And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21
It is one thing to claim to be a follower of Christ. It is entirely different to act like a follower of Christ. You see, many can claim to follow Jesus and even write about their faith on social media, but their actions are what demonstrate their faith to the watching world. For example, if we are followers of Christ, we will treat each other differently because of Christ and our relationships with Him. For those who are married, this is particularly true of the way you treat your spouse.
The apostle Paul taught readers that Christ followers are to be different than the rest of the world, particularly in the way they treat each other in Ephesians 5. In this passage of Scripture, he wrote, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (verse 21). When looking at this verse, many people often focus on the command in this passage of Scripture: “Submit to one another” (verse 21). We will talk about this command, which means to put the interests of others above our own interests, in more depth later in our Bible study this week. Today, Let’s focus on the latter part of this verse, which explains why we are called to submit to each other and put each other’s interests above our own. Paul calls us to submit to each other “out of reverence for Christ” (verse 21). In other words, because we follow and respect Him, we must treat each other differently. Because of who Christ is and what He has done for us, we must live a lifestyle of submission.
When Christ changes our lives, our lives are completely different. One of the things that happens is that we treat people even better than ourselves. All of this is done as we remember Jesus’ example, who sacrificed His very life in order to rescue you, me, and the rest of the world from sin. When we remember His example, we cannot help but serve and love the people around us in the same sacrificial way that Jesus served and loved.
Take some time to reflect on the example Jesus set for you. Specifically, think about the way He loved, served, and sacrificed for you. When you are finished, write out a prayer of thanksgiving. Thank Jesus for what He has done, and ask Him to help you as you seek to follow His example and treat people the same way that He did while He was on earth.
Ephesians 5:21-27
21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. 24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.
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