If you are following along in your Bible, you realize that Ephesians 5:23 has another all-important phrase:
…Christ is the Head of the church, His body, and is himself its Savior (Ephesians 5:23). M
People often wonder, “Who, in all today’s confusion, will be saved?” The Lord’s simple but striking answer is that He saves His own body or church. How can Jesus do otherwise? To approve of those that keep disobeying is to empty all meaning from terms like “Lord,” “King” and “kingdom.”1 To save those who have not shared in His death is to make that death unnecessary. For Jesus to take as His wife those who have not entered His covenant is to commit adultery. Jesus is neither an adulterer nor a bigamist. He has no secret mistresses. He has no second wife that will turn up as a surprise at heaven’s marriage feast. He is faithful to His covenant promise. Therefore He will save His own bride – the one that honors Him by submitting to Him. To others He makes no promise, except this terrible prediction: “The wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6).2
Obviously, very few people view themselves as “disobedient.” Most religious people feel quite sincere. Many are submissive in their own way. Just as obviously, many sincere people are going in different directions. The following parable may help us to understand our modern situation.
An important meeting is to be held in a capital city. All the delegates are visitors. This will be their first time to see the great city. So the organizer writes and instructs them to meet him at the main railway station. He promises to guide the entire group from the station to the meeting place in the city. The day comes when all the delegates arrive at the station. At first they wait for the organizer. But one delegate, though he is new to the city, thinks he knows the way. So he gathers his friends and goes off into the city. Seeing his example, others eventually do the same with their friends. Different groups go in different directions. When the guide arrives at the station, he finds those delegates that wait for him as instructed. He leads them safely through the city streets. Since they follow one Guide, they stay together. They all reach the meeting on time. But the others are not there. Were their leaders sincere? Oh yes, they really thought they knew the way. Were the followers submissive? Yes, they followed their different leaders without question. But that sort of sincere submission does not change the result: those who wandered off are scattered in different groups and lost in various parts of the city.
You recognize the organizer, of course, as the Lord Jesus. His family is the group that believes Him. They stay together because that is the result of trusting and following one Guide. Other leaders may look good,3 but they misdirect the sincerity and submission of their followers. When people follow human ideas and traditions,4 they stray and scatter. When people take human short cuts to salvation, they end up lost. True submission must always be directed to the true Leader.5 Jesus saves those who stay with Him,6 not those who stray from Him.7
1. See Study Note Five: The Family Foretold.
2. Research subject – Wrath for the disobedient: Mark 3:5; John 3:36; Acts 5:1-11; Romans 2:8; 1 Corinthians 10:6-12; Ephesians 5:6; Colossians 3:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:6; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Hebrews 3:10; 10:26-31; 13:4; 1 Peter 4:17-18; 2:8; Revelation 14:9-10; Exodus 15:6-7; 34:6; Leviticus 10:1; 26:28; 2 Kings 24:19-20; 2 Chronicles 34:24-25; Psalm 78:41-62; 90:7-11; Isaiah 5:24-25; 66:15; Jeremiah 7:16-20; Ezekiel 43:8; Hosea 5:10; Micah 5:15
3. Matthew 7:15; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
4. Research subject – Human rules: Colossians 2:8,22; Mark 7:1-13; Titus 1:14; 1 Corinthians 3:21; 2 Corinthians 11:13
5. Ephesians 4:5; Matthew 6:24; 23:8-10; John 10:16
6. Research subject – Staying with Christ: John 15:4-5,7,9-10; Acts 11:23; 14:22; 1 John 2:27; 3:9; Revelation 2:13; 14:12; 16:15
7. Research subject – Straying from Christ: John 3:36; 15:6; 1 Corinthians 9:27; 10:12; 2 Timothy 2:13; 4:4; Hebrews 3:12; 4:11; 6:6; 10:26-31; 2 Peter 2:15-20; 3:17
Picture: First time visitors to a great city need their guide (photo: Milan, Italy).