Trust and Submit

Ah... how are things. I have had some fun, some quiet times away from the computer. I used to struggle with have QTs away from the computer and now it is... easier. And that is nice.
1st Corinthians 16:12-18
Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.

You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers, to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it. I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.

I wanted to point out that everything should be done in love. EVERYTHING. So, when I go to church, it is in love. When I go to the grocery store, it is in love. When I go to work, it is in love. Now, the reality is, it doesn't feel that way. I might go to work and HATE my job. But God blessed me with the job, a source of income to support my family.

And the idea is to submit to doing things in love, such as "devoting myself to the service of the saints". Now, I have studied out what a saint is... in the Catholic world, it is a person who is in stained glass at the top of the church... and you can pray to those saints, according to Catholism. However, the Bible says nothing of the thing, so I would suggest in not doing such actions. A saint is a disciple. A saint is a follower of Christ. And I think one thing to understand is get a definition of "follower" and "devoted"... because without a true understanding of these words, you can't get a true understanding of the things in question.

Follower (noun):

• One that imitates or copies another.
• A servant; a subordinate.
• A person who follows another in regard to his or her ideas or belief; disciple or adherent.
• A person who accepts the leadership of another.

Disciple (noun):

• Someone who believes and helps to spread the doctrine of another.
• Teachable; easy to teach; docible.
• Disposed to be taught; tractable; easily managed.

Devoted (adj.):

• Zealous or ardent in attachment, loyalty, or affection.
• Faithful, constant, loyal.
• To give or apply (one's time, attention, or self) entirely to a particular activity, pursuit, cause, or person.

So to be devoted to following Christ and submitting myself to serve others... well, that would mean that I set myself apart and become loyal to imitating Christ. And by imitating Christ, I have to submit to whatever the Bible has to say. And should I do this, I would be serving others. I would be serving others to constantly, faithfully, and with a zeal and affection. Are you doing this? It's a tough idea, isn't it.

Well, we gave special yesterday. It was the second time that we gave special at the time specified. We also did it last year, if I am not mistaken. What I do know is that it is a great feeling to be able to give like that. I don't think I can really put down words that capture the feeling, but there is a joy and gladness in there that you just have to experience to understand. Anyway, Johnny Out.

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Sweet Surrender

Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

This is really what the study is about. Obey one another out of a healthy fear for God. This scripture is going to be the staple scripture at the beginning from each study from now on.

Genesis 16:1-10
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her."

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me."

"Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?"

"I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.

Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."

Submit: ‛ânâh (pronounced: aw-naw'):

• The idea of looking down or browbeating; to depress literally or figuratively, transitively or intransitively (in various applications): abase self, afflict (affliction, self), answer, chasten self, deal hardly with, defile, exercise, force, gentleness, humble (self), hurt, ravish, sing, speak, submit self, weaken.

Now, this is interesting. Submit in the OT means to submit self... and humble self. "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." And these other things look like they could fit in there to... but it would just be weird for God to say "exercise her or weaken her", it just sounds weird. This is only the third day and I don't remember if I did a dictionary definition.

I looked and I haven't.

Submit (verb):

• To give over or yield to the power or authority of another (often used reflexively).
• To subject to some kind of treatment or influence.
• To present for the approval, consideration, or decision of another or others.
• To state or urge with deference; suggest or propose (usually fol. by a clause).
• To yield oneself to the power or authority of another.
• To allow oneself to be subjected to some kind of treatment.
• To defer to another's judgment, opinion, decision, etc.

And when you look at this definition... it says so many things. At least a whole lot of stuff comes to mind, since I am to submit myself to God. I am to submit myself to Christ.

I will put together some thoughts on all of this... this is GREAT! Anyway, Johnny Out.

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Submit or Obey

Ephesians 5:15-33

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

OK, so the word submit in this passage (all of them) happens to be the same submit in the passage in James from yesterday's study. So, verse 21 can look something like this: OBEY one another out of fear for God. Now, just as the original translation of the NIV above and the JRV in this paragraph, this can be taken out of context and run with in such a way that there is... well, let's just put it this way, you can read a scripture and respond with a humble heart and with a prideful heart. The later can manipulate it to do the evil things they want to do, whereas the humble one will use it to correct his life. Which one am I? Well, I have used this passage to do harm and to do good. And things always tend to be so much better when I do the later. You see, in verse 22, you can use that verse to man-handle your wife. I am not talking about abuse, but I can see how it can be turned around into that. But, it can be used to "stiffle" the voice of the woman. It would look something like, "You better submit!" and you can certainly expound on it from there... but verse 21 says to submit to each other. So, the guy need s to submit, as well. Are we submitting to our spouse, because we love them? How about loving God? Would our spouse say that we love God by our actions of how we treat our spouse? Tough questions.

Well, I'm over 72%... Now, I should start eyeballing 73%. Johnny Out.

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Submitting a Portfolio

OK, so I've been studying away from the computer. Shame on me... right?
James 4:1-12

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

Now, the first thing in mind is to first find out what the Greek word "submit" means here.

And now my e-Sword is playing games with me. I can't access Gills or the BDB commentary. So, here's the Strongs...

Submit: hupotassō (pronounced: hoop-ot-as'-so):

• To subordinate; reflexively to obey: - be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto, (be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto.

So, obey God. That is a basic thing to understand, hard thing to do.

Resist: anthistēmi (pronounced: anth-is'-tay-mee)

• To stand against, that is, oppose: - resist, withstand.

And with all this information... I am going to continue this tomorrow.

I have missed one day over the last week. I finish the month missing April 1st and the 28th... not too bad, I guess. Johnny Out.

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