When God looks down upon us humans who live on Earth, He only sees two kinds of hearts: saved hearts and lost hearts. God’s Word classifies everyone as either having Christ or not. Listen to John:
1 John 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. NKJV
Several types of behavior distinguish between God’s people (the saved) and Satan’s people (the lost), but none is more clearly contrasted than submission to authority (the saved) and a casting off of authority (the lost).
As we turn a couple of short books towards the end, in Jude verse 8, God reveals the key characteristics of Satan’s realm. God tells us that Satan’s team “rejects authority” (NKJV/NAS/NIV). That is just another way of saying resisting submission.
Jude 8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority (NAS/NIV), and speak evil of dignitaries. NKJV
These are two interesting words: “reject” (atheteo means “despise, reject, cast off”) and “authority” (kuriotes means “Lordship or dominion”). So at the deepest level, lost people cast off or reject, or even despise the Lordship or rule, or dominion of Christ.
In fact, when Paul is guided to record the decline and fall of the human race in Romans 1, one of the clearest elements is seen in humanity’s constant desire to cast off all restraint (again resisting submission to any authority other than self).
We could simply summarize God’s Word by saying that God’s people are submissive and Satan’s people aren’t.
Since we were born, as Isaiah 53:6 says, wanting our own way, only a second birth can change that.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. NKJV
Remember that Jesus reduced life to one simple goal: seeking God’s rule over each day of my life. Christ’s simple yet powerful words:
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. NKJV
But when we submit to God, we begin to trust in Him with all our being, we stop leaning on finding our own way, our lives start reflecting God, and He directs our steps.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. NKJV
That is the ultimate life: empowered by God, to follow God as our Guide through life. It all starts with submission, and that is exactly where we begin our study.
From GEW-21a – The Joy of Grace-Energized Submission (070916AM)
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