Greetings,
The memory passage for Ephesians 5 is;
Ephesians 5:1-2,22,25 (ESV)
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
The outline theme is Love and Marriage in Him.
Ephesians 5 is divided into two main sections; the first focusing on our walk with God in Christ and the second focusing on the walk of spouses with each other.
The word 'walk' appears three times in the first 21 verses; walk in love, walk as children of light and walk in wisdom. The first walk is the one that flavors the rest of the chapter; if we are walking in love according to the example of Christ (selfless, sacrificial, and serving) then our relationship with God, other people, and our spouses will be transformed.
Paul follows the first command to walk in love with several negative commands concerning sexual immorality and filthy talk. This impurity, as evidenced in the sons of disobedience, will not inherit the kingdom of God. This behavior is not only the opposite of the will of God, but it is bringing His wrath upon those who walk in sin.
Therefore, we are warned not to associate with them (become partners). It would be inconsistent for a child of God to be associated with (in the sense of being linked to or united with) those who still walk in sin and the flesh (as we once walked before following Christ).
Instead of hanging around or near the works of darkness, we are to walk as children of light in goodness, righteousness and truth. This walk is pleasing to the Lord. And He uses our walk in the light to expose the works of darkness. There seems to be two elements to this; the workers of darkness (those unsaved, living in sin) and the works of darkness done by believers who bear unfruitful works of darkness.
The third element of our walk in the love of Christ is walking in His wisdom and seeking His will. This plays out as we are separated from the world and filled with Holy Spirit. It is evidenced (along with the fruits and gifts of the Spirit) in our relationships; with each other in corporate worship, with the Lord in singing, with God in thanksgiving through the name of Christ, and with each other in submission (our of reverence and in the model of Christ).
The second main section of Ephesians 5 deals with the marriage relationship. It is filled with commands and instructions for the wife and the husband. The wife is to submit to her own husband as unto the Lord (not in the same way, but as an act of service and love). This command comes with the description of the husband's role; head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. So the wife's role is likened to the churches role with Christ.
Husbands must love their wives as Christ loved the church and died for her (in order that He might make the church holy through the cleansing of the water and blood to present her holy and blameless). Paul reasons this out; just as a husband loves his own body and takes care of it, so should he love and take care of his wife.
The husband and wife have left their parent's home and care, being united to each other as one flesh. The responsibility that follows this union is the husband loving his wife as himself and the wife respecting her husband.
I am going to diverge from my normal summary for this week's entry. I do so only because I was struck very profoundly by one verse in this study that unlocked the whole chapter for me.
It seems that this chapter is one that comes up often in the context of marriage (obviously) and women's roles in the home and church. The majority of the flap seems to center around women resisting the command to 'submit' to her husband or any man; how are women supposed to be equal if they must submit to their husbands? Then, as if reading it for the first time, I was struck by verse 2. "And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Without trying to be overly simplistic, this verses hit me as the key to the marriage relationship, and every relationship for that matter. If we walk in the love of Christ, His sacrificial, selfless, servant love, the difficulties of authority and submission go away. This goes for husbands and wives, parents and children, pastors and church members, brothers and sisters in the body, bosses and employees, etc. If I, as a husband, love my wife with the love of Christ and give myself up for her, not only will I honor Christ but I will make it a whole lot easier for her to honor Christ in her relationship to me. It plays out that way in any human relationship. Follow Christ, His words and example, and He will fulfill your roles through you for His glory. The heart of 'submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ' is each of us walking in His love.
May you walk in His love today,
Ethan
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Ephesians 4
Greetings,
The memory passage for Ephesians 4 is;
Ephesians 4:4-6, 22-24 (ESV)
4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
The outline theme is Unity and New Life in Him.
While the first 3 chapters of Ephesians deal with mostly doctrine, the last three deal with practical applications to doctrine. The first section is the talk, the last section is the walk. Ephesians chapter 4 is divided into two main themes; Unity in the body of Christ and New Life in Christ. Notice that 'walk' appears in the first verse of each section (1, 17)
Our walk in unity is first of all charged to be 'worthy of the calling' of the Lord. Elements of this worthy walk are humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, love, unity and peace. Continuing on the unity (only from the Spirit), Paul lists seven statements of oneness; one body (of Christ), one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. Our oneness, with God and men, is completely reliant on Him.
The new few verses deal with the gifts of grace God gives the church. They include apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. The purpose of these gifts to the church is to equip the saints for ministry and build up the body of Christ. The goal of these gifts is that the body attains to the unity of faith, the knowledge of God, mature manhood, and fullness in Christ. Only by the work of Holy Spirit in sanctification can this be attained. Our growth, along with our unity, are completely reliant on Him.
This growth leads to maturity in Him. As children we are tossed back and forth by temptation and deception, being deceived by false doctrine, human trickery and schemes. Our growth leads us out of this instability. The alternative; speak the truth in love, grow up in Him (our Head), be joined together in the body by Him, and function in the body through Him to build up the body in love.
From our walk in the Unity of Christ, Paul moves to our walk in the New Life that He gives us. As a negative command, the Gentile believers were to no longer walk as they used to; in futility, darkness of understanding, apart from God, in ignorance, and with hardness of heart. The fruit of the old walk were callousness, sensuality, greed, and impurity.
To contrast, Paul states strongly that 'this is not the way you learned Christ!'. In Him we must put off the old way of life that is corrupt with deceitful desires and renew our minds (Rom 12:2) with the new self that is created after the likeness of God; righteous and holy. What a trade! Futility, ignorance, separation from God, hardness of heart, callousness, sensuality, greed and impurity for a renewed spirit and mind, the likeness of God in holiness and righteousness...that is His will for us and His gift to us.
Verses 25-32 consist of 5 exhortations that follow this general pattern; a. negative command, b. positive command, c. reason for the positive command. I'll summarize next.
1. (v25)
a. put away falsehood
b. speak the truth with his neighbor
c. for we are members of one another (in the same body)
2. (26-27)
a. in anger, do not sin
b. do not let the sun go down when you are mad
c. Anger, especially that stews, opens the door for the deceiver to work.
3. (28)
a. do not steal
b. do honest work
c. the result, along with providing for your family, is to have something to offer in charity.
4. (29)
a. do not speak corruption with your mouth
b. speak what is upbuilding and appropriate
c. this gives grace to those who hear you
5 (30-32)
a. do not grieve the Holy Spirit (who has sealed your inheritance)
b. put away bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice
c. so that kindness, mercy, and forgiveness can flow, as God has enabled us through Christ.
How does this affect my worship?
The whole first part of this chapter deals with the unity of the body of Christ that only comes from God. This unity shows itself in the ministry and upbuilding of the church, but it also has a lot to do with our worship. The worship of a unified chorus lifts an sacrifice of praise that is 'worthy of the calling' we have from God. To Him belongs all glory, and in Him we have the unity that is required to give Him glorious glory. I see it over and over in Scripture; true worship that is acceptable and pleasing to God must come from Him, flow through Him, and be for Him.
How does this affect my discipleship?
While in vv 11-13, Paul is addressing the gift of people to the church for the equipping and edifying of the church, I see a parallel to the work of disciplemaking. The goals are similar in each; to attain unity of faith, knowledge of Christ, maturity, and fullness of Christ. I'm not going to change Paul's words or meaning, but I see here the value in the body of these characteristics; they appear as our character becomes more like Christ's. Teaching all that He commands (in obedience to His command to make disciples) produces in the individual some of the same results that the ministry of these 'gifted people' provide for the church. Somehow they work together.
May you walk in His unity and new life,
Ethan
The memory passage for Ephesians 4 is;
Ephesians 4:4-6, 22-24 (ESV)
4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
The outline theme is Unity and New Life in Him.
While the first 3 chapters of Ephesians deal with mostly doctrine, the last three deal with practical applications to doctrine. The first section is the talk, the last section is the walk. Ephesians chapter 4 is divided into two main themes; Unity in the body of Christ and New Life in Christ. Notice that 'walk' appears in the first verse of each section (1, 17)
Our walk in unity is first of all charged to be 'worthy of the calling' of the Lord. Elements of this worthy walk are humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, love, unity and peace. Continuing on the unity (only from the Spirit), Paul lists seven statements of oneness; one body (of Christ), one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. Our oneness, with God and men, is completely reliant on Him.
The new few verses deal with the gifts of grace God gives the church. They include apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. The purpose of these gifts to the church is to equip the saints for ministry and build up the body of Christ. The goal of these gifts is that the body attains to the unity of faith, the knowledge of God, mature manhood, and fullness in Christ. Only by the work of Holy Spirit in sanctification can this be attained. Our growth, along with our unity, are completely reliant on Him.
This growth leads to maturity in Him. As children we are tossed back and forth by temptation and deception, being deceived by false doctrine, human trickery and schemes. Our growth leads us out of this instability. The alternative; speak the truth in love, grow up in Him (our Head), be joined together in the body by Him, and function in the body through Him to build up the body in love.
From our walk in the Unity of Christ, Paul moves to our walk in the New Life that He gives us. As a negative command, the Gentile believers were to no longer walk as they used to; in futility, darkness of understanding, apart from God, in ignorance, and with hardness of heart. The fruit of the old walk were callousness, sensuality, greed, and impurity.
To contrast, Paul states strongly that 'this is not the way you learned Christ!'. In Him we must put off the old way of life that is corrupt with deceitful desires and renew our minds (Rom 12:2) with the new self that is created after the likeness of God; righteous and holy. What a trade! Futility, ignorance, separation from God, hardness of heart, callousness, sensuality, greed and impurity for a renewed spirit and mind, the likeness of God in holiness and righteousness...that is His will for us and His gift to us.
Verses 25-32 consist of 5 exhortations that follow this general pattern; a. negative command, b. positive command, c. reason for the positive command. I'll summarize next.
1. (v25)
a. put away falsehood
b. speak the truth with his neighbor
c. for we are members of one another (in the same body)
2. (26-27)
a. in anger, do not sin
b. do not let the sun go down when you are mad
c. Anger, especially that stews, opens the door for the deceiver to work.
3. (28)
a. do not steal
b. do honest work
c. the result, along with providing for your family, is to have something to offer in charity.
4. (29)
a. do not speak corruption with your mouth
b. speak what is upbuilding and appropriate
c. this gives grace to those who hear you
5 (30-32)
a. do not grieve the Holy Spirit (who has sealed your inheritance)
b. put away bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice
c. so that kindness, mercy, and forgiveness can flow, as God has enabled us through Christ.
How does this affect my worship?
The whole first part of this chapter deals with the unity of the body of Christ that only comes from God. This unity shows itself in the ministry and upbuilding of the church, but it also has a lot to do with our worship. The worship of a unified chorus lifts an sacrifice of praise that is 'worthy of the calling' we have from God. To Him belongs all glory, and in Him we have the unity that is required to give Him glorious glory. I see it over and over in Scripture; true worship that is acceptable and pleasing to God must come from Him, flow through Him, and be for Him.
How does this affect my discipleship?
While in vv 11-13, Paul is addressing the gift of people to the church for the equipping and edifying of the church, I see a parallel to the work of disciplemaking. The goals are similar in each; to attain unity of faith, knowledge of Christ, maturity, and fullness of Christ. I'm not going to change Paul's words or meaning, but I see here the value in the body of these characteristics; they appear as our character becomes more like Christ's. Teaching all that He commands (in obedience to His command to make disciples) produces in the individual some of the same results that the ministry of these 'gifted people' provide for the church. Somehow they work together.
May you walk in His unity and new life,
Ethan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
