And the Spirit makes it possible to submit humbly to one another out of respect for the Anointed. (Ephesians 5:21 The Voice)
In Hebrews 6:1, we read, "So let’s push on toward a more perfect understanding and move beyond just the basic teachings of the Anointed One." As noted in Hebrews 6:1, many Christians make Christianity about the lesser teachings in the Bible because of our doctrinal shallowness. We lack depth, spiritual depth therefore we want to keep talking about the basics of the faith. Yet, when we walk by the Spirit and are filled by the Spirit, we will be concerned with that which concerns God.
Our text today makes it clear that humility, submission, and respect are high on God's list of what is important. The reason these are so important to God is that these qualities provide the rebar for every relationship we have, including our relationship with Him. The remainder of Ephesians bears this out, for Paul talks about our relationships with others beginning with our spouse and ending with our relationship with the Lord Himself.
Despite the fact that the word "submit" is mentioned before the word "humbly" in this verse, we will not be submissive with humility. "God opposes the proud but He gives grace to the humble," we are told in James 4:6. Pride is the opposite of humility and it inaugurated sin.
Now we come to the second word, 'submit.' Paul uses the Greek word "hupotasso" which is an old military term for lining up under our commanding officer. Hupotasso carries the idea of knowing our commanding officer and following His lead. The Lord Jesus is the ultimate example of humility. He freely gave Himself up in every situation so that Father’s will could be done and God could be glorified through His life.
The problem, however, is that the unregenerate man has an incorrect idea of what gives a person power, and how that power should be used. Over and over in the Gospels the disciples of Jesus argued about who would be the greatest in His kingdom. Each of them thought they had earned power, position and prestige with Jesus.
But Jesus said to them, “You have it all backwards. The kings and rulers of this world seek the greatest positions of power and importance. But it is not this way in My Kingdom. In My Kingdom, the greatest are those who serve.” Greatness in God's eyes begins with submitting oneself to Him and then serving people.
In today's text, Paul writes that we should submit to one another. The Lord Jesus came to be a servant, but about half of His ministry was spent standing up to those who were abusing their power. Twice, He cleansed the temple, He rebuked the religious leaders for their hypocrisy. As the Lord Jesus modeled, being submissive to one another does not include being submissive to those who are working against the will of God.
Our final term under consideration in today's text is the word respect, "respect for the Anointed." The word Anointed is referring to the Lord Jesus Himself. The anointing came upon the Lord Jesus at His baptism as He humbly submitted Himself to the will of the Father. This act of submission led John the Baptist to conclude, "more of Him and less of me."
The Holy Spirit lives to point us to the Anointed One, the Lord Jesus Himself. The Holy Spirit, one could say, is the shy person of the Trinity. He does not draw attention to Himself. He always points us to the Servant of all, the Lord Jesus Himself. He is the Servant Leader, from whom all of us learn to serve. He is the Suffering Servant of Isaiah who pours out his life unto death and is numbered with the transgressors (Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12). He is the Humble Servant who washes the dirty feet (and souls) of his disciples (John 13:4-17). He is the Son of Man who does not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
