More Submission and the Armor of God

Ok- had to touch on the submitting to one another statement once again. Going into Ephesians 6, the parent-child and master-slave relationship is clearly delineated as to how the child and slave were to submit.

1. Child's role: to obey and honor parents. While obeying refers to a time frame of when the child lived under the parent's care, honor is to be a life time goal. A special promise is attached for long life and prosperity in the Lord.

2. Slaves: obeying their masters and serving their masters unto the Lord and not as unto men. So what does this mean? The slave is to do his best job in a way that will honor God. An idea given from Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary: " Some ancient writers spoke of 'wholehearted service' or 'enthusiasm (eunoia) as a virtue for slaves." In other words, not just obeying, but doing his/her absolute best for the master.

It is important to note that both the slave and child are to submit to Christ first in their actions, attitudes, etc. which therefore brings about the right submission to their parents/masters. But, let's look at how the parents are to submit to their children, and the masters are to submit to the slaves! (Keep in mind that submission means "putting the interests of others before your own" while reading this)

3. Parents (specifically fathers as they are to be the head of the household): not to provoke children to wrath meaning to "exercise sensitivity and moderation in authority and discipline." (Zondervan)

4. Masters: They are to submit in that they do not rule their slaves with severity and, that they are to remember that there are no favorites with God regardless of social status.

Doesn't submission make so much more sense now???? :)

Armor of God: We've heard a lot about it before- let's apply it. It's important to note that Paul says to be strong in the Lord. The people of this day were attempting to be strong through idols, formulas, incantations, etc. God wants us to be strong as a result of his relationship. Also the verb "wrestle" is important (v.12) which gives us an idea of the direct struggle between satan and his forces vs. the Christian. And, before going into the different pieces, let's point out that Paul himself asked for prayer for himself that he would be bold and use his difficult imprisonment situation as God would see fit. He saw God instead of the circumstance. (Previous Taken from Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary) Now for the pieces and application- taken straight from Life Application Study Bible.

Belt of Truth: satan fights with lies, and sometimes his lies sound like truth; but only believers have God's truth, which can defeat satan's lies.

Breastplate of Righteousness: Satan often attacks our heart- the seat of our emotions, self-worth, and trust. God's righteousness is the breastplate that protects our heart and ensures his approval. He approves of us because He loves us and sent His Son to die for us.

Shoes of readiness to spread the Good News: Satan wants us to think that telling others the good News is a worthless and hopeless task-the size of the task is too big and the negative rsponses are too much to handle. But the shoes God gives us are the motivation to continue to proclaim the true peace that is available in God-news everyone needs to hear.

The shield of faith: What we see are Satan's attacks in the form of insults, setbacks, and temptations. But the shileld of faith protects us from Satan's fiery arrows. With God's perspective, we can see beyond our circumstances and know that ultimate victory is ours.

Helmet of Salvation: satan wants to make us doubt God, Jesus, and our salvation. The helmet protects our mind from doubting God's saving work for us.

Sword of the Spirit (Word of God): The sword is the only weapon of OFFENSE in this list of armor. There are times when we need to take the offensive against satan. When we are tempted, we need to trust in the truth of God's Word.  

 

 

 

 

 

Natural Tendencies of Being Filled with the Spirit & Submission

Continuing onto Ephesians 5: 15-20:
^"See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
¹⁶ Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
¹⁷ Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
¹⁹ Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
²⁰ Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;"

Paul stresses the urgency of evil being all among us and as a result, realizing that we must not waste time doing God's work. He also draws a comparison between being filled with alcoholic beverage vs. being filled with the Holy Spirit. While being drunk (a common practice of worshiping idols in that day) would give a temporary high, being filled with the spirit gives lasting joy. What are some evidences of being filled with the spirit?
1. Praise of God as the center of your worship through psalmos (psalms), hymnos (hymns), and ode (spiritual songs)- all different variety of forms of music in the early church. It is interesting to point out that psalmos was known as a more Jewish form of music while hymnos were used extensively in the Gentile culture (Taken from Zondervan Illustrated Background Bible Commentary). The worship was to be that of the heart and is most focused on the object of our worship (Our Lord) rather than the form of worship.
2. Giving thanks always because we know that ALL THINGS work together for our good and God's glory.
The Life Application Study Bible sums it up nicely this way: " Paul did not intend to suggest that believers only discuss religious matters, but that whatever we do or say should be permeated with an attitude of joy, thankfulness to God, and encouragement of others" Amen!

Now onto the matter of that word "submit." Why are we so scared of this word? As a woman, I know I have heard more than one lady make jokes about submission to their husband or refusing to for that matter. What is the real meaning and context of this word? There are 2 contexts in these verses that is stated.

Ephesians 5: 21-22: ¹ Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
²² Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

Ok- so we're not just supposed to submit to our husbands, we are also to submit to our Christian brethren. New thought for me for sure so I wanted to explore this further.

On the matter of submitting to one another, Mounce's Expository Dictionary uncovered an interesting point: " ... Paul admonished all Christians to submit to each other first, thus transmitting the idea of mutuality. When this manner of submission takes place, then our primary responsibilities to each other as Christian brothers and sisters are highlighted before secondary ones are entertained."  Going on from there, mutuality according to Merriam-Webster carries with it the idea of a reciprocal relationship meaning each side is to submit equally. Keep going with this connection with me. What does submit mean then? Life Application states, " Submission . . . does not mean becoming a door mat... [but] to subordinate our rights to others." Ok- so still sounds like a one-way street for women huh? What about the idea that "both husband and wife are called to submit. Forthe wife, this means willingly following her husband's leadership in Christ. For the husband it means putting aside his own interests in order to care for his wife." (Life application study Bible) Whoa! What just happened there? The idea of submitting to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ paints for us the correct attitude when looking at the idea of submission in marriage. Revelation moment!

Even Christ submitted to the Lord in His sacrificial death. Now I see why we are to submit to each other equally and to God first- It is Christ-like. So ladies, let's remember this, and look at the fact that, while we are asked to submit, the husband has greater responsibility:willingly sacrifice everything for us, make our well-being of primary importance, and care for us as he cares for his own body. How can we not submit to a husband that is equally submitting to his wife in the way God intended? Don't you see that submission is not just us being door mats, but is fulfilling the role God has called us to? When both the husband and wife submit to God and each other as they should, we are picturing the beautiful relationship between Christ and the church.

The last statement in this passage sums up our marriage. We are to become one flesh meaning " caring for your spouse as you care for yourself, learning to anticipate the other person's needs, and helping the other persson become all he or she can be." (Life Application Study Bible) Is is just me or does this discussion put marriage in a whole new light?

As a last note, let's remember that submission to each other includes those that God has put in our lives- pastors, teachers, family members, etc.




 
 

A Sweet-Smelling Savour

Ephesians 5 is undoubtedly packed with truth as the other chapters are, but I felt like the Spirit specifically led me to the phrase in verse 2 " and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour." I searched it out using several different study books and here is what the spirit revealed.

1. The word savour means fragrance or aroma. (Life Application Study Bible) The Greek meaning of the word has great significance! The word is osme. which "means aroma, odor." In this case it is coupled with the phrase sweet smelling or euodias which means "fragrant" which leaves us with the phrase a "fragrant aroma." In this verse, the sacrifice of Christ in His death on the cross was seen as acceptable to God for the sins of the people therefore being a "fragrant aroma" to God. (Quotes from Mounce's Expository Dictionary)

2. The significance of the word osme goes even further as seen in 2 Cor. 2:14-16. "The idea of osme [is] ... a life -giving or death-giving force. " 2 Cor. states: " Now be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death and to the other the savour of life unto life:"  Therefore, to those that hear the gospel and respond, the savour or testimony of Christ in us is a life-giving force as they are now a child of God with hope of heaven. To the person who rejects the gospel, our savour or testimony of the gospel is a stench to them, and they choose death spiritually instead.

3. How could I not go back to OT sacrifice thinking of a fragrance or aroma? Immediately I began to think of the temple and remember upon the altar of incense. While the exact words used in the original text may not be the same, the concept of incense providing a sweet-smelling savour which is acceptable to God is the same. This is because a sacrifice in the temple was our atonement prior to Christ coming and being the final and complete sacrifice for our sins. I was able to draw from a Beth Moore Study on the topic of the altar of Incense entitled " A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place." The Next point will reference the altar of incense and the Holy Spirit dwelling in us in relation to the altar of incense in this study.

4. The altar of incense was the last piece that remained before the vail in front of the holy of holies. It was to have incense burnt on it every morning and evening. Looking through Scripture (e.g. Psalm 141:2, Rev. 5:8, Rev. 8:3) it is made clear that the incense and savour it produces are prayers. Why are prayers so important? "Prayerlessness is a sin because: it causes us to forfeit some of God's precious gifts to us, it makes us much weaker when tempted, it causes us anxiety, and it closes our ears to God." The Beth Moore Study then took me to the example of the sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50 who broke her box of perfume, and wept over and cleaned Jesus' feet. This is a true example of a fragrant aroma to The Lord! Her example gives us a practical example of fragrant worship.

A. " Fragrant worship is costly. It comes only when what is deep inside is lavished on Christ. B. Often , the fragrance of worship cannot truly be released until the vessel is broken. c. Fragrant worship is not hindered by others. D. Fragrant worship places us in a right relationship with God. E. We cannot out-sin our God's ability to forgive. " (Beth Moore study)

Wow! What has the Spirit taught me today?

1. Christ's death on the cross and resurrection was the ultimate sacrifice and ultimate sweet-smelling savour to God because it is acceptable to him.
2. The sweet-smelling savour in the OT came from the altar of incense which was done daily and is representative of prayer to The Lord.
3. We as christians should have a sweet-smelling savour in our actions to glorify God which also produces a testimony for others.
4. Our goal in worship should be fragrant worship. Broken, completely dependent on God, and thankful for all He has done! Glory to the Father!

Psalm of the Week

Psalm 1:1: Friends or influences in your life in general are important. Who influences your life? Chances are they will influence your decisions in life- meaning they could affect how you respond to the leading of God's will in your life. "indifference to God's will is the same as a scoffer who does not know Christ- this is sin." (Life Application Study Bible) Don't be a scoffer or indifferent to the leading of the Spirit.  Think not just about friends but influences- those you look up to, those with a strong opinion, etc. 

Psalm 1:2 : Meditation: continual thinking and thinking and still thinking about the scripture. Hide the words in your heart. Knowledge of The Lord is an essential starting point to becoming Christ-like. " The more we know of the whole scope of God's Word, the more resources we will have for our daily decisions." (Life Application Study Bible) 

Psalm 1:3: " The more we delight in God's presence, the more fruitful we are. On the other hand, the more we allow the dark influences of those who ridicule God to overshadow us, the more we separate ourselves from our source of nourishment." (Life Application Study Bible) We are like a tree whose source of nourishment, or roots is The Lord. This nourishment of The Lord allows us to be fruitful and to not die or wither away. What is our fruit? "Being full of the nourishment of The Lord, we produce action and attitudes that honor God. " (Life Application Study Bible) Our fruit is to be a testimony of the Father in us, and its goal is to glorify God.  The tree also brings forth fruit in "his season"- patience and waiting on The Lord will bring bountiful fruit in the appropriate season- which is according to God's will, not ours. 

What is the opposite side of living a life devoid of any of the Lord's strength? We are chaff- easily removed and tossed about with no meaning or purpose. The chaff was the worthless part of the husk that is carried away with no purpose or future hope. This is the mark not only of the sinner, but of what our sin does to us when we isolate ourselves from relationship or nourishment of the father. 

Now to put attention to the phrase "whatever he doeth shall prosper." What does this really mean? Prosperity points back to how we are to live for the glory of God, not ourselves. "When we apply God's wisdom to our lives, the fruit we bear will be good and will receive God's approval." (Life Application Study Bible)  That is our goal- the glory of Christ. Our fruit is to point to Christ so that others may see, and the fruit is a sign of our prospering which should be focused on the glory of God. 

Practical Christian Living

What a blessing Ephesians is! Chapter 4 is packed with truth- hence the numbered list.

1. The plight of sinful man: The Gentiles (which are not saved) "walk" (or live as defined yesterday) in vanity of THEIR mind (selfishness), have their understanding darkend, are alienated from God, ignorant, blind, and have sacrificed themselves to lasciviousness (sensuality), uncleanness (opposite of purity), and greediness. What a pitiful plight of the sinful man. Let us not forget our sinful condition which we are all saved from!

2. The Lord tells us as Christians to "put off the former conversation [lifestyle] of the old man ... and be renewed in the spirit of your mind" and then to "put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (the opposite of the description of the lost man in point 1). This is a literal changing of garment. We are to put off our sinful lifestyle and literally put on Jesus Christ- we should be an obvious testimony of Christ's salvation and work in us. Another note- the verb "renewed" gives the idea of a daily dedication.

3. "Be ye angry and sin not-let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil." Why are we to be angry? Let's think about what constitutes righteous anger. Example- protesting abortion at an abortion clinic in a loving way without violence or aggressiveness. It is righteous to have anger over the innocent lives being taken and the mothers who are lied to and hurt in the process- it is sin and its consequences seen at its worst. However, it is not our job to break out a whip or turn over tables. Why did The Lord do this? It was His House! It was to be a house dedicated to His glory and worship and what was there? Greed and unrighteousness in His Holy dwelling. This is why Jesus was right in His anger and actions. He alone is God and He alone had the right for this response. Another important point- resolve anger that minute because, if you don't, anger will fester inside and give the devil a foothold to keep you from your relationship with Christ.

4. Most Spirit led point of the evening: v. 30 " And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." An essential counterpart to the verb "grieve" is "quench" as seen in I Thessalonians 5:19 "Quench not the Spirit." Quench is the verb which we perform and grieve is the verb of the Holy Spirit's response. We quench when we do not "let the Holy Spirit burn in our heart and drive us to live and witness for Jesus" and in response, the Spirit grieves or  "feel[s] sorrow or pain" and "proves the personality of the Holy Spirit who is said to grieve at the sins of Christians." (Quotes taken from Mounce's Compete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words). Just as the flame in the wilderness, so is the Holy Spirit a flame in our hearts. When we quench that flame, our relationship with The Lord is effected, and we are not allowing the Lord's power to fill us up and fulfill his will. This causes the Spirit to literally mourn over the fact that we did not depend upon Him for our strength.

5. Perfect ending: " Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." We open this section of Ephesians 4 with the depravity of the sinner, and end reminded of it. We are to be kind, sensitive to other's needs and forgive regardless of the wrong even as God forgave all of us- the very ones who nailed Him to the cross with our sins.

Unity of the Body Explained

Today the Spirit taught me a great deal about what unifies the church and how it is unified in God's perfect will. I will put these in points as there are several mega-themes I was able to learn through the Spirit today.

1. Ephesians 4:1 " I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;"
- The word walk in this passage refers to a way of living and we are to live in a Christ-like way. 

   In Hebrew, the word is hlk or Halakah which was the set of laws and traditions governing daily life as seen in 2 Kings 20:3. However, now we are to walk or live in our Salvation in a way that glorifies Christ. (Taken from Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary)

2. Eph. 4: 4-6 "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

What can we unify with? Sometimes, we do not want to unify ourselves with another group of believers because we do not agree on certain beliefs or doctrines. Paul makes it clear what points are essential for unity in the body of Christ.

A. One Body: the fellowship of believers or the church are one body.B. One Spirit: the Holy Spirit which activates the fellowshipC. One Hope: that glorious future in which we are all calledD. One Lord: Christ, to whom we all belongE. One Faith: our singular commitment to ChristF. One Baptism: the sign of entry into the churchG. One God: God, who is our Father who keeps us for eternity. (Taken from Life Application Study Bible)

3.  I want to focus on verse 6. It says that God is above all, "meaning transcendence or He is over all and cares for all. The second statement is that he through all and in all. This refers to his active presence in the world and in the lives of believers or immanence." (Taken from Life Application). Wow!

4. This is the first mention of pastors and teachers as evidenced in verse 11. What is the function of theses spiritual leaders? It is three-fold according to verse 12: the perfecting of the saints (or maturity builiding), work of the ministry in general, and the edifying of the body of Christ or "help[ing] to prepare the various members of Christ's body to serve one another with the overall goal of assisting each person to know Christ better and reflect his chracter in their lives." (Taken from Zondervan) 

The Chief Cornerstone

I am studying currently in Ephesians, and allowing the Spirit to lead me from there daily to further study. Yesterday's teaching of the Spirit came from Ephesians 2:20 "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;" The word 'corner stone" is a word I have often understood to be a necessary part of a foundation as Christ himself is the most important piece as the foundation of the church. The Lord had other things to teach me through this Scripture. There are several references to this 'corner stone" (e.g. Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, etc.) and these reiterated the fact that Christ was our chief cornerstone. I even searched the greek and hebrew words, but the Spirit was leading me on to further study of this word. Using the Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, I found what I was to learn about Christ as the ''cornerstone' . It was defined as ' A stone placed at the corner, or the intersecting angle, where two walls of a building come together. In biblical times, buildings were often made of cut, squared stone.'  The verbs used in the following sentence were very point on the purpose of the cornerstone. " By uniting two intersecting walls, a cornerstone helped ALIGN the whole building and TIE it together." It later stated, " All who believe in Jesus find a solid Rock on which to build their lives [as the cornerstone]." It then stated to see the definition for capstone. This is where I found another truth. It defines capstone as "the uppermost stone in a building, sometimes used to tie two intersecting walls together. As the top stone of a structure or wall, the capstone was the CROWNING POINT." I learned 2 things.  

1. The cornerstone, Jesus, unites the church into one body serving him. He also aligns us together to grow and serve in harmony and for His will.

 2.  Christ is not only our foundation, but also the crowning point which is the last piece to be placed, but just as important to holding the building together and aligned. If either the capstone or cornerstone were to be compromised, the whole building would fall. Therefore, as Christ is our Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, he is not only the cornerstone of the church but also the capstone which makes Him the head!

The 1st picture depicts the classic cornerstone, while the second picture depicts the idea of a capstone. This was a wondrous revelation! Christ and his sacrifice and resurrection are the foundation for the church, unite the church as a body, and align the church to function together in His will. He is the Alpha and Omega, and is not only the foundation, but also the head of the church, and without him, the church can not exist nor function properly. Praise The Lord!