Out of Reverence for Christ!

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” – Ephesians 5:21 NIV

The reason for submitting one another is that we are the members of Christ. (Romans 12:4-5) The word of God makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13:

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

                                                                                                  

Since Romans 12:4-5 states: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others,” we ought to take care of others rather than ourselves, especially among believers in Christ, as Philippians 2:3-4 states: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” We can see the reason for these in John 1:12-13:

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

In other words, every believer in Christ is considered as part of the family of God, even though we do not share same natural blood. This is because we share the same Spirit, just like 1 Corinthians 12:13 states, if we are born again through the Spirit of God. 

When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

Therefore, if we know that we are spiritually saved and that we are heirs of eternal life, and since Titus 3:8 states: “This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone”—we have a great commission from Jesus Christ:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Hence, we should be ambassadors of Christ in everywhere we go, even if we have to suffer for “we know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19) This is why Apostle Paul declares: “Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people.” (Colossians 1:24-26)

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

For you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20)

           

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. (Galatians 6:7-10)

When I was writing this devotional, I was reminded of PIF Nicaragua Team of 2015. This is because my New York Pastor, Timothy Harris wrote his weekly devotional about them. He wrote:

What always amazes me as I take missions trips with teams such as this is, how God brings together people from such various backgrounds, with such different personalities, and with such differing abilities, and creates out of them just the right team for the moment… I’m once again reminded that this is exactly the way the body of Christ is supposed to function, both on the mission field as well as at home in our local churches.

I was blessed at reading pastor’s devotional. This is because I sense that every member of the Nicaragua Team of 2015 was applying the verse of Ephesians 5:21 - “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ,” in a real situation. Overall, I agree with Pastor Tim’s statement:

If we will devote ourselves to God and to one another, God will take each person, regardless of their background, personality, and abilities, and knit us together to form a team—a team that has the potential to bring so much blessing to one another, to our world, and to God!