Download Ephesians, Lesson 19

Ephesians
Fathers and Sons
Ephesians 5:1-14
T
here are fathers and then there are fathers. In Chaim Potok’s The Chosen, we find two
Jewish fathers and sons. One is a “modern” scholar, the other is a Rabbi, the head of
a Hasidic community. Each son respects his father. Each learns and is impacted by the relationship. But Reuven, whose father is an Orthodox Jew, can’t understand the relationship between Danny and his father, Reb Saunders. (If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie,
I’d highly recommend you do so.)
What Reuven discovers is that Reb Saunders does not speak to his son. One day he calls Reuven to his study.
“ Reb Saunders looked at me and sighed again. ‘Reuven,’ he said very quietly, ‘I want you to hear me out. No
one lives forever. My father led his people before me, and my grandfather before him, and my greatgrandfather before him. For six generations now we have led our people. I will not live forever. Daniel
will one day take my place—‘ His voice broke, and he stopped. He put a finger to one of his eyes. Then he
went on, his voice a little hoarse now, ‘My son is my most precious possession. I have nothing in the world
compared to my son. I must know what he is reading. And I cannot ask him.’ He stopped and looked down
at an open Talmud on his desk.” 1
Later when Reuven told Danny of his conversation with the Reb and how he had been asked
what books Danny was reading Reuven said:
“ ‘I hope you don’t mind my telling him, Danny. I had to.’
He shrugged. His eyes were most and gloomy. ‘I almost wish he had asked me instead,’ he said quietly, ‘But we don’t talk anymore, except when we study Talmud.’
‘I don’t understand that.’
‘It’s what I told you in the hospital. My father believes in silence.” 2
The reason the Reb believed in silence was because he believed Danny had no compassion,
and compassion could only be learned from suffering. He didn’t want Danny to draw away
from God or Talmud, so he chose to create an environment in which Danny would experience
pain and suffering and therefore have a soul.
The relationships between father and son is a fallen world can be a mixed one. It can be good
and it can be bad even if all the intentions, like the Reb’s, are positive. Sons end up modeling
their fathers either by following their examples or rejecting them. But when we have a perfect
Father, we should want to imitate Him, whether we are sons or daughters.
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I
Introduction
II Imitate Christ
Verses 1- 2
1
2
Potok, Chaim, The chosen, Simon and Schuster, New York, NY, 1967, p. 167.
Ibid., p. 169.
III
A Be Pure
B Be Wise
C Be Light
Conclusion
Verses 3- 5
Verses 6- 8
Verses 9-14
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Introduction: The first two verses of this chapter are pivotal. By this, I mean what goes before and what comes after revolves around these two verses. In them Paul makes an astonishing statement. Martyn Lloyd-Jones introduces these verses by stating:
“ Here in this new chapter we come to what is perhaps Paul’s supreme argument, to the highest level of all
in doctrine and in practice, to the ultimate ideal. There is nothing possible beyond this. This is the highest
statement of Christian doctrine that one can conceive of or even imagine. It is really staggering, it is almost incredible; but here it is. ‘Be ye followers of God’! … the Apostle is here reminding us of something
that we must never forget in the whole of our lives, all our thinking, all our conduct and practice and behaviour, ‘’Be ye followers of God, as dear children’!” 3
Verses 1-2: We already know from the previous verse that we are to forgive because we
have been forgiven. And from this flows the call to be imitators of God. Here the argument is
that since we are loved children, we should want to imitate our Father. And how are we to be
imitators?– by relating to others out of love.
This is not just any kind of love either. It is a sacrificial love. In Christ this love led to His
crucifixion and forgiveness of our sin. It is this love that allows Paul in the previous verse to
require us to be forgiving because we are forgiven. This love, in the Greek, is defined as:
aÓgaphto/ß , agapeœtos, … dearly loved one; the object of special affection and of special relationship, as
with Jesus the beloved of the Father.” 4
Can you think of anything more wonderful than to be especially loved by God, to be in a
special relationship with Him? This is what is available to all through Christ’s shed blood. Is
it any wonder Paul calls us to be imitators of our Father? What does being an imitator of God
mean to you?
These are verses we should always return to. We must be willing to ask, “Is our interaction
with others a reflection of Christ’s sacrificial love towards us?” If not, then we need the Holy
Spirit carry on the work in us …
“ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his
Son” (Romans 8:29).
Verses 3-5: Being imitators of God starts with love and forgiveness. The effect of a concern
for living a godly life also means we strive to live a pure life. This is really difficult in a culture which finds very little that is unacceptable. And we are so overwhelmed with negative
images that we become calloused to them.
3
Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn, An Exposition of Ephesians , “Darkness and Light,” Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI,
2003, p. 291.
4
Goodrick, Edward W., John R. Kohlenberger III, and James A. Swanson, Greek to English Dictionary and
Index to the NIV New Testament, Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, MI, 1999
) 114 (
Paul lists negative attributes that should not to be found in the lives of the community of believers. (Remember Paul is always talking to us within the context of a local body.) These
negative attributes include specifically sexual impurity, and general impurity, as well as
greed, obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking.
As we keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, walking with Him, striving to be imitators of Him,
then these sins will not typify our lives. This is what Paul is pointing out when he notes that
those whose lives are typified by these sins won’t be part of God’s eternal kingdom.
The fact is, we do struggle with these behaviors at one time or another. And this isn’t the issue when it comes to the question of salvation. It is only when a life is typified by these behaviors that the individual must examine his life to see if he ever really was saved. We know
this is true because Paul states in 1 Corinthians 6:
“ Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor
slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of
you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (Verses 9-11).
Paul calls those whose lives are typified by these sins idolaters. This isn’t because they are
necessarily worshippers of false gods, but because they put their own lusts and desires ahead
of God. Anyone whose life puts God to the side is making themselves and their “needs” their
god. This is the definition of idolatry.
These sins are broken into three categories.
1. Sexual sin: In earlier times sexual immorality went hand-in-hand with pagan religious
practices. Today it still goes with a religion, the worship of self.
It is important to realize that any sexuality activity outside of the context of a monogamous,
heterosexual marriage is sin. And there is as much of this going on inside the church is outside. There is sexuality activity between children, between unmarried adults, adultery, homosexuality, etc. And some churches don’t see any problem, after all, God created love in all its
forms and expressions, right? Yeah sure!
“ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity
for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of
God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator”
(Romans 1:24-25).
2. General impurity: This really is the result of a secularized society that has become desensitized to God’s standards. And sadly, the church has often also become desensitized
to sin. Attempts to hold to a biblical foundation often leads to ridicule from not just the
world, but from “enlightened” churches who use fundamental as a pejorative.
) 115 (
“ Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more” (Ephesians 4:19)
3. Greed: This is just another form of lust. It’s not being satisfied with what God provides,
but always wanting more. It’s idolatry in that it puts fulfillment of its lusts ahead of
pleasing God.
“ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: … greed, which is
idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).
And one of the outward symptoms of these sins is what come out of our mouths. The quality
of a person’s language demonstrates the condition of their heart. Do we use coarse language,
or use our tongues to praise God with thankfulness? Of course we all say things we
shouldn’t, but the concern here is, is our life typified by sinful or godly speech?
“ … but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With
the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have
been made in God’s likeness” (James 3:8-9).
Just in passing, it should be noted that this verse doesn’t mean it’s wrong to be “silly” sometimes, or that humor is bad. The problem is with both content and intent. Hoehner notes:
“ Paul was not intimating that humor itself is sin, but that it is wrong when it is used to destroy or tear
down others.” 5
Verses 6-8: In imitating God we are to love, forgive, and live a pure life. We are also called
to be wise and in being wise we will be light, or at least reflections of God’s light. Paul calls
for wisdom to be a primary factor in living a Christian life.
Paul warns against those who mislead believers. These individuals can be found both without
and within the body. Outside society tells us, “Live as a Christian, as long as you understand
Christianity has no place in the public forum.” And unfortunately some believers buy into
this and take the position “My faith is personal, so I will keep it to myself.”
Inside Christendom, those claiming to be believers tell us “Don’t judge. God is a God of love
and He wants us to be happy, so we can live however we feel led to live. Those who want to
hold to archaic teachings found in scripture are obscurantist and unenlightened.” And for
those who want to live for self, this kind of rhetoric is just what they want to hear.
“ For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to
suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to
say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the
truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Verses 9-14: This world is where we come, from but it’s not where we are to live. This is the
why we aren’t to get entangled with the world, because we can be lead astray. Keep in mind
5
Hoehner, Harold W., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Volume 2, “Ephesians,” Victor Books, Colorado
Springs, CO, 1986, p. 638.
) 116 (
this isn’t a call to isolate from the world, in fact that would be an oxymoron if we are going
to go out and make disciples.
So there’s a difference between being constructively in the world …
“ Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But
the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners
and eats with them.”” (Luke 15:1-2).
and being entangled in the world.
“ Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
This is Paul’s point. As Christians we are light and are to be a representation of God’s light
in the darkness of a fallen world. What the world is supposed to see as that light is the fruit
which comes from God, in this context, goodness, righteousness, and truth. But the most important testimony we have is that we actually care about pleasing God rather than men.
“ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away
from it” (2 Corinthians 5:9).
“ And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please
him in every way” (Colossians 1:10).
Two factors flow out of the desire to please God. The first is a separation from that which is
ungodly. This isn’t always because we need to give something up, but because drawing
closer to God ends up pushing out that which is ungodly.
Instead, what happens is that as we live in God’s light our light exposes the darkness of those
around us. Is it any wonder that we are not always appreciated? What have you experienced
when God’s light shone through you on others?
Conclusion: Remember, God’s light through us is used to shine in the darkness. This occurs
through both our walk and our words. But when it is through our words, these must be given
in love, never in a judgmental or superior attitude.
If we are truly to be imitators of God, then we will be loving and compassionate. We will live
a holy life, separated, not so much from the world, as unto the Father. The result is we will
desire to live in purity, avoiding the traps of a fallen world. Instead we will provide a outstretched hand to those who are trapped offering them a way out of darkness into light.
And so Paul closes with what Wood
Isaiah 60:1.
6
6
believes may have been a baptismal hymn based on
Wood, A. Skevington, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, “Ephesians,” Zondervan Interactive Publishing
House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990.
) 117 (
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
Refrain:
Arise and shine for your light has come,
the glory of the risen Lord is shinning like the sun!
Arise and shine, for your light has come
the glory of the Lord shall rise upon you.
Nations fall shattered to the ground
for darkness is gathering around,
but true light in Jesus can be found;
arise and shine for your light has come!
Refrain:
Thy sons shall be gathered from a far.
Daughters shall come from where they are
to watch for the rising of a star;
arise, shine for you light has come! 7
7
Dauermann, Stuart, Avodat Y‘shua, “Arise and Shine,” Purple Pomegranate Productions, San Francisco, CA,
1991, #294.
) 118 (
Ephesians
Fathers and Sons
Ephesians 5:1-14
I
II
III
I
Introduction
Imitate Christ
A Be Pure
B Be Wise
C Be Light
Conclusion
Introduction:
II Imitate Christ:
(Romans 8:29)
A. Be Pure:
(1 Corinthians 6:9-11; James 3:8-9)
1. Sexual Sin
(Romans 1:24-25)
Verses 1- 2
Verses 3- 5
Verses 6- 8
Verses 9-14
2. General Impurity:
(Ephesians 4:19)
3. Greed
(Colossians 3:5)
B. Be Wise:
(2 Timothy 4:3-4)
C. Be Light:
(Luke 15:1-2; 2 Corinthians 6:14, 5:9)
III Conclusion:
(Isaiah 60:1)
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Personal Application: This week focus on ways of being an imitator of God.
Prayer for the Week: Lord, may Your Spirit conform me to the image of Your Son. In
Christ’s name, amen