The Whole Book of Ephesians - Our Calling Determines our Conduct.

This Podcast is part of a 10-year project to complete an in-depth, daily study of the entire Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. 

Episode Notes: Putting on the Armour of God: The Whole Book of Ephesians - Our Calling Determines Our Conduct. 

What determines how we should live our lives?  

Some psychiatrists would say that there are unconscious forces driving our subconscious. Not everyone would go that far, but many would say that our past experiences shape our present and future behaviours.

Some would simply say it is a desire for pleasure. They just want to be happy and enjoy their life, and they might say something along the lines of “ I just want to be happy”. 

For others, it is a drive for power or influence. They want to be in a position of influence, either through the job or by holding a position of political power.

A lot of people live for possessions. They try to achieve satisfaction in life through the accumulation of things. But many find their possessions soon possess them.

Many Christians would say that we don’t need to be driven by these base desires and motivations, and that we can have more control over ourselves than we do over our past experiences or our subconscious mind. Many Christians believe we can rely on something greater outside of ourselves than our own resources.

The Bible has many things to say about how we should live our lives, and the book of Ephesians has been particularly helpful in this area. 

In this book, I’ve been going through this famous letter of the Apostle Paul.  But now, before I finish, I want to summarise it by taking an overview of what I believe Paul was trying to get across. 

To try and see the whole forest as well as the individual trees, the big picture, so to speak. It's one thing to open the Bible and find a verse that is meaningful for you, but sometimes it is another thing entirely to see that verse, in its context of a paragraph, and that paragraph within the context of the book, and that is what I want to do this time. 

I want us to run through all six chapters of the book because this book, as much as any book in the Bible, tells us what should determine the way we should live our lives. Importantly is also tells us how to do it practically and apply it in real life….

Transcript

The Book of Ephesians - Our Calling Determines our Conduct.

Transcript:

 What determines how we should live our lives?  

Some psychiatrists would say that there are unconscious forces driving our subconscious. Not everyone would go that far, but many would say that our past experiences shape our present and future behaviours.

It is also worth considering what determines the way most people conduct their lives on a daily basis. Anyone who believes we all as individuals have freedom of choice might say a number of different things. 

Some would simply say it is a desire for pleasure. They just want to be happy and enjoy their life, and they might say something along the lines of “ I just want to be happy”. 

For others, it is a drive for power or influence. They want to be in a position of influence, either through the job or by holding a position of political power.

A lot of people live for possessions. They try to achieve satisfaction in life through the accumulation of things. But many find their possessions soon possess them.

At the other extreme, some people just flounder from day to day, and what happens one day determines what they do the next day.  

Many Christians would say that we don’t need to be driven by these base desires and motivations and that we can have more control over ourselves than being controlled by our past experience or our subconscious mind. Many Christians believe we can rely on something greater outside of ourselves than our own resources.

The Bible has many things to say about how we should live our lives, and the book of Ephesians has been particularly helpful in this area. 

In this book, I’ve been going through this famous letter of the Apostle Paul’s, chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph, and verse by verse. But now, before I finish, I want to summarise it by taking an overview of what I believe Paul was trying to get across. 

To try and see the whole forest as well as the individual trees, the big picture, so to speak. It's one thing to open the Bible and find a verse that is meaningful for you, but sometimes it is another thing entirely to see that verse, in its context of a paragraph, and that paragraph within the context of the book, and that is what I want to do this time. 

I want us to run through all six chapters of the book because this book, as much as any book in the Bible, tells us what should determine the way we should live our lives. Importantly is also tells us how to do it practically and apply it in real life….

One of the first things you need to know when you read any book is what the subject of the book is, and fortunately for us, chapter one, verse 18 tells us. 

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.

That is a critical statement: the idea behind that “hope” we have been called to belong to is a group of other people who have come to Christ also, and the modern word for that is the church. 

Therefore, the subject of this book is our calling to be in a relationship with the Lord and our call into the body of Christ, the Church.  

If we jump forward to chapter 4, verse one the Apostle Paul urges us, “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received”. 

This whole book is talking about our calling to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ, and the first three chapters lay that out in detail. 

Given the fact that we've been called to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, this is how we should walk, meaning this is how we ought to live our lives. The things that determine the way we should live are found here in this book, and if I were to try and sum it up in one sentence, it would be, “Our calling should determine our conduct”. 

The first three chapters told us we have been called by the Lord of all creation. 

The last three chapters then say, now walk worthy of that calling. 

Having laid all that out, let’s back up and look at how the book approaches this teaching overall. 

This book is written following the pattern of an ancient letter. 

In the ancient world, they also had a format for writing a letter, a little back to front compared to a modern letter, but still a standard format. They started with what is called a salutation. Then they identified the author and followed it by identifying the people to whom the letter was sent, and would usually send them a greeting. Looking at the opening verses of chapter one, we can see it follows this format

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,To God’s holy people in Ephesus’ the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Ephesians 1: 1-2)

That's the pattern here: it opens with a salutation, it identifies the author, in this case, it's Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. The recipients are seen to be the Saints who are in Ephesus. Therefore, this book was originally written to some Christian folks in the City of Ephesus, which is in modern-day Turkey. 

In the next phrase, he is seen to address people beyond Ephesus by adding, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. 

So, beyond the people at Ephesus, he is writing to all those who know the Lord and are faithful to him. That’s incredible, because that means that this book is written to us, so we need to pay attention. Paul here uses the letter format to write to believers back then in Ephesus and to any other Christian believers anywhere, and we can assure what he says still applies to us today. 

After giving thanks and praying, he comes to the main point of what he wants to say in the body of the book. 

He begins by praising God because he has blessed every Christian believer with every spiritual blessing. In other words, Gid has given us everything we need to live a spirit-filled life. If you have trusted Jesus Christ, you are rich in blessings, and you have everything you need to make the Christian life journey.  Blessed in this life and blessed in the “heavenly places”. 

In the mind of God, our place in heaven is already secure; it’s as if we are there already. If you have trusted Christ as far as God is concerned, you are already in heaven.  Seated in heavenly places, he tells us in Chapter 2. 

God the Father has elected us and predestined us; the Son has redeemed us and given us a revelation.  The Holy Spirit has sealed us and given us the guarantee of our future inheritance and all of those blessings, and all of those blessings are by God's grace. 

So, after thanking the Lord for our faith, he prays that they would understand God's calling. A call to have a relationship with him and through His son, Jesus Christ. Before we knew Jesus, we didn't know for sure we were reconciled to God. We didn't know for sure we were going to heaven; in fact, we were separated from God. Then by God's grace he made us alive again, and he did that by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. God has called us to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, but in doing that, He has issued an RSVP.  

There is no finer place in the Bible to confirm this for you than chapter 2, verse 8 of Ephesians. 

For by Grace. Are you saved through faith and that is not of yourselves? It is the. Gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. 

In the rest of Chapter 2, he goes on to say that you've not only been called to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, but we also need to recognise that we are called to have a relationship with everybody else who's got a relationship with Jesus Christ.  

God chose the Jewish people, and he gave them promises, but now he has brought everybody else into that covenant's promise. That included the residents of Ephesians who were not Jews, and that also now includes everyone living on this earth. We were aliens in that we were strangers to God, who did not participate in the covenant God made with the Jewish people. But now God has started something new. He has taken everyone who's trusted Christ, beginning in Acts chapter two, right down until today, and he has put us all in one body, a community of faith called the Church. 

That is why this book tells us, “He put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body. 

This is not just talking about a local church like this local church in Ephesus; it's talking about everybody who's ever trusted Christ from then until now. We are all part of this thing called the Body of Christ. It's not an organisation, it's a real living community, more of an organism than an organisation. The idea being that we are all connected to one another. If you've trusted Christ, God is your father, but also every other believer is your brother or sister. We are all members of the family of God, and Paul says in Chapter 2 that this is the new thing God has done. 

This is something new compared to the Old Testament revelation. God has now created something new, and it's called the church. If you've trusted Christ, you are related to Jesus Christ and every other person who has trusted. Christ. When you meet somebody who knows the Lord, there is an instant connection. If you know the Lord and you meet somebody, some total stranger, and they know the Lord, there is a connection like no other. 

We are all related to each other spiritually, and that is as close a bond as you can get. For this reason, Paul says we should bow the knee, in order that “we would be strengthened so that Christ should dwell in us that we might fully comprehend the love of God”.

In chapter one, he prays for enlightenment, and in chapter three he prays for empowerment. He prays that we understand and have the power to do what he tells us to do.

The first three chapters of this book are about our calling and then in the last three chapters he says he wants to tell us how “to walk worthy of that calling,” and he starts to tell us in the last chapter.

“With all humility and gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

Contained within this verse are some of the ways we can walk worthy of the Lord.  With humility and gentleness. 

Gentleness does not mean being weak. The Greek term used here means strength but under control. Are you patient, are you under control, or would you say that you have a tendency to be impatient? 

We are all impatient sometimes to a greater or lesser degree. Impatient sometimes, intolerant, and easily irritated. Paul is saying you want to walk worthy of the relationship you have with Jesus Christ. Here's the way you start by being gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love. 

He then goes on to say. Endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.  At this point, he describes this unity by saying there is diversity in the church; we are each given a different spiritual gift, but all of these gifts are given to help bring us to spiritual maturity.

We have this unity when we keep in mind what our purpose is; we're all in this together, trying to become spiritually more mature.  When we lose sight of that goal, there is division. Paul reminds us we should walk in unity, striving toward maturity. Walking in righteousness. 

The Christian life is about getting rid of the bad things, the vices, so to speak, and putting on the good things, the spiritual values and virtues. Things which are empowered in us by the Holy Spirit. Then he gets very specific about what we are to stop.  

Lying, anger, stealing, speech that hurts people, and malice. Getting rid of everything that doesn't honour the Lord. 

There is practical advice, like dealing with anger before you go to bed at night. Or working so that you can pay your way and have something to give, and using your tongue to build people up by being gracious, not tearing them down. He then talks about walking in love, and that takes us halfway through Chapter 5.

The point here is that God is love, and you ought to imitate him. This kind of living consists of giving of ourselves to others, rather than self-indulgence. Most people are living only for themselves. We at heart tend to be selfish, self-centred, self-serving, and self-indulgent. This book teaches us that we ought to be self-sacrificing instead. We ought to be living for the Lord by serving others.

He talks about our humour. This is one of the few places in the Bible that talks about humour. This is because we can use humour to hurt people. He says, be careful not to do this, foolish jesting, he calls it. 

Instead, be loving and don't hurt people with your sarcastic wit or what we today would call put downs. Be kind and gracious to one another, walking in love, walking in the light he calls it, and don't walk in darkness. 

These are just metaphors for living the way God expects us to live and not walking in sinful ways. Walk in spiritual truth and walk in wisdom, and if you do, there will be great joy in your life. There will be gratitude, and there will be service as you submit to support one another. Then he goes off into something else, and he never uses the word walk again. 

I have taught through the book of Ephesians and the book of James, which cover similar themes, several times in my life. I first did it in a series way back in the 1990’s. I also preached through them in a church setting nearly 10 years ago, as well as more recently via a podcast ministry. I have now spent over 50 years studying the Bible, trying to figure out what this Christian life is all about.  I had preached or studied at length every book in the New Testament. And in the 7 years between 2005 and 2012, I also read the entire Old Testament in order to try and understand it better.

lf took everything I had learned from, I put it all together, and this is what I believe living the spiritual life is all about. What I have concluded is that to live the spirit-filled life, we must be living, studying, and serving with other believers within the context of a spiritual community.  

In my opinion, the idea of spiritual maturity basically boils down to two things. 

Firstly, you live a righteous life, and you do what's right because it's right, and you live a loving life. 

But secondly, you have got to do that alongside other Christians within a loving community. 

Which is why I believe Paul spent the first three chapters of Ephesians talking about our call to Christ and to the Christian community. If you want to know how to live the Christian life, then you have got to get to know the Lord, and you have got to get to know other Christians.

I know it's not fashionable to say this today, but you can't live the Christian life without being involved in a church that knows the Lord. 

You just can't do it on your own. If you try to be a Christian alone, you will dry up. You have got to be in a relationship with other believers. And then by doing that, you will hopefully begin to put off some wrong habit and behaviours and put on new attitudes and actions by seeing them modelled in other mature believers.

Many of the gifts of the Spirit can only be expressed in relationship to how we interact with other people. Which is why, as he progresses through the chapter Paul talks about husbands, wives, parents and children, as well as talking to both servants and their masters. In other words, he's going to talk about the way you should live at home, at work, and at church.

In the opening paragraph of the final chapter (Chapter Six), he says we are to stand against evil forces, and we do this by what he calls “putting on the whole armour of God”. Paul does this by patterning this after a Roman soldier. 

We need to put on a spiritual breastplate, helmet shield, and carry a sword. He describes all this armour and the four things these pieces represent. Which are truth, righteousness, peace, and faith, and by doing that we can live the type of life we are called to live, what he calls “walking in righteousness”.  

A call to be in Christ, in the Church, and live are lives in unity, love, wisdom, as well as standing against all the forces that would move us away from that lifestyle. In short, walk worthy of the calling with which we are called.

This book of Ephesians commences with our calling and concludes with our conduct. 

It began with our position and moved to our practice. 

It starts with our blessed wealth and ends with our walk, and in between it explains what that means. 

So, to put the whole message of the book in chronological order, it boils down to this.

1 Spiritually, you were separated from God.

2. God in Christ made you alive and reconciled you to himself.

3. God placed you in Christ and in the church and in the heavenly places now and eternally.

4. You should now walk worthy of that call and live a good life on earth until you take your place eternally in heaven.

In the 1950’s my father worked for a Christian medical missionary society that took a leaflet into China that tried to explain the book of Ephesians in straightforward terms.  They called it Sit – Walk - Stand. 

Those three words really sum up the book. When we are followers of Christ, we are already seated in the heavenlies. We are now to walk worthy of that and, as we live continually, stand against evil forces that would move us away from that walk. 

We sit by trusting and resting in him. We sit in the presence of God when we accept Christ Jesus as our saviour. 

We walk worthy of him as we live out the Christian life. 

We stand when we resist any force that would move us away from that. 

The book of Ephesians is a really important book for Christians to read and understand when it comes to the New Testament. It is almost unique in that virtually every epistle in the New Testament is written to address a problem in a church, but not Ephesians. Ephesians is a general letter. It exists to help all believers live the Spirit-filled life by laying out the path simply and clearly. Probably more clearly than any other book in the Bible. 

It is really worth mastering Ephesians. Not so that you would fill your head with facts, but so that you can learn how to walk. This book tells us not just how to walk but where to walk. And how to do that to begin with within the local church community and then moving out into the wider communities in which we live and into the whole world.

The Book of Ephesians is the perfect instruction guide on how to live a Spirit-filled life, a life worthy of our calling to Christ and His church.

Amen