09.16.2012 Eph. 5:15-6:9, Be Filled with the Spirit

Speak to us, Lord.
We are going through the Book of Ephesians – we are finishing up next week – so strap on your seatbelts! We are going from Ephesians 5:15-6:9
Actually, we’ll only focus on one verse – 5:22 (Wives, SUBMIT to your husbands…) – Just kidding.
This section focuses on roles. But that verse is focused on by many people today. These are the roles and responsibilities of husbands and wives…. But because we focus on that, we don’t look at the passage in its context – and there is so much that God wants to say to us and we miss it – we miss the most important aspect of this chapter.
I want to take this section in its context to focus on what Paul focused on.
Going back to Ephe. 5:
15 Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise
Walk – is a very important word throughout the Bible. Every aspect of your manner of life – it is living your life right – core values/worldview – and Paul is saying – be careful about how you engage this life. Walk in a way worthy of Christ. Walk in love, not in anger or conflict. Walk in light.
Walk as wise people, not unwise.
He explains what that means
16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.
Someone who understands how God wants them to live – and then to work that out in every aspect of life.
How a wise person understands what God wants – how God wants me to act in that circumstance – in light of this situation – how to treat other people and then doing it.
Paul is telling the church that He expects transformation. This walk is something that is transformational. He is showing them that they have allowed their culture to shape their worldview – their understanding and way of living – and that must be transformed – so that Christ is the one who shapes the world – to define how we behave and think. And he is going to discuss how that applies to every role of life – and this is counter-cultural to these folks. And it is true for us today. We have all been shaped by our culture – in every area – even those of us who have been Christians for a long time and there is transformation that must occur in our thinking.
So in verse 18 – he gives the key to all of this transformation.
Do not get drunk with wine – that is one of the keys - which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. In order to be truly transformed – you must allow God to work inside of you. It is a work of God, not of effort – When someone gets drunk – I’m sure none of you know this - but they are controlled by the alcohol. Don’t let anything else control your behavior and thinking other than Christ and the spirit of God – and that is the challenge.
He goes on to explain what this looks like:
Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
So this is one big long run-on sentence. Microsoft Word would tell him to ‘consider revising’. But the primary verb here is to be filled with the Spirit – that is where it begins. DO you wake up in the morning thinking – I need to be filled with God’s Spirit? Is the Spirit of God controlling me in this relationship – or at work? Do I allow God’s Spirit to control me or am I allowing something else – my pride or selfishness or any other thing – to control me?
He is not saying this is a formula or that this is everything – but some for examples – these things point to being filled with the Spirit – speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs – singing and making music in your hearts to God – giving thanks.
A person who is filled with the Spirit is filled with praise, thanksgiving, and worship. This is transformational because that is not how people are like. We don’t naturally go that way. But that is what it looks like to be filled with the Spirit. And he adds the final one – AND submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. That is the big one. We can do the singing – but the submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ goes against our nature. He calls ALL of them to be subject to one another. We think – to submit to someone is un-American! But the word Christ comes up over and over again – it is out of reverence to Christ.
He is setting this all up – as Christians, we have a responsibility to see how Christ lived, how He approached this world and His relationships with people – and then to use that as an example and to do the same – recognizing what Jesus did – giving Himself in sacrificial love and service for us all – and the challenge is to do the same with one another. We get hung up on the roles – and they probably did too – but the role of all is to treat one another like Jesus treated others. From that as a foundation and context, He moves into the roles and that shapes and transforms our roles. All of us have one role – whatever your position – selfish, sacrificial love and service. That is your role and my role.
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
We focus in on these words – but Paul is trying to get us to focus on Christ. It is first about Jesus.
Tim Keller says this – the introductory statement is verse 21 – submit to one another out of reverence for Christ – but in the Greek – that is the last clause in the previous sentence – and the last mark of being filled with the spirit is this clause. From this spirit empowered mission of verse 21 – comes roles of husbands and wives. Too many look at this as gender roles…
Only if you have learned to serve others through the power of the Holy Spirit will you have the power to face the challenges of marriage.
That is the key to marriage – following THE role – and that role is Christ. As you go into the roles, there are differing opinions in Christianity. There are good arguments on different sides – and I am going to give my general opinion of how I understand this – not the definitive word, I will say that.
I think there are roles laid out here. And they must be built on the role of submitting to one another. These roles cannot be defined by culture or tradition. We want a Biblical marriage – not traditional marriage – we must make the Bible our standard – to see what this says fully and completely.
The roles that are laid out in the bible are not to manipulate or use one another.
There was this concept that men were superior to women – that is the way they thought – and Paul is speaking against that in this passage. The Bible speaks against that – Male and female he created them BOTH.
In order for humans to represent God, there must be these two distinct kinds – and only in that way do we represent God – both men and women are created in God’s image. There is no division – Jew or Greek, male or female, but ONE. The reality is – these roles have been abused throughout history – and that does not rule out their proper use. That use is Christ. That is the point of these passages. These passages are about Christ more than marriage.
There is freedom how these roles work out in marriage.
“You and your spouse should grasp a startling aspect of gender roles. The husband is to be the authority in the family – it is never clearly laid out how that works out. But the Bible doesn’t say how that is laid out.”
We are to give ourselves wholly to one another.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
For them – this would be radical – and He tells us how that is to happen. He gave Himself for her – speaking of Christ. And then comes a massive challenge. Some guys – it is about them in the marriage – and I just want to challenge you – you can be 35 or 40 and still playing with your toys and it is time to grow up and it is time to give yourself like Christ gave Himself. How? Fully., Fully. To just be able to, as a person, and you know – let’s take this all the way back – submit to one another. This is a real challenge to the Christian community. Think about what that looks like to an outside world – people giving of themselves to care for one another.
You know what it is like in your job – everyone is looking out for number one and making sure their work is easier.
Think about when you wake up and go to your task – as a selfless, sacrificial servant of those you have relationship with. What would that look like – as a husband or wife? Be a sacrificial servant – that is THE challenge of scripture and the challenge of this passage – and that is significant – and so the roles – the biblical roles fit under that and they make sense. When that is taken out, they are perverted and abused – always.
Look at what Paul does:
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
I picture this – I think there was this deep understanding of what Christ did – and he (Paul) goes on this explosion of WHO Christ is. HE gave Himself up! Do you understand what marriage is all about? It is not about you and your spouse, but about Christ and the church – it is just a shadow -
26 to make her holy, cleansing {[26] Or having cleansed}her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
What an awakening to what Christ has done!
And then he wakes up…
28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church-- 30 for we are members of his body. 31 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." {[31] Gen. 2:24}
And these words wrap it all up:
32 This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church.
You thought I was talking about marriage – but I am talking about Christ and the church. When we understand this – going back to Genesis 1 – God saying – I will create these people with freedom to choose – freedom to love me – and freedom to reject and rebel against me – but I will create them with a solution – so I can show them how much I love them. They will rebel, and I will send My Son – He will offer Himself that He might bring them back to Me. And in all of this, I will give them a constant living picture of Who I am and what I have planned – and they won’t know about it for thousands of years – but they will go about getting married and having families – and then one day it will be opened up to them – that there is a God who would give Himself Wholly to us that we might have life – that we might know Him.
More important than anything else, that is what this passage is about. Yes, it is about other things – he talks about children and slaves and other issues – but it all focuses on Who Christ is and what He has done. God knew from eternity past that He would create us and we would rebel and He would give His life to bring us back to relationship with Him. NOW – submit to one another as you sacrifice to Christ.

33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.