Tag Archives: Ephesians 6

Daily Bible Study

December 8, 2023 Bible Study — God Gives Us Gifts in Order to Build Each Other Up

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ephesians 4-6.

Paul writes that Christ gave gifts to His people in order to equip them for works of service so that the Body of Christ, the Church, may be built up until we reach unity of faith and knowledge.  The gifts which Paul here lists as being given by Christ, he elsewhere describes as gifts of the Spirit.  This is not a contradiction as Paul makes clear a few sentences later.  Paul writes that Christ joins and holds together the entire Body as it builds itself up in love.  So, Paul tells us that the gifts of the Spirit are given to us in order that we may build up our fellow members of the Body of Christ in love.

Because we are building each other in love, we must no longer live as the worldly live.  We must no longer indulge in sensuality, impurity, and greed.  Such behaviors are neither loving, nor do they assist in building others up.  Rather than doing such things we must be made new in the attitude of our minds.  As the new mind takes root in us we will speak truthfully in love and not allow anger to lead us into sin.  We should avoid unwholesome talk, which breaks down or denigrates others.  Instead let us say only those things which will benefit those who hear us speak.  Let us spend our time doing useful things with our hands so that we have resources which we can use to help those in need.  Let us say and do only those things which are loving and help others become better.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 8, 2022 Bible Study — Humbly Putting On The Armor Of God

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ephesians 4-6.

At the end of his letter to the Church in Ephesus Paul writes that we should put on the full armor of God.  He describes that as the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, fitting our feet with the readiness which comes from the gospel of peace, taking up the shield of faith, wearing the helmet of salvation, and wielding the sword of the Spirit.  All of that is a good summation of how we can be prepared for battle against the spiritual rulers, powers, and authorities of this dark world.  However, I think truly understanding that armor requires us to look at Paul’s instructions from earlier in today’s passage.  We learn the readiness of which Paul wrote by being humble, gentle, and patient.  We truly wear the belt of truth when we speak the truth, and not just any truth, but that truth which is helpful in building up others.  We should never use the truth as an excuse to hurt others (NOTE: sometimes truth which others need to hear in order to become better people hurts, but sometimes we tell ourselves we are telling the hurtful truth because we are trying to help, but we really just want to hurt the other person).  We cannot put on the helmet of salvation until we get rid of bitterness, rage, brawling, slander, and every other form of malice.  Finally, we must put aside all sexual immorality, greed, and idolatry in order to put on the breastplate of righteousness.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 8, 2021 Bible Study — Unity In Christ Comes When We Humbly Do The Will Of The Lord

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ephesians 4-6.

Today Paul expands on his teaching about unity among Believers.  We should be humble, gentle, and patient in our dealings with others, always keeping in mind that there is but one name through which we can be saved, one Lord whom we serve.  The unity of the Spirit grows out of us living to be worthy of our calling by Christ.  Paul explains that we live such a life because we have put off the sinful life we lived before God called us and have put in the new life which God has given us.  That old life which we have hopefully taken off like a suit of dirty clothes is one  of sensuality, impurity, and greed.  Living the new life means speaking truthfully, and allowing only those things which are helpful for building up others come out of our mouths.  Paul calls on us to strive to live without even a hint of sexual immorality, impurity, or greed in our lives.  Instead of such things, Paul urges us to find and do that which is pleasing to the Lord.  We find once again one of the key points of serving God: if we keep ourselves busy doing good, we will not have to do that which is not.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 8, 2020 Bible Study Unity In Christ Comes When We Allow The Holy Spirit To Transform Our Thoughts and Attitudes

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ephesians 4-6

Paul continues discussing the unity those who follow Christ should seek and experience.  He goes on to explain how we can truly enter into that unity and avoid the divisiveness which the world is constantly trying to inject into Christ’s Body.  He begins by pointing out that Christ has only one Body, and the Spirit which binds it together is One being.  Christ has given the Church, His Body, apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers for the purpose of building us up in unity, knowledge, and faith.  As we are built up in Christ, we will become more mature.  That maturity will lead us to avoid living in lust and deception.

That transition happens when we allow God’s Spirit to transform our thoughts and attitudes.  I find it interesting that even though Paul wrote of the destructiveness of lust and immorality, he starts the list of behaviors which we must allow to be transformed by telling us that we must stop lying to our neighbors.  He follows that immediately by telling us not to allow anger to control us.  If we allow anger to control us, we will sin.  It is only after reviewing several other behaviors that Paul comes back to reminding us that sexual immorality, impurity, and greed will create division in the Church. We must carefully examine our lives and do what please God, rather than allowing those things to fester within us.  Our human tendency is to attempt to rule over each other.  We must resist that tendency and allow God’s Spirit to transform us into those who submit to one another out of service to Christ.  Above all, we must recognize that our enemies are not human foes.  In fact, humans are never the enemies of those who serve the Lord.  Rather, the enemies of those who are members of Christ’s Body are the unseen rulers and spirits of this world.  They cannot be defeated using human weapons and methods.

Daily Bible Study

December 8, 2019 Bible Study — Live In Unity By Being Good and Helpful

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ephesians 4-6

Paul writes that we should strive to live in unity with other believers.  However, that unity will result as we become mature in Christ so that we are no longer tossed about by every new teaching.  We should not live as the unbelievers around us live.  He warns us that society around us is hopelessly confused.  Our unity as believers should come from our insistence on sticking with the teachings which Jesus and Scripture present.  Every generation will face those who present lies cleverly contrived to appear as truth.  We can avoid falling for such lies by imitating God, which means living a life filled with love.  Love does not mean telling people they will be OK no matter what they do.  Love means warning people that they will hurt themselves if they partake in self-destructive behavior. 

I find it enlightening that when Paul sums up the things we must avoid his list always contains sexual immorality, impurity, and greed.  He often adds other things to his list, but these three are always there.  In fact, the other things which he adds are really just subcategories of one of these.  In this very passage he talks about not being a thief, which would come from being greedy.  He talks about not using foul and abusive language, which would be a subset of impurity.  We could follow how the actions which Paul warns against are expressions of greed, impurity, or sexual immorality, but I think you get the point.  However, Paul does not just warn us against certain types of behavior, he encourages us in appropriate behavior.  As opposed to foul and abusive language, everything we say should be good and helpful.

Daily Bible Study

December 8, 2018 Bible Study — Honesty and Love Preclude immorality and Sin

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ephesians 4-6.

Paul tells us to stop living as sinners, who are hopelessly confused, or as the NIV translates it, stuck in futile thoughts.   They have hardened their hearts and closed their minds because they are unwilling to give up lustful pleasures and impure activities. I love the way Paul explains how we should live our lives in chapter 4 verses 31 and 32.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Earlier in the chapter, Paul instructs us to stop telling lies and tell our neighbors the truth. I find it very telling that Paul links sexual immorality with being dishonest. Paul focuses on three categories of sin, sexual immorality, impurity, and greed. Paul warns us against those who try to excuse sins: no matter what excuse you come up with, sin will still damage your relationship with God. There is a reason so many sins are done in secret, because no matter how far they push the boundaries of what is socially acceptable, they still want to go beyond that.

Paul tells us to carefully determine what pleases God and take every opportunity to do those things. Not only should we avoid worthless, sinful deeds, but we should expose them for what they are. Here Paul is referencing back to when he told us to tell our neighbors the truth, that involves telling them that certain activities are sinful and therefore worthless. The best part about this is that we will rarely have to verbally express this if we live as God desires. If we live a life of love, following Christ’s example, God’s light will shine out from us, exposing the darkness and sin around us. Let us wisely live according to God’s desires for us. We can find a joy superior to that which others find in inebriation by being filled with the Holy Spirit and praising God.

 

 

Daily Bible Study

December 8, 2017 Bible Study — Put on the Armor of God

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ephesians 4-6.

    In the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul repeats that our salvation is a free gift from God and nothing we can do can earn it. However, in today’s passage Paul makes clear that does not mean that we can continue to live a life of sin. Instead we are to adopt a new life and accept the new self which the Spirit gives us, a new self which was created to live with a righteousness and holiness like that of God. And what does this new life look like? It involves avoiding falsehood and deception, speaking truthfully to those around us. It involves working hard to do something productive so that we have something to give to those in need. It involves saying only that which builds others up and benefits those who listen. It means avoiding immorality, impurity, and greed. In all of this Paul emphasizes making our words and our actions reflect the love of God for those we meet.

    Paul goes on to explain how we can resist the temptation for sinful behaviors by living our lives as if everything we do will be witnessed by others, because in the long run it will be. Do that which is productive and fruitful while avoiding unproductive activity. Paul warns us against anger and bitterness, that they can destabilize our lives and make us unproductive. When he discusses the armor of God, he shows us how resisting temptation and defeating evil has both passive and active elements. The battle we are waging is not against our fellow humans. It is against the powers and spiritual forces which have entered this world through sin. By being truthful and accepting the righteousness which God gives us we can avoid attacks those powers will direct our way. When we buckle on God’s peace we can stand our ground and let anger and bitterness flow around and away from us. We can use our faith in God’s goodness extinguish the shots intended to make us feel useless and like failures (we were made in God’s image, according to His good plan, how can we be failures?). Finally, if we arm ourselves by allowing the Spirit to direct our study of God’s word we can take the fight to the enemy, revealing and exploiting their weaknesses (just remember, the enemy is not any of the people around, but the spirits and powers of this world).

Daily Bible Study

September 28, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 24:8

    Those who plan evil may think that they have “plausible deniability”, but as time goes by people will start to notice that they are always connected with wrongdoing. Once that happens they will have a reputation for being a troublemaker, for doing wrong.

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Psalm 70

    When we come before God, even the wealthiest among us is poor and needy. It is wrong to take delight in the troubles which others experience. If we do delight in those troubles we will be disgraced. However, those who search for God will be filled with joy and gladness when they find Him, and they will find Him.

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Ephesians 6

    In yesterday’s passage Paul started pointing out that believers on either side of a “power” relationship have obligations. Wives are to submit to their husbands, but husbands are obligated to put their wives’ well-being ahead of their own. In today’s passage, Paul tells children that they are to honor their parents, but parents are obligated to not provoke their children. Slaves are to obey their masters, but masters are obligated to treat their slaves as Christ treats them, remembering that Christ is our Lord and Master. Paul makes it clear that as Christians we have obligations to those we have relationships with, no matter which side of the “power” relationship we are on. It is our responsibility to fulfill our side of the “bargain”, not to ensure that those on the other side fulfill theirs.
    Paul then completes his letter to the Ephesians by instructing us to prepare ourselves for spiritual battle. One of the terms often used in the Church today is “spiritual warfare”. Most of the times when I hear this term used, I cringe because many of those using it have a similar view of the spiritual world as a place where we need special knowledge and tools to do battle. However, Paul makes it clear that each and every believer is involved in spiritual warfare…and that we can easily find all of the knowledge and tools which we need in the Bible.
    Here are the tools we need:

  • truth

    • If we do not dedicate ourselves to finding a speaking the truth, we will be vulnerable to evil. Every time we lie, deceive, or mislead others we open ourselves up to attacks from the evil one.

  • God’s righteousness

    • There are two aspects to this. The first is that when we act with righteousness, it is not our righteousness. The second is that, nevertheless, we need to act with righteousness.

  • peace which comes from believing the Gospel

    • If we truly believe the Gospel, we will be at peace because we know that God has a plan which none cannot be thwarted.

  • faith

    • Our faith will act as a shield against attacks. If we truly have faith in God, we know that He has made us just the way we are so that we can serve His purpose. No matter what negative things others may say, or we may think, our faith tells us that “God made us, and God doesn’t make junk.”

  • the word of God

    • Paul tells us that the word of God is our sword. It is with the word of God that we can take the battle to the enemy. I am a fencer and therefore I can tell you that a sword is first used as defense. When I am fencing someone, I must first neutralize their ability to attack me. If I fail to do so, they will strike home when I attempt to attack them. The same is true when dealing in spiritual issues. Before we go on offense, we must identify where the enemy, Satan, can attack us and neutralize that potential attack. Only then can we hope to safely strike down our enemy.

  • Prayer

    • All of the previous things were primarily defensive. It is by prayer that we truly go on the offense and that is what makes spiritual warfare different from all other types of battle. It is by prayer that we bring turn the servants of our enemies into servants of the Lord.

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Isaiah 54:1-57:14

    This is a powerful passage, especially chapter 55.

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.

God will supply our needs even though we do not have any way to pay Him back. It is by listening to God that we find life. Those who mock God and seek to find life through other things (whether through “science”, or “sports”, or “entertainment”, or something else) will find no rescue when trouble comes.
    God sends out His word and it accomplishes the purpose for which He sent it. It never fails. I was going to write more about this passage, but there is just too much there. Please read it for yourself. It fits so well with the passage from Ephesians we just read.