Study Helps - Lesson 11

Lesson 11 *December 3–9

Christian Relationships

Memory Text: Ephesians 5:21 NKJV 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Sabbath Afternoon

Review Ephesians chapters 1-4

Sunday

Submit to One Another (Eph. 5:21).

Ephesians 5:21 NKJV 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Ephesians 5:21 NIV 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:18 NKJV 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

Ephesians 5:19-20 NKJV 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,

Acts 5:29 NKJV 29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men.

Ephesians 5:21 NKJV 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Luke 9:23 NKJV 23 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Monday

Authority (Eph. 5:22; 6:1, 5)

Ephesians 5:21 NIV 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:21 NKJV 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Ephesians 5:22 NKJV 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

Ephesians 6:1 NKJV 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Ephesians 5:23-24 NKJV 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.

Ephesians 5:25 NKJV 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

Genesis 1:26-27 NKJV 26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Acts 17:26 NKJV 26 "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,

Galatians 3:28 NKJV 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3:6 NKJV 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,

Matthew 10:29-31 NKJV 29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. 30 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 "Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Tuesday

Husbands and Wives (Eph 5:22-25)

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

Ephesians 5:31 NKJV 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."

Ephesians 2:14 NKJV 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,

Ephesians 5:23 NKJV 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.

Romans 5:8 NKJV 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:10-11 NKJV 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Jude 1:21 NKJV 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Ephesians 5:22 NKJV 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

Colossians 3:18 NKJV 18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

1 Peter 3:1 NKJV 1 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives,

Colossians 3:19 NKJV 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.

Ephesians 5:25 NKJV 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

Wednesday

Children and Parents (Exod. 20:12, Eph 6:1-4)

Ephesians 6:1-4 NKJV 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 training and admonition of the Lord.

Ephesians 5:22 NKJV 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

Colossians 3:18 NKJV 18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4 NKJV 4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Thursday

Slaves and Masters (Eph. 6:5-9)

Ephesians 6:5 NKJV 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;

Ephesians 6:7-8 NKJV 7 with goodwill 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.

Matthew 22:39 NKJV 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

Mark 10:44 NKJV 44 "And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.

Luke 6:31 NKJV 31 "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

Romans 12:10 NKJV 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

Philippians 2:3 NKJV 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

1 John 4:11 NKJV 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Ephesians 6:9 NKJV 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.

Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 459, 460

Paul's letter to Philemon shows the influence of the gospel upon the relation between master and servant. Slave-holding was an established institution throughout the Roman Empire, and both masters and slaves were found in most of the churches for which Paul labored. In the cities, where slaves often greatly outnumbered the free population, laws of terrible severity were regarded as necessary to keep them in subjection. A wealthy Roman often owned hundreds of slaves, of every rank, of every nation, and of every accomplishment. With full control over the souls and bodies of these helpless beings, he could inflict upon them any suffering he chose. If one of them in retaliation or self-defense ventured to raise a hand against his owner, the whole family of the offender might be inhumanly sacrificed. The slightest mistake, accident, or carelessness was often punished without mercy. {AA 459.1}

Some masters, more humane than others, were more indulgent toward their servants; but the vast majority of the wealthy and noble, given up without restraint to the indulgence of lust, passion, and appetite, made their slaves the wretched victims of caprice and tyranny. The tendency of the whole system was hopelessly degrading. {AA 459.2}

It was not the apostle's work to overturn arbitrarily or suddenly the established order of society. To attempt this would be to prevent the success of the gospel. But he taught principles which struck at the very foundation of slavery and which, if carried into effect, would surely undermine (p. 460) the whole system. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty," he declared. 2 Corinthians 3:17. When converted, the slave became a member of the body of Christ, and as such was to be loved and treated as a brother, a fellow heir with his master to the blessings of God and the privileges of the gospel. On the other hand, servants were to perform their duties, "not with eyeservice, as men pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart." Ephesians 6:6. {AA 459.3}

Christianity makes a strong bond of union between master and slave, king and subject, the gospel minister and the degraded sinner who has found in Christ cleansing from sin. They have been washed in the same blood, quickened by the same Spirit; and they are made one in Christ Jesus. {AA 460.1}

Philemon 1:16 NKJV 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

Friday

Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1118

We may talk of the blessings of the Holy Spirit, but unless we prepare ourselves for its reception, of what avail are our works?

Are we striving with all our power to attain to the stature of men and women in Christ? Are we seeking for His fullness, ever pressing toward the mark set before us-- the perfection of His character? When the Lord's people reach this mark, they will be sealed in their foreheads. Filled with the Spirit, they will be complete in Christ, and the recording angel will declare, "It is finished" (RH June 10, 1902). {6BC 1118.1}

32. Kind Words Never Lost.--It should be our aim to bring all the pleasantness possible into our lives, and to do all the kindness possible to those around us. Kind words are never lost. Jesus records them as if spoken to Himself. Sow the seeds of kindness, of love, and of tenderness, and they will blossom and bear fruit (MS 33, 1911). {6BC 1118.2}Chapter 5

2 (see EGW on Rom. 8:26, 34; Rev. 8:3, 4). The Acceptable Offering. --The offering that is made to God without a spirit of reverence and gratitude, He does not accept. It is the humble, grateful, reverential heart that makes the offering as a sweet-smelling savor, acceptable to God. The children of Israel might have given all their substance, but given in a spirit of self-sufficiency or Pharisaism, as though God were indebted to them for their favors, their offerings would have been unaccepted, and utterly contemned by Him. It is our privilege, by diligently trading on our Lord's goods, to increase our store, so that we may impart to those who have fallen into distress. Thus we become the Lord's right hand to work out His benevolent purposes (MS 67, 1907). {6BC 1118.3}

2, 27. Christ's Life an Oblation to God.--"Christ also hath loved us," writes Paul, "and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." This is the oblation of a life-gift in our behalf, that we may be all that He desires us to be--representatives of Him, expressing the fragrance of His character, His own pure thoughts, His divine attributes as manifested in His sanctified human life, in order that others may behold Him in His human form, and, comprehending God's wonderful design, be led to desire to be like Christ--pure, undefiled, wholly acceptable to God, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing (MS 159, 1903). {6BC 1118.4} 9. See EGW on Gal. 5:22, 23. {6BC 1118.5} 23-25. See EGW on Rev. 19:7-9. {6BC 1118.6} 25 (John 1:4; Rev. 2:1; 21:23). Only One Source of Light.--Christ "loved the church, and gave himself for it." It is the purchase of His blood. The divine Son of God is seen walking amid the seven golden candlesticks. Jesus Himself supplies the oil to these burning lamps. He it is that kindles the flame. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." {6BC 1118.7}

No candlestick, no church, shines of itself. From Christ emanates all its light. The church in heaven today is only the complement of the church on earth; but it is higher, grander--perfect. The same divine illumination is to continue through eternal ages. The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the light thereof. No church can have light if it fails to diffuse the glory it receives from the throne of God (MS 1a, 1890). {6BC 1118.8}

25-27 (Mal. 3:17). The Case Which Contains His Jewels.--The church of Christ is very precious in His sight. It is the case which contains His jewels, the fold which encloses His flock (MS 115, 1899). {6BC 1118.9}

27 (John 14:15). Reaching the Condition of Sinlessness.--Those only who through faith in Christ obey all of God's commandments will reach the condition of sinlessness in which Adam lived before his transgression. They testify to their love of Christ by obeying all His precepts (MS 122, 1901). {6BC 1118.10}

Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home, p. 117

Wives Subject Only As Husbands Are Subject to Christ.--The Lord Jesus has not been correctly represented in His relation to the church by many husbands in their relation to their wives, for they do not keep the way of the Lord. They declare that their wives must be subject to them in everything. But it was not the design of God that the husband should have control, as head of the house, when he himself does not submit to Christ. He must be under the rule of Christ that he may represent the relation of Christ to the church. If he is a coarse, rough, boisterous, egotistical, harsh, and overbearing man, let him never utter the word that the husband is the head of the wife, and that she must submit to him in everything; for he is not the Lord, he is not the husband in the true significance of the term. . . . {AH 117.1}

Husbands should study the pattern and seek to know what is meant by the symbol presented in Ephesians, the relation Christ sustains to the church. The husband is to be as a Saviour in his family. Will he stand in his noble, God-given manhood, ever seeking to uplift his wife and children? Will he breathe about him a pure, sweet atmosphere? Will he not as assiduously cultivate the love of Jesus, making it an abiding principle in his home, as he will assert his claims to authority? {AH 117.2}

Let every husband and father study to understand the words of Christ, not in a one-sided manner, merely dwelling upon the subjection of the wife to her husband, but in the light of the cross of Calvary, study as to his own position in the family circle. "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." Jesus gave Himself up to die upon the cross in order that He might cleanse (p. 118) and keep us from all sin and pollution by the influence of the Holy Spirit. {AH 117.3}