Ephesians 5:22-33 "Submit and Love"

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                This is one of those texts that I found quite humorous as I prepared throughout the week.  It’s not humorous because of its content, but because I know that there are some very interested people sitting here waiting to hear what I have to say about these words.  In particular, many of the female persuasion, and one in particular, who happens to live under the same roof as I do.  Well, I can assure all of you that we’re not tackling my opinions today, but we’re wrestling with God’s word in the truest way we can, and we’re relying upon the Holy Spirit for a right interpretation of that word.  So, rest assured that what we’re pulling out of this text is not my opinion, but God’s word as He inspired the Apostle Paul to record it all those years ago.  If you don’t like what you hear, well then that’s simply a matter of you not agreeing with God, which is fine.  I guess you’re entitled to do so; however, one of you is fallible and the other isn’t.

                With all of that being said, I want to remind you that we’re in the application portion of Paul’s letter about the Church, the bride of Christ.  We’ve just finished a section that told us that being filled with the Spirit and remaining in the light of Christ are the only hope that we have for putting off the old self and putting on the new.  In other words, the only hope we have of truly changing and following Christ is to submit and be led and guided by God through the work of the Holy Spirit.  With that in mind, Paul chooses to give the Ephesians three different relationship examples as a means of explaining right relationships and right submission and obedience to his audience.  He gives them the relationship between husbands and wives that we’re going to look at today.  And over the next few weeks, we will look at the relationship between parents and children, and between masters and slaves (bosses and employees).  And if we really think about it, this is a perfectly logical order going from most foundational to least.  Now, that’s not to say that any one relationship is less important than another, but if we’re speaking in terms of God, then we’re moving from the one that He instituted first to the one He instituted last.  Marriage is the original relationship institution created by God.  It’s the only one (other than our relationship with Him) that was created before the fall.  Yes, bearing children was commanded and working was as well (although not in a master/slave capacity), but marriage happened prior to the fall.  It is the institution above all other earthly relationships.  And I think that Paul focuses on all of these relationships because he wants us to understand that our faiths are not simply personal matters, but are to be lived out amongst other people, to be shared within a community.

                Now, there is a two-fold aspect to this passage.  On the one hand, it is a passage that describes our relationship with Christ.  On the other hand, it is a biblical passage on how earthly marriage ought to look.  And the way that we’re going to approach this text today is by examining it from an earthly marriage perspective first; and then we’ll conclude by relating that understanding to our relationship with Christ.  Now, the problem for many comes in with the first few words, “Wives, submit to you husbands.”  Part of the problem is that we don’t like the word submit.  It leaves a bad taste in our mouths.  When we think of submission we think of something or someone being the weaker of two parties.  If someone submits in an athletic competition, then we think of them as being weaker or less worthy or valuable than their counterpart.  What’s interesting about this phrasing here is that the verb “to submit” isn’t anywhere in this text.  The concept of submission is taken from the previous verse (21) when we are called to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”  Now, I’m not saying that this first verse is wrong; I’m just saying that the command to submit to Christ is then carried over into marriage.  I know that the language here rubs some the wrong way.  Just look at what Paul continues to write.  “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”  Now, I’m going to save the linking of all of this to Christ for a minute, because I want to point out what I think we often do with this verse.  People read this verse and see nothing of the words about Christ, but instead see only the words of a perceived superiority of husbands over wives.

                Look, I’m not saying that Paul’s writing indicates that men are better than women.  I’m not going to stand up here and say that the fact that Adam was created before Eve shows that women are inferior to men.  I don’t believe either of those things to be true, nor do I find sufficient biblical evidence to make those claims.  However, I do think that there has to be some acknowledgement that the role of the husband is as the head of the household.  I know that we live in a different situation today, but I’m talking about how we see it given to us in Scripture.  One cannot refute (at least not with any information) that that seems to be the family structure as God gives it.  Again, if we disagree with God then let’s just remember which one of us is the fallible one in the disagreement. 

However, beginning in verse 25, the picture begins to get a little bit clearer when Paul turns his attention to the husbands.  “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.  He who loves his wife loves himself.”  Some people read this and say, “Wives are called to total submission and husbands are only called to love?”  Well, isn’t love submission in a sense?  I think that James Boice does as good of a job of summing up this balance between husbands and wives as anyone else that I’ve found.  Boice says, “But just because the wife is to submit to her husband does not give the husband a right to act like a petty tyrant around the house.  In fact, he is not to be a tyrant at all.  If the wife’s standard in the marriage is the very high standard of her love for and submission to Jesus, the man’s standard is to be even higher.  He is to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.  No woman will have much trouble submitting to a man who loves like that.  No good woman will struggle hard against a man who is willing to die for her.”  In other words, marriage is a two-way street.

                Marriage is hard.  The other two relationships that we are going to look at (parenting and having employees) are hard as well.  However, marriage seems to be the one that we struggle with the most today.  Part of that has to do with the fact that we’ve created this out-clause in marriage.  Whether it’s the habitual divorcee, the couple who go into marriage with divorce as a completely viable option, the single person who has just seen divorce happen way to often so they don’t even bother, the marriage that ended because of an affair, or any other marital casualty that we could name.  I stand here before y’all a guy who’s only been married for 10 years.  Some of you have forgotten more of your marriage than I’ve had of mine.  You don’t need me to tell you that it’s hard.  The question that we’re all left asking ourselves is why in the world the institution of marriage has crumbled so much in recent years (and when I say recent I mean much more than the last 10 or 20 years)?  To put it bluntly, no one bothers to read the instruction manual any more.  A bunch of y’all are wondering what in the heck I’m talking about.  Well, I’ll tell you exactly what I mean by that statement.

                If you go buy a car, what’s the first thing that you are recommended to do before using it?  If you buy anything, what is there usually a big warning sticker telling you to do before operating it?  You’re supposed to read the instruction manual.  You’re supposed to look at the thing that tells you how something works, what it is supposed to do, and what it wasn’t made to do.  Well, do you know what the instruction manual for marriage is?  Oh, it’s on the NY Times bestseller list, but it doesn’t have the word marriage anywhere in the title.  As we’ve said, marriage was created by God; it was instituted and ordained by God.  Therefore, the right instructions for marriage are to be found in God, and they are revealed to us by His Word.  We can’t look at therapists, financial advisors, or “love” experts to tell us how marriage is to work.  For that kind of information we have to look to God and God alone.  Without the proper care and maintenance that our marriage needs, it’s going to break down just like our cars would if left without maintenance.  Without the proper usage and treatment, it’s going to break down just like our cars would.  Marriage was designed by God, not for our enjoyment, but to honor and glorify God.  I truly believe that a strong Christian marriage is the greatest witness that we can have.

                Also, it wasn’t ordained just for God’s glory, but also to mirror our relationships with Christ.  That’s what Paul is teaching his audience here.  Our being able to see what marriage is about allows us to see our relationship with Christ in a much clearer light.  If we were to look back at this text and really focus in on the way in which Christ relates to the Church (as a husband should a wife), then we see Christ’s sacrifice, his giving himself up for her.  We see Christ’s want and desire to keep the Church pure and unblemished and holy (which means set apart).  Because of Christ’s leading and guiding the Church and because of his deep longing for her continued health and growth and betterment, the Church (i.e. Christians) are to willingly and lovingly submit to Christ in all things.  However, it isn’t some indentured servant type of submission, but a loving and completely willing submission.

                Let me make these remarks as a way of bundling up all that we’ve said thus far (and I know that there’s a lot I haven’t said).  Wives being submissive to their husbands isn’t a bad thing.  A husband being the head of the household is an order commanded by God.  However, simply because one is called to be the head and one is called to submit doesn’t mean any type of dominion exists in the relationship.  In fact, as I’ve pointed out, the call for the husband to love the wife is actually greater than the call for the wife to love the husband.  Don’t mistake me and say that men love deeper than women, that’s not what I’m talking about.  I’m talking about the command and call that God places upon individuals who enter into the covenant bond of marriage.

                As far as Paul teaching this in conjunction with our putting on the new self and remaining in the light of Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit, the point is really quite simple.  Jesus is the husband of the Church, the bride of Christ.  He is the bridegroom.  Jesus’ love for the Church is so great that not only was he willing to die for it, but he did die for it.  I hear people say all the time that God is good and great and all that, but the Church is terrible.  I hear people say things like “you know the church is the problem with Christianity.  No one has a problem with God, it’s just with the church.”  But the question that I keep asking when I hear this is if the Church is so awful and not keeping with the commands of God, then why did Jesus die for her?

                The answer is simple…because he loves the Church.  Despite all of our faults and failures, Christ loves the Church.  I love my wife.  I don’t love everything about her though.  Her “pile” system drives me crazy.  Her mindset that being a few minutes late is perfectly acceptable is maddening.  And the fact that making plans is foolish with her because they’re going to change is quite irritating at times.  However, there is not one hesitation within my being that I would endure whatever punishment on her behalf.  It’s not even a choice in my mind; I would give up my life in a second for her to live.  I’m not trying to boast about my marriage, it’s just the only one that I have experience with.

                That’s how much Christ loves us, his Church.  He loves us so much that despite our sinful natures, despite our selfish desires, and our flawed hearts, he still died for us.  He endured the pain of death, yet even death on a cross for us.  He asked his Father three times to remove the cup from before him, but said that if it was God’s will then so be it.  Jesus Christ loves the Church so much that he gave his life for it.  The husband (Jesus) gave his life for his bride (the Church).  Now, we must submit to his loving authority out of reverence and complete and total affectionate obedience.  It’s not about us getting what we want, but about us submitting, yielding our lives to our Savior.  In the words of Oswald Chambers, “I have no right to say I believe in God unless I order my life as under His all-seeing Eye.”

Ephesians 5:1-21 "Walking in the Light and Being Filled with the Spirit"

                Before we get into our text for today I want to remind you exactly where we are in this letter written by the Apostle Paul.  His audience was the church in Ephesus who, as we’ve said, was a pretty healthy church.  There was no particular problem that he had to address or resolve, so Paul was writing to them about the blessing of the church.  The first half of the epistle (1-3) was the doctrinal portion about what the church is and who is part of it.  Then, beginning in chapter four, Paul moved on to the practical portion of his letter, the application of all that he had previously said.  A few weeks ago we saw Paul call for unity in the church and reminding the congregation that everyone has a role to play.  He told them that the church only worked as she was intended to when everyone, all her parts, worked together.  Last Sunday, Paul talked about the main thing that the church does, and that is to assist the saints with the putting off of the old self and the putting on of the new.  If you recall, I said last Sunday that this was going to be the main focus of Paul for the remainder of this letter.  In fact, I could have almost given this sermon the same title as last weeks and just added “Part 2” onto the end.

                As a matter of fact, the first few verses of chapter 5 are actually part of the same paragraph as the final verses in chapter 4 in the original Greek.  If we just look at the flow of things from the end of four to the beginning of five it’s hard to see a difference.  “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”  So, in Paul’s calling us to shed the old life of one who is not found in Christ and put on this new life in Christ, he reminds us repeatedly of the sacrifice of Christ and calls us to be imitators of God.  Now, maybe you just glossed over it, but think about how impossible imitating God truly is.  Look, I’m not very musically inclined.  I’m trying to learn, but it’s a struggle.  Telling me to imitate God is kind of like handing me a guitar and telling me to just go do what Eric Clapton or John Mayer or Jimmy Page can do.  Sure, I can do something, but it’s not going to look much like an imitation.  And the truth of it is that I’ve got a better chance of playing guitar like Clapton than I do imitating God.  Although, Paul does make it a bit easier on us by only picking one attribute of God to imitate, His love.  Now, it’s still impossible to adequately imitate God’s love, but at least it’s only in one area.  And Paul is going to spend a great deal of time talking about how our imitating, or our trying to imitate, God’s love helps us in the putting off the old self and putting on the new.  We’re going to see two things today that Paul mentions in this letter.  We’re going to see what it means to walk in the light, and what it means to be filled with the Spirit.

                Have you ever tried to walk in the dark?  I don’t mean outside where there’s a little moonlight to lead you and guide you, I mean the pitch black dark.  I get up at 5:00 am each day so that I can go run before it gets too hot.  The first thing I grab each morning is my phone, not just because it’s my alarm clock or because I want to check my email, but because it’s my only source of light (at least the only source that won’t wake up Amy).  Even the small amount of light that comes off of my phone is enough to give me the ability to navigate my way around the house and avoid the dog and his toys as he circles around me.  When we’re in a dark place, the greatest piece of advice or wisdom that we can make use of is the simple warning to stay in the light.  If we walk off into the dark, then it’s easy for us to get lost, hurt, or something even worse.  Well, this world is a dark place.  No, it wasn’t created that way, but because of sin, there is a danger that awaits us seemingly around every corner.  Just because we don’t see it or recognize it doesn’t mean that it isn’t there.

                Paul points out a few areas of darkness as he perceives things to be in Ephesus.  He points out sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness, filthy and foolish speech, and crude joking.  Paul says that these things can’t exist amongst Christians.  He says that they’re out of place amongst those whom he has previously referred to as saints.  He’s trying to get them to understand the severity of these things.  Honestly, when we read this list we think that it’s not all that bad.  After all, there’s no murdering or stealing on there.  The worst thing on there is sexual immorality and that is something that our world seems to be growing less and less cognizant of or concerned with every day.  However, these are dark things, and once we stray from the light (i.e. Christ), then it can become very easy to get lost in the darkness.  Instead, Paul tells us to “let there be thanksgiving.”  In other words, there is to be a sense of thankfulness for what we do have instead of a lusting or longing for what we don’t have.  One of the fathers of the Reformation John Calvin interprets this verse to read “let there be grace.”  His expounding of it goes on to say that by all we do and all that we say, that we might show abundant grace instead of the selfish and sinful motives mentioned previously by Paul.

                Paul goes on to make the connection of light and dark with new and old selves.  He says that the old self walked in the darkness and that the new self is found in the light.  He exhorts his audience to “walk as children of the light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true)…Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them…Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.”  Basically, Paul is trying to get across to his audience that they are responsible for their actions.  They are responsible for the actions of those in their community.  They owe it to God, to themselves, and to each other to conduct themselves in such a manner that is keeping with the new selves that the Holy Spirit has given to each of them.  And we owe it to God, ourselves, and each other to do the very same thing.

                After telling his audience the wonderful privilege that it is to be found in the light and exhorting them to imitate the love of God by remaining in the light and following Christ, Paul then moves on and gives them some information about the Holy Spirit and what it means to be filled with Him.  I love the subtle pattern of the Trinity used here (imitate God, Christ’s sacrifice and our being found in him as the light, and now being filled with the Holy Spirit).  “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”  Now, this verse is often used to condemn drinking alcohol.  However, it doesn’t condemn strong drink categorically, but only drunkenness and debauchery.  Two things could be Paul’s focus here.  The first being the drunkenness that we see today where someone drinks in order to fill a hole that exists inside of them (a hole which only God can properly fill).  The second is the pagan worship of Dionysus, the god of wine.  The worship of this god involved rampant drunkenness and would classify as debauchery.  However we wish to interpret Paul’s words here, the point remains that he exalts being filled with the Spirit.  Now, this is different than being baptized by or sealed in the Spirit.  The latter is a one-for-all, life-changing event, whereas the former is something that Paul is clearly teaching should be striven for regularly.  In fact, being filled with the Spirit has more to do with being under the control of the Holy Spirit.  Although when I say under control here I am not referring to a speaking in tongues, prophesying, or performing miracles type of control, but a being led by Him type of control. 

Have you ever just had that urge to do something and you didn’t know why?  I’m sure it’s happened to us all and it’s not always God calling us to do something.  But have you ever just felt like God was pushing you or leading you to do something that was maybe a little bit outside of your ordinary?  Several years ago I got a letter from a guy that was in my youth group in Mississippi when I worked in youth ministry.  It was a simple note that he wrote and mailed to me and it basically said that for some reason he felt like he needed to write to me and thank me and Amy for exemplifying Christ in his life and for the impact that it has had on him and his faith.  Now, the interesting part about all of that is that it came at a time when I needed it.  I was in a place where I wasn’t seeing much fruit in ministry and there was seemingly a lot of stress and work with very little results.  Reading that note reminded me that all I’m supposed to do is make sure that the seeds get planted and get enough water and nourishment.  God’s going to take care of the growing.  Whether it’s today, tomorrow, or years from now, God’s in control of the seed taking root, not me.  You see, that student who has become a friend of mine allowed himself to be led by the Holy Spirit to carry out God’s work; he was filled with the Spirit.  Was it something simple?  Yes, but it had a huge impact upon my life and my ministry.  Maybe you’re being filled with the Spirit to do something similar.  Maybe you’re being filled with the Spirit to do something much bigger, much more global.  Either way, we are to seek to be filled with the Spirit so that it is God who is leading our lives and not ourselves.  However, we don’t like that because we’re all control freaks and we don’t want anyone else in control of our lives, even God.  We think we know what’s best for us and we say we’re willing to follow God but what we really mean is that we’re willing to follow Him as long as His plan seems to coincide with our plan and what we want for our lives.  We must decrease so that He can increase in us.  We must step out of the way; get out of the way of what God is doing in our lives.  Yes, we’re the ones who are living, but our purpose isn’t to enjoy life or to have fun but instead to glorify God and enjoy God.  It’s not about us, but it’s about him.

Do we want to be imitators of God?  Absolutely!  Do we want to be imitators of God’s love?  Absolutely!  Do we want to continue the putting off of the old self and the putting on of the new self?  Absolutely!  Well, walking in the light of Christ and being filled and led by the Holy Spirit are great ways to ensure that we are carrying out the will of the Father.  Do you see the work of the Triune God there?  The will of the Father, the light of the Son, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  In this epistle about the Church, the instrument and institution by which we worship God and grow in our faith, Paul is continuing to stress the importance of remaining closely affixed to Him.  Over the last several decades, we’ve seen a number of individual church congregations change denominations (especially in our Presbyterian circles), and the main reason that is listed for churches moving from one group to another is that the Bible-believing, Christ-centered churches will not tolerate any straying from God, from Scripture, or from Christ as our only hope of salvation.  God has given us the map.  It’s up to us to follow that map.  We have to stay closely fixed to Jesus, both collectively and individually.  If we stray from the path, it’s as if we’re wanting to put on those same grave clothes again.

We have to continue to strive to put away our former life that was apart from Christ and put on the new life that is found in Christ.  Two of the ways that we do that are by walking in the light of Christ and being led by the Holy Spirit.  This is the only hope that we have of remaining in the light and not stumbling into the darkness.  Are there going to be times where we drift into the darkness?  Probably, but we have to recognize those time quickly and return to the light.  The only place where was can safely dwell is closely tied to Christ, and we have to do everything in our power (and rely upon God as well) to keep ourselves and those around us close to Christ. 

Ephesians 4:17-32 "Putting Off the Old and Putting On the New"

                I can very vividly remember sitting on the back porch of my friend’s cabin at Lake Pickwick in McNairy Country Tennessee during Labor Day weekend of 2006.  We were sitting out back all talking and catching up while waiting for the fireworks to come towering over the treetops.  Amy and I had recently made the decision for me to attend seminary and decided that that was as good of a time as any to tell our friends.  Most were excited for us, but there was one friend that was just in shock.  She wasn’t really upset, she just didn’t understand; mainly because she was raised Catholic.  Did this mean that Amy and I were getting a divorce?  Did this mean that we were going to be those “no fun” Christians that everyone thinks about?  Did this mean that we couldn’t be friends anymore?  Amy and I assured all of them that while it did mean that we would have to make some minor changes to the way we lived (mainly due to public perception), it wasn’t going to change who we were and who we are.  We explained to all of our friends that that change had taken place many years ago, before we had even met any of them.

                You see, there is a change that takes place when one comes to know Christ.  It’s not just a little tweak here and a minor adjustment there, but it’s a wholesale and complete change.  Christ changes everything.  We are made new creations in Christ, and that’s something that Paul is trying to get across to the Ephesians here.  He doesn’t want them to think that being a Christian is about simply bettering yourself a little bit in certain areas.  Instead, he wants them to understand that the life of the person who doesn’t profess Christ is completely different from that of the person who does.  And this difference, or the change from one to the other, involves two stages (both of which are carried out by God through the work of the Holy Spirit in us).  First, there is the putting off of the old self.  Then, there is the putting on of the new self.  Logically, if you take something off then you must be putting something else on.

                What does it mean to put off the old self?  The first half of our text (vv.17-22) gives us some understanding as to what this means.  Now, Paul begins here with what upon first reading it sounds like an odd statement.  Paul tells these Ephesian Christians to, “no longer walk as the Gentiles do…” and then he lists a lot of bad characteristics.  And we’re left asking ourselves, “didn’t Paul spend a good portion of chapter 3 (nearly all of it) talking about how the gospel was just as much for the Gentiles as it was for the Jews?”  Yes, but here when he uses the word Gentiles, he’s speaking more about actions than nationality.  These descriptors about these Gentiles:  alienated from God, hardness of heart, greedy, and impure.  All of these things are speaking about not a nationality, but someone (or in this case a group of people) who does not follow Christ.  As we’ve said, this very same church that he’s writing to is made up of a mixture Jews and Gentiles.  Obviously he wouldn’t right to this congregation and tell them that they didn’t need to be like half of them.  It would be like me writing to a church that was multicultural and telling them not to walk in the way of one of the particular cultures represented within the church.  It’s about not following sinful desires and instead following Christ, not a nationality.

                Paul is reminding these Christians that they are to be in the world but not of the world.  He is reminding them that they can’t both follow Christ and be citizens of the world.  They can’t live according to worldly desires and seek first God’s desires.  To put it bluntly, you cannot have two number ones in your life.  This isn’t like having multiple children and loving them equally.  This is like having two spouses (not encouraged) and trying to love them equally.  You cannot serve two masters.  We either serve Christ or we serve the world.  We either serve the Creator or the creation.  Paul knows that the Ephesian church has heard this message and heard it properly because he’s the one that delivered it to them in the first place.  When I taught high school, my students would often try and tell me that something on a test wasn’t covered in class.  I would always have to tell them that indeed it was covered, because I remembered covering it.  Paul knows that they have heard this, and he is making sure that they have rightly applied it.  Paul must make sure that the Ephesian Christians aren’t just calling themselves followers of Christ but still living according to the world.  And it’s up to us to make sure of the same things when it comes to ourselves and other Christians today as well.  “Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires.”  In Christ, we are to be new creations, but first we must lay aside the old in order to put on the new.  The language here has to do with the taking off of clothes.  Without Christ, we’re dead in our sins.  Without Christ, we’re literally wearing dead man’s clothes, we’re wearing grave clothes.

                Paul continues on, “and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”  Now, some of the language here can cause us to get a bit bogged down if we let it.  What is “the spirit of you minds”?  If we’re putting on something new, then should we really say renewed?  Setting aside these linguistic challenges that can be explained easily, but would take up too much time here, Paul’s point is really quite simple.  He is calling us as Christians to make a complete change.  He’s telling us that following Christ is a complete change from a life that doesn’t follow him.  We’re taking off those grave clothes and we’re putting on Christ.  The mind was one of the parts of a human body that was used when referring to something on the inside.  In other words, don’t just be changed on the outside and don’t just start showing the world only good things, but truly be changed in every fiber of your being.  Truly be changed in your emotions, your desires, and your motivations.  And in changing all of these things, what will happen is that in essence an entirely new person is being created.  Now, Paul’s going to spend really the rest of this epistle dealing with aspects of what this new man is to look like.  However, before moving to different examples of what this ought to look like in our lives, Paul gives us some ways in which we should be able to visibly see that we have taken off these grave clothes of the old man and put on the new clothes of the new man that is found in Christ Jesus.  We’re not going to have time to go into these fully, but we’ll just him them really quick.

                The first thing that Paul tells us is that we need to “put away falsehood” and “speak the truth”.  In other words, speak honestly with one another.  Some of your translations may say to put off lying.  Unfortunately, lying has become part of our world.  I’ve got a friend of mine who’s a lobbyist and he jokingly says that he lies, cheats, and steals for a living.  Now, he says that jokingly; however, it brings up an interesting point; should the Christian lie?  I want you to simply think about two titles that are given in Scripture.  One of which is the famous I Am statement of John 14:6 (I am the way and the truth and the life).  The other is the title that comes a bit earlier in chapter 8 of John’s gospel when the devil is known as the father of lies.  Now, you tell me that lying isn’t a big deal.  Christ calls himself the truth, while he refers to Satan as the father of all lies.

                The next thing Paul gives us about the change from old self to new self is about anger.  He says, “Be angry and do not sin.”  Now, we might expect to see “don’t be angry” here.  However, the Greek word used here doesn’t mean the type of momentary anger or temporary rage that some of you may have experienced before.  The word used here means a deep-seated, determined, and settled conviction.  Paul is calling for the Ephesians to not only not sin, but to hate sin as well.  This anger is good, but that momentary, fleeting anger (and even the built up anger over the wrong things) can become, as Paul says, “an opportunity to the devil.”  As we put on this new self, we have to change our hearts so that we become angry only over the right things.

                Then, Paul says to put off stealing and put on working.  This should go without saying.  After all, this is virtually a repetition of the eighth commandment.  However, this statement could pertain to more than just material possessions.  We could also say, bringing last Sunday’s text back into play, that when we don’t use the gifts that God has given us in service of Him that we are stealing from Him.  God commanded Adam to work in the Garden, and that was before the fall.  So two of the commands that God gave to us in a perfect world were to work and worship, and I don’t think that those things are to be mutually exclusive of one another.  All that being said, we can deduce from the words, “so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” that Paul is probably talking about theft of physical possessions.  I’ll be honest with you, working hard so that I can give more to others is something that I struggle with.  However, I know without a doubt that Scripture calls us to care for those less fortunate, and so we must do so.  This is part of putting off the old self and putting on the new.

                Next, we find Paul saying, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up…”  This is the biblical statement of “if you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all.”  I was riding in the car with Amy the other day and we were talking about a kid in her class that was being picked on by some boys.  Now, I will readily admit that the worst people in the world are teenage boys.  They’re mean, they’re vicious, and they we jump on any imperfection within a person.  I shared with Amy how I realized years after the fact that many of my friendships were built on just insulting one another.  I realized one day that friendships like that weren’t adding anything to my life.  Those friendships that were valuable were the ones that I could share my emotions with without being made fun of.  Our talk, as well as our actions, ought not to be those that seek to insult or bring down a person, but seek to encourage them and build them up in Christ.

                The final statement serves as somewhat of a catch-all.  “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”  We are to put off all of those things mentioned in v. 31, and to put on all of those things mentioned in v. 32.  Now, there is some repetition there from earlier calls given by Paul.  However, I want to you remember one thing as we look at these characteristics that are to differentiate Christians from non-Christians…our natural tendency, as fallen human beings, is to sin.  I have to confession just like all of you, that far too often I fall on the wrong side of this equation when it comes to my actions.  The late 1800s and early 1900s American theologian G.K. Chesterton was once mailed something by the NY Times asking for his response as to what was wrong with the world today.  His response:  “Dear Sir.  I am.  Yours, G.K. Chesterton.”   We’re what’s wrong.  We’re the problem.  However, through Christ, we have hope.  Through the sacrifice that is represented on the table before us we have hope.  Because of Christ’s death and his atoning sacrifice, we can put off the old self and put on the new self.  We can take off the grave clothes and put on clothes of new life in Christ.

                Look, I’ve never been a huge fan of change.  I know that many of you feel the same way.  Change is difficult, it’s hard.  Change often comes with setbacks and mistakes and feelings of success not coming like we had imagined.  However, change is necessary, and especially when it comes to our faith.  We cannot think that our living apart from Christ could in any way resemble our being found in him.  If your life looks the same with or without Christ, then you have some hard questions to ask yourself as you look in the mirror.  We have to shed what is comfortable and do what is commanded.  We have to set aside what is easy and take up the difficult task.  We have to put our desires second and place God’s desires above our own.  We have to shed those dead, grave clothes and put on the new life that we have in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4:1-16 "Whole Body Unity"

                Do y’all know what a ropes course is?  It’s a series of outdoor activities, usually involving ropes, that is designed for either personal development or building team unity.  I’ve been on numerous retreats and done several different ropes courses in my life with groups in an effort to build unity.  When I was growing up and playing sports, one thing that my coaches usually did was to get us to do something together that didn’t involve practice, like a ropes course.  When I coached, we did the same thing.  For example, we used to take our kids to do a community service project that required them to all work together.  Why did we do this?  It’s simple really; in order for a team to work most effectively and efficiently, they have to work together, in unity.  There has to be a sense of cohesiveness amongst the group, and a church is no different.  As Paul begins this application portion to his letter about the church to the Christians in Ephesus, he really emphasizes unity.  If one group is worried about this and another that and still another something else entirely, then nothing will be accomplished.  The unity of the body of Christ is of the utmost importance for having an impact for the gospel.  And we see Paul lay this argument out in his calling for unity, his explaining just what unity is, how this unity is achieved through gifts, and why these gifts are important in the life of the church.

                First, the call for unity; Paul urges them to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [they] have been called.”  Notice the use of called here.  It ought to remind us of the very first part of this epistle.  He doesn’t say that you have to fulfill what you chose or what you signed up for, but do what it is that you were called to do.  And we are to do it with a variety of characteristics:  humility, gentleness, patience, love, and peace.  In other words, we are to actually work together.  Thomas’ soccer team has been pretty unstoppable this year.  Mainly it’s because they have one kid who quite honestly is just better than everyone else.  The kid is four and he would probably be a tough match for me to keep up with.  However, there will come a point in time when sheer individual talent won’t be enough.  Eventually, maybe years from now, he is going to have to rely upon teammates.  His coach and his parents know that, so they really work with him on learning to pass and play defense, the less glamorous things.  They are teaching him to work as part of a group and not to just take control of every situation.  If we, as the body of Christ, are going to work effectively, then it must be a whole body effort and not just a few of the parts leading the way and dragging the rest along.

                Secondly, Paul’s explanation of unity.  In this brief section from vv.4-6, the word “one” is used seven times.  That’s over two times per verse.  There are three uses of the word that pertain to the Triune God and four that pertain to mankind.  Now, there are some interesting things that we could try and interpret into the total number of uses of the number one; however, I want to stick more of the substance of what Paul says here.  “There is one body” (i.e one Church, one way) “and one Spirit” meaning that we all became part of this one body through the work of the same Holy Spirit.  “Just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call.”  Well, what is our one hope?  Paul answers that by saying, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.”  In other words, Paul is saying that we’re all part of the same body, the body of Christ.  We’re all called to saving faith the same way, made new creations the same way, and brought to the same understanding of who God is.  Yes, it may look different in your life than in someone else’s, but that doesn’t change it into something different.  We all learn differently don’t we?  If you show Amy evidence and facts that say that something isn’t going to work then she is typically pretty understanding and doesn’t attempt it.  I, however, don’t believe any information until I see it will my own eyes.  Don’t just tell me that the couch won’t fit through the door, but show me that it won’t fit.  We both arrive at the same conclusion, it just takes some of us a little more to get there.  We both are left with a couch that does fit through a door.  All those who God calls to Himself get to the same point, some of us just require a little more patience and a little more effort than others.  Paul closes this section with a rapid-fire repetition of the word “all” in reference to God.  He tells us that this one body that we are to be a part of is completely and totally a work of God in our lives.  This is the unity that Paul is talking about, our unity of being found in Christ.

                Paul continues on this theme of unity by talking about how this unity comes about through the different gifts of others.  In other words, unity happens because of differences between people.  Now, that’s a confusing concept when we first hear those words.  However, it really isn’t if we think about it.  I’ve often said that the one job that I could never do in this world is food service; I could never be a waiter.  The reason for that is that the first time someone chose to take their frustrations out on me for the quality of the food; I might throw the food back at them and tell them to get out of the restaurant.  All that being said, I do understand that those who work in the food service industry are a vital part of our society.  Thank God that He gives some people the patience to do that job.  Within the church, God gives people different talents.  Paul lists out here for us prophets, apostles, shepherds, and teachers.  To some of you, what I am called to do each Sunday terrifies you.  The thought of public speaking is enough to cause a panic attack.  For me, some of the things that you do in service of God cause a similar reaction for me.  I don’t like hospitals.  I go to them, but they’re not my thing.  For those of you who go and visit friends, family, and even strangers in hospitals in order to witness to them and sit for hours, I am in amazement of you.  I go, I visit, and it’s like I’ve got a timer on myself to make sure I get out of there.  Now, it is important to note that because Christ is the one who gives us our gifts that we are to use them in service of God.  God didn’t give you the gift of being good with numbers so that you could make a comfortable living gambling.  God didn’t make you a good conversationalist so that your life could be filled with swindling and lying your way through it.  Your gifts were given specifically to you to be used in the service of bringing greater glory to God’s kingdom.  It’s up to you to use them in the proper way.

                The reason for Christ’s giving each of us our gifts finds a fuller explanation beginning in v. 12.  “To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.  Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”  Now, the truth is that I could preach an entire sermon series about these words here, but I’ve got to condense them into a few sentences.  Our job, as a church (both locally and universally), as one unified body, is to equip others for ministry.  It’s not just the responsibility of the pastor, or the Session, or the leadership, or those who are really involved, but it’s the job of the entirety of the body.  If you are truly a Christian and truly part of the body of Christ, then there ought to be a desire for both your own personal growth and the growth of others.  Having faith like a child is great in terms of adoring God the way that a child adores their parents; however, having the understanding of a child when it comes to our faith is a different matter altogether.  My children are bright kids, but I’m not going to let them handle the family finances.  We would have the market covered on Legos and superhero toys.  We’re not going to let them buy the groceries because I can’t eat hotdogs 3 times a day every day.  Now when they get a little older and more mature in their understanding, we’ll let them pick out more of the food and we’ll entrust them with more of the daily responsibilities in our family.  However, until then, it is my job and Amy’s job to train them.  We have to train them and prepare them for one day going out into the world and not needing us.  I know that some of y’all don’t believe me when I say this, but I hope that there comes a day when my kids don’t need me.  I hope that there comes a day that Amy and I have so prepared them for the world that they can live and work and function without any help from us.  That’s our goal as parents.  Well, our goal as Christians ought to be to see other Christians get to that point.  Obviously there will always be a reliance upon Christ, but the goal is to help others get to a point where someone can assume ownership of their own faith.

                Paul concludes by saying, “Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”  In other words, for the church to function properly, the entire body must be doing its part.  If you go out to run and your entire body is functioning properly and your arm doesn’t work can you run properly?  Sure, you can still move, but you’re not working properly.  Our response many times as Christians is to shy away from our responsibilities.  Oh, I’m not knowledgeable enough to lead that study.  I don’t really have the time to commit to that like I would need to.  I’m not really that good of a public speaker; I think that’s best left up to someone else.  I’m not the best person to lead that effort.  I’ve just got so much on my plate right now that I don’t really have time.  I’ve got so many other commitments that I just can’t.  Things are really tight right now so I really can’t.  Where’s the priority in all of those excuses?  Where’s the willingness to allow yourself to be strengthened by God? Where’s the chance for God’s greatness to be shown through your weakness?  Christ has brought all of us together to be part of this body, and he has done so for a purpose.  He doesn’t bring us together so that a handful of people can work and drag everyone else with them.  He joins together the whole body so that it (we) may work together which will make “the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”  We’re all part of the body of Christ.  There is not one part more important than another; Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians 12, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ…For the body does not consist of one member but of many…that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together…Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”

                To sum all of this up, we have to understand that we’re all together in this.  We cannot be simply concerned for ourselves, but we must be concerned with the whole body functioning properly.  And we are only functioning properly when the entirety of the body of Christ, the Church, is seeking first the righteousness of the kingdom of God.  We’re not seeking bigger buildings or more comfortable experiences, but we’re seeking the proclamation of the Gospel.  We only truly fulfill our purpose when we seek not our own way, but the will of God.  And this must be the unified desire of the Church, to know Christ, and to make Him known to others.

Ephesians 3:14-21 "Strengthened to Understand"

                Our text for today brings to an end the first half of Paul’s letter to this thriving church in Ephesus.  It also brings a thematic end to what Paul has spent the entirety of this letter talking about thus far, and that is the privilege of the Christian.  Remember, this is the standard format for the Great Apostle.  He first deals with doctrine and theology, and then deals with the implications and application of all that he’s been teaching.  Our text for today, the second half of chapter three, is somewhat of Paul’s doxology on all that he’s said thus far.  Very quickly I’ll remind you of where we’ve been.  For the most part we’ve been talking about the great privilege that it is to be found in Christ.  Paul’s talked about how salvation is completely a work of God (chosen, redeemed, and sealed) and that regardless of what nationality you are that the gospel is open to you.  Now, this doesn’t mean that it’s some universal thing that is everyone’s right and privilege, but that there is nothing inherently within anyone that makes them a recipient of God’s grace and mercy.  That choice is completely and totally up to God and God alone.  We are simply the ones who very lovingly, graciously, and humbly receive the benefits of that election that Paul spoke of in the opening statements of this epistle; that’s why we say that it is the privilege of the Christian and not the right or reward of the Christian.

                So, as Paul prepares to bring to a close the doctrinal portion of his epistle about the church (which many biblical scholars have taken this to be a written prayer of Paul’s), he begins by saying, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father.”  Two things; the first is that the phrase “for this reason” refers to, in my opinion, the entirety of what he has said.  Again, in my opinion, Paul isn’t just referring to the most recent thing that he’s talked about (which is the gospel being as much for the Gentiles as it is for the Jews).  Some scholars have wanted to limit the scope of these words to mean either only his most recent doctrinal point or the fact that he didn’t want them to lose hope because of his being under house arrest.  However, even in the most limited view of this phrase, Paul would be referring to this very same plan of salvation that is made known through Christ.  So, we can safely assume that no matter what view you take of the phrase “for this reason”, Paul is speaking about rejoicing in God.  Secondly, the fact that Paul talks about his posture is important.  You see, the Jewish custom for praying was to stand up.  They would think it a farce for us to be sitting down with our hands in our pockets during a time of prayer.  The Jews (as well as some other Christian churches through the ages) understood reverence to be conveyed to God during prayer only when standing.  Honestly, it makes sense.  When the president of a company, a superior office, an elected official, or anyone else whom is owed respect walks into a room what do we do?  Well, we stand (or at least we ought to).  We stand to show them the honor and respect that they deserve.  However, by Paul’s bowing his knees, by his kneeling, there is a sense of humility and urgency and importance that is being conveyed here.  Paul is, in essence, saying, “Thank you, God, for all that you’ve done and all that you are doing.  Lord, I am not even worthy to stand in your presence and so I lower myself to the lowest possible place.”  It’s Paul’s way (and a right way) of showing reverence and honor to a holy God.  Yes, it’s different from Jewish tradition, but different from tradition doesn’t necessarily mean worse than traditional.

                After Paul’s reminding his audience what he’s previously said, he also reminds them that as followers of Christ, they are all part of the same family.  All Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ.  If we wanted to make some type of analogy, we could say that we’re all related in Christ with church being sort of like a family reunion with the blending together of a lot of different types of people who are all related.  Yes, we’re very different people with very different views and opinions, but we’re all related; we’re all related in Christ.  That’s where we’re going to spend the rest of our time together this morning really looking at two things.  We’re going to look at how this body collectively and we individually are strengthened by the Holy Spirit, and how we are made to comprehend the love of Christ. 

                All of this sort of comes out of a natural progression throughout this text really.  First, there is Paul’s thanking God because of all that he’s already taught, followed by the petition made by Paul on the behalf of his audience that they would be “strengthened with power through his [Holy] Spirit in [their] inner being.”  In other words, that our hearts would be strengthened, our minds changed, and our souls shaped by this power.  Any change or confidence that one has that stops at a surface-level isn’t from God.  Paul prays that the teaching that he has given thus far would not be a point of contention and anger, but would be one that only renews our faith in God.  I love what John Calvin says about this being strengthened by the Holy Spirit.  He says that, “believers have never advanced so far as to not need farther growth.  The highest perfection of the godly in this life is an earnest desire to make progress.”  In other words, even though this church was doing well and even though Paul had just given them all of the information that he had and even though he knew that they were as well-equipped for ministry and growth as anyone, they still needed more.  They needed the Holy Spirit, and they didn’t just need him a little, but they needed him in their inner being.  They needed him to change them and strengthen them down to the most intimate parts of their bodies, minds, and souls.  They needed what is known as divine grace; grace that only comes from God.  God knows our limitations and our inabilities; therefore He is the only one who can overcome them in His creating within us a new man.  In order for us to really transform and change, we must have the Holy Spirit.  We can’t do it by ourselves.  We don’t like hearing that because we’re a people who for the most part pride ourselves on our self-sufficiency.  However, when it comes to our salvation, we simply have no choice but to rest in God that He will perform this saving work in us and to us.

                Now, out of this grace, as a result of the Holy Spirit’s working in us and strengthening us, we ought to grow in our comprehension and understanding of the love of Christ.  Naturally, as we come to understand what God has done to us and for us, our appreciation and admiration ought to grow, but our understanding of Christ’s love for us ought to grow as well.  However, one thing that I think we need to get a handle on (or at least try to) is what we mean when we say or read “the love of Christ.”  Obviously it’s something that is very expansive, and impossible for our finite minds to completely understand.  These general units of measurement or space that Paul gives us here of “breadth and length and height and depth” ought to harken our minds back to our saying at the end of chapter two that we are Christ’s temple, the “living stones” of 1 Peter 2.  This tells us that Christ’s love for us is great.  So, there’s no denying that in understanding Christ’s love that we have to think about something that is quite large.  Our problem, however, has been that far too often we have actually over-sized the love of Christ.  I know that that sounds odd, but follow me for a second.  If you were in our Sunday School class last week, you might recall that I said that Christ died specifically for you and not generally for you.  In other words, at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross, he had you and me on his mind, specifically.  His death, his sacrifice, wasn’t undertaken with just the general thought of whoever determines later on that they wanted a part of what he was offering would receive it.  No!  Christ’s death was to redeem to the Father those specific people whom the Father had given to him.  Some of them were past, some present, and some future.

                Perhaps instead of saying that we over-size the love of Christ, we might could say that we over-extend it.  You see, we make Christ’s death a universal truth for all mankind.  We make the sacrifice on the cross include those whom Scripture clearly teaches that it doesn’t include.  This past summer, we looked at John 3:16 and specifically at that word that is translated “world’.  We find in that passage “For God so loved the world…” the cosmos in Greek.  We try and apply the death of Christ to those whom it does not apply to.  It applies only to those whom, as Paul said to begin this epistle, those whom He chose before the foundation of the earth and that He predestined for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.  Paul has come full circle in this first half of his epistle.  God has chosen you to be His people, He has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to work on your hearts and change your minds and strengthen you for the ministry of the gospel.  And he has done this not because of anything that is present within you or that He foreknows as being present within you, but simply because He loves you.  He loves you so much that He sent His Son into the world to die, specifically for you.  Not for mankind in general, but specifically for you and for me, for those whom God chose before the foundations of the earth.

                Paul concludes this first half of his letter to the Ephesians with a doxology.  “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.”  In other words, thank you, God.  Thank you for who you are.  Thank you for what you have done.  Thank you for what you are doing.  Thank you for what you are going to do.  We are to trust in God and to trust in the unfolding of His plan.  It may not be easy, and it may not be what we want, but if it is the will of God, then is good and perfect.  Thank God for what He is doing, and thank God for His calling us to play even the smallest part in it.

Ephesians 3:1-13 "The Gospel Mystery"

                Do you know what makes a good teacher or a good instructor?  Yes, there are a number of things that we could say to answer that question.  We could say compassion, understanding, confidence, knowledge, etc.  However, one of the most often overlooked qualities of a teacher is their ability to anticipate confusion.  What do I mean by this?  Say for example we were going to begin a Sunday School series on a set of very complex or controversial theological topics, I wouldn’t be a very effective teacher if I went into it with the expectation of simply giving you the information one time and expecting you to understand it.  I would need to anticipate the difficulties that you might have and make preparations for them.  Every teacher (no matter the subject) is knowledgeable, confident, etc., but it’s the ability to anticipate the difficulties and overcome them that separates one from another.  Well, that is exactly what Paul is doing here in chapter 3.  Think about what he has already dealt with here in this epistle in only two chapters.  He’s talked about the work of the Trinity (chosen, redeemed, and sealed), he’s talked about what is granted to us in Christ, how all that is granted to us comes through faith, and that these riches and mercies aren’t just granted to a select nationality, but to all who profess saving faith in Christ.  We spent a great deal of time talking last Sunday about how this last item was quite controversial to the people in Ephesus at this time.  In fact, Paul was actually in Rome under house arrest at the time of his writing this epistle for teaching that very same thing.  When Paul says that he is “a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles” he’s telling the truth.  He was currently awaiting trial for speaking about the equality, in God’s eyes, that now existed between Jews and Gentiles.  He was currently living the reality that these were some difficult and controversial matters that he was talking about. 

Paul knew that he needed to explain a little more all that he had given them (and us) thus far.  I’m sure that Paul was anticipating the leaders in the church reading this letter, looking at one another, and saying, “Surely Paul doesn’t mean what he just wrote about Jews and Gentiles being equal?  There has to be some lasting difference right?”  You see, Paul knew that the Ephesians were going to have some difficulty with this topic, just as numerous other groups had.  He knew that there was going to be confusion and head-scratching.  He even calls it a “mystery made known to him by revelation.”  Now, the meaning of this word mystery isn’t what comes to mind when we hear the word today.  This isn’t some Scooby Doo (I’ve got kids) mystery that must be solved.  NO!  The Greek word that we get the word mystery from actually means “something known or understood only by the initiated.”  In other words, the gospel, the Christian faith, is only truly understood by those who have this saving faith.  Others may know about Christians, but until they fully become one then there is much that isn’t known.  I’ll be honest with y’all, most of the rest of this country looks at south Louisiana and the way of life here as a mystery.  It’s not that something has to be solved, but something that until you become one (initiated), then it’s pretty confusing.  After almost four years Amy and I are still confused about certain things on a regular basis.  Or, and perhaps a better analogy, parenthood.  You can’t describe to someone what it’s like to have a child that you’re responsible for.  However, there is a sense and a feeling that you get from having a child of your own.  In essence, once you’re initiated into parenthood, there is a revealing of the mystery of what it’s like to be a parent.  That’s what Paul’s talking about here.  He’s saying (and we’ll talk more about this later on) that it’s going to look odd to those outside of professing believers, but that’s normal.

                To drive his point home even further, Paul says in verse 6, “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.”  So, what is he saying here?  And as I answer this, I’m going to substitute the title all Christians for Gentiles.  And by all Christians, I mean those who truly profess saving faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Paul is saying that all Christians are heirs with Israel, co-heirs with Christ.  He says that all Christians are members of the same body. It’s the same thing that we’ve said before in our look at this epistle about all Christians making up the body of Christ with no one more important than another, but with Christ as the head.  And finally, Paul says that all Christians are partakers of the promise in Christ.  Now, it’s important that it is promise singular; because that leaves no interpretation other than the promise of redemption that God made with Adam in the Garden and later repeated with Abraham in Genesis 12.

                Now, before Paul simply says that things have changed and moves on to something else, he takes some time to reemphasize the importance of what he has just been teaching them about.  He doesn’t want to give the impression that what he has said is only for informational purposes.  Back when I taught high school biology my students would always ask me, “Coach Robinson, why do I need to know all this stuff?  Why is it important that I know what role the mitochondria plays in the cell?  What use is it for me to learn the steps of photosynthesis?”  What made matters even worse was when they went home to their parents and their parents or grandparents would say they didn’t have a clue.  They would come back and say, “My grandfather worked for 45 years and he said he’s never even heard of photosynthesis.”  Well, Paul is trying to make sure that these Christians don’t just simply say, “Why does any of this matter?  Why are we wasting time over this issue?”  Think about what many folks like to do today.  We like to say, “Well, God will sort all that out so I’m just not going to worry about it.  I don’t know how I feel about it so I’m just going to push it aside and go about my business.”  We tell ourselves that we’re just not getting bogged down, but in all honesty it’s more like we’re afraid of offending someone so we run and hide from questions and difficulties.  I’m not talking about wrestling with difficult and complex issues, I’m talking about just not caring enough to put in the effort to try and gain some understanding.  Paul’s not giving this information just to have something written down.  He’s giving them this information because it is of use and importance to their spiritual growth.

                Paul is telling these folks that this distinction (or should I say the abolition of this distinction) is something that is of such importance that his entire ministry is based on it.  His entire ministry is about proclaiming the good news of Christ’s resurrection to those who were once thought to be outside of God’s covenant people.  He says that not only is it his calling but that it is to be the calling of the Church as well.  “Through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”  And I don’t want you to miss this ever so subtle use of the word manifold here in verse 10.  God’s manifold wisdom, says the biblical scholar and precursor to the reformation, Erasmus, “regulates all things by amazing plans, through death bestowing life, through ignominy (disgrace) conducting to glory, through abasement (lowering) displaying the majesty of God.”  God’s manifold wisdom, i.e. His plan of salvation, is now no longer for only a select nation, but is to be known world-wide.  It’s no longer known by a small number, but has been made known to the entire world.  In fact, it is to be known even beyond the ends of this world, in the heavenly places.

                Paul is encouraging these Christians to not lose hope.  Again, this might seem a little strange because as we’ve said before, things were going really well there at the church in Ephesus.  The church was growing and there wasn’t really much strife that existed within the church.  However, there did exist the possibility for strife and potential problems.  Remember that I said a good teacher can anticipate the problems before they even arise.  Paul’s brought up both the doctrine of predestination and the concept of God’s covenant promise being just as much for the Gentiles now as it is for the Jews.  If there weren’t problems beforehand, Paul is doing a fine job of creating them isn’t he?  I mean, if I wanted to start an argument within the church and I didn’t want it to be about paint colors or room temperatures then predestination and the non-exclusivity of the gospel are pretty good options.  However, we can take Paul’s bringing these topics up along with his words about this epistle being for the benefit of the church and glean one thing from it.  It is for our own good and our own benefit that we seek to gain an understanding of how God works.  Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying, we will never fully know how and why God works the way that He does, at least not in this life, and maybe not after that.  However, that should not stop us from striving to gain an understanding to the method in which He works.

                We, Bible-believing, Christ-professing, God-fearing Christians, are part of this initiated group.  We are, like Paul, one’s who have had this mystery revealed to us.  Now, it may not have happened in a singular moment like we see with Paul.  Maybe you’re like me and you just kind of realized after years and years of hearing someone teach or preach on the gospel, maybe the importance of what was being said finally dawned on you.  However you came to know Christ, you are the possessor of a great gift.  You are someone who has received the greatest and most precious gift that anyone could ever receive.  Don’t waste it.  Don’t just file your faith away and keep it as some dusty box that you only pull out during a time of trial or hardship.  Let it be something that you use so often that it becomes part of you.  Spend so much time growing in your relationship with God through prayer and Scripture reading and other wonderful resources, that your faith isn’t a part of who you are but is who you are.  Your growth shouldn’t stop upon this mystery being revealed to you, but this mystery being revealed to you ought to cause your desire for growth to become insatiable.  

What I Learned Through the Delta State Shooting

                We’ve all heard the story of the high school valedictorian who gets us on stage and thanks someone in the crowd who spoke a kind word to them years ago.  The short of it is that the valedictorian, years earlier, was on his way home to commit suicide when someone spoke a kind word to him and unknowingly gave him a the courage to continue onward.  It’s a wonderful story about not knowing the impact that you can have on someone around you.  It may be true, or it may be completely made up, I don’t really know.  However, until yesterday it was just a story for me, until it became somewhat of a reality.

                As news broke yesterday about an active shooter on the campus on Delta State University in Cleveland, MS my mind immediately jumped to the events of only a few weeks ago at my alma mater Mississippi State.  My first thought was that I hoped that the events at Delta State would turn out like those at MSU…no fatalities.  I prayed.  A little bit of time went by and then came news that there had been one fatality.  I prayed.  A few minutes later, I saw where it was a faculty member who was shot and killed.  I prayed for his family.  As the “urgency” of the situation began to fade away and as the new information stopped coming in as quickly, the day seemingly got back to normal.  I really didn’t hear much more other than people supporting the university during this horrific ordeal.  Things seemed to be pretty much over except for merely apprehending the suspect.  Then, that’s when things got extremely real for me.  I was scrolling through Facebook and saw where they had released the identity of the suspect and given a picture of him…my heart fell into my stomach.

                I stared at my computer screen in my office for what felt like hours in disbelief.  I was reading that a man named Shannon Lamb was wanted and that the picture was a recent one taken of him.  Most of you don’t know (or at least didn’t know until yesterday) who Shannon Lamb is.  However, I know him, and have for roughly 10 years.  Back in 2005 I became a high school science teacher at Murrah High School in Jackson, MS.  Shannon was a math teacher at that same school who taught in the classroom next to mine.  We would talk almost every day during breaks between classes, lunch, and before the school day started.  We taught a lot of the same kids, so we usually talked to each other about who was struggling and who was doing well…teacher stuff.  However, there were moments where we talked on a much deeper level as well.

                Shannon was kind of a quirky guy.  He was very quiet, very nondescript, and wore a suit to work every day (actually it was either a blue suit or a gray suit that he alternated each day).  He was very serious about his job and honestly one of the smartest people that I have ever known.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that he seemed almost the opposite of what you would think of as someone who would ever commit these actions taken yesterday.  He shared with me stories of how he was brought up with a troubled past.  He came from a broken home where drugs and alcohol weren’t just present, but encouraged at an early age.  He shared with me how in his past he had had his own issues with addiction and how they had wrecked his first marriage (a marriage that he said came about because he and his first wife were either drunk or high for almost their entire relationship).  He had shared with me how up until a few years prior, the only things that he had ever done of any account in his life were his education and his children.  He was a good father who tried his best to remain active in the lives of his children.  Despite his past mistakes, he wanted to provide something for his kids that he never had…guidance.  He had seemingly turned his life around and was only worried about providing for his kids and making sure that they succeeded in life.

                After that one year teaching together Shannon accepted a position with Delta State because of a research grant that he had gotten.  It was a position that was going to put him working between Cleveland, MS and Gautier, MS, and give him more time with his kids.  He had even started dating his ex-wife once again (after she had cleaned herself up as well) and they seemed to be on a possible road to reconciliation.  When I last spoke to him in May 2006, he seemed to have his life headed in the right direction.  Yet, as I write this entry 9½ years later, Shannon’s life crumbled and he’s taken three lives, with the last one being his own late yesterday evening.  I have no idea what happened during those 9+ years, but over the last 24 hours I have asked myself one question over and over again…“Could I have done something about this?”  Now, let me state very clearly that the events of yesterday aren’t about me.  I have little-to-no relationship with DSU.  That’s not what I’m talking about.  I’m talking about my interaction with Shannon.  Did I do everything I could have to help this man out who I knew had a troubled past?  The answer, quite simply, is no; no I didn’t. 

                As I think back upon our conversations, I realize that nowhere in there is the gospel present.  It would be easy for me to defend/excuse myself and say that this was prior to my feeling called to gospel ministry, but the truth of the matter is that I was a Christian at that point in my life.  It’s not just pastors or devout Christians that are to witness to others about Christ, but it’s the task given to all Christians.  It’s a task that I failed at miserably in the case of Shannon Lamb.  Would my speaking to him about Jesus have made any difference…who knows?  Would my speaking to him about my faith or his faith have prevented the events of yesterday…maybe not?  However, we’ll never know because I never spoke up.

               As I said, the events of yesterday in Gautier, MS (where it is believed he killed his girlfriend before driving to Cleveland, MS to kill the DSU professor) and at Delta State aren’t about me.  I’ve only stepped on that campus a couple of times and don’t have any emotional connection to it at all.  The focus, as it rightly should be, is to be on helping a campus, a town, and a student body heal and recover from a horrific tragedy.  However, I can’t help but think about the lasting impact that this will have upon me in my ministry and my life moving forward.  Are there times that I should speak up that I will remain silent…probably.  However, I can tell you that they will be few now moving forward.  I no longer have to hear the story of the valedictorian to know the power of speaking up because I have the heartbreak of knowing what it feels like when you say nothing.

               

Please pray for the families of Amy Prentiss and Ethan Schmidt, Delta State University, the Cleveland, MS community, and the teenage children of Shannon Lamb.  May Shannon’s kids no be crushed by the weight of their father’s sin, but driven to Christ instead.  Also, please pray for a seminary classmate of mine, Seth Still.  Seth is the RUF minister at Delta State and will be tasked with proclaiming the gospel to this group of young adults who are looking to make sense of the events that have taken place.  May God speak through Seth and all other campus ministry persons to bring about his glory through disaster.