Commit To Submit
Submission Out Of Reverence For Christ
Ephesians 5:14-6:9 8/15/10 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
Key verse 5:21 Delivered at U of I Champaign Urbana UBF
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
I was very thankful when Dr Sam Lee invited me to come and preach here at U of I. He not only invited me, but my whole family! Obviously he wants to uphold and support house churches. He said, “Come and spend the weekend with us. We’ll give you and your whole family a tour of Springfield and you can deliver the message on Sunday.” Wow! What a great offer! I never saw the Lincoln Museum before and it is a once in a lifetime chance to come and preach on this prestigious U of I campus. God confirmed this speaking engagement at the recent Midwest/Missouri Valley Summer Bible Conference. I got to help Mary Cowen with her house church testimony. I met Jeremiah Park. Msn Joseph was in my small group. I also got to lead a group Bible study in the same room as Dr Sam’s group. To me, these were all signs from God that I should come.
Jesus has called me and my family to serve the students of NIU. NIU is a little different than U of I. NIU has many great students and students from over ninety countries, over 25,000 in all. NIU ha many great things. But this is U of I Champaign-Urbana! This is where Illinois’ top politicians are willing to jeopardize their careers, pulling strings to get their loved ones enrolled. This is where 13 Nobel Prize winners taught. This where some our state’s top students come. What an honor to be here! Who am I and who is my family that we can serve the Lord in this way? I thank God for his grace and I thank God for your hospitality.
So let’s get into the passage. In chapter five Paul urges Christians to be imitators of God. (5:1) We can do this when we live a life of love (2) and be light in Lord. (8) In this passage Paul teaches proper Christian behavior in certain relationships. The glue that keeps all of these relationships together and producing good fruit, is submitting to one another put of reference to Christ. This is never easy, but absolutely necessary to bring glory and honor to our Lord Jesus. May Jesus’ light shine brightly as you discover the wisdom of submitting to one another out of reverence to Christ. May you find new fresh, ways that you can practice submission to those who God has put in your lives. And may you have vision that your fellowship can become like the Ephesian Church.
Part l: A Beautiful Christian Fellowship (14-18)
God formed a beautiful Christian fellowship among the Ephesians. Look at verses 14b, “…Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." The fellowship of believers are those who personally experienced the grace of God. In the past they had spent their lives sleeping in deadness of heart. But one day, Jesus, the Light Of the World, shone his light on them. They heard the word of God and woke up spiritually. They repented and were forgiven of all their sins. They crossed over from death to life. (Jn 5:24) There is more. Let’s read verses 15-18 together. “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.’” These young believers were very sincere in living out their newly discovered faith. They were careful to study the Bible, find God’s will and obey it. They sought after God’s wisdom and lived by it. They took very opportunity to grow in Jesus’ image and share their faith. They abandoned their past hedonistic lifestyles with its drunkenness and lived a spirit filled life, a life pleasing to the Lord.
Their fellowship was a taste of heaven. Look at verses 19-20. “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Their Christian lives were joyful. They could make music in their hearts to God. They were constantly encouraging one another with hearts full of song and lips full of praise. It came naturally for they were thankful for the saving grace of Jesus. What a beautiful fellowship! There was nothing like it in the world. Can you imagine coming to their church and someone comes up to you, holds your hand and sings to you? What would you do? Sing back or join in if you knew the song I hope. People were attracted to them to learn of Jesus and hear the word of God. We all want this kind of fellowship. My long term goal is to establish a 120 flock of God with this kind of spirit at NIU. I can see that God is growing this type of fellowship here at U of I Champaign – Urbana. For example, when we were practicing our special song Andy Lee joined in the singing and his brothers gathered around us as we all sang together. It was beautiful. Great fellowship starts with a core group of people who know the grace of God.
Part ll: Submit To One Another (5:21)
This kind of fellowship is not built by following a detailed list of creeds or following a “formula” for church growth. It is formed among people who love Jesus and who long to be imitators of Christ. But there is some other missing element. In America there are Christians who love Jesus and try to love others, but this kind of fellowship is becoming very rare. In fact, church attendance is on the decline. The USA Today, last week, reports that summer youth camps are dwindling and being cancelled because youth don’t find them relevant. What is the missing ingredient that strengthens Christian relationships, builds joyful fellowship and glorifies Jesus in the world? Let’s read verse 21 all together. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” This is the key.
Why did Paul say, “submit to one another”? Is it easy? Not really. To submit means to yield. Submitting never comes naturally, especially in America, where the motto for the state of New Hampshire is “Live Free Or Die.” It is difficult because it requires humility, love and faith. It requires humility because we need to regard others better than ourselves. It requires love because we must love others and value our relationship with them even at the cost of our pride. It requires faith because we submit out of our reverence for Christ.
We may know this in our heads, but how difficult it is to submit to one another in real life! We have differing opinions. We butt heads and foster resentful feelings in our hearts for years. But if we are going to imitate Christ’s life of love we must learn to submit. When we submit, we pray for God to be glorified and God will help us to do what is right. Submitting is not compromising your convictions. It is not wasting time. It is coming together in the name of our Lord Jesus; growing together; co-working; relationship building. It is building Christian community.
Why must we submit to one another? Look at verse 21b again. “…out of reverence for Christ.” Reverence is a feeling of profound awe and respect mingled with love. We willingly submit because we have so much awe and respect for Jesus and we love him. Who is Jesus? He is the Almighty Creator God. He enjoyed all the glory, power and majesty of the Kingdom of Heaven. Yet, for our sakes he humbled himself, came to this world and became man. He loved and served and taught about the kingdom of God. He touched lepers. He gave sight to the blind and made the lame walk. He was a friend to sinners. He raised 12 disciples to be future spiritual leaders of the world. After 3 ½ year of loving and serving and teaching, he suffered and died on the cross bringing to us forgiveness. After pouring out his life he rose from the dead to give us a living hope in the Kingdom of God. He saved us from our sins, healed us and gave us eternal life. How awesome is our God! He is worthy of all praise. It is right to revere Jesus! It is right to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Despite of all these explanation, it still may be difficult to understand what submission means. Paul gave us several examples. He talks about the relationship between husbands and wives, children and parents, masters and slaves. These relationships are chosen because they are relationships that are the bedrock of any society. They also demand commitment. We can not ignore these relationships nor walk away from them. (Though some may try.) They are also relationships that have the potential to produce great satisfaction and much glory to God, if we practice submission within them. Let’s see.
Part lll: Wives/Husbands, Children/Parents, Slaves/Masters (5:22-6:9)
First, husbands and wives. Wives must submit to their husbands. Let’s read verse 22. “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” And also verse 24, “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” Note that Paul doesn’t say, “Wives submit to your husbands if you think he’s funny, rich, handsome and right.” He points out that the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church. And just as the church submits to Christ so a wife should submit to her husband as a reflection of our relationship with Jesus. A wife’s submission to her husband is also an act of faith, hope and love. She submits because she has faith that it is God’s design for the family. She has hope that when she submits to her husband’s leadership then he will grow to be a great servant of God. All of this is possible because of her reverence for Christ and her respect for her husband (24).
Husbands must love their wives. (25-33). Let’s read verse 25. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her….” And now verse 28. “In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” Husbands must love their wives. This kind of love is unconditional love. A husband must be like Jesus toward his wife, even laying down his life for her. He must love her like he loves his own body. He must pray for her and make an environment for her to study the Bible, perhaps doing the housework sometimes, so that she can have some uninterrupted quiet time in the word of God. In general he must try his best to present her to Jesus as a radiant bride. When he does, his family life will be a reflection of how Jesus loves the church. Also when a wife is loved like this she will easily submit to her husband.
How is this submission on the man’s part? This kind of love does not come naturally. Usually husbands want their wives to serve them. They want to take care of their own bodies well, like going to the gym and splashing on “Old Spice” after shave. They want to make sure that they have enough “Me” time for their hobbies ignoring their wife’s tight schedule. They also keep a record of wrongs. To submit and follow Paul’s instructions requires humility. It requires sacrifice. But a Christian man must submit in this way to truly love his wife out of reverence for Christ. And they can be a little more like Jesus.
Third, children and parents. Children must also practice submission. Let’s read verses 1-3. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3’that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Obey means, “to follow the commands or guidance of; to comply with or conform to. (Merriam Webster) For those who have children they will discover that it is very difficult for them to obey…even if the child wants to. They are so excited about living, that most of the time it takes several demands, with a louder and louder voice, for obedience to occur. Obedience can be forced for a while. But true obedience is born out of love. When we love someone, we can obey them from the heart. Jesus’ whole life was marked by obedience to his Father in heaven. It was because he love his Father. (Jn 17b:26b) Therefore when Paul said, “Obey your parents” he meant, “Show love to your parents by following their commands and their guidance…co-operate with them because they love you…and you should love them.”
Paul also tells children to “Honor your father and mother’—which is the first commandment with a promise…” (2) To honor means “a showing of respect” (Merriam Webster) Most times young children honor their parents. Many honor and respect their parents throughout their life time. But sometimes kids get older and begin to see their parents’ faults and criticize them. But here Paul does not say that they should honor their parents if their parents deserve it. They should simply honor them…period. This reveals God for God honors and respects us unconditionally.
There is also a ministry application in all this teaching about parents and children. All of us have someone who either led us to Jesus or has been mentoring us to help us grow as disciples. They are like spiritual parents. Paul was a spiritual father to several people. He once referred to Timothy and Titus as his true son in the faith. (1 Tim 1:2; Titus 1:4) Paul taught them the word of God, planted God’s hope in them and discipled them. He went ahead of them, setting the example of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Paul had many sons and daughters in the faith. And they loved him. When he prayed with the elders of the Ephesus church, they cried because they knew that they would not see him again. (Acts 20:36-38) They obey Paul, honored him and co-worked together in the task of world mission. Through their submitting to Paul’s leadership out of their reverence for Christ, the Gospel spread quickly across the Roman world.
What about those who feel that they just can’t obey and honor their parents? Paul says, “obey your parents in the Lord.” Obeying your parents in the lord can mean two things. It could mean that you should obey them as long as they don’t tell you to deny Jesus. But it can also mean that when it is hard to love and honor your parents, then you should take deeper root in Jesus and Jesus will help you.
Parents are also called to submit to the truth of God in raising their children. Let’s read verse 4. “4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” “Exasperate” was a very difficult word for me. This means to irritate or annoy; to excite the anger of. (Miriam Webster) I am afraid that I exasperate my kids too often. I need to repent and learn this lesson well. The fact is that children are very sensitive. They are easily brought to tears. When they don’t understand why they are being disciplined, they get angry. Parents can make unreasonable demands not based on the truth of God, but rather on their impatience, anger, judgmental feelings or human expectations. They also can make their kids angry by living according to the principle, “do as I say but not as I do.” This would make anyone angry.
To not exasperate children does not mean to just be their buddy and let them grow like weeds. Look at verse 4b, “…instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” A father should do his best to direct, guide and discipline his children so they may be successful, happy and hopefully disciples of Jesus. I think of Abraham in Genesis 18:18-19. It reads, “Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him." Abraham directed his children to keep the way of the Lord through his practical example. All those under his care saw his life of faith and his sincere spiritual struggle and they were influenced by him. I think that the best way to bring our children up in the training and instruction of the Lord is first show them lots of love, but also to have 1:1 Bible study with them, even from a young age. Make sure the kids see us praying, serving, creating Bible material, having Bible students come to our home, etc. When a parent’s lifestyle is one of submission to Christ, then the children will not become exacerbated, but rather may become willing co-workers in the work of God, even when demands are made on them.
When parents submit like this, then they reveal Jesus. We are God’s children, but does Jesus irritate and provoke us? No. He is very patient with us. Through his word and his Spirit he teaches us. He goes on ahead of us to show us the way. (Jn 10:4) He is by our side for our entire lifetime helping is to grow spiritually. This is Jesus. Let’s pray that we may reveal Jesus through our relationships with our children. Let us pray that we can have happy homes with love marked by submission to one another.
Third, slaves are called to submit to their masters. Look at verses 5-8, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” In the Roman world slavery was a part of life. In some Roman cities, two thirds of the population were slaves. Many of the early Christian converts were from the slave class. In regards to a slave’s attitude to his master, Paul uses the expressions “just as you would obey Christ,” and “doing the will of God from your heart,” and “as if you were serving the Lord.” In order to submit in this way, they needed to repent of bitter feelings and embrace a humble, obedient spirit.
But in our modern western society there are no slaves, (except for Visa slaves). Then what do these words mean to us? Well, there are relationships that Christians find themselves in where this principle may apply. What at about the employee/boss relationship? Employees should respect their bosses and with sincerity of heart, work hard as you would work for Christ. Don’t steal from your employers and give them an honest day’s work. What about the student/professor relationship? Students, obey your professors with respect and sincerity of heart. Listen attentively, take notes, do your homework on time with a scholarly attitude. Grow under his/her mentorship just as you would study under Christ. What about athlete/coach relationship? Athletes, respect and obey your coaches. Go to open gym. Always give 110%. Be there for all practices and games. Be an encouragement. When we find ourselves in a slave/master situation, instead of being bitter and turning and running, we must make each interaction a lesson in living before the Lord. Even though our employers may not recognize us, and our professors may fail to see our effort, or our coaches may keep us on the sidelines, and our Visa Masters may keep us in perpetual debt, Paul promises “the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does.” (8a) We must live before God and do our best to please Jesus.
There are a few chosen ones whom God has placed in the master position. How does Paul call them to submit? Look at verse 9. “And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.” Masters were to treat their slaves with respect for God is the Master of all. Today, all people in positions of power and authority must remember that they have been chosen to lead, equip and inspire those under their authority to help them work hard, live for the glory of God, and bear much fruit in their lives. One day they will have to give account to the One who is over them in heaven.
In this passage we discovered that in order to have a healthy and joyful Christian community, we need to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Submission is never easy, for it takes great humility but when we submit to our fellow believers, the peace of heaven can become manifest among us and Jesus can be revealed vividly through our humble submission. Whatever situation you may find yourself in, a husband, a wife, a child or a parent, a slave or a master, there are clear ways that God is calling you to practice. Do so …and be filled with vision that our Christian communities at NIU and U Of I Champaign Urbana can become like the Ephesian church.
Let’s read our key verse together. Verse 5:21, ““Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” And not lets read out motto, nice and loud….COMMIT TO SUBMIT.
Showing posts with label Ephesians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ephesians. Show all posts
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Ephesians 5:1-20
Be Imitators Of God
Ephesians 5:1-20 Delivered by Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-7-10
Verse 5:1,
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children”
Introduction to Ephesians.
For the next few weeks, we will study Ephesians. It is in order to prepare our hearts and our minds for our visit to the U of I Champaign UBF. Afterwards we will be studying the full armor of God (Eph 6). I hope to also have an “Armor of God” Bible School to bring in the new semester. In order to get into Ephesians, it is proper to get a little background. We can get some history of the Ephesian Church from Acts 19-28. Paul came to Ephesus from Corinth. The city was a commercial center of the Roman world. Revelation talks about 7 churches of God. Ephesian church is one of them. (Rev 2) You can go to Turkey and visit Ephesus. There Paul found twelve disciples and helped them to receive the baptism of Spirit. Paul entered the synagogue for three months, arguing persuasively among the Jews about the kingdom of God. He took the disciples and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus for two years. Everyone who touched Paul was healed of their sickness. Many demon worshippers became believers. Converts burned their sorcery books at a cost of over 1 million dollars. Paul’s teaching brought spiritual revival to the city. But not everyone was happy. A silver Smith got really upset because no one wanted to worship Artemus and buy his idols. He incited the crowd and many Ephesian citizens tried to kill Paul. A riot almost broke out. But God saved Paul and he left and set out for Macedonia. Ephesus was the city where Paul gave his heart and raised the disciples of Jesus who went on to pioneer Asia Minor.
One year, Paul was compelled by the Holy Spirit to go to bring a financial offering to Jerusalem from the Gentiles in Asia Minor. This was a dangerous journey but absolutely necessary for the advancement of the church. Paul was not sure whether he would arrive in Jerusalem dead or alive. On the way to Jerusalem, Paul met the elders of Ephesus. They were mutually encouraged by each others’ faith. He told them this would be the last time that they may see him. He gave them some life-giving advice in verses 36-38, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of Lord Jesus himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give then to receive.’" Paul had many things to say to the brothers and sisters at Ephesus, but what grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. They all knelt down and prayed. They all wept as they embraced each other. Then they accompanied him to the ship. The Ephesian Church was full of love. They had true friendship in Jesus.
Chapters 21-28 of the book of Acts is about an exciting story of Paul going to Jerusalem but his plan was modified by God and he went to Rome as a prisoner. Initially he had some freedom to rent a house and have visitors. (Acts 28:30-31) For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the LORD Jesus Christ. Then, one day, he was thrown into a dungeon, a real prison. It was dark and dirty. Paul was all alone.
This was about the year A.D. 60. Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, wrote this letter to his dearly beloved disciples. (Eph 3:1, 4:1, 6:20) In his prison, he knelt before God and prayed for them. (Eph 1 and 3). Paul was not sure that he would come out of prison alive. His future was uncertain. He loved the disciples of Jesus in Ephesus. He knew that they might be discouraged because of his suffering. (3:13). If you knew that your time on this planet was short, what would you say to your beloved disciples and co-workers in the gospel? Well, he wrote the most appropriate things in the Book of Ephesus. Let's study portions of this letter knowing that Paul was in prison and he was pouring our his love and concern for this young church.
In Ephesians 5, Paul encouraged the Ephesian Christians to live a life of love. The phrase, “live a life of love,” might be the best summary of how to live out our new lives in Jesus. What better way to live a life of love than to imitate God. For God so loved the world that he sent his One and Only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16) It’s not easy to imitate anyone. It requires humility and heart. Let’s learn from Paul what a life of love is and how to live a life of love by imitating the life of our Lord Jesus.
Part l: Live A Life Of Love. (1-7)
First, the best way to live a life of love is to be imitators of God. (1) Look at verse 1. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children….” To “be imitators” means to learn from someone else in order to master something. Sometimes the word “imitation” has a negative connotation because it conjures up images of low quality, counterfeit branded products made overseas. Moreover, our culture places a high premium on originality and creativity. No one wants to be accused of imitating anyone. They feel that it beneath them to imitate anyone. But the truth is, that without imitating, we cannot master anything, be it a field of study or a skill. Nor are we able to be original and creative without first learning to imitate. This lays a foundation in order to be creative. Let’s think about some great people in our culture. Ludwig Von Beethoven is a composer and is universally acknowledged as a creative genius. He was a child prodigy but he knew that to be a great musician, he had to study under a great musician. He wanted to study under Mozart and he eventually studied under Haydn. He practiced for ten hours a day. Only by imitating and learning from Haydn, could Beethoven become the great composer we know today.
To imitate is not easy. In the ancient world, a young man named Demosthenes, was ridiculed for his weak voice and poor pronunciation. So he went to the best orator of his time. In order to be trained to imitate his teacher’s pronunciation, Demosthenes put small pebbles in his mouth and practiced until he could speak clearly through the pebbles. To imitate his teacher’s volume, Demosthenes practiced on the seashore to train his voice to be louder than the roaring waves. By imitating his teacher, Demosthenes became one of the best orators in history.
We are familiar with imitating. Some people want to be like their favorite athlete. They imitate how they practice and play and even wear the same clothes and shoes. To be successful in their careers and in business, some people imitate Bill Gates or Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. When we visit the Art Institute of Chicago, or the NIU school of art, we can see art students with paint and canvas, reproducing masterpieces and imitating the styles and techniques of famous artists. Our kids are in a praise band. If they want to grow to new heights in their worship music, they need to imitate great worship bands like Jesus Culture. Without imitation, we forever remain mediocre or worse.
We need to humble ourselves and live a life of imitation and then we can become the creative genius’ that we all want us to be. Why is it in America that we look at good examples around us and we never want to learn from them? We may envy them but we don’t want to imitate them. A lot of people compliment me about my family. They envy what God has given our house church. I think that they can have it too, if they learn to imitate. What did I do? Julie and I married by faith, sharing a common faith and common mission in life. We dedicated our family to serve Jesus and his mission, in our case, it is campus mission. We try to surrender ourselves to Jesus. We go to church every week. We attempt to study the Bible with a scholarly attitude. All of my children have one-to-one Bible study. We have daily bread, family prayer meetings, daily. We try to minister to the lost flock of God. We prepare music for each Sunday worship service from Thursday every week. I am not saying this to brag. I am only saying this to give people some direction. Do you want a family like mine? Well, imitate us as we strive to imitate Jesus. But we are not the ones to imitate actually.
Who or what, then, should we imitate? Let’s read verse 1. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.” It is one thing to imitate other people to learn some skill or technique, but Paul says that children of God must be imitators of God. To be imitators of God is more than just coming to church. To imitate God is to learn his heart and mind and grow to be like Jesus. To imitate God is to grow in the fullness of God’s love. We can really imitate God when we are sure that we are dearly loved by God. Children, who are sure about their parents’ love, almost instinctively imitate them. They learn not only skills but they especially learn their parents’ heart and mind for them. In this way, they also learn to love others. To be imitators of God we must be sure that God is our Heavenly Father who loves us as his precious children.
Second, live a life of love. (2) How can we be imitators of God? Let’s read verse 2. “… and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” We best imitate God when we live a life of love. The phrase, “live a life of love”, is very beautiful. It inspires us to overcome selfishness and our differences with others to live a noble and meaningful life of devotion. People often think of love as a feeling but according to the Bible, love is expressed as a lifestyle. “Live a life of love.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 say, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” All of these things about love are not so much about how we feel as much as they are about how we live. We live a life of love when patience, kindness, humility, selflessness, hope and perseverance define our relationships with others. There are so many good examples of those who lived a life of love, like Rev. Yang Won Sohn who adopted the North Korean soldier who murdered his sons during the Korean War; Corrie Ten Boom who forgave the Nazis for killing her family members and brought Christ’s forgiveness to countless people after World War II, and Mother Teresa who loved the poorest of the poor and sickest of the sick in India. These are great people who lived great lives of love for the glory of God. But what about ordinary people like me?
“Live a life of love” sounds good but it also sounds too hard. How can we begin to live a life of love? We cannot by ourselves but we can live a life of love, when we accept God’s love for us. Look at verse 2 again. “… and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Jesus loved us so much that he sacrificed himself on the cross, to take up the punishment for all of our sins. Because Jesus loved us, we have an obligation of love to also love. 1 John 3:16 says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” Therefore, to live a life of love begins by accepting Jesus’ love for us. When we accept Jesus’ love and forgiveness for us, we can love and forgive others. Moreover, we see from Jesus that there is no limit to a life of love. Jesus loved us to the point of death and we ought to do the same for our brothers. Knowing Jesus’ love enables us to do that. I am far from living the life of love that Jesus wants me to live. I am not patient. I am not gentle, I am not kind. I keep a record of wrongs. Especially to those who are closest to me. I need to learn of Jesus and be changed in my inner person in order to live a life of love.
During this summer, there were three Bible conferences in Latin America. God is doing great and fantastic things in faraway places through our missionaries. A missionary’s life is not glamorous but difficult. Many have no security in this world. Many struggle with language, cultural differences and loneliness. Some struggle with their health. Some are in danger because of their missionary activities. Some worry about their children’s future. Why, then, do they remain in the mission field? It is because they love the people. They live a life of love and God has blesses their ministry.
We, too, can live a life of love from exactly where we are. Then we can be instrumental in leading students to faith in Jesus and helping them to grow in that faith. Usually, though, we can not live up to this heavenly standard of living even though we really wanted to do so. It is so easy to live a life of pride, a life of selfishness and a life of indifference but not a life of love. Still Jesus’ love and grace are limitless. Surely he will help us when we decide, by faith. Let us pray to live as Jesus lived by loving as he loved. May God bless each of us to live the most beautiful life – a life of love.
Third, not even a hint…. (3-7) A life of love is also characterized by moral purity. Let’s read verses 3-4. “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or course joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” Sexual immorality, impurity, greed, obscenity, foolish talk and course joking are all antithetical to a life of love. We must not have even a hint of these things in our lives. Why?
Paul gives a strong warning about this in verse 5. “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater - has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Immorality, impurity and greed lead to idolatry so we must get rid of these things in our lives. But everywhere we go, whether work, school, the movie theatre or anywhere else, we find immorality, impurity and greed. So we must be careful not to be partners with these things or with people who do these things. The most common conversation topics involve gossip complaining, immoral things or course joking or all of the above. As God’s holy people, we must not participate in those things. Rather, we must be ready to give thanks to God in any situation. The life of love is characterized by thanksgiving to God, thereby being a good influence on others, encouraging them not to go astray.
Part ll: You Are Light In The Lord. (8-20)
A fundamental change in our lives has been occurred since we have been touched by Jesus’ love. Let’s read verse 8a. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Paul says that in the past, we were not only in darkness but we were darkness itself. But Jesus changed is. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus transferred us form the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, his light. After accepting Jesus, we are no longer dark. Rather we became light in the Lord. Our lives and our whole family can be a blessing, to many around us. All true Christians are light in the Lord. Instead of bringing darkness, we shine Jesus’ light wherever we go. Jesus’ light brings forgiveness, love and hope. Jesus’ light gives meaning to our lives. I really enjoy going to Bible conferences. Do you know why? It is because when I go to Bible conferences I am surrounded by people whose faces shine like the sun because of the grace of Jesus poured out on them. This is not a comment about their skin tone – it was a comment about their souls. I thank God that our family could be a blessing to the people of DeKalb Christian Church. I thank God that Sarah could shine the light of Jesus on her friends at her recent birthday party. I pray that we can be light in the Lord to the students of NIU and Kishwaukee College.
Imitating Jesus’ life of love shines Jesus’ light in us, into the world. How can we do so? First, live as children of light. (8-14) Let’s read verses 8b-10. “Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.” In Jesus, we are light. There is no room for darkness. We should not be angels in church and devils at home. Instead we must consistently live out our new identities as children of light and bear good fruit. This requires finding out what pleases the Lord. Children of light must study the Bible, pray and then put God’s word into practice.
Children of light stay away from the fruitless deeds of darkness. Look at verse 11. “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” According to verse 12, they should not even talk about what is done in darkness because those deeds are so shameful. Darkness pervades the world but children of light drive it out by shining Jesus’ light. They do so by living a life of love. Children of light also expose the fruitlessness of darkness so that people may turn from their darkness and live a fruitful life in Jesus. Let’s live as children of light and shine brightly through our lives of love.
Second, be wise. (15-21) Let’s read verse 15 together. “Be very careful, then how you live – not as unwise, but as wise….” It is pure wisdom to decide to live a life imitating God, especially Jesus’ life of love. In particular we need wisdom to make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. When we look at the world, we can become discouraged by the evil things we see. But we must see these things, not as hindrances, but as opportunities to imitate God. In fact, every opportunity is an opportunity to bring glorify God.
Verse 17 says, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Fools live according to their sinful nature but truly wise people understand what God’s will is and seek to imitate God in their daily lives. God does not want us to be filled with all kinds of immorality and course joking, like we read about in verses 3-5. Nor should we live like party animals, as in verse 16. God’s will is for us is to be filled with his Holy Spirit and speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. God’s will is for us to sing and make music to him that expresses our thanks to him. His will for us is to humble ourselves and imitate Jesus’ life of love and sacrifice. It is his will be live as the light of the world, pointing others to the source of our light, Jesus Christ. It all begins when we accept Jesus’ love for each of us personally, taste that love and decide, by faith to imitate him in living a life of love.
Ephesians 5:1-20 Delivered by Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-7-10
Verse 5:1,
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children”
Introduction to Ephesians.
For the next few weeks, we will study Ephesians. It is in order to prepare our hearts and our minds for our visit to the U of I Champaign UBF. Afterwards we will be studying the full armor of God (Eph 6). I hope to also have an “Armor of God” Bible School to bring in the new semester. In order to get into Ephesians, it is proper to get a little background. We can get some history of the Ephesian Church from Acts 19-28. Paul came to Ephesus from Corinth. The city was a commercial center of the Roman world. Revelation talks about 7 churches of God. Ephesian church is one of them. (Rev 2) You can go to Turkey and visit Ephesus. There Paul found twelve disciples and helped them to receive the baptism of Spirit. Paul entered the synagogue for three months, arguing persuasively among the Jews about the kingdom of God. He took the disciples and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus for two years. Everyone who touched Paul was healed of their sickness. Many demon worshippers became believers. Converts burned their sorcery books at a cost of over 1 million dollars. Paul’s teaching brought spiritual revival to the city. But not everyone was happy. A silver Smith got really upset because no one wanted to worship Artemus and buy his idols. He incited the crowd and many Ephesian citizens tried to kill Paul. A riot almost broke out. But God saved Paul and he left and set out for Macedonia. Ephesus was the city where Paul gave his heart and raised the disciples of Jesus who went on to pioneer Asia Minor.
One year, Paul was compelled by the Holy Spirit to go to bring a financial offering to Jerusalem from the Gentiles in Asia Minor. This was a dangerous journey but absolutely necessary for the advancement of the church. Paul was not sure whether he would arrive in Jerusalem dead or alive. On the way to Jerusalem, Paul met the elders of Ephesus. They were mutually encouraged by each others’ faith. He told them this would be the last time that they may see him. He gave them some life-giving advice in verses 36-38, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of Lord Jesus himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give then to receive.’" Paul had many things to say to the brothers and sisters at Ephesus, but what grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. They all knelt down and prayed. They all wept as they embraced each other. Then they accompanied him to the ship. The Ephesian Church was full of love. They had true friendship in Jesus.
Chapters 21-28 of the book of Acts is about an exciting story of Paul going to Jerusalem but his plan was modified by God and he went to Rome as a prisoner. Initially he had some freedom to rent a house and have visitors. (Acts 28:30-31) For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the LORD Jesus Christ. Then, one day, he was thrown into a dungeon, a real prison. It was dark and dirty. Paul was all alone.
This was about the year A.D. 60. Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, wrote this letter to his dearly beloved disciples. (Eph 3:1, 4:1, 6:20) In his prison, he knelt before God and prayed for them. (Eph 1 and 3). Paul was not sure that he would come out of prison alive. His future was uncertain. He loved the disciples of Jesus in Ephesus. He knew that they might be discouraged because of his suffering. (3:13). If you knew that your time on this planet was short, what would you say to your beloved disciples and co-workers in the gospel? Well, he wrote the most appropriate things in the Book of Ephesus. Let's study portions of this letter knowing that Paul was in prison and he was pouring our his love and concern for this young church.
In Ephesians 5, Paul encouraged the Ephesian Christians to live a life of love. The phrase, “live a life of love,” might be the best summary of how to live out our new lives in Jesus. What better way to live a life of love than to imitate God. For God so loved the world that he sent his One and Only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16) It’s not easy to imitate anyone. It requires humility and heart. Let’s learn from Paul what a life of love is and how to live a life of love by imitating the life of our Lord Jesus.
Part l: Live A Life Of Love. (1-7)
First, the best way to live a life of love is to be imitators of God. (1) Look at verse 1. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children….” To “be imitators” means to learn from someone else in order to master something. Sometimes the word “imitation” has a negative connotation because it conjures up images of low quality, counterfeit branded products made overseas. Moreover, our culture places a high premium on originality and creativity. No one wants to be accused of imitating anyone. They feel that it beneath them to imitate anyone. But the truth is, that without imitating, we cannot master anything, be it a field of study or a skill. Nor are we able to be original and creative without first learning to imitate. This lays a foundation in order to be creative. Let’s think about some great people in our culture. Ludwig Von Beethoven is a composer and is universally acknowledged as a creative genius. He was a child prodigy but he knew that to be a great musician, he had to study under a great musician. He wanted to study under Mozart and he eventually studied under Haydn. He practiced for ten hours a day. Only by imitating and learning from Haydn, could Beethoven become the great composer we know today.
To imitate is not easy. In the ancient world, a young man named Demosthenes, was ridiculed for his weak voice and poor pronunciation. So he went to the best orator of his time. In order to be trained to imitate his teacher’s pronunciation, Demosthenes put small pebbles in his mouth and practiced until he could speak clearly through the pebbles. To imitate his teacher’s volume, Demosthenes practiced on the seashore to train his voice to be louder than the roaring waves. By imitating his teacher, Demosthenes became one of the best orators in history.
We are familiar with imitating. Some people want to be like their favorite athlete. They imitate how they practice and play and even wear the same clothes and shoes. To be successful in their careers and in business, some people imitate Bill Gates or Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. When we visit the Art Institute of Chicago, or the NIU school of art, we can see art students with paint and canvas, reproducing masterpieces and imitating the styles and techniques of famous artists. Our kids are in a praise band. If they want to grow to new heights in their worship music, they need to imitate great worship bands like Jesus Culture. Without imitation, we forever remain mediocre or worse.
We need to humble ourselves and live a life of imitation and then we can become the creative genius’ that we all want us to be. Why is it in America that we look at good examples around us and we never want to learn from them? We may envy them but we don’t want to imitate them. A lot of people compliment me about my family. They envy what God has given our house church. I think that they can have it too, if they learn to imitate. What did I do? Julie and I married by faith, sharing a common faith and common mission in life. We dedicated our family to serve Jesus and his mission, in our case, it is campus mission. We try to surrender ourselves to Jesus. We go to church every week. We attempt to study the Bible with a scholarly attitude. All of my children have one-to-one Bible study. We have daily bread, family prayer meetings, daily. We try to minister to the lost flock of God. We prepare music for each Sunday worship service from Thursday every week. I am not saying this to brag. I am only saying this to give people some direction. Do you want a family like mine? Well, imitate us as we strive to imitate Jesus. But we are not the ones to imitate actually.
Who or what, then, should we imitate? Let’s read verse 1. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.” It is one thing to imitate other people to learn some skill or technique, but Paul says that children of God must be imitators of God. To be imitators of God is more than just coming to church. To imitate God is to learn his heart and mind and grow to be like Jesus. To imitate God is to grow in the fullness of God’s love. We can really imitate God when we are sure that we are dearly loved by God. Children, who are sure about their parents’ love, almost instinctively imitate them. They learn not only skills but they especially learn their parents’ heart and mind for them. In this way, they also learn to love others. To be imitators of God we must be sure that God is our Heavenly Father who loves us as his precious children.
Second, live a life of love. (2) How can we be imitators of God? Let’s read verse 2. “… and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” We best imitate God when we live a life of love. The phrase, “live a life of love”, is very beautiful. It inspires us to overcome selfishness and our differences with others to live a noble and meaningful life of devotion. People often think of love as a feeling but according to the Bible, love is expressed as a lifestyle. “Live a life of love.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 say, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” All of these things about love are not so much about how we feel as much as they are about how we live. We live a life of love when patience, kindness, humility, selflessness, hope and perseverance define our relationships with others. There are so many good examples of those who lived a life of love, like Rev. Yang Won Sohn who adopted the North Korean soldier who murdered his sons during the Korean War; Corrie Ten Boom who forgave the Nazis for killing her family members and brought Christ’s forgiveness to countless people after World War II, and Mother Teresa who loved the poorest of the poor and sickest of the sick in India. These are great people who lived great lives of love for the glory of God. But what about ordinary people like me?
“Live a life of love” sounds good but it also sounds too hard. How can we begin to live a life of love? We cannot by ourselves but we can live a life of love, when we accept God’s love for us. Look at verse 2 again. “… and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Jesus loved us so much that he sacrificed himself on the cross, to take up the punishment for all of our sins. Because Jesus loved us, we have an obligation of love to also love. 1 John 3:16 says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” Therefore, to live a life of love begins by accepting Jesus’ love for us. When we accept Jesus’ love and forgiveness for us, we can love and forgive others. Moreover, we see from Jesus that there is no limit to a life of love. Jesus loved us to the point of death and we ought to do the same for our brothers. Knowing Jesus’ love enables us to do that. I am far from living the life of love that Jesus wants me to live. I am not patient. I am not gentle, I am not kind. I keep a record of wrongs. Especially to those who are closest to me. I need to learn of Jesus and be changed in my inner person in order to live a life of love.
During this summer, there were three Bible conferences in Latin America. God is doing great and fantastic things in faraway places through our missionaries. A missionary’s life is not glamorous but difficult. Many have no security in this world. Many struggle with language, cultural differences and loneliness. Some struggle with their health. Some are in danger because of their missionary activities. Some worry about their children’s future. Why, then, do they remain in the mission field? It is because they love the people. They live a life of love and God has blesses their ministry.
We, too, can live a life of love from exactly where we are. Then we can be instrumental in leading students to faith in Jesus and helping them to grow in that faith. Usually, though, we can not live up to this heavenly standard of living even though we really wanted to do so. It is so easy to live a life of pride, a life of selfishness and a life of indifference but not a life of love. Still Jesus’ love and grace are limitless. Surely he will help us when we decide, by faith. Let us pray to live as Jesus lived by loving as he loved. May God bless each of us to live the most beautiful life – a life of love.
Third, not even a hint…. (3-7) A life of love is also characterized by moral purity. Let’s read verses 3-4. “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or course joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” Sexual immorality, impurity, greed, obscenity, foolish talk and course joking are all antithetical to a life of love. We must not have even a hint of these things in our lives. Why?
Paul gives a strong warning about this in verse 5. “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater - has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Immorality, impurity and greed lead to idolatry so we must get rid of these things in our lives. But everywhere we go, whether work, school, the movie theatre or anywhere else, we find immorality, impurity and greed. So we must be careful not to be partners with these things or with people who do these things. The most common conversation topics involve gossip complaining, immoral things or course joking or all of the above. As God’s holy people, we must not participate in those things. Rather, we must be ready to give thanks to God in any situation. The life of love is characterized by thanksgiving to God, thereby being a good influence on others, encouraging them not to go astray.
Part ll: You Are Light In The Lord. (8-20)
A fundamental change in our lives has been occurred since we have been touched by Jesus’ love. Let’s read verse 8a. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Paul says that in the past, we were not only in darkness but we were darkness itself. But Jesus changed is. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus transferred us form the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, his light. After accepting Jesus, we are no longer dark. Rather we became light in the Lord. Our lives and our whole family can be a blessing, to many around us. All true Christians are light in the Lord. Instead of bringing darkness, we shine Jesus’ light wherever we go. Jesus’ light brings forgiveness, love and hope. Jesus’ light gives meaning to our lives. I really enjoy going to Bible conferences. Do you know why? It is because when I go to Bible conferences I am surrounded by people whose faces shine like the sun because of the grace of Jesus poured out on them. This is not a comment about their skin tone – it was a comment about their souls. I thank God that our family could be a blessing to the people of DeKalb Christian Church. I thank God that Sarah could shine the light of Jesus on her friends at her recent birthday party. I pray that we can be light in the Lord to the students of NIU and Kishwaukee College.
Imitating Jesus’ life of love shines Jesus’ light in us, into the world. How can we do so? First, live as children of light. (8-14) Let’s read verses 8b-10. “Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.” In Jesus, we are light. There is no room for darkness. We should not be angels in church and devils at home. Instead we must consistently live out our new identities as children of light and bear good fruit. This requires finding out what pleases the Lord. Children of light must study the Bible, pray and then put God’s word into practice.
Children of light stay away from the fruitless deeds of darkness. Look at verse 11. “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” According to verse 12, they should not even talk about what is done in darkness because those deeds are so shameful. Darkness pervades the world but children of light drive it out by shining Jesus’ light. They do so by living a life of love. Children of light also expose the fruitlessness of darkness so that people may turn from their darkness and live a fruitful life in Jesus. Let’s live as children of light and shine brightly through our lives of love.
Second, be wise. (15-21) Let’s read verse 15 together. “Be very careful, then how you live – not as unwise, but as wise….” It is pure wisdom to decide to live a life imitating God, especially Jesus’ life of love. In particular we need wisdom to make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. When we look at the world, we can become discouraged by the evil things we see. But we must see these things, not as hindrances, but as opportunities to imitate God. In fact, every opportunity is an opportunity to bring glorify God.
Verse 17 says, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Fools live according to their sinful nature but truly wise people understand what God’s will is and seek to imitate God in their daily lives. God does not want us to be filled with all kinds of immorality and course joking, like we read about in verses 3-5. Nor should we live like party animals, as in verse 16. God’s will is for us is to be filled with his Holy Spirit and speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. God’s will is for us to sing and make music to him that expresses our thanks to him. His will for us is to humble ourselves and imitate Jesus’ life of love and sacrifice. It is his will be live as the light of the world, pointing others to the source of our light, Jesus Christ. It all begins when we accept Jesus’ love for each of us personally, taste that love and decide, by faith to imitate him in living a life of love.
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