[Linux4christians] B7 - Sunday - Ephesians 4:1-6

[dcolburn at bibleseven.com]

*Ephesians 4*

*By: David M. Colburn*

*Book Introduction*


The Apostle Paul called upon the church (believers) to grow up. He 
implored them to learn the Word, to live the Word, and to press away the 
polluting influences of the sinful world to which they were formally 
emotional, intellectual, physical, and spiritual slaves.


Paul did not request, nor did he expect perfection any more than Jesus 
did; Jesus provided for confession, repentance, and forgiveness for good 
reason. Paul was clear in all of his writings that he had his own 
struggles and thus anticipated the same in the Christian walk of others.


Paul's message was that we be intentional in the pursuit of holiness, 
that such be a major focus of our lives, because in so doing we honor 
God and we are continually moving away from potential temptation.



    Sunday


      Ephesians 4:1-6


Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily 
of the calling with which you have been called, 4:2 with all humility 
and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

4:3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
peace.

4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the 
one hope of your calling,

4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

4:6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.



      Prayer

Lord, You ask us to be intentional in the pursuit of personal holiness, 
because You are Holy and we belong to You. May I make time for Bible 
study and reflection, find prayer and accountability partners, and be 
faithful in sacrificial service to others so that You make draw me 
every-nearer to You.


      Summary & Commentary


"... live worthily of the calling" - We are children of God, "saints", 
destined for eternity in Heaven, privileged to carry His name in this 
temporary world.


We rightly condemn sports stars and political leaders when they behave 
in anti-social ways because they bring shame upon the name of their team 
or their nation; therefore, we must also understand that the Lord God 
desires that we honor His name in our conduct.


Paul was a living example of humility. He confessed his own failings in 
several of his letters - we are never to think ourselves better than our 
peers -- or the apostles.


No former enemy of the Lord God (that's us), saved by God's grace 
through faith in Him alone, has justification for arrogance.


Gentleness marks the maturing believer, patience with loving endurance 
of occasional immaturity toward those who are learning and growing as we 
had to learn and to grow - older "siblings" to younger "children in the 
faith".


Paul reminded us to remember that the newly saved are "The Church" 
[believers] and we all have the same Holy Spirit; therefore, one does 
not war with oneself.


The Lord God is one, and we are one as His Church (believers), and our 
peace comes from our joy in the eternal promise of Heaven through our 
trust that He is in control.


There is no conflict inside "The Church" [among believers] so long as 
our eyes are on Him alone.



      Interaction


        Consider

Children often put-down their younger sibling, taunting them with 
"little baby" or take advantage of their lack of life experience and 
knowledge with tricks; sadly, many adults never mature out of this 
abusive, destructive, and ignorant behavior.


        Discuss

Old-school parents may often chide their children as they head out the 
door "remember not to do anything that would bring shame to the family 
name", so great was their traditional belief in the value of integrity 
before the watching world. This has been largely lost in a fragmented 
society where selfishness rules - God calls us to integrity in 
everything we do as the bearers of the name of Christ. How might we 
remind children, and peers, to take care how they present the Lord God 
to a watching world?


        Reflect

Jesus and the apostles modeled humility, yet still there was a constant 
problem in the early church with arrogant and proud people assuming 
roles of leadership, and the problem continues to this day.


        Share

When have you discovered that knowing that you are a "child of God" gave 
you the perspective and motivation to walk away from sin that otherwise 
may have ensnared you?



      Faith in Action


        Prayer:

Ask the Holy Spirit to find you teachable and guide you away from an old 
sin (or perhaps a new one) and toward righteousness instead.


        Action:

Today I will ask a fellow believer to pray in agreement for this and 
will share with them what God does to honor our prayers. I will also 
thank the Lord God for the Holy Spirit who equips us to live worthy of 
God and in peace with fellow believers - because we know that doing so 
without Him is impossible.


        Be Specific ______________________________________________________



    Monday's text will be:


      Ephesians 4:7-10



-- 

Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you,
Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day!
David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Savannah-Statesboro needs a Bible College/Seminary!
Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com
Bible Resources: http://bible.org
Teacher's Verse: John 7:16
I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com
1Cor. 15:22 "For just as in Adam all die, so also in
Christ all will be made alive."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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