Ephesians 5

Study Guide 144: Ephesians 5:3-6:20 ONE IN LOVE Overview Ephesians affirms the oneness of Christians, bonded together in Christ. We’ ve looked at that oneness as expressed in the images of a body and of a family. Each of these is an image not of what the church is like, but of what the church is. Each is an image of what we are called to experience, together, as God’ s people. In this study we look at the third image, that of the holy temple. We also examine a basic attitude which is vital to adopt if we are to truly be Christ’ s church: the attitude of submission. Finally, we look at those schemes of the devil which are focused on distorting our life together — and at the armor God has provided for us to enable us to withstand. How good to look into this, one of the deepest and most important of Paul’ s letters, and learn with our students how to build oneness through a truly practical love. SUBMISSION. The New Testament emphasizes a voluntary (James 4:7) rather than a forced (Luke 10:17) submission. Submission is appropriate in social roles (as citizen or slave, see Romans 13:1; Titus 2:9). It is also appropriate in Christian interpersonal relationships. Here the image is one of responsiveness and willingness to yield to one another out of love.

Commentary Each section of Ephesians adds to our understanding of our identity together as the church. Each shows how we can help each other know Christ better. Looking back over these sections, we can sense the wonder of it all — and see practical guidelines for a vital new lifestyle. Ephesians 1-2. Here we see Jesus, raised from the dead to the Father’ s side as Head of the church. And we see our new identity in Him. We, who were cut off from God by sin, are forgiven and provided with spiritual life. The power that raised Jesus from the dead fills us, lifting us out of our inadequacy and empowering us for something new. We now live in hope, because we are in constant touch with a God who has committed Himself to us. All this is ours because of Jesus Christ. Seeing Him as the Source of our life moves Paul to expression after expression of praise. Ephesians 2-3. In these chapters we learn that power for the new life God has given us is channeled through the community of the church. We are not to live isolated lives; we are to live in intimate relationship with other believers. To illustrate this, Paul portrayed the church as a body, a family, and a holy temple. Each of these images stressed the fact that the church is one. We are to seek, and maintain unity in order to experience together the divine power. Living together as a body, we build one another up and grow toward maturity. As family, we find our attitudes and values changed as love becomes the touchstone of our lives. As God’ s temple we find our lives taking on a holiness which exposes evil for what it is. Learning to live together as the church is the key to individual growth, love, and holiness. As we live in true fellowship with others we discover the living presence of God. The relationship between Christ and the individual is experienced in the fellowship of the saints. Ephesians 4-5. The practical meaning of living together as a body, family, and temple is amplified in these chapters. Living in the body means each person ministers to other members, using the spiritual gifts supplied by God and developed by gifted leaders. Living as members of the family means coming to know and care for one another deeply, expressing that care in openness, compassion, forgiveness, and a deep involvement in each others’ lives. And, as we’ ll see, living together as a holy temple means rejecting dark things and building our commitment to goodness, righteousness, and truth. All of these are learned within the context of the new community, created and led by Christ. Again we see it clearly. To know the living presence of Jesus, we are called to experience the fellowship of the church. In the church, the new creation of God, we each will find renewal.

Ephesian Emphases ChaptersDoctrineEmphasis 1-2Christ is exalted as Head over all.We have life and power in Him. 2-3The church is one body, one family, and one holy temple.Unity is to be maintained. 4-5The church is to learn to live as body, family, and holy temple.We love and minister to each other and live together righteously. Renewal as a Holy Temple: Ephesians 5:3-20The church is a holy temple. Therefore, we are to live as God’ s holy people. Here the contrast is that of night and day, darkness and light. It’ s as though we’ ve passed through a pitch-black tunnel — stumbling, mired in dirt and filth — and then suddenly broken into the light. At first we’ re blinded by the brilliance. Then, as our eyes adjust to the shimmering glow, we realize where we are. We’ re in a new and different world, a world without impurity or greed or idolatry. A world of goodness, righteousness, truth, and purity. And this is how we are to live — with eyes opened to holiness, making the most of every opportunity to do God’ s will. What is it like, this holy life? This too is found in relationships — in the way we live with others inside and outside the church. What are the marks of holiness in contrast to the ways of darkness? As we live in love, caring for others rather than using them, we reveal the righteousness of God and we expose evil for what it is. How does the church expose evil? By mounting a crusade, or picketing? Hardly. Evil is exposed by providing an example of righteousness. Paul put it this way: “ Everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible” (Ephesians 5:13-14). As children of light, we reveal darkness for what it is. In the light shed by the holiness of God’ s people, evil is revealed as evil. And so we again see the church: a body, a family, a holy temple. A people of God, not just individual Christians.

DarknessLight Sexual immoralityGoodness ImpurityRighteousness GreedTruth ObscenityThanksgiving Course Joking Idolatry Drunkenness Individualism In reviewing what Ephesians teaches, we see a major difference between the church and our culture. Competitiveness is valued by our society. We are a nation of individualists; we approach life’ s issues alone. In school we work individually for grades, and compare with others to see whose score is highest. In sports we sometimes compete by teams, but always we keep individual statistics. In business the company that grows makes the best product, or promotes it most effectively. Each salesman works to make his quota, to be in the top for the month or year. We measure ourselves against others by our educations, our incomes, our cars, our vacations, and even by our roles in church organizations. Our society appreciates rugged individualism. The exaltation of one person above others is reflected in our ways of living together, and in our idea of what leadership involves. To win, compete, excel — all these things a person does against the crowd. And then we come to the church of Christ, and enter another world. Here we see a living body that “ grows and builds itself up . . . as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16). Every person ministering to others is the sign of a healthy body. Not competition but cooperation is the heart of the Christian lifestyle. Even leaders are not exalted as “ the” ministers, but are subordinated to the members, whom they are to serve by equipping them for their ministering work! Like a family, the church is more concerned with brothers’ and sisters’ needs than their accomplishments. It is more committed to love than victory. Love is what Jesus showed when He gave Himself for us. “ As dearly loved children,” we are to “ live a life of love” (Ephesians 5:1-2) that is just like Christ’ s! We are invited to surrender personal ambitions and subordinate our needs to the needs of others, being willing to give ourselves up for those who have become so dear. Here too we see a holy temple, in which the struggle to lift ourselves above the others — to use them for our gain — is rejected in favor of goodness, righteousness, and truth. The lifestyle of the church decisively rejects the individualism of society, and values cooperation over competition. This lifestyle does not exalt the leader over the led, but sees serving others as the highest calling. Unity leads us to abandon pride of place or position and accept each other as fully equal in the community we share. Paul portrays this new attitude in Phi 2:1-30: If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! Phi 2:1-8This is the new world of relationships, so dramatically different from the world of individualism we have known. But this new world raises many questions. What about the differences in station and position that exist in society? What about the great distinctions between slaves and free, parent and child, husband and wife? How do we live our new lives in our roles in society? Do we reject social order, to affirm the unity Christ has formed within the church? Paul turns to these questions in Ephesians 5:1-33.

Submission: Ephesians 5:21It seems strange to find Paul speaking of submission in view of his emphasis on unity. Accept a subordinate position? We who are lifted up in Christ, made so completely equal that Paul himself insisted, “ There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). This idea of superior/subordinate positions — of submitting within the framework of societal roles and relationships — must have troubled the early church as it does us today. In three of the New Testament letters this same issue is explored. We hear the same message from each: “ Wives, submit to your husbands” (Ephesians 5:22; Colossians 3:18; see 1 Peter 3:1). “ Children, obey your parents” (see Ephesians 6:1; Colossians 3:20). “ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear” (Ephesians 6:5; see Colossians 3:22; 1 Peter 2:18). And for all, “ Submit yourselves for the Lord’ s sake to every authority instituted among men” (1 Peter 2:13). It is in the framework of the real world of human differences and inequalities that the church’ s oneness is to be expressed. How can this be? How can we experience oneness while recognizing and respecting the rights of those placed “ over” us? Mutual submission. Whenever we move into this area of authority, we tend to emphasize the “ rights” of the superior to control or influence the person below. Paul immediately showed that control is not the frame of reference from which to begin. His discussion began with the command, “ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21). We are to maintain a humbleness that considers others — whatever their place in life — as “ better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phi 2:3-4). Maintaining an attitude of loving concern for one another strips authority of its “ rights” and also strips submission of its humiliation. Whatever role we have been given provides an opportunity to serve our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Mutual responsibilities. Reading through the passages in Ephesians, Colossians, and 1 Peter that deal with human relationships and societal roles, we find that the scales are not weighted in either direction! The child obeys parents in the Lord, but parents are not to exasperate or embitter their children. Discipline is to be distinctively Christian. The slave is to serve wholeheartedly. But masters are to treat the slave with consideration and concern, doing what is right and fair. Within the context of whatever role, the Christian’ s deep concern for others as persons is to guide and control. Occasion to serve. The underlying thought is that authority and submission are not to be viewed as humiliation, but as providing different opportunities to serve. If I am a master, I serve my slaves by treating them with fairness and respect. If I am a slave, I serve my master with wholehearted loyalty. The Christian attitude toward authority and submission is drastically opposed to the perceptions of the world, which see the one in authority as exalted, and the other as debased. There, each person’ s value is determined by the position he holds. But in Christ’ s church that whole pattern is rejected. Each persons’ value exists apart from his role. The slave is just as important to God as the master, the child as the parent, the woman as the man. It is simply that one who is a slave has a different kind of opportunity to serve than does the master. The Christian view of authority and submission shifts the focus completely from power, to service. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT In a minilecture explain the concept of societal roles not as power structures but as roles that give Christians differing opportunities to serve. Then divide into teams, to study parallel passages on submission, and to answer the questions. Come back together to share insights.

Parallel Passages on Submission RelationshipEphesiansColossians* 1 Peter Husband/wifeEph_5:22-23Col_3:18-191Pe_3:1-7 Parent/childEph_6:1-4Col_3:20-21 Master/slaveEph_6:5-93:22-4:11Pe_2:18-21

• Note that Peter speaks of relationships with persons who are not within the church. Ephesians and Colossians speak of relationships within it. Questions to explore — How does each “ superior” relationship provide an opportunity to serve? How does each “ subordinate” relationship provide this opportunity? How might each person’ s attitude toward authority affect the relationship between them? Husband/Wife Relationships: Ephesians 5:22-33Nowhere is this concept seen more clearly than in marriage. The pagan view. In Paul’ s time, pagans saw women as inferior beings, playthings for the dominant male. To be “ head of the house” was to accept the common notion that authority was the male’ s rightful providence. Children and wives were only responsible to obey. The wife was not equal to her husband as a person, or in any other way. His needs and concerns dominated the household, and the wife existed to fulfill those needs and to serve him. Contemporary interpretations of Ephesians 5:1-33 that describe the wife as finding total fulfillment in her relationship with her husband and household reflect the pagan, not the Christian view. So does the notion that the wife is so “ under” the authority umbrella of her husband that she is not to speak or act except at his direction. The Christian view. The Christian view is quite different. Women are seen as persons of equal worth and value. In the structure of society, men are given the role of head of the house, a role affirmed by God in this passage. But their headship is modeled on the way Christ loved the church, not on human systems of authority. This headship focuses attention on the way a “ superior” is called to serve the “ subordinate” ! Specifically, Ephesians 5:27 portrays Christ as giving Himself up for the church “ to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” In pursuit of this ministry, Christ nourishes and cares for the church. In the same way, husbands are to nurture their wives, seeking always to help the wife grow as a person and as a Christian. What a contrast with the pagan view! Suddenly things are reversed. The wife is transformed from an unimportant adjunct, who exists only to meet her husband’ s needs, to a person of intrinsic worth and value, becoming the focus of her husband’ s concern. Instead of demanding that she live for him, he begins to live for her! Rather than keeping her under, he seeks to lift her up. Christian headship lifts the wife up as the rightful object of a husband’ s loving concern. In this context, the husband serves by being a Christlike head; the wife serves in responsive submission to one who lifts her up and holds her beside him. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Again use a minilecture to sum up the difference in pagan and Christian views of headship, as expressed in Ephesians 5:22-33. Then divide into teams, asking half the teams to suggest how the couple in the case history will go about solving the problem if they adopt the “ pagan” view of headship in the home. The other half is to say how they will deal with it if they adopt the Christian view, taking Christ as the model who chose to serve His bride and build her up. Each set of teams is to determine what this couple will do. Then hear reports from all. Case History Leona wants to go back to school for premedical training. Her goal is to become a doctor, so she can help others as well as support herself and their six-month-old daughter should something happen to Ben. This notion upsets Ben. A woman’ s place is in the home, he says, especially since they have a baby. Besides, in his family the husband always takes care of the wife and children. To hear Leona talk about a career makes Ben feel uneasy. But it’ s tough for Leona too. Ben’ s been out of work two times in the last six years — for long periods of time. She doesn’ t like being a housewife and wants to use her God-given intelligence for something other than washing dishes. Besides, deep down she is not confident Ben will always take care of them. And she does not want her daughter to grow up on welfare if she can help it. In summary. What both Paul and Peter do in their letters is to help us realize that our place in society is irrelevant to the oneness that is to exist in the church. For the Christian, who lives to serve others, the role in which that service is offered is unimportant. Slave and master are one in Christ, lifted up and seated with Him. How foolish then to define a brother first of all as “ master,” and feel the alienation that “ authority” often creates. How foolish to think of ourselves as unimportant if our role is that of “ slave.” How useless to bridle against being a woman, as though it were better to be a man! How foolish, when we are all members of one body, one family, living stones in that holy temple constructed by the Lord. How freeing it is to realize that my worth and value as a person rests on who I am in Christ, and that my position in the world simply defines my opportunities to serve.

The Devils’ Schemes: Ephesians 6:10-20Paul concludes this letter with a warning. Satan is actively struggling against God. All his energies are focused on shattering the unity of the church. The enemy will attempt to cripple the body, to introduce dissension into the family, and to corrupt the holy temple. Against the enemy’ s attacks God has equipped us with His own armor: “ The full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’ s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11). Many different interpretations of the armor have been given, and its equivalents in the panoply of the Roman soldier of Paul’ s day have been discussed. But what is most important has often been overlooked: Paul here describes the armor which enables us to stand against attacks on our life together as Christ’ s new community. Viewed from this perspective, what are the divine resources we have been given? The belt of truth. Put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, Paul has warned, for we are all members of one body (Ephesians 4:25). Openness and honesty gird us together; misunderstanding and hidden motives divide. The breastplate of righteousness. “ There must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed” (Ephesians 5:3) among God’ s holy people. Righteous living is essential, guarding the very heart of our shared lives. Feet fitted with the Gospel of peace. More than once in this letter Paul has stressed how the Gospel brings peace, reconciling us to God and making us one. In Ephesians, peace is the bond that holds the unity created by the Spirit. When unity is maintained, Christ’ s church is enabled to move in full responsiveness to its Head. The shield of faith. We maintain a confident hope in the reality and power of God. This trust extinguishes doubt. We are inadequate in ourselves, yes. But our trust is in God, who “ is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work in us” (Ephesians 3:20). The helmet of salvation. Salvation has brought us a new life and identity. By keeping our identity as Christ’ s living church constantly before us, our perception of life is transformed. Satan’ s dreams of distorted relationships cannot cloud the mind of a person who grasps the full meaning of the salvation we enjoy in Christ. The Spirit’ s sword. Why does Paul explain here that the sword is “ the Word of God” ? (Ephesians 6:17) It is because, in all of Ephesians, Paul has not discussed Scripture as he has the other elements of our armor. This vital tool is needed for us to wage our spiritual warfare. And, in it all, on all occasions, we need prayer.

Teaching Guide Prepare Ask God to help each of your group members grasp the powerful concept that societal roles do not make people more or less important, but are God’ s way of giving each of us differing opportunities to serve one another in love.

Explore

1. Ask pairs to sum up in three statements the major teachings of Ephesians 1-4.
2. Focus on the critical concept that societal roles do not define a person’ s importance, but rather define his or her opportunities to serve others. Use the “ link-to-life” idea above This study should take more than half your group time, and is vital preparation for a study of husband/wife relationships in Ephesians 5:22-33.

Expand Work in teams on the case history involving differing needs in a marriage relationship. How will the couple go about solving their conflict if they adopt the pagan notion of headship, and if they accept the Christian concept as modeled by Jesus? See “ link-to-life” above.

Apply Briefly survey the armor of God, as explained in Ephesians, by which we are able to recognize the devil’ s schemes for disrupting the unity of the church. Then ask each group member to share which piece of armor seems most important to him or her, and why.