- Spiritual walk 4:1—6:9
- Walking in unity 4:1-16
- Walking in holiness 4:17-32
- Walking in love 5:1-6
- Walking in light 5:7-14
- Walking in wisdom 5:15—20
- Walking in submission 5:21-6:9
- Spiritual warfare 6:10-20
- Verse 15 defines the topic area as … wise living. How is wise living initially defined
- Carefulness -- deliberate type of living, one involving the comparison of choices, one following some logical sequence, while not dismissing spontaneity, there is a time and place for reactionary choices
- Deliberate living also suggests that there is a standard -- I would argue that our standard is the word of God
- What are the characteristics of wise living and what do they mean?
- First, is making the most of every opportunity
- The why is that the days are evil
- Carpe Diem -- Seize the day. What is God calling me to do that I have been putting off
- Wise living is characterized by moving out on the things God speaks to you
- Heb 10:39 (NIV) But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
- The Hebrew Christians were falling back into the world
- The Hebrew Christians were not different from those around them
- The Hebrew Christians were ashamed of the gospel
- Secondly, wise living is differentiated from foolishness
- Foolishness is characterized by impulsiveness
- Foolishness is also characterized by lack of knowledge (knowing what is true) and experience (getting advice from wise persons)
- Contrasted with foolishness is knowing what the Lord's will is -- how do we determine God's will?
- God's word (the main key to knowing God's will)
- Prayer
- Wise counsel, sometimes circumstances, and personal leading
- Third, be filled with the Spirit
- Notice the corresponding passage -- what is the same and what is different
- Col 3:16-17 (NIV) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
- Notice the similarity: Psalms and hymns, gratitude, and then instructions regarding husbands, wives, children, parents, slaves, and masters
- "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" is the only thing different, and would be equated with being filled with the Spirit
- The phrase "do not get drunk with wine" also gives us some insight. Drunkenness suggests lack of mental discipline
- Fourth, wise living is characterized as being thankful
- Hymns and songs of worship
- Making music in your heart
- Giving thanks to God for everything
- I believe this is the key word for the entire next section -- mutual submission
- Greek word for submission is hupotasso meaning to subordinate
- Subordinate suggests to voluntarily place under
- The first part of mutual submission regards women
- The word "submit" does not appear in the oldest Greek texts
- So, each of the relationships are to submit to each other. The wife is to place herself under her husband's authority
- The example for the wife is how the church, the body, submits to Christ as the head of the church
- Of course, it definitely helps to have a husband who is the spiritual head of the home
- It is difficult for the wife to submit to a husband who does lead spiritually. The danger is that the wife may try to lead the home spiritually
- It is very difficult for the wife to lean on prayer, but often times that is the only option the wife has
- The second part of mutual submission regards men
- The husband's submission is to love his wife
- The husband also has his example in Christ in two aspects
- One, in how he loved the Church
- Two, in how he sacrificially gave himself up for her
- What is Christ' purpose?
- To make her holy
- To cleanse her
- To present her as a radiant church
- To present her without stain, wrinkle, or any other blemish
- To present her blameless
- If this is Christ' purpose for the church, how does that relate to the husband?
- To see her reach her full potential
- To see her as beautiful and special, just as Christ treats his church
- Paul gives further explanation
- A husband's love for his wife should be as his love for his own body
- A husband is to care for his wife, provide for her needs (food, shelter, and clothing)
- APPLICATION: The husband is to love his wife sacrificially, meaningfully, and intelligently.
- The husband's responsibility is active, that is, it requires "doing"
- The wife's responsibility is attitudinally, that is, it is seen in her attitude more than her actions
Review:
The Christian's conduct 4:1—6:20
Conclusion 6:21-24
Eph 5:15-20 (NIV) 15 Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, 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. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. 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.
Eph 5:21 (NIV) Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Eph 5:22-24 (NIV) 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.
Eph 5:25-33 (NIV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing 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. 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." 32 This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
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