Submission to Grace (Part 1)

08 Oct Submission to Grace (Part 1)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is defined as the unmerited favour God poured on humanity through the Sacrifice of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

This grace has brought salvation from sin, sickness, diseases, poverty etc. we have a new identity, carry a new authority and expect a different outcome in our lives after we get born again! We also learn to cooperate with the Spirit of God in helping us to deal with our humanity. So we can learn and participate as well as enjoy what God has done for us in Christ; what the Holy Spirit is doing in us as believers; and what the Son is doing at the right hand of the Father on our behalf. He ever lives to intercede for us. Praise God for a such wonderful plan for us.

Grace, however, has dimensions: there is the teaching dimension; then the enabling dimension as well as the favour dimension. As usual, teachings are usually restricted to one or more but real life application reveals the others. Do you know it is still the grace that will enable us to deny ourselves; take up our cross and follow Jesus? See Mathew 16:18.

This study is about the teaching dimension of grace. I want you to see the gravity the Apostle Paul wants to communicate to us through his letter to Titus, his protégé: A willingness to yield our opinion, our perspective or stance to another is a mark of humility and He gives grace to the humble. In fact in 1 Peter 5:5-9, we are advised to submit and cast our cares on the Lord so that we are not taken as prey for Satan. So Satan uses anxiety or cares to take advantage of us. The cares could be the care of my opinion, stance or reputation. Anything can constitute a care and it can become an avenue for worry, for offence or for outright rebellion. When such things are in our hearts, we are easy prey for Satan. We are admonished to cast our cares on the Lord so we can be sober and vigilant to stand our grounds against the adversary.

1 Peter 5:5-10 (Amplified)

“Likewise, you who are younger and of lesser rank, be subject to the elders (the ministers and spiritual guides of the church) — [giving them due respect and yielding to their counsel]. Clothe (apron) yourselves, all of you, with humility [as the garb of a servant, so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and arrogance] toward one another. For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful) — [and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favour, blessing) to the humble.

Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you,  casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.

Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [ in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same ( identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favour], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you”.

Many battles are lost when the understanding we can derive from these verses is lost on us.

The steps are as follows: submit to God ordained authority; humble yourself under God’s mighty hand; that means our focus in humility is God. This is done by casting all our cares on God. We must roll our concerns and burdens on Him in faith. This will help us to be sober to prevent the entry of strife, offence and unforgivness into our hearts. The entrance of these things grants permission to Satan to devastate any life by stopping the flow of grace by hardening the heart and stopping the effectiveness of faith, since faith works by love. The believer is almost within easy reach of Satan for his assignment against us. The assignment is simple: to steal, kill and destroy. He wants to destroy everything we have from relationships to health, from finances to our future. We must not let him! The next step is to resist the devil and he will flee from us. So let’s recap, submit; humble ourselves; cast our cares; then resist the devil.

In the book of Titus we see the quality of life we should live with  gravity and sensitivity to grace and to one another as we allow grace to teach us how to conduct our lives and be not only be carriers of grace but extenders of it to others. The principle of submission is also implied here.

Titus 2 (Amplified)

“BUT [as for] you, teach what is fitting and becoming to sound (wholesome) doctrine [the character and right living that identify true Christians].

Urge the older men to be temperate, venerable (serious), sensible, self- controlled, and sound in the faith, in the love, and in the steadfastness and patience [of Christ].   Bid the older women similarly to be reverent and devout in their deportment as becomes those engaged in sacred service, not slanderers or slaves to drink. They are to give good counsel and be teachers of what is right and noble,  so that they will wisely train the young women to be sane and sober of mind (temperate, disciplined) and to love their husbands and their children,  to be self- controlled, chaste, homemakers, good- natured (kind-hearted), adapting and subordinating themselves to their husbands, that the word of God may not be exposed to reproach (blasphemed or discredited).

In a similar way, urge the younger men to be self- restrained and to behave prudently [taking life seriously].   And show your own self in all respects to be a pattern and a model of good deeds and works, teaching what is unadulterated, showing gravity [having the strictest regard for truth and purity of motive], with dignity and seriousness.  And let your instruction be sound and fit and wise and wholesome, vigorous and irrefutable and above censure, so that the opponent may be put to shame, finding nothing discrediting or evil to say about us.

 [Tell] bond servants to be submissive to their masters, to be pleasing and give satisfaction in every way. [Warn them] not to talk back or contradict,  nor to steal by taking things of small value, but to prove themselves truly loyal and entirely reliable and faithful throughout, so that in everything they may be an ornament and do credit to the teaching [which is] from and about God our Saviour.

For the grace of God (His unmerited favour and blessing) has come forward (appeared) for the deliverance from sin and the eternal salvation for all mankind.  It has trained us to reject and renounce all ungodliness (irreligion) and worldly (passionate) desires, to live discreet (temperate, self- controlled), upright, devout (spiritually whole) lives in this present world,  Awaiting and looking for the [fulfilment, the realization of our] blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One),  Who gave Himself on our behalf that He might redeem us (purchase our freedom) from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people [to be peculiarly His own, people who are] eager and enthusiastic about [living a life that is good and filled with] beneficial deeds.

Tell [them all] these things. Urge (advise, encourage, warn) and rebuke with full authority. Let no one despise or disregard or think little of you [conduct yourself and your teaching so as to command respect].”