Trying to live the Christian life Ephesians 4
Trying to live the Christian life? Ephesians 4:1-....
Today's reading from Ephesians opens up with a challenge " As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,…"
Are you struggling with living the Christian life? Of course we all are. An illustration I came across shows us where our strength is.
" The famous Welsh preacher D. Martyn Lloyd Jones illustrated this struggle well. ( the temptation to obey sin and not Christ) In 1865 the work of Abraham Lincoln and others to abolish slavery in the United States finally came to fruition. All slaves were declared free. Lloyd-Jones says to imagine you had grown up a slave in Alabama. One minute you're a slave. The next, you are free---legally, officially and forever free. While you may now have your freedom, your internal grasp of that freedom may take some time to catch up to the reality....But the reality is that you are free. You are not a slave." in the booklet " Live Free- A Fresh Look at the Fruit of the Spirit" by Constantine Campbell. ( a deacon in the Australian Anglican Church)
If we are born of the Spirit of God, our new life is in the Spirit ,yet we continue in the flesh and those things that are condemned by the Apostle in Galatians 5 ( the works of the flesh----) we still muddle with. As a kid I remember I was playing in the mud as kids do. My mother came out to check on me and saw what I looked like. She quickly got me to play in the dirt that was dry. God is like that . In the person of the Spirit He draws us to Christ for eternal life , then continues to woo us back to those things that are good for us now. The Apostle put it this way in his letter to the Philippians, " whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just , whatsover things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsover things are of good report; if there be any virtue , and if there be any praise think on these things." 4:8
Get stressed at all? Meditation , contemplation, prayer and adoration of God are a beginning for us as Christians. What are those things that are true , honest, just, virtuous, and lovely that we can think on? It is hard to do in the world we live in, a world of competition, money , lust and greed , and looking out for number one. We know God's truth. "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers."
I often think of Psalm 1 when I think of this thought of the goodness of the Word of God.
1. Living here we must put away the works that the Apostle contrasts with the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5 " uncleaness, wrath, strife ,...." Walk worthy Ephesians 4 says of the vocation where we have been called. The word worthy has an interesting meaning. It literally means aksíōs, English axis (an adverb) – worthily (viewed as "becoming"); suitable because recognized as fitting (having worth that "matches" actual value). This is where we get the expression " worth its weight in gold." In other words the weights match. Be who we are, not our old natures.
2. If we are Christians then the course of action is clear. We go back to our text in 4:1 of Ephesians....How are we to live?
"with humility and gentleness"
tapeinophrosýnē- tapo ( low -flying) phreno- of mind from Word Studies ("lowliness, humility") is an inside-out virtue produced by comparing ourselves to the Lord (rather than to others). This brings behavior into alignment with this inner revelation to keep one from being self-exalting (self-determining, self-inflated). For the believer, 5012 /tapeinophrosýnē ("humility") means living in complete dependence on the Lord, i.e. with no reliance on self (the flesh).
"gentleness"-this is meekness but notice the word praus " This difficult-to-translate root (pra-) means more than "meek." Biblical meekness is not weakness but rather refers to exercising God's strength under His control – i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness. Word Studies
" with patience"- long suffering lit. If in English we had an adjective 'long-tempered' as a counterpart to 'short-tempered,' then makrothymia could be called the quality of being 'long-tempered'. . . . which is a quality of God (LXX, Ex 34:6)" (F. F. Bruce, Commentary on Galatians, 253).
"Bearing with one another in love" the love there is agape which is sacrificial love
3. How do we measure our progress? Of course God knows it exactly. We had a test which we did in one of our courses in the Army Advanced Course called the Johari Window which measured by your evaluation, and then others that also evaluated you what you were coming across as. Our blind spot was known as the Johari Window. There are areas we think we are good at , and , lo and behold we find not so much the case.
Perhaps if we would take a self inventory it would be helpful.
NASB says it this way:"
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: [i]immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, [j]factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who [k]belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also [l]walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another."
---Hard to do isn't it?
Another way would be to take the Ten Commandments and ask questions around each of them about our spiritual and personal actual living.
For ex. Commandment 1
" Am I open to God's will?"
" Am I willing to turn away from anything that makes my soul unworthy?"
Commandment 2
" do I use profanity?"
Have I done unecessary work on Sunday? from the Cmdt to obey the Lord's Day
You get the idea. A self examination is certainly a good idea for us.
We may want to use this prayer as we do it," Show me, O Lord, Your mercy, and delight my heart with it. Let me find You whom I so longingly seek. Behold, here is the man whom the robbers seized, manhandled, and left half dead on the road to Jericho. Kind-hearted Samaritan, come to my aid! I am the sheep who wandered into the wilderness. Seek after me and bring me home again to Your fold. Do with me according to Your Will, that I may abide with You all the days of my life, and praise You with all those who are with You in heaven for all eternity. Amen.” ST Jerome
Conclusion- We have to take a look at where we are in the kingdom of God in our spiritual progress. If we are Christians who believe in Christ through the Holy Spirit the riches and mines of the Scriptures the Church and the Apostolic tradition are ours. We must avail ourselves of the opportunity to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This takes work but it is successful as Christians if we begin in the Spirit's power and teaching through the Holy Scriptures. As the morning hymn says so well ," May Jesus Christ BE Praised."
Today's reading from Ephesians opens up with a challenge " As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,…"
Are you struggling with living the Christian life? Of course we all are. An illustration I came across shows us where our strength is.
" The famous Welsh preacher D. Martyn Lloyd Jones illustrated this struggle well. ( the temptation to obey sin and not Christ) In 1865 the work of Abraham Lincoln and others to abolish slavery in the United States finally came to fruition. All slaves were declared free. Lloyd-Jones says to imagine you had grown up a slave in Alabama. One minute you're a slave. The next, you are free---legally, officially and forever free. While you may now have your freedom, your internal grasp of that freedom may take some time to catch up to the reality....But the reality is that you are free. You are not a slave." in the booklet " Live Free- A Fresh Look at the Fruit of the Spirit" by Constantine Campbell. ( a deacon in the Australian Anglican Church)
If we are born of the Spirit of God, our new life is in the Spirit ,yet we continue in the flesh and those things that are condemned by the Apostle in Galatians 5 ( the works of the flesh----) we still muddle with. As a kid I remember I was playing in the mud as kids do. My mother came out to check on me and saw what I looked like. She quickly got me to play in the dirt that was dry. God is like that . In the person of the Spirit He draws us to Christ for eternal life , then continues to woo us back to those things that are good for us now. The Apostle put it this way in his letter to the Philippians, " whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just , whatsover things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsover things are of good report; if there be any virtue , and if there be any praise think on these things." 4:8
Get stressed at all? Meditation , contemplation, prayer and adoration of God are a beginning for us as Christians. What are those things that are true , honest, just, virtuous, and lovely that we can think on? It is hard to do in the world we live in, a world of competition, money , lust and greed , and looking out for number one. We know God's truth. "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers."
I often think of Psalm 1 when I think of this thought of the goodness of the Word of God.
1. Living here we must put away the works that the Apostle contrasts with the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5 " uncleaness, wrath, strife ,...." Walk worthy Ephesians 4 says of the vocation where we have been called. The word worthy has an interesting meaning. It literally means aksíōs, English axis (an adverb) – worthily (viewed as "becoming"); suitable because recognized as fitting (having worth that "matches" actual value). This is where we get the expression " worth its weight in gold." In other words the weights match. Be who we are, not our old natures.
2. If we are Christians then the course of action is clear. We go back to our text in 4:1 of Ephesians....How are we to live?
"with humility and gentleness"
tapeinophrosýnē- tapo ( low -flying) phreno- of mind from Word Studies ("lowliness, humility") is an inside-out virtue produced by comparing ourselves to the Lord (rather than to others). This brings behavior into alignment with this inner revelation to keep one from being self-exalting (self-determining, self-inflated). For the believer, 5012 /tapeinophrosýnē ("humility") means living in complete dependence on the Lord, i.e. with no reliance on self (the flesh).
"gentleness"-this is meekness but notice the word praus " This difficult-to-translate root (pra-) means more than "meek." Biblical meekness is not weakness but rather refers to exercising God's strength under His control – i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness. Word Studies
" with patience"- long suffering lit. If in English we had an adjective 'long-tempered' as a counterpart to 'short-tempered,' then makrothymia could be called the quality of being 'long-tempered'. . . . which is a quality of God (LXX, Ex 34:6)" (F. F. Bruce, Commentary on Galatians, 253).
"Bearing with one another in love" the love there is agape which is sacrificial love
3. How do we measure our progress? Of course God knows it exactly. We had a test which we did in one of our courses in the Army Advanced Course called the Johari Window which measured by your evaluation, and then others that also evaluated you what you were coming across as. Our blind spot was known as the Johari Window. There are areas we think we are good at , and , lo and behold we find not so much the case.
Perhaps if we would take a self inventory it would be helpful.
NASB says it this way:"
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: [i]immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, [j]factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who [k]belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also [l]walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another."
---Hard to do isn't it?
Another way would be to take the Ten Commandments and ask questions around each of them about our spiritual and personal actual living.
For ex. Commandment 1
" Am I open to God's will?"
" Am I willing to turn away from anything that makes my soul unworthy?"
Commandment 2
" do I use profanity?"
Have I done unecessary work on Sunday? from the Cmdt to obey the Lord's Day
You get the idea. A self examination is certainly a good idea for us.
We may want to use this prayer as we do it," Show me, O Lord, Your mercy, and delight my heart with it. Let me find You whom I so longingly seek. Behold, here is the man whom the robbers seized, manhandled, and left half dead on the road to Jericho. Kind-hearted Samaritan, come to my aid! I am the sheep who wandered into the wilderness. Seek after me and bring me home again to Your fold. Do with me according to Your Will, that I may abide with You all the days of my life, and praise You with all those who are with You in heaven for all eternity. Amen.” ST Jerome
Conclusion- We have to take a look at where we are in the kingdom of God in our spiritual progress. If we are Christians who believe in Christ through the Holy Spirit the riches and mines of the Scriptures the Church and the Apostolic tradition are ours. We must avail ourselves of the opportunity to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This takes work but it is successful as Christians if we begin in the Spirit's power and teaching through the Holy Scriptures. As the morning hymn says so well ," May Jesus Christ BE Praised."
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