Wednesday April 19
Social Relationships
Read Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-33; 1 Corinthians 7:12-16; and Galatians 3:27, 28.
13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to [execute] wrath upon him that doeth evil.
13:5 Wherefore [ye] must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
13:6 For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute [is due]; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing.
5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife [see] that she reverence [her] husband.
7:12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
7:13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
7:15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such [cases]: but God hath called us to peace.
7:16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save [thy] husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save [thy] wife?
3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
How does what Paul says compare to what Peter says in 1 Peter 2:11-3:7?
2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech [you] as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by [your] good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
2:13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
2:14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
2:15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
2:16 As free, and not using [your] liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.
2:17 Honour all [men]. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
2:18 Servants, [be] subject to [your] masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
2:19 For this [is] thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
2:20 For what glory [is it], if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer [for it], ye take it patiently, this [is] acceptable with God.
2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
2:23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed [himself] to him that judgeth righteously:
2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Chapter 3
3:1 Likewise, ye wives, [be] in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
3:2 While they behold your chaste conversation [coupled] with fear.
3:3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward [adorning] of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
3:4 But [let it be] the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, [even the ornament] of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
3:5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:
3:6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with [them] according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
Paul addresses some of the issues raised in 1 Peter 2:11-3:7 in several places. What he says is remarkably consistent with what is found in 1 Peter. For example, like Peter, Paul urges his readers to be subject to the “higher powers” (Rom. 13:1). Rulers are appointed by God and are a terror to evil works, not good (Rom. 13:3). Thus, a Christian should, then, “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” Rom. 13:7.
Paul also emphasizes that women who are married to non-believing husbands should live exemplary lives, and as a result their husbands may join the church (1 Cor. 7:12-16). Paul’s model of the Christian marriage is also one of mutuality. Husbands should love their wives as Christ has loved the church (Eph. 5:25). Furthermore, he suggests that slaves should obey their earthly masters as they would obey Christ (Eph. 6:5).
Paul, then, was willing to work within legally mandated cultural boundaries. He understood what could be changed about his culture and what could not. Yet, he also saw something within Christianity that would end up transforming the way society thinks about people. Just as Jesus didn’t seek to bring about any kind of political revolution in order to change the social order, neither did Peter or Paul. Change could come, instead, by the leavening influence of godly people in their society.
God understands the difficulties we face. He knows what will bring sorrow and pain to us if we challenge the present order of things. Here is an example of what we know will happen if we begin to attack the established order. The government or even common people will rise up against those who appear to be acting contrary to established order. There are some things we must stand up against, no matter what. We must resist the Sunday law. We ought to object to legalized drugs such as alcohol and other mind altering drugs that destroy lives. But, other social wrongs, we need to be very careful about. When laws are made to not work on Sunday, we ought not work on Sunday. But, we may do missionary work on Sunday and God will be pleased. Let us pray to God for spiritual wisdom, and not rely upon our human reasoning which is foolishness. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 14:12.
Read Galatians 3:27-29.
3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
3:29 And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Though clearly it is a theological statement, what powerful social implications might this text have regarding how Christians are to relate to one another because of what Jesus has done for them?
Yes, it is a theological statement, but not as some interpret it. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. Role distinctions are not done away with when interpreted correctly. There are still slaves, there are still male and females, there are still Jews and Greeks. We do not do away with what is written by this statement. They must all be reconciled without doing away with truth. What is God saying then, in these verses? Do women still submit to their husbands who are in Christ? If so, then we have not done away with the role of women as some teach. We are all "priests" but, this does not mean all are pastors or the office of pastor is gone.
Blindness has come upon many in God's church. Let a scholar among us explain the meaning of these verses in Galatians chapter three.