Ephesians 5:1-7

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. (v. 1) This verse jumped out at me when I read it as “dear children” in the NKJV. Something about “dear” seems more personal than “beloved”. That phrase caught my eye as I imagined myself as God’s “dear child”, thinking of our granddaughter, Audra, just across the driveway and how Rachel and Christian treasure her. And she is so helpless!! Would that I could be so helpless in God’s arms!! And to watch her grow, seemingly something new every day…! Again, would that my life could be so oriented to my Father!

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you… (v.3) and …everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (v. 5) Paul mentions these same three sin categories twice in a three-verse span, first as nouns and then as adjectives. So two questions come up here for me. First, how is “impurity” different from “sexual immorality”. Paul must have some clear distinction in mind since he distinguishes between them twice. Second, the parenthetical phrase (that is, an idolater) is set off after “covetous” (greed), presumably not meant to include the other two sin categories. So how is greed an idol, but sexual immorality and impurity are not idols? All three sin categories put “other things” above God, which is basically what idolatry is. Confusing today…!

Slava Bohu!

Ephesians 4:25-32

Today’s reading has a number of what are known as “take off, put on” instructions (vv. 25, 28, 29). These verses are so well known by this phrase that just now I typed “take off, put on” into a search engine and today’s verses came up as the first links! (Other later items that came up included clothing, gloves, and masks.) “Take off” sin in your life, and “put on” goodness. Take off lying, stealing, and unwholesome speaking, and put on truth, honest work, and edification. I especially like the “stealing” instructions – it’s not enough to just quit stealing. Paul’s encouragement is to do honest work so that you can be a blessing to others. The movie Les Miserables with Liam Neeson comes to mind. Liam Neeson’s character is a convicted thief out on parole who steals again. But the person from whom he stole forgives him and blesses him with a certain amount of wealth. Neeson’s character then becomes a good guy, a loving owner of a manufacturing plant with hundreds hired and a positive work setting. The movie goes further to show his fully transformed nature. A good movie and a good lesson for us…!

Slava Bohu!

Ephesians 4:17-24

Finally, an end to a long weekend’s travels – hopefully I can get back on schedule with posting in the mornings instead of this late night stuff!

…that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, … and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self… (vv. 22-24a) Paul makes an important point here – in between laying aside your old self and putting on your new self, Paul tells us to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. Although I’m not sure what Paul means by “in the spirit of your mind”, beyond that misunderstanding there is a deep truth – that we can’t just decide to change from our old self to a new self, but that it takes a renewal of our minds to effectively make this change. I’ve been meeting with our Freedom Road folks for almost three years. I hear again and again how nearly impossible it is for someone to simply decide to quit drinking on their own, but that it takes a major intervention (like A.A.) for people to really change. But that doesn’t just apply to big things like alcoholism; it also applies to any of our bad habits. We can’t just simply change what we’ve been doing for years; we need help. And although Paul does not mention it here, the best help we can find is the Holy Spirit if we really want renewal “in the spirit of our minds”.

Slava Bohu!

Ephesians 4:7-16

He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens… (v. 10) There is controversy over this verse. When Paul writes He who descended…, is He referring to Jesus’ descent into hell, as we read in the Apostles Creed or is he referring to Jesus’ leaving heaven to come to earth. It’s not clear cut either way, but my bias is toward the former, that Paul is referring to Jesus’ descent into hell before His resurrection. I go with that understanding because I imagine that if Paul had meant the incarnation (Jesus’ birth), he would have said something more specific that could relate directly to Jesus leaving heaven, something like “He who came down from heaven is also the One who went back far beyond heaven”. But that’s only my guess as to what Paul meant.

Often we see very different translations of the same verse. Here’s verse 11 in the ESV, And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers…, and here it is in the NASB, And he gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be shepherds and teachers…. Other translations change “some to be” to “some as”. I like either of these latter forms better than the ESV – something about this phrasing makes it more personal, that there are actual people out there who are the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers. Small point, I know…

…we are no longer to be children, … but … we are to grow up… (vv. 14-15, edited). Paul writes with so many dependent phrases and clauses that I have to re-read to find out what he really is saying. Such is the case with these two verses. By deleting all those interior words and phrases, we read that Paul simply wants us to GROW UP! When you know what he is actually saying to us, GROW UP!, then you can go back and fill in those extra words and phrases in order to find out what it is in our lives that is keeping us from growing up. Try that with a re-read.

Slava Bohu!

Ephesians 4:1-6

I therefore … urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called… (v. 1) This line is one of my favorites in all of Paul’s writings. Whatever we are doing in our lives, we should be doing it “as before the Lord”. Whether work or play, church or the pub – we should reflect our Christian faith. But beyond that, we need to realize that God has called us to particular purposes and that we need to realize that calling to which you have been called. For myself, it was my college classroom for many years. It was not just a classroom, it was my ministry arena. Whatever else I was to the students in my classes, before the semester was over they certainly knew that I was a dedicated Christian – and I trust that lives were changed because of that. Today, at St. Andrew’s I wear a number of different hats, but the two most important to me are that I am the church treasurer and I lead a Read Through the Bible group. And as to the latter, I do feel bad that I did not post yesterday (only the second time in 20 months), but it’s better for you and for me that I post this morning instead of 11:00 pm when I finally had a chance to do that last night. Finally, relating to the verse I quoted above, a line comes from a Tom Hanks’ movie, Saving Private Ryan. At the end of the movie a much older “Private Ryan” is visiting the D-Day beaches that he had stormed many years earlier and he looks on the grave marker of the Tom Hanks captain who had led the group that found him and sent him home. And with tears in his eyes, he looks to his wife and asks, “Have I been good?” He needed to know that he had lived a life worth saving, as a thanksgiving to the guys who had given their lives to save his. Folks, we’re not working out our salvation, but often we need to ask ourselves if the life that is US, that life that Jesus saved by His death, that that life had been worth saving. Jesus thinks so. Do you?

ONE. That word appears seven times in verses 4-6. Reflect on that.

Slava Bohu!  

Ephesians 3:14-21

!! Paul highlights the Trinity again in today’s reading – the Father in verse 14, the Spirit in verse 16, and Christ in verse 17.

Each of the following four words is mentioned twice in today’s eight verses: strength, power, love, glory. I think the first three words could be placed in any order, but GLORY belongs at the end – all GLORY belongs to the entire Godhead, the Three in One. GLORY be to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Slava Bohu!

Ephesians 3:8-13

…so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (v. 10) I think I can understand this verse if I come at it from Paul’s perspective. Paul was a Jew, a very learned Jew, well versed in the Scriptures and firm in his knowledge that the Jewish people were chosen by God as His people. To Paul it’s a really big deal that Gentiles are to come into full and equal fellowship with Jews, not in their Jewish faith, but in this new Christian faith. God was working His plan, from Abraham forward, for the Jews to be the people to whom He would reveal Himself – bit by bit, prophet by prophet, all in the course of world history around them. In the “fullness of time” He sent Jesus, a Jew, sent with a message to His own people, some of whom recognized and received Him, but most of whom did not. Gentile faith had long been predicted in the Old Testament, primarily in Isaiah, but the expectation of most Jews was probably (in my mind) that the Gentiles would somehow be welcomed into the Jewish faith, but only as second-class citizens. Paul saw this full and equal fellowship of Jews and Gentiles in this new Christian church as a surprising, but blessed revelation from God – so shocking to Paul that he expected that even the angels in heaven were surprised to see this outcome. Today we see this “people of God” turned upside down. The Jews are still waiting for their Messiah, while Christians are doing their part to welcome, to encourage Jews to believe in Jesus as that Messiah, already come! GLORY!

Slava Bohu!

Ephesians 3:1-7

Fundamentally, I’m happy not to be a Bible scholar. The confusions are many, the options are numerous, and the clues are muddled. Today, another confusion… Three days ago I wrote this paragraph relating to Ephesians 1:15:

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints… (v. 15) This is a strange sentence coming from Paul, the “I have heard…” portion. He had spent two to three years in Ephesus, so he knew well of their faith – a faith that he had brought to them and encouraged in them. So why the present perfect tense? It is extremely unlikely that Paul could have written this letter before he had ever visited Ephesus. Bible scholars also wonder about this construction, with explanations like news coming to Paul in prison about a major growth in the Ephesian Christian community or in the surrounding cities if this letter were to be one of his circular letters. Strange.

Now in today’s reading, another oddity: …assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you… (v. 2). Again, …assuming that you have heard… How could the Ephesians not have heard, since he spent 2-3 years there? So what are the possible explanations? First, Paul could be anticipating that major growth in the Ephesian area, which I mentioned above. Second, Paul could have meant this as a circular letter to be read in many cities that he had never visited. And third, Paul could have written this letter before he ever visited Ephesus, which he had done briefly on his second missionary journey and where he had stayed longer on this third missionary journey. But this third possibility is very unlikely in that we have no record of Paul having spent time in prison before Caesarea (except for one overnight stay in Philippi). There are a number of other reasons to reject this third possibility. In the end the circular letter makes the most sense, except that Paul never mentions that this letter should be read in other churches, like he does in Colossians 4:16. So again, strange…

This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (v. 6) Paul has mentioned this “mystery” on other occasions (Romans 11:25, 16:25); Colossians 1:25-27), but this verse is his most clear statement of what he means, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs (with the Jews) in the gospel. For a full discussion of Paul and his “mysteries”, please click on the following URL: http://helpmewithbiblestudy.org/11Church/TeachPaulMysteriesOfGod.aspx#sthash.VMfOApO0.dpbs. Here is a foretaste of what you will find in that link: “In 20 instances, Paul speaks of a mystery or secret (Greek: mystērion) of God in the context of something formerly hidden in meaning but now revealed by God for all to know and understand (Rom 16:25-26; 1 Cor 2:7-10).” The writer goes on to discuss four types of mysteries that Paul covers in his letters. The Gentiles as “fellow heirs” is his number three. Enjoy!

Slava Bohu!

Ephesians 2:11-22

Clarification… In today’s reading, in verses 11 to 13 Paul is speaking in the second person (you) directly to the Ephesians, as Gentiles. Then in the rest of the reading he switches (mostly) to the first person and is writing about both the Gentiles and the Jews. In particular, in using the phrases “us both” (vv. 14, 16) and “we both” (v. 18), the “both” refers to Gentiles and Jews. His “we both” usage is particularly powerful (to me), in that Paul identifies himself dramatically with the Circumcision Jews.

I’ve always enjoyed verse 12: …remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world, especially his ending, …having no hope and without God in the world. Paul paints a very bleak picture of the Gentiles’ situation in their prior life! It’s also a picture of our own prior lives and, unfortunately, the current lives of so many of our family and friends. No hope. Without God. Sad…

…built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone… (v. 20) Another verse personal to me… In my early born-again years I was a concrete contractor, building poured-wall basements in Champaign, Illinois. My partner and I had named our firm “Cornerstone Construction”, citing Psalm 118:22 specifically, with other citations as appropriate.

Slava Bohu!