Ephesians 6:10-13
The Bible contains good news: the best news of all, the news of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ, the news that we are saved by God’s grace, not by anything we do. Yet the Bible also conveys bad news: the bad news of our sin and guilt, the bad news of our hopelessness apart from God. Ephesians 6:10-13 reveals more bad news. We are in a battle against the devil and his schemes (v. 11). Our struggle is really not against human opponents, but rather “against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (v. 13). This certainly feels like bad news to me. How in the world are we going to do battle against powerful evil forces we can’t even see? Against the backdrop of this bad news, our passage also has good news for us. We do not have to fight in our own strength. Rather, we can “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (v. 10). How do we do this? Twice our passage gives the same answer: “Put on the full armor of God” (vv. 11 and 13). Of course, our next question would be: What is this armor? And how do we put it on? Here are a few words about the nature of God’s armor. Paul’s use of armor imagery was inspired by the Old Testament, especially Isaiah 59:17 where the Lord “put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head.” Both of these pieces of armor appear with the same imagery in Ephesians 6, which shows clearly Paul’s dependence on Isaiah. Yet in 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Paul writes about “putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” The variations in the meaning of the armor indicate that Paul does not have one fixed schema whereby one piece of armor always has the same meaning. Rather, his use of armor imagery is fluid. What is conveyed by this imagery? In Isaiah, God’s armor consists of righteousness and salvation (Isaiah 59:17). In Ephesians the divine armor includes truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God (Ephesians 6:13-17). We might say, therefore, that the armor of God comprises those things that are essential to God’s nature, God’s work, and our response. The armor of God is composed of those realities that are absolutely central to Christian faith and life. For many of us, the notion of spiritual warfare feels foreign. We’re not apt to think in these terms or experience life in this way. In some segments of the church, however, believers easily—even eagerly—recognize the demonic dimension of our battle. They boldly go on the offensive against evil. Some focus on exorcism and deliverance, casting out demons while others practice an unusual sort of prayer that concentrates on rebuking the devil and his demonic minions, taking authority over these powers in the name of Christ. But this is not the point of Ephesians 6:10-20. There is nothing in this text to support a battle plan that revolves around rebuking or claiming authority over the spiritual forces of evil. Yes, we are to engage in the struggle against the dark powers, but in ways that seem much more mundane than we might expect. According to Ephesians, we are to fight principally by putting on God’s full armor. We are to put on truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God. If we are to fight God’s battle in God’s way, these are the majors in which we need to major, both as individuals and as God’s people together. These pieces of God’s armor are certainly less exciting than engaging in verbal conflict with demonic powers. Yet they are precisely what Ephesians emphasizes in teaching us to do spiritual warfare. Consider for a moment some of the implications of this teaching. If you were to say, “I’m going to do spiritual warfare at work today,” your colleagues, even your Christian brothers and sisters, might be a bit concerned. But if you said: “I’m going to be committed to truthfulness; I’m going to make sure my relationships are right; I’m going to help make peace where there is conflict, I’m going to trust God more; I’m going to be gracious in how I relate to others; and I’m going to let God’s truth guide my actions” – I doubt that even your secular colleagues would be put off. The bottom line is this. If you want to fight in God’s way, if you want to put on God’s armor, then major in the majors. Be committed to truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God. Let these guide and form your life. Gracious God, thank You for Your strength. Thank You for giving us Your full armor, which we need to fight our spiritual battles. Help us, Lord, to put on Your armor. May we wear Your armor in our workplaces, with our clients, among our friends, with our families, and in our churches. Help us to “major in the majors” as we live our lives for Your glory. Amen. Because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3b-4
Making Great Wine – 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 One of Italy’s favorite destinations is the Piedmont region, home of some of the best vineyards in Italy. This is no surprise for a wine aficionado. A representative from one of the leading vineyards in the area was leading a tour of the vineyard to a group of visitors. He began a startling statement, “The quality of the wine is based on the suffering of the vine.” What did he mean by that? As one looks out on the vineyards, they notice that the hills were densely populated with vines. The host pointed out that the vines are deliberately planted close together so that they have to compete for nutrients and water. The competition drives their roots deeper into the soil and give the grape they produced the complexity and richness required to make a great wine, such as the Barolo for which the region is known. Great people rarely develop in isolation. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, character is formed by enduring suffering. And, as the Italian vineyard host suggests, that suffering is like that of a grapevine. It comes from being placed in particular times and places, and with a particular community of people, that requires us to “go deep looking for nutrients and water.” That’s how our capacity to serve our communities and organizations is formed within us. I find myself often wanting to escape the conditions that make for great wine in people. It’s tempting to avoid dealing with difficult people and unmanageable circumstances. It is also easy to gloss over important underlying issues rather than dealing with them. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wisely said that idealism is the enemy of community. In other words, not facing the realities of our community context actually undermines the possibility of real and healthy organizational relationships. And, it deprives us and those we serve of the gift of being required to “go deep looking for nutrients and water.” To use the language of Paul, we should see our suffering as God’s gift to form our character and that of those we serve and lead. The noted biblical scholar, N.T. Wright, has said that the biblical text is both supple and subtle. Sounds almost like the characteristic of great wine, doesn’t it? So, it should be for those of us who are formed by a biblical vision of discipleship. But that means embracing the suffering that discipleship requires rather than escaping into a simplistic and ultimately destructive practice of discipleship. As our community context – and the suffering we encounter there – requires us to go deeply into the soil of God’s character and faithfulness, we find ourselves developing a complex and rich capacity to serve and lead. We become a great wine worthy of the Great Wine Maker. Lord Jesus Christ, we are grateful that You are the vine and we are the branches. We are grateful that Your life is what produces fruit in our lives, and that we are not left to try and produce that life on our own. Often, we find ourselves in close quarters with what seems to us impossible problems. But, we are reminded that You have placed us there by Your design and for our good. Help us to embrace the gift You have given us and to go deep with You. You alone are our help and confidence. Produce in us the great wine that is worthy of Your Name. Amen. The apostle Paul encouraged believers to “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). I used to wonder how one can “pray continually” upon reading this scripture. Perhaps only saints who dedicates themselves to praying throughout the night and develops calluses on their knees could achieve such continuous prayer. However, Philip Yancey’s “Prayer: Does It make Any Difference?” gave me some inspiration. He recorded how a spiritual teacher "prays",
A conversation with someone can be a prayer. The Samaritan woman at the well talked to Jesus about mountains, water, and Jerusalem. Isn’t that a prayer? I like to think of my conversations with others as prayers. I was talking to Jesus in that person. I began to practice this kind of prayer. When I talked to someone, I told myself that I was talking to Jesus in that person. I found that when I do this, I listen more intently (which has always been a problem for me) because Jesus in that person is speaking to me. I am also able to control my tongue better, say fewer words of criticism and blame and more words of thankfulness and praise because I am speaking to Jesus in that person. And I found that see people in a different way because I see Jesus in others. This spiritual teacher not only regards dialogue with people as prayer with God, but also regards daily life as communication and prayer with God: I ask the Lord Jesus: Lord, may this lunch, or tea, whatever it is, be a prayer. I read the Bible and also pray. Instead of reading Psalm 73, I pray Psalm 73. I am willing to submit my actions to God; if I do this, they become a prayer. Brother Lawrence in seventeenth-century France also used a similar method. Lawrence’s secret to being with God is “constant fellowship with God.” He rejoices being with God in his daily life and at work. Lawrence emphasized: Our sanctification does not depend on the work we do, but on whether we work for God. What God loves is not the size of things, but what is done out of love for Him. In daily work, the purpose should not be to please others, but only to love God. Our approach to God should be absolutely the same when we do things and when we pray. We can bring Jesus into every aspect of our lives. Our prayers and daily life are integrated and no longer separate. We can pray while doing anything. Our actions become our prayer. We ask God to remind us that we are doing it for God, the love of God, and the glory of God. "Pray continually" helps us get closer to God and leads us to change from a self-centered perspective to a Jesus-centered perspective to life. Let us practice "praying continually." In our everyday lives, no matter what we say or do, we should constantly fellowship with God and enjoy the joyfulness of being with God. 2 Corinthians 6:1-2
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Christians have been using this Easter Sunday greeting for centuries. Even before “Happy Easter,” we affirm the truth that makes all the difference in the world. We celebrate together the good news of the resurrection. Jesus has broken the power of sin and death. Jesus has opened up the portal to life. He is risen! He is risen, indeed! The extraordinary chapters of 2 Corinthians 4 and 5 articulates as clearly as any biblical passage the reality of our mortality. It points to our great need for a Savior, ending with the core truth of Good Friday, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21). What follows after this final verse of 2 Corinthians 5 is an exclamation that is perfect for Easter Sunday. The Apostle Paul, urging people not to accept God’s grace in vain, borrows from Isaiah 49:8 and says, “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2) If you think about it, that would be another wonderful Easter greeting. We could begin by saying, “Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!” Then we might add, “See, now is the time of God’s favor.” To which another would respond, “Now is the day of salvation!” The resurrection of Jesus is essential for salvation. For one thing, it demonstrates the victory of God over sin and death. If Jesus had died on the cross for our sins but remained dead, we would have little confidence that His death actually saved us. But the resurrection assures us that His death does indeed have saving power. The resurrection isn’t only a sign, however. In the mystery of God’s providence, when Jesus arose from death, He broke its power. What He began on the cross was completed in the tomb as He came to life. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. In the moment of the resurrection, God was victorious. Sin and death were defeated. Therefore, now is the day of salvation. For many of us, we first were saved in the past when we put our faith in Christ. I did this 45 years ago. But today can be a day of salvation as we remember what God did for us in Christ and how Christ shattered the power of sin and death through His resurrection. For many, today will be the day of salvation in the most literal sense. I love preaching on Easter Sunday for many reasons. One is that we have so many visitors in church, many of whom do not know the Lord. I am grateful to be able to tell them about what God had done for them in Christ and to invite them to accept God’s grace in Christ. I was thrilled when people did this on Easter Sunday. For them, it was truly the day of salvation. If you’re reading this, chances are good that you have already experienced salvation through Jesus Christ. Let me encourage you to remember how this happened and to celebrate what God has done for you. In this way, today can be a day of salvation for you. If you are a Christian, I would urge you to pray for those who will hear the gospel today for the first time. Pray also for those who have heard the Good News before but never responded in faith. Ask the Lord to open their hearts to the truth so that, for them, today might be truly the day of salvation. If you’re reading this but have never experienced salvation through Christ, let me encourage you to take to heart what God has done for you. Accept God’s grace through Christ. Put your trust in the Lord. You may find it helpful to talk and pray someone who is further down the road than you. Look for an Easter worship service or call up someone you know to be a wise Christian. No matter where you are right now in relationship to Christ, may you take this to heart: See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! Help us, gracious God, to celebrate with joy and gratitude for what You have done for us in Christ. We pray for those who have yet to experience Your salvation. May this be truly the day of salvation for them! Amen. Since the earliest days of Christianity, two clusters of feasts started to grow around the events of Jesus’s birth, life, death, and resurrection. One, centered on the day we know as January 6 and soon reaching back to encompass December 25, celebrated Christ’s incarnation as a baby. The other cluster of feasts centered around Easter Day. They soon reached backward as well to incorporate the week of suffering that followed Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, pausing especially to consider the three holy days that span from sundown and the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday’s resurrection glory. And the feasting also moved forward to include a full fifty days of celebration until Pentecost.
Sometime in the 380s, a Christian woman named Egeria traveled from her hometown in Western Europe to Jerusalem and recorded what she saw there, including the earliest description of how Christians celebrated Holy Week by visiting the places where the events of that week took place and worshipping there. She writes of Palm Sunday, for example: “On. . .the Lord's Day, which begins the Paschal week, and which they call here the Great Week, when all the customary services from cockcrow until morning have taken place in the Anastasis [the site of the empty tomb] and at the Cross, they proceed on the morning of the Lord's Day according to custom to the greater church, which is called the martyrium. It is called the martyrium because it is in Golgotha behind the Cross, where the Lord suffered.” When we celebrate Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday, although in all likelihood we do so in our own congregations and not in Jerusalem, the liturgies we follow are meant to help us imagine ourselves there with Jesus, walking the way of the Cross. It has long been customary in many places to celebrate Palm Sunday not only as a memory of Jesus’s triumphal entry, but also of the suffering He endured during this holiest week. Today’s reading reminds us of the triumph; Holy Week will remind us of the suffering. As Jesus enters Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey’s colt which He’s asked the disciples to temporarily commandeer for Him, a great multitude of those who follow Him begin to cry out with blessings from the Psalms. While we associate these words today with cute parades of children waving palm branches, the entire event – the procession, the exclamations, the celebration – has overtones of claiming the kingship. It’s no wonder the Pharisees tried to shut the disciples up. It’s also no wonder that Jesus noted in return that shutting the disciples up would be useless. Jesus rightfully reigns over all of creation and all earthly rulers; if one group of His subjects is unable to praise Him, another will join in, down to the very stones. That is what makes it so tragic that He was killed during Holy Week by some of the very people He had come to save. That is also what makes it so crucially important – crucially important to every one of us, burdened as we are by death and sin – that ultimately, He reigned over death itself. As we enter Holy Week, reflect on Jesus’ love and passion and how Jesus may be calling you to walk with Him this week? Help me, dear Lord, Jesus, to surrender to You. Be Lord of this week and Lord of my life. Amen. 1Get Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. To God’s holy people [saints, ESV] in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 1:1)
In many of his letters, the Apostle Paul says of the letter’s recipients that they are called to be “saints.” Even as God called Paul to be an apostle, so God called all of the Ephesians believers to be saints. What did Paul mean by “saints”? Though the translation of the Greek word hagios as “saint” is traditional and common, I would suggest that it’s not particularly helpful in our day. Besides using “Saint” as a name for a professional football player from New Orleans, we call someone a saint if that person is truly extraordinary. If we say, for example, “Anna is such a saint,” we mean that Anna is someone who acts in a particularly charitable and sacrificial way as she does good for others. In the church, “Saint” can be used as a designation of a rare Christian whose life of service to God and people is truly exceptional. In 2016, for example, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was declared a saint – “canonized” is the official word for it – by Pope Francis for her unique life of service to the poor and suffering. But this is not what Paul had in mind when using the Greek word hagios. The basic meaning of this word had to do with things being dedicated or consecrated to God (or in the Greek word, a god). Hagios is often translated in the Bible as “holy.” Things used in the temple in Jerusalem, for example, were holy in that they were set apart from ordinary usage in order to be used in the worship of God. A person could be hagios if that person was dedicated to God. In the Old Testament era, priests were thought of as holy in this sense. But so were all of God’s chosen people. In Exodus 19 God chose Israel to be His “treasured possession out of all the peoples” (v. 5). The Israelites would be for God “a priestly kingdom and a holy nation” (v. 6). Though some of the people would have an uncommon “holy” role as priests, all of God’s people were set apart for God and His purposes. In this sense, all of them were holy. Or, if you prefer, all were saints. What was true of Israel became true for believers in Jesus, according to Paul. They were “called to be saints” as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:1. A better rendering in today’s English would be, “called to be God’s special people.” All Christians are set apart by God for God and His purposes. This is just as true of teachers, carpenters, and realtors as it is of preachers, priests, and missionaries. To be a saint is a little like being an Olympic athlete who is set apart from the rest of humanity for a particular purpose. The fact that the biblical title of “saint” is not given only to especially worthy people is abundantly clear from Paul’s letters. For instance, the church in Corinth was quite a mess, actually. People were not getting along with each other as they divided up into opposing factions. Some were engaging in prostitution while others were getting drunk at Communion. The Corinthian believers didn’t earn their sainthood by their good works, that’s for sure. Rather, they were “called to be saints” by God on the basis of grace offered through Jesus Christ. And so, it is with you and me today. If you have embraced the Good News of the Gospel, then you are a saint, or as I would prefer to say, you are one of “God’s special people.” You belong to God and are a vital contributor to God’s work in the world because God has called you and set you apart through Christ. That is indeed Good News! Gracious God, thank You for calling us to be Your saints, Your special people on the basis of Your grace given in Christ. May I see everything in my life as an opportunity to live out my sainthood for your purposes and glory. Amen. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32)
Have you ever wondered why you should forgive someone who wronged you? There have been times in my life when someone has deeply hurt me. I didn’t want to forgive and I wondered why I should. Holding onto unforgiveness can feel so safe, even so justifiable. Forgiveness seems to require opening myself up to being hurt again, which is the last thing I want to do. So, what reason is there for forgiving someone who wronged you? If you’re a Christian who seeks to live according to biblical guidance, then there is a simple answer to this question. You should forgive because the Bible says so. Ephesians 4:32 makes this clear, even though the command to forgive comes as a participle (“forgiving”) following the main imperative (“Be kind”) Other passages in Scripture make a similar point (see Matthew 6:12-15; Luke 6:37; Colossians 3:13). But Scripture doesn’t merely command us to forgive and leave it at that. God’s word also provides a rationale and a motivation for forgiveness. In Ephesians 4:32, forgiving is an expression of kindness. As followers of Christ, we are to be people who treat others kindly just as God has treated us kindly. One way to do this is by forgiving them when they wrong us. Next, we are to be compassionate, which may also help us to forgive. When we see people as one-dimensional wrongdoers, we might find it hard to forgive them. But if we get inside their shoes, inside their hearts, we may be encouraged to forgive. Perhaps someone says mean things to you. His behavior was not right. But you know that he had been hurt by the far worse meanness of his own father. He was acting out of pain deeply embedded in his memories. When you allow yourself to feel the struggles of his wounded hearts, you find it easier to forgive him. This doesn’t excuse his behavior. He isn’t merely a helpless victim, but someone who is making poor choices. Yet his choices are reflections of his brokenness, for which we feel truly sorry. We forgive someone who wronged us because Scripture commands it. Also, because we are to show kindness to others and to feel compassion for them. Kindness and compassion help us to forgive. Yet this is not the whole story. Notice the final phrase, “just as in Christ God forgave you.” This phrase provides a rationale and a model of forgiveness, and motivation for forgiveness. We are to forgive, not because of our inherent graciousness, nor because the one who wronged us has done something to deserve forgiveness, but because of what God has done for you in Christ. You are to forgive as a response to God’s gracious forgiveness given to you through the cross of Jesus Christ. Why should you forgive others? Because God first forgave you. There’s a solid rationale for forgiveness. The phrase “just as in Christ God forgave you” also shows us a model of forgiveness. In Ephesians 1:7-8, we read, “In [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that he lavished on us.” Similarly, Ephesians 2:4-7 reveals that even when we were dead in our transgressions, God made us alive with Christ “because of His great love for us,” because He is “rich in mercy,” and because of “the incomparable riches of His grace expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” Forgiveness flows freely from God’s grace, mercy, and love. So, God models for us what forgiveness looks like. Plus, by forgiving us, God motivates us to forgive others. The more we take in how God has forgiven us in Christ, the more we will be encouraged and empowered to forgive others. The more we let the model of God’s forgiveness in Christ guide us, the more we will want to forgive graciously, mercifully, and lovingly. The more we experience the freedom of God’s forgiveness, the more we will be free to forgive others. So, one of the most compelling reasons to forgive is the fact that God has forgiven us, thus showing us how we should act toward others and moving us to forgive even as God in Christ has forgiven us. Help me, dear Lord, to forgive others because You have forgiven me. May my experience of Your forgiveness set me free to forgive others graciously, for their sake and for mine, and for Your glory. Amen. "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children." (Ephesians 5:1)
When we have been saved by Christ, we can, if we choose, become passive Christians. We can sit back, secure in our own salvation, and let other Christians spread the gospel of Jesus. But to do so is wrong. Instead, we are commanded to become disciples of the One who has saved us, and to do otherwise is a sin of omission with terrible consequences. When Jesus warned His disciples that each one must “take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23), His message was clear: in order to follow Him, Jesus’ disciples must deny themselves and, instead, trust Him completely. Nothing has changed since then. If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must trust Him and place Him at the very center of our beings. Jesus never comes second to something. He is always first. Jesus walks with you. Are you walking with Him? Hopefully, every one of us will choose to walk with Him everyday of our lives. Jesus loved us so much that He endured unspeakable humiliation and suffering for us. How will you and I respond to His sacrifice? Will you take up His cross and follow Him, or will you choose another path? When you place your hopes completely at the foot of the cross, when you place Jesus completely at the center of your life, you will be blessed. Do you seek to fulfill God’s purpose for your life and for our church? Do you seek His blessing over your life and want to partake in “the peace that surpasses all understanding?” Then follow Christ. Let us follow Him by picking up His cross today and every day that we live. Then, we will quickly discover that Christ’s love has the power to change everything, including you and me, the church. 29Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Eph. 4:29-30)
Ephesians 4:29 urges us to take seriously the power of our words. They can build up and inspire. Or they can tear down and deflate. In Ephesians 4:22-24 our life in Christ is pictured as a matter of putting off the old self and putting on the new. We get strip off the negative and dress up in the positive. The verses that follow offer specific applications. In v. 25 we’re to put off falsehood and speak truthfully instead. In v. 26 we’re to take off sinful expressions of anger. In v. 28 thieves are to stop stealing and start working. V. 29 continues this pattern of moral exhortation, beginning with the negative to be rejected before moving to the positive to be embraced: “Let no corrupting [sapros] talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good [agathos] for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” The Greek word sapros can mean “rotten, worthless, bad, or unfit for use.” It shows up in the saying of Jesus, “[E]very good [agathon] tree bears good fruit, but a bad [sapron] tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:17). As Christians, we need to put away rotten words that harm and hurt others, words that tear down rather than building up. By contrast, we are to use our language positively. The words that come out of our mouths should be “good [agathos] for building up,” Note two ways in which we can use the power of words for good. First, our words can build up people according to their needs. Second, our words can “give grace to those who hear.” That’s right. Your words can be a source of grace to others. V. 29 challenges us to consider how we use the power of our words. Do your words tear down or hurt others? Do you get stuck in complaining that discourages others and fractures community? Or do you use the power of speech for good, for building up those around you and for being a channel of God’s grace to them? The next verse reveals something quite astounding. It shows us that our words have additional power, perhaps more power than we would have imagined. Let’s look carefully at v. 30: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” V. 30 is linked to v. 29 with the connective “And.” V. 30 adds more about the danger of unwholesome talk. Not only does this talk tear people down rather than building them up, but also it grieves the Holy Spirit of God. Yes, our words can actually grieve God’s Spirit. This is both stunning and unsettling. I don’t want to hurt people with my words (except, I suppose, for times when I’m angry or hurt and want revenge). But I really, really, really don’t want to grieve the Spirit of God. Not now. Not ever. The verb translated here as “grieve,” [lupeō in Greek] means “to cause severe mental or emotional distress.” Some commentators worry about the notion that our behavior can make God feel bad, emphasizing that this is just a figure of speech. Yet, given that we are created in God’s image, and biblical language about God’s joy and delight in us (see, for example, Zephaniah 3:17 and Psalm 147:11), I don’t like to avoid the plain meaning of Ephesians 4:30. Though we cannot fully comprehend it, we can actually cause the Holy Spirit to grieve. We can hurt, not just people, but even the Spirit of God. We can do so, in particular, by using unwholesome words that wound others and shatter the Christian community. When we do this, God grieves. Help us, Lord, to be good stewards of our words, using the power of our words for the good of others and for Your good, Lord. Forgive us, Lord, for the ways our words and deeds have grieved your Spirit. Help us to use them in ways that give delight to You. 1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Eph. 4:1-3)
Paul urges us to “lead a life worthy” (4:1) of our calling as Christians. Last week, we began to look at how we should do this. We can begin to live out our calling by imitating Jesus’s humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance. Today, I want to consider another way we can express our calling in action. In addition to being humble, gentle, patient, and forbearing, we should “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (4:3). Quite clearly, this unity can be experienced in Christian community because it comes from the Spirit. Notice that we are exhorted to maintain (the Greek verb basically means “to keep”) the unity that comes from the Spirit. We don’t create church unity through our own efforts. Rather, we strive to protect and preserve the unity that God gives us through the Holy Spirit. Why does unity matter so much, and what does it have to do with our calling? The answer comes from the previous chapters of Ephesians. In chapter 1, we discover God’s grand plan for the cosmos: namely “to bring unity to all things in [Christ]” (1:10). In Christ, God will ultimately bring to unity the divided, shattered world. God has already begun to do this work of uniting broken things. In Ephesians 2, we learn that God is at work bringing together divided peoples, in particular, Jews and Greeks. Through His death on the cross, Christ broke down “the dividing wall of hostility” that separated these two peoples. His did so “to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace” (2:14-15). Because of Christ, all Christians are “joined together” in unity (2:21), becoming “a dwelling” for God” (2:22). The unity of Christians, therefore, is an essential element of “the calling [we] have received” (v. 1). Unity isn’t spiritual extra credit. It doesn’t show up only in the fine print of the Gospel. Rather, Christian unity is an essential result of the work of Jesus on the cross. But this unity isn’t merely some theological abstract, something to be thought about but not actually experienced. On the contrary, who we are as the united body of Christ is something we, followers of Jesus, ought to experience in real life and real time. Unity is so central to our calling, Paul tells us that we will walk worthy of our calling by making “every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (v. 3). The Greek verb translated in the NIV as “make every effort” could also be rendered as “being zealous or eager.” Unity is something every Christian should be zealous or eager to maintain. Seeking unity is essential to living our calling. Unfortunately, many Christians have overlooked Ephesians 4:3. We have a knack for dividing up over things, often things that aren’t really all that important. If we don’t like something our church is doing, even if it isn’t theologically objectionable, we tend to complain, deride, and divide. Left to our own devices, we’re not very good at living humbly and gently, exercising patience and forbearance, and making every effort to preserve unity. We need the clear exhortation of Scripture, such as we find in Ephesians 4; the strong support of our fellow Christians; and the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit to help us yearn for and work to maintain Christian unity. If we want to live out our Christian calling, we can start by speaking and acting in ways that support the unity of our church, even if that requires plenty of humility, gentleness, patience, and putting up with things we don’t like. Help us, Lord, to be zealous for unity and to live out this unity in tangible ways as we embody humility, gentleness, patience and forbearance! |
Archives
April 2024
Categories |