Obey your spiritual leaders and submit to them [continually recognizing their authority over you], for they are constantly keeping watch over your souls and guarding your spiritual welfare, as men who will have to render an account [of their trust]. [Do your part to] let them do this with gladness and not with sighing and groaning, for that would not be profitable to you [either].
Hebrews 13:17 (AMPC)
Bottom line: Every Christian must recognize and submit to a spiritual authority.
Teaching
Throughout the Bible, God teaches us that submission is an important virtue that every Christian should portray. He instructs wives to be submissive to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22), citizens to submit to governing authorities (Romans 13:1), Christians to submit to God (James 4:7) and to each other (Ephesians 5:21), servants to submit to their masters (1Peter 2:18)…
What really does it mean to submit? To submit means, forgoing your will to give way to another person’s will or, yielding to another person’s will and instruction rather than yours. When we read our proof text, we discover a category of people the bible instructs every believer to submit to. These are Spiritual authorities.
Obey your spiritual leaders and submit to them [continually recognizing their authority over you], for they are constantly keeping watch over your souls and guarding your spiritual welfare, as men who will have to render an account [of their trust]. [Do your part to] let them do this with gladness and not with sighing and groaning, for that would not be profitable to you [either].
Hebrew 13:17 (AMP)
From the above information given to us by the scriptures, we can draw a few conclusions.
- God expects every Christian to be under a spiritual authority, i.e. every Christian is expected to belong to a local church assembly.
- Every Christian is expected to submit to his/her spiritual leader (Pastor) in the local assembly.
Again, this scripture teaches us that it is profitable for us to submit to our local church authorities because “they are constantly keeping watch over your souls and guarding your spiritual welfare”. So, a Christian who doesn’t belong to a local church assembly, nor has a pastor over them, is exposed and more vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy.
In Ephesians 4:11, the Bible says that Pastors are a gift from God to the church, to prepare God’s people for the work of the ministry. God expects us to receive them in all honor and thankfulness. Some Pastors are fathers to us. So, God says in Ephesians 6:1 that we should obey our “parents in the Lord”. Our Parents in the Lord are our Pastors. So, let’s submit and live in obedience to our Pastors today, as this is pleasant in the Lord’s sight.
Further study
- Romans 13:1 – LET EVERY person be loyally subject to the governing (civil) authorities. For there is no authority except from God [by His permission, His sanction], and those that exist do so by God’s appointment.
- Ephesians 5:21 – Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
Reflection
- Do you belong to a local church assembly?
- If yes, in what ways have you shown honor to your local church pastor?
- Apart from your pastor, do you submit to the authorities that the Lord has placed over you (Parents, government, husband, brethren, etc.)
Prayer
Thank you heavenly Father for sending your servant to be my Pastor. Forgive me if I haven’t submitted to him/her the way I should. Help me to be more submissive by your Spirit in Jesus’ name. Amen.
