GRINDIT podcast

I have heard this passage in Ephesians 5 about husbands and wives, marriages, taught for over thirty years and not once, that I can remember, did anyone talk about the context. All I have heard I have heard is these verses used to tell wives on how to submit to her husband and how the husband is to treat his wife by loving her. I don’t believe that’s Paul’s intent in this section of scripture. It’s part of it, but he is telling the married couple to do these things because of a specific reason—unity in the body of Christ. It goes back to chapter 4 when he is talking about unity and unity being the will of God.

Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus is a plea to do what pleases God. Why? Because of everything God has done for us in Christ Jesus! It’s a theme throughout the letter, “Throw off the old life!”...“Don’t give into the desires of the flesh!”...”Don’t give a foothold to the devil!” Paul is begging them, and us, to give up our own desires, passions, our will and live for Jesus, to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us so that God will be glorified, the gospel will spread, and the kingdom of God will grow! But in order to do what please God, we not only have to know what pleases God, we have to DO what God wants us to do! We HAVE to be obedient to Him and do what He says meaning we have to SUBMIT to Him and His authority!

You have been crucified with Christ so don’t let your old self come back to life! This is Paul’s message to the church at Ephesus and to us today! He knows the inner struggle of walking by the Spirit and walking according to the flesh. He knows we have been given a new life in Christ but he also knows there is an enemy trying to destroy us so he warns them, “Don’t live like the Gentiles. Live Different.” He explains what he means by talking about the sins they were struggling with and he says, “Throw that old man off and allow the Holy Spirit to work in you!” We have a choice to make: We are either choosing to allow God work or in us or Satan. What choice are you making? If you say Jesus, would others agree? Can we see Jesus in you?

We left Paul in chapter 4 listing a bunch of sins that need to stop happening in a believer’s life. He will continue this list in chapter 5 but sandwiched in between these lists is a command to “Imitate God.” In the Greek this means to mimic, to impersonate. How do we impersonate someone? We watch them, the mannerisms, how they talk and act, we study their lives and then we start to act like them. We may not be them but we act just like them and when people hear us and see us, they hear and see the person we are impersonating. But how can we impersonate a God we cannot see? We look at Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. We study the life of Jesus and do what he did!

You have been crucified with Christ so don’t let your old self come back to life! This is Paul’s message to the church at Ephesus and to us today! He knows the inner struggle of walking by the Spirit and walking according to the flesh. He knows we have been given a new life in Christ but he also knows there is an enemy trying to destroy us so he warns them, “Don’t live like the Gentiles. Live Different.” He explains what he means by talking about the sins they were struggling with and he says, “Throw that old man off and allow the Holy Spirit to work in you!” We have a choice to make: We are either choosing to allow God work or in us or Satan. What choice are you making? If you say Jesus, would others agree? Can we see Jesus in you?

Paul says in verse 17, “With the Lord’s authority I say this...” Does this mean everything he said previously is without the Lord’s authority? Of course not. He is making a transition here from telling the church at Ephesus to live a life worthy of their calling to how NOT to live. And to show how serious the matter is, Paul is saying, “The Lord has my back on what I am about to say,” and he goes into how they have been called out from the world and have been given a new life in Christ...therefore...live like it! It’s a great message for us 2,000 years later...We have been called out from the world, we are new creations in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit and we should act like it on a daily basis!

False teachers were rampant in the early church. These deceivers would come in and pretend to be full of the spirit, and they would welcome themselves into the body of believers, making friends and gaining people’s trust. Then at the moment of opportunity, they would begin their deceitful teachings and cause chaos in the body. They would cause chaos and doubt which totally went against God’s plans for unity and if the believer was still a spiritual baby, they would be tossed around like a wave, or an object that has been picked up by the wind and thrown around. It is crucial that we know God’s word and that we meet together with other believers. We need each other so we can encourage one another as we are on this journey.

When Jesus left this earth, ascending back to the Father and sitting at His right hand, he left gifts for the church. It may not be gifts like we think of as gifts, something to be unwrapped and get all excited about...But they were necessary gifts because the church, his body, at that time, was a new concept and would need structure. These gifts would provide this: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers would fortify the believers so they could grow from spiritual babies to mature believers. What gift do you have? What role do you play in the church? We need all the help we can get so unwrap your gift and do your part!

Paul says we are to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. How do we do that? It seems that many do know, or understand, their calling. It’s not complicated to figure out but it can be challenging to do! Paul tells us how to live a called life and that life is to be like Jesus: be humble, be gentle or meek, be patient, and love, striving for unity with the Spirit. If we get any one of these out of line, we are not walking according to the will of God! If we are out of the will of God, our lives are filled with chaos and our prayers will not be answered. We all experience then in our walk from time to time, but don’t let your heart harden and stay out of God’s will! Repent, get back in line with God’s will, and keep walking, striving for unity with the Spirit of God! Are you in God’s will? Are you walking in your calling?

Have you prayed and prayed and prayed only to get nothing but crickets from God? No matter how earnest you pray, all you seem to get from God is silence? A question people ask a lot is, “Why are my prayers not being answered?” It’s a great question because Jesus tells us to ask God for help and to bring our petitions before Him so He can answer them, but maybe you’re discouraged because you feel as though God doesn’t hear you or that He cares. He does both! He hears you and He cares!!! The reason your prayers may not be answered is because you aren’t walking in your calling! Paul discusses that here in chapter 4, that we are to walk worthy in the manner we are called. We are called to live different from the world and he gives four examples of how we should walk. If any one of them are out of line, not in the will of God, it could possibly hinder our prayers! How are you walking?