Ephesians 5
February Memory Verse: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
Read: Ephesians 5
Take 60 seconds. What are three ways that Jesus practically influences how you live your day to day life?
One question that I often ask myself is“How would my day have looked differen tif I was not in a relationship with Jesus?” It’s a convicting question but an important one. A scary trend that we have started to see in the American Church at large is that for a lot of self proclaimed “Christians” Jesus has no real effect on their daily life.He stays in the Sunday room of their heart. But this is not what we see in Scripture and definitely not what we see in Ephesians 5.
Ephesians 5 is counter-cultural. Paul starts out reminding them (and us) of what Jesus did. He loved us. He gave Himself up for us. He was a fragrant offering for us (How do you get fragrance? You crush something beautiful). He was a sacrifice to God on our behalf. We struggle to sacrifice little things like time, money, and possessions. Jesus sacrificed his life. And what we see in Scripture is that if this is true, and it is, then Jesus affects every sphere of our lives. Salvation
out works itself in our daily lives and relationships. Paul shows us in Ephesians 5 that the lives of a Jesus Followers should be marked by two things... LOVE & SUBMISSION. And Paul zeros in on three main areas...
1) GOD (v.1-14)
Seems obvious, but sometimes we need to be reminded of the obvious... Salvation in Jesus affects our love and submission to God:
● In our actions.
● In our heart.
● In our mind.
Paul shows us this in verses1-14. This is hard. This requires intentionality. This requires repenting from sin. This requires humility before God and His Word. This is a lifelong journey but one that God is accompanying us on - Philippians1:6.
2) OTHERS (v.15-21)
We see that salvation in Jesus affects our love for and submission to others. Not only is our vertical relationship to look different but also our horizontal relationships. Our relationships should be marked by love and spiritual encouragement (v.19-20) &submission “out of reverence for Christ” (v.21).
Again, thisis hard because it requires humility. It requires valuing others above ourselves-which is easy to say and hard to live. This does not meanwe always get bulldozed by others. Thisis a heart posture that Paul describes in Philippians 2:1-8.
3) MARRIAGE (v.22-33)
Maybe this goes without saying but a marriage between two Christians should look different than the world’s marriages. People should look at Christian marriages and desire that kind of relationship. Christians marriages should be marked by love and submission to each other as unto the Lord.
WIVES (v.22-25)
Paul addresses wives and calls them to submit “as to the Lord.” This does not mean to be dominated. This means to allow your husband to lovingly lead you. To be on a team together but to allow him to fulfill what God has called him to do.
HUSBANDS (v.25-33)
Paul calls the husband to loving lead and serve his wife. This is not about being a dominant dictator but leading in love. In fact, Peter goes as far to say that if we don’t lead our wives with love and understanding our prayers will be hindered (1 Peter 3:7) - this is a stern warning from Peter. The husband is to love his wife as he loves himself and to love and submit to her by leading well and serving her wholeheartedly.
This is counter-cultural marriage advice but it is how God designed marriage. Things always work better when we do them God’s way. And when we do this well we bring glory to God and proclaim the gospel to others because our marriages reflect the relationship between Jesus and His Church.
Praying for you today CPC!
By: Nick Parsons
Read: Ephesians 5
Take 60 seconds. What are three ways that Jesus practically influences how you live your day to day life?
One question that I often ask myself is“How would my day have looked differen tif I was not in a relationship with Jesus?” It’s a convicting question but an important one. A scary trend that we have started to see in the American Church at large is that for a lot of self proclaimed “Christians” Jesus has no real effect on their daily life.He stays in the Sunday room of their heart. But this is not what we see in Scripture and definitely not what we see in Ephesians 5.
Ephesians 5 is counter-cultural. Paul starts out reminding them (and us) of what Jesus did. He loved us. He gave Himself up for us. He was a fragrant offering for us (How do you get fragrance? You crush something beautiful). He was a sacrifice to God on our behalf. We struggle to sacrifice little things like time, money, and possessions. Jesus sacrificed his life. And what we see in Scripture is that if this is true, and it is, then Jesus affects every sphere of our lives. Salvation
out works itself in our daily lives and relationships. Paul shows us in Ephesians 5 that the lives of a Jesus Followers should be marked by two things... LOVE & SUBMISSION. And Paul zeros in on three main areas...
1) GOD (v.1-14)
Seems obvious, but sometimes we need to be reminded of the obvious... Salvation in Jesus affects our love and submission to God:
● In our actions.
● In our heart.
● In our mind.
Paul shows us this in verses1-14. This is hard. This requires intentionality. This requires repenting from sin. This requires humility before God and His Word. This is a lifelong journey but one that God is accompanying us on - Philippians1:6.
2) OTHERS (v.15-21)
We see that salvation in Jesus affects our love for and submission to others. Not only is our vertical relationship to look different but also our horizontal relationships. Our relationships should be marked by love and spiritual encouragement (v.19-20) &submission “out of reverence for Christ” (v.21).
Again, thisis hard because it requires humility. It requires valuing others above ourselves-which is easy to say and hard to live. This does not meanwe always get bulldozed by others. Thisis a heart posture that Paul describes in Philippians 2:1-8.
3) MARRIAGE (v.22-33)
Maybe this goes without saying but a marriage between two Christians should look different than the world’s marriages. People should look at Christian marriages and desire that kind of relationship. Christians marriages should be marked by love and submission to each other as unto the Lord.
WIVES (v.22-25)
Paul addresses wives and calls them to submit “as to the Lord.” This does not mean to be dominated. This means to allow your husband to lovingly lead you. To be on a team together but to allow him to fulfill what God has called him to do.
HUSBANDS (v.25-33)
Paul calls the husband to loving lead and serve his wife. This is not about being a dominant dictator but leading in love. In fact, Peter goes as far to say that if we don’t lead our wives with love and understanding our prayers will be hindered (1 Peter 3:7) - this is a stern warning from Peter. The husband is to love his wife as he loves himself and to love and submit to her by leading well and serving her wholeheartedly.
This is counter-cultural marriage advice but it is how God designed marriage. Things always work better when we do them God’s way. And when we do this well we bring glory to God and proclaim the gospel to others because our marriages reflect the relationship between Jesus and His Church.
Praying for you today CPC!
By: Nick Parsons
9 Comments
Great word today Nick. I grew up in the 60's and 70's during a time of great social change and upheaval. One of the things I experienced growing up was the "women's movement". There was a popular song in the early 70's by a singer named Helen Reddy called I Am Woman that captured the mood of the moment. As I grew up and matured in my faith and began to understand Ephesians 5 it occurred to me that the women's movement was a direct result of men failing to live out our calling. If married men do it God's way as defined in Ephesians 5 then wives feel loved, valued, respected, and cherished as God intended. If single men had treated women with proper respect in a godly manor then the backlash would never have occurred. The Bible is clear on God's order for our world. When men fail to lead properly there is chaos in the family and in society. My prayer is that men step up and lead in a manor that honors God & women.
So good. We should look different than the world. We should love differently than the world. The way this is visible to others is part of our testimony. Allowing the love of Christ to enter in and change us, then overflow to others.
A daily challenge worth taking.
I always find it amusing when scientists, psychologists, etc. all of a sudden "discover" certain truths or facts that have been in plain sight right in the Bible. I remember when a book was written on the topic of what men and women want or need. Women need love and men need respect. Right there in the Bible! If I had known and practiced that when I married at a very young age it would have saved me a lot of grief.
Thanks for your words today Nick.
Ephesians 5 speaks so clearly on how we as Christians should live our lives! I love how Paul compares a wife submitting herself to her husband like a church submitting to God. Like you said, when we follow God's way, it always turns out better than if we did things our way. Even though I am not in that married stage of life yet, it is a great reminder of how I can submit to the Lord daily and grow more in love with Him!
Ah, submission. Best thing I ever did for myself!
...and the hardest! 😩😊
"How would my day have looked different if I was not in a relationship with Jesus?"
What a great question, if not convicting, too! I think if we each genuinely took the time to ask ourselves this question often, we would see more change in ourselves than ever before. So often we just go to work, do the job, come home, hang out with family, sleep, and do it all again. This is much like anyone, believer or not. What are we saying at work, how are we leading our family, how are we loving our spouse in ways that are different from the world. God basically gives us the blueprints here in chapter 5 on how that should look different. Definitely some things for me to dwell on so that I can be different than those who don't know Jesus, and so I can be a light to them! Thanks for this challenge today, Nick!
Love this book! There is a wealth of wisdom here. Excellent blog today!
Really great today Nick! Verse 28 stood out to me "In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself." We don't neglect ourselves! We eat (too much), bathe (I hope), prioritize working out, etc. our spouse should be a priority as well! I'm sure there are other ways to look at that verse but that was my take away.