Ephesians 6 Part 1 (1-29-06)

Ephesians 6 Part 1
Bible Study Time 1-29-06

Today we enter into the final chapter of the book of Ephesians, and in the first nine verses of this chapter we see the importance of submission to those in authority. Let’s begin reading with the first verse.

Ephesians 6:1-9
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2 "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise:
3 "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth."
4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the (nurture) and admonition of the Lord.
5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;
6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
7 with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,
8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

When the Apostle Paul went out preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to the pagans of the day, there may have been some who longed for freedom from the tyranny of Rome. But Paul wanted to make it perfectly clear that it is God’s will for all believers to submit to those in authority. Over the past one hundred years our world has seen over and over again the deleterious effects of rebellion and revolution.

There are so many regions of the world today where no one knows from one day to the next who will be running the government. There are so many regions of the world where people have no chance to raise their children with any measure of peace and security in their lives. Parents in these regions face the stark reality that their children will know only bloodshed and violence from the time they are born until the time they die.

This is not God’s will, and it never has been. God established human government way back in the Old Testament just after the flood when he told Noah and his sons:

Genesis 9:1-6 (NKJ)
1 "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
2 "And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.
3 "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.
4 "But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
5 "Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man.
6 "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God he made man.

Paul taught in Romans 13 that believers have a responsibility to God to submit to human government. He said:

Romans 13:1-7 (NKJ)
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
4 For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake.
6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing.
7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

Peter confirmed this doctrine, saying:

1 Peter 2:13-17 (NKJ)
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme,
14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men--
16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.
17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

(Then Peter goes on, as Paul did in Ephesians 6, to say that believers have a responsibility to submit not just to human government but to all those who have authority over us. He says:

1 Peter 2:18-21 (NKJ)
18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.
19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.
20 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

Obviously, during the days of Peter and Paul, the institution of slavery was protected by Roman law, and each slave owner had certain legal rights over his slaves. Accordingly, slaves were required by law to submit to their masters.

We can all praise the Lord that people in our country do not have to worry about that kind of situation today. One of the beautiful things about our country is that is was founded upon the principle of individual freedom. The concept of liberty and justice for all did not work its way into a real world application for nearly a hundred years, but today we can be thankful that our country celebrates the reality of freedom for all, and we can be proud that our country supports the cause of freedom around the world.

Today we do not have to worry about being beaten by our master for any reason. It is illegal to beat anyone for any reason. However, if we did have to face such a situation, it is clear from scripture that God would expect us to suffer patiently knowing that this would be commendable in the sight of God.

Actually, as a matter of conscience and as a matter of law, we should report anyone who does beat another person, and that brings us back to what Paul said in Ephesians 6:1 about children obeying their parents.

It is God’s will for children to be taught obedience. Parents are responsible to teach their children to obey. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6 that one of the Ten Commandments was “Honor your father and mother that it may be will with you and that you may live long upon the earth.” He says that this is the first commandment that contains a promise for those who keep it. It is obvious then that we do our children a tremendous favor when we teach them to respect and obey those in authority.

However, from there Paul went immediately into a warning to parents and especially to Fathers saying,
Ephesians 6:4
4 . . . fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

What a beautiful opportunity parents have to bring children into this world and then hold them, and talk to them, and read to them, and teach them about all of the things of the Lord. Parents must exert their influence with wisdom and creativity.

There may be times when a child needs a spanking, but a child never needs a beating. The truth is that no child has ever learned anything even from a spanking unless it was lovingly administered with some good, clear instruction.

The purpose of the spanking is to get the child’s attention so you can teach them something. Now if parents can teach their children everything that they need to know without ever having to administer a spanking, I’d say they’re doing a great job of parenting. There are many ways to get a child’s attention without having to expose the child to the risks that are associated with the violence that is inherent within a spanking.

Children who are exposed to violence often harbor anger and hostility that grows deep down on the inside. This hostility is sometimes revealed in undesirable behavior years later, and the person may never really know the real cause of their behavior. Paul said, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath.”

So, parents, be careful about disciplining your young children. Make sure that they learn to obey those in authority, whether it’s you, or the teacher at school, or the law enforcement officer, but as you teach them to be obedient, do so with an attitude that is nurturing and loving and full of respect.

Now, as we get back to the idea of being in submission to our masters, we can see that the literal interpretation of these verses does not apply specifically to us because none of us has to serve as a slave. However, as a matter of application, there is a significant principle. When we work as an employee of a business or any other institution, we have an obligation to our employer which goes even beyond the expectations of our employer. We have an obligation to God to do our work with a willing heart and with a dedicated heart, not just to please the boss, but to please our Father in heaven.

Sometimes, as an employee, you may start feeling kind of underappreciated, and it’s easy to start thinking that you’d be better off to just do as little as possible without getting fired, and we all know that you don’t have to look around very far to see employees who work with that attitude.

But God says, “Don’t do it.” He says that in reality, you are not working for your earthly boss. You are working for your heavenly Father, and you know that God is going to be faithful to reward you with rewards that are so glorious that you can not even imagine their glory.”

Paul told the Corinthians:
1 Corinthains 2:9 (NKJ)
9 "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

Then he told the Romans:
Romans 8:18 (KJV)
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

You and I should work for our employer just as if we were working directly for God knowing that God will be faithful to reward us.

But then Paul has a word for the employers too in Ephesians 6. He says that employers should be respectful and considerate of their employees because God is also going to hold employers accountable for what they do. And Paul said that God is not partial to employers. Everybody will someday stand before God to give an accounting for their deeds, and God will judge without partiality.

When the apostles went out into the Roman world preaching the good news of Jesus Christ, they had nothing to offer prospective converts except the peace and the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. They could not promise them a better job. They could not promise them freedom from persecution. All they had to offer was the peace and the joy that comes through faith in Christ.

In spite of great persecution, thousands of people came to Christ and dedicated their lives to Him because it really is better to have peace with God than it is to have all of the things that this world has to offer.

Over the next 300 years the persecution increased, but the number of Christians also increased. The more Christians they killed, them more other people believed, and this doctrine of submission to those in authority was indirectly responsible for many of these conversions.

The Roman army was vicious and cruel, and they were so powerful they could crush any person or any nation in its path, but they could not intimidate the Christians. The Christians had a hope that went beyond the grace, and they had a peace that went beyond any human comprehension.

When people saw the willingness of believers to suffer and die without saying a word, they knew that faith in Christ offered something real. It offered a spiritual kind of power that no army on earth could intimidate or terrorize. When the pagans saw this faith, they knew that it was real and many of them came to know Jesus Christ as personal Savior.

If you are listening this morning and you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you can put your trust in Him today and receive everlasting life.

Thank you for listening this morning. It’s been a pleasure studying with you, and I’ll look forward to being you again next week at this same time.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Church links:

http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/

http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/

http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/

Ephesians 5 Part 3 (1-22-06)

Ephesians 5 Part 3
Bible Study Time 1-22-06

The Apostle Paul explained in Ephesians, Chapter 5, that the marriage relationship is symbolic of the relationship between Christ and the Church. He said that the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the Head of the Church.

Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians are the three epistles that Paul wrote from his prison cell in Rome, and in Ephesians and Colossians Paul brought to the forefront the fact that Christ serves as the Head of the Church which is His Body. He mentioned this three times in Ephesians and twice in Colossians. Obviously, the Holy Spirit wanted to emphasize this point. Christ is the Head of the Church which is His Body.

However, many people who are aware of Christ’s position as Head of the Church are surprised when they find out that this doctrine is not taught in Paul’s earlier, Acts-period epistles. Paul got close in I Corinthians 11:3, when he said:

1 Corinthians 11:3 (NKJ)
3 . . . the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
This is close, but it is not the specific doctrine that Paul teaches in his later epistles, that Christ is the Head of the Church.

In I Corinthians 12, Paul spoke at length about the unity of believers, saying that all believers are baptized by one spirit into one body, and then he said, “You are the body of Christ, and members individually.”

This gives us cause to question, was Paul revealing the Church which is the Body of Christ as an institution? I don’t think so. First of all, he never calls this body the Church which is the Body of Christ, and secondly, as I said earlier, Paul never names Christ as the head of this body. An institution not only needs a name, but it also needs a director.

The fact that Paul gets so close during the Acts period to truths that relate to the Church without ever revealing the Church leads me to believe that God was working during this time in a mighty way to prepare Paul’s heart and his mind for the revelation of the mystery Church which he would soon receive. God was exposing Paul a little here and a little there to concepts which would be so important in his later revelations.

During Paul’s Acts-period ministry, it was not yet time to reveal the truth of the Church which is the Body of Christ. At that point in history God was still offering the New Covenant Kingdom to the nation of Israel. The message of the kingdom is a different message from the message which has been given to us as members of the Church.

The message of the kingdom relates to the Bride of Christ, not the Body of Christ. The Lord Jesus came preaching the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and when the disciples of John asked Him why He and His disciples did not fast, He said:

Matthew 9:15 (NKJ)
15 “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Jesus called Himself the bridegroom because He had come to woo Israel as His Bride.

The Lord told the parable of the ten virgins who went out to meet the Bridegroom, but when the Bridegroom came some of the virgins were not prepared and were not allowed to enter the banquet hall when it came time for the wedding.

Revelation 19 speaks of the time when Christ will come at the end of the tribulation period. At that time the Jews who do not believe in Jesus Christ will be unprepared for His return, but the small, believing remnant of Jews who do believe in Jesus will meet Christ in the clouds of heaven, and will be united with Christ at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Then they will return with Christ to rule and reign with Him on the earth.

As Christ came wooing His Bride during His first advent, He went preaching the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He warned His disciples that a time of great tribulation would come before they would see Him coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

This message for the Bride of Christ stands in contrast to God’s message for the Church which is the Body of Christ as we see it in Paul’s prison epistles. In Colossians 3, Paul said:

Colossians 3:4 (NKJ)
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

When Christ appears, we will be taken up into glory beyond the clouds of heaven. In Philippians, Chapter 3, Paul said:

Philippians 3:20-21 (NKJ)
20 . . . our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Paul wrote to Timothy after writing Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, and spoke of the perilous last days of the Church, and he never said a word about the antichrist. The Bride on the other hand will be taken up after the abomination of desolation and after the tribulation of those days according to the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 24. Indeed, the message for the Bride of Christ is vastly different from the message for the Body of Christ.

When Paul wrote I and II Corinthians, he was preaching the message which was formulated for the Bride of Christ. He told them that they should prepare to rule the world in an earthly kingdom. In I Corinthians 6 and verse one, he said:

1 Corinthians 6:1-10 (NKJ)
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

Paul chides them for going to a secular court to settle their legal disputes. He advises them to bring their disputes before the elders of the church so that the elders can help them resolve their differences.

This is different from Paul’s message to the Body of Christ in II Timothy 2 where Paul says:

2 Timothy 2:4 (NKJ)
4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

Why did Paul tell the Corinthian church to bring their legal matters before the church elders? He tell us in verse 2:

1 Corinthians 6:2 (NKJ)
2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

He says, “The kingdom is coming, and you need to be prepared to rule the world. You need to get used to resolving conflicts.” This clearly is the message for the Bride of Christ. It is the Bride of Christ which will rule the world. When Christ catches us up as members of the Body of Christ, we will be taken up into the glory of heaven, but when Christ catches up His Bride at the end of the tribulation period, they will meet Him in the clouds above the earth, they will attend the marriage supper of the Lamb, and they will return with Christ to rule the earth in a worldwide kingdom.

At that time Christ’s feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, and He will destroy all those nations who have played havoc with Jerusalem. Zechariah 14 says:

Zechariah 14:1-4 (NKJ)
1 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst.
2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, . . .
3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.
4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, . . .

Zechariah 14:9, 11,12 (NKJ)
9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. . . .
11 The people shall dwell in it; and no longer shall there be utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.

Zechariah 14:16 (NKJ)
16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

This fits in with Chapter 8 where Zechariah says:

Zechariah 8:22-23 (NKJ)
22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.'
23 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'"

This is the hope of the Bride of Christ. The Bride of Christ will rule over all of the nations which are left after the great battle which takes place at the time of Christ’s second coming. Revelation 19 calls this great battle the Battle of Armageddon.

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he was anticipating this kingdom so he told the believers to get used to judging the issues that come up in the local assembly.

Now. You may ask, “Why didn’t the kingdom come?” Jesus said it was going to come. Paul and all of the other apostles expected it to come. Why didn’t it come?

The answer is simple. The Jews refused to accept it. They refused it when Christ offered it to them, and they refused it when the apostles offered it to them with miracles, wonders and signs from the Holy Spirit. The Jews refused it, and it could not come unless the Jews accepted it. The promise of the kingdom was to the Jews.

Now, let’s be clear about this one thing, however, when the Jews rejected Christ and the kingdom, this did not surprise God. We know that it was all part of God’s plan. It had to be part of God’s plan or He would not have allowed it.

Do you think that all of the Jews at the end of the tribulation period are going to believe in Jesus Christ when Christ does establish the kingdom? No, most of them will not accept Christ at that time either. Why then is the kingdom going to come at that time? Because at that time the rebellious Jews will be destroyed along with the rebellious nations, and only the believing remnant of Jews will enter the kingdom along with all of the nations that are left after the Battle of Armageddon.

Well, God could have done that same thing at the end of the Acts period, but He had a secret plan for mankind which He had yet to reveal. It was a plan for a group of people who would be separate and apart from the program for the Bride of Christ. You guessed it, God was planning to call out the Church, which is the Body of Christ.

God could have proceeded straight into the kingdom at the end of the Acts period, but that would have cut out all of us who have come to God through simple faith in Christ over the past 2,000 years. Oh, how He loves you and me.

In Ephesians 5 Paul speaks to the Church the Body of Christ and says that the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the Head of the Church. Then he says that each husband should love His wife even as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for the Church to make it holy and spotless in the sight of God. Then he says:

Ephesians 5:30-32 (NKJ)
30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.
31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Some people today look at these verses and say that the Body of Christ is the Bride of Christ. Besides the fact that that would really mess up the analogy, this passage does not say that the Body is the Bride of Christ. The mystery of this passage is that Christ loved us enough to die for our sins and present us before the Father as spotless and holy.

For the Church to be the Bride of Christ, one would have to conclude that God will never fulfill His kingdom promises to Israel. That Christ will never take Israel as His Bride. Revelation 19 proves that He will take Israel as His Bride after He catches up the Church which is His Body.

It’s been a pleasure being with you this morning. Thank you for listening, and I’ll look forward to being with you again next week.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Church links:

http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/

http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/

http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/

Ephesians 5 Part 2 (1-15-06)

Ephesians 5 Part 2
Bible Study Time 1-15-06

As I mentioned earlier, we are looking at Ephesians 5 this morning. Last week we saw that God expects believers to walk as children of light, having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. We are to avoid all sexual impurity which is one of the many unfruitful byproducts of covetousness.

We also saw that our God given sense of humor must be used to bring glory to God. It would be foolish for us to engage in obscene humor in the light of the fact that someday the wrath of God will be poured out upon the sons of disobedience. In Galatians 6 Paul said:

Galatians 6:7-8
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

What a choice! Will we chose the flesh or the Spirit? The result of the flesh is corruption, while the reward of the Spirit is everlasting life with hearts that rejoice:

Ephesians 5:19
19 speaking . . . in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in (our) hearts to the Lord,

Obviously, this does not mean that we will never feel sadness, or sorrow, or pain, but it does mean that even during tough times God will use His word to comfort us, and as we witness His working, a song of rejoicing will begin to grow.

When Paul and Silas were arrested in Philippi, they were put in a dungeon with their feet fastened in the stocks. But there they were at midnight, praying and singing hymns to God. The Bible says that all of the prisoners were listening.

God may not use miracles of language or physical healing today to confirm the gospel, but this melody which flows from the Holy Spirit is every bit as powerful. The prisoners of sin who hear that tune will sense the glory and the mystery of it all, and they will be drawn to the saving power of Jesus Christ.

While Paul and Silas sang, an earthquake broke lose the gates of that Philippian jail, and when the jailer woke up, the first thing he said was, “what must I do to be saved?”. He had heard the melody of the Holy Spirit, and he wanted to be like Paul and Silas who were:

Ephesians 5:20 (NKJ)
20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of (the) Lord Jesus Christ,

Only when we experience this melody of joy can we truly do what Paul commands next and that is to submit to one another in the fear of God. Submitting to one another means that we must be willing to yield the right of way. People who go through life feeling threatened or intimidated by the circumstances of life find that hard to do. Those who feel safe and secure will have the capacity to step aside and say “let’s consider doing things your way.” The peace of Jesus Christ which spawns that melody of joy gives us the personal sense of security which allows us to submit to one another in the fear of God.

Those who do not know how to trust the Lord sometimes take their obsession with control to an extreme. Once I saw an interview on television with a family in which the mother tried to control everything. She had a schedule for every person, including her husband, which covered every activity from morning till night. Each person had to make a check mark on the schedule when they had accomplished each task. As you can imagine, this was driving the family crazy. After listening for a while, the psychologist looked at the mother and simply said, “What are you afraid of?”

The mother asked, “What do you mean?”

Again the psychologist asked, “What are you afraid of?”

After a few seconds, with tears in hers eyes, the lady said, “I have such a wonderful life, but I live everyday with this overwhelming fear that something is going to happen to take it all away from me.”

Well, this kind of fear does not come from God. In fact, the Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. God is the one who controls the circumstances of life, and it does not matter how much we try to take that power from Him, He will never give up, Praise the Lord. As believers, we are to know no fear except the fear of the Lord. David said:

Psalm 23:4 (NKJ)
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You, (Lord), are with me; . . .

This idea of submitting one to another is a wonderful introduction to Paul’s instruction concerning marriage in the next few verses where he says:

Ephesians 5:22-29
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it,
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

Throughout the Bible the marriage relationship is sacred. It was ordained by God in the Garden of Eden. After God made Eve from one of Adam’s ribs, He gave her to Adam as a companion, tailor made for Adam’s needs. When God brought her to Adam, Adam said:

Genesis 2:23 (NKJ)
23 . . . "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."

Then in Genesis 2:24, God said:

Genesis 2:24 (NKJ)
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Here we see that God introduced the concept of the family even before Adam and Eve knew what a family was. God spoke of the father and the mother even before there were children. Obviously, the marriage relationship is superior to all other relationships and is the relationship upon which all other relationships are based.

The Lord Jesus referred to Genesis 2:24 when the Pharisees asked Him about divorce. The Lord reminded them that it was God who made the first man and the first woman, and it was God who said, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Then the Lord Jesus added something very special when he said, “What God has joined together, let not man separate.” God had intended all along for the marriage relationship to last for a lifetime.

Those who find true love in marriage would not have it any other way. In fact, it may even hurt to think that in the next life that relationship will be different. But in this we can be fully confident, though it will be different in the next life, it will be even better. Hard to imagine, I know, but the glory of heaven is indeed hard to imagine.

Now here in Ephesians 5, Paul also went to Genesis 2:24 to verify the validity of the marriage bond, and after quoting that verse he said that the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the Head of the Church. Of coarse, this church is the same church that Paul has been talking about all through the book of Ephesians. It is the Church which is the Body of Christ.

In Matthew, Chapter 16, the Lord said to Peter, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.” But the church of Matthew 16 is not the Church which is the Body of Christ. The church of Matthew 16 was a Jewish Church which had the hope of an earthly kingdom with Christ ruling as their King.

Jesus Christ does not serve as the King of the Church which is the Body of Christ. Our relationship with Christ is much more personal and much more intimate. Christ serves as the head of the Church which is His Body. In Ephesians, Chapter 1, Paul said that Christ serves as Head over all things to the Church which is His Body, and in Ephesians, Chapter 4, Paul said that we should speak the truth in love so that we may grow up into Christ who is the Head of the Body.

As we think of the analogy of the human body, the relationship of the head to the body is certainly different from that of a king to His subjects. A king functions in an authoritarian capacity. He makes certain demands of his subjects, and he rewards or punishes his subjects based on their performance.

This is not the case in the Church, the Body of Christ, and it is not suppose to be the case in the marriage relationship. The head dose not function in an authoritarian position. In the analogy of the human body, the head is totally dedicated to directing the activities of the body so that the body will survive and flourish. The body, on the other hand, is totally dedicated to performing whatever function the head may signal. There is total unity of purpose and function. The head is never threatened by the body, and the body has no thought of independence from or rebellion against the head.

The marriage relationship, like the human body, was intended to reflect the perfect unity which exists between Christ and the Church. This is a grave responsibility for those who enter into marriage, and it should, therefore, not be entered into lightly or unadvisedly. When our marriages fail to reflect the union and unity of Christ and the Church, it is not just a social malady, it actually mocks the plan and purpose of God.

After 40 years in the desert with the children of Israel, Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land because he struck a rock in the desert rather than speaking to it as God had instructed him to do. Why was this so important? Because speaking to rock symbolized the believer’s fellowship with God. Moses had made a mockery of the symbolism which God had intended, and as a result he was not allowed to enter into the promised land.

God wants our marriages to display in a symbolic sense the peace, the harmony, the unity that exists between Christ and the Church, and there are great rewards for those who are faithful to follow God’s instructions. Actually, some of our deepest personal needs are met in the marriage relationship when we follow God’s instructions. God created Eve because He saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone, but His unique formula for marriage meets the personal needs of the wife and the children as well.

Paul said that the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the Head of the Church, and since we are to be imitators of God as dear children, it is only logical that husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it.

Jesus Christ was willing to humble himself and except the cruel death of the cross in order to provide for the well being of those who trust in Him. This self-sacrificing kind of love is truly the most powerful force in the universe, and because the marriage relationship is the foundation for all other relationships, God made this kind of love the cornerstone of the marriage relationship.

When the husband loves his wife with a love that is pure and unselfish, the wife will respond and submit to his leadership as naturally as the body responds to the brain. Now, we the Bible says in this passage that the husband is to love and the wife is to submit, these duties are not mutually exclusive. We have already seen that we are all instructed to submit ourselves one to another in the fear of God, and the Lord Jesus told his disciples to love one another as He has loved us for greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

In godly marriages generous portions of love and submission will be found on the part of both the husband and the wife. To follow the example of Christ, we must all learn to subject our own will to the will of others, and we must all learn to love even when the ones we love are undeserving. Jesus Christ said to the Father, “not my will, but Thine be done.” The result: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and while we were still enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of Christ.

As I close this morning, I would like to remind you that Christ’s offer of salvation is still open today. If you don’t know Him, if you have never put your trust in Him, open your heart to Him right now. You can pray right now, wherever you are. If you ask Him to save you, He will come into your life and put a song of rejoicing on your lips.

I’ve enjoyed being with you this morning. Thank you for listening, and I’ll look forward to being with you again next week at this same time.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Church links:

http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/

http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/

http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/

Ephesians 5 Part 1 (1-8-06)

Ephesians 5 Part 1
Bible Study Time 1-8-06

Last week we started the new year off with some instructions for living as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ. In Ephesians 4 the Apostle Paul reminds us that sin causes a hardening of the heart. Even people who are saved are susceptible to this terrible disease which causes so much pain and suffering. If we live in sin, we will eventually develop hardening of the heart.

We will lose our sensitivity to the needs of others, and as a matter of fact, we will not even be able to determine our own needs. We will pursue a path that leads to our own destruction and to misery for those around us. We will lose sight of the fact that we need fellowship with God and fellowship with other believers. We will become totally self absorbed. After all, the essence of sin is selfishness.

However, when we walk in the light of Jesus Christ, we have fellowship with God, and the Holy Spirit teaches us the joy of crucifying self upon the cross of Calvary. When we believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, we are baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. The old man dies, and the new man comes to life.

In Ephesians 4, Paul says that while the old man is characterized by lewdness and greed, the new man is characterized by true righteousness and holiness. The new man does not lie and neither does it carry a grudge. It does not steal from others, and it does not use coarse language. All bitterness, wrath, anger, and evil speaking are crucified with the old man upon the cross.

The last verse in Ephesians 4 is one of the most beautiful verses in all of the Bible. Very simply Paul says:

Ephesians 4:32 (KJV)
32 . . . be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

This verse is beautiful in its simplicity, but it is so powerful and so practical. Most of the psychological problems that people face are simply a result of internalized anger and hatred. Oh the freedom and liberty that we find in Jesus Christ when we learn to forgive and be kind one to another.

We live in a time when about half of all marriages end in divorce, and I can not help but wonder how many marriages could be saved if husbands and wives could just learn to be kind to one another and forgive one another. Can you just imagine what our homes would be like if husbands and wives could put everything else aside and learn to live by this verse.

I think it’s no coincidence that Paul follows this verse with an inspired marriage counseling session in the last part of Chapter 5, but before Paul gets into that he has a few more things to say about living for Jesus Christ. In verse 1 of Chapter 5, he says that we should not only forgive one another as God has forgiven us, but we should imitate God in everything and in every way.

What! Do we really have the power to be like God? Well, it’s obvious we’ll never be perfect like God is perfect as long as we live in this body of flesh, but we should follow God’s example in all things.

I often recommend Max Lucado’s book, Just Like Jesus, because Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God’s perfection. In Jesus Christ we see the fullness of God’s perfect love, His perfect compassion, His perfect purity. All that is good and holy, we see in Jesus Christ, and we should make it our daily goal to be the kind of person that Jesus was and is.

Verse 2 of Chapter 5 says that we should love others with the same kind of love that Christ had for us when he gave Himself as the sacrifice for sin, and then in verse 3 he spells out for us what it means to walk in love, saying:

Ephesians 5:3 (NKJ)
3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;

According to Paul, believers do not have to work for sainthood, but all believers are saints, and God has ordained that saints should live a life of purity. This life of purity is not a sacrifice; it’s a blessing. God has determined that all sexual activity is reserved for the marriage relationship. Sexual activity outside of the marriage relationship is unclean or impure in the sight of God, and it is a form of covetousness. Believers are to be known as people who are content with that which God supplies without coveting what we don’t have.

Fornication, uncleanness and covetousness are not to be named among the saints, and then in verse 4:

Ephesians 5:4 (NKJ)
4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

I like what Paul said to the Colossians when he said:

Colossians 4:6 (NKJ)
6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Grace means getting what you don’t deserve, so if our speech is seasoned with grace, that means that we speak to people with love even when they don’t deserve it. I have to say that God seems to be asking a lot from us in this. Indeed, He is. He is asking the impossible. But remember, with God all things are possible. We are now new creations in Christ with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

It’s hard to speak graciously to someone you find disgusting? It’s hard to be speak with heart felt kindness to someone who has really hurt you? You bet it is. But when you do, you reveal the new creation of God within you.

Is it hypocritical to speak with kindness when you feel disgust? It’s not hypocritical at all if you speak the truth in love. God might even give you the opportunity to say, I love you brother but I really have a hard time with what you did the other day. Or God might give you the opportunity to say, I love you sister, but I have heard that you said this the other day, and I was just wondering if that’s true. Yes, with God’s help, we can speak the truth in love, and we can always speak graciously without hypocrisy, and certainly we should never use filthy language.

When we’re joking around, we’d better really be careful then too. It’s easy to lose our sense of what’s appropriate when we’re just kidding around, but every word we say is important in the sight of God. The words we say are merely a reflection of what’s really on the inside. Verse 5 tells us why these things are so important.

Ephesians 5:5-6 (NKJ)
5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

This reminds me of the Lord’s words to Israel in Isaiah 66 where the Lord said:

Isaiah 66:2-5 NLT
2 My hands have made both heaven and earth, and they are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken! "I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.
3 But those who choose their own ways, delighting in their sins, are cursed. Their offerings will not be accepted. When such people sacrifice an ox, it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice. When they sacrifice a lamb or bring an offering of grain, it is as bad as putting a dog or the blood of a pig on the altar! When they burn incense, it is as if they had blessed an idol.
4 I will send great troubles against them — all the things they feared. For when I called, they did not answer. When I spoke, they did not listen. They deliberately sinned — before my very eyes — and chose to do what they know I despise."
5 Hear this message from the LORD, and tremble at his words: "Your close relatives hate you and throw you out for being loyal to my name. 'Let the LORD be honored!' they scoff. 'Be joyful in him!' But they will be put to shame.

It is one thing to struggle with sin in your life. All of us struggle with sin. Or maybe I should say, all who are sensitive to the Holy Spirit, struggle with sin, because as I said earlier, none of us is perfect yet. But Isaiah and Paul were talking about the skeptics who mock God and scoff at His word. These people will not inherit the eternal blessings of Christ. On the contrary, they will be cast into outer darkness and will be separated from God.

Paul says, don’t let anyone deceive you about this. It would be a grave mistake to think that things will always be as they always have been. Paul says that someday the wrath of God will come upon the children of disobedience. Then in verse 7 he says:

Ephesians 5:7-13 (NKJ)
7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.
9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.
13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.

This world has been in spiritual darkness since the time of Adam’s sin, but Jesus Christ is the light of the world. John said that Jesus Christ was in the beginning with God and that all things were made by Him, but when He took a body of flesh, the light came shining out of the darkness.
One bright spot of light in a sea of darkness. Every other human being since the time of Adam has been born into darkness, but Jesus Christ come into this world as a ray of light from heaven. The good news is that in Him was life and the life was the light of men. The bad news is that:

John 3:19-21 (NKJ)
19 " . . . this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 "But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

Paul said:
Ephesians 5:8,10 (NKJ)
8 . . . you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

Notice that we have to find out what is acceptable to the Lord. Don’t think you can just trust your instincts or that you can just trust what feels right. No, you can’t trust your neighbor either. Your neighbor might be wrong too. This is a serious matter, and we have to try to find out what God thinks. That’s what really matters.

To do this we have to study God word. We must study it diligently because that’s the only way we’re going to find out what is acceptable to the Lord. God could speak to our hears with a voice from heaven, but He has chosen to speak to our hearts through His word. His word is quick and powerful and shaper than any two edged sword, and God has made the declaration that His word will accomplish its mission. If you read it you will learn. God has declared it to be so.

Ephesians 5:14-16 (NKJ)
14 Therefore (the Lord) says: "Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Seeing that we are surrounded by great darkness, we must never take a step without prayerfully considering the consequences. Failure to do so would be like skipping through a minefield. The devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and only those who walk circumspectly with care and diligence can expect to avoid the pitfalls along the path.

Ephesians 5:17 (NKJ)
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 . . . do not be drunk with wine, in which is (every kind of debauchery); but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

If anger is a source of disease, then thanksgiving is certainly a source of healing. Let us give thanks always for all things to God the Father in name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Well, I’m certainly thankful for the time we’ve had this morning to study God’s word and find out some of the things that are acceptable to the Lord. Before we close this morning I’d like to ask you if you have put your faith and trust in this One who is the light of the world. If you are still walking in the darkness of sin, there is deliverance for those who come to the light of Jesus Christ.

If you hear the voice of Jesus Christ calling you this morning, do not hesitate for another moment. Open your heart to Him, and the One, who in the beginning commanded the light to shine out of darkness, will shine in your heart and fill your life with the glory of God.

Thank you for listening, and I’ll look forward to being with you again next week at this same time.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

Church links:

http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/

http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/

http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/