Learn in Silence with All Submission

After Jesus Christ's resurrection, the eleven apostles met the Lord at a mountain in Galilee where they received the great commission as recorded in Matthew 28:16-20. Because all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus Christ, the mandate is to disciple and baptize all the nations in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all of the Lord's commands. Jesus Christ promised to be present with His disciples always, even to the end of the age.

The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth, and into the righteousness of God, as we learn in reverent silence, and in full submission to the Word of God. It is necessary to draw near to God and to come to His church with humility, ready to hear.

When the Holy Spirit in Hebrews 8:7-13 explained how God made the old covenant obsolete and established the new covenant, the writer called the words of the prophet Jeremiah to remembrance where God said, "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more”" (Jeremiah 31:33-34).

Every person who receives God's forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ already knows the Lord, and receives the anointing of God. As the Apostle John said, "the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him." (1 John 2:27). So that God's people will indeed abide in Him, the Apostle John, all the other apostles, and all those within the body of Christ who have God's ministry gift of teaching continue to teach believers how they are to live a righteous life, which God desires for us to enjoy in holy communion with Him and with His people.

Teaching continues, not because we do not know God, but because we do know Him, and "so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:7-9). Since we do know Him, we also desire to enjoy the blessings of God as we wait for Him; the blessings which the Apostle Paul mentioned in Philippians 2:1 - consolation in Christ, comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit, affection and mercy.

The Apostle Paul taught that believers everywhere are to be reverent towards God, and he portrayed the relationship between a man and a woman as a picture of this. He said, "Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression" (1 Timothy 2:11-14). Here we have the reminder of Eve who was ignorant of God's righteousness. This reminder is meant to show the need for the church to learn in silence with all submission. Adam and Eve, like every husband and wife, is a picture of the necessary humility of the bride of Christ, from both Jew and Gentile, male and female. We ought to realize that although Eve is mentioned here as the one who sinned, she is also "the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20), and all the living are just like Eve. This is evident in the fact that "death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12).

To make this more clear, we can look to the words of the Apostle Paul, where Israel is seen to be in the same situation as Eve. "For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:3). Since folly abounds in this fallen world, we understand it is necessary to "turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge (1 Timothy 6:20), so that we would remain in the faith, and enjoy the grace of God which is made available to His people in true fellowship.

The Holy Spirit desires to be active in the body of Christ, which is the church of God. Therefore it is necessary that all of the Lord's disciples would learn in silence with all submission. "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble”" (1 Peter 5:5). We have the great promise of our Lord, seen in Matthew 18:20 as well as in Matthew 28:20. He is in the midst of those who gather in His name and observe His commands. Therefore, we are told by the Holy Spirit to "walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few." (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2).