Category: Ephesians

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Submit to One Another

Summary of my sermon, based on Ephesians 5:15-21. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on Sunday, 3 May 2026.

The concept of submitting is viewed a lot as a negative in our day. In modern society, it is associated with negative obligations, such as submitting assignments to a professor or clicking to submit a payment for bills. The most controversial association involves being forced to submit by someone who has greater power, much like a physical submission in martial arts or Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Because of this cultural lens, subsequent verses like Ephesians 5:22 (“Wives, submit to your own husbands”) are frequently dismissed as an archaic and misogynistic concept. However, this ignores the preceding foundational command in verse 21: “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” To understand this directive, we must redeem the modern idea of submission by examining its surrounding biblical context.

Walking in Love and Wisdom
The primary exhortation of this passage is found in verse 15: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as the unwise but as wise.” This directive is a direct echo of Ephesians 5:2, which commands believers to “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”

The ultimate reason we are able to submit to one another is what Jesus did on the cross. Submission in view of the cross is not a manipulation tactic; it is voluntarily done in love.

Biblical wisdom is distinct from human wisdom. Worldly wisdom relies strictly on human reason and the capacity for information. Biblical wisdom has its source directly in God (Proverbs 1:7; James 1:5) and involves the capacity to act on that information appropriately.

Time Management and Quiet Competence
Ephesians 5:16 commands “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” In a world where people constantly attempt to dominate each other and force their will onto others, submitting to one another is a highly efficient use of time. It frees us from the time wasted on trying to one-up one another.

Rather than expending time and energy to make yourself look better than someone else, believers can demonstrate quiet competence. Obeying God against the grain of our evil world allows believers to stand out as light in the surrounding darkness. Understanding and obeying the will of God is true wisdom, even if the world dismisses it as foolishness.

The Antithesis of Spirit-Filling
Verse 18 provides a critical contrast: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”

To understand what it means to be filled with the Spirit, it is instructive to look at its exact opposite: being drunk. Intoxication involves losing physical control, emotional outbursts, disorientation, and confusion. Historically, some movements, such as the 1990s Toronto Blessing, falsely equated inebriation with spiritual filling. Practices such as “falling in the spirit,” hysterical “holy laughter,” “holy animal sounds” (barking like dogs), and staggering as if “drunk in the spirit” are the antithesis of the Apostle Paul’s instruction. God is a God of peace, not confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).

The Marks of a Spirit-Filled Community
Rather than disorientation, being filled with the Spirit is marked by specific, orderly practices within the community:

Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs: Singing is explicitly commanded in the New Testament. Music elevates our communication and stirs up our affection for God, acting as a genuine way to show care and concern for each other.

Grounded Communication: Parallel texts like Colossians 3:16 mandate that the “word of Christ richly dwell in you.” The content of our communication must be steeped in the Word of God.

Giving thanks always for everything: Expressing constant gratitude to God serves as the baseline for all actions. Recognizing that everything comes from God makes it easier to look at the needs of one another and respond with generosity—with our time, words, and effort.

Conclusion
The passage culminates with the command to voluntarily submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. If believers successfully value others above themselves, they will fundamentally contrast with a world obsessed with selfish gain. This requires modeling the mindset found in Philippians 2:5-8: humbling ourselves like Christ, who became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.

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Be Kind to One Another

Summary of my sermon, based on Ephesians 4:29-32. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on February 2, 2025.

If you grew up Filipino in the 2000s or early 2010s, chances are you knew the name Manny Pacquiao. It didn’t matter if you lived in Manila or migrated halfway across the globe—if Pacquiao had a fight on, you were likely crowded around a TV with friends or family, proudly watching him take title after title. He wasn’t just a boxer; he was a symbol of pride. And in all those conversations about him, one phrase came up over and over again: “pound-for-pound, one of the best boxers of all time.” That phrase stuck with me—not just for boxing, but because it reminds me of something else that packs an unexpected punch: the book of Ephesians.

See, the phrase “pound-for-pound” exists because comparing fighters of different sizes directly doesn’t make sense. A featherweight like Pacquiao can’t be expected to go toe-to-toe with a heavyweight and win based purely on strength. So pound-for-pound is a way to measure skill, heart, and impact, regardless of physical size. And that’s exactly what makes Ephesians so remarkable. It’s short—only six chapters, about 3,000 words, maybe the length of a college essay—but the theological depth it contains makes it one of the most powerful books in the Bible, pound-for-pound. Many scholars agree it belongs right up there with Psalms, Romans, and the Gospel of John in terms of influence.

Paul’s structure in Ephesians is also simple and effective. In chapters 1–3, he lays out the Gospel—what God has done. In chapters 4–6, he turns to how we should respond—how we live in light of that truth. Ephesians 4:1 sets the tone: “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” This calling should transform everything about us. We don’t live for God to earn salvation—we live for God because we have salvation.

Jesus made this clear through the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18. The story begins with a man who owes a king an unthinkable amount of money—ten thousand talents. If we estimate one talent as two years’ wages, we’re talking about a debt of 700 million dollars. It’s a debt that can never be paid, and yet the king forgives him entirely. But then, that same servant turns around and refuses to forgive someone who owes him about three months’ wages. It’s shocking. Jesus’ point is clear: if we’ve been forgiven an impossible debt by God, how can we not show that same grace to others?

That’s what Ephesians calls us to: to walk like people who know what it means to be forgiven. Ephesians 2:8–10 says it plainly: “For by grace you have been saved through faith… not a result of works… For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” We don’t do good to be saved—we do good because we are saved. And that leads us to Ephesians 4:32, where Paul gets very practical: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

But Paul doesn’t just give this one command. He sets it up through a contrast that begins back in verse 17. He describes what it looks like to live apart from God: futility, darkness, alienation, ignorance, and a hardened heart. It’s not that non-believers can’t do anything good—common grace exists. But no one can live up to the standard of a holy God apart from Christ. The general direction of life apart from God leads to self-centeredness, sensuality, and impurity. We’ve seen this play out in history—under regimes that rejected God, like Mao’s China, Stalin’s USSR, and Nazi Germany, countless lives were destroyed.

But Paul says, “That is not the way you learned Christ!” (Ephesians 4:20). We’ve been called to something better. We’ve been given a new self, created to reflect God’s righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). So when Paul says, “Be kind,” he’s not just giving good advice—he’s telling us to live out the new identity we’ve been given in Christ.

And then Paul drills down even more. He tells us to watch how we speak: “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up… that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29). Corrupting talk isn’t just profanity—it’s speech that spoils, that tears down, that spreads negativity like mold in a fridge after a power outage. Instead, our words should build up, heal, and offer grace.

He continues in verse 31: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” Yes, anger will come, and even Paul admits in verse 26 that it’s possible to be angry and not sin. But bitterness, rage, slander, and malice—those aren’t fitting for someone who has been forgiven so much.

In the end, Paul draws a stark contrast. On one side is bitterness, wrath, and harmful words. On the other side is kindness, forgiveness, and grace. And he makes it simple for us: Walk in a manner worthy of your calling. Be kind. Forgive. Speak life. Not to earn God’s love, but because you already have it.