Calling
A Written compostion of the Heavenly Calling Network Study Group
Chapter
25
Chapter 5 of the epistle to the
Ephesians is a summing up this worthy walk, by the Apostle Paul. Paul
starts off by expanding what was in chapter 4 by starting off by
saying, "be followers of God as dear children." The word follower is
literally the word "imitator." You, as redeemed children of God, are
asked to imitate Him. And you want to remember that only saved people
can imitate Christ. So we want to make sure we never exult people who
have never come to a personal knowledge of salvation to try and be like
Jesus as it is so often done from pulpits and in Christian
dispositions. For how can they, who are dead spiritually, walk in the
footsteps of our Saviour? We, who have come to know Him, that has been
given life in Christ, are urged to walk and to display that life in
practice by walking in the footsteps, as far as He has enabled us in
the One who has loved us, as the second verse tells us, walk in love.
There are three references in this chapter of walk. "Walk in love",
verse 2. "Walk as children of light", verse 8. Then in verse 15, " See
then that you walk circumspectly". Each one of these are enlarging.
Verse 2, " walk in love". If we are going to imitate God who is love,
then we must walk in love. And this is a very practical thing that
isn't just sentimental. This is something that will burden us to the
utter most. Because most every time you read of God's love in the
scriptures you have a context where God gives. Divine love always
expends it self. Divine love is unselfishness to the last degree. God
so loved that He gave His only begotten Son. And by giving His only
begotten Son, He gave everything. And when Christ gave Himself for us,
He gave everything because He gave Himself. As this very verse tells
us, Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and
has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet
smelling smell.
And the gift that He gave was Himself. Twice in this chapter we are
told that the Lord Jesus gave Himself. Verse 25, Husbands, love your
wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
... Here is the great test of our love. If we profess that we are
walking in love day by day, this characteristic must be apparent. We
are spending ourselves for others. That is real love. It is something
that you get nothing out of, but somebody else does. Christ, our
Saviour, gave Himself. Are we walking in love to Him by spending
ourselves to Him? Nothing less than that is what this verse is telling
us.
He gave Himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweet smelling smell. In the Old Testament types of shadows there were
two kinds of offerings which was resemblance of the Lord Jesus. There
were sin offerings and there were sweet savor offerings. The sin
offerings resembled the offering He did at Calvary as the sin barer.
Baring our sin. But there is another aspect to where sin didn't enter
in. Where He as a perfect servant gave Himself entirely. Do we think of
Him as the servant of Jehovah. The great bond slave? The One, in whom
in the next letter said, emptied Himself and stooped right down to the
cross for us. So in emptying Himself He had no words and no will and no
works of His own. But always the Fathers. He even said,"I can do
nothing of myself." The Father is the One who does the work. So you see
this self emptying. All for our sake. True service is the negation of
self and that is what the Lord meant when He said, "if any man chooses,
wills, to come after Me", this is walking in the Lord's footsteps, this
is being like Him, if you choose to do that, and this is a thing that
we have got to choose because it doesn't come automatically, because
we've all got the old nature and some won't choose this way, but if we
do choose, then we must deny our self. You must say no to self. That is
terribly difficult. Because we find that this old self can easily snare
us unless we watch very carefully.
Then there is threefold reference to uncleanness in act and in word.
And why we may be appalled by this, we must remember that these
Ephesians were converts from the darkest paganism. And in those days
these things were not even looked up on as being wrong. And you can
imagine the utter difference that salvation had made to some of these
Ephesians Christians. And so there is a warning about these things. And
some of them are very up to date. Darkness, light, are the two figures
in this context. Verse 8 For you were sometimes darkness, but now are
you light in the Lord: ... Because He is light. Christ is the light of
the world, and there is no light that is apart from Him. If we are in
Him then we can walk in the light of His truth. ... walk as children of
light:
Now if you read the revised version, in verse 9 you will see it says,
... for the fruit of the light ... not the fruit of the Spirit. And
that is the correct reading. Your dealing with fruit. Your dealing with
walk. Your dealing with figure of speech that is expressive of
Christian walk. Root, is salvation. We are likened to a tree. The roots
are right down into Christ the Saviour. Rooted and grounded in Him, so
says Colossians. Now, you don't see the roots of a fruit tree. But you
can see what is above ground. And that is the leaves, flower, and
fruit. And if the root is healthy, then fruit will surely come. And to
get healthy fruit you must have light. If we want to ripen spiritually,
translating these things in the terms of the Spirit, we must walk in
the light of truth. The Lord can't except or bring honor to His name
unless we are walking in the light of truth of His word. The Lord gave
quite the same figure in the gospel of John. "I am the vine, you are
the branches", and if you look at the context you will see fruit baring
is the thing that He is looking for. It is fruit, then you will find it
is more fruit. And then its much fruit. Here is My Father glorified to
bare much fruit. That is not only true to the believers that the Lord
was addressing in His life time. It is certainly true today for the
members of His body. That is not dispensational truth. That is truth
for all time.
God has called out His children right from the very beginning so that
they can exhibit in some measure His truth day by day. Whether it is
His earthly children, the people of Israel, or whether it is His
heavenly children, the church which is His body. As we walk in the
light of His truth fruit comes naturally. We need not get over anxious
about it or try and work it up. You can't work up fruit in that way. It
follows naturally. Just as a tree that has healthy roots and is in
light, not being barred from sun light, it will produce its fruit
naturally with out any intensive effort. So will we if we walk in the
light of God's word, His truth rightly divided, fruit will come to His
glory. And this ... in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10
proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord; ... And then we have the
unfruitful works of darkness contrasted with it.
Then he says, verse 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as
fools, but as wise, ... This word "circumspectly" has in its make up in
the Greek the word "height" in it. And it is something that anybody who
has walked on heights or down any mountain climbing would certainly
know. We can't translate it because it is to cloaked. We can't say
walked cautiously, but that is what it really means. You walk carefully
because you are on a height and you can fall. We must remember that in
this Christian walk that we can not swagger along. We can't go along
boastingly. We can go along carefully. We can go along humbly.
Depending upon Him and upon His strength and then the walk will be to
the Saviours glory. And we shall not stumble or fall.
Ephesians 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ... This
word "redeeming" is one of several words translated redemption and
redeem in the King James version. This one, in its original meaning,
has the meaning of a shopper going into the market early to buy up the
bargains. Any careful business person or shopper still does that. And
that was the original thought. And the word "time" literally is the
word "opportunity." So you might almost render it "buy up the
opportunity." That is for our service and witness. It may have been
said about some, and maybe true of all of us, that some of us may only
recognize opportunities by the backside, when the opportunity is gone.
And we say to ourselves, oh dear, I had an opportunity and I have let
it go. If I'd only done, how different it would have been. In that case
we haven't redeemed the time. We've let something go. We've got to
watch and ask the Lord if it is His will to give us the opportunity to
speak and witness, but not merely speaking but doing which sometimes
speaks more excellently than even the words for Him.
Redeeming the time, why? Because the days are evil. The New Testament
does not have very great things to say about this age that we are now
living in. Men do of course. They don't talk like scriptures do. As
they talk, it is to them a wonderful age. In some angles from a earthly
stand point it may be. But basically, spiritually, it is an evil age.
Because it does not have God in its thoughts. It is still rejecting His
Son for the most part. And it is bound to be where God is left out. And
where Christ is spurned. What can be the result. What ever man can do,
the best he can do, what is going to happen. In the end it is going to
turn to his own destruction. And that is what is happening. Even in
Paul's day, that is certainly true.
Ephesians 5:17 Why be you not unwise, but understanding what the will
of the Lord is. ... This is something personal. Because in the Lord's
dealing with each one of us it is quite individual. He made lead you in
quite a different way to what He has lead someone else. There are some
principles that are common to all the redeemed. And yet there is
something distinct in the way the Lord saves and leads and uses members
of His body. And it is for each one to come before the Lord and ask Him
to show us exactly what that will involves. Paul shows us a pattern.
Paul said in the very first words to the Lord, Lord what will you have
me to do. He wants to understand what the will of the Lord was. And he
never left it off. Paul was always asking that. Paul was always
concerned that every action he took was according to revelation, and
was according to the Lord's mind and will. So that he didn't run in
front of Him, nor didn't lag behind Him. But walked with Him day by
day.
Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be
filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the
Lord; ... Looking at the epistle to the Colossians, which deals in a
similar context, psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. In Colossians 3:16
you will notice that the wording is a little different and this helps
us to understand what being filled with the Spirit means. 18 Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; ... Now you've got
the same context as Ephesians. ... teaching and admonishing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your
hearts to the Lord. ... So we are in the same context as it were. But
one says, be filled with the Spirit and the other says let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Those two statements are
complimentary. One explains the other.
Strictly speaking the 18th verse of Ephesians chapter 5 does not say be
filled with the Spirit. It is "by" the Spirit. The Holy Spirit. In
other words He is the filler. God the Holy Spirit fills us. But what
does He fill us with? Well, Colossians chapter 3 has told you. The
"word of Christ". It is the Lord's word that He fills us with. And that
is what the Saviour said, "He shall take a mind, the comforter and to
show Me unto you." He is going to take of the things of Christ. "He
shall glorify me." That is always the first and the greatest office of
the Holy Spirit, to uplift the Saviour. And to make God's word, which
is all about Him, because He is the theme of it from the beginning to
the end, clear and precious to the believer. So, if we are filled with
the word of Christ, or if we have that word dwelling in us richly then
we have all that the filling of the Spirit means in chapter five.
To see this keeps us from extravagant interpretations. This is no great
emotional experience. This doesn't mean that we are going to be filled
with all sorts of gifts and be able to speak in prophecy or in tongues,
nothing like that. That is all past. The past dispensation. We've got
something better than that. We've got the very word of the Lord
Himself. The word of Christ is not merely what we have in the four
gospels. We have seen it is the word that He had given to the Apostle
Paul, that was the word of Christ. This very letter, and the letters
that he wrote, are the Saviour's words. Strictly speaking, you've got
in the earthly ministry of Christ, you've got the words of the Father
spoken through the Son and recorded for us by the four evangelists. In
the epistles you've got the words of Christ, His own words, spoken
through another channel. Not the four evangelists, but the Apostle Paul
and directed to the Gentile world. "I am the prisoner of Jesus Christ
for you Gentiles." So Paul speaks with all the authority of our
Saviour. This same Saviour commissions the Apostles Peter, James, and
John to speak with all the authority to the people of Israel. And God
sent both those messengers to two different departments. Wise are we if
we don't confuse these things and get them clear because there is a
separate purpose for each. For His people Israel on the earthly side
and the church which is His body on the heavenly side. And they have
their distinct messengers. Paul and the Apostle Peter. So being spilled
with the Spirit is being filled with the very truth that we are given
in this letter and the other great letters written to the church which
is His body. The result will be praise and thanksgiving.
Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms ... We don't use the
Psalms very often but it might be better if we did more. ... and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the
Lord; ... It is bound to come out in praise if we are conscience at all
of what we owe to Him. If we realize what it is to be a member of this
glorious exalted company seated in Him, in the heavenly places far
above all principality. If any wonder of that has gripped our hearts,
it will make us praise, and we've got something to sing about.
Something not only to sing about but something to respond in action as
well. Christian service isn't merely singing. It is really doing. But
we shall sing as well. And God will except it. He will except the
praise of our heart.
Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things ... What shall we
pray about? Lord I don't know what to pray about. Well, give thanks for
every thing. That would solve some of our problems in prayer if we
thought of that more. Thank Him for something. ... Giving thanks always
for all things to God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ; ... This is guidance for us in our praying. We have had two
great prayers by the Apostle in this letter. And you should notice that
Paul does not address them to Christ. Not even the Holy Spirit. But to
the Father. "I bow my knees unto the Father". If we take that this is
our model, and we should, we should pray directly to God the Father
through the Son. You see, some Christians pray directly to the Lord
Jesus. They mean the right thing but they are not realizing some thing.
That He Himself is the mediator between God and ourselves. The one
mediator between God and man is the man Christ Jesus. If you pray to
Christ, instead of through Him you are really dispensing with the
mediator. You are going straight to God and that is unscriptural. He
said Himself in the days of His flesh, "I am the way, no man comes unto
the Father except through Me". If only we would let that sink into our
hearts. We shouldn't attempt to pray to the Father except through
Christ. He said that you can not get there. No man comes unto the
Father except through Him.
And He Himself, as it is recorded in the gospel of John, "you've asked
nothing in my name, ask and you shall receive". So scriptural praying
prays to the Father in the name or through The Lord Jesus Christ. There
is no prayer in the New Testament that is directed to the Holy Spirit
so that shouldn't come up at all. We are energized by the Spirit, yes.
Pray to the Father, through the Son, and the Holy Spirit enables us to,
as Romans chapter 8 tells us. This verse is very important. So please
read this verse again. Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always ... Is there
a special time to pray? No. Always. Any time day or night. What shall I
pray for? Well, everything. ... for all things ... Who shall I pray to?
The Father. Who shall I go to Him through? In the name, or through, the
mediatory position of Lord Jesus Christ. He is the way to the Father.
Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
... Before Paul goes to this next section of wives and husbands, he
doesn't merely say to the wives, now you submit yourself to your
husbands, oh no, he tells everybody to submit themselves to one
another. If we are all submitting ourselves one to another, if we are
all walking in love, if we are all considering one another and not to
our own selfishness then that is the answer.
This word "submit", which some may not like, for some might say, the
ladies of today have been set free from this old idea of having to obey
their husbands. What about this word "submit"? We should see how it
appears else where. The verse that you will be looking at here is the
ones that deal with the Saviour as a boy. You remember how He had to
say to His parents when they saw Him in the temple, Luke 2:49 And he
said to them, How is it that you sought me? knew you not that I must be
about my Father's business? 50 And they understood not the saying which
he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth,
and was subject to them: ... Subject to His earthly parents. This is
Christ. This is He who is God and Lord of all who stooped to Bethlehem
and He became subject. So who are we to say, "I refuse to be subject to
anybody else." Here He is as the great example first and foremost.
And so it says, Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit ... All this word "submit"
means is to take your place. God has put places for His redeemed
children. He has put men in one place and He has put the women in
another. Because they are illustrating truth. That is why. The man,
should be an illustration of the Lord Jesus Himself. The women should
be an illustration of the church which is His body. Both, surely are
blessed. And not one is more blessed that the other because one is a
compliment of the other, the head and the body. So who is going to
grumble when they realize that? So wives, submit to your own husbands
as in the Lord. Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife,
... Who made him that? Did he put himself into that position? No, the
Lord has given him that. Here is a picture. ... even as Christ is the
head of the church: and he is the savior of the body.
Ephesians 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, so let the
wives be to their own husbands in every thing. That is one side. Now
here is the other side. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church, and gave himself for it; ... What a
responsibility all Christian husbands have. They are to be just like
the Saviour, expending Himself. That finds us all out doesn't it. You
be like the Lord Jesus, you represent Him now. The head who has given
Himself.
Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify ... Set it apart. ... and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word, ... There is a double figure
here. Washing of water and the word. There are two great cleansing
agents for the child of God. One is the precious blood of Calvary. The
blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. The same
atoning work that saved us and redeemed us is the basis of our
sanctification and cleansing. That is one aspect. And then it says the
word of God is a cleansing agent. Do you remember a time when the Lord
said to the eleven, "now are ye clean through the word that I have
spoken." So these are two great cleaning agents, the precious blood of
the Lord's sacrificial work on the Cross, and the word of truth. So
what we want is a good bath in the word of truth. Clean through the
word. Realizing that the basis of even that is the offering of the
blood of our Lord Jesus on Calvary's cross.
Washing of the water by the word... What for? ... Ephesians 5:27 That
he might present it to himself ... Here part of the great future that
is sometimes missed. We think of what it is going to be for us to get
to glory. The glory day for us, we say. That will be glory for me. Yes,
but what about glory for the Saviour. What about His glory day? He is
going to present this church to Himself. It is His own present. A
presentation day. Human present days are usually red letter days aren't
they. Some one is going to have a presentation. Well we make a lot of
that. But do we ever think of this. The greatest of all presentations,
when the Lord has completed this company called His body. When He is
going to gather it up to glory where He is now enthroned. And He is
going to present it to Himself. A church of glory, better than just a
glorious church. The Greek says a church of glory. Every one glorified.
The whole company together is a church of glory. And absolutely as
sinless and spotless as Christ Himself. ...not having spot, or wrinkle,
... No sign of age. No wrinkles in that day. Perpetually young. ... or
any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. ...
Do you remember in the first chapter of Ephesians of the Fathers will
there were two words picked up, "holy and without blemish"? Chapter 1:4
According as he ... That is the Father. ...has chosen us in him ...
That is the Son. ...before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love: ... The word "without
blame" is the same as the word "without blemish" in chapter 5. So right
back before time ever began the Father willed that we should be holy
and without blemish. But we are sinners? So what is going to happen? Oh
we shall need the redeeming work of the Son so that we shall be holy
and without blemish. And that is what this context in chapter 5 is
telling us. The Father willed it. The Son makes it possible by His
redeeming work. And actually we shall be then presented holy, spotless
and without blemish. Colossians say, un reprovable, un blamable in His
Son. It hardly seems possible when we see the sin of our own hearts and
minds. Can we be as spotless as Christ. Well, God won't rest until we
are. And His purpose won't be completed till we are. Until this church
of glory, glorious church, is conformed to the image of His Son.
Like that Ephesians 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own
bodies. He that loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no man ever yet
hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord
the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his
bones. ... And in dealing with that, husbands and wives, He takes us
back to the very beginning to Adam. Here we need to take care, for it
has been taught from this passage that this church is the bride because
we have a reference back to Adam and Eve. But that can't be. This is
the argument. Otherwise the context means nothing at all. Men ought to
love their wives as their own bodies. As Christ loved the church, His
body. Now there is a parallel there and that is what this context is
saying. He is not saying that men should love their wives as their own
bodies and Christ loved the churches bride. That is foreign to the
context. But as He is dealing with husbands and wives he says,
Ephesians 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother,
and shall be joined to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. ...
Paul said, this is a great secret. Ephesians 5:22 ... but I speak
concerning Christ and the church. ... Se he is telling you that, "I am
not talking now about husbands and wives." He goes back again to what
husbands and wives ought to be illustrating. "The husband, the head,
the wife, the body, that is what I am talking about." And the mystery
is not referring to marriage at all, it is the great mystery concerning
Christ and the Church. It is called "the mystery" in chapter 3. And it
is the great secret in deed, referred to the first verse in this
chapter.
Note that little word "but". It is these common words where we often
fall down in studying scriptures. "But" is opposite to the word "and".
"And" is a conjunctive, leading on and adding to. "But" is a
disjunctive, breaking off and changing the thing. These words are so
common, used many times, that we forget the full meaning. "But", you
see,"I am severing off. I am not talking about Husbands and wives now.
I am talking, I speak concerning Christ and the church which is His
Body."
Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love
his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her
husband. ... There is the practical walk of Christian husbands and
wives. And if Christian husband and wives don't carry it out, then the
unhappiness that follows is the only thing that could possibly happen
when God's instructions are not carried out. This all you need in these
days of so much marital unhappiness.