Friday: Further Thought ~ Living Wisely
Further Thought:
Looking back at Ephesians 5:1-20 as a whole, we watch Paul take a strong stance against sin and evil, especially in the form of sexual immorality and crude speech.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
He is unwilling to accept the presence of corrupt behavior among the people of God. Instead, he calls the believers in Ephesus to a high standard of conduct and to embrace their identity as the “beloved children” of God and as “saints” or holy ones, (Ephesians 5:1-10, ESV). He dares to believe that when the Christians in community do so, they shine a light into the darkness, drawing their neighbors away from self-defeating lifestyles and into God’s grace and truth (Ephesians 5:11-14).
Paul imagines the church, buoyed by a renewed commitment to “walk as children of light” while they await Christ’s return (Ephesians 5:8; see also Ephesians 5:15-16) and blessed by the presence of Christ (Ephesians 5:14), gathering to worship. As they are motivated by their status “as beloved children” of God and by Christ’s death for them (Ephesians 5:1-2, ESV) and are filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), their shared worship is characterized by energy and joy as together they sing thanksgiving praise to their Lord, Jesus Christ, and to God the Father. With a firm grip on heavenly realities, they celebrate their hope for the future, rooted in the story of what God has done, is doing, and will accomplish through Jesus Christ their Lord (Ephesians 5:18-20).
Understood in this way, the passage becomes far more than a set of disconnected commands about Christian living. It becomes a prophetic call concerning Christian identity, commitment, community, and worship in the last days, a pathos-filled invitation to “snap up the bargains” on offer in the days until Christ’s return (Ephesians 5:16).
Discussion Questions:
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Confronted today with a viral culture that preaches its values 24/7/365 through a withering array of media, how can believers adopt Paul’s high standards?
I personally don't read any news or print media. I even have gone to the extreme of using only a cellphone without any connectivity (A Nokia 105 "button phone 🙂 "), so that I keep the world at bay and have more time to converse with God. In addition, I focus only on King Jesus Christ's quoted words only (644 verses) in the book of Matthew as my moral compass. All else must either fit in with His words or be excluded from my adopted rule set.
What strategies might believers today employ to “discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10, ESV) and to “understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17, ESV)?
I just converse with God through The Holy Spirit and promptly obey His commands (Matthew 5:37).
Someone might argue that Paul’s ban against speaking of sexual immorality among believers (Ephesians 5:3-4) means that we should not deal with issues of sexual misbehavior and abuse. Why is that an inappropriate conclusion?
King Jesus Christ calls for repentance to enter His Kingdom (Matthew 4:17).
In what ways does our contemporary society reflect similar pagan practices to those that Paul dealt with in his time?
Sexual promiscuity is still rife.
I guess everyone has a different situation and must set different standards for what they expose themselves to, but I don't think not reading any news is the best way to go. Jesus came into this world and lived among us and was able to stay faithful to God because of His connection with His father. If we have a strong connection with God, we can read the news with His eyes. You may not be there yet, but hopefully one day will.
There's a lot more of value in the Bible than just Matthew and I'd encourage you to not make a hierarchy of the Bible. "All scripture is inspired..."
Practical Christian living is where the rubber hits the road in our spiritual lives. It is not about winning the theological argument, but about living it. Paul writes a lot of theology that we intersect and reconstruct and explain to one another and then we start arguing about it until one side gives up and goes home. But this lesson series is much more about living our Christianity. That is what pastoring is all about.
Paul had lived among the Ephesians and this letter was a pastoral letter about practical Christian living. Focus on Jesus, care for one another, don't get distracted by sexual perversions, don't get drunk, and fill your life with joy and happiness. There is nothing complicated about living Christianity. It does not save us; rather, it is the lifestyle of a saved person. And if we live such a life the Holy Spirit can work in and through us.
"By this shall all men know ..."
Amen!!
We are on a path to greater light (Proverbs 4:18). It may not look very good right now but with the help of this week’s lesson we can get a better view of where we need to be. Jeremiah 29:11.
Perhaps due to the Wi-Fi/phone signal waves, evil may spread its practices at a supersonic speed today. While God can use the same and many other communication means to spread His Good News of Love at a light-speed rate or even faster! May the Power of the Holy Spirit's lightning hit us strongly. Thus, we can be brilliant witnesses of what God can do for the fallen humanity.
Well said Maurice. This is the crux of the lesson. Thanks for that pointed comment.
Amen . The lesson for this week is timely for us . May we hold on to the good things and discard the bad things. Our test of faith for today.