. . . that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

    By reading I Timothy it is clear that it is not only talking about "how thou oughtest to behave thyself" while meeting is going on, but also how each member of the Lord's congregations, each person that is a member of one of His bodies, "oughtest to behave thyself" twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Jesus' congregations continue to exist daily and continue to operate daily. The New Testament gives thorough instructions on "how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God." There are general instructions that are for each and every member and there are some that are specific to the pastors, the deacons, their wives, men, women, children, husbands, wives, widows, mothers, fathers, elder men, younger men, elder women, younger women, the rich, the poor, masters, and servants. Some instructions are for all the time and some are for "when ye come together" (I Corinthians 11:18).

Ephesians 5:15-21 says:

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

And be ye not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

    When "submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God" is practiced it is done "as unto the Lord" (Ephesians 5:22), "as unto Christ" (Ephesians 6:5), "as the servants of Christ" (v. 6), and "as to the Lord" (v.7). "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God" does not mean that husbands should be hen-pecked, that children should be the bosses, that employers ("masters" Ephesians 6:5) should tolerate insubordination of employees ("servants" Eph. 6:5), nor that Jesus' congregations should allow their teaching and practice to be dictated by or adjusted to suit the world (or worldly members). Submission or insubordination that is contrary to that which God has ordained and instructed is rebellion "as unto the Lord."

    Angels, as well as people, were created by God, and were and are supposed to praise Him (Psalm 148:1-5).

    That angels have sinned and been cast down is seen in II Peter 2:4 which says that ". . . God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell. . . ." The nature of their sin is given as that they "kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation," in Jude verse 6. We see here that their sin was that of rebellion, following the desire to do things their own way rather than following God's plan.

    Satan, an angel himself, was the originator and the leader of rebellion. Ezekiel 28:12-18 is seen as a double reference, being not only an address to an earthly king, but also making reference to Satan in his unfallen condition and to his fall, showing the source and origin of the king's attitude and arrogance (verse 2).

    Another double reference concerning Satan's fall is found in Isaiah 14:12-15 which says:

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Here, again, we see Satan's desire, his intention, and his determination to go around God and His authority and to do things his own way. He was the original "pro-choice" advocate. He is the founder of counterfeit "Christianity" whose followers reject the instruction of God's Word and choose to do things their own way. In II Thessalonians 2:4 Paul describes "that man of sin" that is to be revealed (v.3):

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

    It is apparent that Satan is the originator of rebellion against God and all that is of God. The angels mentioned in II Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 have followed his example.

    God created Adam and Eve and had a plan for them. He told them what was expected of them. Satan, who had fallen when he said, "I will be like the most High" tempted Eve with the promise that she would become "as gods" (Genesis 3:5). Here we see the similarity between Eve's sin and that of the fallen angels described in Jude 6 and of Satan's described in Isaiah 14:12-14. Satan still operates in the same manner. He first implies that God is being too strict, as he did in Genesis 3:1. Next, he implies that the path to knowledge is other than God's Word, as he did in Genesis 3:5. Eve had no business submitting herself to the teaching of that false prophet, Satan. A member of one of Jesus' congregations has no business submitting himself to the teaching and preaching, nor the "gospel singing," of those who proclaim a perverted "gospel", a salvation by works, and blaspheme God's sovereign grace. It is NOT entertainment--it is blasphemy and we should not participate nor show approval of it.

    Next, we read about Adam's sin. The promise to become "as gods" is not mentioned in regard to Adam's sin and in fact, I Timothy 2:14 states that "Adam was not deceived." Adam was not deceived; he knew what he was doing. He knew that if he did not follow the error of his wife that there would be a major difference and disunity between them. Adam chose to try to keep peace in the family. God placed Adam as head of Eve, and Adam chose to improperly submit himself to his wife rather than obey God. In rebelling against God's order Adam was rebelling against God. Ephesians 5:22-25 says:

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;