Instructions to the Church – Page 6

Thank You? Thank You!

Re:Verse reading–Ephesians 4:17-5:20 (day five)
²⁰always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father

Giving Thanks for all things is an indication of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can help a person understand at a deep invisible level that at the center of both triumphs and tragedies is a loving God who acts and works for the Glory of His Name and the Good of His People. The songs, prayers, and declarations are dramatically different in each circumstance, but all will reflect the work of the Holy spirit- an attitude of thanks, trust, and hope. John Piper says, “giving thanks for all things is an outrageous idea unless you have a deep, Biblical theology of God’s sovereign goodness.” Our hearts can cry out “Thanks” at some level each day even if it’s with a question mark (amidst burdens and questions) or exclamation point (when we clearly see God’s visible work and provision).

New Self

Re:Verse reading–Ephesians 4:17-5:20 (day four) Who is it that Paul is writing to? Gentiles. Or, more accurately, saved Gentiles. He is telling the church in Ephesus not to walk as they used to walk…in the futility of their mind. And why were their minds futile? Because of the hardness of their heart. It was their heart that directed their minds. Darkness…callousness… ignorance…all of this was changed by the light of the Holy Spirit who came to dwell in their heart. They were to now walk in a new life…they were changed by the presence and relationship with Christ. Life was new and Paul admonished them to let their actions reflect their changed heart. There was a reason why the Gentiles were rejected by God and Paul is teaching them to put aside any sibilance of those lifestyles so they could avoid the wrath of God. Does your life reflect any of the unfruitful deeds of darkness? All things become visible when they are exposed to light. Allow the light of Christ to shine through you.

Wake

Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 4:17-5:20 (day three)
“Wake up, sleeper.” Sleep is good for a body. But we also use sleep and dreaming as a metaphor for a state of unpreparedness or oblivion: “asleep at the wheel”; “snooze you lose”; “pipe dreams”. We can’t carry the weight of the world, so we try to sleep it off. We can’t accomplish our deepest longings, so we just dream about them. We cannot know what is real, what is true, what is a treasure, what matters, what lasts, what lives, until we wake up. And we will not wake up until we pay attention to Jesus Christ as the one and only person who can teach us how to live his kind of life.

With a Song

Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 4:17-5:20 (day two)
“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything” v 5:19-20a.

It may not be hard for you to believe, but this has been one of my favorite passages of scripture for many years. I remember finding it when I was in college and thinking, YES! Permission to live life as a Broadway Musical! What I love even better about these words is that it isn’t speaking to professional musicians, it is speaking to everyone. Think of how you feel when a favorite song is played, or what is like when you hear the introduction to your favorite hymn. It is exhilarating, isn’t it? It literally lifts your spirit. Imagine if we greeted one another with that same spirit. If our discourse was flavored with the kind of joy that we feel when listening to great music think how pleasant it would be.

This is why we sing to start our services. We sing to bring people in, to become connected with each other. Don’t stop there. Sing in Sunday School, remember when we used to do that? Sing at home! Sing in the car, a few rounds of Row, row, row your boat work on our 2 year-old without fail. Try it, be earnest about it, this scripture won’t disappoint you.

Overcoming the world

Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 4:17-5:20 (day one)
“That in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and. . .that you put on a new self”—v 22-23.

It is an old story. Sad. Harry Truman use to say, “The only new thing in the world is the history you don’t know.” We may THINK that our sins are new/ unique to the 21st Century. Not so. When Jesus said ,“I have overcome the world”, He did not mean in a material or military sense. The savior conquered the world by purchasing a people for Himself with His own blood. These people are His “proof” that a new way of life is possible and desirable. By the Spirit, through faith, we become living proof of the Savior’s power and purpose. Sin is not new. It is OLD, and needs to be laid aside for NEW life in Christ.

Humility first

Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 4:1-16 (day seven)
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love”–v 2.

When Paul talks about a life that is worthy of God’s calling, humility is the first virtue on his list. Is it first on ours? Do we see the insult that our pride is to God, the disruption it causes in our fellowship? Paul calls for humility–the willingness to take a low position, a thankless task. He speaks of gentleness–a broken spirit that does God’s will without protest or pouting. He names patience — “long suffering”, not quitting when a task or relationship gets difficult. He calls for us to bear with others–to give grace when people are flawed and selfish. He insists on love–“if I have not love, I am nothing” he will say in 1 Corinthians 13. Strange isn’t it? Most of us, apart from Paul’s help, would have a different priority. But, for people of the Spirit, humility is first.

Worthy to receive, worthy to give

Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 4:1-16 (day six) God is worthy.
“Worthy to receive glory and honor and power”—Revelation 4:11.

The nature of God makes giving to Him a moral and reasonable activity. He deserves what we give Him. Time. Attention. Offerings. Praise. He is worthy to receive it! If He is worthy to receive, however, we must be (become) worthy to give. In Ephesians 4, Paul urges such preparation of heart. “I urge you, therefore, to live a life worthy of the calling you have received”—v 1. All of grace, but without the despair that none of us can now be what He desires or deserves, the Bible calls us to become servants of the Most High, reflecting in our own choices and character the wisdom and worth of the One who called us to Himself. God is worthy of having worthy people bringing worthy gifts. “Who can ascend into the hill of the Lord?. . .He that has clean hands and a pure heart.”—Psalm 24:3

Keep these Together

Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 4:1-16 (day five) There must always be a close relationship between Theology and Biography in the Christian Faith. What we do must be a reflection of what we believe. What we believe must be reflected in what we do. Paul shifts from Theology in chapters 1-3 (deep meaningful images, metaphors, and doctrinal statements) to Biography in chapter 4.

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Seems the type of believers Paul has in mind are those who study, understand, and process the deep rich and mysterious truths of the Scripture, yet “walk” and act in a manner that makes them easily approachable and highly relational.

Keeping a “sound” Theology and a “worthy” Biography together will take discipline, determination, and God’s grace.

Maturity

Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 4:1-16 (day four) Maturity…it is a principle that is demonstrated in all of God’s creation. A seed is planted, it grows to a tree, it bears fruit, and the fruit ripens. A child is conceived, he grows to birth, he is born and lives apart from his mother, and he soon grows to be a child, a youth, an adult. Spiritual maturity is what we must strive for as a believer. If the process of growth is interrupted at any point, there is no maturity, there is death. Paul says, “…we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.” Paul goes on to say that each of us is vital to the growth of the body…the church. Verse 16 says, “from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body…” If our personal process of growing in Christ is hindered, it damages the growth of the church.

Grow

Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 4:1-16 (day three)
“Then we will no longer be infants.” Our destiny is to live with one another as fully capable human beings in a good universe sustained by the living God. If we refuse to live with one another now, though, we will not progress beyond infancy of character. The Bible talks of a future of reigning with God, but without maturity, that will never happen. And without one another, maturity will not take hold. All of the characteristics of a godly life are characteristics that take shape only in community: We can’t love in isolation; we can’t exercise patience without someone to wait on; we can’t live humbly alone; we can’t bear another’s burden when no one is around. It is no wonder that the second-greatest command after the love of God is the love of neighbor as oneself. Our future depends on it.