When we Meet God’s Authority, we will Live out Christ as our Life of Submission

Salvation brings us not only joy but also submission, for the Lord’s life of submission is infused into us through regeneration, and we submit to the Lord and to one another; we praise the Lord for His life of submission, which led to Him being made Lord of all, uplifted to the highest place in the universe!

Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, the God who became man and the man who became God and who was made Lord of all! In His name all knees shall bow and every tongue openly confess that Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!

This week, we have been prayerfully considering and enjoying the matter of knowing and taking Christ as our pattern, as seen in Philippians chapter 2. What a wonderful Christ we have!

He is our pattern. He went through a particular process, which Paul describes in verses 5 and 11 in Philippians 2, and this One became our pattern; we need to let His mind be in us today.

He was equal with God, but He didn’t consider this as a treasure to be grasped and retained. Rather, He emptied Himself, laying aside what He possessed – the form of God.

The outward form and expression of His deity was put aside, and He became in the likeness of men. He was found in fashion as a man, and He humbled Himself even more by becoming obedient even unto death – the death of the cross.

He humbled Himself to the uttermost, and He was obedient unto death.

He created submission; God represents authority, and Christ came to create submission, so that there would be authority and submission.

Then, after Him being obedient unto death and learning obedience by the things He suffered, He was raised by the Father and exalted to the highest peak. God bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.

Now in the name of Jesus, every man is saved, and He is the Lord of all! Praise the Lord! The principle here is that someone with the highest life and position would be willing to live in a lowly way.

Here we see God who became man, being obedient to the Father, living by the divine life in all things, and choosing to live in a lowly way with no rebellion and no opinion.

He is our pattern. He’s our pattern not only objectively but subjectively, that is, in an experiential way. He operates in us as the indwelling God. He lives in us and is expressed through us. Praise the Lord!

We can take the crucified life as our pattern so that the door is opened for resurrection to come in and bring us into the power of resurrection!

Christ humbled Himself to the Uttermost and was exalted by God as a Man to be the Lord of All

If we read Philippians 2:5-11 we may think that it is easy to understand how much the Lord Jesus humbled Himself, emptied Himself, and learned obedience even unto death, and then God exalted Him to the uttermost.

We may think we understand and it makes sense, that the Lord went through such a process, and the end result is amazing.

However, this portion is both mysterious and easy to misunderstand, for here we see authority and submission.

Here we see how God became a man, and He emptied Himself of the outward form of His divinity, humbling Himself and becoming obedient to God.

By doing this, He took a risk; He could have returned into His glory as the Son of God either after humbling Himself to the uttermost and being obedient unto death, or by forcing Himself back into glory.

If the Lord had accomplished perfect and pure submission, the Father would have brought Him back into glory, and this is what happened.

The Lord Jesus was able to return because He accomplished a perfect and pure submission. Even though suffering upon suffering was piled on Him, He remained absolutely submissive.

There was no rebellion in Him. There was no negative reaction from Him. He did not seek to escape the process of humbling and humiliation.

He did not seek to refill what was emptied from Him; rather, He wanted to be brought into God by this process of being humbled and submissive.

Praise the Lord, because Christ humbled Himself to the uttermost, God also highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name (Phil. 2:9)!

Now in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should openly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (vv. 10-11).

How precious and wonderful is the name of Jesus! There’s no other name in the universe like Him!

When He was on the cross, He declared, It is done. This didn’t mean only that salvation had been secured but that everything that He said had been done.

He accomplished and created submission, and the Father approved it, appreciated it, and exalted Him to the uttermost.

The Lord Jesus received a name that is above every name, and in His name is glory and power!

At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue should openly confess that Jesus is Lord!

Praise the Lord! Jesus is Lord! We confess that Jesus is Lord! We openly confess that the name of Jesus is the highest name in the universe!

From the time that the Lord Jesus was resurrected, ascended, and enthroned by the Father, He was not only God but also Lord of all!

He was made by God Lord of all in His humanity, and He became Lord over all things! Wow!

He was God and remained God, but He also became Lord of all! He’s the Christ in relationship with the church, and He is Lord in relationship with all things and with God! Praise the Lord!

This was the Lord’s intention from the very beginning, when it was decided in the Godhead that the Father represents authority and the Son represents submission.

When the Lord Jesus came forth from God, He didn’t intend to return by His deity; rather, He intended to return through His exaltation as a man. Wow!

The Lord Jesus maintained the principle of submission; He submitted to the Father in all things and to the uttermost, and He was exalted by God. Wow!

The Lord Jesus returned to heaven through His being a man and being submissive in the form of a man; this is why He was exalted by God!

When He was incarnated, the Lord Jesus bade farewell to His divine form for a while, and He took on the flesh as His form.

There was no trace of disobedience in Him; He submitted to God to the uttermost.

Therefore, He was exalted by God in His humanity.

Though Christ stepped out of glory into humanity, as a result of His perfect and pure submission, He was exalted by God to the uttermost and glory was bestowed on Him as a man! Praise the Lord!

He reclaimed His glory not by claiming it from God based on Him being God but on the basis of His submission to God as a man! Now there is a man in the glory, Jesus Christ, the God-man!

He learned obedience through suffering (Heb. 5:8), He had true submission in spite of suffering, and He is now the life of obedience in our spirit!

When we see this, when we realise the principle of authority and submission, we will also realise that there’s no greater or uglier sin than rebellion. Also, there’s nothing more important than submission. Praise the Lord!

How good it is to be enlightened to see the Lord in this way and even to open to Him and tell Him,

Lord Jesus, we praise You for Your incarnation. Praise You for becoming a man by stepping out of glory to be clothed with humanity and be found in fashion as a man. Thank You for humbling Yourself to the uttermost, being obedient unto death. Wow, Lord, we praise You for Your perfect and true submission. Thank You for creating submission. We open to You today. We open to Your inner dispensing. Dispense Yourself into us. Live in us a life of submission to God and to those around us. We just want to let You live in us. Strengthen our faith. May we let You be expressed in us with Your perfect and pure submission. Oh Lord, we praise You! Praise You for being exalted by the Father! We praise the name of Jesus, the highest name in the universe! Hallelujah, Jesus the man was made by God Lord of all! Praise the Lord, the highest name in the universe is the name of Jesus! We love to call on Your name, Lord! Jesus Christ is Lord of all!

When we Meet God’s Authority, we will Live out Christ as our Life of Submission

When we were saved, we not only entered into the enjoyment of Christ but also into the kingdom of God. Salvation not only brings joy; it also brings in submission (Rom. 1:5; 16:19, 26; Titus 3:1).

On the one hand, we received the Lord’s life in our spirit and we were born of God to be children of God. On the other hand, we entered God’s kingdom, and we are now experiencing the Lord as our life of submission.

Only the submissive ones will experience the fullness of salvation. We need to be submissive, even as the Lord was submissive.

He is our pattern; we learn from Him. He lived a life of submission and obedience, and He became the source of our salvation through obedience (Heb. 5:8-9).

The Lord has His permissive will, but He has His perfect will; in His perfect will, He wants to gain many who are submissive to Him for Him to do what He wants to do.

But in His permissive will, He allows many things and situations that we want to happen, but He is not happy with us in these. Oh Lord!

May it be settled in our being that we want His perfect will. May it be clear to us that we live out Christ as our life of submission.

When we meet God’s authority, submission is a simple matter. God is faithful to bring us to meet His authority, and when we see His authority, we will simply submit.

When we meet God’s authority, knowing God’s will is a simple matter. We will simply live out Christ as our life of submission, for the Lord has given us His life.

We need to realise that, as believers in Christ, we have the Lord’s life. The Lord Jesus, who was submissive throughout His life, has already given us His life of submission (John 11:25).

Every believer in Christ has the Lord’s life of submission in his spirit. But not every believer in Christ knows Christ as the pattern so that he may allow the Lord to live such a life in us.

If we see the Lord’s submission, we will hate our rebellion. If we see how the Son suffered and was humbled to the uttermost, creating submission, we will stay away from any rebellion.

Only when we know and see the principle of submission can we truly serve God. God accepts service only from those who submit to Him even as the Lord submitted to Him.

The Lord’s life of submission is in us. We are now in the process of learning to be obedient to the Lord through the things we suffer. Suffering is our portion.

We are learning to be obedient in suffering. When the Lord Jesus came to the earth, He didn’t bring obedience with Him; rather, He learned it through suffering.

We don’t have obedience in our natural being, but we have the Lord’s life of submission in our spirit. The Lord Jesus is the source of our salvation through obedience.

Now we have obedience of faith. God saved us with the hope that we would submit to His will. His will is made clear to us when we submit to the Lord.

When we meet God’s authority, we will simply realise that we have the Lord’s life of submission in us, and we will live this life.

When we meet the authority of God, submission will be a simple matter, and we will know the will of God.

How can this be? Why is it this way? It is because the Lord Jesus, who was submissive throughout His life, has already given us His life of submission.

This is very practical to us in our daily living. We need to pray this to the Lord.

Even in our daily living, in many small things and big things, we need to live in the principle of submission, realising that the Lord has given us His life of submission.

Lord Jesus, thank You for giving us the life of submission. Thank You for becoming a human being and passing through all the processes. Thank You for being submissive to God to the uttermost. Hallelujah, we believers in Christ have joy, and we have submission! Wow, the Lord’s life of submission is ours, for He gave us His life of submission today! Amen, Lord, may we be submissive even as the Lord was submissive. We take You as the source of our salvation through submission. May we submit to Your will. Amen, Lord, may we meet God’s authority so that submission is a simple matter. Amen, Lord, thank You for being not only on the throne in heaven but even more, being our life of submission in our spirit! Hallelujah, the Lord Jesus as a man is on the throne, at the highest peak in the universe, and at the same time He’s in us as our life of submission today! Amen, Lord, train us to live a life of submission. We want to follow You step by step together until we become Your overcoming saints enjoying You at the wedding feast!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brother Ron Kangas in this conference, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” ch. 5, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (part 3 – 2025 Summer Training), week 26, Knowing and Taking Christ as Our Pattern – day 6.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Submission being easy with life, a portion from, Authority and Submission, Chapter 8, by Watchman Nee.
  – Crucial Points regarding the Lord’s Ascension, via, Living to Him.
  – God’s authority, a portion from, The Elders’ Management of the Church, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
  – 5 Names of Jesus in the New Testament and What They Mean, via, Bibles for America blog.
  – The way the Lord came out of His divine form and the way He returned, a portion from, Authority and Submission, Chapter 5, by Watchman Nee.
  – Philippians (Program #11) – The Exaltation of Christ, via, Bible study radio.
  – The ministry of Christ in His ascension, article in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – New Jerusalem Foreseen in Ephesians, 2, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Authority and Fellowship, via, Shepherding words.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – I would give myself, Lord, / Fully unto Thee, / That Thy heart’s desire / Be fulfilled in me. / I no more would struggle / To myself reform, / Thus in me to hinder / What Thou wouldst perform. (Hymns #841 stanza 5)
  – “Consider Him,” and thus thy life shall be / Filled with self-sacrifice and purity; / God will work out in thee the pattern true, / And Christ’s example ever keep in view. / “Consider Him,” and as you run the race, / Keep ever upward looking in His face; / And thus transformed, illumined thou shalt be, / And Christ’s own image shall be seen in thee. (Hymns #656 stanzas 4-5)
  – ’Tis by His heav’nly rule within / As heav’nly citizens we live; / ’Tis by submission to His rule / Expression of His reign we give. / Here in this heav’nly realm we live, / And with this heav’nly pow’r possessed / We walk and fight in heav’nly light / Until the Kingdom’s manifest. (Hymns #942 stanza 6-7)