Humble and submissive

What preceded

Formal authority in the Assembly

No one has formal authority in the Church of God. That means that no one, however learned and/or spiritual, can make decisions in the Church. Neither a certain group (church council, brother group or whatever it may be called) can impose its will on the congregation. We have the argument for this before discussed.

Unity

But this does mean that there must be unanimity. The sisters in Philippi struggled with this and are called by Paul to be united in the Lord. He makes it clear to the Philippians that unity is only possible when we as believers

  • Set our minds on the Lord Jesus, the heavenly things and the glory that is ahead of us. In other words, when we don't 'think about the earthly things'.
  • To one another we behave in humility and submission.

we got this here already elaborated. The gist of it is that as believers wedisposition of Christ' should have, which is expressed in and characterized by humility and obedience (Philippians 2:5,8)

Therefore, with unanimity comes the humility and submission and that is a difficult point, perhaps the most difficult of all, in the practice of the common life of faith.

Humility and Submission

In all relationships

Humility and submission belong together. If you look at the texts where 'submission' occurs (see eg Appendix for some), then it becomes clear that it is always about an authority relationship. Between man and woman, older and younger, employer and employee, government and citizen, etc. The question is always: who has received the authority of God and to whom should you submit? Moreover, subordination is always voluntary (see, for example, the footnote in the above attachment and on christipedia).

In the congregation of the Lord Jesus that is an exciting question. There is no formal authority from anyone, there must be unity in the Lord, but what do you do if you do not agree? When you differ on a certain point and everyone still thinks that his opinion is founded on the Bible. Or that a certain view is not based on the Bible. How should you act in such a case?

How not to do it

It has already been stated above that it cannot be the case that someone (or a number of people who agree with each other) 'press through' or impose their opinion because a decision has to be made. Not even with the argument 'that this is what the Bible tells us'.

In any case, we should not let our emotions play a role in the conversation (the 'discussion'). Emotions in a discussion overly activate the soul and we are no longer able to judge things spiritually. Moreover, emotions make us play the man faster than the ball, so to speak. So we should stay away from emotions.
Of course, when it comes to seeking the Lord's way and having ideas about it, it is not without our feeling involved. If only because we love the Lord, His Word and the brothers and sisters. But we must steer clear of carnal feelings.

Also, you usually can't say that if you don't agree, you should wait until the Lord gives clarity. Many decisions simply don't allow that; the believers of the church have a 'right' to clarity. Moreover, experience shows that it does not 'help'. How then does the Lord make that clear? And does He make that clear if we do nothing else? I suspect not.

Young people – being submissive

When it comes to the elderly and young people in the congregation, it is normal for the young to be submissive towards the elderly.

“Likewise, young people, be submissive to the elderly; and all be submissive to one another. Be clothed with humility, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.(1 Peter 5:5)

Young people are addressed directly about submission and admonished to be humble. Humility, when I realize that the elderly ultimately have more experience in their lives with the Lord than I do. It is not always easy to practice, but it is necessary. Not being humble is according to the text 'pride' and that is an attitude in which you get God against you.

Elderly – being submissive

Elderly people must also be submissive. After all, it is an attitude that is required of everyone and no one is excluded from it.

  • “(…) all be submissive to one another. Be clothed with humility (…)(1 Peter 5:5)
  • “Be subject to one another in the fear of God.” (Ephesians 5:21)

The text in 1 Peter 5 is preceded by an admonition to the elders.

“The Elders (Telos: elders) among you I urge, (…). Keep and oversee the flock of God that is with you, not by force, but voluntarily; not for profit, but willingly; nor as men who rule over the inheritance of the Lord, but as men who have become examples to the flock.” (1 Peter 5:1-3)

Elders may lead by being examples to others. Ruling is out of the question and humility is required. In practice this is as difficult as the submission that is required of young people and the 'herding' easily turns into domination. You forget that it'the flock of God'is and 'the inheritance of the Lord'. Ultimately, this can result in a Diotrephes condition (3 John 1:9-10).

The hardest and the most beautiful

In practice, a situation may arise in which a common understanding and decision cannot be reached. Suppose one wants to make a decision which I believe is not the way the Scriptures direct. Does the Bible give me directions on how to behave?

  • To begin with, I will have to explain to the congregation why I believe that a certain insight and decision is unbiblical. That is a first responsibility towards the Lord and towards the brothers and sisters. If necessary, I will have to repeat that a few times to make things clear.
  • If the municipality continues to hold different views, I have no choice but to comply. Ultimately, a decision of the municipality is also a decision and I will have to submit to that decision

Humility and submission is a command for all believers. It is, as it were, visible evidence that we love the brothers and sisters—“all who are born of God.” We often speak of 'love' as a condition of communal life in the church, while submission and humility are at least as important. You could say that 'love' comes from God's side (Romans 5:5), but that humility and submission is our contribution. Without humility and submission, a healthy congregational life will not come to fruition. That is why God intends that we show in church what humility and submission is (Ephesians 5:20).

You could also see it differently: we need the love of God when the church is under pressure from outside. So that we stand around each other and hold on. However, humility and submission is necessary when the congregation is 'under pressure' from within. That's the

“… walk worthy of your calling,
in all humility and meekness, with patience,
to bear one another in love, and to be diligent
to keep the unity of the Spirit
by the bond of peace”.
(Ephesians 4:1-3)

Humility and submission are, so to speak, our 'contribution' to the well-being and unity of the church. But it's also by far the hardest thing asked of us, especially in our day and age where everyone in the world around us behaves so differently and opposite. Young people who are submissive to the elderly, men to women, everyone to each other. That is what God intended in His Church and that is what we should show to the 'principalities and powers in the heavenly places' (Ephesians 3:10).

Humility and submission: the hardest thing to do, but also the most beautiful!

  • The best thing, because that mutual subjection and humility show God's manifold wisdom to the invisible powers that are not subject to God and promote Satan's rule.
  • The most difficult, because we still have our old nature in us and it is precisely not subjected. “After all, the minding of the flesh is enmity against God. For it does not submit to the law of God, for it cannot.” (Romans 8:7)

Step aside in submission

We're not going to be all kinds of casuistry here1 because that won't help us any further. Moreover, we cannot and should not go further than what God makes clear to us in His Word.

If at the end of the day there is no unanimity in the congregation at some point, I may disagree with the view of some of the other brethren, yet I believe that my view is wholly biblical and that of the others don't.

In such a case, an expression comes to mind that Paul uses in Galatians 2:5 and which is so beautifully translated in the KJV. The point is that Paul”has not stepped aside for a moment in submission” for intruding false brethren in Jerusalem.

“Nor did we for a moment stand aside in submission to them, that the truth of the gospel might abide with you.” (Galatians 2:5)

He could also have simply said that he resisted them, as he writes a little further on that he 'openly went against Peter' (Gal.2:11). But he doesn't, he puts it in a special way. He uses a negative expression that indicates that there are other situations where he does 'steps aside in submission'. In the HSV translation, the expression stands out very much and takes on a special content, which I think is very valuable.

What we can learn from this expression is that there are situations where I have a standing view that is based on the Bible. I also made them known to the brothers; maybe even several times but we didn't agree. Yet I step aside, submit to the believers and give them space.
There is still something to be said about this attitude.

  • Views are shared with their biblical basis from God's Word. Either way, that is always a blessing, for “God's word does not return void” (Isaiah 55:11). We find a good example of this in Acts 15, where after the necessary disagreement, Peter first takes the floor (Acts 15:7). That made a big impression: “all the crowd was silent” (Acts 15:12-13). After the testimony of Barnabas and Paul, James takes the floor in which he focuses on God's Word and comes up with a concluding proposal. This was agreed upon and later they testified: “(…) it has pleased the Holy Spirit and us (…)" (Acts 15:22;15:25;15:28). The Holy Spirit works unity through this by accepting the words of Peter and James, submitting to them and being united.
  • 'Leaving submissive' may well mean first submission to the Lord; in the sense of obeying His commands of humility and submission and 'no rule'. You show that you are a follower of the Lord Jesus, who did the same. See also John 13:15-17.
  • This is – as far as I can see – the most important point. It is unspiritual to try to impose your views on your brothers and sisters. Maybe that will 'work', but sooner or later it will turn out to have been 'straw or stubble'. After all, this can only be achieved with natural means. Only when we do not make use of our human 'qualities' and act humble and submissive, then that is 'after the Spirit' and God's Spirit can work in the hearts of the believers.
  • It is easier to use our natural "gifts" than to be "humble and submissive." We don't need God's Spirit for the first, but we absolutely cannot do without the second. This attitude of personal humility and submission is not only beneficial for one's own soul, but also a healthy breeding ground for the work of God's Spirit in the hearts of fellow believers.
  • 'Giving aside submissively' means – in relation to the previous point – that we leave the outcome to the Lord. He is the Head of the Church and we make room, as it were, for Him to deal with the Church Himself. Only He knows how that will end.

Summary

When we try to summarize the state of authority in the Church, we come to the following important characteristics:

  • Christ Himself is the Head of the Church, His body, and He is the only one who has authority over it
  • What He wills for and with the church, He has set forth in His Word. That Word of God is a guideline for the church in everything.
  • God has not given formal authority to any man in the church
  • There is only moral authority, especially a characteristic of those who are truly elders. Moral authority is authority that does not demand authority, but calls for recognition.
  • Authority cannot be imposed or coerced; that leads to rule over the consciences of your brothers and sisters.
  • The biggest problem in the church is not being humble, not wanting to submit to the authority of others. This is a problem for every believer because this is an essential characteristic of the flesh, the old nature in us. Let none of us think this will pass him or her. “The heart is deceitful, above all things, yea, it is incurable, who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
  • Ultimately, what matters is that wein all humility and meekness, with patience, bearing one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2,3)

No doubt there is much more to say about 'authority in the church', but we'll leave it at that because we think we've covered the most important aspects2.

Footnotes

  1. In science, case histories generally mean the treatment of individual cases (cases) in a specific area. ↩︎
  2. A topic that ultimately has to do with this – but is not discussed here – is how a congregation should biblically deal with those who live in sin, with false teachers, etc. How do we apply the two disciplinary measures ('signs' and 'exclude'? ') in the practice of congregational life. ↩︎