September
13th Ephesians
5 (The Church of Christ)
Be disciples of Christ
1:
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2: And walk in
love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour. 3: But
fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once
named among you, as becometh saints; 4: Neither filthiness, nor
foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather
giving of thanks. 5: For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor
unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6: Let no man
deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the
wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 7: Be not ye
therefore partakers with them. 8: For ye were sometimes darkness, but
now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9: (For the
fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10: Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11: And have no
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them. 12: For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are
done of them in secret. 13: But all things that are reproved are made
manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
14: Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the
dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15: See then that ye walk
circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16: Redeeming the time,
because the days are evil. 17: Wherefore be ye not unwise, but
understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18: And be not drunk with
wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19: Speaking
to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20: Giving thanks always for
all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ;
Paul
is drawing his teaching to an end in this letter and so he continues
to give practical instruction to them. This is not a separate part of
his letter, rather these practical exhortations are built on the
doctrine found in the earlier chapters. So says Paul in the light of
what l have previously said, become therefore my dear children
imitators of God and live lives which are an expression of love. In
the same way that Christ loved us and gave himself as an offering in
life and a sacrifice in death, as a wonderful sweet smelling
sacrifice to God. And then Paul draws a sharp contrast. BUT do not
let fornication, uncleanness and covetousness be even once named
among you, because you are to live as the holy ones of God. Let there
be no verbal obscenities, or talk which is utter foolishness, and
dirty jokes, which are inappropriate for the believer. But rather we
are to give thanks which our voices. You know for definitely that no
pimp, or pervert, or lustful man or an idolater has any inheritance
in the Kingdom of Christ and God. Do not let anyone deceive you with
empty arguments (trying to tell you that these things are ok) because
you know that it is because of these very things that the wrath of
God comes on the ungodly. Do not join in with their sins. Paul, says,
you were once in the darkness of sin but now you are the light of the
Lord. So go on living as children of the light. If you live in the
light then the fruit of the Spirit will be seen in your life in
goodness, righteousness and truth. And you will be proving to
yourself what is acceptable to the Lord. Do not have fellowship with
those who practise the sinful works of darkness, which bear no fruit
of the Spirit for God but rather reprove them. It is a shameful thing
to even talk about the things that they do in secret. When you
reprove them everything they do is brought into the light. And so
wake up !! You that sleep in the grave, arise from the dead and
Christ will give you light. And so think carefully and watch your
step, be wise in everything you do. Make the best use of your time
because these are evil days. Do not be unwise but know what the will
of the Lord is. Do not be filled with wine but be filled with the
Holy Spirit. And when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, lift up
you voices in singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs and making
harmonies in your soul unto the Lord. And in all this give thanks to
God for everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We might
think of the Apostolic church as being dreary and quiet, far from it,
they had hearts overflowing in thanksgiving and praise and made much
use of psalms, hymn and spiritual songs. When we get to glory what
great singing there will be.
- How does Paul warn the believers of the pitfalls of practical Christian living?
- What should be the response of Christians to wicked people – even if they call themselves Christians?
- What practical exhortations does Paul give Christians in this passage?
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