Subjection: Not A Dirty Word

Introduction

I want to start tonight back in 1989. I know some of you weren’t even born then. I conducted a wedding, hadn’t done many at that time, of this was while I lived in Beaumont. Sherry and I had only been married a couple of years. And the wedding was with James Behuslav and Lisa Carr. And if you recognize the name Behuslav, that’s my daughter-in-law’s maiden name. And that’s because this is the marriage of her parents back in 1989. I performed, some of you know this story, I performed the wedding for the parents of my daughter-in-law. Okay? And I was planning on using this as an illustration to begin this sermon, and not really realizing that today is also Brett and Reagan’s first anniversary. And we just discovered last night that we’re going to be grandparents.

Now, some of you have been on Facebook and you already knew that. So, this illustration comes at a really appropriate time. But in that wedding in 1989, I didn’t know this until afterward. I’m preaching the ceremony. Max Dawson, who was the other preacher that I was working with, of course, still at Dowlin Road all these many years later, he was sitting in the audience and he told me the story, I believe it was at the reception, that while I was preaching this wedding ceremony, there was a woman sitting directly in front of him, and I don’t know who she was, who at one point in my sermon was shaking her head no.

And she was shaking her head no when I was quoting this verse of the New Testament. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. And I’ve said, as I told this story many times, that her argument was not with me. Her argument was with the scriptures. Her argument was with what Paul said in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 24. Now, I want to talk about this verse tonight, what it is saying and what it isn’t saying, as we talk about an important biblical subject, more than just in relation to this verse and what it has to say about marriage and how God designed it to function. I want to talk about subjection and what the Bible has to say about this topic.

1. Why Is Subjection Viewed So Negatively?

But the first thing I want to do as I talk about this tonight is why do so many view, like Ephesians 5 and verse 24, and particularly as this relates to marriage, why is this subject viewed so negatively by many?

As if women are pieces of property and do not receive fair and equal treatment sometimes in our culture. And this was recently brought to light in a lawsuit that was filed by the U.S. women’s soccer team in regard to their compensation as they filed this discrimination suit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. And I got to tell you, they had a point. They earn one quarter of what the men do, and last year generated 20 million more dollars for the U.S. Soccer Federation than the men. And I just got to tell you, after watching the U.S. men’s team this weekend, the women are a lot more fun to watch. Just saying. I mean, get paid one quarter of the amount that the guys do, and they’ve done more on the world stage.

But I guess it just goes back to the old James Brown song, does it not? It’s a man’s, man’s, man’s world. But, he goes on to say in that song, the first line clearly acknowledges that it would be nothing without a woman or a girl. But men do receive extra special treatment generally in our world in a lot of cultures, and women are treated like garbage in comparison. Some believe that acknowledging an authority role in marriage places a woman in an inferior status. Now I put no in parentheses. I want to suggest to you that it does not do so. And I’ll explain why as we go on in this sermon. And furthermore, statements like this made by the Apostle Paul gets him the label, and I’ve heard this many times through the years, that Paul was sexist for these kinds of comments that are disparaging to women.

Now, that’s unfair to the Apostle Paul. And in fact, he goes out of his way to mention the significant contributions of women in the cause of Christ. I mean, Aquila and Priscilla are mentioned continually as a parent, and sometimes Priscilla is even mentioned first. He mentions a number of women like Phoebe, like Mary, who worked hard for you, he tells the church at Rome in Romans chapter 16, and even talks about two women who are having a struggle with each other in their relationship, probably another whole sermon there, and tells them that they need to get along and they need to be helped out in this, and he talks about the contribution they have made with him in his labors and how important these women encourage them to live in harmony in the Lord.

And so again, I have in parentheses, no, Paul was not sexist. Again, if you understand what these roles are designed to accomplish in God’s plan.

And a synonym of the word subjection is submission. So I might use them interchangeably. Some translations use the word submission in Ephesians chapter 5. So whether you’re talking about subjection or submission, talking about the idea is pretty much the same. The word sub is the idea of under. That’s occupying a place under the authority of another. Now that’s not demeaning in and of itself. It is not demeaning, for example, that you are under the authority of an employer at work. You’ve heard the thing about too many chiefs and not enough Indians. What would happen in an Indian tribe if everybody was a chief? Okay, that’s where that expression comes from. There can’t be, everybody can’t be a chief. I think that’s sort of the way our culture wants to do things now.

Is that everybody has to be celebrated, everybody has to be ultimate and authority, and that’s just not the way things work. There needs to be a hierarchy. We see that in business. There needs to be a place where the buck stops here, and somebody is responsible for the direction of the company. Everybody doesn’t get to be the CEO and sit at the table and have meetings. Okay, not that’s really very productive a lot of the time. But somebody has to actually do the work. And so it’s not demeaning if you’re an employee. I mean, there’s very few of our number can say, I am the absolute boss on my job. There’s a few. But really, you answer to creditors and other people as well. But again, the absolute boss over everything, very few of us will achieve a position like that.

And so it’s not demeaning in and of itself, occupying a place under the authority of another. And that leads me to this. Even if you’re a woman, as it relates to the role of husband and wife, and this passage applies to your behavior. But even if you’re a man in this audience, you too need to learn the principle of subjection. In a number of relationships, and even in the husband and wife relationship. More explanation on that as we go along. We have to be subject, for example, to the governing authorities. That same word is used in Romans chapter 13, verses 1 and 2. I mean, we have to learn subjection or submission to the civil government that God says has a right to exist and that he placed in existence, and they can take vengeance where I personally cannot.

We have to subject ourselves to God. We must submit to him and resist the devil, and he will flee from us, it says in James 4 and verse 7. Paul talks about the Jews who have not subjected themselves to the righteousness of God. In Romans chapter 10 and verse 3, they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. So one thing I want you to get out of this lesson at the very beginning, you, male or female, need to learn the principle of subjection and practice it in some spheres in your life. And we all need to learn subjection to Jesus. And that’s a real problem with a lot of people in our culture. C.S. Lewis talks about Jesus as an interferer in our lives, and I like this quote.

He says, we resent his intrusions into our privacy, his demand for our homage, his expectation of our obedience. Why can’t he mind his own business? That sort of relates to what we were talking about this morning. That God has expectations of me in regard to worship. Why can’t he mind his own business? We ask petulantly, and that’s not a positive term here, petulantly, and leave us alone, to which he instantly replies that we are his business and that he will never leave us alone. So we too perceive him as a threatening rival who disturbs our peace, upsets our status quo, undermines our authority, and diminishes our self-respect. We too want to get rid of him. And John Stock quotes C.S. Lewis on this. And I think that’s a perfect representation of the problem we have with this whole principle of subjection.

2. Subjection Does Not Encourage or Justify Abuse of Authority

And so before I get to the nuts and bolts tonight, I want to make this observation. This is an important one, I think. Subjection in any relationship, and certainly not in the husband and wife relationship, in no way encourages or justifies the abuse of authority. The fact that the fact that authority exists and someone wields it, and I have to submit to it or subject myself to it, does not encourage in any way the abuse of that authority, nor does it justify it. And a husband that abuses his authority in that relationship, and we’ll talk about how that’s done, that is in no way encouraged by the scripture. Or is it justified? And I think that’s the problem we have with authority generally, is that it’s been abused in so many areas.

Isn’t this incredible? We talked about subjecting ourselves to God, and I thought about our submissiveness to God. He is perfect. Not just in holiness, but that means he is perfect in his wielding of authority. He is a beneficent and kind God. He only does that which is best for us. We can’t tell Jesus, look, you’re an interferent, interfere in my life. You need to get away from me because you don’t have my best interest at heart, because he does. We may not understand it. We may not get it. We may not appreciate it. But God only tells us what to do for our good and for our benefit. And we struggle with that in the study of the scripture. We’ll come across certain concepts or principles and I don’t really like that.

That doesn’t really fit the way I want to live. And so we sort of jettison that concept, thinking that we can treat the Bible as a smorgasbord to take the dishes that you want and reject the ones like cauliflower that you don’t like. And understandable in regard to cauliflower, but Brussels sprouts even more so. But we want to treat the Bible like that and set aside the parts we don’t like and say, well, that’s not good for me. That doesn’t work for me. That’s because we don’t understand that everything God has revealed that he wants us to do and practice and the way he wants us to think is for the betterment of me, both now and eternally. So let’s talk about subjection to God and say God does not abuse his authority ever.

And it’s always in my best interest. And so when you wield authority, you need to understand, and I’m talking about the one who wields it, not the one who is in subjection to it. When you wield authority in any role in any relationship, you need to understand where that authority comes from and how he wields it. And yeah, I’m not the least bit pleased, nor is God, with an employer who treats his employees or her employees like garbage. I’ve had a job like that. Not one preaching. I’ve had a job like that, where the employees were regarded as nothing. They don’t understand where their authority comes from. And so I want to acknowledge in the very beginning, and the Bible doesn’t justify this, the Bible doesn’t encourage it, that authority could be abused.

And this is probably another whole sermon in and of itself. But I’ll spare you another whole sermon. Because I want to talk about specifically the husband and wife relationship. But it can be abused, certainly, government authority can be abused. Look, and classic example, we can look at a lot of examples in the Bible. Let’s just do Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You’re going to bow down and worship this image. Nebuchadnezzar says. So there are limits to our subjection to the authority that others wield, right? We must obey God rather than men. Acts chapter 5 and verse 29. And so they were perfectly right to say, no, King, we are not going to bow before your image. Now, it may get you thrown into a fiery furnace, and an attempt may be made to kill you.

But we must obey God rather than men. And so that’s just an example. Can you imagine how difficult it was to a first century audience for Peter to say, honor the king? Or for Jesus to say, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, when you’re talking about a government that really didn’t care a whole lot about its subjects. And ultimately, of course, Christians would be persecuted by that same Roman government that they were to give taxes to. And to make sure that they did so faithfully and correctly and righteously. And yet they’re going to be the subjects of government abuse by these same government officials. Well, there’s a lot we could say about it. Masters. And I talk about employers because in our culture we don’t have masters like they had masters and slaves in the New Testament.

And again, I think again, we want to look at masters and slaves and what the New Testament says about it through the filter of American slavery. And there were some abusive masters, and the New Testament addresses that, but probably not anything like on the scale of what we saw in our country centuries ago. There was some of that, but not as widespread the kind of abuse. But anybody in this position of master or employer could potentially abuse the authority that they wield. Even in the local church. Elders wield some authority. We see that in Hebrews chapter 13, obey them that have the rule over you in verse 17. And there’s the passage in 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 4, where elders are admonished to not lord it over the flock.

That has to mean something, doesn’t it? I’ve been in some places and seen some elderships, not here, thankfully, where it’s almost like anything goes. The elder can decide whatever he wants, and everybody just has to listen and follow regardless. And that passage in 1 Peter 5 and verse 4 has to mean something. That they can lord it over the flock. And again, it has to do with the idea of an authority that abuses. And the same could be said for husbands. And I want to look at 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 7, because I think this is clearly what this passage is referring to when it says, you husbands likewise, after he’s already dealt with a wife who has an unbelieving husband. Now she’s really going to be in a challenging circumstance.

But he’s now talking to Christian husbands, and he says in verse 7, you husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way. Now again, let me just stop right there, men. And young men, you need to pay attention to this. Because this will not be easy for you. And I know this from experience, and you’re going to ask Sherry all about it.

What that’s saying is, just as God looks at us and deals with us in an understanding way, we are to look at our spouses and deal with them in an understanding way. As with a weaker vessel, again we always debate what that is. Generally, women are not as strong physically. I mean, you see that by observation. If you even went to a gym where people work out all the time, you see this.

But it’s probably talking about her emotional makeup as well. And anybody who’s been married for any length of time should clue in pretty quickly.

And as I’ve said before, they don’t necessarily want you to fix the things they’re talking about. They just want you to listen and be sympathetic. Because she’s having a feeling here that you need to try to be understanding with, even though it doesn’t compute in your sports mind. And so whatever weaker vessel may or may not include, we are to deal with her in an understanding way, as fellow heirs of the grace of life. Again, is Peter demeaning women? He says you’re fellow heirs of the grace of life. Equal footing spiritually, as Paul says in Galatians 3 and verse 28, there’s neither male nor female. Again, he’s not sexist. He’s saying male and female have equal footing with God, as do bond and free. And Jew and Gentile.

Galatians 3 28. And then this, as fellow heirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Now that’s that’s the phrase I want you to think about. Well, I’m just exercising the authority. I am wielding the authority that God has given me in the home as the husband. Just the way I’ve said that’s a red flag. Okay, here I am. I’m wielding this, God has given me this authority to wield, and you’re gonna listen, and it’s gonna be this way, and the question is this. How does God view your wielding of authority? And if he does not believe that you are expressing this kind of understanding for the weaker vessel in your relationship, he says, yeah, you may be wielding authority, but I am not listening to your prayers.

Joanne and I were talking about this a little bit before services. I mean, there. Being a male isn’t easy. We think, oh, we’ve got it good because we’re the ones wielding authority. Look. Sometimes I sort of like it that other people, as I’ve gotten older, that other people are making decisions and leading. I sort of like following sometimes. Because there is a responsibility that goes with leadership. And God is going to hold us accountable. And we need to be careful. Because I want to tell you, all of us will make mistakes here. If you’ve been married for any length of time, you’ve made some mistakes here. I would almost guarantee you. The Bible in no way encourages or justifies the abuse of authority. Now that we’ve gotten that, I want to move to point two quickly.

3. Subjection and Relationships Generally

And talk about subjection and relationships generally. God deems these authority roles necessary. Somebody has to lead. Somebody has to say, okay, we’re going this way. This is the way we’re going to do it. If everybody is in authority, what do you have? It’s chaos. And if you want to talk about authority roles, 1 Corinthians chapter 11, we have to read that briefly, where he’s going to talk about in context, the role of men and women in local churches and why a woman should pray and prophesy with her head covered. And really, I say all the time, what 1 Corinthians 11 is about is common sense. Because he said, does not even nature itself teach you that it ought to be this way? He’s saying, is it proper?

He goes, there is a propriety here, and that’s all I’m talking about, is what you should understand is proper to do in your culture, and really what he’s saying is a man needs to act like a man and a woman needs to act like a woman. And all of that is built upon this in verse 3. I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man. That’s not demeaning to me. In fact, that’s rather exalting and helpful to me, isn’t it? Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman. It should not be demeaning to her. Again, unless you abuse your authority, it will not be. And God is the head of Christ. It was in no way demeaning to Christ to submit himself to the Father.

Okay, we could say more about that, but I want to take you to Ephesians 5.21 because we looked at Ephesians 5.24, and we’re going to come back to that in just a second. But I want you to see Ephesians 5.21, because this is important.

Prior to him saying how the husband and wife role is supposed to work, he says in verse 21, as he’s talking about a lot of different things about walking circumspectly and not as fools. But he says in verse 21, as he talks about our spiritual relationship, encouraging one another in song, he says in verse 21, this sort of a bridge statement that gets us into the next section as he talks about Christ and the church, primarily, I think, and husbands and wives, as it mirrors that. The relationship between Christ and the church mirrors the relationship of husband and wives. I think what he means later on in the verse 30, where he says, I speak with reference to Christ and the church, I think he’s saying there, that’s his main concern here.

The husband and wife relationship just flows out of that. But the bridge to that section is verse 21 when he says this, and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. What does that mean? Let me let Paul explain to us what that means. In Philippians 2, he says it clearly in much more detail when he says, esteem others better than yourselves. Do not merely look upon your own interests, but also the interests of others. Philippians chapter 2. And that is the mind of Christ, he says in verse 5, who subjected himself to suffering and death so that we might have salvation. That’s the mind of Christ. And so what he’s saying in Ephesians 5, verse 21, subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.

That really is a summary statement of our whole response to our brothers and sisters in Christ. I look at you look at me, and we subject ourselves to one another in that.

In your circumstances, bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Restore one that is there in Galatians 6 and verse 1, the previous verse of that. What can I do in my relationship to my brothers in Christ to help them along life’s way and to go to heaven? Subject yourself to one another in the fear of Christ. Somebody comes along and says, Yeah, but that doesn’t apply in marriage. Oh, yes, it does. He’s talking about every relationship with every brother or sister in Christ. So there is a very real sense, guys. Get this. There is a very real sense in which you are subject to your wife. Not in terms of wielding authority because you are in that position of authority in the home.

But in terms of seeking the interests of the wife, serving her, putting her needs ahead of yours. In that sense, you are subject to your wife. And so, if we get that right, fellas, I want to tell you there’s going to be a lot less quibbling about Ephesians 5 and verse 24. In fact, the wife might even relish the idea of your leadership because you deal with her in a compassionate understanding. And you know what? She may have something intellectually to offer. She may not be as dumb as a rock. In fact, as in the case of my marriage, her intelligence quotient may actually be measured higher than my own. And I know what you’re thinking, maybe quite a bit higher. Yeah, thank you. Let’s talk about yours.

Okay. I always count on Steve for a little humor. And yet sometimes husbands think because they wield this kind of authority, they don’t have to consider their wife’s opinion about anything. Have you heard the story, Nabal? The guy whose name means fool in the Old Testament, who wouldn’t listen to his wife Abigail, and as a result, he ends up being killed, and Abigail becomes the wife of David. You might shouldn’t have listened to her, Nabal. I’ll tell you about a man who doesn’t listen to the counsel of his wife. He is a fool. Two are better than one. Have you ever heard that? Where they have a return for their labor? I’ll tell you, there have been times through our married lives that I’m glad I had someone else’s input who would say, you know, I really don’t think we ought to do that.

4. What Subjection Is Not

Or I really don’t think you ought to respond like that. The man who does not listen to the wise counsel of his wife is a fool. Now that doesn’t mean she’s always right and I’m always wrong. It doesn’t mean that because she has suggested a course of action that I should of necessity take it because she suggested it. But I need to deal with her in an understanding way. I need to think about what she has to offer in this relationship. So let me talk to you about what subjection is not as we start to get to the end of this. Subjection, and I have this written in my Bible, and I saw this recently. Some preacher said this, and maybe it was even here, but I don’t know who it was.

I didn’t write it down, but I liked all this, so I’m giving it to you. Subjective is not indicative of a lack of free will.

It shows power. And again, that’s why it’s not demeaning. Just like Christ subjected himself to the Father, that was the exercise of his will. I have come to do thy will, O God. In fact, it is very empowering. Subjection is a beautiful thing. It is the control of your will in a certain direction. You say, I yield. I yield. Now, this may not be, this may be an abuse of authority. This may just be a dumb idea that the leader has. You ever seen a leader execute a dumb idea? Let’s not even talk about politics. Okay. Leaders can exercise dumb ideas. But because you’re in the position of subjection, you yield. And, you know, I know it’s very tempting to say, told ya. Told ya. Well, probably not the right attitude either.

But it’s not indicative of a lack of free will. And listen to this guy. Oh, we need this. It is not to be forced or demanded by force. We should get that. Husbands, you know, and we need this sermon because look, some of us guys, we got a hold of some live wires. Why am I looking at you, Ross? I don’t know.

And so if you’ve got a hold of a live wire, I’m going to make her submit. Good luck with that. You might as well just go beat your head against this wall. You can’t. You can’t force it. It’s like a little kid who was made to sit down. You’re going to sit down. You’re going to sit down in the authority. Please the child down. And he says, I’m standing up in my mind. Subjection is a matter of will. It cannot be forced. And sometimes in marriage, people make the mistake of thinking you can force your wife to submit. You cannot. You can say the Bible says that’s your role. It’s going to be up to her to decide whether she wants to obey God or not.

So, well, what am I supposed to do if she doesn’t submit? Plot along the best you can. Just like the wife with the unbelieving husband in 1 Peter chapter 3. Not something to be withheld, depending on another party’s godly subjection to our needs. I’m not going to submit because you have abused your authority. Not going to submit. Well, again, that’s like, I’m only going to love you if. That’s not biblical love. It is not optional duty. Because of these circumstances that are less than ideal, I’m not going to do it. It is not dependent on the whims of character. Look, some people have good days and bad days. But your role is your role. And you do embrace God’s instruction. And again, there’s a limit. The limit is when the wielding of authority interferes with you complying in your relationship with God.

If a husband were to say, you cannot worship the Lord, then you have to obey God. Rather than man. And that’s what really what 1 Corinthians 7, verse 15 is dealing with. I believe in 1 Corinthians 7 15, when he talks about not under bondage in that passage. He said, How do you know if you will save your husband? How do you know if you will save your wife? In verse 16? He’s saying, you must not submit to the authority of your husband if it’s a choice between him and God. It’s always a choice for God. And the chips have to fall where they may. But I want to talk about a thread that came up among preachers, and there’s a preacher page on Facebook. Somebody added me.

I never post anything in there, but every now and then I’ll see a notification that something comes up, and it was about a fella who says he’s not to be subject to his wife in any way. Ephesians 5 21 only applies in spiritual relationships, and I’m saying, okay, but if you’re you’re both Christians, that’s a spiritual relationship. Okay, so it does apply. And there were several great comments by preachers who all didn’t agree with this guy who said that. Mark Gibson said, You must arrange yourself under their needs. Doing this does not change or contradict the specific authority structure of headship and submission of a husband and wife. And that’s what I was saying about be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. We must still arrange ourselves under their needs or what is in their best interests.

The real hang up with this brother might have just been the word submission. Another preacher, Stephen Cuffel, queried. I would ask things like this Do you think the husband ever gives up his own desires in order to fulfill the desires of his wife? It seems like he would answer yes. I would ask a couple similarly worded questions and then show him the dictionary definition of the word submission, to yield to the will of another, to defer or consent to abide by the opinion of another. He agrees that the husband submits to the wife, even though he doesn’t use that word. I would also make it very clear that this does not encroach on the man’s authority because he is choosing to allow his wife’s opinion to trump his own.

5. Learn From Christ What Subjection Involves

It would be wrong for her to attempt to force her will upon him. And look, even Jesus subjected himself to the authority of Joseph and Mary. Here’s talking about the King of Kings in Luke chapter 2 and verse 51. And another aspect of the marriage relationship is the wife does not have authority over her own body, nor the husband have the authority over his body in 1 Corinthians 7 or verse 4, as it comes to their intimate relationship. So, yes, you wield authority, but not in that matter of marriage, Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 4. Okay, one final point. You’ll listen well tonight as we’ve talked about this important subject. Whatever we say about subjection, again, we can learn from Christ what subjection involves.

To avoid abuse, each one wielding authority is to do so as Jesus has modeled it. Running roughshod over your wife, demeaning her, continually belittling her, will not be excused by the Lord because you have a right to lead. Consideration of her weaker vessel status.

And I’ll tell you something you’ve got to learn, fellas. Demands that I protect and nurture her in every way possible. Spiritually, physically, and emotionally. And you’re going to have to work at that. It’s interesting that what follows that statement in 1 Peter chapter 3, a relationship about brethren, really applies to marriage also. To sum up, and this would apply to verse 7, as it does the entire context that precedes it. To sum up, be harmonious. Be harmonious. Sympathetic. You ever look at this in relation to marriage? I think we always look at this in relation to our brothers in Christ. And it applies there. But think about this in marriage. Be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind hearted, humble in spirit. Not returning evil for evil. That might be a good one to practice.

Or insult for insult. Ever been in an argument that did that? But giving a blessing instead. For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. Again, isn’t this incredible? We’re modeling Jesus’ behavior. He did all that he did to give us a tremendous blessing. Were you deserving? No. Will your spouse always be deserving? No. So we need to think about how Jesus has responded to us. And respond in kind to our spouse. You know, I don’t preach about this all the time. It shouldn’t be that hard of a subject. Subjection. It shouldn’t be that hard of a subject. How has Jesus loved us? And that’s what Paul is saying to Peso 5. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

And sometimes I think we get so caught up in verse 24 and verse 22 of Ephesians 5 that we don’t think about the fact Jesus has shown us how to love in our relationships. And it’s going to be a lifelong work. In marriage with our brethren in local church.

Conclusion

What unimaginable blessings God has in store for all of us who subject ourselves to the will of God. Is there someone in this audience that we can help tonight? Put on Christ and subject yourselves to the will of God. He is the ultimate beneficent ruler. And may you come under his authority and please him. Let’s stand and see.