Lesson 17 Ephesians 4:1-16

Transcription

1 Lesson 17 Ephesians 4:1-16 Conduct Counts What would you do if you won the lottery? Surveys show that at the top of most people s list is quitting their job. For years everyone in my department at work would contribute $5 to buy communal lottery tickets once the jackpot got large enough to trigger the greed response in my coworkers. Based on the return of our investment in lottery tickets, I d have a better chance of being struck by lightning or being attacked by a shark in my bathtub than winning any serious money in the lottery. So why did I play? My reason was I didn t want to be the only person returning to work the day after everyone else retired on their lottery winnings. One survey of Power Ball winners in Florida found that 44% were dead broke within five years of winning the lottery. 1 Another national survey cited in Reader s Digest found that seven out of ten of those winning between one and one hundred million dollars had spent their entire windfall within five years. 2 Apparently they didn t know how to act with their newly acquired wealth and squandered their resources. Paul is going to make sure this doesn t happen to us. Even if we had won the lottery, before becoming a Christian we were spiritually bankrupt and invested ourselves in all manner of activities to find purpose, pleasure, and meaning for our life. The good news, or gospel, is that when we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we inherited something much better than the lottery from God s inexhaustible supply of riches. Paul spent the first three chapters of this letter explaining what we ve gained. His opening prayer for the Ephesians was that God would open the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may ~ 1 ~

2 know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:18). The entire emphasis of the epistle pivots on the hinge therefore found in verse 1 of chapter 4. Like a wise investment counselor, Paul will spend the last three chapters of Ephesians instructing them how to best spend their inheritance for maximal spiritual gain. John Piper details the need for this instruction in his book Don t Waste Your Life. Piper describes believers who have invested their spiritual gifts poorly as having a saved soul but a lost life. At the opposite ends of Ephesians 4 we are given two simple tests to measure our behavior as Christians. In verse 1, Paul pleads with his audience to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. Several of my former teammates had qualified to represent our country in international competition and wear the USA uniform. The common thread as I asked them about the experience was their commitment to bring honor not to themselves but to our country on the world stage. We are told in this chapter to put on the new man which bears the logo Christian. In a similar fashion we should do all we can to bring honor to the One we represent to the world. On the far end of the passage, in verse 30, we are told, Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Many of us, growing up, knowing the sacrifices our parents made for us, had a healthy fear of disappointing them. Now as adult believers shouldn t we be motivated to not disappoint or grieve our heavenly Father? Ninety-two percent of the members of the 114th Congress claim to be Christians compared to 73% of the general population. 3 It appears in this age of political correctness that most of America is more concerned with offending others and preserving the right to sin than offending God. Pollsters reveal that the majority of Americans believe our nation is in serious trouble. The only lasting solution is not found in politics but in a spiritual revival of our nation. As 2 Chronicles 7:14 states, revival needs to start with us: If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land (NKJV, emphasis added). 3 ~ 2 ~

3 When our behavior as believers follows these two simple mandates given in Ephesians 4, we will see the start of that revival. Prayer Start by praying over the passage and asking the Holy Spirit to give you fresh insights and wisdom in understanding it. Then read through the entire passage two or three times. Scripture Meditation/Memorization One of the most fundamental and rewarding Christian disciplines that pays back in full spiritual dividends is Bible meditation/memorization. It is an absolutely fundamental in the formation of your spiritual development, spiritual walk and faith growth. In Psalm 1:1-2 (NLT), the Psalmist warrior, King David said, Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. Memory Verse He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16 NLT Ephesians 4:1-6 Walk in Unity The first three chapters of Ephesians have described the blessings and privileges we have as followers of Christ, while the final three chapters of this epistle describe our obligations and outline what should be our practical response to the gifts given to us. 1. The conjunction therefore in verse 1 links the first and last three chapters together in a cause-and-effect relationship. Because of the blessings we have received described in the first section it should affect our relations in the ways Paul will now describe. As you reflect on what we ve learned in the first three chapters of Ephesians, pick out and describe two or three blessings that stood out to you as particularly amazing. ~ 3 ~

4 2. When Paul wrote this letter he was chained to a Roman soldier in a rented house serving as his prison while awaiting trial on trumped up charges. Most would have described Paul as a prisoner of the Roman Empire. However due to Paul s view of God s sovereignty, His absolute control over the affairs of men and nature, he saw it differently. a. How did Paul view his present state of incarceration? How would that have impacted his outlook? b. In a similar fashion Joseph was unjustly sold into slavery by his brothers and later, like Paul, falsely imprisoned. How did Joseph view his experience in hindsight (see Genesis 50:19 20)? 3. Paul then implores his audience in the strongest of terms, I beseech you (used only here and in Romans 12:1), to act in accordance with our inheritance. Paul fills in the details later but summarizes our new conduct as to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. a. What does this powerful imperative (command) mean to you? ~ 4 ~

5 b. How could this directive be used as a litmus test to measure our behavior? 4. Paul then gives specifics about our behavior. What do the following verses tell us about these traits? a. Lowliness/Humility (Philippians 2:3) b. Gentleness/Meekness may need to define meekness (Matthew 5:5 and Psalm 37:11) c. Longsuffering/Patient (as a characteristic of God, 2 Peter 3:9) d. Bearing with One Another in Love (Colossians 3:13 14) ~ 5 ~

6 e. The church today is a fragmented body of believers. While unity does not mean uniformity, like cookie-cutter Christians, there are certain nonnegotiable points that we must agree upon. There are seven ones listed in verses 4 and 5; list them and give a brief explanation of what Paul means by each of them. _ Ephesians 4:7-16 Spiritual Gifts 1. Paul quotes Psalm 68:18 (a psalm of ascension up Mount Sinai to Mount Zion; see Psalm 68:17) but changes one aspect. In the original psalm, God received gifts from men but in Ephesians 4:8, He gave gifts to men. a. What do you think the significance is of Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, changing the reading of Psalm 68:18 in this passage? (Look back to Ephesians 4:7 and forward to Ephesians 4:11). b. How did Jesus fulfill this Messianic psalm (verse 8) in His life and ministry? Paul explains more about this in verses 9 and 10. ~ 6 ~

7 c. Many in the early church believed that Christ, following His death and prior to His resurrection, descended into Sheol to redeem the Old Testament saints in Abraham s Bosom (one of the two compartments in Sheol). Authorities today are split on whether this passage supports that view. Read 1 Peter 3:18 20 and offer your opinion and reasoning. 2. Paul lists four offices, or leadership roles, in the church. Briefly describe their purpose/function: a. Apostle (qualifications given in Acts 1:21 22) b. Prophet c. Evangelist (root word is euangelion: good news ) d. Pastor (pastor is the Latin word for shepherd)/teacher ~ 7 ~

8 3. BMW has a simple mission statement: To produce the ultimate driving machine. These four different groups of church leaders share a simple yet vital mission statement; you will find it in verses 12 through 16. Capture the essence of these verses in your own mission statement for the leaders of the church. 4. There are two major inland bodies of water in Israel. The Sea of Galilee has an inlet and an outflow while the Dead Sea merely has an inlet with no outlet. How is this a metaphor/analogy for a vital church (read verse 12 carefully)? 5. As we read verses 13 16, Paul admonishes us to grow up. By investing your valuable time in studying God s Word with other believers under gifted teaching, you are fulfilling his admonition. Paul describes the ultimate goal of this active pursuit of God in 2 Timothy 2:15. What does it tell us? 6. *What do these verses (vv ) teach about the characteristics of 1) maturity and 2) immaturity? 4 4 Question taken from The Message of Galatians, The Bible Speaks Today commentary, Inter-Varsity Press-USA, 1986 ~ 8 ~

9 a. How can we become more mature? _ Lesson 17 Summary/Take Away To avoid walking in circles when lost in the wilderness, survival instructors teach their students to pick out the most prominent point in the distant landscape and walk toward it. In a similar sense we need to pick out the single most important truth in this week s study and apply it in our life as we walk toward Jesus and out of the wilderness. Please share with your group what that truth is for you, and how will you apply it this week: Memory Verse He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16 NLT Key Words/Phrases Write out the definition of these key words. You can use a regular dictionary or go to one of the Greek sources listed in the Tool Box at the end of the study. You may ~ 9 ~

10 also use a concordance to see where else and how the word is used in the Bible. How would these phrases instruct or encourage us today? Hope of Your Calling (verse 4) Tool Box Step 1: The Bible. Read the passage in a couple of different versions. If you are having trouble understanding a passage, choose a more dynamic version such as New Living Translation. To focus in on the exact meaning of a verse, choose a more literal translation such as English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible or New King James Version. Step 2: Study Tools. Use these to help you dig deeper. Background Information: 1) Unger s Bible Dictionary, 2) Bible Dictionaries online at biblestudytools.com and blueletterbible.com. (recommend both David Guzick and Chuck Smith s commentaries/study notes); Word Studies: 1) Zodhiates The Complete Word Study New Testament, 2) Vine s Complete Expository Dictionary, and 3) Strong s Dictionary of Bible Words. Step 3: Commentaries. Commentaries should not be used in place of studying God s Word directly, but they can give you additional insights. Some good commentaries include: Warren Wiersbe, J. Vernon McGee, F.F. Bruce, the Expositors Bible Commentary, NIV Application Commentary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary (edited by Walvoord & Zuck), the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, and William Barclay (*great for background and culture, but be careful of his spiritual applications). Step 4: Online Assistance. Should you have a specific question about the study please your inquiry to: mannygwcm@gmail.com ~ 10 ~

11 MESSAGE NOTES Teacher: ~ 11 ~

12 ~ 12 ~