In this sermon, the speaker focuses on Ephesians chapter 5, specifically verses 15-22. He identifies a pattern of three threes in these verses: three contrasts, three commands, and three contexts. The contrasts emphasize the importance of walking wisely, understanding God's will, and being filled with the Spirit instead of being unwise, foolish, or drunk with wine. The three commands include addressing one another with Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody to the Lord in our hearts, and giving thanks always for everything. The speaker also highlights the importance of women being submissive to their husbands, explaining that this is a result of the fall and should be taught to young women.

That is impure. And so again, here we see this picture. She must be pure. This is not just this idea of not having experienced physical consummation. We're talking about people here who are married and still walking in purity. Still walking in purity. That is why when you base your relationship on impurity before you get married, you compromise the very foundations upon which your marriage is built. Because you're trying to seek purity, but you built what you hoped to be pure on a foundation that was not. You see that? What's interesting is if you want to know how tall a building is going to be, you don't have to wait till it goes up. Did you know that? You engineering guys in here, you know what I'm talking about. If you want to know how tall a building is going to be, all you have to do is see how deep they dig the foundation. If you're building a skyscraper, you dig deep into the ground. Because you've got to have enough foundation to support that much of a structure. You're just building a single story house for somebody to live in. You don't have to dig 50 feet into the ground if that's all you want to build. What kind of marriage do you want to build? You want to build a little bungalow? Or you want a skyscraper? I want my marriage to be a skyscraper, which means we have to dig deep, deep, deep in the foundation. That's what purity is about. And that purity remains even long after the structure has come up out of the ground. It has to remain. Biblical womanhood is about purity. Again, even in the way that we present ourselves. Purity, purity, purity. Look at the next part of this. I still haven't got to what I want to camp out on a little bit here, but we'll get there. Working at home. Working at home. Now let me be clear here. Does this mean that biblical womanhood says a woman can never do any kind of work outside of her home? No, I don't think so. I don't think Proverbs 31 agrees with that. Okay? I'm not going to make that argument. I know women, I mean, they have all kind of stuff that they do outside of their home. And they do volunteer work and this and that and whatever. Again, that's not what's being said here. But here is what's being said here. There is no priority in biblical womanhood that supersedes the priority of a woman's role in her home. There is no priority that supersedes the priority of the woman's role in her home. That's what this means. That's what this means. Her home is her place of work. Her home. Hey, if she can find something to do within the context of her home, praise the Lord. But that's what she's committed to. I know we don't like this. We really don't. We don't like this. Matter of fact, we hate this. Because we've had an entire movement, an entire feminist movement that has communicated this to us. Marriage is bondage. And women have to be equal to men in every regard. By the way, they're not talking about equal as far as value and worth. They're talking about egalitarian as far as roles and everything else with no distinction whatsoever. There are tremendous distinctions between men and women. By the way, those of us who are married can say, praise God, because it's those distinctions that make it glorious. Hallelujah. We are not the same. If we were the same, one of us would be unnecessary. But sons, we're looking for women who are committed to the home. Committed to the home. Not just as a place where they drop their stuff off, where they go and try to do whatever in the world. No, they're committed to the home. It is their priority. They're committed to raising their children, not to paying somebody else to do it. They are absolutely committed to their roles as wives and mothers. And I know that doesn't sit well with us. Why? Because most of you young ladies have not been raised to be women. You've been raised to be men who happen to be biologically capable of having children. And so you've been taught not to prioritize the home above all else. I do not apologize for the fact that the scripture clearly teaches this, that a woman is to prioritize her home above all else. And whatever else she does, and that's between, hey, I got my hands full running my own house. I'm not trying to run yours, okay? But whatever else she does, from a biblical perspective, the principle is that she prioritizes her home. Now, if there is a husband and a wife over here, and the way that they prioritize their home is, you know, he has this business, and she's a vital part of this business, and she's his helpmate because of her vital part in this business, and that's something that they do together, you know, they have a mom and pop store, and they live on top, and everybody works down, and the kids are all hands on deck, you know, or they have a farm or whatever, and when it's time for harvest, everybody, mama, daddy, sons, daughters, dogs, everybody, you know, it's time for harvest. We all go out and we harvest. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. That's not the point that I'm making, and the reason I'm camping out here is because whenever I talk about this, it's so foreign and offensive to our modern feminist culture that I want to be clear, and it doesn't matter if I say it 10 times. There are some of you who already shut me off because you're mad that this is even in the Bible because somebody told you that you can have it all. The fact of the matter is you can't. You can't have it all, but that's okay because you don't need it all. I can't have it all, but I don't need it all. I want Christ, and I want his blessings in generations of my family, and here's the deal. The more my wife and I have come to understand what it takes to raise children biblically, the more we realize it wouldn't even be possible for us if she was out doing wife swap. We couldn't do it. It takes so much. We couldn't do it. That's where her commitment is. That's where her joy is. That's where her passion is. I talk to my wife, and she says, you know, people always ask me, do you work outside the home, do you this, do you that, and when I tell them, you know, I'm a homeschool mom, they kind of get this, you know, bless you, you know, you're just, you know, for a second, and she's just going, I have the most incredible calling in the world. There is no higher calling than that of being a wife and a mother. God has blessed me with this body to bring life into the world, and through adoption to bring other children into our home, and through the investment of my life, she would say, I have the opportunity to shape world changers. That's what my wife does. She shapes world changers. The Lord says that he gives us quivers filled with arrows. I don't think it's too much of a stretch of the text, but I tell my children, we are in the business of building intercontinental ballistic missiles in our home, and that's what each one of you is. Each one of you, you're an ICBM, baby. One day, the silo is going to open up, and it's going to be on, you know? That's what we do, and I could not do this without my wife being committed, absolutely committed to our home. My wife's an educated woman, a well-educated woman. She's absolutely committed to our home, absolutely committed to our children, absolutely committed to making our home the most beautiful and productive environment it can be, number one, so that she can be all that I need, so that God can launch me and use me in whatever ways he sees fit, and secondly, so that as she and I partner together, we can raise, train, and disciple as many children as is humanly possible to the glory of God. That's why my wife and I exist. To be poured out for the cause of Christ, to be thoroughly used when it's all said and done, and to raise, train, and disciple, and launch from our home as many, as many warheads as is humanly possible. Not as few as we can. Not a boy for me and a girl for you, and praise the Lord we're finally through. No, no, no, no, no, no. If this is a war, last time I checked, no warrior goes into battle saying, hey man, just give me as little ammunition as you can. You go to war, you go, wait a minute, I think I got a sock down here I can put some bullets in. Give me those two, I'll find somewhere to put them. And because my wife is committed to our home, that's the attitude that we can have. Look at the last part of this, and then we'll come back and finish this up. Working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands that the word of God may not be reviled. Teach young women to be submissive to their own husbands. Why? Two reasons, this is very important. Number one, because women war against submission by nature as a result of the fall. Women war against submission by nature as a result of the fall. Look with me here if you will, let's go back to Genesis chapter three, okay? And we'll do this quickly, because I know we got to do our Q&A in just a couple of minutes, but I want you to see this. Genesis chapter three, and look at verse 16. Look at verse 16. To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain and childbearing. In pain you shall bring forth children. And look at this next one. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. Your desire shall be for your husband. Now, if we're not careful, we look at that word, and we think, you know, you shall have this passionate desire for your husband. You shall want him, and he shall rule over you. If you want to understand what that phrase means, it's only used three times, that Hebrew phrase. Another time that it's used, chapter four and verse seven. And look at what the Lord says here. The Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? Verse seven. If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it. Same phrase. Sin's desire is for you. Wife, your desire shall be for your husband. That phrase means, as a result of the fall, women, you will desire his headship. You will desire his role. And yet, he will rule over you. So as a result of the fall, number one, you are naturally disinclined to submit to a husband. Secondly, in addition to this result of the fall, we also have now decades of feminist teaching, not just outside the church, but even inside the church. Feminist teaching on egalitarianism. That somehow this submission is a couple of things. Number one, it's either mutual, or number two, it's conditional. It's mutual or it's conditional. And let's take these two in turn as we talk about submission here. Because again, we don't like it. We really don't. Ladies, I know you don't like submission. You don't have to tell me that. You don't like it. As a result of the fall, you don't. However, if you're a new creature in Christ, you ought to have a different attitude towards submission. And so the idea of mutual submission. We go back to Ephesians. In Ephesians chapter 5, verse 21. A lot of people look at that, and they say in verse 22, it says, wise be subject to your own husbands. But before that, you have verse 21. Be subject to one another. Okay? Fear and reverence for Christ. And so when we look at verse 21 in Ephesians chapter 5, we say, see here, you're supposed to be subject or submissive to one another. So husbands and wives are both supposed to submit to one another. And so they make the argument for mutual submission there. Small problem. Verse 22 is the beginning of a paragraph. Verse 21 is the end of a paragraph. You can't put the beginning of a paragraph in context by using the end of another paragraph. You've got to use the whole paragraph itself. So when you go back to the beginning of the paragraph that ends with verse 21, you go back to Ephesians chapter 5, beginning of verse 15. Now when you get there, you see a pattern. In the pattern, you see three threes. First of all, you see three contrasts. Then you see on the third contrast, three commands. And on the third command, three contexts. All right? And so we have these three contrasts. Look at them beginning in verse 15 of Ephesians chapter 5. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your days because the days are evil. So don't be unwise but be wise. Look at the next one, verse 17. Therefore don't be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. Second contrast. Don't be foolish, understand what the Lord's will is. Contrast number three comes in verse 18. Don't be drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit. Now on the third contrast, not drunk with wine but filled with the Spirit, we get three commands. What are those three commands? Command number one, verse 19. Addressing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody to the Lord in your heart. Be filled with the Spirit. Well, how do I do that? Number one, you do that by addressing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs and making melody in your heart. It'd be interesting if somebody said, I'm a Spirit-filled believer. And you go, great. Let's worship and make melody to the Lord together. Nah, I'm not much for worshiping and making melody to the Lord. But you're Spirit-filled? Look at the second one, verse 20. Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I'm a Spirit-filled believer. Great. Join me, let's pray and just give thanks to God for a while. Nah, I'm not much for prayer and thanksgiving. But you're Spirit-filled? Verse 21. Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. So submission to a proper God-given authority is evidence of a Spirit-filled life. Now you get verse 22. But remember I said three contrasts, three commands, and then three contexts. What are the three contexts of submission? Wives to husbands, children to parents, servants to masters. In neither one of those is it mutual. In none of those is it mutual. There you have it. It's not there. And when we see it in 1 Peter chapter 3. There is no statement of mutual submission in 1 Peter chapter 3. When you see it in Colossians chapter 3 again. No statement of mutual submission. The husband is never called to submit to his wife. The wife is called to submit to her husband. There is headship. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. What do we find there? What does Paul say? The head of every man is Christ. The head of every woman is a man. There is headship there. And God doesn't apologize for that headship. Well, okay, if it's not mutual, then it has to be conditional. Well, Ephesians chapter 4 verse 22. Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. His body and himself is Savior. So now as the church submits to Christ. So wives submit to their husbands in what? Everything. In everything. Again, we talked earlier about the law of God. So he says you go out and you're an axe murderer and you kill all. You're not obligated to do that. But you're even submissive in the way that you don't go out and build an atomic bomb and commit axe murders. Okay. Well, okay, that's fine. But it has to be, you know, only if he is doing what he's supposed to do. Right? If he's not doing what he's supposed to do, then I don't have to be submissive to him. If he's not doing what he's supposed to do, turn with me to the right. First Peter chapter 3. Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives. Well, if he's not doing what he's supposed to do, then I don't. It doesn't get clearer than that. It doesn't get clearer than that. In fact, I can even make it clearer than that immediate context. The first word he uses there is likewise. What do you mean likewise? Glad you asked. Go to the beginning of that paragraph just before and look at verse 18 of chapter 2. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to good and gentle, but also to the unjust. That's what he's referring to when he says likewise in chapter 3 verse 1 for the submission of wives. Now marinate on that for a while. We don't like that. I'll end with this. My wife is a highly educated woman who has laid down all of her pursuits in order to submit herself to my vision for our family. My wife does not contradict me in front of others. She shows me that respect and that honor. My wife communicates to our family and to others the vision that I have established for our family. My wife has forsaken other opportunities for independent fulfillment and use of her gifts in order to put those gifts in subjection to me and my vision for our family. Now I say those things and feminism cringes. But what if I tweak those things just a little bit? And what if I change the two players? And it's no longer me and my wife. It's Dr. Condoleezza Rice and President Bush. And I say the same phrases. Dr. Rice is a highly educated woman who is employing her education for the benefit of President Bush. Secondly, Dr. Rice does not contradict President Bush in public. Thirdly, Dr. Rice has committed herself and submitted herself to President Bush's vision for his administration and not her own. And Dr. Rice has forsaken all other opportunities for independent self-fulfillment for the sake of partnering with President Bush to fulfill his agenda. How come she does it and she's a hero? My Bridget does it and there's something wrong with it. Same phrases, ladies. But because you've been lied to, you believe that working for some man you don't know in the White House has more value than laying down your life beside a man who would lay his down for you. This is biblical womanhood. It is not what we're accustomed to. It's not even what we're comfortable with. But it is what is required if we are to see the kind of reformation and revolution that we've been talking about.