Behaving rightly does not save us. Nor does good behavior earn us greater blessing from Father. However, since we are His kids, it does reflect on Him. We are His ambassadors, and poor behavior makes us ineffective in that role.
Love is not focused on self. Love is focused on others. There is no love without there being an object of that Love. Someone to whom Love is directed. Another someone, the best interests of whom are the desire of our own heart.
In these few sentences, the Holy Spirit reminds us of who we are in Christ. Through Paul, He sets before us Life and death and encourages us to choose Life, just as He did through Moses in Deuteronomy 30:19
We react almost instinctively, so when we are not watching closely enough it appears as though there was no opportunity for a decision at all. This is a subtle lie from our enemy and once we recognize it, we can become more aware of those moments in which we choose ungodly attitudes and actions.
In tiny ways as we go about our daily lives, we naturally spread the Love of God. People see more than we realize and seeds that have the potential to change the landscape of people’s lives are planted.
Paul says that sin lives in his members, in his body. The Greek here is (melos) which means members or parts of one’s physical body. For me, this is crucial because it helps me understand the Biblical use of (sarx-flesh) more readily.
Jesus is the thread of Scripture. Jesus is the fulfillment of Scripture. Jesus is foreshadowed in the Old Testament and manifested in the New.
As the children of Light, the royal priesthood of God, we are not to join in with the unfruitful, dark, and wicked manner of living exemplified by those in the world. Before we are tempted to get carried away with this and make up a new law about disassociating ourselves from the world completely—as some have done—let’s pause to remember what the Scriptures have to say on this matter.
The point I’m making is that even a little light dispels darkness. We have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. In Colossians 1:13 we read that He has “delivered us from the power (or domain) of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” (KJV 1900) So, we are being exhorted to live accordingly. The reason we are given is that “the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.”
As the holy children of God, let’s avoid these because as the text says, they are “not convenient.” What that interesting piece of Elizabethan English means is that they do not fit. They are not proper or appropriate. They do not relate to us.
This is poignant for me because of late I have been helping someone navigate situations in which they are being very poorly treated by someone they love. There is great relational risk. When things are this hard, it can be more than challenging to respond in Love. It can seem that Loving sacrificially is simply too dangerous. It can seem that if one were to give oneself to another, even one greatly loved, the result might be complete loss of oneself.
We would be remiss if we fail to notice that it specifies that we are to follow God’s example not only as children, but as dear children. We are Loved with a self-sacrificing agape’ Love. We are dear to God. He is the perfect parent and most worthy of our imitation.
People may sometimes shout at their dogs or otherwise treat their dogs poorly. Dogs keep no record of the wrongs they have suffered. People may occasionally forget to feed their dogs or neglect them in other ways. Dogs endure it all and continue believing the best about their people.
No one was ever saved by obedience to the Law. That’s because upholding the covenant of the Law is impossible. Those like King David, who realized this, gave up on the idea that they could keep the covenant, and instead simply trusted God to do what He promised–even when they couldn’t see how it would happen.
Judging is not to become a weapon. Far too many religious institutions have made it into one. “Church discipline” has been misused, abused, and recklessly taught. Many of God’s children have been deeply wounded by it.
I think part of the problem we can have with this is that the Scriptures say that Abraham’s faith was “credited to him as righteousness.” Since Christ had not yet come, from our human/temporal perspective he had not been “made righteous.” Holy Spirit did not dwell in him. In our experience, he had not been justified.
When we are in extreme pain and emotional turmoil, we feel and know that we are at the end of ourselves. In those moments all we can do is place everything we’re facing into the hands of the One who is Love and depend on His faithfulness to bring us through the valley.
If the Old Testament makes anything clear, it makes it clear that God does not dwell in unclean unholy places. It also makes clear (as does the Revelation) that God dwells among His people. If we are not ACTUALLY righteous, holy, blameless, then He CANNOT live in us.
My hammer is very well suited for each of those things, but when my project requires cutting a board, I do it with another tool. I am the one who decides what I will do with my hammer. My hammer participates, it’s involved, but I determine its specific role in the context of my larger project.
We currently live in a “famine” bringing uncertainty, insecurity, and unrest. We live in a seemingly desolate land filled with tribulation. Things look pretty bad for us here in the valley of the shadow of death.
Removing the filthy rags of self-effort that we previously wore and replacing them with the gleaming white garments of righteousness changes our appearance. Far from looking like destitute and homeless vagrants, we are now clothed with bespoke, stylish, designer clothes. Our new look is described in the reminder of chapter four.
“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath” has been used as marital advice indicating that all conflict should be resolved before retiring for the evening. Such teaching may be rejected without concern. Marriage is not in view here at all. Looking at verse 25 we see “We are members one of another.” Clearly it is believers in the Church who are Paul’s audience.
We can learn something when we take note of the name chosen in reference to the Lord Jesus. He can be referred to in a number of ways because He is the son of man, a human man who walked the earth. He is the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed One, the Savior of the world. He is also Lord; indeed, He is King of kings and Lord of Lords. He is the Lamb of God. He is the Son of God. He is God.
Lust, fleshly desire, is very deceiving. At first glance it can seem appealing. If we don’t look too closely, it can appear to be what we want. It can momentarily feel fulfilling, but it’s all a sham. Like a Hollywood movie set, behind the beautiful facade is nothing but empty space and rough braces to keep the fake beauty from falling flat.
In this part of Ephesians, the focus is on our walk, our manner of living. No doubt you will recall that at the beginning of chapter four, Paul urged that we walk, or live, in a manner worthy of our calling. Now the script is flipped, and we are cautioned against living in the manner of the unsaved, referred to here as “the [other] Gentiles.”
