limiting close relationships

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 5:1-5 (JDV)

Ephesians 5:1 Be imitators of God, then, as dearly cared about children,

Ephesians 5:2 and walk in care, like Christ also cared about us and gave himself in behalf of us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

Ephesians 5:3 But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for devotees.

Ephesians 5:4 Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks.

Ephesians 5:5 Because know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

limiting close relationships

Some of the early Christians were wrongfully accused of being sexually immoral because of how close their relationships were. Here, Paul warns the Ephesians about this possibility. They are to be committed to growing together, and to caring for one another deeply. But they are also to watch their interpersonal relationships and their language to make sure that there is never even a hint of impurity or impropriety. The church has no business including what the kingdom excludes.

Lord, teach us to care for each other sacrificially, especially by sacrificing impure and illicit desires.

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more on the guidelines

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 4:29-32 (JDV)

Ephesians 4:29 No vulgar language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives favor to those who hear.

Ephesians 4:30 And don’t grieve God’s Sacred Breath. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption.

Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice.

Ephesians 4:32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, like God also forgave you in Christ.

more on the guidelines

Paul shares more about his guidelines for growing together through healthy relationships here.

  1. We grow together when we share honest words with one another, not when we tear each other down with vulgar, obscene, and profane words.

  2. We grow together when we forgive one another, showing the God’s kindness and compassion instead of bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander.

  3. We grow together when we work hard at being who we will be – who we are destined to be. The Sacred Breath has given us new life and he is grieved when we use that new life to live the old way.

Lord, fill our lives with opportunities to grow together through honest words, honest forgiveness and honest work.

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guidelines for growing together

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 4:25-28 (JDV)

Ephesians 4:25 For this reason, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another.

Ephesians 4:26 Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,

Ephesians 4:27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity.

Ephesians 4:28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need.

guidelines for growing together

If you want to know how to show love to your neighbor or fellow believer, here are three suggestions.

  1. honest words: don’t lie to him.

  2. honest forgiveness: don’t stay angry at him.

  3. honest work: don’t miss an opportunity to give to him.

If we are diligent with following these guidelines, we will eventually find ourselves growing towards each other, instead of away from each other.

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the unsurrendered life

Posted on September 24, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 4:20-24 (JDV)

Ephesians 4:20 But you did not learn Christ in this way,1

Ephesians 4:21 assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, like the truth is in Jesus,

Ephesians 4:22 to take off your former way of life, the old human that is corrupted by deceitful cravings,

Ephesians 4:23 to be renewed in the breath of your minds,

Ephesians 4:24 and to put on the new human, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.

the unsurrendered life

What does the new human look like?

  • Her actions are purposeful.
  • She walks in the light of Scripture.
  • She is part of the congregation.
  • She is aware of the world around her.
  • She can bend her will to others’ needs.
  • She feels the hurt of others.
  • She has control of her appetities.
  • She walks in purity.
  • She has learned contentment.

She does not come by these characteristics naturally. They are the products of an unsurrendered life. They take hard work and discipline.

Lord, this is the life we want. The Unsurrendered life.

1οὕτω

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learning how to unsurrender

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 4:17-19 (JDV)

Ephesians 4:17 Then I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer live like the Gentiles live, in the futility of their thoughts.

Ephesians 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts.

Ephesians 4:19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.

learning how to unsurrender

Remember that the inhabitants of Ephesus were mostly Gentiles. The descriptive terms that Paul uses here for the Gentile lifestyle are all too familiar to these believers. Most of them grew up living like this: futile, darkened, excluded, ignorant, hard-hearted, callous, promiscuous, impure, insatiable.

They had lived most of their lives surrendered to the enemy. Now they were learning how to unsurrender. It is not easy. We need God’s miraculous power to break that bondage.

Lord, teach us how to break the bonds that keep us living like unbelievers.

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maturity builders

Posted on September 22, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 4:14-16 (JDV)

Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.

Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in care, let us grow in every way into him who is the head – Christ.

Ephesians 4:16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in care by the proper achieving energy of each individual part.

maturity builders

Why is Paul picking on kids? I like little children; they are wonderful. But I get what Paul is saying here. Small children can be gullible and easily influenced. Paul had been talking about the ministries which Christ gave “so the devotees could be equipped for achieving ministry.” These missionaries, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers enabled the Ephesian Christians to be strong in the truth of the gospel and to model the care of Christ.

Lord, thank you for sending us maturity builders.

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the ministry cycle

Posted on September 21, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 4:11-13 (JDV)

Ephesians 4:11 And he himself gave some missionaries, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,

Ephesians 4:12 so the devotees could be equipped for achieving ministry, to build up the body of Christ,

Ephesians 4:13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

the ministry cycle

We are used to thinking of missions work as an auxiliary ministry of the church. But Paul challenges that. He speaks of Christ giving all these ministry gifts so that the body of Christ would be built up through the equipping that each of these ministries accomplishes. In other words, a pastor helps equip others to pastor, a teacher trains others to teach, an evangelist shows others how to evangelize, etc.

That is why Paul was celebrating his connection to the believers in Ephesus. It was not just that Paul needed their support. They also needed his input. Paul’s involvement in the cycle began with his missionary work. The cycle would not be complete until other missionaries start to flow out of Ephesus as a result of his ministry.

Lord, forgive us for compartmentalizing ministry. Help us to connect with all the ministries you have given us for our equipping, so that we can continue the cycle you began with your ascension gifts.

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he also descended

Posted on September 20, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 4:7-10 (JDV)

Ephesians 4:7 Now favor was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Ephesians 4:8 For this reason it says: When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to humans.

Ephesians 4:9 But what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the land?

Ephesians 4:10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the skies, to fill all things.

he also descended

Our Lord’s ascension was actually a return to where he was before. His descending was his incarnation. Only he was qualified to do both things. Salvation is Christ’s gift because only he could afford to purchase it for us. Our Lord’s enthronement in heaven was his return to where he rightfully belonged. It was his choice to descend to this planet that gave us all a chance at eternal life. His follow-through on that choice led to his dying on the cross to serve as the necessary sacrifice reconciling us with the Father. Because he was successful at that sacrifice, we can now walk both in freedom and a new empowerment.

He paid the price – we get the gifts.

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our invitation and our hope

Posted on September 19, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 4:4-6 (JDV)

Ephesians 4:4 There is one body and one Breath – like you were invited to one hope at your invitation –

Ephesians 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

Ephesians 4:6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

our invitation and our hope

Paul is emphasizing unity here, and that is why I opt for the more literal gloss “Breath” describing the third person of the divine trinity. He is the breath to the church, and the two go together to form a living being. We care for others within the body because we all have the same care that God has toward all of us.

Of course, as flawed human beings, none of us do this perfectly. That is why Paul talks about our invitation and our hope. We have been invited to a future in which we will demonstrate God’s care perfectly. We have a hope that all our shortcomings will be corrected, and we will be as like God as he intends us to be. Until then, we live in the challenge to be what we will be –as nearly as we can.

This is us, Lord, responding to your invitation. Make us what you intend us to be.

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bearing with one another

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 4:1-3 (JDV)

Ephesians 4:1 Then1 I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to live worthy of the invitation to which you were invited,2

Ephesians 4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in care,

Ephesians 4:3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Breath through the bond of peace.

bearing with one another

We were invited together into this life, given one breath by the Sacred Breath, so we should live like it. If we are all part of the same body, breathing the same Breath, then we should not be attacking and resenting one another. We should be caring for each other, and bearing with each others’ foibles and hangups, just as we put up with our own weaknesses.

Paul encourages the Ephesian Christians to make every effort to live this way. It is how we live out the truth of our unity. It will not be easy. If it were, the apostle would not have advised that we make every effort to do it. But the end result is a beautiful thing: a church bearing the fruit of care for each other, demonstrating the care our Savior has shown for us.

Lord, show us how to bear with one another.

1οὖν

2καλέω

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