• Paul continues discussing "submission" from 5:21 - "submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."

CHILDREN AND PARENTS
EPHESIANS 6:1-9
6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is right.

• Here is harmony in the home:
• the wife submits to the husband “as unto Christ”;
• the husband loves his wife “even as Christ also loved the church”;
• and the children obey “in the Lord.”[1]
• "Children" - Not only a reference to young age but referring to those living in the same household with the parents having authority over them.
• "obey" - listen, pay attention, answer, respond and submit.
• "in the Lord" - Godly parents with godly behavior. This defines the sphere in which the obedience is to move
• In context. - It is not required or expected for a child to obey when the parental wishes lead to a sinful behavior.
• "right" - agrees with God's design for family and the relationship between the parent and child.

2 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise,

• "honor" - respect, courtesy and obedience. This comes from being placed in a God-given position.
• A child's response to their parents is typically directly reflective of how they respond to all relationships.
• If they have a learned behavior as a child it will be one they will potentially struggle with in their flesh as an adult.
• The only way to overcome that is through spiritual maturity and walking by the Spirit.
• The "promise" is mentioned in verse 3.

3 so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land.

• Exodus 20:12 - Commandment #5 - 12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. [2]
• "go well" - God designed the world with a working order... if you work inside that order... things have a tendency to go well... percentages are higher than those who oppose the God-ordained system and have to deal with consequences.
• "long life" - not a guarantee for longevity but a promise that your obedient life is less likely to bring death because of logical consequences from sin.
• All parties must be filled with the Spirit so that the relationships can work as designed.

4 Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

• Many times, one's relationship with their earthly father is a reflection of the person's thoughts on their heavenly Father which can be both good or bad.
• This is why it is necessary for the Truth to shape your perspective of God.
• 1) No performance-based acceptance (Titus 3:5; Romans 3:20)
• 2) Makes sacrifices for them and makes them feel special (John 3:16).
• 3) Never condemns their person (Rom 8:1) but corrects their behavior with a tear in His eye rather than a scowl on His face (Heb 12:5-11)
• 4) Never shows favoritism (Gal 3:28)
• 5) Makes decisions on how it will help... not hinder his children (principle of the cross).
• When you leave the hospital with your first born... "Where is the instruction manual?" Same as when they become a teenager or enter high school...
• "bring them up" - nourish toward maturity, to rear up.
• "training/discipline" - physical punishment (Prov 13:24)
• We can't rescue our kids from logical consequences.
• Everyone learns the hard way... take your lumps...
• Allow them room to fail and suffer the outcome within the season they are under your roof.
• "instruction" - Training by the Word, by both encouragement and reproof.
• Discipline without instruction can create an angry and confused child.

 
SLAVES AND MASTERS
5 Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as you would Christ.

• History of Master/Slave relationships:
• Before Acts 2, the Romans treated slaves as animals.
• The Master/Slave relationship had greatly changed at the time of writing of Ephesians and was widely accepted in society.
• Kent Hughes: "Ephesians" - The fact is, by the time of the Christian area and writing of this Ephesians, sweeping changes had been introduced which radically improved the treatment of slaves. Slaves under Roman law in the first century could generally count on eventually being set free. Very few ever reached old age as slaves. Slave owners were releasing slaves at such a rate that Augustus Caesar introduced legal restrictions to curb the trend. Despite this, inscriptions indicate that almost 50 percent of slaves were freed before the age of thirty. What is more, while the slave remained his master's possession he could own property - including other slaves! and completely controlled his own property, so that he could invest and save to purchase his own freedom.
• We also must understand that being a slave did not indicate one's social class. Slaves, regularly were accorded the social status of their owners. Regarding outward appearance, it was usually impossible to distinguish a slave from free persons. A slave could be a custodian, a salesman, or CEO. Many slaves lived separately from their owners. Finally, selling oneself into slavery was commonly used as a means of obtaining Roman citizenship and gaining an entrance into society. Roman slavery in the first century was far more humane and civilized than the American/African slavery practiced in this country much later. This is a sobering and humbling fact!
• Slavery was never condemned in the New Testament and was even affirmed by Jesus through His teachings.
• It was necessary to prevent economic disaster for all.
• It nowhere resembled what we think of when we hear the word "slavery".
• The Master/Slave relationship is very similar to our Employee/Employer relationship today.
• Believers (who know who they are) have a huge impact on the work society.
• They are the ones who truly understand the role of submission.
• They are filled with the Spirit unlike nonbelievers.
• They understand there is an intentional authority order to things.
• Mutual submission is the goal in such relationships, not a dictatorship.
• "fear & trembling" - respect and responsibility.
• "sincerity" - Singleness, purity and uprightness.

6 Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart.

• Not by "eyeservice" - Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you (NLT)
• 1) Some employees like to just check off a list.
• 2) Some like to do things as if they were doing it for themself.
• 3) Others like to do it as if they are trying to impress their boss.
• 4) Paul is saying, "Do your work as if you are doing it for Jesus". Jesus came to serve.
• Of the 4 types of employees, which one would you want to work for you?
• Which one would you have to consistently check up on?
• Work from the perspective of what the employer will receive rather than what you will receive.
• Do you ever notice good workers... "I'd hire that person in a heartbeat."

7 Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people,

• Many times you will not be recognized for your work...
• That is why it is important to have the attitude of rendering your service to the Lord rather than to your employer.

8 knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord.

• Paul is saying that "good deeds never go unnoticed by God."
• Even if the employer does not reward you, God will!

9 And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.[3]

• As the Christian masters of Paul's day interacted with the slaves, they were to display the same respect they expected in return.
• Again, only employers with the Spirit of God in them will understand this concept.

Submission is the key to relationships... As the body of Christ, we are called to a life of submission (not weakness) to one another.

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 53). Victor Books.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Ex 20:12). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 6:1–9). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Kids Getting Hurt Videos
• Michelle Hernandez – Crossfit differences
• Michelle Kennedy – His jobs & her jobs
• Our society today, doesn’t want to acknowledge that we are different.
• Actually they do, they want the genders to be equal and it has become a competition, with one side not saying much at all.
• Men will shut down and step out of the way when women dominate.

EPHESIANS 5:18-21
18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.[1]
 
WIVES AND HUSBANDS
EPHESIANS 5:22-33
22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord,

• The verb hupotassō (ὑποτασσω), “submit, subject,” is supplied from the preceding verse. (Wuest)‎
• Submit in verse 21 is covered in the following verses:
• 1)Wives to Husbands (5:22-33)
• 2) Children to Parents (6:1-4)
• 3) Slaves to Masters (Employees to Employers) (6:5-9).
• ‎Submission has nothing to do with the order of authority, but rather governs the operation of authority, how it is given and how it is received.[2]
• Did Jesus lose his authority when He washed His disciples’ feet?
• No institution or organization can function without submission.
• In fact, eliminate submission in any area of society and the result is utter chaos... (Examples? - LA Riots ('92), New Orleans during Katrina ('05), etc.)
• Genesis 3:16 - He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children with painful effort. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you.[3]
• ‎Desire - It is not Eve's emotional or physical desire for Adam (that was already present).
• It was the desire to take control of her husband's authority.
• This usurp of authority will be impossible.
• ‎It will only be through the power and teaching of the Holy Spirit that submission to one another takes place. This takes place through Jesus.
• ‎Bob Warren – “Fallout = Strong, unyielding wife produces a passive husband. Then down the road when the woman eventually needs a man to lead... there is only resentment. A woman being overbearing and strong will eventually play out and have no desire for the state of their current relationship due to her initial dominance.
• ‎True authority is built on truth.
• Therefore, if any wife has currently placed themselves as the leader of their house, she does not have true authority.
• True authority is attained only through submission to authority.
• ‎A wife's dominance prevents the God-ordained authority (the husband) from ruling and the children are angered without really knowing why.
• Deficient discipline occurs and the kids are confused.
• ‎Submission to authority does not mean that one is inferior.
• It is purely acknowledging God's order.
• ‎God created Eve from Adam's rib to make him complete.

23 because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body.

• This verse also teaches submission. Christ submitted Himself to death for our, the sake of the church.
• Who is the church? From Acts 2 to the point of the End.
• No wife minds submitting to a husband that has this attitude.
• Who has ever ended up submitting to Christ and regretting it? No one.
• Christ does not demand for us to submit to Him... He waits for us to choose to submit.
• It is through His kindness and love (not His wrath) that brings us to a place of submission.
• What happens when a husband refuses to lead (either out of choice or laziness)?
• The family never gets to experience the huge benefits as result of true leadership.

24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything.

• The only way this works is if the wife feels secure and safe in her place of submission.
• In other words, the man has to love and protect her.
• When this occurs, selflessness rules in the house, children are raised in a stable environment and the world has a model of how the family is intended to operate.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her

• “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” (Theodore Hesburgh).
• This is not going to occur by the church teaching behavior modification or trying to control the outcome.
• The only way possible is for the church to teach believers their identity and the Holy Spirit reveal it to them and let it play out.
• When the husband becomes selfless and loves his wife (through servanthood), all are greatly benefited.

26 to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word.

• When a person is sanctified (made holy), he is set apart from his past unto his future.
• This has application to marriage because when a man marries a woman, he sets her apart from her past and unto a future that he has promised to her.
• There is no doubt that the spiritual growth of the wife is greatly enhanced through the godly influence of the husband.

27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.

• A bride typically wears white at the wedding, representing purity and holiness.
• That doesn’t come from a point of behavior, but from a point of what Christ has done in her.
• His desire is for a glorious church, and He wants to love that church as a man loves his own bride.
• This is not a performance-based relationship.
• It is a knowing and understanding relationship.
• What the husband knows and understands greatly impacts what the wife and kids know and understand.
• It is imperative that the husband pays special attention to the wife's spiritual needs.
• How does he do that? By taking care of his own first.

28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

• 5:23 - Says the husband is the head and the wife is the body.
• ‎5:31 - Says we are one flesh.
• ‎If a husband doesn't love his wife (the body) then can't love himself.
• ‎You will love your wife fully when know who you are yourself. ‎
• ‎Tony Evans – “Unless we’re talking about a case where a wife is deliberately trying to undermine her husband, when you look at a man’s wife, you should get a pretty good idea of what he thinks about himself.
• ‎‎If a wife is miserable all the time, maybe it’s because she is married to a miserable man.
• If her countenance is bright, chances are she is being nourished and cherished by a loving husband.
• Our wives are like mirrors, reflecting back to us what kinds of husbands we are.”

29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church,

• Society spends more money and time on caring for their own flesh than ever before.
• There is no doubt that loving our bodies (earth tent) by taking care of them gives you added energy, vigor and fulfillment in life.
• The same truth occurs when we take care of our wives.
• We should marry to date rather than date to marry:
• 1. Words of affirmation - You did this when you were dating.
• 2. Quality time - Don't talk about doing it... just do it.
• 3. Giving gifts - "Just because I love you"
• 4. Acts of service - Doing the unexpected.
• 5. Physical touch - Nonsexual touch

30 since we are members of his body.

• We share common life with Jesus... we are one with Him.
• Do you realize who you are and what you have been given?

31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.

• Genesis 2:24 - This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.[4]
• 1) Both partners are to leave their homes (parents). You still care for them but you are no longer under their influence as before.
• #4 & #5 reasons for divorce?
• #4 - Mother of the bride
• #5 - Mother of the groom
• 2) You become one flesh... Your bond is greater than a parent/child relationship.
• Keep this a priority.
• Cleave = glue

32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.

• Mystery - the Jews and the Gentiles became one.
• So it is with the husband and wife.
• We become one when we are in Christ.
• Hard for a husband and wife to become one in a marriage without Christ... it is impossible.

33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.[5]

• If the husband loves his wife as himself, both being believers, the wife's respect should automatically follow.
• Woman wants to be loved.
• Man wants to be respected.
• Love and Respect book.
• Crazy cycle

 

• 1)Wives to Husbands (5:22-33)
• 2) Children to Parents (6:1-4)

3) Slaves to Masters (Employees to Employers) (6:5-9).

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 5:18–21). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 50). Victor Books.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 3:16). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Ge 2:24). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 5:22–33). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Paul has been explaining what walking by the Spirit looks like by the view of the world.
• There is a significant difference between the way the redeemed and the unredeemed act.

LIGHT VERSUS DARKNESS
EPHESIANS 5:6-21
6 Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things.

• "Empty" = foolish or futile
• What is Paul referring to here? You have to look at the end result and use your filter of 66 books.
• "disobedient" - Those who could care less about God and want nothing to do with Him.
• God's wrath is coming... it's going to happen!
• The Spirit of Truth allows the believer to steer clear of such emptiness as long as he remains alert.

7 Therefore, do not become their partners.

• There is no reason under any circumstance for a believer to participate in the activities of those who disregard truth and wallow in worldly stuff.
• "But..." No buts about it.

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light--

• "You were once darkness" –
• Ephesians 2:1-3 - And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.[1]
• We were born with an Adamic nature that controlled our person and behavior.
• "Now you are light in the Lord" - 2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come![2]
• Walk as children of light - Know who you are.
• Habitually... not an on-again, off-again manner but continuing to yield to the life of Jesus in us.
• This is not only from sin but from religion (rules and regulations).

9 for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth--

• In reference to those who are in the light
• If you choose to walk by the Spirit then a certain fruit will naturally be produced...
• “It is good to smell ya…” your aroma.
• Fruit being goodness, righteousness and truth.
• "Goodness" - profitable, generous, beneficial, upright or virtuous.
• You profit and benefit others. You are generous to others
• 1 Thessalonians 5:15 - See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.[3]
• "Righteousness" - The believer's right standing with God as well as your desire to walk in Spirit.
• "Truth" - Only believers are capable of walking in Truth (God's Truth).
• You forfeit much in life by not knowing and pursuing the Truth in God's Word.

 

• Tozer - "Many church groups have perished from too much organization, even as others from too little. Wise church leaders will watch out for both extremes. A man may die as a result of having extremely low blood pressure as certainly as from having too high, and it matters little which takes him off. He is equally dead either way.

The important thing in church organization is to discover the scriptural balance between two extremes and avoid both!
It is painful to see a happy group of Christians, born in simplicity and held together by the bonds of heavenly love, slowly lose their simple character, begin to try to regulate every sweet impulse of the Spirit and slowly die from within.
Yet that is the direction almost all Christian denominations have taken throughout history, and in spite of the warnings set out by the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures of truth it is the direction almost all church groups are taking today.
Churches and societies founded by saintly men with courage, faith and sanctified imagination appear unable to propagate themselves on the same spiritual level beyond one or two generations. In all our fallen life, there is a strong gravitational pull toward complexity and away from things simple and real. There seems to be a kind of sad inevitability back of our morbid urge toward spiritual suicide!"

• The Gospel was made simple and meant to stay simple.
• There is a balance of knowing what you have and intellectualizing what you have.

10 testing what is pleasing to the Lord.

• "discerning" - trying to learn or even proving.
• As believers, we figure this thing out and prove it to others as a way of life rather than as a duty or obligation.
• I personally believe it is more general than specific.
• It is not about the specific behavioral things we do... but it is simply walking by the Spirit that pleases the Lord.

11 Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them.

• "participate" - fellowship or partake with others
• "expose" - means to reprove. This could be an open rebuke.
• But, also choosing not to participate leads to conviction.
• Sometimes, the best exposure is by love actions rather than love words.

12 For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret.

• Talking about nonbeliever's behavior can even be harmful to the believer.‎
• Weirsbe - "The motto today seems to be, “Tell it like it is!” And yet that can be a dangerous policy when it comes to exposing the filthy things of darkness, lest we unconsciously advertise and promote sin."

13 Everything exposed by the light is made visible,

• Truth for the believer not only allows them to detect error but to also know the motive behind the error.
• Symptoms vs root cause.

14 for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said:
Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.

• "Sleeper" - unredeemed man
• Christ becomes the light in you.

CONSISTENCY IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise--

• Walk carelessly or carefully
• Wisdom - the ability to view life from God's perspective.
• Proverbs 3:13-15 - Happy is a man who finds wisdom and who acquires understanding,
• for she is more profitable than silver,

and her revenue is better than gold.

• She is more precious than jewels;

nothing you desire can equal her.[4]

• ‎Why would we want to go back to living like fools? This is what it looked like:
• ‎Titus 3:3 - For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another. [5]

16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

• "making the most" - make valuable, something treasured and remembered... memorable experiences.
• Pick a year... What do you consciously remember from that year?
• Doug & Spencer Shrieve – Slides
• Mike Zastrow - Slides
• "Time" - season or opportunity... being proper stewards.
• Wisdom allows its possessors to go to the root of the problem rather than waste precious time on surface issues.
• Choosing the excellent over the good... is difficult... but wise.
• "the days are evil" For Paul, this meant that Roman persecution was on the way.
• For the Church at Ephesus - Rev 2:4 tells us that they lost their first love.
• History tells us that they ceased to exist sometime during the 2nd century.

17 So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

• One of the greatest assets of being wise is to understand the "will of God".
• As you grow in wisdom... so grows your understanding of God's will. It becomes more general than specific.
• Know God (study the Word) - know His will.
• ‎-  He reveals His plan through His Word (Col. 1:9–10), His Spirit in our hearts (Col. 3:15), and the working of circumstances (Rom. 8:28).
• If you seek wisdom from wise counsel... there is only one way to evaluate that truth... It filters through all 66 books.
• It is valuable to know the Word.
• God's will is that we walk in the Spirit... being sanctified and holy.

18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:

• "reckless actions" - dissipation, debauchery, ruin your life, cheapens life, wastefulness. You are wasting your time.
• Wine in Paul's day was used to stimulate worship.
• Neither the "drunk" or the "Spirit-filled" is ashamed to express himself.
• Paul contrasts drunkenness with being filled with the Spirit.
• "be filled" - to influence fully, to possess fully
• This is the same list of things he wrote to the church at Colossae (Col 3:16-22) but he begins with "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you."
• You were made holy... but you choose to walk in holiness. Holy means “to be separated”. You can't experience what you have if you don't separate yourself from the world in your behavior.

 

• Tozer - "Christian leaders can help to bring about revival by refusing to pander to the carnal tastes of the religious public and going on a holy crusade for a purified church. If leaders have the courage to follow Christ all the way, they can be a powerful instrument of the Holy Ghost to bring about real revival.…

If enough influential Christians will rethink this whole thing and turn to the New Testament for guidance, there may yet come a new birth of revival among us. These leaders must see that the believer’s true ambition should not be success but saintliness. They must see that they are not called to imitate the world, but to renounce it, and that publicity is no substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost."
19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord,

• Paul stated that there are three evidences of the fullness of the Spirit in the life of the believer: he is joyful (Eph. 5:19), thankful (Eph. 5:20), and submissive (Eph. 5:21–33).
• It is impossible to possess the fruit of the Spirit and refrain from singing... at least inwardly.

20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

• Being filled with the Spirit is the only way we are able to "always" give thanks regardless of the circumstance.
• Why give thanks to Lord Jesus Christ?
• Because it was through Him that we have every spiritual blessing. We are a part of His family.

21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.[6]

• The Spirit only fills those who desire to understand, walk in, and apply the principle of submission.
• God ordained submission for the protection of the church, family and society in general. ‎
• ‎Submission has nothing to do with the order of authority, but rather governs the operation of authority, how it is given and how it is received.
• Jesus submitted to the cross. Did He lose His authority in doing so? Absolutely not!
• A husband can submit to his wife without losing His authority.
• Understanding "submission" still allows you to view each believer as equal.
• Galatians 3:28 - There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.[7]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 2:1–3). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (2 Co 5:17). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (1 Th 5:15). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Pr 3:13–15). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Tt 3:3). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 5:6–21). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Ga 3:28). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• You were made different to be different
• Putting off the old self for the new
• Paul comes to expressing the specifics of how to live life out of the new creation.
• It is written to the Church, but we immediately go to the thought of our spouse with these encouragements.

LIVING THE NEW LIFE
EPHESIANS 4:25-32
25 Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another.

• Zechariah 8:16
• "I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
• When Truth is spoken among those who are "members of one another" amazing things happen.
• The individual members of Christ's body experience rapid spiritual growth, which results in the corporate body living in a way that epitomizes truth.
• Lying stymies growth and destroys the common life in the body.

26 Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,

• Psalm 4:4
• Wuest – “There is a ‘wrath of God’ (Matt. 3:7, Rom. 12:19); who would not love good unless He hated evil, the two being so inseparable, that either He must do both or neither.”
• ‎The words, “be ye angry,” - this abiding, settled attitude of righteous indignation against sin and sinful things, is commanded, together with the appropriate actions when conditions make them necessary.
• ‎In the words, “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath,” the word “wrath” -  anger that is mingled with irritation, exasperation, and embitterment.
• Such anger is forbidden.
• "Don't let the sun go down on your anger." - For me, this is a season, depending the origination of your anger.
• One of my first chaplain visits, 11 years ago, was to a young Fishers couple that just lost their 4 month old baby.
•    - Who wouldn't be angry?
•    - But eventually you have to walk away from the anger.
• I have lost good friends for sharing this truth with them.

27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity.

• Forbids the continuance of an action already going on.
• Failing to control anger grants the devil an opportunity to get a foothold in your life.
• Then he can use it as a base of operation to launch more spiritual attacks against you.
• Many Christians are suffering today because of anger that was not resolved yesterday—and anger is just one of a complex range of human emotions.
• If Satan can seize our emotions, he can destroy our ability to function by crippling us emotionally or leading us into all manner of destructive and addictive behavior.
• ‎Here’s a specific example of family relationships and spiritual warfare:
• 1) Communication
• 2) Money
• 3) Sex
• Paul wrote to husbands and wives in 1 Corinthians 7:5, “Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
• Paul is saying that when a husband and wife don’t have a fulfilling sexual relationship, the devil sees that lack as an opportunity to come in and bring about moral destruction in the family.
• So this thing of spiritual warfare gets right down to the nitty-gritty aspects of everyday life.

28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need.

• George Muller - "It is no right and Scriptural motive, to be engaged in a trade, or business, or profession, merely in order to earn the means for the obtaining of the necessaries of life for ourselves and family, but we should work because it is the Lord’s will concerning us."
• Paul believed that those who refused to work should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10) for such behavior resulted from a lack of discipline... or even pride.
• We not only work to provide for our family but we also work to provide for those who have needs.
• How many of you have a budget line “for others”?

29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.

• Rotten talk = unwholesome, corrupt, depraved, vicious, foul, rotten or impure.
• Build up = encourage... Why do we find this difficult?
• A simple press on the "like" button makes a world of difference.
• What if you actually left a comment? (Trish Zastrow)
• What if you called them?
• What if you wrote a handwritten letter?
• What if you said it to their face while looking in their eyes?‎
• Tozer – “To preach the truth, the prophet must be under the constant sway of the Holy Spirit. He must be driven to God for wisdom. Otherwise, he will not pierce the conscience of each listener as if the message had been directed to him or her alone. Further, it is necessary that the man of God know the people’s hearts better than they themselves do!”

30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption.

• The Spirit is here seen as capable of feeling, and so as personal.‎
• ‎Because He is loving and kind and friendly, the Holy Spirit may be grieved.… He can be grieved because He is loving, and there must be love present before there can be grief.
• Epiphany at breakfast one day when a friend who knew their identity couldn't walk with the Spirit. Knew it but couldn't live it... and was suffering.
• ‎Tozer - "I remind you that there are churches so completely out of the hands of God that if the Holy Spirit withdrew from them, they wouldn’t find it out for many months."
• One of the greatest assurances of the eternal security of the believer is the fact that the Father has sealed every believer with the Holy Spirit

31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice.

• No one enjoys being around bitter people.
• Directly proportional to the number of friends you have?

32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

• “The idea is that they had to abandon one mental condition and make their way, beginning there and then, into its opposite.”
• Forgiven - Past, present & future.
• If unity is to exist within the church, we must learn to forgive each other as God has forgiven us.

 
EPHESIANS 5:1-5
1 Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children,

• Our word “mimic” comes from this Greek word, "mimetes". (followers)
• ‎“Walk in love” is “be constantly ordering your behavior within the sphere of love.”
• Deeds, that result from trying to imitate God in our own strength are of no benefit.
• Jesus did not imitate the Father, but lived by the Father's life... thus being a reflection of God.

2 and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

• No saint can "walk in love", nor can he live by the life of Another, unless the Person of the Holy Spirit empowers him to do so.

3 But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints.

• porneia (πορνεια) (fornication)
• The word porneia (πορνεια) was used of illicit sexual intercourse in general.
• ‎The moral life of the Graeco-Roman world had sunk so low that, while protests against the prevailing corruption were never entirely wanting, fornication had long come to be regarded as a matter of moral indifference, and was indulged in without shame or scruple, not only by the mass, but by philosophers and men of distinction who in other respects led exemplary lives.”

4 Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks.

• Foolish talking - course jesting - for the sake of attention and wit, a person quickly turns an innocent statement into that which is suggetive, obscene or indecent.
• We need to exchange our indecent talk with giving thanks.

5 For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[1]‎

• Their lifestyle of habitual sin confirms they are unredeemed.
• It is how we can tell the difference between believers and non-believers.
• Light vs darkness
• Walking by the Spirit vs walking by the flesh

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 4:25–5:5). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Living together as one body

LIVING THE NEW LIFE
EPHESIANS 4:17-24
17 Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts.

• Obviously the Lord was in agreement with Paul's teaching.
• Walk = conduct your life
• Gentiles -
     1) Nation of people other than the Jews.
     2) Heathen, ungodly, unregenerate pagan
             persons.
     (1 Thessalonians 4:5‎ - not with lustful passions, like the Gentiles, who don’t know God.[1])
• Ephesus was a Gentile city famous for temple of Diana (Roman name) or Artemis (Greek).
• - Diana was a sex/fertility goddess.
• Futility = vanity, folly or emptiness
• Striving after wind... for what?
• ‎A.W. Tozer – “Israel did not reject the Lord because of philosophical reasons. Israel’s rejection was for moral reasons.…
• ’m telling you this, and it’s a statement that I need not modify. I do not believe there is anybody that ever rejects Jesus Christ on philosophical grounds.

The man who continues in his rejection of Christ has a pet sin somewhere--he’s in love with iniquity.
He rejects Jesus on moral grounds, and then hides behind false philosophy—philosophical grounds.…
I believe that every one of these who are having intellectual difficulties is hiding because he is morally reprobate. When we fall in love with our sin, we can imagine and manufacture 10,000 syllogisms to keep us away from the cross.”
18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts.

• Darkened = the spiritual condition before Christ.
• Excluded = alienated, stranger or separated
• Ignorance = not with the intellectual matters of the world but the things of God.
• Hardness of their heart = sin nature inherited from Adam.
• Ephesians 2:3‎ - We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.[2]
• The sin nature is eradicated when a person receives Jesus.
• Romans 6:6 - ‎For we know that our old self was crucified with him ...[3]
• Galatians 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.[4]
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come![5]

 

• A.W. Tozer – “It may shock some readers to suggest that there is a difference between being “Bible taught” and “Spirit taught.”

Nevertheless, it is so!
It is altogether possible to be instructed in the rudiments of the faith and still have no real understanding of the whole thing. And it is possible to go on to become expert in Bible doctrine and not have spiritual illumination, with the result that a veil remains over the mind, preventing it from apprehending the truth in its spiritual essence.
Most of us are acquainted with churches that teach the Bible to their children, reinforce it with catechism classes, and still never produce in them a living Christianity nor an energized godliness.
Their members show no evidence of having passed from death unto life. None of the earmarks of salvation so plainly indicated in the Scriptures are found among them. Their religious lives are correct and reasonably moral, but wholly mechanical and altogether lacking in radiance.
Many of them are pathetically serious about it all, but they are spiritually blind, getting along with the outward shell of faith while all the time their deep hearts are starving for spiritual reality.
It has been said that “The Scriptures, to be understood, must be read with the same Spirit that originally inspired them.” No one denies this, but even such a statement will go over the heads of those who hear it unless the Holy Spirit inflames the heart!”

• This has nothing to do with salvation
• It is a matter of experiencing the abundant life.

19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.

• Callous = cease to care.
• Particularly about the things they do or how they are perceived by those around them.
• Openly committing sin.
• They have desensitized themselves and can no longer pursue the things of God.

20 But that is not how you came to know (learn) Christ,

• Probably in reference to salvation.
• Paul is indicating at some point you became separated from those who did not know Christ.

21 assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus,

• “Assuming” = makes reference to the fulfilled condition.
• 03/25/19 - In a live appearance at UCLA’s Royce Hall, Oprah explains why it’s important for all of us to find our own truth.
• “What is the truth of me? Why am I here? And what do I have to offer?”
• Oprah asks. “The answer,” she says, “is yourself.”
• Oprah shares why you are enough, just as you are…
• There is no “your truth”
• There is “your opinions” and “your experiences”.
• But there is only one truth.
• John 18:37-38 - “You are a king then?” Pilate asked.

“You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

• 38 “What is truth?” said Pilate.[6]
• Absolute Truth - Absolute truth is true regardless of how a person thinks or feels about it.
• Relative Truth - Relative truth is the belief truth changes based on the individual’s understanding of it.
• The problem with relative truth it is a contradiction in terms.
• If truth is factual and indisputable then you cannot have different truths for different people.
• Relative truth is a rejection of absolute truth.
• The Truth comes from Jesus. (John 14:6)
• It is constant (never changes)
• It is objective (no favorites)
• It will prevail

22 to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires,

• former way of life = before Christ.
• Paul makes reference to his former manner and days before Christ to better identify with his audience.
• But we have to be careful not to use our past mistakes as an opportunity to glorify the flesh.
• old self = sin nature inherited by Adam
• lay aside = aorist infinitive (tense is not defined).‎ laid aside, lay aside, laying aside, put, put aside, putting aside.
• If this verse is teaching that the old self remains after transformation then it contradicts Romans 6:6 & Colossians 3:9-10‎ - Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.[7]
• John Murray and HCSB say that past tense is indicated here.
• It is the only way all of these verses can be filtered together.
• There is a battle. But it is not between the Old Self and New Self.
  Romans 7:23 – but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body.[8]
• This verse explains it as the warring of the New Self and the power of sin that dwells in our flesh.
• Who is it that sins?
• It is the New Man who needs to mature in knowledge of Christ and their behavior will naturally begin to line up with what they know and believe.
• The old self is easily corrupted by deceit.
• The desires/lust are being intensified.

23 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

• Not only does God renew the spirit of the believer's mind at salvation, but continues the process throughout the believer's lifetime.
• Spirit of your mind = attitude, thoughts, purpose or bent.
• How is this possible if you still have the Old Self attached?
•  It is impossible for the Old Self to understand spiritual truth.

24 and to put on, the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.[9]

• Past tense is indicated here.
• Paul is encouraging his readers to realize they are already the new self (new man).
• The believer is not a lowly sinner saved by grace, but a saint who sometimes sins.
• The result is that the Christian is to discern and prove the will of God [10]
• A.W. Tozer – “The answer is that we are too comfortable, too rich, too contented. We hold the faith of our fathers, but it does not hold us. We are suffering from judicial blindness visited upon us because of our sins. To us has been committed the most precious of all treasures, but we are not committed to it. We insist upon making our religion a form of amusement and will have fun whether or not. We are afflicted with religious myopia and see only things near at hand.

God has set eternity in our hearts and we have chosen time instead. He is trying to interest us in a glorious tomorrow and we are settling for an inglorious today. We are bogged down in local interests and have lost sight of eternal purposes. We improvise and muddle along, hoping for heaven at last but showing no eagerness to get there, correct in doctrine but weary of prayer and bored with God.”[11]

• Golf lesson
     - Non golfer
     - Teaching you the correct way
     - Trust – Dr. Rob Bell
     - Scared to play

[1] Christian Standard Bible (1 Th 4:5). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 2:3). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 6:6–7). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Ga 2:20). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (2 Co 5:17). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Jn 18:37–38). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Col 3:9–10). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 7:23). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 4:17–24). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Olford, S. F., & Olford, D. L. (1998). Anointed Expository Preaching (348). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[11] Tozer, A. W., & Eggert, R. (1998). Vol. 2: The Tozer Topical Reader (273–274). Camp Hill, PA.: WingSpread.