1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— 5the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. 7You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Dig Deeper
Over the span of coaching high school boy’s basketball for eight years, I had winning seasons and losing seasons. Early on each season, it was usually pretty easy to get a fairly good idea of when a team was going to have a winning season or a losing one. In my mind, though, there was always one thing that would demonstrate whether we had a team that was capable of going farther than just winning more games than they lost and actually winning our conference or even the state championship. It wasn’t how impressive they looked, how many dunks they had per game, or even by how many points they won games. What I always looked for as evidence of possible greatness was selflessness. When I saw guys that cared more about passing to a teammate than adding to their scoring totals, or being more concerned with winning games as a team than how many impressive play they made, I knew that the fruit of selflessness was beginning to show and that true greatness would not be far behind. It was of no coincidence, then, that the team that showed the most selflessness did not have the most talent that I ever coached, but did go the farthest.
Paul had heard of the faith that the church in Colosse was demonstrating and he knew that the fruit of the Spirit and the life of Christ had begun to take root in their life. What is interesting is that as evidence of this burgeoning life in Christ, Paul does not cite how evangelistic they were or how holy and pious had they had shown themselves to be. Those were good things, and no doubt, there was evidence of those things, but they were not the real demonstration of growth in Christ. The real demonstration that Paul relishes is the love that they have for one another. When a community in Christ truly has love for one another, that is the evidence that they are bearing fruit in Christ.
It doesn’t appear that there was any specific controversy in Colosse over the legitimacy of Paul’s apostleship, but he begins his letter with his common reminder that he is an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God (1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; 2 Tim. 1:1). Whatever position Paul might be in or whatever he was doing in his position as apostle in the church of the Messiah, he was doing it all at the call and will of God. Paul was not, however, writing this letter alone. He includes Timothy as a co-worker and co-writer of this letter. This would also let the church in Colosse know that Paul was not alone and abandoned during his imprisonment in Ephesus.
Paul is writing this letter to the holy and faithful brothers (could also be translated as saints) in Christ at Colosse. When Paul referred to people as saints or holy ones, he is not referring to the degree of holiness to which they have attained, rather he is describing their status in Christ. When we try to stand before God on our own recognizance, we can only stand as filthy rags (Isa. 64:6), but when we die to self and enter into the life of Christ, we become clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27). Rather than trying to stand before God and cover our shame and nakedness by our own efforts (Gen. 3:7), we can stand confident before God as those who have been covered and properly clothed with the life of Christ, the only thing that will provide us access to God.
Paul gives all praise to God on a consistent basis as he prays for the Colossians. Paul mentions the distinctly Christian insight of God as Father, but he also calls Jesus the Messiah (Christ), Lord. In this context, he is exalting Jesus to the same status and level as God, because the Greek word for "lord," kyrios, was the same Greek word used by the Jews for YHWH. Although kyrios could be used to denote "master," in this context, Paul is clearly reinforcing the idea the Christ was the very deity in whom God Himself was found.
In verses 4 and 5, Paul introduces three concepts that were central to the early Christian view of the Christian life: faith, hope, and love. These are two verse that are easy to scan quickly past, but we can learn a depth of knowledge about the Christian faith from these two short verses. Paul says that their hope is stored up for them in heaven. What is that hope? It is the life of the age to come (eternal life), which is God’s future when He will restore His good creation and make all things new (Rom. 8:19-21). This is the resurrection when all those in Christ will be brought into God’s restored paradise, when the realms of heaven and earth will be brought back together again as in the original creation before sin, and God’s presence will fill the world. Based on incorrect Greek philosophical beliefs of Plato and others, many in our society think that heaven is a location separate from earth where our disembodied souls go to be with God forever after death. The Bible does teach that we do go into God’s heavenly realm when we die, but it is to await resurrection and the new creation. This verse teaches us that this future is being stored in heaven, waiting to break forth into the world we now know (Rev. 21:1-5). Heaven, then, is the place where God’s future is being stored, not our final destination.
Faith is related to this hope, because only those who lay down their own life, realize that they could never enter this future on their own merit, and enter, by faith, into the life of Christ will enter into God’s age to come. Hope and faith are both primarily internal items, though. Love is important because it is the display and evidence that we have entered into the life of Christ. The evidence of the fruit of the Christian life is displayed by how we treat and love fellow believers (John 13:34-35). Both faith in the life of Christ and the badge of love for other believers spring from the great hope of God’s future restored creation, His age to come.
The same gospel, which embodies truth, that came to them was not some isolated event. It was bearing the same kind of fruit all over the world. The fruit of the gospel, though, it should always be remembered, comes not from our own effort or merit. The life of Christ, access to the hope of God’s future, and the ability to truly love one another all come from God’s grace. In this letter, Paul will deal with some heresies which were, evidently, becoming temptations to some of the Colossians. As he begins his letter, he is already laying the foundations and establishing the criterion by which the Colossians can measure the false claims of the heretic teachers. He wants the Colossians to test the claims of these false teachers and is giving them the tools to do so. Any claim of the gospel must contain God’s word of truth. It must produce fruit in peoples’ lives, and it must be a universal message that is the same truth the world over. A perfect example of this would be the modern prosperity gospel. This is a gospel that matches up well with the Old Testament Scriptures but is rife with problems when the New Testament Scriptures are considered. When stacked up against the criterion that Paul provides, it has definite problems. It contradicts many truths of the New testament; it produces questionable fruit in people’s lives; and it is certainly not universal (it plays well in the United States but doesn’t really work in places like Haiti or the Sudan).
Devotional Thought
The Scriptures are clear that the way we love one another demonstrates our love for God (Jn 13:34-35; Matt. 25:40, 45). To claim that we love God and then to not be loyal to other believers is to deceive ourselves. If you were to truly assess your love for God by the way you love His people, how would you grade yourself right now?
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Ephesians 6:18-24
18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Final Greetings
21Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.
23Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
Dig Deeper
Quite often when one team beats another team in what is considered an upset win, people will claim that they are lucky, not giving them any credit for the win. In fact, I recall a few years ago when the Wisconsin Badger’s men basketball team went on a run in the NCAA tournament that took them all the way to the Final Four. After every win they had, some announcer or commentator would basically imply that they had gotten lucky and that was why they won. It’s funny, though, how teams seem to got lucky a lot more when they work really hard. I used to always tell my basketball teams that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. The point is that hard work and effort creates what many people call luck.
In a similar manner, many people claim that prayer doesn’t really do much. When people claim that their prayers have been answered, it is really, say the critics, that they have experienced a coincidence. That may be, but it is sure funny how it seems that a lot more coincidences happen for people when they pray consistently and faithfully, and when they don’t, the coincidences seem to dry up pretty quickly. Just as it appears that hard work has much more to do with success, unexpected or otherwise, than luck does, so it appears that prayer has much more to do with God moving than just mere coincidence. Paul obviously felt prayer was rather important and not just some nice spiritual activity to keep people feeling good about God. He opened this letter praying for his readers, now as he closes this letter, he urges them to live lives that are characterized by prayer, as well as to pray for him and his ministry. Paul knows that if all Christians will do this faithfully, a whole lot more ‘coincidences’ will happen.
In his closing summation Paul now turns to prayer. We should not take his call to prayer as though it is another piece of the Christian armor. Paul sets prayer apart from the other aspects of the Christian armor, although he connects it to them by his repetition of the "Spirit" from verse 17 in verse 18. His intent is that prayer is part of the demeanor that those who put on the armor of God will have. To truly utilize the armor that God have provided us with, we must discipline ourselves to pray on all occasions. A well disciplined Christian soldier is one who continually prays in the Spirit and constantly remains alert. There are three important aspects that we can learn about Paul’s view of Christian prayer in verse 18. First, we should constantly be in an attitude and mindset of prayer as we pray on all occasions. Second, our prayer is to be intense, as Paul calls for believers to be alert. Christian prayer is not a spur of the moment thing that is done without thinking, but is the response of someone who is prepared and aware of all that is going on around them. Third, prayer is unlimited, as Paul says to keep on praying for all the saints. The spiritual battle goes far beyond our individual lives, and so should our prayer. All believers are in the spiritual battle as our brothers and sisters in arms, and so our prayers must go beyond our narrow individualism and cover the entire body of Christ.
This all reminds us that prayer is to be well thought out and is a discipline that requires hard work and great effort. Many of us reduce prayer to something that is comfortable and easy, but that is not the picture of prayer that Paul paints or that the gospel writers portrayed in the life of Christ. Recently, a sister in Christ told me that she thought she was doing well in her prayer life because she had managed to squeeze it in every day for the last several weeks. I’m glad that she’s praying everyday but she still has a ways to go in having a proper understanding of prayer. Prayer is not something that can be reduced to a few forced moments of sleepy stupor in the morning or a few snatched minutes of drowsy reflection at the end of the day. It is a discipline. Prayer is a time when we step into the reality of God’s realm. It becomes holy ground, the place in which heaven and earth overlap and intersect. We must learn to treat prayer as the powerful weapon that it is and begin to base our lives around it as something that really works because we are communicating with God in His realm rather than checking off thirty minutes a day on our Christian time clocks.
Paul also exhorts them to pray not only for one another but also for him. Paul is not so arrogant to think that he could ever reach a point in his life where he was such a servant of God that he was beyond prayer. Specifically he desires prayer so that words will be given him whenever he opens his mouth, a typical biblical expression used when a particularly important utterance is coming forth. The words he has in mind are those that make known the mystery of the gospel. A more helpful understanding of Paul’s point, when we keep in mind the first century meaning of "mystery," would be, "make known the revelation that the gospel contains." Overall, Paul asks for their prayers that he make speak fearlessly, a word that could also mean "boldly" or "brazenly." Paul gives them one more reminder, that he is an ambassador in chains. This is not something of which he is ashamed, nor should they be ashamed of him and the fact that he is in chains. Paul believes that he is right where Christ wants him to be, so he should be declaring the gospel with great boldness.
We don’t know much about Tychicus, although he is also mentioned in Acts 20:4, where we learn that he was from Asia and went with Paul on the trip to take the collection from the Gentile churches to the church in Jerusalem. He is also mentioned in Colossians 4:7, 2 Timothy 4:12, and Titus 3:12. Paul, here tells his reader that Tychicus is a dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, that will tell them how he was dong in prison. It appears that he is the one in whom faith was put to deliver Colossians, Philemon, and the letter of Ephesians to their original recipients.
Paul ends the letter by praying for them the peace, love, and faith that come from God. Paul specifically extends these aspects of the Christian life to the brothers, that is, those that were members of the local congregations to whom Paul was writing. Paul, as he always does, wants them to think beyond just their local congregations, though, as he extends grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying love. The undying love, is the eternal love that will last beyond this present age and be the primary characteristic of God’s people in the age to come. Paul began this letter by wishing them grace and peace, and so, he ends the letter on the same note that he began.
Devotional Thought
Paul stresses the importance of prayer in the life of the Christian. How is your prayer life right now? Is it something that you squeeze in as a responsibility as though you’re punching a time clock? Or do you view it is an invaluable discipline of your Christian faith that allows you to connect with God in His reality and dimension?
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Final Greetings
21Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.
23Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
Dig Deeper
Quite often when one team beats another team in what is considered an upset win, people will claim that they are lucky, not giving them any credit for the win. In fact, I recall a few years ago when the Wisconsin Badger’s men basketball team went on a run in the NCAA tournament that took them all the way to the Final Four. After every win they had, some announcer or commentator would basically imply that they had gotten lucky and that was why they won. It’s funny, though, how teams seem to got lucky a lot more when they work really hard. I used to always tell my basketball teams that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. The point is that hard work and effort creates what many people call luck.
In a similar manner, many people claim that prayer doesn’t really do much. When people claim that their prayers have been answered, it is really, say the critics, that they have experienced a coincidence. That may be, but it is sure funny how it seems that a lot more coincidences happen for people when they pray consistently and faithfully, and when they don’t, the coincidences seem to dry up pretty quickly. Just as it appears that hard work has much more to do with success, unexpected or otherwise, than luck does, so it appears that prayer has much more to do with God moving than just mere coincidence. Paul obviously felt prayer was rather important and not just some nice spiritual activity to keep people feeling good about God. He opened this letter praying for his readers, now as he closes this letter, he urges them to live lives that are characterized by prayer, as well as to pray for him and his ministry. Paul knows that if all Christians will do this faithfully, a whole lot more ‘coincidences’ will happen.
In his closing summation Paul now turns to prayer. We should not take his call to prayer as though it is another piece of the Christian armor. Paul sets prayer apart from the other aspects of the Christian armor, although he connects it to them by his repetition of the "Spirit" from verse 17 in verse 18. His intent is that prayer is part of the demeanor that those who put on the armor of God will have. To truly utilize the armor that God have provided us with, we must discipline ourselves to pray on all occasions. A well disciplined Christian soldier is one who continually prays in the Spirit and constantly remains alert. There are three important aspects that we can learn about Paul’s view of Christian prayer in verse 18. First, we should constantly be in an attitude and mindset of prayer as we pray on all occasions. Second, our prayer is to be intense, as Paul calls for believers to be alert. Christian prayer is not a spur of the moment thing that is done without thinking, but is the response of someone who is prepared and aware of all that is going on around them. Third, prayer is unlimited, as Paul says to keep on praying for all the saints. The spiritual battle goes far beyond our individual lives, and so should our prayer. All believers are in the spiritual battle as our brothers and sisters in arms, and so our prayers must go beyond our narrow individualism and cover the entire body of Christ.
This all reminds us that prayer is to be well thought out and is a discipline that requires hard work and great effort. Many of us reduce prayer to something that is comfortable and easy, but that is not the picture of prayer that Paul paints or that the gospel writers portrayed in the life of Christ. Recently, a sister in Christ told me that she thought she was doing well in her prayer life because she had managed to squeeze it in every day for the last several weeks. I’m glad that she’s praying everyday but she still has a ways to go in having a proper understanding of prayer. Prayer is not something that can be reduced to a few forced moments of sleepy stupor in the morning or a few snatched minutes of drowsy reflection at the end of the day. It is a discipline. Prayer is a time when we step into the reality of God’s realm. It becomes holy ground, the place in which heaven and earth overlap and intersect. We must learn to treat prayer as the powerful weapon that it is and begin to base our lives around it as something that really works because we are communicating with God in His realm rather than checking off thirty minutes a day on our Christian time clocks.
Paul also exhorts them to pray not only for one another but also for him. Paul is not so arrogant to think that he could ever reach a point in his life where he was such a servant of God that he was beyond prayer. Specifically he desires prayer so that words will be given him whenever he opens his mouth, a typical biblical expression used when a particularly important utterance is coming forth. The words he has in mind are those that make known the mystery of the gospel. A more helpful understanding of Paul’s point, when we keep in mind the first century meaning of "mystery," would be, "make known the revelation that the gospel contains." Overall, Paul asks for their prayers that he make speak fearlessly, a word that could also mean "boldly" or "brazenly." Paul gives them one more reminder, that he is an ambassador in chains. This is not something of which he is ashamed, nor should they be ashamed of him and the fact that he is in chains. Paul believes that he is right where Christ wants him to be, so he should be declaring the gospel with great boldness.
We don’t know much about Tychicus, although he is also mentioned in Acts 20:4, where we learn that he was from Asia and went with Paul on the trip to take the collection from the Gentile churches to the church in Jerusalem. He is also mentioned in Colossians 4:7, 2 Timothy 4:12, and Titus 3:12. Paul, here tells his reader that Tychicus is a dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, that will tell them how he was dong in prison. It appears that he is the one in whom faith was put to deliver Colossians, Philemon, and the letter of Ephesians to their original recipients.
Paul ends the letter by praying for them the peace, love, and faith that come from God. Paul specifically extends these aspects of the Christian life to the brothers, that is, those that were members of the local congregations to whom Paul was writing. Paul, as he always does, wants them to think beyond just their local congregations, though, as he extends grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying love. The undying love, is the eternal love that will last beyond this present age and be the primary characteristic of God’s people in the age to come. Paul began this letter by wishing them grace and peace, and so, he ends the letter on the same note that he began.
Devotional Thought
Paul stresses the importance of prayer in the life of the Christian. How is your prayer life right now? Is it something that you squeeze in as a responsibility as though you’re punching a time clock? Or do you view it is an invaluable discipline of your Christian faith that allows you to connect with God in His reality and dimension?
Monday, March 24, 2008
Ephesians 6:10-17
The Armor of God
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Dig Deeper
One thing that every coach knows is that there is a time for action. Every team must be prepared, that is indispensable. During the time for preparation, the team is drilled and practiced so that they can know what they are truly capable of and what they want to accomplish. That way all the players understand what they want to do and can work together to achieve their goals. Players are also taught about their opponent. The most difficult type of game in a team sport is one in which you know nothing about your opponent and what they are up to. When the preparation is well done, though, and everything is put together and ready, you don’t just sit around and continue to practice. It is time to suit up and play the game.
This isn’t a perfect analogy, because when it comes to the Christian life, there is no pre-season time, where new converts get to practice and prepare for the time when the forces of evil will begin to attack. Yet, this is still somewhat the mentality that Paul takes at the close of his letter. He has explained what sort of power believers have available to them in the life of Christ, and has described practical examples where the forces of darkness will bubble up in their life. Now it is time to take up their armor and get into the fight with all of the tools available to them.
Paul has stressed the subject of power throughout this letter and has, since chapter 4, been urging his readers to stand apart from the pagan lifestyle that surrounds them. Here he brings those ideas together as he lays out a summary of the whole letter, while at the same time introducing a new image for this letter, that of a well armed soldier. These verses constitute a call to action, but also recapitulate many of the ideas that have already been described earlier in the letter: power (1:19-20; 3:7, 16, 20); put on (4:24); the devil’s scheming and footholds (4:14; 27); evil spiritual (1:27; 3:10); heavenly realms (1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10); evil days (5:16); darkness (5:8, 11); truth (1:13; 4:15, 21, 24, 25; 5:9); righteousness (4:24; 5:9); the gospel (1:13; 3:6); peace (1:2; 2:14-17; 4:3); faith (1:15; 2:8; 3:12, 17; 4:5, 13); salvation (1:13); the Spirit 1:13-14, 17; 2:18, 22; 3:5, 16; 4:3-4, 30; 5:18); the word (5:26); prayer 1:15-19; 3:14-20); saints (1:1, 15, 18; 2:19; 3:8, 18; 4:12; 5:3); mystery (1:19; 3:3-4, 9; 5:32).
In 1:19, Paul prayed that his readers might become enlightened as to the greatness of God’s power, now he calls for them to put it on and take advantage of it. Paul probably uses two sources for the prevailing image in this passage. The first comes from the everyday image, for his first readers, of a roman soldier, fully armed and dressed, and ready for battle. The second comes from the Old Testament Scriptures such as Isaiah 59:17, which describes God as the armed warrior who has put "on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak"; and Isaiah 11:5, which describes the Messiah as the one who comes prepared for war and judgment: "Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. "
What is true of the Messiah is true of his people, so if the Messiah is the one dressed and ready for battle against evil, then his people must also be dressed and ready because the battle with evil will come. We are, as 5:1 has already stated, to be imitators of God. Verse 10, however, literally says to "be made strong in the Lord," indicating that the spiritual armor is given to us by Christ in his mighty power, not anything we do of our own power. The tense used in verse 11, which urges believers to put on the full armor of God, indicates that it was a specific action taken at a specific time in the past, which would seem to fit with the baptismal theology that is present throughout this letter; in other words, Paul may be thinking of baptism as the specific moment when the armor is put on, and is now calling these young Christians to realize what they have available to them.
Why does the armor need to be put on? Because we are in a battle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We are engaged in battle, but we have already learned in 1:21 that Christ has defeated these spiritual powers. Paul’s point is that we are already victors in Christ, thus the call is to be what we already are. Even though they have been subjugated by Christ, the evil forces are still a constant threat to one’s spiritual life. Paul here describes that the battle is basically against one force, the evil powers, which he describes in many different ways for impact and emphasis (any attempt to find a specific hierarchy of evil forces here is more speculation and fancy than anything else). The fact is that there are evil powers in the spiritual realm that can effect believers that are not prepared, so we must all be prepared when the day of evil comes, or more literally "any time evil is encountered."
Paul makes no attempt here to give a complete list of everything that a Christian needs, but he does stress the essential items. The first item is truth. The Christian message is only worth anything if it is true. It works because it’s true, and the truth of Christianity must never be compromised. The second item is righteousness. This has to do with the fact that God, the true judge of the world, has promised to put the whole world to rights, and that is exactly what He will do. In fact, in Christ, God has already done that for us and allows us to stand ‘in the right’ (the technical meaning of righteousness) before Him. This is our breastplate against attacks of the evil one. The third item is the gospel of peace. The imagery here comes from Isaiah 52:7, as those who bring good news and proclaim peace are declared to have beautiful feet. Paul indicates the immediacy and reality of the spiritual battle and the readiness needed to proclaim the message that God has defeated the evil forces of darkness and reconciled the world to Himself in Christ. The fourth item is the shield of faith. Loyal obedience to the life of Christ will protect us against the enemy when he hurls his fiery darts at us. Truly living the life of Christ will quench everything the enemy can throw our way.
The fifth item is the helmet of salvation. In Isaiah 59, salvation is the helmet that God wears into battle; it is His power and readiness to save, not protection as it is here. We should note that the previous items were "put on" but the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit are "taken" or "received." A fully dressed soldier would be handed the helmet and sword as he could not bend over to pick them up. Salvation and the word of God are thus pictured as gifts to be given to us by God. Although we cannot enact things such as truth or righteousness, it is the duty of the believer to stand firm in those things. Salvation and the word, however, are gifts that can only be received. The word of God here is not the New Testament, which was not completed yet, but refers to the word of the gospel (Eph. 5:26) through which God reconciles the world, including people, to Himself.
The attack of the evil one may take different forms, but we can be sure that it will come. It might be a full frontal attack trying to prevent us from spreading the gospel, something Paul seemed to be familiar with. Or the fiery darts might come more in the form of age-old temptations such as being distracted by the things of the world or false teaching, or perhaps the most common attack of the enemy that comes in the form of thoughts, ideas, and suggestions, which come into our mind, tempting us to dwell on evil thoughts which will eventually lead to sinful actions. In whatever form the battle comes to us we must first recognize the ground on which the battle is being fought. Second, we must put on the full armor of God so that we can withstand the attack. Finally, we must learn how to stand our ground and trust that the armor God has given us is sufficient.
Devotional Thought
When Satan attacks, and he will, what is your defense? Do you turn to the armor of God or do you have other items that provide comfort? What we turn to when the hard times come reveal a lot about our character.
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Dig Deeper
One thing that every coach knows is that there is a time for action. Every team must be prepared, that is indispensable. During the time for preparation, the team is drilled and practiced so that they can know what they are truly capable of and what they want to accomplish. That way all the players understand what they want to do and can work together to achieve their goals. Players are also taught about their opponent. The most difficult type of game in a team sport is one in which you know nothing about your opponent and what they are up to. When the preparation is well done, though, and everything is put together and ready, you don’t just sit around and continue to practice. It is time to suit up and play the game.
This isn’t a perfect analogy, because when it comes to the Christian life, there is no pre-season time, where new converts get to practice and prepare for the time when the forces of evil will begin to attack. Yet, this is still somewhat the mentality that Paul takes at the close of his letter. He has explained what sort of power believers have available to them in the life of Christ, and has described practical examples where the forces of darkness will bubble up in their life. Now it is time to take up their armor and get into the fight with all of the tools available to them.
Paul has stressed the subject of power throughout this letter and has, since chapter 4, been urging his readers to stand apart from the pagan lifestyle that surrounds them. Here he brings those ideas together as he lays out a summary of the whole letter, while at the same time introducing a new image for this letter, that of a well armed soldier. These verses constitute a call to action, but also recapitulate many of the ideas that have already been described earlier in the letter: power (1:19-20; 3:7, 16, 20); put on (4:24); the devil’s scheming and footholds (4:14; 27); evil spiritual (1:27; 3:10); heavenly realms (1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10); evil days (5:16); darkness (5:8, 11); truth (1:13; 4:15, 21, 24, 25; 5:9); righteousness (4:24; 5:9); the gospel (1:13; 3:6); peace (1:2; 2:14-17; 4:3); faith (1:15; 2:8; 3:12, 17; 4:5, 13); salvation (1:13); the Spirit 1:13-14, 17; 2:18, 22; 3:5, 16; 4:3-4, 30; 5:18); the word (5:26); prayer 1:15-19; 3:14-20); saints (1:1, 15, 18; 2:19; 3:8, 18; 4:12; 5:3); mystery (1:19; 3:3-4, 9; 5:32).
In 1:19, Paul prayed that his readers might become enlightened as to the greatness of God’s power, now he calls for them to put it on and take advantage of it. Paul probably uses two sources for the prevailing image in this passage. The first comes from the everyday image, for his first readers, of a roman soldier, fully armed and dressed, and ready for battle. The second comes from the Old Testament Scriptures such as Isaiah 59:17, which describes God as the armed warrior who has put "on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak"; and Isaiah 11:5, which describes the Messiah as the one who comes prepared for war and judgment: "Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. "
What is true of the Messiah is true of his people, so if the Messiah is the one dressed and ready for battle against evil, then his people must also be dressed and ready because the battle with evil will come. We are, as 5:1 has already stated, to be imitators of God. Verse 10, however, literally says to "be made strong in the Lord," indicating that the spiritual armor is given to us by Christ in his mighty power, not anything we do of our own power. The tense used in verse 11, which urges believers to put on the full armor of God, indicates that it was a specific action taken at a specific time in the past, which would seem to fit with the baptismal theology that is present throughout this letter; in other words, Paul may be thinking of baptism as the specific moment when the armor is put on, and is now calling these young Christians to realize what they have available to them.
Why does the armor need to be put on? Because we are in a battle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We are engaged in battle, but we have already learned in 1:21 that Christ has defeated these spiritual powers. Paul’s point is that we are already victors in Christ, thus the call is to be what we already are. Even though they have been subjugated by Christ, the evil forces are still a constant threat to one’s spiritual life. Paul here describes that the battle is basically against one force, the evil powers, which he describes in many different ways for impact and emphasis (any attempt to find a specific hierarchy of evil forces here is more speculation and fancy than anything else). The fact is that there are evil powers in the spiritual realm that can effect believers that are not prepared, so we must all be prepared when the day of evil comes, or more literally "any time evil is encountered."
Paul makes no attempt here to give a complete list of everything that a Christian needs, but he does stress the essential items. The first item is truth. The Christian message is only worth anything if it is true. It works because it’s true, and the truth of Christianity must never be compromised. The second item is righteousness. This has to do with the fact that God, the true judge of the world, has promised to put the whole world to rights, and that is exactly what He will do. In fact, in Christ, God has already done that for us and allows us to stand ‘in the right’ (the technical meaning of righteousness) before Him. This is our breastplate against attacks of the evil one. The third item is the gospel of peace. The imagery here comes from Isaiah 52:7, as those who bring good news and proclaim peace are declared to have beautiful feet. Paul indicates the immediacy and reality of the spiritual battle and the readiness needed to proclaim the message that God has defeated the evil forces of darkness and reconciled the world to Himself in Christ. The fourth item is the shield of faith. Loyal obedience to the life of Christ will protect us against the enemy when he hurls his fiery darts at us. Truly living the life of Christ will quench everything the enemy can throw our way.
The fifth item is the helmet of salvation. In Isaiah 59, salvation is the helmet that God wears into battle; it is His power and readiness to save, not protection as it is here. We should note that the previous items were "put on" but the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit are "taken" or "received." A fully dressed soldier would be handed the helmet and sword as he could not bend over to pick them up. Salvation and the word of God are thus pictured as gifts to be given to us by God. Although we cannot enact things such as truth or righteousness, it is the duty of the believer to stand firm in those things. Salvation and the word, however, are gifts that can only be received. The word of God here is not the New Testament, which was not completed yet, but refers to the word of the gospel (Eph. 5:26) through which God reconciles the world, including people, to Himself.
The attack of the evil one may take different forms, but we can be sure that it will come. It might be a full frontal attack trying to prevent us from spreading the gospel, something Paul seemed to be familiar with. Or the fiery darts might come more in the form of age-old temptations such as being distracted by the things of the world or false teaching, or perhaps the most common attack of the enemy that comes in the form of thoughts, ideas, and suggestions, which come into our mind, tempting us to dwell on evil thoughts which will eventually lead to sinful actions. In whatever form the battle comes to us we must first recognize the ground on which the battle is being fought. Second, we must put on the full armor of God so that we can withstand the attack. Finally, we must learn how to stand our ground and trust that the armor God has given us is sufficient.
Devotional Thought
When Satan attacks, and he will, what is your defense? Do you turn to the armor of God or do you have other items that provide comfort? What we turn to when the hard times come reveal a lot about our character.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Ephesians 6:1-9
Children and Parents
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." 4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Slaves and Masters
5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
9And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
Dig Deeper
A few years back in our school we had developed a problem with students making fun of one another, what they called "ribbing". It had gotten to the point where it was pretty pervasive and was starting to cause hard feelings and difficulties. It had become such a way of life for the students, though, and so accepted between them as an acceptable way to talk that it would have done little good to try to make a rule that said "no ribbing." It wouldn’t have been listened to and it would have just made the teachers and administration look more out of touch in the eyes of the students. Instead, we instituted a concerted campaign that inundated the students at every turn with a call to virtues like respect and consideration of others. We had not specifically banned the behavior, but we took the grounds away on which it could stand and it pretty quickly evaporated.
Many people in our society have criticized Paul for the standards that he lays out for husbands and wives, parents and children, and especially slaves and masters. How could Paul, we nervously ask, not have simply outlawed slavery? How could he have offered up suggestions for behavior without simply condemning it wholesale? Before we answer those concerns, we will consider a few things about this section as well as his words to parents.
This whole section is a further explanation or exposition of the command in 5:21 to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should submit to husbands as to the Lord (5:22); children should obey their parents in the Lord, while fathers are to be bring up children in the training and instruction of the Lord; slaves are to obey their master as they would obey Christ (6:5); and masters are to let Christ conduct the way they treat slaves (6:9). Paul probably chose to address these three areas because they were the traditional categories to address in his society in letters of advice, so he was probably addressing the traditional categories for a Christian perspective. He was also likely defending the Christian way of life as being a threat to society, which was a constant charge against Christians. This would not be completely unusual as Paul, in other places, calls women to submit to husbands so that no one will malign the word of God (Titus 2:5); he also says that slaves should give their masters respect so that God’s name and the Christian teaching wouldn’t be slandered (1 Tim. 6:1).
The fact that Paul would have instructed children to obey parents would not have been particularly shocking in a world where that would be expected, a world where children had virtually no rights. In fact, Paul says, this is right. He seemingly assumes that obedience to parents is a self-evident and universal good that should be understood by all people. Paul does not limit obedience to parents to only those with Christian parents, but certainly how this would be carried out in practical terms would depend on the age of the child and integrity of the parents. What would have been subversive and revolutionary was that Paul put limits on parents and called them to a standard of behavior.
Paul quotes from Exodus 20:12, as he calls for children to honor your father and mother. This, he interjects, is the first commandment with a promise, likely meaning it is the primary command when it comes to child-parent relations. The promise is that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. This seems a little confusing and optimistic until we understand that these were promises originally made to communities not individuals. The community that teaches their children to obey parents as they would obey the Lord is a community that will remain godly for as long as they do so. It should not go without notice that the fact that Paul addressed children rather than sons, would have been fairly significant and subversive, as he evidently gave equal footing to boys and girls.
Now we return to the issue of slavery and why Paul wouldn’t say that it should be abolished. Slavery was an integral part of the Roman and Greek worlds, with modern experts estimating that about one-third of the population was slaves. The entire social and economic structure of their society rested on the framework of slavery. Slaves could be treated kindly as members of the family and could marry, own property, and buy their own freedom, but they also had no legal rights and could be badly mistreated. Had Paul called for absolute abolition of slavery there would have been two problems. First, he had no power over non-Christians to free their slaves, and second, a call for abolition would have brought unparalleled criticism and persecution on the church.
Instead the consistent call that Paul gives is to understand one’s status in Christ. In Paul’s eyes this was far more important than one’s status in the present age. In 1 Corinthians 7:21-22, Paul says that if slaves can gain their freedom they are not prohibited from doing so, but in most cases they should be far more concerned with being in Christ than in gaining their freedom. This demonstrates that Christianity was concerned with brining the life of the age to come into the present world, but was not simply a social rebellion movement. Paul was far more interested in calling all people to the life in Christ rather than becoming involved in political debates, and whether we like it or not, one can be a slave and a Christian.
In laying out the standards he does here, though, Paul removes the ground on which slavery stands. If slaves truly stayed where they were and lived lives of submission and respect, they would have a far greater impact on their masters and others around them, than if they simply ran away. In that way, calling for an outright end to slavery would actually harm the Christian cause, bogging it down in politics and rebellion, rather than helping it. Paul’s solution is much more effective in the long run and promotes the true call of the life of the age to come. Although they might still be subjecting themselves to slavery, masters would have, in effect, lost control of their slaves, because the slaves now had a higher allegiance. They did not obey and do the will of their master to please them but to please the Lord. If they mistreated slaves, it would not have the desired effect, because the slaves would endure it, knowing that they were suffering for the Lord. In similar thinking, 1 Peter 2:18-25 called slaves to submit even to harsh masters, and to live lives of Christ that would stand in quiet protest and show their allegiance to a higher calling. The slaves would know that they were not inferior to masters, and in fact, would have been demonstrating a moral superiority over a master that continued to mistreat them.
Paul’s words aren’t just for the slaves, however, he also addresses masters. He says to treat your slaves in the same way. What he means by "the same way" is the most subversive and revolutionary thoughts to which Paul could call people. Paul told slaves to treat their masters with respect and fear (meaning reverence), and to interact with them as they would interact with Christ. If masters truly did that, the distinctions between slave and master would disappear and there would, for all intents and purposes, be no slavery in the Christian community. As the Christian community expanded and spread, slavery would disappear. Every idea of privilege or superiority would evaporate in Christ.
Paul could have unwisely called for abolition of slavery, but he knew that calling people to live the life of Christ would bring it to an end and serve as a far more powerful statement than a political statement like abolition ever could have. It is truly the job of the church today to find social injustices and to stand up to them with the power of the life of Christ.
Devotional Thought
What areas of injustice and evil exist in our world today? What are some ways that the Christian community can be as subversive in calling people to live the life of Christ as Paul was when it came to issues like slavery and mistreatment of children?
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." 4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Slaves and Masters
5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
9And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
Dig Deeper
A few years back in our school we had developed a problem with students making fun of one another, what they called "ribbing". It had gotten to the point where it was pretty pervasive and was starting to cause hard feelings and difficulties. It had become such a way of life for the students, though, and so accepted between them as an acceptable way to talk that it would have done little good to try to make a rule that said "no ribbing." It wouldn’t have been listened to and it would have just made the teachers and administration look more out of touch in the eyes of the students. Instead, we instituted a concerted campaign that inundated the students at every turn with a call to virtues like respect and consideration of others. We had not specifically banned the behavior, but we took the grounds away on which it could stand and it pretty quickly evaporated.
Many people in our society have criticized Paul for the standards that he lays out for husbands and wives, parents and children, and especially slaves and masters. How could Paul, we nervously ask, not have simply outlawed slavery? How could he have offered up suggestions for behavior without simply condemning it wholesale? Before we answer those concerns, we will consider a few things about this section as well as his words to parents.
This whole section is a further explanation or exposition of the command in 5:21 to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should submit to husbands as to the Lord (5:22); children should obey their parents in the Lord, while fathers are to be bring up children in the training and instruction of the Lord; slaves are to obey their master as they would obey Christ (6:5); and masters are to let Christ conduct the way they treat slaves (6:9). Paul probably chose to address these three areas because they were the traditional categories to address in his society in letters of advice, so he was probably addressing the traditional categories for a Christian perspective. He was also likely defending the Christian way of life as being a threat to society, which was a constant charge against Christians. This would not be completely unusual as Paul, in other places, calls women to submit to husbands so that no one will malign the word of God (Titus 2:5); he also says that slaves should give their masters respect so that God’s name and the Christian teaching wouldn’t be slandered (1 Tim. 6:1).
The fact that Paul would have instructed children to obey parents would not have been particularly shocking in a world where that would be expected, a world where children had virtually no rights. In fact, Paul says, this is right. He seemingly assumes that obedience to parents is a self-evident and universal good that should be understood by all people. Paul does not limit obedience to parents to only those with Christian parents, but certainly how this would be carried out in practical terms would depend on the age of the child and integrity of the parents. What would have been subversive and revolutionary was that Paul put limits on parents and called them to a standard of behavior.
Paul quotes from Exodus 20:12, as he calls for children to honor your father and mother. This, he interjects, is the first commandment with a promise, likely meaning it is the primary command when it comes to child-parent relations. The promise is that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. This seems a little confusing and optimistic until we understand that these were promises originally made to communities not individuals. The community that teaches their children to obey parents as they would obey the Lord is a community that will remain godly for as long as they do so. It should not go without notice that the fact that Paul addressed children rather than sons, would have been fairly significant and subversive, as he evidently gave equal footing to boys and girls.
Now we return to the issue of slavery and why Paul wouldn’t say that it should be abolished. Slavery was an integral part of the Roman and Greek worlds, with modern experts estimating that about one-third of the population was slaves. The entire social and economic structure of their society rested on the framework of slavery. Slaves could be treated kindly as members of the family and could marry, own property, and buy their own freedom, but they also had no legal rights and could be badly mistreated. Had Paul called for absolute abolition of slavery there would have been two problems. First, he had no power over non-Christians to free their slaves, and second, a call for abolition would have brought unparalleled criticism and persecution on the church.
Instead the consistent call that Paul gives is to understand one’s status in Christ. In Paul’s eyes this was far more important than one’s status in the present age. In 1 Corinthians 7:21-22, Paul says that if slaves can gain their freedom they are not prohibited from doing so, but in most cases they should be far more concerned with being in Christ than in gaining their freedom. This demonstrates that Christianity was concerned with brining the life of the age to come into the present world, but was not simply a social rebellion movement. Paul was far more interested in calling all people to the life in Christ rather than becoming involved in political debates, and whether we like it or not, one can be a slave and a Christian.
In laying out the standards he does here, though, Paul removes the ground on which slavery stands. If slaves truly stayed where they were and lived lives of submission and respect, they would have a far greater impact on their masters and others around them, than if they simply ran away. In that way, calling for an outright end to slavery would actually harm the Christian cause, bogging it down in politics and rebellion, rather than helping it. Paul’s solution is much more effective in the long run and promotes the true call of the life of the age to come. Although they might still be subjecting themselves to slavery, masters would have, in effect, lost control of their slaves, because the slaves now had a higher allegiance. They did not obey and do the will of their master to please them but to please the Lord. If they mistreated slaves, it would not have the desired effect, because the slaves would endure it, knowing that they were suffering for the Lord. In similar thinking, 1 Peter 2:18-25 called slaves to submit even to harsh masters, and to live lives of Christ that would stand in quiet protest and show their allegiance to a higher calling. The slaves would know that they were not inferior to masters, and in fact, would have been demonstrating a moral superiority over a master that continued to mistreat them.
Paul’s words aren’t just for the slaves, however, he also addresses masters. He says to treat your slaves in the same way. What he means by "the same way" is the most subversive and revolutionary thoughts to which Paul could call people. Paul told slaves to treat their masters with respect and fear (meaning reverence), and to interact with them as they would interact with Christ. If masters truly did that, the distinctions between slave and master would disappear and there would, for all intents and purposes, be no slavery in the Christian community. As the Christian community expanded and spread, slavery would disappear. Every idea of privilege or superiority would evaporate in Christ.
Paul could have unwisely called for abolition of slavery, but he knew that calling people to live the life of Christ would bring it to an end and serve as a far more powerful statement than a political statement like abolition ever could have. It is truly the job of the church today to find social injustices and to stand up to them with the power of the life of Christ.
Devotional Thought
What areas of injustice and evil exist in our world today? What are some ways that the Christian community can be as subversive in calling people to live the life of Christ as Paul was when it came to issues like slavery and mistreatment of children?
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Ephesians 5:21-33
21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives and Husbands
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Dig Deeper
In the middle of our basketball season one year, we got a new student who had just moved to Wisconsin from Texas. On his first day, the kid immediately came to me and said that he wanted to join the basketball team. We did allow that in the middle of the year for move-ins but he had to be a student for two weeks before he could practice and then had to practice for another two weeks before he could play. During those first two weeks he came to two games that we had. He also came to our game film sessions that we had as a team the day following the games. Throughout the films, this guy was extremely critical of everything about the team. He criticized the way guys played, the decisions they made, and always pointed out how much better he would do it. He even tried to tell me how I wasn’t coaching this team right and should have had them playing a whole different style of basketball. That all changed when he actually began to practice with the team. He lasted about three days and it became very obvious that this young man was not a good basketball player at all. He was quick to criticize everything about that team, but he was, himself, a train wreck as a player and wasn’t even put on the team.
At first glance, that story may appear to have nothing to do with today’s passage, and in a sense it doesn’t. Why did I tell it then? Simply because this passage is one of the most criticized that Paul ever wrote. There are many people in our culture today who completely rip this passage apart, to the point that some claim it is sexist, hateful, and shouldn’t even be considered. Others are not quite that intense in their criticism, but still feel that this passage is demeaning towards women and written by a very unenlightened man from a backwards culture. Yet, before we entertain all of the criticisms that are launched from our cultural perspective, we should first consider the track record that our culture has in marriage right now. More than fifty-percent of marriages end in divorce, and the state of marriage in our culture in general is either a tragedy or a joke. Are we really in a position to discount what Paul has to say because we might not like it at first glance? The obvious answer is ’no’, but beyond that, we must also understand that most of the criticisms of this passage are unfounded and based on misunderstandings.
Usually the most objectionable concept in this passage comes when Paul says that wives should submit to their husbands as to the Lord, and that just as the church submits to Christ, so should wives submit to their husbands in everything. Submission is often considered an offensive topic in our culture, but it needn’t be, especially when we consider the full context of what Paul says here. The Greek word for submit, hypotasso, literally means "arrange under." Recent attempts have been made to translate "submit" as "be supportive of," "be committed to," or "identify with," but none of those claims simply hold any water. The biblical concept of "submit" speaks of surrendering one’s rights and making one subject to another. What is often lost is that Paul calls for all believers to submit to one another. Not only that, he also puts forth the caveat that we are to submit to other believers when they are acting in accordance with and in reverence for the life of Christ. Submission to one another, then, is a crucial ingredient in the Christian life for the community in which all believers are living in submission to Christ. Without mutual submission we cannot fulfill our calling as God’s people. In fact, submission is an act of strength based on genuine and trusting love for the other person. It is a decision that we make concerning the worth of another person. It is one of the ways that we die to self and rise in the life of Christ. Submission to one another, then, is no different than loving one another, something that Jesus said would mark out his people (John 13:34-35). In fact, we can, in a biblical sense, submit to those that we are leading by loving them and considering their needs above our own. Submission is about consideration and love not power and control.
Paul has called for a general life of submission in believers and now will begin to give specific examples of how that will look as it relates to husbands and wives, parents and children, and even slaves and masters. What is often missed for those who get upset or nervous about the call for wives to be subject or submit to their husbands is that husbands are called to have, not any mere human as their role model, but Jesus Christ. The church submits to Christ and has become his bride, not because Christ forced the church or overpowered it, but because he gave himself completely and sacrificially for it. Christ interacted with the church with complete self-abandoning love. This is what Paul calls husbands to do in a mutual relationship of love and submission.
Paul says that the husband is the head of the wife in the same way that Christ is the head of the Church. It is probably most accurate to understand "head" here as "responsible for" in the sense of leadership and love. Thus, while he calls for wives to submit and husbands to love, there is no real difference between the two concepts when they are mutually lived out.
It should not be missed that Paul lived in a world where women were often devalued, degraded, and even considered impure by men, who saw the natural bodily functions of women as a potential to make them unclean every month. Rather than rejecting the wife as impure, unclean, or dangerous, Paul exalts women by seeing it as the job of the husband to bring them into full purity, just as Christ does with the Church. The husband’s role is to, at all times, let his wife know that she is love and valued, while the wife’s role is to let her husband know that his role is respected and valued. The relations and roles are mutually complementary not identical. The husband takes the role of leadership in the same way that Christ did, in the context of complete self-giving and self-sacrificial love, while the wife takes the role of partner by submitting to that love and leadership, just as the church does. This is where the role of the church truly helps us see what Paul had in mind for wives. The church is submissive to the love and sacrifice of Christ and chooses and allows herself to be led and purified by that leadership. It is, again, a mutual relationship that Paul envisions for husbands and wives as well. So, why does he reserve submission for women and love for men? He doesn’t. He has already called all Christians to submit to one another, the call for wives is merely a special reminder for women who might, in their new status in Christ, feel that they didn’t need to submit to anyone, as well as a reminder to men that they needed to go beyond the societal expectations of marriage which did not necessarily include loving and being tender and compassionate to one’s wife.
Just as we cease to be truly autonomous individuals as we become members of the body of Christ, so Paul appeals to Genesis 2:24 to make the point that a husband and wife truly belong to one another. They have become one flesh and should approach the world and their relationship with one another with that in mind. The Bible is clear that that there will be no marriage in the age to come (Luke 20:35) because marriage is really a pointer intended to teach us about our relationship with God. Thus, Paul says that the union between Christ and the church is the real mystery (or thing that has been revealed) that marriage only points to. Marriage is not the point itself, but is intended to teach us about God. Thus we see the real purpose of Paul’s mention of Genesis 2:24. God’s intent all along in creation was to have the Messiah leave his home and find a bride for himself with which to be united, namely the church. Marriage is a wonderful gift in and of itself, but all the more so because it teaches us about our relationship with Christ. Learning to submit to and love one another is so vital in a marriage, because there is far more to it than just our relationship with one another, it is all about learning to become united with Christ.
Devotional Thought
As we have seen, the New Testament teaches that marriage is a vehicle that God has used to teach us more about Him and our relationship with Him. If you are married, what have you personally learned about your relationship with God through your marriage? What have you learned about your marriage from your relationship with God?
Wives and Husbands
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Dig Deeper
In the middle of our basketball season one year, we got a new student who had just moved to Wisconsin from Texas. On his first day, the kid immediately came to me and said that he wanted to join the basketball team. We did allow that in the middle of the year for move-ins but he had to be a student for two weeks before he could practice and then had to practice for another two weeks before he could play. During those first two weeks he came to two games that we had. He also came to our game film sessions that we had as a team the day following the games. Throughout the films, this guy was extremely critical of everything about the team. He criticized the way guys played, the decisions they made, and always pointed out how much better he would do it. He even tried to tell me how I wasn’t coaching this team right and should have had them playing a whole different style of basketball. That all changed when he actually began to practice with the team. He lasted about three days and it became very obvious that this young man was not a good basketball player at all. He was quick to criticize everything about that team, but he was, himself, a train wreck as a player and wasn’t even put on the team.
At first glance, that story may appear to have nothing to do with today’s passage, and in a sense it doesn’t. Why did I tell it then? Simply because this passage is one of the most criticized that Paul ever wrote. There are many people in our culture today who completely rip this passage apart, to the point that some claim it is sexist, hateful, and shouldn’t even be considered. Others are not quite that intense in their criticism, but still feel that this passage is demeaning towards women and written by a very unenlightened man from a backwards culture. Yet, before we entertain all of the criticisms that are launched from our cultural perspective, we should first consider the track record that our culture has in marriage right now. More than fifty-percent of marriages end in divorce, and the state of marriage in our culture in general is either a tragedy or a joke. Are we really in a position to discount what Paul has to say because we might not like it at first glance? The obvious answer is ’no’, but beyond that, we must also understand that most of the criticisms of this passage are unfounded and based on misunderstandings.
Usually the most objectionable concept in this passage comes when Paul says that wives should submit to their husbands as to the Lord, and that just as the church submits to Christ, so should wives submit to their husbands in everything. Submission is often considered an offensive topic in our culture, but it needn’t be, especially when we consider the full context of what Paul says here. The Greek word for submit, hypotasso, literally means "arrange under." Recent attempts have been made to translate "submit" as "be supportive of," "be committed to," or "identify with," but none of those claims simply hold any water. The biblical concept of "submit" speaks of surrendering one’s rights and making one subject to another. What is often lost is that Paul calls for all believers to submit to one another. Not only that, he also puts forth the caveat that we are to submit to other believers when they are acting in accordance with and in reverence for the life of Christ. Submission to one another, then, is a crucial ingredient in the Christian life for the community in which all believers are living in submission to Christ. Without mutual submission we cannot fulfill our calling as God’s people. In fact, submission is an act of strength based on genuine and trusting love for the other person. It is a decision that we make concerning the worth of another person. It is one of the ways that we die to self and rise in the life of Christ. Submission to one another, then, is no different than loving one another, something that Jesus said would mark out his people (John 13:34-35). In fact, we can, in a biblical sense, submit to those that we are leading by loving them and considering their needs above our own. Submission is about consideration and love not power and control.
Paul has called for a general life of submission in believers and now will begin to give specific examples of how that will look as it relates to husbands and wives, parents and children, and even slaves and masters. What is often missed for those who get upset or nervous about the call for wives to be subject or submit to their husbands is that husbands are called to have, not any mere human as their role model, but Jesus Christ. The church submits to Christ and has become his bride, not because Christ forced the church or overpowered it, but because he gave himself completely and sacrificially for it. Christ interacted with the church with complete self-abandoning love. This is what Paul calls husbands to do in a mutual relationship of love and submission.
Paul says that the husband is the head of the wife in the same way that Christ is the head of the Church. It is probably most accurate to understand "head" here as "responsible for" in the sense of leadership and love. Thus, while he calls for wives to submit and husbands to love, there is no real difference between the two concepts when they are mutually lived out.
It should not be missed that Paul lived in a world where women were often devalued, degraded, and even considered impure by men, who saw the natural bodily functions of women as a potential to make them unclean every month. Rather than rejecting the wife as impure, unclean, or dangerous, Paul exalts women by seeing it as the job of the husband to bring them into full purity, just as Christ does with the Church. The husband’s role is to, at all times, let his wife know that she is love and valued, while the wife’s role is to let her husband know that his role is respected and valued. The relations and roles are mutually complementary not identical. The husband takes the role of leadership in the same way that Christ did, in the context of complete self-giving and self-sacrificial love, while the wife takes the role of partner by submitting to that love and leadership, just as the church does. This is where the role of the church truly helps us see what Paul had in mind for wives. The church is submissive to the love and sacrifice of Christ and chooses and allows herself to be led and purified by that leadership. It is, again, a mutual relationship that Paul envisions for husbands and wives as well. So, why does he reserve submission for women and love for men? He doesn’t. He has already called all Christians to submit to one another, the call for wives is merely a special reminder for women who might, in their new status in Christ, feel that they didn’t need to submit to anyone, as well as a reminder to men that they needed to go beyond the societal expectations of marriage which did not necessarily include loving and being tender and compassionate to one’s wife.
Just as we cease to be truly autonomous individuals as we become members of the body of Christ, so Paul appeals to Genesis 2:24 to make the point that a husband and wife truly belong to one another. They have become one flesh and should approach the world and their relationship with one another with that in mind. The Bible is clear that that there will be no marriage in the age to come (Luke 20:35) because marriage is really a pointer intended to teach us about our relationship with God. Thus, Paul says that the union between Christ and the church is the real mystery (or thing that has been revealed) that marriage only points to. Marriage is not the point itself, but is intended to teach us about God. Thus we see the real purpose of Paul’s mention of Genesis 2:24. God’s intent all along in creation was to have the Messiah leave his home and find a bride for himself with which to be united, namely the church. Marriage is a wonderful gift in and of itself, but all the more so because it teaches us about our relationship with Christ. Learning to submit to and love one another is so vital in a marriage, because there is far more to it than just our relationship with one another, it is all about learning to become united with Christ.
Devotional Thought
As we have seen, the New Testament teaches that marriage is a vehicle that God has used to teach us more about Him and our relationship with Him. If you are married, what have you personally learned about your relationship with God through your marriage? What have you learned about your marriage from your relationship with God?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Ephesians 5:11-20
11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."
15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dig Deeper
When I was in high school I had a very good friend who was a genius. Really, genius isn’t the right word for it; perhaps evil genius is more appropriate. He was the most creative thinker I had ever known and he was always a blast to be around. He would spend an unbelievable amount of time thinking of ways to play practical jokes and pranks on people, many of which I was the object of despite the fact that he was my best friend. When it came to his school work, he would come up with these incredible schemes and plots to get out of doing work, or cut corners, or to downright cheat. What always amazed me is that if he had spent half of the time doing his work and studying as he spent coming up with ways to get out of doing work, He would have probably been the top student in the class. If he was going to spend all of his time doing something, why not, I always wondered, spend it doing the right thing?
In a way, this is what Paul is writing about in this passage. Young Christians have had a life-changing experience when they died to themselves and entered into the life of the Messiah. Paul, with the love and concern of a father, wants them to realize the benefits of that life and the inheritance they have available to them. He realizes that they are going to expend energy in just living life and going about their day. As they do that there will be temptations to go about things in the wrong way, whether it be mundane everyday activities or trying to be a part of intense spiritual experiences. What Paul wants for them is to make sure that they do it the right way. If they’re going to spend time and energy doing these things, why not do them the right way, according to the life of Christ and the Spirit that they have guiding them along?
Paul begins this section in verse 11 by calling for a very definite expenditure of energy from Christians. He exhorts them to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. In other words, don’t participate in the activities of those who live in the realm of darkness and thus, are darkness. The Christian life goes beyond simply not participating in sin, though, so he exhorts them to expose those deeds. The true Christian life doesn’t merely avoid evil, it actively takes a role in exposing it. The word translated "exposed" here carries the connotation of correcting and convincing to change. Thus, rather than just exerting energy doing evil, they should be using their time and ability to accomplish good, convincing those in darkness to come into the light. In so doing, not only do they not commit evil themselves, but they do a world of good by exposing evil and bringing about its restriction, reduction, or complete removal in one area or another.
The things that those who have become darkness do are so shameful, Paul stresses, that it should not even be mentioned what they do in secret, as most evil is done. When true light comes into the room, however, everything becomes visible. If a light is turned on in a dark room, everything in that room is revealed by the light.
Light makes everything visible, says Paul. He then quotes from an unknown source, "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." The point of the lyric seems to be that once we are awakened from our sleep and our state of darkness, and the light of Christ has shined on us, that light will actually penetrate and transform us to become light (Paul has already stated in verse 8 that we our light in the Lord). The origin of this statement is ultimately unknown, although it does seem to possibly borrow language from Isaiah 26:19, and 60:1-2. It appears though, by the way that Paul has casually included it in his point, without citing it’s origin that it was a well-known line within the early Christian community. The most convincing theory is that this is a line from an early Christian hymn. Even more specific, speculates New Testament scholar Arthur Pantzia, is that this may have been part of the song that was sung as a new Christian came up out of the waters of baptism. This theory is not that wild as it is well know that the early church created and used many songs in their corporate worship (Eph. 5:19-20; Col. 3:16 — see Phil. 2:6-10, and 1 Tim. 3:16 for possible examples of early Christian hymns).
They should be careful, though, how they live, as Christian teaching and knowledge are inseparable from Christian living and ethics. Rather than wasting energy living in an unwise fashion they should live out the wisdom of the life of Christ that they have in them (1 Cor. 1;30). What is translated as "making the most of every opportunity" literally says "to buy up," which is language from the marketplace. Paul’s point is that as Christians, we should take every chance we have to do good and spread light rather than wasting opportunities and walking past them. When you have light, to not shine it in a dark room is even worse than simply the fact that a room is dark. In other words, missed opportunities are worse than no opportunity at all. Rather than going about, wasting the freedom that Christ has afforded us by doing evil, we should make the most of every opportunity. The Lord’s will is for people to live the life of Christ out in the real world. In so doing, we not only keep from doing evil, but we also accomplish the good of God’s will being done in earth as it is in heaven.
Another example of the choice between wasting opportunity and using is wisely comes in the desire for an ecstatic experience. There were many religious cults in Paul’s day, such as those that worshipped Dionysus, in which adherents would become intoxicated and then engage in wild frenzied, and ecstatic behavior which they viewed as a deeply religious experience. Christians have a better and more authentic way of experiencing true spiritual connection. It is to be filled with the Spirit. This brings up an obvious question, however. If all Christians receive the Spirit at baptism (Acts 2:38) then how can there be an appeal to be filled with the Spirit? Does this imply that humans can control the movement of the Spirit? We get a good idea of what Paul means by simply looking at a few other biblical texts. The Bible speaks of people being filled with grief (Jn. 16:6), joy (Acts 13:52), knowledge (Rom. 15:14), or even Satan (Acts 5:3). We realize, then, that being filled with something refers to the emotion or knowledge that dominates their very being and describes their true self. It is what they have given themselves over to. Being filled with the Spirit, is not some mystical extra work or experience of the Spirit to which Paul is calling mature believers. He speaks of the desire for every Christian to simply live a life that is dominated by the desires of the Spirit. It is a life that lives in tune with the controlling influence of God’s Holy Spirit. If they want an ecstatic or fulfilling spiritual experience, then, don’t waste time getting lit up with alcohol, live a life that is dominated by light, walking according to the Spirit and they will have all the spiritual fulfillment they could ever want.
Paul has already probably quoted from a Christian hymn, so now he uses that as an example of being filled by the Spirit. A mind dominated by the Spirit will be enhanced by constantly having a song of praise on our hearts. Paul says that in singing, Christians not only speak to one another but also give thanks to God the Father. This is something that many Christians lose sight of, in that we can tend to see singing as mostly about our own state of worship and focus on the type of songs that we like or don’t like. Paul reminds us that Christian singing has two primary purposes: to instruct and encourage one another and also to praise God. It is about others and God, not our own personal likes and dislikes. In singing, and in anything else we do, praise should be given to God, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That doesn’t mean to just mention Jesus’ name whenever we praise God. "Name" in the ancient world included the idea of referring to that person’s character and all that they have accomplished. Thus, we can only truly praise God when we our living out the life of Jesus Christ consistently.
Devotional Thought
Could your life be described as being filled with the Spirit? Do you have a life that is dominated by the desires of the Spirit or do you live in constant conflict with the Spirit by exalting your own desires? What area in your life has been the most difficult for you to get in step with the Spirit? Why do think that is?
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."
15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dig Deeper
When I was in high school I had a very good friend who was a genius. Really, genius isn’t the right word for it; perhaps evil genius is more appropriate. He was the most creative thinker I had ever known and he was always a blast to be around. He would spend an unbelievable amount of time thinking of ways to play practical jokes and pranks on people, many of which I was the object of despite the fact that he was my best friend. When it came to his school work, he would come up with these incredible schemes and plots to get out of doing work, or cut corners, or to downright cheat. What always amazed me is that if he had spent half of the time doing his work and studying as he spent coming up with ways to get out of doing work, He would have probably been the top student in the class. If he was going to spend all of his time doing something, why not, I always wondered, spend it doing the right thing?
In a way, this is what Paul is writing about in this passage. Young Christians have had a life-changing experience when they died to themselves and entered into the life of the Messiah. Paul, with the love and concern of a father, wants them to realize the benefits of that life and the inheritance they have available to them. He realizes that they are going to expend energy in just living life and going about their day. As they do that there will be temptations to go about things in the wrong way, whether it be mundane everyday activities or trying to be a part of intense spiritual experiences. What Paul wants for them is to make sure that they do it the right way. If they’re going to spend time and energy doing these things, why not do them the right way, according to the life of Christ and the Spirit that they have guiding them along?
Paul begins this section in verse 11 by calling for a very definite expenditure of energy from Christians. He exhorts them to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. In other words, don’t participate in the activities of those who live in the realm of darkness and thus, are darkness. The Christian life goes beyond simply not participating in sin, though, so he exhorts them to expose those deeds. The true Christian life doesn’t merely avoid evil, it actively takes a role in exposing it. The word translated "exposed" here carries the connotation of correcting and convincing to change. Thus, rather than just exerting energy doing evil, they should be using their time and ability to accomplish good, convincing those in darkness to come into the light. In so doing, not only do they not commit evil themselves, but they do a world of good by exposing evil and bringing about its restriction, reduction, or complete removal in one area or another.
The things that those who have become darkness do are so shameful, Paul stresses, that it should not even be mentioned what they do in secret, as most evil is done. When true light comes into the room, however, everything becomes visible. If a light is turned on in a dark room, everything in that room is revealed by the light.
Light makes everything visible, says Paul. He then quotes from an unknown source, "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." The point of the lyric seems to be that once we are awakened from our sleep and our state of darkness, and the light of Christ has shined on us, that light will actually penetrate and transform us to become light (Paul has already stated in verse 8 that we our light in the Lord). The origin of this statement is ultimately unknown, although it does seem to possibly borrow language from Isaiah 26:19, and 60:1-2. It appears though, by the way that Paul has casually included it in his point, without citing it’s origin that it was a well-known line within the early Christian community. The most convincing theory is that this is a line from an early Christian hymn. Even more specific, speculates New Testament scholar Arthur Pantzia, is that this may have been part of the song that was sung as a new Christian came up out of the waters of baptism. This theory is not that wild as it is well know that the early church created and used many songs in their corporate worship (Eph. 5:19-20; Col. 3:16 — see Phil. 2:6-10, and 1 Tim. 3:16 for possible examples of early Christian hymns).
They should be careful, though, how they live, as Christian teaching and knowledge are inseparable from Christian living and ethics. Rather than wasting energy living in an unwise fashion they should live out the wisdom of the life of Christ that they have in them (1 Cor. 1;30). What is translated as "making the most of every opportunity" literally says "to buy up," which is language from the marketplace. Paul’s point is that as Christians, we should take every chance we have to do good and spread light rather than wasting opportunities and walking past them. When you have light, to not shine it in a dark room is even worse than simply the fact that a room is dark. In other words, missed opportunities are worse than no opportunity at all. Rather than going about, wasting the freedom that Christ has afforded us by doing evil, we should make the most of every opportunity. The Lord’s will is for people to live the life of Christ out in the real world. In so doing, we not only keep from doing evil, but we also accomplish the good of God’s will being done in earth as it is in heaven.
Another example of the choice between wasting opportunity and using is wisely comes in the desire for an ecstatic experience. There were many religious cults in Paul’s day, such as those that worshipped Dionysus, in which adherents would become intoxicated and then engage in wild frenzied, and ecstatic behavior which they viewed as a deeply religious experience. Christians have a better and more authentic way of experiencing true spiritual connection. It is to be filled with the Spirit. This brings up an obvious question, however. If all Christians receive the Spirit at baptism (Acts 2:38) then how can there be an appeal to be filled with the Spirit? Does this imply that humans can control the movement of the Spirit? We get a good idea of what Paul means by simply looking at a few other biblical texts. The Bible speaks of people being filled with grief (Jn. 16:6), joy (Acts 13:52), knowledge (Rom. 15:14), or even Satan (Acts 5:3). We realize, then, that being filled with something refers to the emotion or knowledge that dominates their very being and describes their true self. It is what they have given themselves over to. Being filled with the Spirit, is not some mystical extra work or experience of the Spirit to which Paul is calling mature believers. He speaks of the desire for every Christian to simply live a life that is dominated by the desires of the Spirit. It is a life that lives in tune with the controlling influence of God’s Holy Spirit. If they want an ecstatic or fulfilling spiritual experience, then, don’t waste time getting lit up with alcohol, live a life that is dominated by light, walking according to the Spirit and they will have all the spiritual fulfillment they could ever want.
Paul has already probably quoted from a Christian hymn, so now he uses that as an example of being filled by the Spirit. A mind dominated by the Spirit will be enhanced by constantly having a song of praise on our hearts. Paul says that in singing, Christians not only speak to one another but also give thanks to God the Father. This is something that many Christians lose sight of, in that we can tend to see singing as mostly about our own state of worship and focus on the type of songs that we like or don’t like. Paul reminds us that Christian singing has two primary purposes: to instruct and encourage one another and also to praise God. It is about others and God, not our own personal likes and dislikes. In singing, and in anything else we do, praise should be given to God, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That doesn’t mean to just mention Jesus’ name whenever we praise God. "Name" in the ancient world included the idea of referring to that person’s character and all that they have accomplished. Thus, we can only truly praise God when we our living out the life of Jesus Christ consistently.
Devotional Thought
Could your life be described as being filled with the Spirit? Do you have a life that is dominated by the desires of the Spirit or do you live in constant conflict with the Spirit by exalting your own desires? What area in your life has been the most difficult for you to get in step with the Spirit? Why do think that is?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Ephesians 5:3-10
3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them.
8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord.
Dig Deeper
Over the years I have been fortunate enough to study the Bible with many non-Christians, helping them come to terms with the Scriptures and what they mean for our lives. Some have become Christians, some have not. While studying what the Bible says about putting off the old man and dying to ourselves and entering into the life of Christ, we always, in some form or another, have several conversations about what that will look like for each individual. What will it mean for them to die to their old life. What I have found is that this is usually something very different for each and every individual, with one exception. Every single man that I have ever studied the Bible with had one element in common that they felt would be particularly difficult in changing their mindset and practices. If you don’t already know what I’m talking about, it’s sex. Sex seems to be at the core of so much of our life in darkness to the point where our culture seems obsessed with it. In fact, we sometimes tend to think that no other society or culture has ever been dominated by sex the way ours is, but that just wouldn’t be true. The Roman culture of Paul’s day was every bit as obsessed with sex as we are. In fact, more so in many ways. It was common, for instance, to have graphic sexual images painted on the walls of the primary rooms in a wealthy Roman house, and many of the pagan religious rituals at temples involved sexual activities and orgies. It was everywhere in Paul’s day in word, thought, and deed just as it is in ours.
This is why Paul turns to this topic in such certain terms. In the previous passage he dealt with the sins that were most likely to cause discord and disunity in the body of Christ, but now he turns to one that would probably be the most universal. If God’s people are truly going to live up to their calling they must transform their mind not just in the acts of sexual immorality, although that is certainly demanded, they must learn to apply the life of Christ to every possible manifestation of sex, including the way they talked about it, and the way they thought about it.
As God’s holy people, the elect who are in Christ, the discussion of sin goes beyond a simple matter of not participating, but there must not be even a hint. What is an important distinction, however, is that Paul says there shouldn’t be a hint of sexual immorality, he at no time prohibits sex, which was seen as a healthy and wonderful blessing from God when used in its proper domain. In Paul’s day, there were not only many people who engaged in every type of sexual immorality, there were, on the other end of the spectrum, religious sects that taught that participation in and enjoyment of any sort of sexual activity was wrong and improper, even within marriage. Paul wants to strike the proper balance between describing the inappropriateness of immoral sexual behavior, while not appearing to condemning the act of marital sex.
There are three general areas of sexual inappropriateness that Paul addresses. The term for sexual immorality, porneia, covered a wide array of sexual activity such as prostitution, adultery, fornication, and promiscuity. Nor should there be, says Paul, any kind of impurity, a term that is probably used to apply to sexual perversions of various kinds. Paul also warns against greed, which in this context likely refers to the constant desire for more sex solely for selfish reasons.
Not only should God’s people not engage in these types of behaviors, they should not even have conversations about such things. Generally when we allow ourselves to become comfortable talking about a subject in a coarse or joking manner, it won’t be long before our standards about viewing, and eventually engaging in such things begin to slip. Rather than engaging in obscene, foolish, or coarse joking about sexual matters, those in Christ should stop wasting their time and linguistic energy and speak thanksgiving. In verse 20, Paul will mark out thanksgiving as a sign of being filled with the spirit. In essence, thanksgiving is the basic mindset of the Christian that focuses on God’s grace, God’s will, and God’s desires rather than our own. Rather than engaging in selfish and titillating conversations, God’s people should be focused on building up one another with their talk. Every time we have an empty conversation, we also lose the opportunity to encourage and build one another up.
Paul cuts right to the heart of matters in verses 5-6. He leaves no room for sentimentality or excuse-making about engaging in certain behaviors as a consistent lifestyle (note Paul talks about an immoral, impure, or greedy person who has turned themselves over to these behaviors as a lifestyle, rather than someone who merely falls a couple of times). Paul’s point is not exactly that this is a list of rules which, if violated, will disqualify a candidate for God’s future, although that’s true in a sense. Closer to his point is that he is describing what those transformed into the image of Christ will and will not look like. If you see any of these things as a normal part of your life and character, then that’s a pretty good warning light that you have not been transformed into Christ’s image. Despite what those with empty words (presumably Paul speaks here more in generic terms of the types of things that those around them might say rather than dealing with a specific individual or false teacher) might claim, God’s wrath will come on those who are disobedient. These words are particularly instructive for those of us who live in a society that seeks constantly to permit whatever behaviors, particularly sexual, in which people choose to engage, as well as to redefine who God is and what punishment of those not in Christ will be. Paul is pretty clear here that those who embrace behavior that is antithetical to the life of Christ will not only have no place in the kingdom of God, but they will feel the full force of God’s wrath.
Because of that obvious fate, it would make no sense for a Christian to join with these people and engage in similar behaviors. Paul does not mean that Christians should never go around immoral people. That would be as impossible as it would be impractical. Christ’s people are to be lights in the darkness, which implies that they must go into the dark, but they are not to douse their light in order to not stand out so sharply from those around them.
There might be a temptation to be drawn into that darkness, because we were all once darkness. Now, however, we are light in the Lord. When we live in contrast to God’s will, we don’t just reside in darkness, we become darkness. On the other hand, when we reside in Christ, we are light to the world around us, so Paul reminds his readers to live that way. The only thing sillier than having no light in a dark room, is to have a light but completely cover it up so that it can’t be seen.
The idea of once being darkness and now being light continues a motif that Paul has used repeatedly in this letter, as he has noted that they were once aliens, separated from God (2:12-22); subject to the powers of the world (2:1-2), and now darkness. In Christ, however, they are brought near to God (2:13), they are victorious in Christ (2:5-9), and have become light. No doubt, in all of this, Paul has baptism in mind. The change from darkness to light was due to their new status in Christ, which they entered by faith at baptism. This change in status allows us to become light in Christ to the world but it also means learning to discipline and control not only actions, but far more importantly our thinking. It means we can’t just go with the flow of things, but must think about the nature of God and what that means for us in our own thoughts and actions.
Devotional Thought
When reading through this passage, do any of the areas that Paul talks about strike a little close to home? Are there any areas in your life in which you have allowed a hint of some of these behaviors? If so, what do you need to do in response to that realization?
8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord.
Dig Deeper
Over the years I have been fortunate enough to study the Bible with many non-Christians, helping them come to terms with the Scriptures and what they mean for our lives. Some have become Christians, some have not. While studying what the Bible says about putting off the old man and dying to ourselves and entering into the life of Christ, we always, in some form or another, have several conversations about what that will look like for each individual. What will it mean for them to die to their old life. What I have found is that this is usually something very different for each and every individual, with one exception. Every single man that I have ever studied the Bible with had one element in common that they felt would be particularly difficult in changing their mindset and practices. If you don’t already know what I’m talking about, it’s sex. Sex seems to be at the core of so much of our life in darkness to the point where our culture seems obsessed with it. In fact, we sometimes tend to think that no other society or culture has ever been dominated by sex the way ours is, but that just wouldn’t be true. The Roman culture of Paul’s day was every bit as obsessed with sex as we are. In fact, more so in many ways. It was common, for instance, to have graphic sexual images painted on the walls of the primary rooms in a wealthy Roman house, and many of the pagan religious rituals at temples involved sexual activities and orgies. It was everywhere in Paul’s day in word, thought, and deed just as it is in ours.
This is why Paul turns to this topic in such certain terms. In the previous passage he dealt with the sins that were most likely to cause discord and disunity in the body of Christ, but now he turns to one that would probably be the most universal. If God’s people are truly going to live up to their calling they must transform their mind not just in the acts of sexual immorality, although that is certainly demanded, they must learn to apply the life of Christ to every possible manifestation of sex, including the way they talked about it, and the way they thought about it.
As God’s holy people, the elect who are in Christ, the discussion of sin goes beyond a simple matter of not participating, but there must not be even a hint. What is an important distinction, however, is that Paul says there shouldn’t be a hint of sexual immorality, he at no time prohibits sex, which was seen as a healthy and wonderful blessing from God when used in its proper domain. In Paul’s day, there were not only many people who engaged in every type of sexual immorality, there were, on the other end of the spectrum, religious sects that taught that participation in and enjoyment of any sort of sexual activity was wrong and improper, even within marriage. Paul wants to strike the proper balance between describing the inappropriateness of immoral sexual behavior, while not appearing to condemning the act of marital sex.
There are three general areas of sexual inappropriateness that Paul addresses. The term for sexual immorality, porneia, covered a wide array of sexual activity such as prostitution, adultery, fornication, and promiscuity. Nor should there be, says Paul, any kind of impurity, a term that is probably used to apply to sexual perversions of various kinds. Paul also warns against greed, which in this context likely refers to the constant desire for more sex solely for selfish reasons.
Not only should God’s people not engage in these types of behaviors, they should not even have conversations about such things. Generally when we allow ourselves to become comfortable talking about a subject in a coarse or joking manner, it won’t be long before our standards about viewing, and eventually engaging in such things begin to slip. Rather than engaging in obscene, foolish, or coarse joking about sexual matters, those in Christ should stop wasting their time and linguistic energy and speak thanksgiving. In verse 20, Paul will mark out thanksgiving as a sign of being filled with the spirit. In essence, thanksgiving is the basic mindset of the Christian that focuses on God’s grace, God’s will, and God’s desires rather than our own. Rather than engaging in selfish and titillating conversations, God’s people should be focused on building up one another with their talk. Every time we have an empty conversation, we also lose the opportunity to encourage and build one another up.
Paul cuts right to the heart of matters in verses 5-6. He leaves no room for sentimentality or excuse-making about engaging in certain behaviors as a consistent lifestyle (note Paul talks about an immoral, impure, or greedy person who has turned themselves over to these behaviors as a lifestyle, rather than someone who merely falls a couple of times). Paul’s point is not exactly that this is a list of rules which, if violated, will disqualify a candidate for God’s future, although that’s true in a sense. Closer to his point is that he is describing what those transformed into the image of Christ will and will not look like. If you see any of these things as a normal part of your life and character, then that’s a pretty good warning light that you have not been transformed into Christ’s image. Despite what those with empty words (presumably Paul speaks here more in generic terms of the types of things that those around them might say rather than dealing with a specific individual or false teacher) might claim, God’s wrath will come on those who are disobedient. These words are particularly instructive for those of us who live in a society that seeks constantly to permit whatever behaviors, particularly sexual, in which people choose to engage, as well as to redefine who God is and what punishment of those not in Christ will be. Paul is pretty clear here that those who embrace behavior that is antithetical to the life of Christ will not only have no place in the kingdom of God, but they will feel the full force of God’s wrath.
Because of that obvious fate, it would make no sense for a Christian to join with these people and engage in similar behaviors. Paul does not mean that Christians should never go around immoral people. That would be as impossible as it would be impractical. Christ’s people are to be lights in the darkness, which implies that they must go into the dark, but they are not to douse their light in order to not stand out so sharply from those around them.
There might be a temptation to be drawn into that darkness, because we were all once darkness. Now, however, we are light in the Lord. When we live in contrast to God’s will, we don’t just reside in darkness, we become darkness. On the other hand, when we reside in Christ, we are light to the world around us, so Paul reminds his readers to live that way. The only thing sillier than having no light in a dark room, is to have a light but completely cover it up so that it can’t be seen.
The idea of once being darkness and now being light continues a motif that Paul has used repeatedly in this letter, as he has noted that they were once aliens, separated from God (2:12-22); subject to the powers of the world (2:1-2), and now darkness. In Christ, however, they are brought near to God (2:13), they are victorious in Christ (2:5-9), and have become light. No doubt, in all of this, Paul has baptism in mind. The change from darkness to light was due to their new status in Christ, which they entered by faith at baptism. This change in status allows us to become light in Christ to the world but it also means learning to discipline and control not only actions, but far more importantly our thinking. It means we can’t just go with the flow of things, but must think about the nature of God and what that means for us in our own thoughts and actions.
Devotional Thought
When reading through this passage, do any of the areas that Paul talks about strike a little close to home? Are there any areas in your life in which you have allowed a hint of some of these behaviors? If so, what do you need to do in response to that realization?
Friday, March 14, 2008
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold. 28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 5
1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Dig Deeper
I was a young, first-year college basketball player and one of the seniors on the team asked us all to sign up to be big brothers. How could we say ‘no’? Kenny was the team captain and a highly respected senior veteran, point-guard on the team. He also worked at the local Boy’s and Girl’s Club during his free-time. Through them, he was in charge of recruiting volunteers for the big brother program. Pretty much everyone on the team signed up, including me. A few days later we went through a training session and were given the numbers of the young men to call their mothers and set things up. The problem was, I never called. In fact, virtually none of the other players called their boys either. After about three months of having completely forgotten all about it, Kenny called a meeting with all of the guys who had signed up. We all thought he was really going to give it to us and call us lazy and irresponsible, and he did briefly, but that was not by far the heart of what he told us. What he did was to call us to the standard of being men of our word. What was really memorable, though, was when he calmly described all of the good that we could have done in the lives of these young men and did not. The bad aspects of the character we had displayed was one thing, but the good things we could have done in the lives of those young men was far more important and long-lasting.
Up to this point, Paul has talked quite a bit about the life in Christ and what it looks like in theory. In this section, Paul really gives some ethical direction and practical advice on what that might look like. What might be surprising, however, is that Paul does not simply launch into a list of don’ts and do’s, although it is easy to read it like that, and many have over the years. The true thrust of this passage is a vision of what the Christian community in Christ is supposed to be and the good they can accomplish when acting that way. It would certainly be a shame for the people who have been freed from the slavery of sin to continue to live darkened lives, but far more devastating would be the failure to do the good that those who are walking in step with the Spirit in their Christian life can do. It has become quite popular these days for people to engage in whatever behavior they want and justify it as "being free and being themselves," but that is in direct opposition to the life of Christ to which believers are called. Rather than being free and going with the flow of whatever we are feeling at the moment, we are really, usually using excuses for lazy thinking and selfish behavior. Even worse, though, is we miss out on all the positive benefits for ourselves and others that could be accomplished.
Those in Christ, then, should not just discontinue in the behavior of lying because it is a new rule. There are several problems beside the act of it being a sin that arise when God’s people lie to one another. When we lie we demonstrate that we completely miss the point of the unified life of Christ. First, when people lie to other humans, we demonstrate that we fear their opinion more than God’s. Second, lying to others in the Christian community shows that we really don’t grasp the concept of unity in the body of Christ, if we did we would realize that lying to one another is like lying to ourselves. Thus, it is important not just to not lie, but to engage in and enjoy the benefits of living a community that speaks and lives truthfully and can trust one another. When people trust one another there is a whole other world of good things like trust, comfort, unity, compassion, empathy, support, and so many other things that can flower. We should note that in verse 25, Paul quotes from Zechariah 8:16, a passage which promises that God will restore and renew his people. Living in a community that speaks truthfully and lives truthfully is one of the ways that will happen.
In your anger, Paul says, do not sin. Anger is a natural and God-given emotion, but it must be controlled. Trying to pretend that we don’t get angry is a form of lying. Like any other sins associated with the old man, then, we must learn to recognize the steps that lead us into sin and eliminate them. Thus, we must train ourselves to recognize our anger and get rid of it quickly, or as Paul says before the sun goes down. If we don’t, we open ourselves up and give the devil a foothold. Again, the real problem in anger is not only that it leads to so many other sins, but it keeps us from enjoying so much benefit. If we spend 3 or 4 hours even, being angry with someone, that is 3 or 4 hours of untold good and benefit that are lost to Satan. We lose the good of what we could have done as well as the benefit of learning to control our anger.
The one who has supported himself by stealing needs to stop because that is obviously inconsistent with a Christian life, but once again, there is more to it than that. The one who has been stealing in his old life, needs to turn that around and work, making use of the hands and abilities that God has given him. That would even be one thing, but Paul goes one more incredible step. He says that those in Christ who had been stealing should work so that he may have something to share with those in need. The thief should, in Christ, become a philanthropist. Stealing is bad enough in itself, but we often miss all of the incredible benefits that can come from hard work and sharing with others that is lost when someone steals. Thus, the life of Christ is not just about no longer sinning, but it has everything to do with engaging in the exponential good that can be done when one lives out the true life of the Messiah.
Next, Paul turns to unwholesome talk. The term actually comes from a word that means "stones that crumble." It speaks of any language which is destructive of others. Instead, believers should build others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Every time we open our mouths in the presence of other believers we have an opportunity to build up God’s kingdom in them or tear it down (certainly this same principle also applies to non-believers as well) in them. What a shame it is when we use the tongue destructively, because we not only tear down, we miss an opportunity to build up. Once again, we see the principle that Paul is describing at work. Evil is exponentially increased in the good that is not done that could have been. To do evil and not good, especially when it comes to using our tongue, grieves the Holy Spirit, with whom all believers are sealed for the day of redemption. The language of grieving the Spirit comes from Isaiah 63:10, which describes Israel’s rebellion. Not using our tongues to build others up is a sort of rebellion, then, against God.
Believers, Paul continues to say, should get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. The obvious implication is that doing so comes from proper thinking and is at least in part, our responsibility. Rather than wasting time in those activities that do no one anyone good, we should engage in behavior more consistent with the life of Christ. We should be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Forgiveness is a key component of the life in Christ because it demonstrates that we truly grasp the forgiveness that has been granted us in Christ.
In doing all of this, we will become imitators of God. Why would we want to become imitators of God? Because we are dearly loved children in our status in the Messiah. Being an imitator of God is a great way to sum up the entire preceding passage. This passage brings forth echoes of other passages that call us to imitate the character of God such as Leviticus 19 and Matthew 5:43-48. The point of living as an imitator of God is the same thing that allows us to do so: The fact that Christ gave his life for us so that we might enter into his life, should be our motivation to similarly die to our old lives and take his up. Anything less would be unthinkable for the one who truly understands our life in Christ.
Devotional Thought
It actually makes the Spirit grieve when we don’t live lives that reflect the nature, image, and life of God. As those in Christ, we are called to and enabled by the Spirit to live in ways that do reflect the life of the Messiah. In what ways do you embrace the life of the Messiah? In what areas do you still resist that life?
29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 5
1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Dig Deeper
I was a young, first-year college basketball player and one of the seniors on the team asked us all to sign up to be big brothers. How could we say ‘no’? Kenny was the team captain and a highly respected senior veteran, point-guard on the team. He also worked at the local Boy’s and Girl’s Club during his free-time. Through them, he was in charge of recruiting volunteers for the big brother program. Pretty much everyone on the team signed up, including me. A few days later we went through a training session and were given the numbers of the young men to call their mothers and set things up. The problem was, I never called. In fact, virtually none of the other players called their boys either. After about three months of having completely forgotten all about it, Kenny called a meeting with all of the guys who had signed up. We all thought he was really going to give it to us and call us lazy and irresponsible, and he did briefly, but that was not by far the heart of what he told us. What he did was to call us to the standard of being men of our word. What was really memorable, though, was when he calmly described all of the good that we could have done in the lives of these young men and did not. The bad aspects of the character we had displayed was one thing, but the good things we could have done in the lives of those young men was far more important and long-lasting.
Up to this point, Paul has talked quite a bit about the life in Christ and what it looks like in theory. In this section, Paul really gives some ethical direction and practical advice on what that might look like. What might be surprising, however, is that Paul does not simply launch into a list of don’ts and do’s, although it is easy to read it like that, and many have over the years. The true thrust of this passage is a vision of what the Christian community in Christ is supposed to be and the good they can accomplish when acting that way. It would certainly be a shame for the people who have been freed from the slavery of sin to continue to live darkened lives, but far more devastating would be the failure to do the good that those who are walking in step with the Spirit in their Christian life can do. It has become quite popular these days for people to engage in whatever behavior they want and justify it as "being free and being themselves," but that is in direct opposition to the life of Christ to which believers are called. Rather than being free and going with the flow of whatever we are feeling at the moment, we are really, usually using excuses for lazy thinking and selfish behavior. Even worse, though, is we miss out on all the positive benefits for ourselves and others that could be accomplished.
Those in Christ, then, should not just discontinue in the behavior of lying because it is a new rule. There are several problems beside the act of it being a sin that arise when God’s people lie to one another. When we lie we demonstrate that we completely miss the point of the unified life of Christ. First, when people lie to other humans, we demonstrate that we fear their opinion more than God’s. Second, lying to others in the Christian community shows that we really don’t grasp the concept of unity in the body of Christ, if we did we would realize that lying to one another is like lying to ourselves. Thus, it is important not just to not lie, but to engage in and enjoy the benefits of living a community that speaks and lives truthfully and can trust one another. When people trust one another there is a whole other world of good things like trust, comfort, unity, compassion, empathy, support, and so many other things that can flower. We should note that in verse 25, Paul quotes from Zechariah 8:16, a passage which promises that God will restore and renew his people. Living in a community that speaks truthfully and lives truthfully is one of the ways that will happen.
In your anger, Paul says, do not sin. Anger is a natural and God-given emotion, but it must be controlled. Trying to pretend that we don’t get angry is a form of lying. Like any other sins associated with the old man, then, we must learn to recognize the steps that lead us into sin and eliminate them. Thus, we must train ourselves to recognize our anger and get rid of it quickly, or as Paul says before the sun goes down. If we don’t, we open ourselves up and give the devil a foothold. Again, the real problem in anger is not only that it leads to so many other sins, but it keeps us from enjoying so much benefit. If we spend 3 or 4 hours even, being angry with someone, that is 3 or 4 hours of untold good and benefit that are lost to Satan. We lose the good of what we could have done as well as the benefit of learning to control our anger.
The one who has supported himself by stealing needs to stop because that is obviously inconsistent with a Christian life, but once again, there is more to it than that. The one who has been stealing in his old life, needs to turn that around and work, making use of the hands and abilities that God has given him. That would even be one thing, but Paul goes one more incredible step. He says that those in Christ who had been stealing should work so that he may have something to share with those in need. The thief should, in Christ, become a philanthropist. Stealing is bad enough in itself, but we often miss all of the incredible benefits that can come from hard work and sharing with others that is lost when someone steals. Thus, the life of Christ is not just about no longer sinning, but it has everything to do with engaging in the exponential good that can be done when one lives out the true life of the Messiah.
Next, Paul turns to unwholesome talk. The term actually comes from a word that means "stones that crumble." It speaks of any language which is destructive of others. Instead, believers should build others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Every time we open our mouths in the presence of other believers we have an opportunity to build up God’s kingdom in them or tear it down (certainly this same principle also applies to non-believers as well) in them. What a shame it is when we use the tongue destructively, because we not only tear down, we miss an opportunity to build up. Once again, we see the principle that Paul is describing at work. Evil is exponentially increased in the good that is not done that could have been. To do evil and not good, especially when it comes to using our tongue, grieves the Holy Spirit, with whom all believers are sealed for the day of redemption. The language of grieving the Spirit comes from Isaiah 63:10, which describes Israel’s rebellion. Not using our tongues to build others up is a sort of rebellion, then, against God.
Believers, Paul continues to say, should get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. The obvious implication is that doing so comes from proper thinking and is at least in part, our responsibility. Rather than wasting time in those activities that do no one anyone good, we should engage in behavior more consistent with the life of Christ. We should be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Forgiveness is a key component of the life in Christ because it demonstrates that we truly grasp the forgiveness that has been granted us in Christ.
In doing all of this, we will become imitators of God. Why would we want to become imitators of God? Because we are dearly loved children in our status in the Messiah. Being an imitator of God is a great way to sum up the entire preceding passage. This passage brings forth echoes of other passages that call us to imitate the character of God such as Leviticus 19 and Matthew 5:43-48. The point of living as an imitator of God is the same thing that allows us to do so: The fact that Christ gave his life for us so that we might enter into his life, should be our motivation to similarly die to our old lives and take his up. Anything less would be unthinkable for the one who truly understands our life in Christ.
Devotional Thought
It actually makes the Spirit grieve when we don’t live lives that reflect the nature, image, and life of God. As those in Christ, we are called to and enabled by the Spirit to live in ways that do reflect the life of the Messiah. In what ways do you embrace the life of the Messiah? In what areas do you still resist that life?
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Ephesians 4:17-24
Living as Children of Light
17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Dig Deeper
Being threatened was nothing new for me. I was the commissioner of the PAC-8, the athletic conference for inner-city schools in Milwaukee, and it was often my job to double as the head of security during many games. From time to time we had to enforce rules, which often included removing a fan from the premises. Many of them weren’t very happy, and on a couple of occasions I even had people threaten to shoot me. There was something unique about this particular threat to do me bodily harm, however. It came after I had walked on the floor during halftime and stopped the cheerleader’s show, which was incredibly provocative and inappropriate. This was another in a long line of problems with one school that included unruly fan behavior, a post-game fight, and using ineligible players. This school was a constant problem. What was a little shocking this time, however, was that the threats against me were being made by a teacher from the school who was angry that I would protest about teen-age young ladies lifting up their skirts and grinding on the floor for a cheer. I was a bit surprised by the unprofessional behavior of the teacher until I talked to principal, who was even worse. I soon realized that the problem with the players and fans from this school was never going to be fixed by our efforts because the problem came from the principal and the teachers. Until they were transformed or even replaced, all we could do was discipline problems, we had no real chance of actually preventing them or changing the overall behavior of that school.
The goal for Paul throughout this letter is to teach the young Christians how to truly live the new life in Christ into which they’ve entered. Once people make the choice to die to their old life and enter into the life of Christ’s, they are there without question, but then the work of transformation takes precedence. Often times, however, Christians think that the place where they must change is in their actions. That will have a small effect for a time, but it won’t really make the sort of permanent changes that God desires for His people. To truly change and transform our life into the life of Christ, a fundamental change must take place in our minds, in the way we think and view the world.
Paul urges and insists that those in the Lord, including the Gentiles he is primarily addressing, can no longer live as the Gentiles do. Living the life of Christ and living as people of the world who are in Adam is no more possible than it would be to live on two different planets at the same time. Paul points out five aspects that negatively impact the minds of those not in Christ. They are futile in their thinking, they are darkened in their understanding, they are separated from God because of their ignorance, and they have hardened hearts that increases their ignorance. Their thinking is so darkened and ungodly that they have lost all sensitivity and given themselves over to unspeakable impurities with an insatiable appetite. In the ancient world, light was a universal symbol for understanding, while in the biblical terminology, it symbolizes the life-giving relationship with God. Thus, those who are darkened in their minds have no understanding and no relationship with the God of light.
Paul follows the same line of thinking in Romans 1:18-32, when he describes a six-stage process, of sorts in the downward spiral of a sin-dominated mind. First, men cease to worship God properly (v. 21). Second, their thinking becomes futile (v. 21). Third, their hearts become darkened (v. 21). Fourth, they engage in idolatry (v. 23). Fifth, God gives them over to their evil desires (v. 24). Finally, they begin to approve of the sinful acts of others (v. 32).
The New Testament writers are consistent that sins are not the cause of the problem, but the symptoms. The real problem is in the mind and thought life of those who believe that they can exercise their will over God’s. The key to embracing the life of Christ is to transform the mind (2 Cor. 11:3; 2 Cor. 4:1-4; 2 Cor. 10:4-5; 1 Pet. 1:3; Romans 12:2; Phil. 4:8). As the old saying goes, "Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action reap a thought; sow a habit reap a character; sow a character reap a destiny; but it all begins with a thought." The great work of transforming our life into the life of Christ does not take place in the physical world of action but in the shadowy world of the mind.
If the problem is a darkened and distorted mind, then the solution is a renewing of the mind, which is precisely the result of salvation according to Paul in Romans 12:2. Paul uses three images to get this point across. The first is instruction in the life of Christ, the second is the image of changing clothes, and the third is new creation.
One of the frustrating things in reading the New Testament, as we attempt to understand the process of renewing the mind, is that Paul rarely discusses the basics of Christian teaching in the first-generation church. His letters are addressed to groups that have entered into the life of Christ and are now struggling with the realities of becoming what they already are positionally. This is one of the few places, however, where we get a brief glimpse of the original preaching and teaching that was given to converts. We can see that it had to do with Jesus himself. Verse 20, literally reads, "You did not learn the Christ this way." This doesn’t mean that they learned random facts about Jesus, but they were schooled in the life of the Messiah, both what his was and even more what theirs should be. They were taught in the way of truth that is in the life of Jesus, and as Paul stated in verse 15, that should carry over in their lives as they "truth" in love. Jesus embodied truth (John 14:6) and so should those in him.
The Greek text does not begin a new sentence in verse 22, so it seems clear that it is related to the instruction that was mentioned in verses 20-21, and the language implies that this was a sort of baptismal instruction given to new believers. Verses 22-24 are so similar to several other passages that what emerges is either an already formalized baptismal theology, or at the very least Paul’s baptismal theology that would soon become codified in the early church (see also Col. 3:9-11; Rom. 6:3-6; Rom. 13:14; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:26-28). All of these passages, including the present one, speak of either putting on Christ or being clothed with the new being, making it obvious that the new person being formed in us is Christ himself. There is constant tension, then between our old identity in Adam (Rom. 5:12-21) that is constantly being corrupted by its deceitful desires and the new life in Christ.
The only way to counteract the corroding influence of our old life is to renew the way we think; to have the mind of Christ. We must, in that way, put on the new self. What the NIV has as "in the attitudes of your minds" is literally "in the spirit of your mind." The issue at hand, then, is whether our human spirit is to be animated by our own will or the will of God and His Holy Spirit (see Rom. 8 which talks of this in more detail and 1 Cor. 15:42-49 in which Paul says that being fully animated by the Spirit is what characterizes its resurrected body).
In putting on this new self, we become like God in true righteousness and holiness. In one sense this is new creation; in another sense, however, it is a restoration back to the original state of human beings as the image-bearers of God (Gen. 1:26-27). It is the image of God that was lost in Eden due to the exaltation of man’s will over God’s which can now be restored in Christ by the transformation of our minds and will. This all means that in Christ, we can be restored into the image of God as we were designed to be. It is only in Christ that we can fulfill our destiny and truly reflect the righteousness and holiness of God.
Devotional Thought
Early Christians saw themselves as literally a third race of human being, separate from Jews and Gentiles. Do you view your new life in Christ as being that drastic of a change from your old identity? In what areas do you still need to drastically transform the way you think and your life?
17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Dig Deeper
Being threatened was nothing new for me. I was the commissioner of the PAC-8, the athletic conference for inner-city schools in Milwaukee, and it was often my job to double as the head of security during many games. From time to time we had to enforce rules, which often included removing a fan from the premises. Many of them weren’t very happy, and on a couple of occasions I even had people threaten to shoot me. There was something unique about this particular threat to do me bodily harm, however. It came after I had walked on the floor during halftime and stopped the cheerleader’s show, which was incredibly provocative and inappropriate. This was another in a long line of problems with one school that included unruly fan behavior, a post-game fight, and using ineligible players. This school was a constant problem. What was a little shocking this time, however, was that the threats against me were being made by a teacher from the school who was angry that I would protest about teen-age young ladies lifting up their skirts and grinding on the floor for a cheer. I was a bit surprised by the unprofessional behavior of the teacher until I talked to principal, who was even worse. I soon realized that the problem with the players and fans from this school was never going to be fixed by our efforts because the problem came from the principal and the teachers. Until they were transformed or even replaced, all we could do was discipline problems, we had no real chance of actually preventing them or changing the overall behavior of that school.
The goal for Paul throughout this letter is to teach the young Christians how to truly live the new life in Christ into which they’ve entered. Once people make the choice to die to their old life and enter into the life of Christ’s, they are there without question, but then the work of transformation takes precedence. Often times, however, Christians think that the place where they must change is in their actions. That will have a small effect for a time, but it won’t really make the sort of permanent changes that God desires for His people. To truly change and transform our life into the life of Christ, a fundamental change must take place in our minds, in the way we think and view the world.
Paul urges and insists that those in the Lord, including the Gentiles he is primarily addressing, can no longer live as the Gentiles do. Living the life of Christ and living as people of the world who are in Adam is no more possible than it would be to live on two different planets at the same time. Paul points out five aspects that negatively impact the minds of those not in Christ. They are futile in their thinking, they are darkened in their understanding, they are separated from God because of their ignorance, and they have hardened hearts that increases their ignorance. Their thinking is so darkened and ungodly that they have lost all sensitivity and given themselves over to unspeakable impurities with an insatiable appetite. In the ancient world, light was a universal symbol for understanding, while in the biblical terminology, it symbolizes the life-giving relationship with God. Thus, those who are darkened in their minds have no understanding and no relationship with the God of light.
Paul follows the same line of thinking in Romans 1:18-32, when he describes a six-stage process, of sorts in the downward spiral of a sin-dominated mind. First, men cease to worship God properly (v. 21). Second, their thinking becomes futile (v. 21). Third, their hearts become darkened (v. 21). Fourth, they engage in idolatry (v. 23). Fifth, God gives them over to their evil desires (v. 24). Finally, they begin to approve of the sinful acts of others (v. 32).
The New Testament writers are consistent that sins are not the cause of the problem, but the symptoms. The real problem is in the mind and thought life of those who believe that they can exercise their will over God’s. The key to embracing the life of Christ is to transform the mind (2 Cor. 11:3; 2 Cor. 4:1-4; 2 Cor. 10:4-5; 1 Pet. 1:3; Romans 12:2; Phil. 4:8). As the old saying goes, "Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action reap a thought; sow a habit reap a character; sow a character reap a destiny; but it all begins with a thought." The great work of transforming our life into the life of Christ does not take place in the physical world of action but in the shadowy world of the mind.
If the problem is a darkened and distorted mind, then the solution is a renewing of the mind, which is precisely the result of salvation according to Paul in Romans 12:2. Paul uses three images to get this point across. The first is instruction in the life of Christ, the second is the image of changing clothes, and the third is new creation.
One of the frustrating things in reading the New Testament, as we attempt to understand the process of renewing the mind, is that Paul rarely discusses the basics of Christian teaching in the first-generation church. His letters are addressed to groups that have entered into the life of Christ and are now struggling with the realities of becoming what they already are positionally. This is one of the few places, however, where we get a brief glimpse of the original preaching and teaching that was given to converts. We can see that it had to do with Jesus himself. Verse 20, literally reads, "You did not learn the Christ this way." This doesn’t mean that they learned random facts about Jesus, but they were schooled in the life of the Messiah, both what his was and even more what theirs should be. They were taught in the way of truth that is in the life of Jesus, and as Paul stated in verse 15, that should carry over in their lives as they "truth" in love. Jesus embodied truth (John 14:6) and so should those in him.
The Greek text does not begin a new sentence in verse 22, so it seems clear that it is related to the instruction that was mentioned in verses 20-21, and the language implies that this was a sort of baptismal instruction given to new believers. Verses 22-24 are so similar to several other passages that what emerges is either an already formalized baptismal theology, or at the very least Paul’s baptismal theology that would soon become codified in the early church (see also Col. 3:9-11; Rom. 6:3-6; Rom. 13:14; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:26-28). All of these passages, including the present one, speak of either putting on Christ or being clothed with the new being, making it obvious that the new person being formed in us is Christ himself. There is constant tension, then between our old identity in Adam (Rom. 5:12-21) that is constantly being corrupted by its deceitful desires and the new life in Christ.
The only way to counteract the corroding influence of our old life is to renew the way we think; to have the mind of Christ. We must, in that way, put on the new self. What the NIV has as "in the attitudes of your minds" is literally "in the spirit of your mind." The issue at hand, then, is whether our human spirit is to be animated by our own will or the will of God and His Holy Spirit (see Rom. 8 which talks of this in more detail and 1 Cor. 15:42-49 in which Paul says that being fully animated by the Spirit is what characterizes its resurrected body).
In putting on this new self, we become like God in true righteousness and holiness. In one sense this is new creation; in another sense, however, it is a restoration back to the original state of human beings as the image-bearers of God (Gen. 1:26-27). It is the image of God that was lost in Eden due to the exaltation of man’s will over God’s which can now be restored in Christ by the transformation of our minds and will. This all means that in Christ, we can be restored into the image of God as we were designed to be. It is only in Christ that we can fulfill our destiny and truly reflect the righteousness and holiness of God.
Devotional Thought
Early Christians saw themselves as literally a third race of human being, separate from Jews and Gentiles. Do you view your new life in Christ as being that drastic of a change from your old identity? In what areas do you still need to drastically transform the way you think and your life?
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Ephesians 4:11-16
11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Dig Deeper
Many times over the years, I have asked people what the core job of a coach is, or for that matter any sort of leader. I have heard many different responses such as telling people what to do, organizing people, inspiring them, and many other answers. Although I believe there are elements of truth to all of those, I don’t believe that is the core of coaching leadership. The key is to put people in the right situations to that they can succeed in contributing to the team. I can think of many players that I coached over the years that got upset with me because they wanted to play more but I always felt it was my job to put them into situations where they could be successful, otherwise I was not doing my job. The key thing that the players had to learn was that the abilities they had only mattered in so much as they could contribute to the team. Once they grasped that concept, most issues of their individual egos or having a poor attitude about not being in the game during certain situations went away.
Paul wants his readers, which presumably included many young Christians, to realize that as well (although we should point out that there is no specific controversy that is being addressed). God has given gifts, abilities, and a measure of grace to each Christian but they have to learn how to develop those gifts so that they can build up the entire body. Christian gifts are not given to keep each person busy or to satisfy the ego of each individual. They are given so that those who have been given certain qualities of God’s grace can, under the direction of the Spirit, build up and contribute to the overall health and success of the body of Christ.
Despite the efforts of some to occasionally argue otherwise, Paul is not trying to catalogue a complete list of spiritual gifts or even of so-called ‘offices’ of early church organization. There are several problems trying to identify a specific structure and organization in the early church, including the facts that there appear to be overlapping functions attributed to the New Testament offices (for instance, it is not clear how bishops, presbyters, and elders are to be distinguished form one another); It is also true that churches may have differed in their organizational structure from place to place. Rather than a blueprint for church organization, Paul is making a point. His point is about the continuing gifts that God has given his people. Not only has He blessed His people with unparalleled access to Himself both in the present age and in the ability to enter God’s presence in the heavenly realms while waiting for the consummation of the resurrection. He has also given gifts to His community in the Messiah through individual messengers.
Thus, God gave some to be apostles, the eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Christ and the foundation of the Church; some to be prophets, those commissioned with speaking the word of God, and guiding and directing the Church particularly before the completion of the New Testament; some to be evangelists, those who announced the resurrection and kingdom of the true king of the world, and planted churches; some to be pastors and teachers (the structure of the sentence implies that these words are connected, like teaching pastors, rather than two different categories), those who shepherded the young churches and trained them in the word of God. It is the job of these gift-receivers, not to exalt themselves, or to think of themselves as more important than others, but to prepare God’s people for works of service. The point of having leaders with these kinds of gifts is to put everyone in the Church in a position to succeed, to do the work and live the life of the age to come while still in the present age. This, in turn, builds up the entire community.
Their are several key components that Paul describes in this aspect of building up the Church. First, there is an intellectual aspect as believers strive to reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. Paul implies that reaching unity is a process that comes, in part, through increased knowledge and understanding of Jesus. The emphasis is also made clear that this unity that we all reach is a corporate process rather than stressing individual personal growth. Second, is to become mature, a word that means perfect or complete. The goal is to become like Christ, the perfect man, as a community, so we see that Paul is still thinking in terms of corporate unity. The final aspect is to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. This is the final step of a maturing Church, one that truly has become mature and learned how to live the full life of Christ in every area of life.
This fullness of life will keep the Church safe from the waves of teaching that toss small children back and forth, believing one thing one day, and another the next, or being swept along by the winds and waves of false teaching that surges them further and further away from the shores of truth. The knowledge of the teachings and life of Christ will guide those in Christ into the maturity and fullness of life that will keep them from being taken in by the deceitful scheming of crafty men.
Rather than being fooled by false teachings and false visions of the Christian life, Paul wants them to speak the truth in love. It would be to badly take this verse out of context if we reduced it to Paul saying that Christians should simply tell each other the truth or be open and honest with one another, although those are certainly good things. Nor is Paul referring to telling someone when we think they have fallen into sin, although that is certainly biblical and good. The NIV, and many other modern translations, actually add the word "speaking," which is not at all in the original language. What Paul actually says is "truthing in love" or "being truth in love." This conveys the idea of living out the truth in a manner and ethic of love, because love is the destiny of those in Christ (1 Cor. 13). Truth is not merely an intellectual concept, or information to be shared, it is something that must be lived. Rather than being fooled, like small children, into counterfeit ways of life, the mature Christian learns to live a life characterized by truthing in love. When we grasp that as the goal and destiny of the Christian community then we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ.
As Christian communities go through this maturing process they will be joined and held together by every supporting ligament. Paul’s overall point in this passage is that as the community grows and builds itself up in love, it will become in reality what we already are in principle, which is the body of the Messiah. Paul gives one final reminder in this section. Just like a regular body, the whole thing is one, but each individual part must do its own work. Although the body of Christ should become increasingly one, that must never become an excuse for some to sit back and assume that everyone else can mature and grow in Christ, while they can just remain immature and enjoy the benefits of being in a community of mature believers.
Devotional Thought
Paul discusses the idea of truthing in love in the Christian community. Are there any aspects of the Christian life in which you understand what is right intellectually but do not truly live it out? How would Paul categorize a Christian that knew something but didn’t embody it? If you do need to make some changes, how would you go about doing it?
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Dig Deeper
Many times over the years, I have asked people what the core job of a coach is, or for that matter any sort of leader. I have heard many different responses such as telling people what to do, organizing people, inspiring them, and many other answers. Although I believe there are elements of truth to all of those, I don’t believe that is the core of coaching leadership. The key is to put people in the right situations to that they can succeed in contributing to the team. I can think of many players that I coached over the years that got upset with me because they wanted to play more but I always felt it was my job to put them into situations where they could be successful, otherwise I was not doing my job. The key thing that the players had to learn was that the abilities they had only mattered in so much as they could contribute to the team. Once they grasped that concept, most issues of their individual egos or having a poor attitude about not being in the game during certain situations went away.
Paul wants his readers, which presumably included many young Christians, to realize that as well (although we should point out that there is no specific controversy that is being addressed). God has given gifts, abilities, and a measure of grace to each Christian but they have to learn how to develop those gifts so that they can build up the entire body. Christian gifts are not given to keep each person busy or to satisfy the ego of each individual. They are given so that those who have been given certain qualities of God’s grace can, under the direction of the Spirit, build up and contribute to the overall health and success of the body of Christ.
Despite the efforts of some to occasionally argue otherwise, Paul is not trying to catalogue a complete list of spiritual gifts or even of so-called ‘offices’ of early church organization. There are several problems trying to identify a specific structure and organization in the early church, including the facts that there appear to be overlapping functions attributed to the New Testament offices (for instance, it is not clear how bishops, presbyters, and elders are to be distinguished form one another); It is also true that churches may have differed in their organizational structure from place to place. Rather than a blueprint for church organization, Paul is making a point. His point is about the continuing gifts that God has given his people. Not only has He blessed His people with unparalleled access to Himself both in the present age and in the ability to enter God’s presence in the heavenly realms while waiting for the consummation of the resurrection. He has also given gifts to His community in the Messiah through individual messengers.
Thus, God gave some to be apostles, the eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Christ and the foundation of the Church; some to be prophets, those commissioned with speaking the word of God, and guiding and directing the Church particularly before the completion of the New Testament; some to be evangelists, those who announced the resurrection and kingdom of the true king of the world, and planted churches; some to be pastors and teachers (the structure of the sentence implies that these words are connected, like teaching pastors, rather than two different categories), those who shepherded the young churches and trained them in the word of God. It is the job of these gift-receivers, not to exalt themselves, or to think of themselves as more important than others, but to prepare God’s people for works of service. The point of having leaders with these kinds of gifts is to put everyone in the Church in a position to succeed, to do the work and live the life of the age to come while still in the present age. This, in turn, builds up the entire community.
Their are several key components that Paul describes in this aspect of building up the Church. First, there is an intellectual aspect as believers strive to reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. Paul implies that reaching unity is a process that comes, in part, through increased knowledge and understanding of Jesus. The emphasis is also made clear that this unity that we all reach is a corporate process rather than stressing individual personal growth. Second, is to become mature, a word that means perfect or complete. The goal is to become like Christ, the perfect man, as a community, so we see that Paul is still thinking in terms of corporate unity. The final aspect is to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. This is the final step of a maturing Church, one that truly has become mature and learned how to live the full life of Christ in every area of life.
This fullness of life will keep the Church safe from the waves of teaching that toss small children back and forth, believing one thing one day, and another the next, or being swept along by the winds and waves of false teaching that surges them further and further away from the shores of truth. The knowledge of the teachings and life of Christ will guide those in Christ into the maturity and fullness of life that will keep them from being taken in by the deceitful scheming of crafty men.
Rather than being fooled by false teachings and false visions of the Christian life, Paul wants them to speak the truth in love. It would be to badly take this verse out of context if we reduced it to Paul saying that Christians should simply tell each other the truth or be open and honest with one another, although those are certainly good things. Nor is Paul referring to telling someone when we think they have fallen into sin, although that is certainly biblical and good. The NIV, and many other modern translations, actually add the word "speaking," which is not at all in the original language. What Paul actually says is "truthing in love" or "being truth in love." This conveys the idea of living out the truth in a manner and ethic of love, because love is the destiny of those in Christ (1 Cor. 13). Truth is not merely an intellectual concept, or information to be shared, it is something that must be lived. Rather than being fooled, like small children, into counterfeit ways of life, the mature Christian learns to live a life characterized by truthing in love. When we grasp that as the goal and destiny of the Christian community then we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ.
As Christian communities go through this maturing process they will be joined and held together by every supporting ligament. Paul’s overall point in this passage is that as the community grows and builds itself up in love, it will become in reality what we already are in principle, which is the body of the Messiah. Paul gives one final reminder in this section. Just like a regular body, the whole thing is one, but each individual part must do its own work. Although the body of Christ should become increasingly one, that must never become an excuse for some to sit back and assume that everyone else can mature and grow in Christ, while they can just remain immature and enjoy the benefits of being in a community of mature believers.
Devotional Thought
Paul discusses the idea of truthing in love in the Christian community. Are there any aspects of the Christian life in which you understand what is right intellectually but do not truly live it out? How would Paul categorize a Christian that knew something but didn’t embody it? If you do need to make some changes, how would you go about doing it?
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Ephesians 4:1-10
Unity in the Body of Christ
1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says:
"When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men." 9(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
Dig Deeper
From time to time in Christian history, a new group will pop up that seems to have a renewed zeal for religious unity. They want nothing more, they usually say, than to bring all believers back to a so-called New Testament Christianity and become united around the Bible alone. That is certainly a valid and praiseworthy goal, and is something worth striving for. There has just been one problem over the years. In almost every case, the movement has eventually caused more disunity than unity. There are certainly many reasons for that, but among them is the reality that most of those movements eventually get bogged down in disputes over which doctrines should be embraced in this great movement for unity. They then spiral into factions and splinters and end up with more disunity than when they started. The problem, then, is often that they lose sight that in order to attain unity, it must be kept at the forefront. This doesn’t mean that everything else can be sacrificed on the altar of unity, but if unity in Christ is not kept as the central tenet of the Christian community, it will eventually spiral into factions and infighting.
Paul knew this concept well. In the second half of his letter, he will turn his attention to specific ways in which these Christians can bring honor and praise to God in the life of their community. More than anything, he wants them to learn to live the life they were called to live, but he knows that the central component of that is unity. If they lose their unity, then everything else will be a sham and parody of the true life of the community of Christ.
Paul begins this section by repeating his belief that he is a prisoner on behalf of the Lord. It is instructive that even though Paul was in prison at the hands of the Romans, he still doesn’t see it that way. Everything he does and everything that happens to him is a result of his status in Christ because, for Paul, "to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). As a result of everything he has said up to this point in praise of God and his belief that all things relate to our new life in Christ, Paul urges them to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. By calling, he doesn’t mean their job or vocation, he is talking about the general call of the gospel on the lives of those who would believe to enter into the life of Christ and to live the life of the age to come based, in part, on their hope of resurrection. The call to the life of the Messiah demands total loyalty and takes complete precedence over everything else in life. Paul continues in verse 2 by listing elements such as being humble, patient, and gentle, that are not on par with the call to life a life worthy of a calling, rather they are varying aspects of that life that are vital to realizing its worth and true value.
A major aspect of this loyalty to the life of Christ is unity towards one another. Many people fall into the trap of thinking that the crux of New Testament salvation is about individual rescue from the wrath of God, and that is certainly involved, but there is far more to it than that. God’s plan, as Paul described in chapter 1, is about becoming a people, the elect in Christ. When we are baptized, we are baptized into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12), and it is that body that demonstrates God’s wisdom to the powers of the world (Eph. 3:10). This is why the unity of the body of Christ must be maintained and guarded diligently. This is something that takes effort. It takes a determination to bear with one another in love. As Paul describes so beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13, love is not a requirement of God’s people, it is our destiny toward which we are being transformed.
There are two other important aspects of this unity that should not be lost. The first is that this unity is the unity of the Spirit. It comes from the Spirit and is maintained in the Spirit. That means that we don’t create unity, the Spirit does. It is up to the believers to maintain that unity by obeying the Spirit. The second aspect is that unity, rather than destroying diversity, relies on it. Nowhere in the New Testament is the Church called to live a life of uniformity. True unity in love demands diversity and the celebration of the creativity of the multi-faceted body of Christ.
Despite all of the other differences that the members of the body of Christ have, the unifying power of the gospel comes in that all believers share in the same universal body of Christ that shares the same Spirit, the same hope of the resurrection, the same Lord to which we are all obedient, the same faith in the life of Jesus Christ, the same baptism to enter into that life, and of course, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
In all of this unity, that does not mean that individual responsibility is lost. There is always a temptation in a community, to shirk responsibility and rely on everyone else to do the hard work. It should not work that way in the Kingdom of God, however. If we all share the same faith, then we should realize that each one of us holds a equal share in the grace of ministry that has been given each of us by Christ. The unity of the community of Christ is of utmost importance, but that unity and bond of peace can only be brought about by individual believers dying to themselves and living the life in the Spirit and in Christ to which we were each called. Each one of us, in other words, has the kind of access to God in the life of Christ to which Paul has referred repeatedly in the first three chapters, and needs to fulfill our role in the life of the body as we administer the grace that God has given us (1 Pet. 4:10).
The remaining verses in this chapter have been notoriously difficult over the years for commentators to understand or agree upon. Verse 8 is a quotation from Psalm 68:18, but what is Paul talking about here with all this talk of ascending, descending, leading captives in his train and giving gifts to men? Modern commentators often focus on possibilities such as the Incarnation, the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost, or Christ’s descent to the Church.
None of these though, seem very satisfying in light of other Scriptures and the record of the early church writings. Acts 2:25-27 quotes from Psalm 16 in which David prophesies that God will not let his holy one, the Messiah, see the decay of Hades (misleadingly rendered "the grave" in the NIV). 1 Peter 3:19 and 4:6 both seem to speak of Christ descending into Hades and announcing to the souls there waiting for the resurrection, what Christ has done. In Revelation 14:13, we are told that those who die in the Lord are now blessed in a way that they had not been possible before Christ came in the flesh of a man. Early Church father, Irenaeus, wrote in 180 AD, "It was for this reason, too, that the Lord descended into the regions beneath the earth, preaching His advent there also. And He [declared] the remission of sins received by those who believed in Him."
Paul has already talked often in Ephesians about the access to God that is afforded to those in Christ both in the future and in the present and how it should impact the lives of believers. Now it appears that he refers to one of the most forgotten doctrines of the early church. The belief that Jesus went to Hades, particularly the area called "Paradise" or "Abraham’s Bosom" and led the righteous out of there and into the presence of God. Before the atonement of Christ, even the righteous dead’s sins had not been atoned for and so they could not be in the presence of the holy God. Now, however, that had all changed (see Rev. Which clearly depicts saints as being in God’s presence in heaven). There is no limit to the gifts that God has given to men in Christ or the access that we now have. God has given us so much, how can we not show gratitude for that by remaining unified in the Spirit of the Messiah.
Devotional Thought
The same Lord and Christ lives in the life of each member of the body of Christ. Remembering this is one of the great building blocks of community. What have you done lately to maintain and improve unity in the body of Christ? Have you done anything to damage or ignore that unity? What might you need to do to repair that?
1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says:
"When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men." 9(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
Dig Deeper
From time to time in Christian history, a new group will pop up that seems to have a renewed zeal for religious unity. They want nothing more, they usually say, than to bring all believers back to a so-called New Testament Christianity and become united around the Bible alone. That is certainly a valid and praiseworthy goal, and is something worth striving for. There has just been one problem over the years. In almost every case, the movement has eventually caused more disunity than unity. There are certainly many reasons for that, but among them is the reality that most of those movements eventually get bogged down in disputes over which doctrines should be embraced in this great movement for unity. They then spiral into factions and splinters and end up with more disunity than when they started. The problem, then, is often that they lose sight that in order to attain unity, it must be kept at the forefront. This doesn’t mean that everything else can be sacrificed on the altar of unity, but if unity in Christ is not kept as the central tenet of the Christian community, it will eventually spiral into factions and infighting.
Paul knew this concept well. In the second half of his letter, he will turn his attention to specific ways in which these Christians can bring honor and praise to God in the life of their community. More than anything, he wants them to learn to live the life they were called to live, but he knows that the central component of that is unity. If they lose their unity, then everything else will be a sham and parody of the true life of the community of Christ.
Paul begins this section by repeating his belief that he is a prisoner on behalf of the Lord. It is instructive that even though Paul was in prison at the hands of the Romans, he still doesn’t see it that way. Everything he does and everything that happens to him is a result of his status in Christ because, for Paul, "to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). As a result of everything he has said up to this point in praise of God and his belief that all things relate to our new life in Christ, Paul urges them to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. By calling, he doesn’t mean their job or vocation, he is talking about the general call of the gospel on the lives of those who would believe to enter into the life of Christ and to live the life of the age to come based, in part, on their hope of resurrection. The call to the life of the Messiah demands total loyalty and takes complete precedence over everything else in life. Paul continues in verse 2 by listing elements such as being humble, patient, and gentle, that are not on par with the call to life a life worthy of a calling, rather they are varying aspects of that life that are vital to realizing its worth and true value.
A major aspect of this loyalty to the life of Christ is unity towards one another. Many people fall into the trap of thinking that the crux of New Testament salvation is about individual rescue from the wrath of God, and that is certainly involved, but there is far more to it than that. God’s plan, as Paul described in chapter 1, is about becoming a people, the elect in Christ. When we are baptized, we are baptized into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12), and it is that body that demonstrates God’s wisdom to the powers of the world (Eph. 3:10). This is why the unity of the body of Christ must be maintained and guarded diligently. This is something that takes effort. It takes a determination to bear with one another in love. As Paul describes so beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13, love is not a requirement of God’s people, it is our destiny toward which we are being transformed.
There are two other important aspects of this unity that should not be lost. The first is that this unity is the unity of the Spirit. It comes from the Spirit and is maintained in the Spirit. That means that we don’t create unity, the Spirit does. It is up to the believers to maintain that unity by obeying the Spirit. The second aspect is that unity, rather than destroying diversity, relies on it. Nowhere in the New Testament is the Church called to live a life of uniformity. True unity in love demands diversity and the celebration of the creativity of the multi-faceted body of Christ.
Despite all of the other differences that the members of the body of Christ have, the unifying power of the gospel comes in that all believers share in the same universal body of Christ that shares the same Spirit, the same hope of the resurrection, the same Lord to which we are all obedient, the same faith in the life of Jesus Christ, the same baptism to enter into that life, and of course, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
In all of this unity, that does not mean that individual responsibility is lost. There is always a temptation in a community, to shirk responsibility and rely on everyone else to do the hard work. It should not work that way in the Kingdom of God, however. If we all share the same faith, then we should realize that each one of us holds a equal share in the grace of ministry that has been given each of us by Christ. The unity of the community of Christ is of utmost importance, but that unity and bond of peace can only be brought about by individual believers dying to themselves and living the life in the Spirit and in Christ to which we were each called. Each one of us, in other words, has the kind of access to God in the life of Christ to which Paul has referred repeatedly in the first three chapters, and needs to fulfill our role in the life of the body as we administer the grace that God has given us (1 Pet. 4:10).
The remaining verses in this chapter have been notoriously difficult over the years for commentators to understand or agree upon. Verse 8 is a quotation from Psalm 68:18, but what is Paul talking about here with all this talk of ascending, descending, leading captives in his train and giving gifts to men? Modern commentators often focus on possibilities such as the Incarnation, the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost, or Christ’s descent to the Church.
None of these though, seem very satisfying in light of other Scriptures and the record of the early church writings. Acts 2:25-27 quotes from Psalm 16 in which David prophesies that God will not let his holy one, the Messiah, see the decay of Hades (misleadingly rendered "the grave" in the NIV). 1 Peter 3:19 and 4:6 both seem to speak of Christ descending into Hades and announcing to the souls there waiting for the resurrection, what Christ has done. In Revelation 14:13, we are told that those who die in the Lord are now blessed in a way that they had not been possible before Christ came in the flesh of a man. Early Church father, Irenaeus, wrote in 180 AD, "It was for this reason, too, that the Lord descended into the regions beneath the earth, preaching His advent there also. And He [declared] the remission of sins received by those who believed in Him."
Paul has already talked often in Ephesians about the access to God that is afforded to those in Christ both in the future and in the present and how it should impact the lives of believers. Now it appears that he refers to one of the most forgotten doctrines of the early church. The belief that Jesus went to Hades, particularly the area called "Paradise" or "Abraham’s Bosom" and led the righteous out of there and into the presence of God. Before the atonement of Christ, even the righteous dead’s sins had not been atoned for and so they could not be in the presence of the holy God. Now, however, that had all changed (see Rev. Which clearly depicts saints as being in God’s presence in heaven). There is no limit to the gifts that God has given to men in Christ or the access that we now have. God has given us so much, how can we not show gratitude for that by remaining unified in the Spirit of the Messiah.
Devotional Thought
The same Lord and Christ lives in the life of each member of the body of Christ. Remembering this is one of the great building blocks of community. What have you done lately to maintain and improve unity in the body of Christ? Have you done anything to damage or ignore that unity? What might you need to do to repair that?
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