Back in the day, I attended Littlestown Chapel – Outreach for Christ in Littlestown, PA. (Funny Li’l Tidbit: They’re still using the general website design I put together all those years ago.) I found out a few weeks ago that their senior pastor Scott Morgan has a blog, so I added the blog’s feed to Sage and I check it every now and again.His latest post (dated Jan. 31st) is titled “Marriage and the ‘S’ Word” and deals with Ephesians 5-6. It’s a prety decent post, and I basically agree with Mr. Morgan’s conclusions, but I take exception with the whole “mutual submission” thing.

“This verse stands at the head of a long exposition by Paul on Spirit-directed family life (Ephesians 5:22-6:4).”

First off (and hopefully this is the most nit-picky I’ll get in this post), slaves were part of the family back then, too, so I’d say it’s safe to assume that Paul’s still expounding on Ephesians 5:21 until he reaches 6:9. So that was a typo, right?

“Traditionally, preachers told only wives that they had to submit to their husbands. If I understand the relationship between verse 21 and those following, then all Christians are to submit to one another—not just the wives, but also husbands, children, and parents.”

Just as a father does not submit to his child in the same manner in which the child is to submit to the father (and likewise with slaves and their masters), it seems a bit dishonest to imply that husbands are to submit to their wives as wives are called to submit to their husbands.

Which you didn’t, of course. You said, “How does a Christian husband submit to his wife and children? By refusing to sit and watch passively, and by taking responsibility for their welfare both physically and spiritually.”

However, I would like to suggest that this is in no way submitting to the wife and children in question. Here’s Crosswalk.com’s NT Lexicon entry for the word hupotasso (translated “submit”):

1. to arrange under, to subordinate
2. to subject, put in subjection
3. to subject one’s self, obey
4. to submit to one’s control
5. to yield to one’s admonition or advice
6. to obey, be subject

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.”

So this is quite literally a call for Christians to “fall in.” Basically what we’re being told is to get in line—to willingly position ourselves in a proper relationship to one another—out of reverence for Christ. The wife, child and slave are not the husband’s, father’s or master’s commanding officers, so he cannot “fall in under them” as the word implies when speaking of “mutual submission.” To hupotasso to someone under your command, according to the definitions above, is entirely nonsensical. OTOH, to hupotasso in relation to one another makes perfect sense. That is to say, Paul is calling all Christians to submit to God’s defined order of things. Thus, we are being called not to “submit to one another” per se, but to take our God-ordained places in relation to one another.

What is noteworthy here is not that Paul is commanding “mutual hupotasso,” which is a silly notion. No, what is noteworthy is what is not said to wives. Contrast the command in v.22 for wives to “fall in line” with the commands for children and slaves: referring to Crosswalk.com’s lexicon again, this is what hupakouo (translated “obey”) means:

1. to listen, to harken
   of one who on the knock at the door comes to listen who it is, (the duty of a porter)
2. to harken to a command
   to obey, be obedient to, submit to

Children (and slaves) are told to hang on their father’s (and master’s) every word, and to obey immediately and completely. Wives, however, are given a far less “strict” command. They are simply told to accept their “proper position” with regard to their husbands, allowing their husbands to oversee their Spiritual growth.

While fathers and slavemasters are first warned against harshness (perhaps because of the potential for abuse that arises when an Apostle tells someone to hupakouo without stipulation), Paul begins his instruction to husbands with a positive command: “love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, …that she might be holy and without blemish.” Husbands literally have a sacred duty to husband their wives; that is, they are to nurture their wives not only (or even primarily) physically, but far moreso Spiritually—that is, with an eye toward their sanctification and ultimate conformity to Christ.

Speaking of “mutual submission” misses the point. Paul isn’t saying, “can’t we all just get along?” He’s giving marching orders to an army that’s about to see battle. They don’t just need “the whole armor of God [to] be able to stand against the schemes of the devil,” (6:11) they also need to learn to fight him like a well-trained unit. That’s why he says “Finally…” in 6:10: he’s not ending the letter, he’s ending the application portion he began way back in 4:17: “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.”

The Christian life is a war, and we need a sober, Spirit-filled, full-on pursuit of Jesus Christ if we’re going toexperience victory. That means we need to drop our petty squabbles, trying to do our own thing, demanding our “rights” selfishly pulling rank on those under our leadership. Rather, we must together “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” — Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

I spend too much time complaining and whining, and talking about how I know so much better than certain others. I need to knock it off, because it’s arrogant, judgmental, and downright annoying when people do that. Sure, a man needs to point out when someone’s leading people astray — but people stop listening when that’s all you do, and then what’s the point? Besides, if others’ foul-ups are the only foul-ups you talk about, it’s a sign that you may think yourself above reproach… and that’s just dumb.

So I’m on a mission now! For the rest of this month (as a trial run of sorts), I’ll be talking about things in two specific ways: how I’m screwing up, and how others are doing well. (Emphasis will be on the latter, both because there’s more people to choose from and because I still don’t like talking about my own foibles.)

How about you? Is there anything (anything besides the typical SPAMvertisements, of course) that you would commend to me and the others here? Any book that’s wowed you? Any article or sermon that’s challenged you? Any person in your life who’s a model of selfless service? Go ahead and share!

And being found in human form, [Jesus] humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Codepoke started a carnival-like Bible study on this passage, and when I saw it in Sage, I completely missed the fact that it was on my current “favorite passage.” I’ve been chewing on these two verses (especially verse 13) for over a year now. So now that I finally realized it (thanks to a gentle reminder by Codepoke), I figured I’d double-back and share my thoughts. Continue reading →

This is a direct quote from Exodus 29:27 in ESV.org’s online ESV Bible:

“And you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the priests’ portion that is contributed from the ram of ordination, from what was Aaron’s and his sons.”

Now, at the risk of being too nit-picky about grammar rules, “from what was Aaron’s and his sons” must mean, “from Aaron’s property, and also from his sons [bodies].” The correct phrasing would be “from what was Aaron’s and his sons’.” Shoot, even “sons’s” is acceptable, depending on who your English teacher was. (Unless the Hebrew states that the wave offering could have been the breast of a Levitical priest, I think the ESV is in error here.)

Not that one missing apostrophe marks the end of the world or anything, but if I could catch this during a light perusal, how many other errors are going undetected? There have already been at least four revisions made to the ESV since it hit the shelves, but does anyone know how major they are? How would we ever know?

Here’s the kicker: I e-mailed Crossway about this almost three years ago. In the meantime, how many copies of the ESV have been sold with at least one known error?

Jots and tittles… jots and tittles…