Ephesians Bible Study Spring 2009
Chapter 6
Here we are! Six chapters in six weeks. I am amazed. You have been wonderfully attentive and may you be blessed for it.We've been around! We've been to heaven, and back. We've been to Ancient Ephesus and Israel. We in traveled time back before the world was made, and into the future when we sit next to Jesus.We've looked back to the broad path of disobedience, and walked into the broad daylight of obedience. We peeked into the belly of the earth, and decided it was too dark down there! We went home to our families with fresh hope of godly submission and order. We opened our own hearts to see what we kept there for safe keeping. What a trip! But, the greatest of all traveling is right to the heart of God. Didn't we see Him? Glorious, victorious, the strongest in the land, most loving , kind beyond measure, stooping, healing, empowering, wooing, correcting,watching, filling, a lot of filling! This destination truly defies words. It's Him we need and love. It's Him in all of His fullness. Be filled with Him in Christ Jesus. Be fulfilled completely with the sweetness and strength of his mighty lovingkindness, which is better than life itself. But that's not all, folks! We have one more chapter to go. And go we will. Right into battle. Women are nice, we don't like fighting much. God's women do fight. And it's a good one, and we win. This must be the old tomboy in me! But first, Paul wraps up the subject he addressed in Chapter 5, the new family order in Christ, beginning with the children.
Though, from one honest sinner to another, have you ever thought that the arrangement of raising godly children was an impossible one? I have and have threatened to pink-slip myself on several occasions. I used to get a popular home school magazine in the mail years ago. Sometimes, I would take one look at the perfect family of happy, holy faces on the cover, and round file it! It seemed unattainable. I felt an average model for such a grand portrait.
Our lives as mothers are laced through with the rather delicate thread of pain regarding our children. I catch a glimpse of it while moms talk about their children, where they are, how they're doing, and so forth. We are intensely concerned for them when everyone else sees clear skies. We ache, we weep for them to grow in Christ, when maybe it's time to praise the Lord for the holiness that they do walk in. We see them fragile in the faith. We see them as we are, a bit broken and desperate.
Here's some wonderful news, dear mothers. Jesus loves our little children, even our little children of wrath. He knows what we know about their frailty, and infinitely more. It is by His grace we are saved, it is by grace they are saved, too. But God, who is rich in mercy. They have to run into Jesus, and then continue to run to Him in faith of their own. Praise Him for His grace you see in their lives, which will prove consistently sufficient. Yes, warn them, call them, blog them with loving correction, sparing not the rod. But as you love the mercy you have known at God's kind hand, enjoy the hopeful promise of His tender mercy for them, as well. This is the next generation of those coming to Christ, and for it He will provide specific mercy and grace, according to His namesake and plan. And, boy will they need it! Different mercies than we have needed, for different trials and increased wickedness. Watch and pray, but don't give in to worry, the robber of peace, prayer and praise, remember? Enjoy Christ in them, their hope of glory, always increasing in faith in the Faithful One, Who holds the very number of their days sovereignly in His hands. Pray for their deliverance from evil. Jesus did not ask the Father to take His disciples out of the world, but that He would keep them from the evil one(John 17:15). That's still His prayer, and can be ours for our children, too. He is mighty to save.
Just for fun, what if they were perfect, how sweet would life be? Let's see. Tell them once, it's done. Tell them 'yes, yes, why, yes, dear', a scenario John MacArthur once posed, all the time, because all they would ever ask for would be absolutely righteous! Pray for them? Oh no, no need. Only praise for their perfection. Always the best at everything, everywhere.Ultimately, it could prove annoying, because you, in turn, would be their spiritual inferior. And wouldn't you be aching for a little mercy from them? I don't think living with Jesus was always a picnic.
Back to reality.Children ache for our mercy in Christ daily. Their public failures are painful, with those private in nature even more potentially devastating. Let's be prepared to patiently mingle mercy together with discipline. Mercy and truth have met together in Christ. They truly need them both to grow into healthy, holy Christians. Don't we?
This command is for children of an age to understand what is being required of them, and simply put, it's the right thing to do. They understand this much earlier than we suspect, and may take full advantage of us for it, the little darlings. Frankly put, it's the right, hard thing to do, and it's getting harder by the moment. 2 Timothy 3:1-6 tells us why.
Did we just turn on the television, or what? Pretty bad, huh. The surging temptation everywhere to make it about us.We need to grab huge handfuls of faith and boldness to face lions like these. We are to avoid them. What if the lions live at home with us, Paul? What if we've spun out of control and into dysfunction? There is hope, and help and healing in Christ and there is abundant grace, dear ones. Children require strong parents, full of the Holy spirit, to direct them patiently and properly to the Cross. That's where we all want them, right? Safely there. He'll be with us all the way, He promised. Don't flinch in the face of fierce opposition; it may come from within. Stay the course; find mentors who have been there, done that, and pray much for the Father to draw your children to Jesus. Stick together through it all, with tight unity in God's truth and regular, honest evaluation of family progress or regress. Be humble and repentant when wrong, demonstrating the true faith you put in His gracious plan and will for your family. Are you divorced or single? Single parenting is very difficult, but with God, all things are possible. Being the sole parent of godlly influence takes everything to an extremely tough level of accountablility, but it's no time to faint, dear one. Need some help? Our church offers a sound, practical parenting class, Along the Virtuous Way, where together with others you can find understanding of and outstanding tools for dealing with difficult aspects of God-centered parenting. Our library has many good resources, as well.
Honor~tim-ah'-o: to prize, i.e. fix a valuation upon; by implication to revere :- honour, value.—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary
Honoring parents contains a promise for children, that they will live well and long in God's land. What a gracious mandate to swim up the stream of rebellious peers. Remind them that this good labor is not in vain. The Law provided a sure cure for children who became physically violent or verbally scornful to their parents. Death by stoning! We recoil, don't we. But as you shrink from the very thought, know that this sin is this ugly to God. Know also the glorious mercy that bounded over the wall of God's judgment! Praise to our merciful High priest.
Christian fathers carry the main weight of the children's discipline on their shoulders. It's exhausting for them, day after day, to hear of little Max's list of infractions, and to lovingly and firmly deal with them. They are provoked at times, and in turn, provoke the children to further foolishness. Let's pray for them, doing what we should during our time with our children by sowing to the Spirit of God in their lives. It can get really touchy, this training of children in righteousness, and Satan seeks to take what can be handled at a civil level to DEFCON 1!
Discipline-paideia-from <G3811> (paideuo); tutorage, i.e. education or training; by implication disciplinary correction :- chastening, chastisement, instruction, nurture.
—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary
This nurturing of children in Christ is an all-encompassing one. It's the whole child being loved and developed in God's truth, grace, corrective discipline and filling. It's a love with God-filled gravity, a pure love for the long haul, intrinsically considerate of the Lord's desire for them, that they know Him, and Jesus Christ, Whom He has sent.
One more human relationship to go.
Slaves and masters had both come to Christ. This relationship prior to salvation was potentially a cruel one, filled with violence and revenge. No more of that. It's 'Take God To Work With You' Day, everyday! It's work the way He likes it. Fair, honest leadership with trustworthy workmanship. Management at it's finest overseeing employees with a perfect work ethic. Sounds like a dream job now!
Scene change, final act. We will turn our walking shoes in for Roman battle boots. AttenHUT! Actually, we've been in battle all along. We're just zooming in with our binocs for coordinates.
Onward Christian soldiers right into our human/non-human relationships in Christ, and it's hostile territory. All of our people issues wither to child's play in comparison. The invisible at war with the visible. That's sounds like loaded dice to me. Not at all. But it does require invisible armory, to be worn at all times, as well as powerful, spiritual weapons divinely engineered for victory after gracious victory. It's what we put on right over our beautiful new selves in Christ from Chapter 4. We couldn't buy a big enough bomb or missile from anywhere in our own defense~it wouldn't even singe the nose hairs of this Beast. The Devil and his troops have a crafty campaign for our defeat, and knowing us better than we know ourselves(they do their homework) they plot our ambush in broad daylight. Praise God for the protection He freely supplies us by faith in Christ, our Commander in Chief.
Yes, it's true. We're in the Army now. The Army of the Most High. Let's see what were wearing for battle.
God's truth and our honest representation of ourselves in Christ prepare us for the first line of intimidation, and what a line it is. The Devil's lies. Just like in Genesis 3, his lying tempts us to the precipice of doubting God's integrity, and into disobedience. "Did God really say?" he hisses, over and over again. He doesn't mind repeating himself, it is the most damaging weapon in his arsenal. He'll keep it simple if he can. And nothing, absolutely nothing is sacred to the unsacred one.
The men of Ephesus would have instantly envisioned the girding up their loins for protection, and gathering up their robes to run. No belt, no battle. Even a minor hit here becomes a major impairment. Truth guards our posterity, our ability to be spiritually fruitful. It also gives us the agility to flee falsehood. Truth holds it all together.Therefore we strap on truth first, or we don't go anywhere. Period. We stand in Christ, the Truth.
Our righteousness, in Christ by faith, serves as the protective shell over our vital midriff. Gut shots often proved fatal , and the Devil loves to attack our sensitive places of weakness.Our own righteousness is never going to cut the military mustard. Religious fakery and self-generated piety are spiritual Reynold's Wrap in the clashes we face. It has to be Christ, our Righteousness, Who alone deflects the piercing arrows of condemnation from the Devil. We stand in Christ, our Righteousness.
We have a darling daughter who is famous for being shoeless. She loves to run around barefoot until met with the bone-chilling horns of a goat head or the sour end of a honey bee! With her tears arrives a willing heart to what? Yes, to put her shoes on. One can't walk in peace without shoes. A soldier would constantly be looking down at the ground, instead of up at his enemy, becoming dangerously distracted by even the smallest of hindrances. No advancement. The Gospel has brought us peace with God through faith in Christ Jesus. With the tender feet of our conscience shod with this perfect peace, we're ready to walk and even run over any ground to share with everyone the good news of peace with God available to them in Christ. We stand ready in Christ, our Peace.
Incoming! Devilish missiles aimed to kill. Soldiers must fight to live! And the just shall live by faith. All means all. It's for all circumstances and for extinguishing all fiery darts from Satan's bow. There were small and large shields for battle. This one is large and door-shaped. The biggest one you could carry! The soldier's shield was mobile at his whim, able to be positioned anywhere the attack originated from. Remember Hebrews 11, the Great Hall of faith! By faith they, by faith they also, and they....did everything pleasing to God. We stand by faith in Christ, the Faithful.
We are to receive or accept the helmet of saving grace, offered in Christ. He is our helmet. Those without salvation are engaged in the fierce battle for their souls, only to meet sure, eternal demise. If Christ hasn't save us, we are not saved at all. We have no hope for victory. Satan tragically wins many souls. This is how. No Jesus. No salvation. No helmets.We stand in Christ, our Salvation.
This is the only weapon furnished for the soldier, the rest being armor. It was worn at the soldier's right thigh, tucked tightly within his belt, always ready for fast jabs and hand duels. Believers are called to wield the Word of God with Spirit-filled skill and accuracy, powerfully piercing the darkness and dismantling evil footholds. But I'm just a woman, you whisper. Not so. You are a woman of the Word. We are called to love it and be trained by the Spirit of God in Christ to use it rightfully and unashamedly! If you don't, someone else who knows it better than you do will. Satan will use it against you in combat. Killed by your own weapon. It's really up to you to pick it up, dear soldierette. Again, we stand in Jesus, the Truth.
Now that we're loaded for bear, could there possibly be anything else? Paul's glad we asked.
We are to be
Ceaseless prayer, the secret weapon of the ages! It's totally portable, and as big and powerful as need be. I see a lot of 'all' here and I don't mean detergent! Always turning anything concerning everyone at anytime over to God in faith, fully expecting His will to be done. Do you see how much ALL is? Anyone great in the kingdom of God has taken prayer seriously, and has slipped away to do so regularly. I don't pray enough, not in proportion to the desperate state of mankind. Let's think of prayer first, and bump it way up on our 'to do' list with regard to other's lives as well as our own. He continues more intimately with his own prayer request.
Paul doesn't ask for much. But he asks them personally for prayer for....more. More of God's words and more boldness to openly speak them. He really exposes his tender heart for the Lord and the lost here, and the sincere commitment to Christ's mandate to GO and preach the gospel. He was in chains, but his heart longed to go. O, that we would have such passion to be about our Father's business! The business of lost souls and Eternal Life. We can pray, too, for bold words of God's grace. We stand in prayer in Christ, our Intercessor.
And so, in Christ we stand. His adopted family. His one new body of service, His temple of worship, His bride for eternity.
Paul closes with tender benediction.
Dear Paul. Always loving the flock of God. Always expressing and demonstrating kind regard for their spiritual needs and health. Pauls' up in Glory now. Seated with Christ in the heavenlies. But can't you almost hear his calming, shepherd's heart saying these words to them? Words are so very powerful. Do we love like this?
Let's cherish each other in Christ while there is still such freedom to do so. We should not hesitate to encourage others even in the smallest of ways, for the day grows near. We can offer ourselves in sacrificial love, serving the Lord with gladness. And I pray that we will see our Heavenly Father do far beyond what it is that we can ask or think, to the glory and honor of God in Christ Jesus. He wants to do more, beloved.