Eph 5:21 — The Fear of Christ

This morning we are about to embark on a new section in Ephesians, the section stretching from 5:21 to 6:9 in which Paul gives instructions concerning the implication of union with Christ for three authority relationships: the husband-wife relationship, the parent-child relationship, and the slave-master relationship. Before we launch into these relationships one by one, however, we need to pause and look at the introductory statement in 5:21 where Paul calls us to submit to one another in the fear of Christ.

As we mentioned previously, verse 21 should be translated as a participle subordinate to the main verb in verse 18 and parallel to the other participles in vv. 19-20 which flesh out what it means to be filled with the Spirit. Congregational singing and giving thanks in corporate worship for all the blessings that we have in Christ is one way that we experience and express the Spirit’s filling in our lives. Another way is by submitting to one another in the fear of Christ, which is then fleshed out in the subsequent paragraphs.

Thus, v. 21 serves to introduce the section 5:22 through 6:9 which deals with three specific types of authority relationships and the Christ-centered submission that ought to characterize those relationships. When wives, children, and slaves submit to those in authority over them in the fear of Christ, they are expressing the Spirit’s filling in their lives in a very tangible way. When husbands, parents, and masters exercise their authority in a Christ-centered manner, they too are expressing the Spirit’s filling.

The grammatical structure of vv. 18-21 demonstrates conclusively that being filled with the Spirit has to do with tangible and rational activities. The activities described in our text are a far cry from the typical expressions of Charismatic piety that we often see today. Corporate worship, submission to authority, and proper exercise of authority are activities that demand the concrete, volitional, and intentional use of all our renewed faculties: our minds, our hearts, and our wills. They do not just happen to us in some sort of passive way as we are overtaken and possessed by an overwhelming spiritual intoxication that transcends our normal capacity to think and act.

Notice, however, that submitting to those in authority is not simply a matter of the will. For Paul specifically adds, “submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.” With these words, Paul teaches that the Spirit-filled work of submission and exercising authority are works of faith, acts of obedience that flow from faith in Christ. I interpret the word “fear” as “faith” in keeping with the Old Testament usage of “the fear of the Lord,” which basically refers to true religion or piety. The reference to fear or reverence is secondary. The primary meaning in the Old Testament is faith in Yahweh.

So Paul adds this very important qualifier to the statement, “submitting to one another in the fear of Christ,” to make clear that he is calling us to a work that can only occur in the context of living faith in Christ. Mere external submission of will and body can be accomplished by any unbeliever. Millions of non-Christian wives, non-Christian children, and non-Christian slaves have been obedient to their husbands, parents, and masters from the beginning of human history. But this obedience and submission has nothing to do with Christ or with the Spirit. The submission to which Paul is calling the Ephesian Christians is not something that can be defined in terms of mere outward behavior. He is calling us to a submission that reflects and expresses the filling of the Spirit (v. 18), and which is directed toward Christ in an inner attitude of reverential awe (v. 21).

It is noteworthy that Paul once again connects the work of the Spirit with faith in Christ. We saw this earlier in Eph. 3:16-17. “… that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Here in our text, the order is the same, but the words are slightly different. “Being strengthened with power through the Spirit in the inner man,” is paralleled in Eph. 5:18 with the statement, “Be filled with the Spirit.” “Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith,” is parallel to Paul’s call in Eph. 5:21 to direct our submission to human authority to Christ himself in an act of faith. Although the words have been changed, the meaning is the same. The way in which we experience and express the Spirit’s empowerment and filling is by means of faith in Christ. More specifically, the act of submission to man that is really an act of faith, because the submission rendered to man is rendered ultimately, not to man, but to Christ himself.

That this is the meaning of the phrase “in the fear of Christ” is borne out by comparison with the three specific cases of submission that Paul has in view:

Verse 23: “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord”

6:1: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord”

6:5: “Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of your heart, as to Christ.”

In the case of wives and slaves, the phrase is almost identical: as to the Lord, as to Christ. The admonition to children is worded a little differently: in the Lord. The reason for this modification in the case of children has to do with the unique nature of the covenant relationship that exists between Christian parents and their children, a covenant bond that does not obtain in the husband-wife or the master-slave relationship. We’ll touch on this again when we come to that section in a couple of weeks.

Nevertheless, the point is the same. Wives, children, and masters are to submit to their husbands, parents, or masters as if they were submitting to Christ himself. Now this is a rather amazing statement! And we need to pause for a moment to think it through.

On the one hand, it might seem that the point Paul is trying to make is something like this: the authority of Christ over his subjects is absolute. Therefore, just as Christ’s authority over the church is unconditional, supreme, and comprehensive, so is the authority of husbands, parents, and masters over their subjects. If we are obligated to yield unquestioning obedience to Christ, then wives, children, and slaves are likewise obligated to yield unquestioning obedience to their human masters. This approach might seem to be supported by the exposition of the duty of wives to submit to their husbands in vv. 22-24 (read).

However, there are some serious problems with this interpretation. First, it does not work quite so well in the other two cases. While it is true that children must obey their parents in all things, without questioning, that is not Paul’s point in 6:1-4. This is made evident by the reference to the promise attached to the fifth commandment, “that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth” (v. 3). As I will demonstrate later when we come to this section, the promise of the fifth commandment is here interpreted by Paul not in literal terms, as if obedient children may expect physical longevity, and disobedient children can expect to die young. Rather, Paul is applying the literal promise of the old covenant to a spiritual blessing in the new covenant that has to do with the benefits of covenant nurture. This is evident from v. 4 where Paul describes the role of parents in “bringing up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” The discipline and instruction of Christian parents is said to be “of the Lord” in the sense that it is the discipline and instruction of Christ himself, mediated through the parents. The submission of children to their parents, then, is not unquestioning obedience to every parental command, but responsiveness to the covenant nurture of one’s parents in the recognition that such covenant nurture is the nurture of Christ himself. Therefore, the child who submits to the covenant nurture of his parents, is submitting to Christ’s own discipline and instruction. Children are to submit to their parents as if they were submitting to Christ himself, and in so doing they will obtain the promise of eternal life in the heavenly inheritance. Therefore, when Paul adds the phrase “in the Lord” to the command to children to submit to their parents, he is not attempting to define the absolute nature of that obedience, but to call children to be obedient to their parents as to Christ - in the recognition that such obedience is the means by which they receive the nurture of Christ himself resulting in their salvation.

When we look at the section dealing with slaves and masters we find that here too the issue isn’t the unquestioning obedience of the slave to his master, but the fact that the slave who submits to his master and serves him as if he were serving Christ, will be rewarded by Christ. Slaves who merely serve their masters are menpleasers, seeking the approval of man. Their obedience may be unquestioning and total, but if it is not yielded to Christ in an act of faith that transforms the human master into a representation of the divine master, then the obedience is in vain.

So these statements, “as to the Lord, in the Lord, as to Christ,” are not added in order to justify human masters exacting a perfect and unconditional obedience from us, or to increase the level of obedience beyond what it already was. That would have been unnecessary in the first place, since in the ancient Roman culture wives, children, and slaves were already expected to yield unconditional obedience, and if they did not would usually be required to by force. The added motives, “in the fear of Christ,” “as to Christ,” etc., are given rather to introduce into our service a Christological dimension that is easily hidden from our eyes by the all too human frailty of our human masters. By a stupendous act of faith, subordination to the human authority figures in our lives must be transformed by grace into a loving service and submission to Jesus Christ himself!

All of this is especially practical in those cases where the wife must submit to an unbelieving husband, or where the slave must obey a harsh and unreasonable master. But even the Christian husband and the Christian parent and the Christian slave owner are sinners. Yes, they may be redeemed and forgiven sinners, who are progressively being sanctified into the image of Christ. But they are sinners all the same, and it is never easy to submit to a fellow sinner. And even when these sinners are not abusing their authority and inflicting unjust suffering on those under their charge, which hopefully is not a common occurrence for Christian husbands, parents, and slave owners, yet by their very nature as humans they fall short of being truly worthy of our submission and obedience. Even the most godly, humble, kind, and gracious Christian husband is not worthy of the submissive obedience of his wife.

So what does Paul say to wives and children and slaves in this situation? He tells them that they must serve and obey and submit as unto the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Take every authority figure in your life, and view him not as he is in the flesh, but as if he stands in the very room of Christ. No, his sins and shortcoming are not the sins and shortcomings of Christ. But your obedience and submission to him, in spite of his sins and shortcomings, is reckoned in the sight of God as obedience and submission unto Jesus himself. Take every authority figure in your life - your father and mother, your husband, your employer, civil magistrates, teachers and professors, your pastor and your elders, your presbytery, the general assembly - take all of them and gaze upon them in Christ. Do not stop at their human visage, but penetrate by faith beyond the outward human form and see in them the very authority of Christ himself standing over you and calling you to loving submission and service to him.

How revolutionary this perspective is! How liberating!

Read 1 Cor. 7:21-22.

You are the Lord’s freedman, Paul says. You are a slave of no one but Christ. You wives, you are not enslaved to your husband, but to Christ. You slaves, who yearn to purchase your freedom from the yoke of slavery, you are already free. You are the Lord’s servant. You serve not flesh and blood, but your risen, exalted Savior who loved you and gave himself for you.

Up to this point I have focused on the meaning of “submitting to one another in the fear of Christ” for the subordinate party in the authority relationship, for the wife, the child, the slave. But Paul also applies it to the superior party. This is clear because he introduces the entire section with this verse (v. 21). Furthermore, he says “submitting to one another,” which implies a mutuality of submission. And so we see that in each of the three cases, he not only calls the subordinate party to render obedience to their human authorities as to Christ, he also calls the superior party to wield their God-given authority in the fear of Christ. Look at the text:

5:25-27 - Christ’s headship over the body is expressed in terms of his sacrificial love for her, a love that is devoted to the church’s spiritual growth and sanctification, with the ultimate eschatological goal of presenting the church to himself as a glorious bride without spot or wrinkle. The headship of Christ is also described in v. 29 in terms of nourishing and cherishing the church. Christian husbands must not fulfill their headship role as if it were an exercise of carte blanche power to do as they will with their wives. Instead, they must fear Christ, have faith in Christ, and thus see themselves and their role as an instrument by which the sacrificial love of Christ is expressed tangibly through his own headship for the purpose of her sanctification.

We see the same thing in 6:4 and 9, where Paul addresses fathers and slave masters as those who stand in the place of Christ’s own royal lordship. As you fathers bring up your children, you are mediating to your children the very instruction and admonition of Jesus Christ himself to them for their salvation. As you slave master exercise the role of master over your slaves, remember that you too have a master in heaven, to whom you will give account of your stewardship. And just as he does not show favoritism, so you too must imitate him and treat your slaves fairly.