Ephesians 5 and 6

 

February 8, 2021

Title: Ephesians Bible Study

Text: Ephesians 5 and 6

Introduction:

1. We are doing a Bible study on the book of Ephesians. Chapters 1-3 describe the believer’s position: who we are in Christ, how much God loves us, and our relationship with Him. Chapters 4-6 is about our behavior and how we can apply the truths learned from chapters 1-3 to our lives.

2. The first chapter is about who God is and all that He has done for us. Chapter 2 focuses on us: who we are as a result of His goodness, mercy, and grace. In chapter 3, God reveals the mystery that Gentiles are now included in the gift of salvation. Chapter 4 shows us how we can apply what we learned from chapters 1-3.  The final chapters of Ephesians, 5 and 6, teaches us to be imitators of Christ. It gives us specific things we should and should not do. Chapter 5 tells us to follow after God and Christ. It also describes the connection between marriage and Christ. In chapter 6, we learn about how families should relate to one another, and then finally, it describes the armor of God and its purpose. This sermon is a big one; we have a lot to get through. Ready? Here we go.

Proposition: Imitate God by being guided by the Holy Spirit to live righteously.

Interrogative Sentence: How can we work with the Spirit to live righteously?

Transitional Sentence: The Holy Spirit will guide us in having a close intimate relationship with God and working with Him to imitate our Heavenly Father.

1. IMITATE GOD

Reading from the NKJV, Ephesians 5:1-2, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma.

When we are born again, we are given Christ’s nature. We have the Spirit of God living within us to guide us. As His forgiven, saved adopted children, we will want to imitate Christ. Ephesians 4:24, “and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” We put off the “old man” and put on the “new man.” How is your behavior? When people look at you, they should see Christ. They should not see you acting like the world. We are called to spread the gospel to the world, and you may be the only Jesus some people may ever see. Just because you go to church, and have a Christian bumper sticker, doesn’t mean you are behaving like a Christian. It says in Mathew 7:21-, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”  Unfortunately, many people say they believe in Christ but are living extremely unrighteously and committing horrible acts in God's name. Some people go to church every Sunday but then forget about Him for the rest of the week. They only pray if they are in trouble, they don’t read their Bibles, rarely spend time with Him, unforgiving towards others, and are still acting like the unsaved. This person may get into heaven, but that is not having a quality relationship with our Father, who desires a close and intimate relationship.

Follow God’s example: imitate Him. Work with the Spirit to help guide you.

Transitional Sentence: Work with God’s Spirit to put off the old man, and put on the new. Choose to imitate God in all you do, actively abiding in Him. Live a life worthy of the calling God called you to.

2. LIVING RIGHTEOUSLY

Verses 15-17, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

This verse is saying to walk carefully as the wise, knowing what God’s plan is for your life. Choose to work with the Spirit of God to make the most of your time. Live a life worthy of your calling. You are God’s called, chosen, and adopted child.

He has a great plan for your life that only you can fulfill. We are joint-heirs with Christ, seated at God’s right hand with Christ in the heavenly places. Because of Christ and His work on the cross, we have all of His spiritual blessings. When you know who you are in Christ, you can walk worthy of the calling that God has called you.

Know the word of God. Do not just read your Bible: study and memorize it. This way, you will not be deceived by others. You will not be bounced to and fro with every false doctrine. But, you can stand firm in the truth: the truth is in the word of God.

How you treat others as a believer in Christ is how you are treating God. We are all one in Christ, and if you mistreat another, you’re mistreating Christ.

Do not walk as children of darkness, but walk as children of Light. Verses 13-14, “But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”  Through us, God’s light shines forth into this dark world. People need to see God through us. Be an example to others. People should look at you and see Christ through you.

Transitional Sentence: God has a great plan for you. Living a life with Christ is an exciting adventure. The Bible is our tool to live a righteous life as God’s chosen children. We were given the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell within our hearts. Work with Him to live the life God called you to.

3. GUIDED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

Verse 18, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be with filled with the Spirit.”

In this verse, we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. Christ gave us His Spirit when He ascended to the Father after His death and resurrection. It is a gift. His Spirit forever indwells within us as our teacher, helper, guide, advocate, intercessor, and comforter.

A few of the effects of being filled with the Spirit are listed in verses 19-20, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

·         Speak to one another with Psalms hymns. The world has enough critics, be an encourager. Don’t be quick to judge, but try to be understanding. Put away all gossip, strife, slander, and bad jokes. Take no part in these things.

·         Lift others up through prayer, with the word of God. Pray for others, and ask how you help.

·         Give thanks to God for all things. You can change your situation around by being thankful. There is good to be found in all things. It is easy to go around murmuring and complaining, but when we choose to be thankful, God hears us, and God wants to help us. Speak forth the word to your situation, continuously giving thanks to God.  Our attitudes change, and how we look at our situations change.

Transitional Sentence: Give thanks to God in all things in the name of Jesus, having a thankful heart. Express your gratitude to others, and pray for each other. Be an encourager, and put away strife. Submit to others as the church is subject to Christ.

4. MARRIAGE AND FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

Submit to one another in the fear of God. To submit means to accept or yield to a superior force or to another person's authority or will. Submission is voluntary. You cannot force another to submit to you. It is a heart attitude. For example, I want to submit to God because I love Him, He is the creator of the universe, and because of Christ, I have my salvation. I want to obey Him. I want to do good works for Him. I do not do these works to earn my salvation but because I am expressing my love for Him.

However, I’m certainly not the best person to speak on being a proper submissive wife. I’m still actively failing to shut my mouth during a discussion with my husband, having to get the last word in or getting my way. In my marriage, I’m loud, highly opinionated, strong-willed, and not reserved. My husband is just the opposite. He’s kind, he thinks before he speaks, not overly opinionated, and I don’t believe that I have ever heard him say that he didn’t like someone. I think I have a list of people I don’t care for, and I love giving my opinion. But God put us together because we complement one another. God doesn’t put you together with people who are like you; He puts you with people who are polar opposites, so you grow.

Submission is not disobeying God when we submit to another. It isn’t a one-sided thing either. Husbands are to submit to their wives just as much as wives are to their husbands. Submission does lie more heavily on the wife. Both the husband and wife should always seek God’s will for every situation, and the husband should always care about his wife's opinion and seek her knowledge. But the final authority in a decision should always lie on the man.

My husband cares for my opinion quite a bit. I do all the finances and taxes and am usually the one who plans vacations. I’m learning not to always have my way or get in the last word. Sometimes I have to hold on to something and bite my lip, though. I need to remind myself that how I treat my husband is how I’m treating God.

My husband loves me. Men are commanded to love their wives as Christ loves the church. They are to love their wives as they love their own bodies: they are to cherish and nourish their wives, and we are to respect our husbands.

Work with the Holy Spirit, who is our helper and guide. Ephesians chapter 6 moves on to how children should behave to their parents.

Children are to obey their parents. But, remember, you are not to disobey God. I’m 46 years old, and I still say “yes, ma'am” to my mom. I had a great childhood, but she was firm, and a little mean, or so I thought when I was a teenager at least. To this day, I don’t argue with her, and I refuse to get involved with strife with her even when she says things that I can't entirely agree with. We don’t always see eye to eye. But what good is it going to do in stating my opinion when it really doesn’t matter?

We went through a tough time with one of our daughters when she was growing up. Things happened that were so hurtful. I heard a mother is never happier than her most unhappy child. Sometimes when our kids get themselves into trouble, they need to find out for themselves what you’ve been trying to teach them all along. Proverbs 22:6 says, “train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Treat kids kindly, prayerfully, never provoking them to wrath. Be an encourager. But, I get it. It’s hard watching them make mistakes. Love them, pray for them. God will show them the light and truth. He loves them more than you, and He is not going to let them stumble for long.

Transitional Sentence: We are subject to one another. Submission isn’t always easy because of pride, but God has called us to submit, and He will bless us when we do. Wives should submit to their husbands, children to their parents, and all to Christ. How we treat others is how we treat God. In this last section of Ephesians, we’ll look at the armor of God.

5. PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD

Lastly, reading from Ephesians 6:11-18 NKJV,

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

We do not wrestle with one another, but rulers of darkness, powers, spiritual forces, and principalities. The good news is that the victory is already ours through Christ. We are the righteousness in Christ, and He has already defeated Satan by going to the cross, dying, and resurrecting again. The victory is ours. We are to stand against the devil. To stand means to “hold your ground.”

We cannot fight Satan through carnal weapons, but God's. We are to put on the full armor of God, not just some of it. There are seven pieces of the armor of God. They are a belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, gospel of peace, a shield of faith, helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and prayer.

Belt of Truth: The belt of truth is the word of God. All of the other pieces of armor are attached to the belt of truth. Satan is the father of lies. You can’t defeat the devil if you don’t know the truth of the word of God. His word is true. Know the word: study it, memorize it, and apply it. We are powerless without the word. Fight the devil by submitting to God and resisting the devil by speaking forth God’s word.

Breastplate of Righteousness: There are two kinds of righteousness mentioned in the scriptures. The first is the righteousness that God carries out through and for us. The second is the righteousness of Christ. It is not our righteousness; it is God’s. He gave it to us at our salvation: God accepts us.

In our spiritual battle, we need to protect our hearts. We protect our hearts by being obedient to God and not being entangled by sin. We need to put God first in all things. The devil wants us to not only sin but also to feel so much condemnation from our sin that we take our eyes off Christ. The breastplate of righteous protects against the attacks of the enemy. But we need to have the belt of truth, God’s word, in place first.

The breastplate of righteousness allows God’s light to shine through us to the dark world. People need to see the loving light shining through us.

Gospel of Peace: We have peace with God because of Christ. When we understand that we have been forgiven, called, chosen, and exalted in Christ. When we use the power of God’s word in all circumstances. And we know that Christ has already won the victory, we can stay peaceful.

A lot of people become frustrated and say, “I just don’t have any peace!” This is not true. We were given peace when Jesus ascended to heaven. It is part of the fruits of the Spirit given to us: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If you are not feeling peaceful, it is because you are not accessing it. Stop, and ask the Holy Spirit to refresh you. Spend time with the Lord in prayer, thanksgiving, and worship.

Shield of Faith: The shield of faith and the belt of truth are inseparable. We have our salvation by our faith in Christ, and we cannot please God without faith. The word of God needs to be first in our life, or our faith will become weak, and we will not grow as a believer in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:14, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” Christians spreading the gospel worldwide are bringing life to others, to those who choose to accept the message of Christ. These Christians are spreading the fragrance of Christ everywhere they go. When we stand firm on the word of God with our faith, we will be victorious against Satan’s attacks.

Helmet of Salvation: Protect our minds with the word of God. Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Be careful with what you are thinking and with the words that come out of your mouth. Set your mind on the things above, keeping your mind focused on God and His word.  Renew your mind by studying His word, and believe what His word says. Ask God to mold you into the image of His Son. It is a process that takes time: it doesn’t happen overnight. Do not set your mind on the things of this world. It is easy to get caught up with the things of this world, but these things bring death. Set your mind on the things of God, things that bring truth, joy, hope, and love.

Be careful with what you choose to watch on TV or when you are searching the internet. There is a lot of junk on TV. I can sit and watch a good movie, and something inappropriate is shown, and it is just useless. It is best to watch TV with the remote in your hand to hit fast forward.

Who are you choosing to spend time with? Some of you may need to make new friends. I have a daughter who lost most of her friends from sticking with the truth of God’s word, and choosing to follow His ways. They wanted to follow their flesh; she wanted to follow God. They left, and she got new and better friends. Protect your minds.

Sword of the Spirit: The sword of the Spirit is our only offensive weapon: it is both offensive and defensive. It is able to wound Satan. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Satan knowing scripture, was trying to cast doubt in Jesus and cause Him to sin. But, with each of Satan’s temptations, Jesus spoke the word (sword of the Spirit) back at him, and Satan eventually fled.     

 

Jesus’s experience is our example. The word of God isn’t of any use to us if we let our Bibles collect dust on a shelf in our homes. We need to read it, study it, memorize scriptures, and speak it aloud to all of our situations: against all attacks of the enemy. When we speak forth the word of God, the Holy Spirit hears us and goes to battle for and through us. The word of God is like a two-edged sword. The word of God is active and full of power. It is living and has the power to do what God intends for it to accomplish. 

 

Prayer: After you put on all the armor of God, you are ready to go to battle in prayer! There are many types of prayer:

·         Praise to God for who He is and what He has done.

·         Intercession, praying for another.

·         Thanksgiving to God.

·         Agreement or getting together with another and coming in agreement with them over something.

The Holy Spirit strengthens us in our weaknesses: teaching us to pray accurately and perfect prayers for and through us. The Spirit makes our prayers acceptable to God. God will give us the desire to pray. The Spirit will urge us to pray, showing us who to pray for.

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy intercedes through us by speaking in tongues. It is a language that is unknown to us, but it is the wisdom of God, given to our heart: It is the prayer of God. When we speak in tongues, the Spirit is interceding through us. We could be praying for someone across the world whom we have never met or something that we may have never thought to pray for.

Taken from the book The Authority of the Believer by John A MacMillan,

The only place of safety is the occupation of the seat itself. It is ‘far above’ the enemy. If the believer abides steadfastly by faith in this location, he cannot be touched. Consequently the enemy puts forth all his ‘wiles’ to draw him down in spirit, for once out of his seat, his authority is gone, and he is no longer dangerous, and further, he is open to attack. At this point is seen the meaning of the message of Ephesians Chapter 6. To maintain his place against the wiles of the devil, the believer must be constantly arrayed in full armor.

 

Conclusion:

Living a life with Christ is not boring. Imitate God by being guided by the Holy Spirit to live righteously. Choose to imitate God in all you do, actively abiding in Him. Live a life worthy of the calling God called you to. We were given the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell within our hearts. Be an encourager towards others, and put away strife. Submit to others as the church is subject to Christ. We are subject to one another. How we treat others is how we treat God. Put on the armor of God daily and allow the Spirit to fight battles through you. You’re already victorious because of Christ.