I recently read the book of Ephesians as part of my daily Bible reading, and chapter 4 really made me stop and think. It’s not as though it’s the first time I’ve read this book; part of my schooling as a kid was to memorize it. It’s no fault of the system, only the fault of an hardened heart, that I could spit out the entire thing without thinking much about it, and it’s only in recent years that I’ve even begun to scratch the surface of what it truly means.
Anyway, this time through, there were a few concepts which caught my attention. There’s not much I’m going to say about it tonight; I’m just going to hit the highlights and trust that you’ll think through practical implications on your own.
V1-3: if we’re NOT walking with humility, gentleness, and patience; if we’re NOT bearing with one another in love; if we’re less than eager to maintain unity in the Spirit…..then we’re walking in a manner UNworthy of our calling as followers of Christ.
V4-6,15-16: the church is one body, with one head (Christ). We’re not acting like it right now (and maybe not ever).
V17-19: the actions guided by ignorance, hard hearts, and minds closed to things of God are ineffective and fruitless.
V20-32: the old self is marked by sinful anger, corruption, deceit, theft, foul speech, bitterness, anger, slander, and malice. The new self is marked by true righteousness and holiness, righteous anger, kindness, soft hearts, forgiveness, edifying speech that imparts grace. These are pretty far apart from each other, and it should be pretty clear which of these is more descriptive of our current speech patterns and ways of life.
These points have remained with me over the last several days, in varying degrees of prominence based on circumstances. I’d encourage you to take the time to 1, read the chapter (and the whole book, really; it’s not that long) for yourself; 2, carefully think through what tendencies and habits you might need to submit to the Lord; and 3, ask for His help to enable you to change and grow.
This is a perfect follow up from last weeks’ “Gracious Response” blog you presented. I took your advice and just read Ephesians 4 while eating lunch here at work. I especially like verse 14 as it talks about not being infants and tossed about by every wave and wind of teaching (or public opinion). We are held to a much higher standard (the highest) in being one with Christ. I am thankful that you share what God is sharing with you!