Category: Pondering Ephesians

This Week’s Passage: ³ 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. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 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. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them.

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴ for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:

This Week’s Passage: Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 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.

So the reason that Paul gives as to why we are to be imitators of God is because of how much  we are loved. This takes me back to Ephesians 3:18-19 where Paul is praying that we would be able to grasp just how much we are loved by God. So it would seem that the implications of fully grasping this fact are far reaching – not only will we be “filled to the measure of the fulness of God” but we also be able to imitate God. Probably these go hand in hand. The recurring theme then is the vital importance of “getting it”. Of getting it way down in the depths of our soul that we are inimitably loved  So how to we go from knowing that God loves us to KNOWING that God loves us. I’d like to hear your thoughts. Here are a few things that come to my mind….

Pray – This is what Paul was doing in Ephesians 3:18-19. He was praying for his friends that they would fully grasp the incredible depths of the love of Christ for them. And this is where I think we must begin. We must plead with God to enable us by His Spirit to “get it”. The quest to  KNOW the love of God begins on our face before the throne of God.

Ponder – By and large God’s people today are not a thinking people. We have become lazy and allowed our pastors or SS teachers or favorite bloggers or google search to do our thinking for us. We MUST beging to think deeply about things – and thinking on how God has loved us through the sacrificial death of His Son is a great place to start.

Practice – In other words, allow God to use you to “live a life of love” – to demonstrate the love of Christ in real and tangible ways to the people around you. The theory is this – the more we put into practice what we know about the love of Christ, the more God will expand our KNOWING. Give it a try. What have you got to lose.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 5:3-14

This Week’s Passage: ²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

So here are a few things that grab my attention as I ponder this passage:

Do not let… Get rid of… – We have a choice with how we use our words. And we need to be careful with what we let come out of our mouth. One of the things that angers me the  most is when I hear somebody say something hurtful to someone else. This happens a lot more than you might think. Watch what you say!

…according to their needs – This means that we need to understand what the other person’s needs are before we open our mouths. Do they need support, compassion, encouragement? Do they need a word of grace or a word of truth? Do they need hope? Or do they just need to know that someone cares? I think for me that more often than not I am guilty of speaking at people rather than to people and their needs.

Do not grieve… – I’m not sure that we understand that when we say hurtful things we are not just hurting someone we are hurting God – causing His Spirit to grieve. Perhaps if people were more aware of this they would be more careful with what they say.

One the things that I will always remember my pastor Don Chasteen saying is that “Hurting people hurt others.”  It would serve us well to remember this the next time that someone says something hurtful to us. Their words are more of an indictment of themselves than than of us – and it is an indication that they are hurting inside and desperately need us to show them compassion and forgiveness – in the same way that it has been shown to us. When we do this we incarnate the gospel and demonstrate the love of Christ to people in real and genuine ways.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 5:1-2

This Week’s Passage: ²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸ He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

The devil may be a lying snake but he is not stupid. He is smart enough to know better than to just barge in and try to wrestle control away from Jesus – who is dwelling in our hearts. He is crafty enough to patiently bide his time, waiting for the right opportunity to get a foot in the door. His strategy is not to tussle with Jesus, because he knows this would be a losing battle, but rather to entice us to relinquish control willingly. He does this with subtlety and cunning. He allows us to get used to the idea of him hanging around before he makes his major play. And then when he does make his move his postion is so entrenched that nothing short of a prolonged spiritual battle can get rid of him. In essence, when we give the devil a foothold to come in to our lives we are asking Jesus if He would leave.

Satan’s strategy has proven to be a very effective!

As I ponder this passage here are some of the questions that I am thinking about:

• In what ways have I allowed the devil to gain a foothold in my life?

• Have I grown so used to him being there so that I don’t even notice that he has infiltrated my life?

• Do I want more of Jesus or do I want more of the devil and his playthings?

• Am I willing to go to war in order to get rid of him?

• Who are the people that I trust that know me well enough to help me identify satanic footholds?

“The only thing needed for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” (often attributed to Edmund Burke)

So it would seem that doing nothing is not an option unless we want evil to triumph in our lives. Don’t let the evil one gain a foothold – and if he already has one DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 4:29-32

This Week’s Passage: ²⁰ You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. ²¹ Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds;²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

The gospel is good news.

But I’m afraid that that one of the reasons that the church of the 21st century is in many ways shallow and anemic is because we neglected to share the bad news – or at least we have down played it so that the cross has become not much more than an iconic religious symbol rather than the means of our salvation.

Whatever happened to genuine repentance and to weeping over sin? Whatever  happened to an awe inspiring understanding of the holiness of God? Our evangelism has focused so much on “God loves you” that we forget that “God hates sin.” And even when we do talk about God hating sin we dilute the whole notion by saying “God hates the sin but he loves the sinner.” This is not altogether true. God hates sinners!

• Psalm 5:5, “The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity,”
• Psalm 11:5, “The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates.”
• Lev. 20:23, “Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I shall drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.”
• Prov. 6:16-19, “There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: ¹⁷Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, ¹⁸ A heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, ¹⁹ A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”
• Hosea 9:15, “All their evil is at Gilgal; indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! I will love them no more; All their princes are rebels.”

God hates sinners enough to pour His wrath out upon them and to condemn them to hell. But the paradox is that yes God does indeed love sinners. Jared Moore put it this way:

“If you only tell people, “God hates sin, but loves sinners” or “God is not mad at you.  He is mad about you” then you necessarily diminish the gospel and the awfulness of the cross of Christ.  And thus, you indirectly diminish the wonder, grace, and love proven through the cross.  Through the cross God saved people that He formerly hated; through the cross God hated His Son so that He could love sinners.  God looked at Christ with all His hatred toward sin and sinners, so that He could look on sinners with all His love for His Son. The cross: what a horribly wonderful salvation!”

Is this what you were taught? When you understand this then repentance not only makes sense but becomes necessary. And then we can rightly understand Paul when he says, “to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds;²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Think on these things lest you believe a cheap gospel!

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 4:25-28

This Week’s Passage: ¹⁷ So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹ Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

Futility – lack of effectiveness or success; lack of purpose or meaning.

Doesn’t that definition characterize much of our thinking. Futile. Without purpose or meaning. We spend much of our time thinking about things that have no reason to take up space in our heads. Much of it is dangerous and leads us away from God rather than drawing us to God. We allow our minds to wander and then our bodies aren’t too far behind.

Listen to some of the things that this passage says about futile thinking – it ought to scare you away from doing us: darkened understanding, separated from God, hardened hearts, loss of sensitivity to the Spirit of God, indulging in impurity, lusting after sin.

This is why we have to be very careful what we choose to think about. This is also why I love the disciplines of pondering Scripture and memorizing Scripture – because they force us to think about stuff that is both meaningful and purposeful.

So a couple of questions to think about by way of application:

1) How is your pondering of Scripture going? Are you pondering or just reading? Pondering involves intentional thinking about the Word.

2) What passage of Scripture are you in the process of memorizing right now? Who is helping to hold you accountable  to this? Who are you doing it with?

If I can help with any of this just let me know. Be very careful what you think!

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 4:20-24

This Week’s Passage: ¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

One of the ways that you can tell whether you are a religious person or a person in a relationship with Christ is whether you are growing to know Him better. Religious people go through the motions of doing religious stuff. Stuff like going to church, reading the Bible, praying, tithing their money. Those in a relationship with Jesus do all that stuff too. But it is with the intention of getting to know Him better –  not just to try to impress God or impress other people with how spiritual they can be.

Religious people are easily swayed by false teaching. They are tossed to and fro by teaching that is meant to tickle our ears but not provide any nourishment for our souls. As a pastor it is my job to make sure that I teach Truth; that I teach the Word of God; that I NOT teach what I think people want to hear. Here is a sampling of some things that people want to hear and that some pastor/teachers are more than willing to preach:

God wants you to be financially wealthy. This is your birthright as a child of God.

God wants you to be happy – so whatever you do that makes you happy is okay with God.

Good morals and good works are enough to get you into heaven – after all, God loves everyone.

Walking the aisle and saying the sinner’s prayer is all it takes to be saved. So get your “fire insurance” and then live any way that you want to.

Pay attention to the Word. Don’t take for granted that everything a pastor/teacher says is truth. Be like the Bereans of whom it was said, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11

Here are a few questions to think on from this passage:

• Are you still an infant Christian or are you steadily growing as you are DAILY nourished by soul food? v.14
• Are you being enticed to believe any of the false teachings I mentioned? v.14
• Are you religiously trying to impress God or are you growing in a relationship with God? v.15
• What are you doing to help somebody else grow up in their faith? v.16

Think on these things.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 4:17-19

This Week’s Passage: ⁷ But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ⁸ This is why it says:

⁹ (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? ¹⁰ He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) ¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

As I ponder this passage I sense a little bit of frustration from Paul with the church. But it is because he knows something that we have a tendency to forget. He knows that God instituted the church to be a living, loving, laboring community that would magnificently display the majesty and glory of God. Instead of drawing attention to God he sees the church drawing attention to itself because of what is going on among believers in the church. The church should be growing… 1) in unity as a community of faith and 2) toward maturity in their relationship with Christ. Instead they were acting like children that can’t get along. And from Paul’s perspective this is devastating. He thinks they need to grow up.

Here are a few questions that are worth thinking about that are prompted by this passage?

1) Are you taking advantage of the teaching available to you at church so that you are being equipped to better serve?

2) Are you building other believers up or are you tearing other believers down?

3) It is our FAITH that unity is to be centered on – not on peripheral issues. Are you making a big deal about things that aren’t a big deal?

4) Are you growing to know Jesus better? Are you maturing as a believer or is your growth stunted? If so, why?

5) What is the next step that you need to take to get closer to “attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ“?

For me, Scripture often prompts as many questions as it does answers. Questions that I need to dig deep into my own soul to find the answers to as the Spirit of God applies the Word of God to my life. Part of the key to spiritual growth is being intentional about answering these questions and then being intentional to put them into practice. This, for me, is when pondering becomes not just another religious exercise but an expedition into Truth. It takes time, serious contemplation, a willingness to repent, and profound courage to do this. But if we want to grow we’ve got to be willing to pay the price.

Do you want to grow?

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 4:14-16

This Week’s Passage:  ¹ As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Paul reiterates here that he is a “prisoner for the Lord.”  I don’t think he wants the Ephesians to forget this. He is reminding them that no matter what they may be dealing with or how hard life might be for them at least they are free. At least they are not imprisoned for their beliefs. Because he has lived out his faith with authenticity he has every right to plead with them to live authentic Christian lives.

Evidently they were not doing so. And evidently the problem was not with how they were acting towards those outside the church but with those inside the church. With each other. Paul was concerned for the church. How could the church possibly expect to be salt and light in their city  – how could they expect to demonstrate the love of Christ to a lost and desperate world – when they couldn’t even love each other.

So he appeals to the calling the believers received. He wants them to be reminded of where they have come from. To be reminded of how Christ has changed their lives. To be reminded that they were blessed, they were chosen, they were loved, they were redeemed, they were forgiven, they were marked by the Spirit of God. (see 1:3-14) He wants them to be reminded that they were DEAD, that they were objects of WRATH –  but that God, because of His mercy and grace, made them alive again. (see 2:1-10). He wants them to understand the love of Christ that surpasses ALL understanding (3:19).

His point is that when they really get it, when they really understand what God has done for them in Christ, then all the pettiness and squabbling that goes on among believers begins to look stupid. And it only deters the church from what the church is supposed to be about – living as children of light (see 4:17 – 5:21 which we will get to in the months to come).

Believers are not supposed to agree about everything. We are supposed to love one another! And we are not supposed to be “Stepford Christians” – mindlessly repeating what we we hear others say and mindlessly doing what we are told to do. We are supposed to think for ourselves while being “completely humble and gentle.” There WILL be times when believers, because of their love for one another, will have to agree to disagree – and then boldly and courageously get on with the business of the church: Rescuing the lost, shining light in the darkness, and being a living, loving testimony to the glorious grace of our glorious God.

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 4:7-13

This Week’s Passage: ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

It is hard for me to even imagine what “immeasurably more”  looks like. I haven’t seen it… yet. But I’m going to. And our church is going to. And maybe your church will to. Paul has just finished asking God to do some incredible things in the lives of the Ephesian believers. But it is when there is a church full of empowered believers that “immeasurably more” begins to happen. Think about it…

What if in our church there were 100 believers who did not just have Christ hanging out from time to time as a guest in the home of their heart BUT had Christ dwelling there, abiding there, had ownership there. What if He was calling all the shots – not just the ones we allowed Him to be involved in? What if EVERYTHING we said or did or thought was Spirit-directed and had a stamp of approval from Christ our Lord, the owner of our surrendered hearts? This is Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith. And this is when immeasurably more happens!

And what if knowing that God loves us was not just a “4 spiritual law” that we can say or an application of John 3:16 but was something that fueled and empowered our lives each and every day? What if we really got it? What if we grasped the magnanimous love of God for us in such a way that it drove us to worship, drove us to care for the helpless and hopeless, drove us to pray at the throne of grace, drove us to boldly proclaim the gospel in word and deed? That is when immeasurably more happens!

What will immeasurably more look like? I don’t know – but I do know that it will look different than we look now.

How will immeasurably more happen? When we stop trying to do church and stop trying to be a good Christian and stop trying to make things happen  – and begin to understand that it is His power alone that can bring immeasurably more to happen. This is why Paul prays in verses 14-19 and this is what he means in verse 20 “according to His power that is at work within us.” It is going to take an act of God for immeasurably more to happen. And perhaps He is just waiting to unleash that act upon us until He sees a people that are hungering for it to happen – a hunger that is expressed through prayer  in the same way that Paul prays.

Update: So after last week’s “Here’s the Deal” challenge there are now 7 of us who are praying that Ephesians 3:14-21 will become reality in our lives. We have been praying daily for a week now. I’ll extend the invitation again if you want me to begin praying for you and if you will commit to pray for me for 30 days. Just email me (sreyner@Ridgecrest.cc) or FB message me to let me know. Sometime Monday or Tuesday I will email all of you who are praying so that we can all pray for each other.

And so that we can begin to watch “immeasurably more” happen together!

I’m just sayin’!

Next Week’s Passage: Ephesians 4:1-6