â...as to the Lord and not to Man...â
“...as to the Lord and not to Man...” Date: February 13, 2011 Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:22-6:9 Introduction: What difference would it make in our lives if we really lived by the words in the title of this message, words taken from Ephesians 6:7 – “as to the Lord and not to Man”? [Illustration of Charles Simeon from John Piper] Simeon’s life was marked by the fact that he lived “as to the Lord and not to Man.” What I want us to see this morning is that this key concept applies not only to this particular context in Paul, where he is dealing with slaves and their masters, but to the whole of the Christian life. It is, in fact, the controlling principle of a Christian worldview. It is more specific than if it had said: “as to God and not to man.” When Paul says “as to the Lord and not to man,” he is referring directly to Jesus – Colossians 3:23-24 – 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Do you remember from last week the series of affirmations Paul makes about our unity – Eph 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Look with me at Ephesians 5:15ff. Two emphases, two central commands: 1) vss 15-17 – 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 2) vs 18ff – 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with [or by] the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Paul is dealing with life lived by the Spirit which is characterized by godly wisdom, understanding what the will of the Lord is. And he concludes with 4 participles following he command to be filled with or by the Spirit – – 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, – singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart – 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ 21 – submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
46~As to the Lord and not to Man, page 2
That last statement introduces the rest of the text through 6:9 dealing with husband/wife, parent/child, and slave/master relationships. You can’t tell it as easily in the English text. But in the Greek it is clearer, for in verse 22 there is no verb “submit” – it picks it up from verse 21 . . . Then at 6:1 and 6:5, because they are so far away from the original “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ,” Paul uses the command form of the verb, the imperative. It is understood in 5:22, but was unexpressed, just carrying over from vs 21. Now what I want you to see is this: the phrase “as to the Lord and not to man” is the controlling principle of a Christian worldview. Paul uses it specifically in 6:5-9 in the context of slaves and masters. But the principle is much broader. It governs all of the Christian life, and it has specific applications like this one to the servant/master, or employee/employer, or subordinate/to officer relationships. But when you look at the context, you realize that it runs throughout this entire text based on 5:18 & 21 – life by the Spirit involves living in “reverence for Christ.” Now, to put that another way is this: we are to have a passion for the preeminence of Christ in all of life. So let me illustrate my point throughout this passage, a passage we’ll soon come back to when I begin a series on Marriage and Family . . . I.
The governing principle of the Christian Life can be stated as living “as to the Lord and not to man” (from Ephesians 6:7) – Ephesians 5:21-6:9 A.
Paul first addresses the wives in 5:22-24 . . . But notice the controlling principle in vs 24: “Now as the church (that includes you and me) submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.” What the wife is supposed to do within the marriage is what all of us are supposed to do unto Christ – as the Church submits to Christ. When you study the word “submit,” it always means to be under the authority or power of something. It does not imply “absolute submission in every case, as for example to governing authorities to whom we are told we are to submit. The apostles themselves declared to those governing authorities who commanded them to not preach the gospel: We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). Only God, whether Father, Son, or Holy Spirit, can claim our absolute submission.
46~As to the Lord and not to Man, page 3
B.
But then, precisely because we DO submit to Christ, not only are wives to submit to their husbands, but husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church; children are to obey their parents in the Lord; fathers are not to provoke their children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord; slaves (or employees, or those lower in military command) are to obey their earthly masters; and masters are to treat those under their authority as knowing that they have the same Master in heaven (6:9). The preeminence of Christ in our lives is to be expressed in every area of life. So throughout this passage, and indeed, throughout all of Ephesians 4-6, this principle governs all of life – life is to be lived “as to the Lord and not to man” – neither to other men, nor to ourselves.
II.
So what does a Christian Worldview look like – to live all of life “as to the Lord and not to man”? A.
Power Point Overview ending with Christ as the center of life in every area
[Show PowerPoints] B.
If we are followers of Christ, we are to seek to live worthy of our calling to be one new redeemed humanity, being re-created to reflect the image of our God as seen in Christ. So how do we live in a manner worthy of this calling in all of life? What does that mean? 1.
First, we must realize that the Church’s task is not co-extensive with the task of this one new redeemed humanity of which we are a part. a.
The Church has a mandate from her Lord to disciple the nations. That does NOT mean that it is the responsibility of the Church as an organization to Christianize the nations – i.e., to establish Christian political parties and universities and business ventures and arts organizations, and news media, etc.
46~As to the Lord and not to Man, page 4
b.
However, Christians, as members of Christ’s Kingdom, are to be engaged in all areas of life. Christians may band together to form a political party, or an organization devoted to developing the arts, or schools or universities that teach from a Christian world-and-life viewpoint, etc. But they do so as Christians with other Christians, NOT as the Church itself – i.e., the Church as an organization. The Church is not called to be a jack-of-all-trades. It is not called to do everything that Christians are to do – Christians seeking to be faithful to the Lord in all of life. The Church is to make disciples, and to equip them with the foundational principles and teachings that they are to carry forth into the world and seek to apply as salt and light in any and every area of life.
2.
This is where Paul’s use of the phrase “as to the Lord and not to man” is so important. Paul was telling Christian slaves and masters how they were to live life in the marketplace. Paul didn’t lay down detailed instructions for how soldiers are to carry out their task, or government officials to exercise their authority. He gave principles that were applicable to those areas. It was the Christians themselves who were to work those out fully as those who live “as to the Lord and not to man.” So how do we work that out? a.
One must first begin with the concept that all of life is to be lived “as to the Lord and not to man” – to develop a passion for the preeminence of Christ in all of life, to uncompartmentalize our lives.
b.
We must devote ourselves to learning God’s word well – to let he word of Christ dwell in us richly, as Paul puts it in Col 3:16. We are to learn the truth as it is in Jesus – Eph 4:21.
c.
The Scripture does not address every area of life specifically, but it addresses principles applicable to all areas of life. It is a challenging task to learn to apply those to all of life. But there are Christians writing about that sort of thing, studying how to apply Christian
46~As to the Lord and not to Man, page 5
principles in all areas of life. So we need to be readers. Conclusion: Let me make several brief applications: 1)
For children and young people – view of maturity and older people vs. the values of the immaturity of youth – PROVERBS (John)
2)
For parents of young children and older too . . . Teaching your children a Biblical worldview – doctrine, Bible content, catechism, discipline and self-control, stewardship
3)
For those in the middle years of your lives . . . You have the maturity to offer leadership and service . . .
4)
For those approaching “retirement age” or who are already retired from the workplace [Illustration from John Piper’s Rethinking Retirement]
But in the end, it is not for me to do all of your thinking for you. You need to ask yourself: “What does it mean for me to live “as to the Lord and not to man”? . . .
46~As to the Lord and not to Man, page 2
That last statement introduces the rest of the text through 6:9 dealing with husband/wife, parent/child, and slave/master relationships. You can’t tell it as easily in the English text. But in the Greek it is clearer, for in verse 22 there is no verb “submit” – it picks it up from verse 21 . . . Then at 6:1 and 6:5, because they are so far away from the original “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ,” Paul uses the command form of the verb, the imperative. It is understood in 5:22, but was unexpressed, just carrying over from vs 21. Now what I want you to see is this: the phrase “as to the Lord and not to man” is the controlling principle of a Christian worldview. Paul uses it specifically in 6:5-9 in the context of slaves and masters. But the principle is much broader. It governs all of the Christian life, and it has specific applications like this one to the servant/master, or employee/employer, or subordinate/to officer relationships. But when you look at the context, you realize that it runs throughout this entire text based on 5:18 & 21 – life by the Spirit involves living in “reverence for Christ.” Now, to put that another way is this: we are to have a passion for the preeminence of Christ in all of life. So let me illustrate my point throughout this passage, a passage we’ll soon come back to when I begin a series on Marriage and Family . . . I.
The governing principle of the Christian Life can be stated as living “as to the Lord and not to man” (from Ephesians 6:7) – Ephesians 5:21-6:9 A.
Paul first addresses the wives in 5:22-24 . . . But notice the controlling principle in vs 24: “Now as the church (that includes you and me) submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.” What the wife is supposed to do within the marriage is what all of us are supposed to do unto Christ – as the Church submits to Christ. When you study the word “submit,” it always means to be under the authority or power of something. It does not imply “absolute submission in every case, as for example to governing authorities to whom we are told we are to submit. The apostles themselves declared to those governing authorities who commanded them to not preach the gospel: We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). Only God, whether Father, Son, or Holy Spirit, can claim our absolute submission.
46~As to the Lord and not to Man, page 3
B.
But then, precisely because we DO submit to Christ, not only are wives to submit to their husbands, but husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church; children are to obey their parents in the Lord; fathers are not to provoke their children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord; slaves (or employees, or those lower in military command) are to obey their earthly masters; and masters are to treat those under their authority as knowing that they have the same Master in heaven (6:9). The preeminence of Christ in our lives is to be expressed in every area of life. So throughout this passage, and indeed, throughout all of Ephesians 4-6, this principle governs all of life – life is to be lived “as to the Lord and not to man” – neither to other men, nor to ourselves.
II.
So what does a Christian Worldview look like – to live all of life “as to the Lord and not to man”? A.
Power Point Overview ending with Christ as the center of life in every area
[Show PowerPoints] B.
If we are followers of Christ, we are to seek to live worthy of our calling to be one new redeemed humanity, being re-created to reflect the image of our God as seen in Christ. So how do we live in a manner worthy of this calling in all of life? What does that mean? 1.
First, we must realize that the Church’s task is not co-extensive with the task of this one new redeemed humanity of which we are a part. a.
The Church has a mandate from her Lord to disciple the nations. That does NOT mean that it is the responsibility of the Church as an organization to Christianize the nations – i.e., to establish Christian political parties and universities and business ventures and arts organizations, and news media, etc.
46~As to the Lord and not to Man, page 4
b.
However, Christians, as members of Christ’s Kingdom, are to be engaged in all areas of life. Christians may band together to form a political party, or an organization devoted to developing the arts, or schools or universities that teach from a Christian world-and-life viewpoint, etc. But they do so as Christians with other Christians, NOT as the Church itself – i.e., the Church as an organization. The Church is not called to be a jack-of-all-trades. It is not called to do everything that Christians are to do – Christians seeking to be faithful to the Lord in all of life. The Church is to make disciples, and to equip them with the foundational principles and teachings that they are to carry forth into the world and seek to apply as salt and light in any and every area of life.
2.
This is where Paul’s use of the phrase “as to the Lord and not to man” is so important. Paul was telling Christian slaves and masters how they were to live life in the marketplace. Paul didn’t lay down detailed instructions for how soldiers are to carry out their task, or government officials to exercise their authority. He gave principles that were applicable to those areas. It was the Christians themselves who were to work those out fully as those who live “as to the Lord and not to man.” So how do we work that out? a.
One must first begin with the concept that all of life is to be lived “as to the Lord and not to man” – to develop a passion for the preeminence of Christ in all of life, to uncompartmentalize our lives.
b.
We must devote ourselves to learning God’s word well – to let he word of Christ dwell in us richly, as Paul puts it in Col 3:16. We are to learn the truth as it is in Jesus – Eph 4:21.
c.
The Scripture does not address every area of life specifically, but it addresses principles applicable to all areas of life. It is a challenging task to learn to apply those to all of life. But there are Christians writing about that sort of thing, studying how to apply Christian
46~As to the Lord and not to Man, page 5
principles in all areas of life. So we need to be readers. Conclusion: Let me make several brief applications: 1)
For children and young people – view of maturity and older people vs. the values of the immaturity of youth – PROVERBS (John)
2)
For parents of young children and older too . . . Teaching your children a Biblical worldview – doctrine, Bible content, catechism, discipline and self-control, stewardship
3)
For those in the middle years of your lives . . . You have the maturity to offer leadership and service . . .
4)
For those approaching “retirement age” or who are already retired from the workplace [Illustration from John Piper’s Rethinking Retirement]
But in the end, it is not for me to do all of your thinking for you. You need to ask yourself: “What does it mean for me to live “as to the Lord and not to man”? . . .
