Obeying Jesus Christ

Sometimes I’ve argued with God. That’s because I hear my own words instead of His words about what He’s done for me through Jesus Christ. As a local teacher, I often tell my elementary school students that they need to do three things: listen, remember, and obey. I say, “If you don’t listen to me will you hear what I want you to do?” They always say “No.” Then I ask, “If you don’t remember what you heard, can you obey?” This takes a little longer for a response, but they usually come up with another “No.” Then I finally ask, “If you’ve listened to me, and remembered what I said—but you don’t want to do it, will you obey?” They realize that they won’t obey unless they decide to.

Listening Under

The New Testament word often translated “obey” is hupakouō. It comes from hupo (under) and akouō (listen or hear). In order to obey, we have to “listen under” the one to be obeyed. Our salvation depends on our obedience—which requires that we make Jesus the Lord of our lives.

Romans 10:9,10:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Will every person obey and receive this promise? Sadly, no.

Romans 10:16,17:
But they have not all obeyed [hupakouō] the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

We get the faith of Jesus Christ when we hear and obey. That’s why God called Paul to preach the gospel.

Romans 1:5:
By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience [hupakoē, the noun form of hupakouō] to the faith among all nations, for his name.

We can thank God whenever anyone believes in our risen savior and obeys the Lord Jesus. Believing comes from a person’s heart. That’s why faith comes by hearing the Word of God.

Romans 6:17:
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed [hupakouō] from the heart that form of doctrine [teaching] which was delivered you.

Obeying the One Who Obeys

Back to my elementary school analogy, we all may agree that it’s good for students to obey the teacher. But what if the teacher doesn’t follow the good standards of teaching? That is a sad situation that many kids face today. It requires someone worthy of obedience. We can obey Jesus Christ because he always obeys the Father.

Hebrews 5:8,9:
Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience [hupakoē] by the things which he suffered;
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey [hupakouō] him.

Adam and Eve did not obey God, and we face consequences from the action still today. But Jesus Christ obeyed so that we can be righteous in him.

Romans 5:19:
For as by one man’s [Adam’s] disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience [hupakoē] of one [Jesus Christ] shall many be made righteous.

Setting Ourselves Under

Making Jesus our Lord each day requires a lot of thought and follow through. It’s true that we have God’s spirit in us, and it is called “Christ in you.” It’s also true that we have the scriptures to show us Jesus’ words and deeds to follow. Another New Testament word shows us another “under” action we should take.

Ephesians 5:21:
Submitting yourselves [hupotassō] one to another in the fear of God. 

The Greek text reads that we are to submit out of a “respect for Christ.” The word hupotassō comes from hupo (under) and tithēmi (to set or place). We literally set ourselves under other believers out of our respect for the Christ that is in them. Setting ourselves under a person works two ways: we are able to hear what they say, and we are in a position to support them. This “fear of God” is different from what some people think. It is a respect for God, an awe and appreciation for His goodness to us.

Hebrews 12:9:
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection [hupotassō] unto the Father of spirits, and live?

If we’ve respected and obeyed our earthly parents or teachers when they’ve corrected us, what about God? We should willingly set ourselves under the Father Who gave us His spirit to dwell within. The resulting blessing for us is life!

James 4:7:
Submit yourselves [hupotassō] therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

When we set ourselves under God’s direction, we know what to do. It helps us stand against the adversary. Satan is a coward and will run away from God’s true power. That’s why we obey from the heart out of love for what our Father does for us through His Son. Let’s enjoy each day, obeying and submitting so that we can be more than conquerors in all of life’s situations.