons, you talk about explosive talk about non-political correctness. This is it. We have arrived and explain where I'm going here.

You can divide the book of Ephesians very neatly by cutting it in half. The first three chapters doctrine. The last three chapters duty. The first three chapters of our position in Christ. The last three our practice, our conduct as followers of Jesus. The first three God sovereignly work calling us to himself and placing us into the body, the church.

The last three chapters. Our walk with him in everyday life and how that works its way out in the workplace in our social life with the unsaved and in the home and with the family.

Now it's it's that section were looking at that has to do with the Coleman family that is of great interest to us right now. Having come to the to the center section of chapter 5 and beginning of verse 22 down through verse nine of chapter 6 there are three major categories three were not in a hurry through this.

Not only are we not in a hurry today were not in a hurry to get through it when Martin Luther, the 16th-century reformer came to this section in his translating of the Scriptures into German and the writing of his commentary. He called this the house stuff fell. This is the that that word means house table this to him was the household table of duties house stuff fell, and in the house stuff fell. There are three areas of relationship that these clearly husband-wife parent-child master slave husband-wife verses 22 through 33 parent-child one through four of chapter 6 master slave, 539. This is a most unfortunate chapter break you understand the chapter breaks are not inspired. The verses are inspired but not the chapter breaks nor numbering nor the first numbering understand that when the original New Testament was compiled from the various writers. The manuscripts were were full of a continuation of Greek characters: seal and the seals ran from one folder of the scroll to another to another to another without any chapter breaks over grateful the editors in the passing of time, gave us such but at times they missed it and at the risk of seeming critical of them. I am far more grateful for them. But there's a place where they missed it really the last chapter of Ephesians should begin in verse 10 of chapter 6 finally, finally, as a preacher's favorite word doesn't mean a lot, but it means we may be getting somewhere near the end, but we're not there yet and I think he comes to the last emphasis which is on the whole world of the demonic forces in the will and the armor of the Christian etc. which is chapter 6 to the very end.

And that's the last chapter, there is a context that is so terribly important that to miss it is to misrepresent everything he says in the house stuff fell. I don't want to do that. I want you to put your thinking I Want You to Take Your Pin out, and I Want You to Be Ready to Make Notes in Your Bible Are on the Folder That You Been Given so That You Won't Forget These Relationships Will Show You Little Tip on How You Can See What's Being Written. Take Your Pan and Circle of Number of Words Verse 22 Wives, Chapter 522 Wives, 25, 525 Participants Market Cir. children in chapter 6, verse one children chapter 6 verse four father's circle slaves verse five Masters verse nine. These are all literary hints that help you work your way through the chapter or through the verses in there like little subheadings.

Paul is a master at this.

Speaking to wives, wives writing to husband's husband's now addressing children. Children and want to get some slaves and masters. Just think of employees and employers benefit only some of you would say is exactly the way it is. Employees and employers will believe in that category.

Those days slaves were in the whole.

So this is all part of the house.

The that's why Luther put it all in the same category. These are the most challenging of all relationships on earth.

Husband-wife parent-child employer employee challenging full of full of the possibility of conflict and full of emotions. Some of you listening to me right now are not talking to your mate because you got an unresolved conflict your intimate life has gone down the tubes you don't relate well to each other like the look or the touch of one another because the conflicts are there and your relationship has gone south. A few of you hate your job's.

You don't have a good boss and your boss and you don't enjoy the people working for you.

You got conflicts there.

Some of you are children still living under the roof of your parents and you don't have a great relationship. So these are these are charged with with difficult to give you couple or three statements cannot do that as I thought about these verses the entire section 6. In an important context. The entire section 22 chapter 5 verse 22 through six verse 96 in a in a very important context.

You know what the context is it's the filling of the spirit. Do you notice 18, 19 and 20. In chapter 5, and including verse 21 is all one sentence. There's no. Till the end of verse 21. It starts verse 18 runs on all all on to the very end on the subject of submission. It begins with be filled with the spirit.

It's a command. It describes what happens when you are filled. You speak to one another in psalms and and you worship with one another. You are grateful for what is occurring and you are submissive to one another, it closes in verse 21. That's the context now leads me to my second statement.

All relationships depend on the same concept submission. All of the relationships depend on that context. Verse 21 be subject to one another wives submission to their husbands and to his God-given role as their leader, their head husbands must apply submission in their love for honoring and supporting their wives and treating them with enormous respect. Children must understand submission or there will be a breakdown in obedience, we obey because we submit, we don't submit we don't obey every teenager every child.

Everyone still living at home under the roof of parents needs to know what the verses. Verses 1 to 3 are saying father's verse 40 need to know and apply submission or they will provoke your children to anger, father's, we are given to demands and to perfectionism and to a critical spirit and we expect more of our children, then we should more often than not, and it takes the filling of the spirit which brings about a submissive.

That teaches us how to how to lead them graciously firmly yes, but graciously humbly people who work for others. Verse five are obedient to their bosses because they have a submissive's. Those who are bosses verse nine call here masters treat their employees well and with respect because they have a submissive spirit.

I think you get the point. Submission is the concept that flows all the way through. Think of a bottle of ink breaking at verse 21 and then kind of flooding right down through the verses 22 chapter 5 through six chapter chapter 6 verse nine flows all the way down. You missed that you missed the whole point.

Third statement the truth of this section of Scripture has been missed and misapplied religious fanatics and fools have caused immense harm using this section of Scripture to teach an unbalanced position on submission and dominance.

Domination is never, never, spirit filled leadership. It's sinful.

It's overbearing. It is exacting and unfair abuse.

That's not what the Scripture teaches. Whoever teaches that twists the passage to make it say that.

Furthermore, culture has discounting God's clear teaching and principles. There are ultra and angry feminists on the one side who have won the day there are frivolous lawsuits that have frightened us and calls us to give up ground we should never have given up both as husbands, as parents and as employers gender blending has added to the blurring of roles and responsibilities in the workplace in government and the military especially in the home and get this in the humanistic inspired attempt to address and punish degrading acts of unfair and abusive behavior. Society has gone too far in throwing the baby out with the bathwater. If you think I have a exaggerated and saying here be dragons. Let me give you little project tomorrow morning when you're having coffee with the people at work and you're sitting around the table enjoying a cup within just say yesterday.

Our pastor preached on wives being in submission to their husbands don't say anything else you know why you laughing because you know what you will hear. You go to church like that. He must be some wide-eyed fanatic that insecure little boy trying to get out and get control of police on a lot of things but an insecure little boy. I'm not one who cares desperately about the teaching of Scripture. I am and I'll go down fighting for that, to the last day of my life so many urge you to do two very difficult things aside from concentrate. Always expect you to do not ask you to do two things I want to ask you to think biblically instead of culturally I'm going to ask you to reason theologically incident humanistic piercing. I'm going to ask you to think biblically before you let your culture tell you where to stand, stay right here in the text so that you are riveted to the word of God rather than your times you will be forever relevant, but I tell you ahead of time you will be terribly out of step and misunderstood facing. That's why Jesus said to his followers.

The world will hate you. The world will hate you. It's tempting to let cultural trend dictate our personal view of marriage and the family, but how much better is Chuck Swindoll has suggested to let God's word become the guiding light in our homes.

You're listening to the first part of Chuck's message titled, the most challenging of all relationships comes from the verse by verse study through Paul's letter to the Ephesians, Chuck titled this comprehensive series becoming a people of grace. To learn more about this ministry or Chuck Swindoll. Visit us online@insightworld.org now before your closing comment from Chuck.

I'll remind you that Chuck and Cynthia Swindoll have selected a book that they believe will help you think biblically and reason theologically throughout the new year 2021 is a daily devotional called good morning Lord.

Can we talk mornings in the Swindoll home. Begin with time together throughout their marriage, Chuck and Cynthia have set aside an hour every morning, seven days a week to sip coffee talk, listen and pray their morning routine has cultivated a deep love and their relationship. And it's also the inspiration behind Chuck's 365 day devotional good morning Lord if you're looking for a meaningful way to begin your mornings throughout the new year. This devotional book from Chuck will guide you blessed to help you bring your prayer requests before God as you learn to articulate what's on your heart and bring those personal concerns before him to purchase a copy of good morning Lord go to insight.org/store or call us if you're listening in the US.

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The preceding message.

The most challenging of all relationships are one was copyrighted in 2000 2001 and 2009 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2009 by Charles R. Swindoll.

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