The Prison Epistles #2
Southern Christian University
James A. Turner
Please read all of the
references. They will help to gain a better understanding.
Lesson
#2 Beginning with Ephesians 2:13 to end
of Ephesians.
We now begin lesson two with
Ephesians 2:13 which reads, "But
now in Christ Jesus ye that were once were afar off (Gentiles) are
made nigh in the blood of Christ. For he
is our peace, who hath made both one (Jew and Gentile), and brake down
the middle wall of partition." The middle wall of partition
was the law. It really made a separation
between Jews and Gentiles because it was not given to the Gentiles. Verse fifteen, "having
abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in
ordinances that he might create in himself of the two, one new man, so making
peace; and that he might reconcile them both in one body unto God, through the
cross, having slain the enmity thereby:” That one body is the
church, the spiritual body of Christ (Ephesians 4:4)." When Christ died on the cross, he fulfilled
completely the Old Testament law (Matthew 5:17-18), and took it out of the
way as we read in Colossian 2:14, nailing it to his cross,
and so that is what he is talking about here.
Verse seventeen, "and
he came and preached peace to you that were afar off, (Gentiles)
and peace to them that were nigh:
(Jews)
for through him
(Christ) we both (Jews and
Gentiles) have our access in one Spirit unto the Father. So
then ye are no more strangers and sojourners but ye are fellow citizens with the saints,
and of the household of God being built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone." Remember how Jesus talked to the people about
that “stone which the builders rejected has become the
head of the corner and it is marvelous in your eyes”. That was when he concluded the parable of the
wicked husbandmen, (Matthew 21:41-46). "In whom each
several building fitly framed together growth unto a holy temple in the
Lord. In whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the
Spirit." So the body of Christ is a spiritual building
where those who have obeyed Christ are built together for habitation of God in
the Spirit.
Chapter Three
"For
this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus in behalf of you
Gentiles." Why does he say that he was a prisoner in
behalf of the Gentiles? If Paul had not
stood up for the gospel truth that circumcision and the binding of requirements
of the Old Testament was not to be bound on the Gentiles, the Jews would not
have tried to kill him (Galatians 2:4-6; Acts 21:30-32, 23:12-13, 25:3, 25:11-12, 26:30-27:2). So he was very definitely a prisoner in
behalf of the Gentiles. "If
so be that ye have heard of the dispensation of that grace of God which was
given to me to you-ward." He is talking about the Lord
making him an apostle. A footnote in my
Bible for dispensation says stewardship, which is a better word
there. In other words God had given Paul
the stewardship of giving the gospel especially to the Gentile people (I
Corinthians 4:1, 9:16-17; II Corinthians 3:4-5). "How that by revelation
was made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words whereby,
when you read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ.” What mystery?
It remained a mystery that the Gentiles by Christ's death on the cross
would become fellow citizens with the saints, and the household of God (2:19-20) until it was revealed
to the apostle, and when Paul revealed it to the Ephesians it was no longer a
mystery. When that which was a mystery
is revealed, it is no longer a mystery.
Verse five, "Which
in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, even as it hath
now been revealed unto his holy apostles and the prophets in the Spirit." The Holy Spirit in giving them that knowledge guided
them. "To
wit that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and
fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Whereof I was made a
minister, according to the gift of that grace of God, which was given me
according to the working of his power.
Unto me, who am less than the least of all the
saints." Combine verse eight with I Corinthians 15:9-10 and I Timothy 1: 12-16, and we see that Paul
speaks of himself as, “less than the least of all the saints,” because he led a great
persecution against the church of God and sought to destroy
it. "Unto me, who am
less than the least of all the saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." It is talking about how that Christ had
called him to be an apostle to carry the gospel to the Gentiles, to carry “the
unsearchable riches of Christ” to them, those riches that
are just beyond our ability to comprehend and understand. "And to make all
men see what is the dispensation of the mystery, which
for ages hath been hid in God, who created all things: To the intent that now unto the
principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known
through the church the manifold wisdom of God."
God does not send angels to make his wisdom known, and he does not send
in some miraculous way to make his wisdom known, but it is to be done through
the church.
And on the basis of verses
ten and eleven that was according to his eternal purpose, which means
that if the church does not carry the good news of the gospel, the manifold
wisdom of God will not be made known, and the kingdom of God cannot increase
(Luke 8:11). “The manifold wisdom” means the many things about God's great
wisdom. "According
to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access in
confidence through our faith in him. Wherefore, I ask that
you may not faint (lose heart, NASV) at my tribulations for you, which are your
glory." God was willing for Paul to suffer that the
Gentile people on a greater scale would be able to hear and know about
Christ. And it looks like that when he
wrote Ephesians and Colossians that he did not fully understand all about that,
but when he writes the Philippian letter sometime
later, he said, “I would have you know that my bonds have turned
out to the furtherance of the gospel.”
Verse fourteen,
"For this cause I have bowed my knees unto the Father from whom every family
in heaven and on earth is named, that he would grant unto you, according to
the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through the
Spirit in the inward man." How is a child of God “strengthened
with power through the Spirit in the inward man”? By his learning what the Spirit teaches and having real faith that
will move him to do according to the power of the message of the Spirit.
And you remember how Paul said in that second Corinthian letter that ‘though our outward man is decaying,
yet our inward man is renewed day-by-day.” And so that
inward man should continue that course of being strengthened with power through
the Spirit in the inward man. "That
Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, be rooted and grounded in love." Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This
is the first great commandment and the second is like unto it that
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-40). When every thing is
rooted and grounded in love, everything else falls in the proper place.
Verse eighteen, “May
be strong to apprehend with all the saints, what is the breath, and length, and
height, and depth, to know the love of Christ, which passeth
knowledge, that ye may be filled with all the fullness of God." He wants them to be able to understand in a
fuller way the extent of Christ's love, verse eighteen, but verse nineteen, he
says, “it is beyond knowledge”. It is beyond our ability to fully comprehend
and understand the love of Christ, but as we study and do his will; we can know
more about the love of Christ. "Now
unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or
think, according to the power that worketh in
us. Unto him be
the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations, forever and
ever. Amen." It looks like that man is prone to try to
limit the power of God. You remember
when God told Moses that he was going to give the people flesh to eat, not just
for a few days, but for a full month, it looks like Moses doubted that, and God
said, “Is Jehovah’s hand waxed short? (Numbers 11:19-23).” God had no
difficulty in bringing in quail by a wind (Numbers 11:31). If God is able to do all that
we ask or think, that would still be a great God, but it says that he is, “able
to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." So there is no limit to what God can do for
us, and we need to keep that in mind. “Unto
him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
unto all generations, for ever and ever.
Amen."
So when we serve God faithfully we give glory to God “in
the church.”
Chapter Four
"I
therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you” There is a big difference between being a
prisoner because a person has violated the law, and being a criminal in some
way, and being a prisoner for the Lord's sake; and Paul was always a prisoner
for the Lord's sake. “ to
walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye were called." And the calling, of course, is living the
Christian life. They had been called by
the gospel (II Thessalonians 2:14), and they had been called
to engage in those works which God had afore prepared that we should walk in
them. And Paul is encouraging and
exhorting these brethren to walk worthy of the calling, which means he is
exhorting them to be faithful to the Lord and be good servants, good slaves (I
Corinthians 6:19-20). "With
all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing
one another in love." To walk worthily of the
calling, we must follow, according to verse two; we must have that
lowliness of spirit, and meekness. We
must have that long suffering, and forbearing spirit, forbearing
one another in love. "Giving diligence to keep the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace." So on the basis of verse three, whose
responsibility is it to keep unity in the church? Every member is to have a part in keeping “the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” It takes
effort on the part of every member to have the kind of peace in the church that
we need.
With verse four we begin
with the ones, or the unities, of the Spirit.
In days gone by, when political parties tried much harder to live up to
the terms of their platforms than they do now, some of our brethren preached
sermons entitled, The Christian’s Platform.
“There is one body.”
And, of course, they would emphasize that one body is the church. It is
just as unscriptural to talk about many kinds of faith and churches, as it
would be to declare that there are many Lords, Fathers and Holy Spirits, and
one spirit, that person that is called the Holy Spirit in the scriptures. "There is one body, one
Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; that is eternal life at the
end of the way, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
father of all, who is over all and through all, and in all (4:4-6).” So from the standpoint of what is said here,
you might as well talk about more than one Lord, and more than one Spirit, more
than one heavenly Father as to talk about many faiths, many churches, many
hopes, and many baptisms.
“There is one body”
and that one body is the church the spiritual body of Christ. There was only
one church during the first century. The nearest thing to denominationalism in
all of the New Testament is the division that existed in the church at Corinth,
and Paul reproved them over and over, and over and over, and over and over
because of that division (I Corinthians 1:10-15, 3:1-3, 3:16-17, 4:14). In I Corinthians 12:14-26 and Romans 12:3-5 Paul shows how that each
member of the spiritual body of Christ is important like each member of your
physical body is important, and how all the members of a local church are to
work together in harmony for the building up of the body.
“And one Spirit” That
one Spirit is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead. It looks like
the Holy Spirit put the finishing touches to creation of the world (Genesis 1:2, 1:26; Job 26:13). We know that the Holy
Spirit did the finishing work to the gospel scheme of redemption (John 14:26, 16:6-14; I Corinthians 2:10-13; I Peter 1: 12-13).
“One hope of your calling”
That one hope is eternal salvation at the end of the way. (I Peter 1: 9-13; Romans 8:24-25). Hope is the anchor
of the soul (Hebrews 6:18-20).
“One Lord” And that one Lord is Jesus
Christ our Lord. He was the Word that was in the beginning with God, and all
things were made through him (John 1:1-6; Colossians 1:14-18; Hebrews 1:2-4). He left the riches and
glories of heaven and came to earth that we “through his poverty might become
rich” (I Corinthians 8:9; Romans 8:16-18). He became flesh
(John 1: 14) to show us the Father
(Hebrews 1:2-4; John 8:12, 14:3-7). He came to save us and
forgive us of our sins (Isaiah 53:4-6, 53: 10-12; John 3: 14-18; Romans 5:6-8; John 10:16-18).
“One faith” That one
faith is one faith in Christ. When the scriptures are interpreted correctly
there is only one doctrine and one faith. God is a benevolent and compassionate
God (Hebrews 11:6), and he is not a God of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33) Jesus in his long prayer
before the cross prayed that we might be one that the world might believe that
God sent him (John 17:20-21)
“One baptism” In the
New Testament we read of six baptisms, so how could Paul correctly say in about
61or 62 A.D. that there is one baptism? The baptism of the suffering of Christ
upon the cross was fulfilled when he died on the cross (Matthew 20:22-23; Luke 12:50) John’s baptism, and the
baptism of Christ and his apostles under the limited commission had been
fulfilled when the baptism of the great commission (Mark 16:15-16; Matthew 28:18-20) became effective on
the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:38). Holy Spirit baptism had
been fulfilled (Acts 1:4-5, 1:8, 2:1-21, 10:44-46, 11:15-18). Fire baptism is hell
fire (Matthew 3:11-12), and it will be
administered when Christ comes in his second advent (II Thessalonians 1:6-10). So when Pail wrote
Ephesians there was only one baptism, and that one baptism was first given on
that first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:26-27; Romans 6:1-7; I Corinthians 12:13).
“One Father” From him
“every family in heaven and on earth is named (Ephesians 3:14). He is a God of truth
(Romans 1:25, 3:4) and he cannot lie (Titus
1:2) He is the “Father
of mercies and God of all comfort (II Corinthians 1:3)”,
but he is also
“a jealous God (Exodus
20:4-6; Hebrews 12:28-29)
and
disobedience provokes his wrath (I Corinthians 10: 21-22; Romans 11: 22).
His love is
manifested in Christ (Romans 5: 5-8, 8:39; John 3:14-18).
Back to Ephesians 4:7, “But
unto each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of
Christ. Wherefore he saith,
“When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." When Christ ascended he had brought the
captive power of the devil to naught (John 12: 31-32; Hebrews 2:14-16; I John 3:8), and he empowered the
apostles with miraculous gifts (Acts 2:1-21; I Corinthians 14:18, and by the laying on of
the apostles hands they could impart miraculous gifts to others. (I Corinthians
12:4-7; Acts 8:13-23; II Timothy 1:6). The primary purpose of
the apostles being baptized with the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, 16:7-16; Acts 1:5, 1:8, 1:46-2:2) and the miraculous gifts
(I Corinthians 12:4-11) was to aid in the giving and the
confirming of the New Testament.
Verse eleven, And
he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and
some, pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, unto
the work of ministry unto the building up of the body of Christ, till
we obtain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a full grown man unto a measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: that ye be no longer children, tossed to and
fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and
craftiness, after the wiles of error,
but speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things, unto him, who
is the head, even Christ; from whom all the body fitly framed together through
that which every joint supplieth according to the working
in due measure of each several parts, maketh the
increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love." Think how this passage parallels I Corinthians
13:8-13 where he speaks of the
miraculous period as the child hood age of the church. So when the members of a
church become mature, they can continue to build one another up in love (Romans
15:14-15). They will be no longer children tossed to and
fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine.
Verse seventeen, "This
I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles also
walk in the vanity of their mind, being darkened in their understanding,
alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them,
because of the hardening of their heart." When
men's hearts are hardened, they want to stay ignorant of God’s truth, "who
being past feeling." That means that they did not have a
conscience any longer. They had seared their conscience (I Timothy 4:1-3) "Being
past feeling gave themselves up to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with
greediness." The latter part of the first chapter of
Romans gives more details about that.
"But ye did not so learn Christ, if so be that ye
heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus." There is no doubt on
the part of Paul that they had heard about Christ and were taught, but the “if”
here means just as surely as you have heard and been taught about the truth that
is in Jesus. Now, because you have been taught this way, what do you need to
do? "Put away as
concerning your former manner of life the old man, that waxes corrupt after the
lusts of deceit." Now, he begins and gives the negatives and
the positives of every day Christian living.
Living the Christian life is a continuous process of putting off those
things that belong to the way of the flesh and putting on those things that
belong to the way of Christ. None of us
get to the point that we are so holy and so righteous, that there is still not
something that we need to be putting off and something that we need to be
putting on. And again this is one of the
many parallels in Colossians as given in 3:5-15. Instead of talking about putting off and
putting on, it talks about put to death therefore, members of your body.
Verse twenty-two, " put
away as concerning your former manner of life the old man, that waxes corrupt
after the lusts of deceit. And that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind." No one can continue to go the way of Christ without
his mind being renewed, and that renewing comes by studying and thinking on the
word of God, and with that good spirit and attitude, “Lord speak and thy
servant will obey.” "And
put on the new man." If any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature, (II Corinthians 5:17) and he is raised to walk
in newness of life Romans 6: 4-14), and that is what he is talking about
here. "That
ye be renewed in the spirit of mind put on the new man, after God hath been
created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
Wherefore putting away falsehoods, speak ye truth each one with his
neighbor: For we are members one of another." Nearly all of those Gentile people had been
big liars before they were converted to Christ.
Among the people of the world today there are surely many liars. So put “away
falsehood." What
about the man, who says, “Well, I have told so many lies, I am just going to
close my mouth and not speak any more.”
I do not think he could live up to that, but if he could, he would not
be doing the right thing. He is to use
his mouth for the right purpose. He is
to speak the truth, each one with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. It is our responsibility to be our brother's
keeper, and to help encourage and exhort and encourage one another to grow up
in Christ. "Be
ye angry and sin not: Let not the sun go
down upon your wrath." So it is not wrong to be angry,
if a man controls his anger. If he lets the sun go down upon
his wrath, what about it? He is
giving place to the devil. I know of
surety from my past conduct that, I violated that passage. Just as sure as a man goes to sleep mad, he
is going to give place to the devil! I
do not claim perfection, but I know I have made a little improvement. I can remember the day when I would get mad,
and the more I would think about it, the madder I would get. I would go to bed mad and get up mad, but
that is the wrong thing to do. And thus
he says in verse twenty-seven, ‘neither
give place to the devil”. If you go to bed mad, you are
giving place to the devil. And we surely
know the devil is going to take every opportunity we give him. Please remember that the devil does not have
any power of control over us as long as we hear and follow the will of
Christ.
Let me emphasize again, that
Jesus said, “my
sheep hear my voice, and they know me, and they follow me,
and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. And no one is able to snatch them out of my
hands. And my father who has given them
unto me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my
Father's hand”. But if a child of God ceases to hear and
follow Christ, he gets himself out of Christ’s hand and God's hand. But the devil does not have the power to take
him out, unless he is willing to be taken out (I Corinthians 10:13; Romans14: 3-4). So do not give place to the devil. Control your anger. Now, any man that has much backbone, you can
make him mad, but the thing that counts is whether or not he controls his
anger. "Let
him that stole, steal no more: But rather let him labor, working with his
hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath
need." I guess you have heard the story about the man
who changed the punctuation and read, “let him that stole, steal, no more
working with your hands.” But suppose a
man just quits stealing and says, “I will not steal any longer so you folks
need to help me,” and he sits down as a beggar.
He is not carrying out the positive side, which is necessary. And let him labor, working with his hands,
the thing that is good. We do not need
to be engaged in making strong drink, and other wrong employment on the basis
of that statement. Work with things that are good, and Jesus said, “Seek
ye first the kingdom
of God
and his righteousness and all these things, (food, clothing and shelter) shall
be added unto you.” So let us choose the right kind of
employment. "Working with his hands, the thing that is
good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need." What about the man who says, “Well, I am
going to work for what I eat, or for what my family needs, but that is
all? We have responsibility to work in
order to be able to give to those in need.
"That he may have whereof to give to him that hath
need." Any person who violates this
has violated the law of God.
"Let
no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as good for edifying, as
the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear." So learn to speak the kind of language that
will build up, encourage, and edify those who hear. "And grieve not the Holy
Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption." We grieve the Holy Spirit of God when we go
contrary to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit has given us all of our Lord’s instructions (John 14:26; 16:6-16). If a person does not
pay any attention to it, and goes the contrary way, then he grieves the Holy
Spirit of God. "Let
all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing be put away from
you, with all malice." Bitterness would be that
inward resentment, and malice would fit in that category. Clamor and railing would be the outward
expression of it, like when a man throws a fit.
"And be ye kind one to another, tender hearted,
for giving each other, even as God also in Christ for gave you." And what does the latter part of verse
thirty-two emphasize? If we forgive as
God forgives, are we going to hold back anything? Is it the spirit, “Well, I am going to
forgive you this time, but if you do it again, you can expect me to bring out
the hatchet.”
That is not forgiveness according to this reference! When Christ forgives, those trespasses are
not brought against us again (Hebrews 8:12-13). They are forgiven completely and forever, and
that is what true forgiveness is all about.
Now, it may not mean that we entirely forget, but there will be no
spirit of ill will against the person when we forgive.
Chapter Five
"Be
ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love.” “Love worketh no ill toward his neighbor, love therefore is the
fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10)”.
Christ
willingly laid down his life for us (John 10:16-18). “Him
who knew no sin, him he made to be sin in our behalf that we might become the
righteousness of God through him (II Corinthians 5:21).” Isaiah 53: 10, "yet
it pleased Jehovah to bruise him.
(Christ) he
hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed.
(Christians). He shall prolong his days, and the
pleasure of the Jehovah shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and
shall be satisfied. By the knowledge of
himself shall my righteous servant justify many; and he shall bear their
iniquities." Do you remember how Jesus
prayed to the point of being in great agony that God would remove the cup “and
his sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground” (Luke 22: 44)
that he might
not have to suffer, but he said, “never
the less not my will, but thine be done.”
“Be
ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, even as
Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice
to God for an order of a sweet smell.” Christ did exactly as Isaiah had said that he would
do (Isaiah 53:10-12) and Paul says that His sacrifice was
“an odor of a sweet smell to God. Verse three, "But fornication
and all uncleanness or covetous, let it not even be named among you as becoming
saints, There
are some things that should not be named among the children of God, nor
filthiness, nor foolish talking, or jesting, which are not befitting, but
rather given of thanks. For this you
know of surety, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man who
is an idolater hath any inheritance in the kingdom
of God." I raise the question; do we have any
idolaters attending the services in our churches? If a man spends 98% of his income on himself,
and gives a few crumbs to the Lord, where does it fit according to this
reading? After he has been taught well
about that which rightly belongs to the Lord, and he continues to go contrary,
this passage says that he is an idolater.
Colossians 3:5 says the same thing. This reference says
those who do these things will have no inheritance in the eternal kingdom of
Christ and God.
Verse six, "Let
no man deceive you with empty words, for because of these things cometh the
wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience." Paul
said, “Do not let any man, “deceive you with empty
words”. The wrath of God is surely coming upon those
who go the way of fornication, and uncleanness, and covetousness, and all those
other things that he has enumerated.
"Be not ye therefore partakers with them, for ye
were once darkness but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light." When we walk as children of light, we turn
away from the ways of the flesh (Galatians 5:24; John 8:12), and when we walk, as John says
in I John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light as he is in the
light, we have fellowship one with another in the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin.” “For the fruit of the light is in all
goodness and righteous and truth proving what is well pleasing unto God; and
have no fellowship with the unfruitful work of darkness, but rather reprove
them; for the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame to speak
of. But all things when they are reproved are made manifest by the light; for
every thing that is made manifest by the light; for every thing that is made
manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ
shall shine upon thee (5:9-14).”
In this reference Paul is saying that we need to
wake up, and teach, and live in such a way, that we will be putting down the
ways of darkness every day; that we are not only not to go in the way of
darkness ourselves, but we are to be busy reproving them. We are to reprove the
ways of darkness by learning, and teaching the truth (II Timothy 2:15; I Peter 3:15; II Peter 3:18), and by example of
living according to the truth every day, Jesus said, “He
that followeth me shall have the light of life
(John 8:12),
and let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works
and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16)” So the more we let our
light shine, then more people will turn from the ways of darkness and glorify
God by obeying him.
Verse fifteen, “Look therefore
carefully how ye walk, not as unwise but as wise; redeeming the time,
because the days are evil. Where be ye not foolish, but understand what the
will of the Lord is. And be not filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another
in psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with
your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; subjecting yourselves
one to another in the fear of Christ.” Of course when time is gone it is gone forever,
but by really being busy for the Lord every day we can help to make up for time
that we have wasted (Hebrews 12:12-13; Romans 13:11-14). He says that we do
not need to be filled with wine, but we need to be filled with the Spirit.
How may we be filled with the Spirit, by learning and doing according to the
instruction of the Spirit. Every reference in the New Testament, which teaches
concerning the kind of music that is to be used in worship, specifies singing
(Matthew 26:30; Acts 16: 25; Romans 15: 9; I Corinthians 14: 15; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12, 13: 15; James 5: 13; Revelation 5:8-9, 14: 2-3, 15: 2-3).
Argument has been made for the use of mechanical
instruments of music in Christian worship on the word melody in Ephesians 3:19. They say that the Greek
word for melody is psallo, which means, “to touch,
pull, twitch, to pluck, to twang, to play a stringed
instrument, or sing to a harp.” The Greek word does mean – to twitch, or pluck,
like a carpenter’s chalk line, or like a stringed instrument, but Paul
specifies what is to be plucked, “making melody with
your heart to the Lord.” You
need to be skeptical of any person who wants to rewrite the teachings of the
Bible on the basis of his great authoritative knowledge of the Greek language.
In the first place he does not have such authoritative knowledge of
the Greek language, or else all of the better versions of the Bible are wrong.
In the second place this would mean that more than ninety-nine and ninety nine
hundredths of us cannot understand what is written in the Bible because we do
not have that authoritative knowledge of the Hebrew language for the Old
Testament, or the Greek language for the New Testament.
Verse twenty-two, “Wives be in subjection unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
For the husband is head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church,
being himself the savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ,
so let the wives also be to their husbands in everything (5:22-24).” There are several
references, which teach concerning this same subjective order (I Corinthians 11:1-4, 14:33-36; I Timothy 2:11-15; I Peter 3:1-4). This does not mean
that wives are inferior to their husbands, but that this is their God given
right place, and neither does it mean that the husband is to be like a
policeman; or that he is an authoritative commander of his wife as shown by the
following verses. A husband is to be the head of the house primarily by proper
behavior, leadership and example.
Verse twenty-five, “Husbands, love
your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for
it, that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of
water with the word, that he might present the church to himself a glorious
church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be
holy and without blemish. Even so ought husbands also to love their own wives
as their own bodies. He that loveth his own
wife loveth himself; for no man ever hated his own
flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth
it, even as Christ also the church; because we are members of his body. For
this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his
wife; and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I speak in
regard of Christ and of the church. Never- the less do ye severally love each
one his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she fear (NASV respect) her
husband (5:25-33).
The marriage relationship is the closest of all
human relationship, because when marriage is consummated by sexual intercourse
the two become one flesh (Genesis 2:24) which is referred to in
verse thirty-one, and so Paul is using the marriage relationship to illustrate
the closeness of Christ and his spiritual body the church (Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:4; Colossians 1:18; I Corinthians 12:13). But note that husbands
are to love their wives as Christ loved the church, and as he loves his own
body. His wife should respect the husband that does this, and she should surely
be ready to be in subjection to him, because of his good treatment of her, and
also because this is what God has ordained.
Chapter Six
In verses one through nine instructions is given
concerning the children and parent relationship and the slave and master
relationship. So both in Ephesians and Colossians Paul teaches concerning the
husband- wife, the church- Christ, the parent-child, slave-master, the
employee- employer relationships and all of these relations are very important.
Consider what a wonderful society we would have if all of these relationships
were in accord to Ephesians 5:22-6:9 and Colossians 3:18-4:1.
“Children obey your parents for this is
right.”
(Proverbs 6:20-23). Honor thy father and mother which is the first
commandment with promise, that it may be well with
thee and thou mayest live long on the earth.” (Exodus 20:12; Matthew 15:1-9) “And
fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; but nurture them in the
chastening and admonition of the Lord.” Proverbs 22:6 reads, “Train
up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from
it,” and 22:15 reads, “Folly
is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far
from him.” It
looks like many fathers reason that the discipline of the children should be
primarily their mother’s responsibility, but Ephesians 6:4 and Colossians 4:21 places a lot of
responsibility on the father. Note that 6:4 and 4:21 are parallels and mean
essentially the same thing. One way that a father can provoke his “children
to wrath” or provoke
not your Children, that they be discouraged” is to never be pleased with their behavior and
performance. A father who is always finding fault, and
hardly any good is violating these commands. Good discipline includes a lot of
patience in showing children how to do things, and speaking words of
encouragement, and approval and giving commendation when they do things well.
In Ephesians 6:5-9 and Colossians 3:22-4:1 Paul gives essentially the
same relationship. Verse five through nine, “Servants, be
obedient unto them that according to the flesh are your master, with fear and
trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not in the way
of eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the
will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and
not unto men; knowing that whatsoever good thing each one doeth, the same shall
he receive again from the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And, ye masters, do
the dame things unto them, and forbear threatening; knowing that who is
both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no respecter of persons
with him.” So
the teaching from both references is that the Master in heaven is looking at
the servant and the master and “There is no respect of
persons with him.
Servants serve your masters with real good work, and count your service as unto
Christ, and you master treat your servants well and “forbear
threatening”
and render unto them that which is “that which is just and
equal
(Colossians 4:1)”In Ephesians 6:10-18 he exhorts the brethren to “put
on the whole
armor of God”,
and be good soldiers of God. Paul was very familiar with the armor of the Roman
soldiers, and makes each piece of the soldier’s armor and uniform to represent
how we are to know the word of God, and be prepared with real determination to
stand and fight as a good soldier of Christ.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the
strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is
not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against the powers,
against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual host of
wickedness in the heavenly places. Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand in the evil day,
and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with
truth, and have put on the breast plate of righteous, and having shod
your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; withal taking up the
shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword
of the Spirit which is the word of God (Hebrews 4:11- 12),
with all power and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit and
watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the
saint, and on my behalf, that utterance may be
given unto me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness
the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it may
speak boldly, as I ought to speak (6:10-20).”
So the Christian warfare is not a fleshly or carnal
warfare, but a spiritual warfare, and in order for us to be victorious in this
warfare we must “put on the whole armor of God which consists of knowing
the truth of the gospel, and having put on the breast “plate
of righteous” which
is righteous living; and then with real determination take “the
sword of the Spirit” and fight.
Please note what Paul wanted the Ephesian
brethren to pray that he would “Boldly” be an “ambassador
in chains.” An
ambassador is a special representative, and Paul, because he was as apostle of
Christ, made him a special representative of Christ to carry his gospel
especially to the Gentile people.
Verses twenty-two to twenty-four, “But
that ye also may know my affairs, how I do, Tychicus,
the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things; whom
I sent unto you for this very purpose, that ye may know our state, and that he
may comfort your hearts (Colossians 4:7-9). Peace
be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. Grace be with all them that love our
Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible.
End of Ephesians.