Ephesians 5:21

Submitting yourselves. This general principle of conduct may be related to what has preceded, but it leads naturally to the thought of the following passage, where it is given specific application. Submission, humility, and subjection are essential characteristics of the believer. Before God and one’s fellow men, self is to be brought low. Often the demands we make of one another, even of our rights, are contrary to the spirit of loving ministry, which is the spirit of the gospel (John 13:15, 16; Gal. 5:15). In addition to submission to superiors in age and authority, and respect for those we consider equals, there is also a Christian submission due to those who may be considered inferior in position. This submission reveals itself in consideration, charity, and respect for the personality of all God’s children.

In this general statement of principle the apostle has prepared the way for the detailed instruction he is about to give. He proposes three areas in which the spirit of submission is to find full expression if the relationships involved are to be conducted in a Christian spirit fashion: relations of husbands and wives, of parents and children, and of masters and servants.

Fear of God. Textual evidence favors (cf. p. 10) the reading “fear of Christ,” that is, reverence for Christ.