The Bible teaches the people are equal in value/worth, yet different in terms of function or position in life. Everyone is made in the image of God and thus has equal value. But everyone has a different position in life. Everyone has different degrees of authority.

Modern culture has largely rejected the idea of authority. Our culture is rather rebellious. Criminals do not submit to the law or to police. Young often people do not submit to their parents. Students often do not submit to their teachers. Employees sometimes do not submit to their employers. Citizens often do not submit to government officials. People in our culture do not like to submit.

Instead, people demand to be autonomous—free to do whatever they want to do. These days, autonomy—freedom from authority—for many is the highest good. The highest authority for them is themselves, and they will not submit to anyone else.

Even professing Christians deny and neglect biblical principles of submission to legitimate authority. Even Christians demand autonomy—freedom to follow their own desires.

We are continuing in our studies of the “one another” passages in the NT, and our text for today is

Eph 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

The Christian faith requires that we submit to one another. What does it mean to submit to one another?