2016.01.10 Ephesians 5:
15-21
Our Christian Walk
Good morning everyone…. It´s great to see all of you… I
am glad that you are here….. I have Good
News for you…. His name is Jesus… As
most of you know… Here at Calvary Chapel
Wiesbaden we teach through the Bible
verse by verse… Because we want to see
the Big picture…. We want to know and understand our great God and Savoir…. The
Lord Jesus Christ…. We are studying Paul´s letter to the Ephesians this morning… He proclaimed
the Good News of the Gospel and he made disciples everywhere he went…
Because making genuine committed disciples was always his
goal… Paul began this letter teaching the church strong solid doctrine… We saw
that in the first 3 chapters… let´s look at Ch 2… v1… and v4 and 5…
Ephesians
2: 1 NLT
Neues Leben
1 Once
you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
1 Auch ihr wart früher tot aufgrund eurer Sünden.
Ephesians
2: 4,5 NLT Neues Leben
4
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5
that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he
raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God’s grace that you have been
saved!
4 Doch Gott ist so barmherzig und liebte uns so sehr, 5 dass
er uns, die wir durch unsere Sünden tot waren, mit Christus neues Leben
schenkte, als er ihn von den Toten auferweckte. Nur durch die Gnade Gottes seid
ihr gerettet worden!
We learn that our redemption was entirely God´s work… We
were dead in sin…. But Because of God´s mercy He made us alive in Christ Jesus…
Al of it is only because of God´s grace…! Good News… We could never save
ourselves… We could never earn Our Salvation…
He has laid a solid foundation under our feet… Then beginning
in Ch 4 Paul focuses on our Christian
walk… Paul begins to apply the great truths that we learn about God to our
lives… Solid practical advice… He applies them to our redemption and salvation…
He applies them to how we and treat
others…
His goal is that we become competent students of the
scriptures… And through knowing the Word of God… That we would become willing to deny ourselves and follow
after the Lord Jesus Christ… turn with me to Luke 9… v23… If you have not
already done it…. Underline these verses…. They represent Jesus´ call to every
genuine believer… Luke 9: 23…
Luke
9: 23-25 NKJV slt 2000
23
Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save
it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is
himself destroyed or lost?
23 Er sprach aber zu allen: Wenn jemand mir nachkommen
will, so verleugne er sich selbst und nehme sein Kreuz auf sich täglich und
folge mir nach.24 Denn wer sein Leben2 retten will, der wird es verlieren; wer
aber sein Leben verliert um meinetwillen, der wird es retten. 25 Denn was hilft
es einem Menschen, wenn er die ganze Welt gewinnt, aber sich selbst verliert
oder schädigt?
Down through the centuries…. Untold millions have heard and obeyed this call from the Lord Jesus… That is the way it should
be… There is no other way to follow
Jesus… 60 years ago last Thursday… A
team of young missionaries landed on a small patch of river sand in Ecuador… One of them was a newlywed…. His
name is Jim Elliot… They were trying to make contact with a fierce tribe of Auca
Indians…
Jim
Elliot and four others were killed that day… This is what he wrote
in his journal a few years before... October 28, 1949, to be exact… Jim Elliot was
writing notes in his journal about Ephesians here… He wrote this… Slide…
He
is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.
Not only do these words echo Ephesians… they find their source in the Word of God… That is exactly
what Jesus was talking about in Luke 9: 23-25…
These five men knew what it meant to truly follow Jesus…. They really did lay down their lives… What is interesting to me is to see that
these men… And uncounted tens of
thousands of others…. These genuine followers of Jesus… Who have already been martyred for the sake of the
Gospel…. They were not Super Christians… They were however…. True disciples…. They
denied themselves and picked up their
Cross and followed Jesus… Most of us will never be called upon to die a Martyrs death…. But every one of us is
called upon by the Lord Jesus Himself…. To
deny ourselves and picking up our Crosses…. To follow Him wherever He
leads… This total commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ is exactly what we see in
the scriptures…. It is exactly what we see in Paul’s life…. And it is the goal
of everything we learn in His Letters…. Here in Ephesians Paul is teaching us
great solid doctrine to deepen our commitment to the Lord… In this last section
of the letter to the Ephesians… Paul is using what he has taught us to call us
to a Godly and useful Christian life… He
is teaching us have to live out the Gospel and how to walk… I want to quickly
review what we have learned in chapter 4and 5 so far…
Review
of ch 4and 5
1
Walk in Unity… ch 4 v1-16
2
Walk in Purity… ch 4 v17- 32
v25…
Tell
the truth to each other
v32…
be
kind and tender hearted…. Forgiving each other…
3
Walk in love ch 5 v1,2
4
Walk in the Light ch v8… now you are light in the LORD… Walk as children of light…
What
great stuff… Solid and practical…
Now
we come to our text for today….
5
Walk in Wisdom ch 5 15-21
Well it´s a new year and it´s time for something new…
A New
family A new marriage A new husband
A
new wife A
New father A new job Sounds awesome
oder…?
The
key to
all of this and more… is a renewed and strengthened relationship with the LORD
Jesus Christ… Our text for today points us in the right direction…. I will
back up a few verses to refresh our minds as to the context…. Eph ch5…v10…
Ephesians
5: 10-14 NLT Neues Leben
10
Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. 11 Take no part in the worthless
deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. 12 It is shameful even to
talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.
13
But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, 14 for
the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said,“Awake, O sleeper,
rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.
10 Findet heraus, was dem Herrn Freude macht.
11 Beteiligt euch nicht an den nutzlosen Taten der
Finsternis, sondern deckt sie vielmehr auf.
12 Es ist beschämend, auch nur davon zu reden, was
gottlose Menschen im Verborgenen treiben.13 Doch wenn das Licht darauf fällt,
wird alles sichtbar werden.14 Was aber sichtbar wird, wird nun auch Licht.
Deshalb heißt es: »Wach auf, du Schläfer, steh von den Toten auf, dann wird
Christus dir aufleuchten.«
v10… Carefully determine what pleases the LORD…
That´s very good advice… Since God in His grace and mercy has forgiven us… Since
because of His unfailing love… He has washed away our sins… We should… We need
to… Carefully
determine what pleases the LORD… How do we do that? Well we could look in
this book…. You know the one…. The one we all say we believe but never read…
Yes that´s the one… You God gave it to us so that we would read it and hide it
in our hearts… We should carefully determine what pleases the Lord… Amen? And
so our text for today…
Walking
in the light means walking in wisdom.
Ephesians
5: 15-17 NLT Neues Leben
15
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.
16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act
thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
15 Achtet sorgfältig darauf, wie ihr lebt; handelt nicht
unklug, sondern bemüht euch, weise zu sein. 16 Nutzt jede Gelegenheit, in diesen
üblen Zeiten Gutes zu tun. 17 Handelt nicht gedankenlos, sondern versucht zu
begreifen, was der Herr von euch will.
v15…
So be careful how you live… This section starts with a warning… It´s a loving and fatherly
warning…. But it is a real warning…. Watch
out! The NKJV… says… See then that you walk circumspectly… Because this
light was given to us… we should walk circumspectly –Not like the world… not as
fools… carefully…
wisely…
v16a…
KJV Redeeming the time:
There are two ancient Greek words used for time…. One has the idea simply of
day upon day and hour upon hour… The other has the idea of a definite portion
of time… a time where something should happen… It is the different between time
and the phrase…. Now is the time… The idea here is of a
definite season of opportunity that Christians must redeem... This same word is
translated opportunity in Galatians 6:10...
Paul isn't telling us to make the most of every moment… Carpe Deum… Seize the Day… even though
that is good advice… He tells us to seize every opportunity for the glory of the
Lord Jesus...
The idea behind redeeming the time is that you buy up
opportunities like a shrewd businessman… Benis
Auto Sales… You make the most of every opportunity for Jesus Christ…
v16b…
Because the days are evil… This is another reason why it is
important to walk wisely... Jesus spoke of a time in the last days when
lawlessness would abound…. Look with me at Matt 24…v9-12…
Matthew
24: 9-12 NKJV slt 2000
9
“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over
the world because you are my followers. 10 And many will turn away from me and
betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will
deceive many people. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many
will grow cold.
9 Ihr werdet verhaftet, verfolgt und umgebracht werden.
Auf der ganzen Welt wird man euch hassen, weil ihr euch zu meinem Namen
bekennt.
10 Viele werden sich von mir abwenden und einander
verraten und hassen. 11 Viele falsche Propheten werden auftreten und die
Menschen täuschen.12 Die Gesetzlosigkeit wird immer mehr überhandnehmen und die
Liebe wird bei vielen erkalten.
Clearly we are in those times… And it is clear to every one… that the days are evil… It is very
interesting to read this text…. Jesus says that there is a relationship between
a world full of sin… and the tendency of peoples love for God to grow cold… It
reminds me of Lot´s day…
2
Peter 2: 7,8 NLT
Neues Leben
7
But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was
sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. 8 Yes, Lot was
a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and
heard day after day.
7 Doch gleichzeitig rettete Gott Lot aus Sodom, weil Lot
ein gerechter Mann war, der unter dem ausschweifenden Leben der gesetzlosen
Menschen um ihn herum leiden musste.
8 Ja, Lot war ein gerechter Mann, den all das Schlechte,
das er Tag für Tag zu hören und zu sehen bekam, quälte.
Back to Eph 5.. looking now at v17…
Ephesians
5: 17 NLT Neues Leben
15
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.
16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act
thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
15 Achtet sorgfältig darauf, wie ihr lebt; handelt nicht
unklug, sondern bemüht euch, weise zu sein. 16 Nutzt jede Gelegenheit, in
diesen üblen Zeiten Gutes zu tun. 17 Handelt nicht gedankenlos, sondern
versucht zu begreifen, was der Herr von euch will.
v17…
Understand what the will of the Lord is… This is what real wisdom is…
It is the opposite of being selfish and foolish… Our knowledge of the will of God comes from a solid
understanding of His word… It helps us to be careful how we live… It helps us
to redeem the time…. It helps us to understand the will of the Lord Jesus… It´s all in here… let´s take the next
section…
Ephesians
5: 18,19 NLT
Neues Leben
18
Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled
with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among
yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
18 Betrinkt euch nicht mit Wein; sonst ruiniert ihr damit
euer Leben. Lasst euch stattdessen vom Heiligen Geist erfüllen. 19
Singt miteinander Psalmen und Lobgesänge und geistliche Lieder, und in euren
Herzen wird Musik sein zum Lob Gottes.
v18a…
Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life… We
are told this for our own good… It is
clear that as believers we are told not to get drunk… It is clearly a sin to
drink alcohol for the purpose of getting drunk… Paul is saying… What a
waste Christian…. Don´t do those things that the world does…. v18b… Instead… Walk in the light… be filled with the Holy Spirit…
Walking
in the light means walking in the light of God´s Word…
In contrast with the conduct of the world… Partying and being
drunk with wine… We are to be filled with the Spirit… The greek phrase says,
"be constantly being filled
with the Holy Spirit…
Now listen… All genuine believers receive the Holy Spirit
when we repent of our sins and come to the Lord Jesus Christ… But we need the
presence and constant work of the Holy Spirit moment by moment… We cannot love
and serve the Lord or each other without the ministry of the Holy Spirit…
The filling of the Holy Spirit is not a one-time event
that we live off of the rest of our days… It is a constant filling… We should be asking to be filled with His
Holy Spirit and His Wisdom constantly…
We
have seen the Work that God has done in our hearts and lives… Ch 1-3… Now here
in verse 18… Paul defines the
responsibility that we as believers have… This is a command… First
there is a negative statement… don’t get
drunk with wine... And then a good
and positive command… Instead… be filled with the Spirit… This verse is speaking again
about the necessity to have the Holy
Spirit be the controlling influence in our lives…
It
speaks about an internal reality… an internal ministry that the Spirit of God
sustains in us...
When
Paul says… be filled with the Spirit… Paul
is
not talking about filling… like filling up a cup… He is talking about the total and commanding influence that the Holy
Spirit should have on us… That happens…. Through the constant study and understanding
of the Word of God… The Word of God should influence all of our thinking and decision making… He is saying
that the Word of God should affect
everything we do and say and think… It should control our thought life so
that we become more and more like our
Lord and Savior…
The
Holy Spirit´s work and goal is to make us more and more like Jesus… To make us more and more willing
to do all of the things that Paul has been exhorting us to do… Like stop lying … Forgive… It is the Word
of God that the Holy Spirit uses to transform us and help us… 2 Timothy 3: 15-17…
v19… Speaking to
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs… When we are filled
with the Spirit… we will have a desire to worship God… and to encourage others
in their worship of God…
The connection with being filled with the Spirit and genuine
worship is significant… Those who are filled with the Spirit will naturally worship…
Psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs… God delights in creative, spontaneous worship…
It should constantly flow out of our deeply grateful and thankful hearts… v20…
Ephesians
5: 20 NLT Neues Leben
20
And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
20 Und dankt Gott, dem Vater, zu jeder Zeit für alles im
Namen unseres Herrn Jesus Christus.
v20…
give thanks for everything to God the Father… The NKJV says… Giving thanks
always for all things to God… The one who is filled with
the Spirit will also be filled with thanksgiving…. We among all people…. Should
be so filled with worship and thankfulness…. That we overflow with it… We can
and should give thanks for everything…
Yes… Even the hard times… James wrote count it all joy…Let´s look at it…
James
1: 2-4 NLT Neues Leben
2
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it
an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested,
your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance
is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
2 Liebe Brüder, wenn in schwierigen Situationen euer
Glaube geprüft wird, dann freut euch darüber.
3 Denn wenn ihr euch darin bewährt, wächst eure Geduld.
4 Und durch die Geduld werdet ihr bis zum Ende
durchhalten, denn dann wird euer Glaube zur vollen Reife gelangen und
vollkommen sein und nichts wird euch fehlen.
The Lord Who began this good work in us…. Will carry us
through every disaster… He will use them to equip us to help and comfort others…
2 Cor 1… v21…
Ephesians
5: 21 NLT Neues Leben
21
And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
21
Ordnet euch aus Achtung vor dem Herrn bereitwillig einander
unter.
v21…
submit to one another out of reverence for Christ…. The NKJV says…. Submitting
to one another in the fear of God… Reverence or fear… When we
are filled with the Spirit… it will show by our mutual submission to each other…
and the submission will be done in the fear of God… not the fear of man…
a… Submitting: The
word submitting here literally means, "to be under in rank." It is a
military word. It speaks of the way that an army is organized among levels of
rank. You have Generals and Colonels and Majors and Captains and Sergeants and
Privates. There are levels of rank, and you are obligated to respect those in
higher rank.
We know that as a person, a Private can be smarter, more
talented, and a better person than a General. But he is still under rank to the
General. He isn't submitted to the General so much as a person as he is to the
General as a General.
The
idea of submission doesn't have anything to do with someone being smarter or
better or more talented. It has to do with a God-appointed order. "Anyone
who has served in the armed forces knows that 'rank' has to do with order and
authority, not with value or ability." Warren Wiersbe )
b…
Submitting to one another… To understand what this means… we can
first examine what it does not mean… It does not mean that there is no idea of
"rank" or authority in the body of Christ… We can see how someone
might take that impression… "It says we should be submitting to one
another… So I should be submitting to you and you should be submitting to me...
someone might conclude…. There our denominations built upon this mistaken
idea…. Egalitarianism in the church…
No one has any more obligation to submit than anyone else… No that´s not what
Paul has in mind…
We know this is not what Paul means… because
that would be a clear contradiction of other things that he wrote… For example…
in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5… Paul clearly
tells the Corinthian Christians to submit to his authority and to throw a
certain sin filled man out of the church... Can you imagine the Corinthian
Christians answering…"Well Paul, you wrote that we should be submitting to
one another… So we think you should submit to us here…
Another good example is Hebrews 13:17… let´s look at it… Heb 13..v17..
Hebrews 13: 17 NLT
Neues Leben
17
Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over
your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with
joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.
17 Gehorcht den Leitern eurer Gemeinde und tut, was sie
sagen. Es ist ihre Aufgabe, über eure Seelen zu wachen, und sie wissen, dass
sie Gott Rechenschaft geben müssen. Achtet darauf, dass sie dies mit Freude und
ohne Sorgen tun können, denn das wäre sonst für euch sicher nicht gut.
In the next verse Paul says… Pray for us… Paul says Obey
those who rule over you and be submissive… If Paul meant that there was no
"rank" or "order of authority" among believers… then this
command in Hebrews 13:17 is
meaningless... back to Eph 5…verse21…
Ephesians
5: 21 NLT Neues Leben
21
And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
21 Ordnet euch aus Achtung vor dem Herrn bereitwillig
einander unter.
In practice… Paul is calling for us to be team players….
We still have a coach…. But we see ourselves as a team… Loving and serving the
Lord and each other….
c…
In the fear of God… This is an important point…
The words… in the
fear of God… describe what should be our motive for submitting to one
another… We should submit to one other - see ourselves no longer as
individuals… but as a unit… as a company or a battalion – a team… We all have
one lord and savior… One leader…. One master… We submit to one another out of love and respect for God the Father… And of
course for our redeemer… the Lord Jesus
Christ...
The motive for submission is not social protocol… The
motive for submission is not the law…. The motive for submission is love and respect
for the Lord Jesus Christ... Paul uses the term fear in this passage…. it
is a fear - a respect - that is compatible with love... When you really respect someone… you care
about pleasing him or her… and you are afraid to disappoint them…
God has given us leaders in the Church…. Pastors-Elders-
teachers…. They are here to serve us…. They
are here with us in the battle… to help
us and protect us… Till we all become conformed into the perfect reflection of
the Lord Jesus Christ…
Let´s pray…
