Tag: ephesians

EPHESIANS: SIT, WALK, STAND (run, hide,fight)

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I teach Bible at Madison Academy in Huntsville, Al. Been there 30 years. Every year we have a lengthy presentation on what to do if a shooter comes in. But it always ends with “run, hide (if you can’t run), fight (if you can’t run or hide)”. In the moment of an actual shooter in the building, I won’t remember the whole lecture, but I will remember those 3 words and it might save lives. Hopefully, this blog will be brief in order to emphasize 3 key words in Ephesians: “sit, walk, stand”.

SIT

From prayersandpetitions.org

From mission venture ministries:

Jesus finished his redemptive work on the cross and then was raised and seated at the right hand of the Father. Eph 1:18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Paul prayed that his readers’ spiritual eyes would be opened to see that the same power that raised and seated Jesus had raised and seated them with Jesus in the heavenly places (Eph 2:6).So, it is important to start with where we are now seated: with Christ in the heavenly places. I’m not sure where that is exactly, but it must be a spiritual realm all around us that we can’t see. But we can see with an eye of faith our exalted position as Christians: raised from spiritually dead in sin, made alive spiritually, and seated with Jesus in the heavenlies. So, in one sense, you are exalted above spiritual death. The evil one can’t touch you. That should make you feel special in God’s eyes. So it is important that, before we talk about walking and standing, that you know where you sit in God’s eyes! In one sense, it’s not about what you do, about how you walk and stand. It’s about how God’s grace and love has lifted you to a different spiritual realm above all evil powers in this world. You are safe in the Father’s hands and no one can take you out of them.

WALK

So now that we realize where we are safely seated with Jesus in the heavenly places, how should we live as special children of God. How you walk is simply how you conduct yourself: what you do, think, and say every day 24/7. There are 7 “walks” in Ephesians. 1) 2:1-2 how you walked in sin and lusts before being saved. 2) 2:10 the good works we should walk in as newly created saved by grace children of God.

Chapters 4-6 then begin 5 very practical “walks”: 3) 4:1-3 walk worthy of you calling by God to be His child, with an emphasis on unity among believers and unity of doctrine (the 7 “ones”). 4) walk no longer as the Gentile pagans in futility and unbridled lust: put off the old sinful self and put on the new self that is created in the image of Christ. 5) 5:1-2 walk in love as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, with an emphasis on putting away sexual immorality and greed. 6) 5:8 walk as children of light: the light of the world, Jesus, has shined on us and lifted us out of spiritual darkness and made us reflected lights; so put away all the deeds of darkness.

7) 5:15-16 walk as wise men, using your time wisely to be filled with the Spirit so you can encourage others and give thanks to God continually. To walk wisely includes “submitting to one another”. Paul then gives several areas where we should submit to one another: 1) Wives submit to husbands. 2) Husbands love their wives as Christ loved the church, nourishing and cherishing them (which is a submitting of your selfish will to God’s will for husbands). 3) Children obey (submit) your parents. 4) Fathers bring up your children in the discipline (training) and instruction of the Lord (submitting you will as the head of the family to God’s will for parenting). 5) Slaves obey (submit) to your masters. 6) Masters treat your slaves kindly (which is submitting being a slave owner to God’s will on how to treat them).

STAND

The Christian “walk” will not be a “cakewalk” (achieve or win something easily). There will be trials, tests of your faith, problems to overcome, difficulties, etc. I walk around our pond and the other day the wind was so strong that it made it hard to walk. You have seen reporters giving updates while in 100 mph winds of a hurricane, and it is all they can do to “stand”. So Paul ends the letter with the warning that we need to stand against the schemes of the devil and the spiritual forces in the heavenly places.

To stand against these schemes, we need to put on the “whole armor of God”. Imagine a soldier going into battle without a single defensive piece of equipment or an offensive weapon. He would be destroyed quickly. We will be destoryed by Satan if we don’t put on God’s armor. Notice the defensive equipment such as the shield, the feet protected (Roman soldiers wore heavy-soled military sandals called caligae), breastplate, and helmut. Notice the offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit (the word of God). Like any soldier, we need to be alert to enemy danger and pray.

Isn’t that a neat way to look at Ephesians? Sit, walk, and stand. It simplifies it all. Much like they teach us in school on responding to a shooter: “run, hide, fight”. You won’t remember the 2 hour lectures someone gave you at inservice on shooters coming in school. In the moment of danger, you might remember 3 simple words: “run, hide (if you can’t run), fight (if you can’t run or hide)”.

EPHESIANS 5:21-6:24 6th walk and “Stand”

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6. 5:22-6:9 Walk in submission to one another.

Actually, 5:21 says 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. So it doesn’t say “walk” but I am making it one of the “walks” of chapters 4-6. 

“Walk in submission to one another” in Ephesians 5:21 means to humbly prioritize the needs and perspectives of others in your relationships, putting aside your own desires and ego, with the understanding that this act of submission is done out of reverence for Christ and to reflect his love in your interactions with others; essentially, it calls for mutual respect and a willingness to yield to one another within a community or relationship. 

We might think this is just a verse for wives to be subject to their husbands, which it does include that, but it would include all our relations with others: husbands and wives, children and parents; slaves and masters. A husband is submitting in a way to his wife when he puts aside his own ego and needs to love and cherish her needs. Etc. 

Christianity should change the way we treat others in all the different relationships in 5:22-6:9. What good is it if a man is a great member of the church but mistreats his wife, or abuses his wife or children, or is a cruel boss to his workers? He might obey all the commands in 4:1-5:21 and yet commit perhaps the worse sin of all in how he treats others. 

This is also tied to being filled with the Spirit. 

6. 5:22-6:9 Walk in submission to one another.

Actually, 5:21 says 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. So it doesn’t say “walk” but I am making it one of the “walks” of chapters 4-6. 

“Walk in submission to one another” in Ephesians 5:21 means to humbly prioritize the needs and perspectives of others in your relationships, putting aside your own desires and ego, with the understanding that this act of submission is done out of reverence for Christ and to reflect his love in your interactions with others; essentially, it calls for mutual respect and a willingness to yield to one another within a community or relationship. 

We might think this is just a verse for wives to be subject to their husbands, which it does include that, but it would include all our relations with others: husbands and wives, children and parents; slaves and masters. A husband is submitting in a way to his wife when he puts aside his own ego and needs to love and cherish her needs. Etc. 

Christianity should change the way we treat others in all the different relationships in 5:22-6:9. What good is it if a man is a great member of the church but mistreats his wife, or abuses his wife or children, or is a cruel boss to his workers? He might obey all the commands in 4:1-5:21 and yet commit perhaps the worse sin of all in how he treats others. 

This is also tied to being filled with the Spirit. 

6. 5:22-6:9 Walk in submission to one another.

Actually, 5:21 says 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. So it doesn’t say “walk” but I am making it one of the “walks” of chapters 4-6. 

“Walk in submission to one another” in Ephesians 5:21 means to humbly prioritize the needs and perspectives of others in your relationships, putting aside your own desires and ego, with the understanding that this act of submission is done out of reverence for Christ and to reflect his love in your interactions with others; essentially, it calls for mutual respect and a willingness to yield to one another within a community or relationship. 

We might think this is just a verse for wives to be subject to their husbands, which it does include that, but it would include all our relations with others: husbands and wives, children and parents; slaves and masters. A husband is submitting in a way to his wife when he puts aside his own ego and needs to love and cherish her needs. Etc. 

Christianity should change the way we treat others in all the different relationships in 5:22-6:9. What good is it if a man is a great member of the church but mistreats his wife, or abuses his wife or children, or is a cruel boss to his workers? He might obey all the commands in 4:1-5:21 and yet commit perhaps the worse sin of all in how he treats others. 

This is also tied to being filled with the Spirit where Paul ended the 5th walk as wise men.

  1. 5:22-33 Husbands and wives


A. 5:22-33 Husbands and wives

These images are from saralandchristians.com

4:20 The husband is to nourish (supply her needs)and cherish (thalli, to keep warm, warm someone up, revive their health, by nourishing. Used in 1 Thess 2:7 of a nursing mother cherishing (cares for) her children). 

Q: Do most husbands even know what their wives needs are or care if he is really supplying those needs? 

Q: Do most husbands show their wives how much they cherish them? “Cherish is the word that I use to describe …” song by the Association. 

Q: What would you say are a wife’s main needs?

Q: Under what circumstances would a wife not have to be in submission to her husband? If he beat her? If he verbally abused her? If he lied to her? If he didn’t support her financially? If he was a drunk? 

B) 6:1-4 Children and parents

Also from saralandchristians.com

Q: Is there ever a time when children do not have to obey their parents?

What if the parents won’t let them be baptized or go to church with their friends?

Q: What are some ways that fathers might exasperate their children and provoke them to anger?

Why are only fathers mentioned here and not mothers?

If you have children, do you remember times when you probably provoked your children to anger or disobedience because of the way you disciplined them? 

C) 6:5-9 Bondservants and masters 

Q: Does it surprise you that neither Jesus nor the apostles tried to do away with slavery? 

How did the Christians in the northern and southern churches handle the slavery issue around the time of the Civil War?

Do you think that a Christian master would voluntarily free his slave once he becomes a Christian?

We will study Philemon later where Paul tells Philemon to receive back kindly his runaway slave who had become a Christian while Paul was in Roman prison. Paul did not tell him to free Onesiphorus.  

7. 6:10-20 Stand with the armor of God against the schemes of the devil

So far it has been about our “walk” and conduct. But if you are out walking and someone attacks you, then you have to keep walking to get to your goal but you need to defend yourself with a weapon like a gun or a knife, etc. 

The Christian walk is the same way. The devil had devious schemes to deceive Christians and many different ways of attacking Christians to get them to sin and fall from grace.

Thus the need for the “whole armor of God”. You can’t fight on your own. You need the strength of God and His armor. 

Q: After reading all the individual parts of the armor and what they do, which one do you need the most?

Q: 6:18 8 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance.

How often do you pray for God to help you fight the devi, to not give in to temptation?

6:21-24 FINAL GREETINGS

Paul sent Tychicus to see how they were doing.

Tychicus is mentioned five times in the New Testament:

  • Acts 20:4: Tychicus is mentioned alongside Trophimus 
  • Ephesians 6:21–22: Paul sends Tychicus to the Ephesians to tell them about his circumstances and encourage them 
  • Colossians 4:7–9: Paul sends Tychicus to the Colossians to tell them about his circumstances and encourage them 
  • Titus 3:12: Paul considers sending Tychicus to Crete to assist Titus 
    2 Timothy 4:12: Paul sends Tychicus to Ephesus. Tychicus was an Asiatic Christian who accompanied Paul on part of his journey from Macedonia to Jerusalem. Paul trusted Tychicus and referred to him as a “dear brother” and “faithful servant”. 
  • The Catholic Church calls Tychicus St. Tychicus, and his feast day is April 29. Church tradition holds that he was martyred for his faith in Colophon, which is 24 miles from Ephesus.