Submitted to Jesus Christ

“I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees, and laws’ then you will live.”

Deuteronomy 30:16

Now the things done may not be evil or improper; they in fact may be good and godly (such as reading the Bible, praying, worshiping, preaching); but if they are not undertaken in a spirit of complete reliance upon the Holy Spirit, then the flesh is the source of all. The old creation is willing to do anything-even to submit to God - if only it is permitted to live and to be active!

◼ Watchman Nee

The Meaning of Submission

Obedience means to comply with the orders or instructions of another person. Obedience has in its meaning submission. In the Greek New Testament, the English word is expressed by the word hupotasso. It literally means “to be under, to arrange under, to subordinate, to subject oneself.”5

5 Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Complete and Unabridged (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1889) p. 645.

Therefore, to submit is to place oneself under another. Gene Getz remarked of submission, “In Scripture it appears in contexts describing servanthood, humility, respect, reverence, honor, teachableness, and openness. All these for one basic purpose--obedience to Jesus Christ.”6

“One of the Greek terms for obedience in the Bible conveys the idea of positioning oneself under someone by submitting to their authority and command. ... Thus, biblical obedience to God means to hear, trust, submit and surrender to God and his Word. Most of those who claim to be Christians are such in name only. They lack a level of submission to God that is expected.

“Submitting to God's ways means to humble yourself. ... It is crucial to realize that since Christ is perfection, we fall short of God's standard everyday through sin. He is deserving of praise. Only through the grace of God are we able to be saved. Without Jesus Christ, we would get what we deserve: death. Along with humbleness, it means recognizing that it’s not all about you. Selflessness is key. It is necessary to understand that the reason why we are here isn’t for your glory but his. Therefore, who are we to say that we have the authority to determine our life? Last time I checked,

6 Gene A. Getz, Building Up One Another, (Wheaton, Il: Victor Books, 1994), p. 100.

God’s the one that is in control and created us into existence. If we didn’t have him, we wouldn’t be here in the first place.”7

“Submission to God means saying no for His purposes. Letting go of your desires may be quite difficult. Especially if both options could give you a chance to glorify God. Though it hurts now, and you may doubt His logic, temporary discomfort is okay because at the end of it all, it will be completely worth it. As he told the prophet Jeremiah when he questioned God’s calling for his life:”8

“I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Furthermore, being vulnerable is an automatic for genuine submission to the Lord. There’s no turning back. You are going to be feel fully exposed, an open book. Your heart will be examined. The temptations and sins will be put into the light. Vulnerability places you into a position where you are fully putting your life into his hands -- giving him all your burdens, anxieties,

7 Bible Study Guide. Submission and Obedience. Dr. Geoffrey V. Guns. Copyright 2019 8 Ibid. Bibles Study Guide. Guns.

and fears and trusting him with them. Besides, he is omniscient… so why are you still trying to hide?

Ultimately, it is trusting that at the end of the road, everything will be okay. It is that hope that he will someday use this to grow you spiritually into the person that God made you to be. 9

We asked Bishop Teklemariam Gezahagne, the leader of the Apostolic Church of Ethiopia, “How do you get God to answer your prayer?”

He answered, “If you ask in the flesh you will not receive it because the flesh is the enmity of God.” (He used the Scripture reference below).

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be [b]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the [c]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”10

“I beseech[a] you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your [b]reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”11

9 https://www.theodysseyonline.com/submit-to-god 10 Romans 8:1-9. NKJV. 11 Romans 12:1-2. NKJV.

CHAPTER TWO - LESSON ONE

1. Read Luke 22:39-46. What did the experience of Jesus in Gethsemane teach us about submission? ____________________________________________________________

2. What are two things that we can learn from Jesus about submitting to the will of God?

3. Read Ephesians 5:21; Galatians 5:13; Philippians 2:3. How is submission to be demonstrated among believers?

4. Why is it so difficult to practice these teachings from the New Testament regarding submission? ____________________________________________________________

5. Read Philippians 2:6-9; 2 Corinthians 8:9. What do we learn about the attitude of Jesus toward submission to God? ____________________________________________________________

6. Read Mark 8:34-39. What did Jesus teach about admission into the ranks of His disciples? ____________________________________________________________

5. Read Romans 13:1-8. What is the believer’s responsibility in the area of spiritual and secular authority?

6. What are areas of your life that you must submit to God? ___________________________________________________________