Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Submission

Remove All Permission

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 1 Peter 3:1-2

In this context be subject is hypotássō – A Greek military term meaning “to arrange troop divisions in a military fashion under the command of a leader”. In non-military use, it was “a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden”.

Peter continues his emphasis and exhortation on submission from chapter two where we are told to submit to authority and “honor” the king even if the King is Nero. If that wasn’t unfair enough slaves were given a similar instruction to submit to their masters, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. That might seem confusing in a world that teaches us to fight for our rights and subdue evil. However, the purpose of submission is not to champion evil but to defeat it. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Vs. 15 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. Vs. 18

As we previously learned in the book of Ephesians, the first and most profound meaning of marriage between a man and a woman is God’s mysterious representation of Jesus’ relationship with His bride, the church. Eph 5:32  It follows that a healthy marriage is rooted in the same principles required for a relationship with Jesus. The first and most foundational practice is found in Mat 16:24-25.

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his lifewill lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Deny is aparnéomai – to utterly, disown, abstain, to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with someone, to forget one‘s self, and lose sight of one‘s self and one‘s own interests.

“Deny self” is a no-brainer if The Song of Songs is your template and script for marriage. In my case, I was and still am mesmerized by The Most Wonderful –  Most Incredible Woman on the planet apart from whom I have zero desire to live. 

“Deny self” sounds scary if we remain self-centered. This is especially true within the context of everything contemporary culture teaches. The world tells us to “find yourself!”, “follow your dreams!”, “fight for your rights!” Jesus says,  

“Lose them all!”

It is in losing that we gain

When a man and woman are joined together in Holy Matrimony it is representative of Christ’s marriage to His bride the church. The wife submits to her husband and the husband gives himself up for his bride. The husband stands in direct submission to God. The wife submits to and through her husband. Eph 5:22-33 This is not a position of inferiority for the wife. Rather it is one of tremendous honor and a model for the divine alignment established by God. Gen 2:18-25 1 Cor 11:1-3 

How wonderful and valuable is the bride for whom the groom would so gladly give his life?

So far we have been speaking of healthy marriages. But 1 Peter 3 begins with submission in an unhealthy one.

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word…

While people often generalize, minimize, rationalize, and justify their behavior, abuse in some form results when one party refuses to submit according to the word of God. Mind you, abuse is a continuum. It ranges from neglect to homicide. Once again Peter exhorts us to apply submission as a spiritual weapon.

that they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives when they see your respectful and pure conduct.

When one spouse fails to submit to God, it produces resentment and unforgiveness in the other. Wherever there is unforgiveness a Positive Feedback Loop is formed. Things get progressively worse until one or both parties go their own way or they kill each other. The conflict we see played out in marriages is the same conflict we see in God’s family.

I’m right! We are right!

Anyone who disagrees is wrong and by extension, evil.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Mat 6:14-15

You are not forgiven unless you forgive!

Peter’s illustration of submission as a spiritual weapon that began in 1 Peter 2:13-25 continues in Chapter 3. The only difference is that most of us have never been slaves or faced persecution like believers did under Nero. But marriage is relevant to almost everyone. Peter’s exhortation for women to submit is the antithesis of everything Westerners have been taught for at least fifty years. The idea of submission especially by those labeled as oppressed by society at large is a stumbling block for unbelievers.

But Jesus is calling us higher by asking us to go lower still.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

May they prosper who love you. Psalms 122:6

Recently Cathy and I were discussing the exhortation to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. “Why Jerusalem?” We asked.

“Why not all of Israel?”

Jerusalem is from Jeru –possession and Salem – peace. Hence Jerulselum means possession of peace. Salem is thought to be Jerusalem in Psalm 76:2. Melchizedek was the King of Salem. Heb 7 Long story short, Jerusalem was on the map and governed by Melchizedek more than two thousand years before Jesus was born. Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah known as the Temple Mount and the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque today. Control of this sacred site has changed hands between Jews, Romans, Muslims, and Christians since 831 BC when King Solomon built his Temple. As we discussed in Why Israel? God’s ultimate desire is that none would perish. 1 Pet 3:9. What that means in practice includes the reconciliation of Abraham’s family through the descendants of Issac and Ishmael. Isaiah 19.

At this moment the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael continue to fight. Jerusalem and especially Mount Moriah represent the question of who is the child of the promise versus the child of the flesh. Paul puts this argument to rest in Romans 3. Of course, Christians are the only ones who validate the words of Paul.

The question is not if we should fight back but how we should fight?

Hence we are called to submit to suffering with Jesus. Rom 8:17. Suffering requires endurance. 2 Tim 2:12 But that suffering must be for doing good. 1 Peter 2:20 We are called to reign with Jesus by suffering for righteousness sake. 1 Pet 3:18-22

When I look at so much of the church today I see an extension of our society at large. They want blessings for the sake of their own comfort. 2 Tim 3:1-7 This is further evidenced by the fear and resentment that are sparked by statements like this. At the end of the day, I see an ingenious strategy of the devil at work. It is the same root of the conflict theory of Karl Marx where the oppressed are exhorted to fight their oppressors. Those who identify as oppressed must fight. Given that marriage between a man and a woman is the foundation of society, it makes sense that the enemy would attack it first. Husbands invariably lose any time wives fight them. I know what some are thinking. “What if he beats her up?” The husband only loses more if he refuses to give himself up and wins a fight with his wife. Hence Peter and Paul address submission as our method for victory. So many things would fall into place if we would grasp the eternal significance of our marriages and our roles as husbands and wives. Eph 5:22-33, Eph 3:10

How do we begin?

The first step is to be brutally honest with ourselves. Examine the myriad ways that we argue and fight, rationalize, and justify rebellion in our hearts. Then remove all permission that we have given ourselves to do so. That’s a hard call for those of us who have been raised in a nation birthed out of rebellion framed as righteousness.

Chew on that.

May we all embrace. Psalm 119:23-24

MARANATHA

Brian and Cathy Gray Devotional

A Brief Convictional

Perhaps I would be more confused if I didn’t understand the deconstructive nature of the world view in which we are immersed. I do. I nearly succumbed to its current form when personal responsibility and resilience seemed beyond my grasp and I yearned for a scapegoat. 

This world view goes by many aliases and has its own contemporary vocabulary yet it is anything but new. Its author is offense.  Rebellions are its children.

Individuality is diluted via the assignment of a group designation. These designations usually end in “ist”,” ism”, “i” “an” um”, and “phobic”. “Er,” and “al” while less malignant are common too. Disagreement on any grounds always results in objectification and categorization for the purpose of immediate or future cancellation. Those who disagree are viewed as assailants with whom every discussion is a fight. Conformity to the consensus regarding justice is love. Those deemed unloving are identified and vilified. These are the haters who must be nullified and destroyed.  Pseudo intellectual mockery is the first line of attack then ad hominem assassination and censorship. Truth is subjective and the end always justifies the means. “Crybullying” and “lawfare” are the last resort before mob violence and murder.

This worldview has and does reshape culture such that identity becomes rooted in the fear of man and validation from peers instead of God and honoring the Imago Dei. Individual core beliefs, actions, accomplishments, and contributions to society are irrelevant especially if one’s ancestors ever thought or behaved in a way that opposes the current consensus. Truth requires they be erased from the annals of history.  Loving people never oppose truth. 

Personal validation is synonymous with social capital. Social capital is required to become an influencer.  Influencers have power. Power is established by the number of “intersectional” victim groups to which one can claim membership and or one’s demonstrated participation in the oppression of oppressors.  “Oppressor” is anyone who questions the group consensus. The consensus is established by those with power. 

Allies a.ka. “good people”  are those who demonstrate their conformity through repeated virtue signaling to peers and to those with power. This is the deepest expression of the aforementioned love.  Moral, mental, and emotional atrophy is its fruit.  Cultural decay and collapse soon follows. Historically speaking there have always been stronger, more resilient, and often a more violent cultures that seize the opportunity to rape, pillage, and plunder the remaining moral rot and weakness. Every ethnos, ideology, and culture has eventually succumbed to it.

Hence Isaiah wrote and Paul quoted, 

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

While I am certain that many will identify a particular person or group to which the above applies, every last one of us is complicit in our own demise. Therefore don’t look at your neighbor or the one whom you so despise. 

Look in the mirror and take the plank out of your eye. 

Maybe bear this in mind as the coming days and years unfold and any sense of personal autonomy and power erodes. The grace of God is available to all. Yet it is based on His conditions, not ours.  And while many will cry “no fair!” and “foul!”,  God judges nations. Not to punish or condemn the individuals within.  That day will come soon enough. It will be the day of the Lord. God judges nations to bring nations to their knees. He lets them remain until a collective cry is heard.

“Oh, what a wretched people we are! Who will save us from this body of death?”

People only eat when they are hungry.

Maranatha!

Brian and Cathy Gray Devotional

Our True Condition

One thing that blocks knowledge and understanding is the narcissistic tendency among fallen humans to interpret the bible as being about them personally.  While it most definitely was written for us, it was not written to, or about us.  That can be a hard sell in the church of the eternal self.

Luke 15 contains three parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. People tend to view each parable separately and then make all sorts of inferences, usually about themselves. Contemporary culture and songs like Reckless Love that glorify our self-assigned, inherent value in God’s eyes along with its adoption as a false biblical justification for social uprisings have made the parable of the Lost Sheep a recent favorite.

The cross is the only complete and genuine example of reckless love and it serves as proof that absolutely all lives matter to God. However, Luke 15 is not about individual significance or social justice.

In the parable of the lost sheep, the Shepard loses one out of ninety-nine sheep which amounts to one percent of his wealth. In the parable of the lost coin, the woman loses ten percent. Jesus clarifies that the lost sheep and the found coin both represent a sinner who repents, over whom Heaven rejoices.  The earthly value is irrelevant as God rejoices equally over one percent as He does over ten.

In the parable of the prodigal son the father loses fifty percent of his wealth. In this case, his lazy, impatient, obstinate, disrespectful, ungrateful, and entitled son gets in his face and demands to receive what he deserves before his father dies. Long story short, his eventual repentance is the fruit of his receiving exactly what he deserves.

The point of all three parables is found in the character of the eldest son who sees himself as righteous and good and therefore more deserving of a fatted calf than his brother. The petty and carnally minded elder brother has zero understanding of his father’s heart let alone what is valuable. His twisted perception of righteousness is nothing more than the fruit of his own narcissism.

Luke 15 is a declaration and celebration of the value and importance of repentance. Viewing ourselves, as lost sheep, lost coins, or prodigal sons amidst our salvation and abundant blessings for which we all tend to be ungrateful at times only confirms our true condition as spoiled, self-righteous, and entitled children.

As for those who view the Parable of the Lost Sheep as representing an oppressed people group on whose behalf, they are divinely appointed to advocate and thereby cast themselves in the role of Shepard or Messiah; these are among the lost sheep whose repentance God desires. Of course, narcissism is blinding and Jesus warned there would be wolves in sheep’s clothing.

It would behoove all of us and especially those consumed with God’s love for themselves and those obsessed with social justice to remember that we are all born deserving absolutely nothing but death, and eternal torment in Hell. Our purpose on earth is to become righteous. Our only righteousness is the righteousness of Christ. Romans 3 Our only hope is in Christ and Him Crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2 And while justice is getting what one deserves, and mercy is not getting it; grace means getting what we do not deserve.  

Our receiving it is contingent upon our recognition of our true condition.