Tawa Baptist

Stand

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-17

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Stand against evil
  • Put on God’s armour
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Theodore Roosevelt is considered by some to be one of the five best presidents of the United States

  • He is still to this day the youngest, becoming president at 42, serving from 1901 to 1909
  • One saying attributed to Roosevelt is: Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.
  • I understand this to mean we need to keep looking up to that which is lasting and beautiful and true, without losing touch with reality
  • The stars are a reliable source for navigating our way through this world
  • And keeping our feet on the ground is about humility, having a right understanding of yourself in relation to God and His creation

Today we continue our series in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians

  • Ephesians is, in many ways, a letter that encourages us to keep our eyes on the stars and our feet on the ground.
  • It holds up some pretty lofty ideals but today’s passage has its feet firmly on the ground
  • From Ephesians 6, verses 10-17 (in the NIV), we read…

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us

Stand against evil:

Winston Churchill is another well-known and well respected leader

  • He didn’t always get it right and he struggled with his own personal demons, but he knew how to stand his ground
  • His stubbornness was just what Britain needed during the war
  • We all know his famous speech about never, ever giving in except to convictions of honour and good sense
  • In a similar vein he also said: “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”

Personally, I don’t like having enemies. Some people enjoy a fight. I don’t want anything to do with them. And yet, when one becomes a Christian, one picks a side in a very ancient conflict and when you pick a side you get some enemies.

In today’s reading Paul makes it very clear that our enemy is the devil and other evil spiritual beings

  • The ‘rulers and authorities’ Paul mentions in verse 12 don’t refer to the Roman government – Paul is not talking about flesh and blood authorities
  • He’s talking about spiritual authorities organized against God and his people.
  • We can’t see the enemy because it operates in the ‘heavenly realms’.
  • Right at the beginning of this series in Ephesians I explained how the expression heavenly realms doesn’t refer to heaven as such but rather to the spiritual realm
  • The spiritual realm is sort of like another dimension all around us that we don’t normally see

Dogs can’t see orange or green, like we do, but they can see blue and yellow, so if you throw a bright orange ball across a green lawn a dog will struggle to see it because the orange & green look the same greyish colour to them.  

  • When it comes to the spiritual realm we are a bit like dogs (no offence)
  • We don’t see all the colours – spiritual things are camouflaged to us
  • This means there is more to reality than meets the eye
  • Our enemy is not physical flesh and blood. It is spiritual evil, hard to see.

Now some of you may be struggling with this idea of a devil and demons and evil forces. I understand. For many years it seemed weird to me as well.

  • Not everything can be blamed on the devil – human selfishness, greed, fear and the choices people make do account for some evil, but not all.
  • We would be arrogant to discard the ancient wisdom handed down to us in the Bible. Jesus did not deny the existence of the devil
  • Nor did Paul or the Ephesians
  • Whatever we modern readers might think, for Paul and his first century readers, the devil was a personal being, an external centre of evil – not a myth or metaphor to be explained away psychologically [1]
  • Acts 19 tells us how some of the Ephesian Christians used to practice magic before their conversion and actually burned their spell books publicly when becoming followers of Christ – you wouldn’t do that if you thought the devil was just a metaphor.  

Speaking from my own experience in life and ministry I am of the view that the spiritual battle is real

  • When you become a Christian your life gets better in some ways, but in other ways it often becomes harder
  • If you are standing on the side lines watching the game you don’t have much to contend with
  • But if you are on the field, running with the ball, then you are likely to be tackled.   

This is not to say we need to be afraid. We don’t need to fear because Jesus has defeated the devil and the forces of evil

  • We just need to be aware that, despite their defeat, the forces of evil are still at large and refuse to surrender – so we need to stand, not in our own strength but in the strength of the Lord’s power (verse 10).

Now when we think of power we tend to think of a substance or a thing, like muscle or money or an engine or a long life battery or electricity

  • But this is not what Paul means by power. For Paul, power is relational. We stand in the strength of our relationship with God
  • So, in a Christian understanding, strength and power has to do with quality of connection  
  • For example, the branch of a tree is strong and fruitful when it remains fully connected to the main trunk
  • Likewise, the tree itself is strong when it is planted beside a stream, where it’s roots can be in close relationship with the water of the stream
  • Children and young people tend to be stronger (or more resilient) when they have a number of stable adults in their life.
  • We are strong, spiritually, when we are close to Jesus.

Verse 11 mentions the devil’s schemes

  • Our enemy, the devil, doesn’t usually disclose his evil upfront or straight away. Paul says, in 2nd Corinthians 11, that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
  • So we need deliverance from evil that doesn’t look like evil at first
  • When Satan tested Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted Scripture making his proposal sound like a harmless thing, even a good thing
  • ‘If you’re the Son of God turns these stones into bread’ – surely there’s nothing wrong in that
  • ‘If you’re the Son of God jump off the roof of the temple; God’s angels will catch you’ – could be good for your PR
  • But Jesus saw through the devil’s schemes and stood his ground
  • Jesus refused to give the devil an inch.

Our enemy is invisible and deceptive. That’s why we need to stay close to Jesus. We can’t handle the assault of the evil one on our own.

Four times in today’s reading Paul uses the verb ‘stand’

  • Verse 11: Take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
  • Verse 13: …so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
  • And verse 14: Stand firm then…

The emphasis here is with ‘holding our ground’ as opposed to attacking the enemy or doing a runner. I like the poetic way C.F. Moule puts it…

  • Stand suggests not a march or an assault, but the holding of the fortress of the soul and the church for the heavenly King [2]

You see, Jesus has won the ground for us.

  • That ground or territory is our soul and also our relationships together as participants in the church  
  • We need to occupy the ground Jesus sacrificed himself for and hold it.

When we do manage to hold our ground against evil God often does incredible things. “Today’s mighty oak is yesterday’s nut that held its ground.” 

In order to stand though we need the armour of God.  

The armour of God:

On the wall here is a picture of a platoon of Roman soldiers. Soldiers don’t normally fight alone. They usually function as a unit or a team.   

If you have grown up in an individualistic society, as I have, then you are probably more inclined to read these verses in Ephesians 6 as if they were addressed to individuals – so we tend to think things like…

  • ‘Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, personally’
  • Or, ‘I stand alone against the devil’
  • Or, ‘I need to put the armour of God on myself as an individual’
  • And while Paul’s instructions are certainly relevant for us as individuals the imperatives used here are plural, which means Paul is instructing the church collectively to stand and put on God’s armour.

Earlier in Ephesians Paul referred to the church as the body of Christ

  • Which means we don’t stand alone against the devil – we stand as a unit, like a platoon or a company of soldiers who have each other’s backs.
  • Likewise, it is the body of Christ (the church) who is to wear God’s armour together, collectively.
  • And when the devil attacks he doesn’t just attack our mind, he attacks our relationships and tries to drive a wedge between people in the church.
  • The evil one wants to destroy community as much as he does individuals.
  • When we read these verses as applying to us collectively, as the church, then we feel safer and more secure, less alone.

In verses 14-17 Paul lists six pieces of protective armour in the order they would ordinarily be put on by a soldier.

  • The use of a military metaphor like this is not meant to imply actual violence against people – our enemy is spiritual, not physical.
  • What’s more, the armour is mostly defensive
  • Paul may have been inspired to use this metaphor because he was literally chained to a Roman soldier while writing to the Ephesians.  
  • Besides this, the prophet Isaiah also talks about the armour of God. [3]

Can anyone tell me what this logo stands for? [Wait]

  • Yes, that’s right. This is the Under Armour logo
  • Under Armour is a brand of sports clothing

In verse 14 Paul says, to the church collectively, Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist…

  • The belt in a Roman soldier’s uniform was their under armour – that’s why it went on first. 
  • A belt gives you a sense of security. It holds everything together and enables you to be hands free.
  • Truth here could have two meanings. It could refer to Biblical or doctrinal truth, like ‘Jesus has risen from the dead’
  • But it could also refer to ‘truth in our inward parts’, meaning integrity
  • Integrity is our moral under armour

Some of you may have grown up with mothers who were very concerned that you always put on clean underwear

  • The belt of truth is like clean under wear. No one really sees it that much and yet without clean under wear we stink.
  • A truthful community is one in which people are genuine – they are the same on the inside as they are on the outside.   
  • A truthful community is more concerned with authenticity than image
  • When we don’t pretend to be something we are not – when we are honest with ourselves and sincere with others, we enjoy a certain freedom
  • The belt of truth gives us freedom of movement.

Next we have the breastplate of righteousness

  • A breastplate protects the body’s vital internal organs, like your heart and lungs and your liver and kidneys
  • One of the things about a breastplate is you usually need someone to help you put it on. Righteousness is not something we do alone
  • Righteousness is about relating to others in a right way – it includes being both just and merciful.
  • A righteous community is not one where anything goes.
  • A righteous community has clear boundaries, it has certain standards and values that it expects its members to live by.
  • This is not to say that a righteous community is a perfect community
  • When someone messes up and does something wrong the instinctive response of a righteous community is to encourage that person to clean up their mess so they can be restored to the community.  

Last week we heard about Onesimus, the runaway slave. Paul wrote to Philemon asking him to take Onesimus back.

  • Paul was acting in a righteous way, seeking to restore the Christian community, not just to the way it was before, but to better than before.
  • Paul wanted Philemon to receive Onesimus not as a slave but as a brother

In verse 15 Paul instructs the church (collectively) to fit our feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace

  • Another translation puts it this way: Let the shoes on your feet be the gospel of peace, to give you a firm footing. (NEB)

There are a number ideas held together in this verse:

  • Firstly, there is the idea of readiness or being prepared
  • We prepare ourselves (or we put on the shoes of peace) by making ourselves familiar with the gospel about Jesus
  • In our context this involves studying the Bible together and listening to sermons.
  • We need to know the content of our faith so we are ready to share it and apply it.

Also in this verse there is the idea of peace

  • The gospel is good news because it shows us how to have peace with God, through faith in Jesus.
  • Peace with God is the foundation really.
  • Peace with God gives us a firm footing
  • When we know (deep down) that God is our friend, fear and anxiety lose their hold on us. 

At their meeting last Thursday, the deacons spent 10 minutes listening to a podcast by the Barna Group (courtesy of Daryl)

  • The Barna group are a Christian organisation that do research on the church and society
  • In the podcast they interviewed an Australian pastor, Mark Sayers
  • Mark made the comment that people generally feel secure when they can see the pathways they are to walk on.
  • But all the cultural markers of our society, all the signs which tell us where the pathway is, are changing really quickly at the moment
  • This rapid change creates an ‘ambient anxiety’ because we don’t know where we stand anymore – we don’t know where the path is.
  • Freedom is good, up to a point, but too much freedom fosters anxiety.

When they asked Mark Sayers how the church is to respond to this, he said…  

  • Christians need to be people of peace.
  • The world today needs the church to be a non-anxious presence in society
  • Being hectic and manic and busy only makes things worse.
  • When the church has a firm footing in the peace of the gospel then we are ready to provide a steady place for people to stand.

Verse 16 reads: In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

The sort of shield we are talking about here is the big rectangular shield, as opposed to the smaller round shield

  • The Roman shield was made of wood and leather with metal edging on the top and bottom – it must have been pretty heavy to carry
  • You wouldn’t want to be without it in a fire fight but the rest of the time I expect it would have been an inconvenience.
  • Our faith isn’t always convenient, is it? But when the chips are down we are glad for it. Faith provides a refuge for us.    

Faith, in this context, could mean trust in God or it could mean ‘the faith’ in the sense of what we believe about God

  • So, for example, when the evil one shoots off a flaming arrow of false guilt, Christian believers protect themselves from that assault with the belief that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
  • Or when a fellow believer dies, we shield ourselves from the flaming arrow of despair with the belief that we will see them again at the resurrection to eternal life.
  • Or when we are doing our best but everything seems to be going wrong, we shield ourselves from the flaming arrow of discouragement with the belief that God is faithful and just – he works all things for good.
  • Or when we are tormented by some weakness or infirmity and feel inadequate to the task, we shield ourselves from the flaming arrow of self-reliance by recalling that God’s grace is sufficient for us.

The next item of armour is the helmet of salvation

  • The helmet of salvation is about hope – ‘keeping our eyes on the stars’.
  • Hope is the capacity to imagine a good future
  • Hope produces the positive energy of joy 
  • We, the church, put on the helmet of salvation by keeping in mind that, whatever conflict or hardship or loss we might face in the present, ultimately we are on the winning side.
  • We are justified by faith in Jesus and if we share in Christ’s sufferings we will also share in his glory.

Finally, Paul tells us to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

  • The Roman soldier’s sword was a short blade used in close combat.
  • We don’t use God’s word to attack people, rather we use God’s word to defend ourselves when evil comes close, perhaps in the form of temptation or some other intense pressure.
  • Jesus used Scripture to protect himself when the devil tempted him in the wilderness.

The sword is a symbol of power

  • The word of God is mightier than the sword – it has an authority all of its own. God’s word is quietly powerful.
  • At the right moment, the moment of the Spirit’s prompting, we need to raise God’s word, without shouting and without anger.
  • As Rumi says, ‘It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder’.    

Conclusion:  

All of this armour: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, is given to us by God

  • We don’t create the armour, we simply put it on together and stand our ground in the strength of our relationship with Christ.

Let us pray…

  • Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, you are our General. Strengthen us to stand firm in the fray. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Why would we be unwise to explain the devil away psychologically? How does the devil tend to operate?
  3. What does Paul mean by power, in Ephesians 6?  What makes us spiritually strong?
  4. What does it mean to stand our ground against spiritual evil?
  5. What difference does it make (to our interpretation of these verses) knowing that Paul was giving instructions in the plural? 
  6. Discuss / reflect on each of the six pieces of the armour of God and their relevance for our spiritual life.
  7. How might we (the church) put each piece of armour on? (I.e. how might we apply Paul’s armour metaphor in our lives collectively and individually?)

[1] Refer Ernest Best, Ephesians, page 317.

[2] Refer Francis Foulkes’ commentary on Ephesians, page 171.

[3] For example, Isaiah 59:17.

Tawa Baptist

Roots of Freedom

Scripture: Ephesians 6:5-9

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Slavery then and now
  • Personhood, purpose and power
  • Onesimus and Philemon
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Last week someone gave me a book called, Church Signs Across America

  • As the title suggests it’s a book with photos of church signs, like this one
  • The sign reads: “To win in a relationship don’t keep score”

Today we continue our series in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians

  • We are at that point in Ephesians known as the household codes, where Paul talks about the various relationships in Christian homes
  • Last week we heard how wives and husbands are to relate
  • This week we focus on the relationship between slaves and masters
  • From Ephesians 6, verses 5-9 we read…

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favour when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. 9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favouritism with him.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us

Slavery then and now:

A few months ago we were on holiday in Taupo and went for a walk around the lake. In some places the tree roots had grown under the footpath and were lifting the cobbles – not quite as badly as in this picture but enough to be a trip hazard.

  • Today’s reading is like tree roots – over the centuries it has quietly lifted and broken our concrete thinking on slavery and employment relations

Now when we hear the word slavery we might think, ‘How is slavery relevant to us today? Wasn’t slavery abolished in the 19th Century?’

Well, laws were passed in the 19th Century to say that people can’t buy and sell other people anymore, but slavery still exists in the form of forced labour, child soldiers, sexual exploitation and forced marriage

  • There are estimated to be around 40,300,000 people in some form of modern slavery in the world today
  • And it’s not a problem confined to poorer countries either – there are thought to be about 15,000 people in Australia currently engaged under conditions defined as Modern Slavery, and approximately 3,000 people in New Zealand in the same situation. [1]

Although slavery still exists today, it should be noted there are a number of differences between slavery in the ancient world and slavery now

  • As many as one third of the population in Greece and Rome were slaves
  • Slaves did most of the work – without slaves nothing would get done
  • We are used to associating slaves with a particular race of people – like the African Americans of the 19th Century, picking cotton in the fields or harvesting sugar cane 
  • But slaves in the ancient world were all variety of races and served in all sorts of roles, both skilled and unskilled
  • A slave might be white or black, a doctor or a farmer or a business manager or a cook or even a prime minister
  • What’s more, many slaves in the ancient world gained their freedom after the age of 30 – so it wasn’t necessarily an all of life thing [2]
  • The treatment of slaves in the ancient world was mixed – some were treated with kindness but many were abused and mistreated

Ok, if slavery is a bad thing then why does the Bible seem to accommodate it?

  • I mean Paul doesn’t say to the masters, ‘set your slaves free’, nor does he call the slaves to revolt against their masters.
  • To the contrary Paul instructs slaves to do their best for their earthly masters and to have a good attitude about it    
  • This almost sounds like Paul is condoning slavery but actually, he’s not
  • Paul is, in fact, sowing seeds that would eventually grow into roots that would undermine slavery and set people free

The Bible makes it clear that slavery falls well short of God’s intention for humanity – it is not what the Lord wants for people

  • God is free and we are made in God’s image – slavery does not fit with being God’s image bearer  
  • Christ came to set the captives free and, as Paul says elsewhere, in Christ there is no longer slave nor free

While that sounds lovely, the reality is, we don’t live in a perfect world do we. We live in a fallen world and suffer the ill effects of sin

  • God understands this and so he meets us where we are at
  • He comes to us in the form of Jesus, a human being who we can relate with, and he says, ‘Follow me’
  • God’s word, in the Bible, addresses the realities of this world, like slavery, not to condone them but to lead us out of them
  • So when the Bible talks about slavery it’s not holding up an ideal to aspire to – rather it is providing some guidance on how to manage a less than ideal situation by providing restraint for masters and protection for slaves – sort of a first step in the right direction.

It’s remarkable how people’s attitudes change

  • For many years we accepted lead in petrol as normal and even necessary until we realised that lead is toxic and now we wouldn’t dream of using it
  • Same thing with plastic supermarket bags – for years we used plastic bags without a second thought to what happened to them when we threw them away, but now we’ve banned single use plastic bags

The ancient world, that Paul lived in, did not see slavery as an evil thing like we do today

  • For them slavery was simply accepted as a normal and necessary part of the economic system – sort of like we accept having a mortgage as normal and necessary to buying a house – or like we used to accept leaded petrol and plastic bags. 

It would have been foolish for Paul to advocate revolt against slavery

  • The early church was not politically powerful – they were in no position to dictate to the rest of society how people should live
  • The church needed to be moderate in its approach to show the Roman authorities they posed no threat to the peace of the empire
  • Consequently, slavery and other social issues were not Paul’s main focus – he and the other apostles were simply trying to get the message of the gospel out there and establish Christian faith communities 
  • Paul’s approach was wise – he sowed seeds of thought that would eventually grow to undermine and break up slavery
  • You see, slavery isn’t the underlying problem – slavery is just a symptom
  • Paul sought to address the deeper more fundamental issues – in particular: personhood, purpose and power.

Personhood, purpose and power:

On the wall here is a picture of a drill

  • A drill is a tool, it helps a tradie to do their job quicker and easier
  • A drill is a slave to the person operating it
  • It is in your interests to take care of your drill because if the drill breaks the job will be held up and you’ll have to buy another one
  • But you don’t treat your drill with same respect you would a person
  • Slaves tend to be treated like drills – they are not usually acknowledged as people in their own right
  • Slaves are seen as tools for getting things done, for making life easier or for making money

So the first seed Paul sows in these verses is the seed of personhood

  • Paul has just addressed wives & husbands and children & parents, now he addresses slaves, as people, alongside their masters.
  • Given the historical and cultural context in which slaves were thought of and treated as living tools (and not as human beings) it is remarkable that Paul addresses them at all
  • By including slaves in this way Paul is acknowledging their personhood and giving them dignity  
  • It indicates that slaves were accepted members of the Christian community and that Paul regards them as responsible people (like their masters) to whom he can make a moral appeal. [3]

Taking this thought further, Paul gave honour to the role of a slave by identifying himself as a slave of Christ.  

When we look at verses 5-8 of Ephesians 6 we notice that Paul keeps referring to Jesus

  • Verse 5, slaves obey your earthly masters… as you would obey Christ
  • Verse 6, obey them… like slaves of Christ
  • Verse 7, Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men
  • Paul is saying here a person is not defined by their job or their master
  • A person is defined by Christ
  • What’s more, our value and identity as persons do not derive from our social standing or our circumstances but from Christ.

Paul gives slaves the dignity of personhood – and when we see other people as persons (not as tools) we start to value them better.

Another underlying issue Paul addresses in these verses is that of purpose or motivation in a slave’s work and life  

Albert Camus, the famous existentialist writer once said, ‘Without work all life goes rotten. But when work is soulless life stifles and dies.’

  • Albert Camus was talking about purpose or motivation in working
  • For your work to have soul you need to have a good purpose, an intrinsic motivation in doing it
  • You need to feel your work fits with the values you carry in your heart
  • You need to have a sense that you are fulfilling a higher calling
  • Without a good purpose, without an intrinsic motivation, work becomes soulless and life stifles and dies

A few weeks ago I told you about my misspent youth studying business management. It wasn’t a total loss though. There was one case study, from the course on organisational behaviour, which I found meaningful…

  • In the 1920’s researchers carried out some tests on factory workers in America
  • The test involved changing the level of lighting in the factory to see if workers’ productivity was effected
  • As they gradually increased the lighting the workers produced more
  • The researchers thought they might be on to something until they dimmed the lights and found that workers’ productivity continued to increase – which was puzzling and counter intuitive
  • When the illumination studies finished and the researchers left the factory, workers’ productivity slumped
  • Apparently the level of lighting had nothing to do with the workers’ productivity – it was the presence of the researchers themselves that was effecting productivity. Why was that?
  • Some say the workers were more motivated because of the interest being shown in them by the researchers
  • Going a bit deeper though, I think there was more to it than simply being observed – I wonder if the presence of important people doing important stuff gave the workers a greater sense of purpose in what they were doing
  • I wonder if the researchers’ presence gave soul to the workers’ jobs
  • With the researchers there the factory workers weren’t just assembling radios on a production line – they were in fact serving a higher calling; they were part of something bigger and more lasting.
  • Whatever the reason, it became known as the Hawthorne Effect

In verse 6, of Ephesians 6, Paul addresses the deeper issue that we all face in our work, whether we are paid or volunteer, and that’s the issue of purpose

  • What is your ‘why’ for working?
  • What is it that gives your work soul so that life thrives?
  • Paul makes it clear that the purpose (or motivation) for obeying earthly masters is not just to win their favour, when their eye is on you, but to do the will of God from your heart
  • Paul is advocating for an intrinsic motivation
  • Your manager may not always show an interest in you
  • Your boss may not always appreciate your work but God does and his interest in your work, his appraisal of you, means more than your boss’

God sees the good we do in secret and he rewards us

  • But that reward is not necessarily measured in dollars
  • The reward God gives is that of a meaningful purpose
  • God makes our work serve a higher calling – he has the power to give our work soul, so that life thrives.

Personhood, purpose and power

  • The slave / master (employee / employer) relationship is traditionally a top down relationship – it involves the use of power

In verse 9 Paul says: And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favouritism with him.

  • This is a reminder to both slaves and masters that power ultimately rests with God
  • God may delegate his power to certain people for a time but that power is only ever on loan from God – it always returns to him

Do not threaten them, means don’t try to control people with fear – use encouragement – the carrot is usually better than the stick    

And the instruction for masters to treat their slaves in the same way, is a reminder of the mutual submission that Paul described in chapter 5, verse 21

  • If slaves are to serve their masters as if they were serving Christ and masters are to do the same for their slaves, then we have a relationship in which the master is using their power for the well-being of their slave
  • In fact, the master / slave relationship is transformed so that the slave becomes family

Paul was a wise man – he didn’t try to change the legislation or rebel against the authorities – he addressed the underlying issues of slavery by restoring to slaves (and masters) a sense of personhood, purpose and the right use of power.

Philemon & Onesimus:  

Reading Ephesians 6 I am reminded of Paul’s letter to Philemon

  • Philemon was a Christian, someone Paul had led to the Lord
  • Philemon owned a slave called Onesimus
  • It appears Onesimus may have stolen from Philemon and run away
  • This was pretty serious stuff back in the day – Philemon could’ve had Onesimus killed for that sort of behaviour
  • But, in God’s providence, Onesimus found his way to Paul who was a prisoner in Rome at the time
  • Paul led Onesimus to the Lord and then went about reconciling him to Philemon
  • Let me read to you some of Paul’s letter to Philemon
  • Notice how Paul presents Onesimus as a valued person (not as a tool)
  • And how he persuades Philemon to use his power to show mercy and forgiveness
  • Paul reminds Philemon that to win in a relationship we don’t keep score
  • From verse 8 of Philemon we read…

Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10 that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favour you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

We don’t know what the outcome was in this situation

  • We do know that if Paul had his way then Philemon would have taken Onesimus back, not as a slave, but as a brother.
  • The letter to Philemon shows us God’s intention to abolish slavery  

Conclusion:

Thankfully, most of us are unfamiliar with slavery, although in working for wages or a salary or having to pay off a mortgage we do have some idea of what it feels like to have someone own our time 

  • What Paul says in Ephesians about slaves and their masters can be applied to the employee / employer relationship  
  • Workers are not tools; they are persons of dignity to be valued
  • Likewise, employers are people too – so employees shouldn’t try to stick it to the man
  • Give your best – work for your boss as if you were working for Christ and God will reward you
  • Whatever our station in life, our purpose is to do God’s will
  • Any power we have is temporary and needs to be used in a way that pleases God.      

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Why did Paul instruct slaves to obey their masters (rather than rebel)?
  3. In what ways was ancient slavery different from modern slavery? In what ways are they the same?
  4. What deeper underlying issues does Paul address in Ephesians 6:5-9?
  5. Where does your personal sense of identity (or personhood) and value come from?
  6. What is your ‘why’ for working? What gives soul to your work?
  7. How are masters/employers to use their power? 
  8. How might Paul’s instructions to slaves and masters be applied today in employee / employer relationships?
  9. Take some time to read and reflect on Paul’s letter to Philemon this week. What does this letter reveal to us?  

[1] https://www.onestaff.co.nz/blog/modern-slavery-in-new-zealand-addressing-a-widespread-issue/

[2] Klyne Snodgrass, NIVAC ‘Ephesians’, page 327

[3] John Stott, Ephesians, page 252. 

Tawa Baptist

Love & Marriage

Scripture: Ephesians 5:21-33

Sructure:

  • Introduction
  • Wives and husbands
  • Christ and the church
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Today we continue our series in Ephesians. From Chapter 5, verse 21 (in the NIV) we read…

21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit yourselves 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 Saviour. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 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 their own body, but they feed and care for their body, 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.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us

On the wall here is a picture of a ‘four strand square sinnet’ – a type of braided rope. Many years ago (before wireless technology) they used to braid telephone cords in this way.

  • Today’s reading is like a cord of four strands. Paul weaves together the relationship of wives and husbands with that of Christ and church.
  • First let us consider what Paul has to say to wives and husbands.

Wives & husbands:

Last week I was reading a collection of short stories by James Runcie and I came across a word I had never seen before: Uxorious.

  • I asked Robyn to look up the meaning for me on her phone and she very kindly submitted to my request.

Uxorious means to have or show a great or excessive fondness for one’s wife.

I thought to myself, that describes me, but I didn’t say anything to Robyn at the time. She’s intelligent enough to figure it out for herself.

Uxorious can be taken positively or negatively, depending on the context in which it is used, but I’m using it today in the positive sense.  

Our reading starts with the verse, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. You may remember from three weeks ago that mutual submission is one of the behaviours of those who are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Verse 22 goes on to say: Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  

  • Now some people hear that and it gets their heckles up – it’s not popular these days to talk about women submitting to men.
  • Submission has almost become a swear word and we can understand why. This verse has sometimes been misunderstood and misused to control or even oppress women – so an explanation is needed.

Firstly, the context is one of mutual submission (it goes both ways)

  • Paul gives three examples of mutual submission within Christian households in Ephesians: that is, between wives & husbands, between children & parents and between servants & masters.
  • So women are not being singled out here; mutual submission is an equal opportunity thing – all Spirit filled Christians are supposed to do it.

If anything, there seems to be a greater emphasis in this text on the husband’s responsibilities. For example…

  • Verse 25: Husband’s love your wives just as Christ loved the church…
  • Verse 28: Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. And,
  • Verse 33: Each of you [husbands] must love his wife as he loves himself.
  • Love involves the submission of oneself for another.

With this in view Paul is describing the ideal in Christian marriage.

  • Wives submit to your husbands assumes a marriage in which husbands are uxorious (in the best possible sense) – they love their wives.
  • So wives are essentially being invited to submit to their husband’s love.
  • This is not like Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew, where Petruchio treats his wife (Kate) badly in order to make her obey him.
  • Wives are not expected to submit to a husband’s violence or meanness.
  • Nor are they expected to submit to a husband when he is asking them to do something ungodly. We are to submit to one another as to the Lord.
  • If the Lord Jesus wouldn’t ask you to do it then you don’t need to submit.

Another thing to keep in mind here is what Paul does not say

  • For example, Paul does not say wives must obey their husbands.
  • For years the traditional marriage vows included a line about wives promising to obey their husbands. I’m not sure where that came from?
  • Nowhere in the Bible does it say that wives are to obey their husbands.
  • It does say that children should obey their parents and servants should obey their masters, but wives are to submit to their husband’s love.

Furthermore, this passage does not say that all women everywhere must submit to any man they come across. Women and men have equal value in God’s sight.

  • Nor does it say anything about women in leadership.
  • This passage is talking about husbands & wives and Christ & the church.  

What about that line, in verse 23, about the husband being the head of the wife?

  • To a 21st Century mind that sounds just as offensive as submitting.
  • Well, before we take offense, we need to understand what is meant by ‘headship’.

In the English language being the ‘head’ of something is associated with authority or being the leader, the one in charge, the one responsible.

  • We talk about the heads of government, for example, or the head of a corporation.
  • Verse 23 says: For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour.   
  • Now husbands are not the Saviour of their wives. Christ is our Saviour.
  • But husbands do have a leadership responsibility in the family.
  • However, that leadership, that headship is not defined by the standards of the world – it is defined by Christ.
  • As we know from the gospel, Jesus’ leadership was a servant leadership (it was not a dictatorship) – Jesus led in a way that served the interests of the people, he submitted his life to save us.
  • So that’s the kind of headship that husbands are supposed to demonstrate, sacrificial, self-giving leadership.  

The Bible’s idea of headship does not mean that wives just need to suck it up and accept whatever the husband says. Paul is saying husbands are the ‘head’.

  • So a good question to ask is: What does a head do?
  • I head looks, listens and thinks, then makes a decision which is in the interests of the body. The head is there to look after the body.
  • So guys, we have a responsibility to listen to our wives – listening is the first duty of love
  • And when I say ‘listen’, I don’t just mean listen to your wife’s words, I mean listen to her heart, get close to her, try to understand what she is feeling.  
  • Being the head means thinking about your wife’s wellbeing; and listening gives you a few clues as to what her well-being might look like.

A husband’s headship then is to be modelled off Christ who doesn’t boss people around but rather woos and wins people over with his love.

  • Just as Jesus lovingly thinks about our wellbeing, so too husbands are to lovingly think about how best to care for their wives.

Let me give you an example of what headship and submitting to a husband’s love might look like…

  • Ladies, imagine you are married with young children and you’ve had a really hard day – maybe the kids were grizzly or sick or maybe you had some difficult things to deal with at work.
  • Whatever it was, you are exhausted and at the end of your rope.
  • Your husband comes home and asks you how your day was.
  • ‘Hard’, you reply. You want to say more but it’s not the right time – your head is pounding, the kids are screaming and you need to think about what to cook for dinner.
  • Your husband is still for a moment, which tells you he’s thinking. He always looks a bit blank when he’s putting things together in his head.
  • Then he comes over to you, puts his arms around you and gently kisses you on the forehead. You hold each other for a moment, then he says…
  • ‘Why don’t you go and have a bath. I’ll sort the kids and the dinner.’
  • You are about to protest, to play the role of the martyr, and then you remember what the pastor said in his sermon last Sunday, ‘Wives, submit to your husbands’.
  • ‘Ok’, you say meekly and take yourself off for a soak in the tub.

As you are lying there in the bath you remember the way you and your husband have always been there for each other.

  • You care for one another in a hundred small ways but also in bigger more significant ways.
  • Like the time he agreed to shift cities for your job
  • And the time you supported him when he wanted to go back to university to finish his masters.
  • As you think about these things a profound sense of thankfulness fills you – you are thankful for your husband yes, but also thankful for Jesus, who has had such a good influence on your husband.

You emerge from the bathroom 40 minutes later, having washed the worries of the day off, feeling more relaxed.

  • The kids are doing their homework or colouring in and dinner is nearly ready – chicken parmigiana for you and him, chicken nuggets for the kids
  • You smile to yourself because that’s what he used to cook for you before you were married – it’s his specialty, his ‘I love you’ meal.
  • He hands you a glass of Sav (so thoughtful, he knows you well). You take a sip and feel it go down.

After dinner you both put the kids to bed, then you settle down together in the lounge and share the contents of your day.

  • After listening to your heart your husband goes still and quiet again – you know that look, he’s thinking.
  • ‘Why don’t we have a weekend away? Just the two of us. We can leave the kids with your parents’, he says.
  • And you reply, ‘I would like that. Let me organise it.’     

We are talking about mutual submission and headship – not living solely for ourselves but thinking about each other.   

You know, if you are married and a Christian, then the primary context for discipleship (the most important place for learning to be like Jesus) is your marriage.

  • It is as a husband and wife submit to and love one another that they learn the way of Christ.

Christ and the church:

Woven through his instruction on how wives and husbands are to relate to each other, Paul also talks about Christ’s relationship to the church, which is a bit like a loving marriage.

  • Two things in particular we note about Christ and the church:
  • Christ is one with the church,
  • And Christ loves the church, like an uxorious husband.

In verse 23 Paul says that Christ is the head of the church, his body and in verse 30 he says, we are members of Christ’s body.

  • The head and the body are not separate – they are one, a unity.
  • There is a mutuality between the head and the body.
  • In the same way there is a oneness between Christ and the church.

Paul alludes to this oneness again in verses 31 & 32 where he talks about the profound mystery of a husband and wife becoming one flesh.

  • The image here is of intimacy between Christ and the church, not sexual intimacy as such but an intimacy of spirit.   

I like what Eugene Peterson writes in his commentary on Ephesians…

  • Mystery is beyond our control. Paul named the relation between husband and wife [and between Christ and the church] a mystery. In order to enter a mystery we have to submit, to be humble before what is other and more than us. The precondition for apprehending mystery is letting go…
  • Spirit is the unseen ‘between’ where relationship is born and matures. [1]

Christ and his church are one – we are one with Christ like a head and a body are one, or like a husband & wife are one.

  • That sort of intimacy requires letting go.
  • Letting go is an act of trust – it takes courage and vulnerability.
  • We call that mysterious closeness (that unseen between) ‘spirit’
  • Spirit is like a wireless connection between people and between Christ and his church. Spirit is where relationship is born and grows.

Alongside this reality of Christ’s oneness with the church (and inseparable from it) is Christ’s love for the church.

  • Christ’s love for the church is greater than even the most uxorious husband’s love for his wife. Christ’s love has the power to transform.

Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul, sang a song called Natural Woman.

  • It was written by Carole King & Gerry Goffin, one night after they had put the kids to bed.
  • On the face of it Natural Woman is a song about a woman who feels valued and appreciated by her husband for who she is. Her husband makes her feel like she can be herself (a natural woman).
  • It’s got some great lyrics. We’d like to play it for you now…   

Looking out on the morning rain I used to feel so uninspired
And when I knew I had to face another day Lord, it made me feel so tired
Before the day I met you, life was so unkind. But you’re the key to my peace of mind.

‘Cause you make me feel, you make me feel, you make me feel like a natural woman (woman)

When my soul was in the lost and found you came along to claim it.
I didn’t know just what was wrong with me ‘til your kiss helped me name it.
Now I’m no longer doubtful, of what I’m living for. And if I make you happy I don’t need to do more.

‘Cause you make me feel, you make me feel, you make me feel like a natural woman (woman)

Oh, baby, what you’ve done to me (what you’ve done to me). You make me feel so good inside (good inside). And I just want to be, close to you (want to be)
You make me feel so alive.

You make me feel, you make me feel, you make me feel like a natural woman (woman)…

Aretha seems to be singing about the ideal husband, the perfect man.

  • …you’re the key to my peace of mind.
  • When my soul was in the lost and found you came along to claim it.
  • You make me feel so good inside
  • I’m pretty sure there’s only one man who could live up to this ideal.
  • (So ladies, you probably can’t expect this of your husbands all the time)
  • In Ephesians 5 Paul describes Christ as the perfect husband of the church.

From verse 25 we read…

  • Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

The image here is of Christ claiming the church’s soul from the lost and found

  • Restoring the church, making her beautiful again, but not beautiful in a superficial or artificial sense – beautiful in a natural sense – holy.
  • To be holy is to be set apart, to be special.
  • Holiness is also about wholeness and integrity.
  • Holiness does not require us to be something we are not.
  • Holiness sets us free to be who we truly are – to live in our soul and be our natural authentic self. Holiness is naturally beautiful, without trying. 

Jesus takes away our sin, our shame and our guilt so we can be who God created us to be.  

  • cleansing by the washing with water through the word could be a reference to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
  • Water is often associated with the Holy Spirit and the word of God can only be understood and applied with the help of the Holy Spirit.

When we look at ourselves and at the wider church in the world today we don’t always see the beauty of holiness – the church is less than perfect at times.

  • But Paul’s focus here isn’t so much on the earthly church as it is on the church in the heavenly realms.
  • We can’t see it yet but Jesus (by His Word & Spirit) is making us holy, naturally beautiful, as we submit to his love.

Conclusion:

This morning we’ve heard how husbands and wives are to relate with each other and, by analogy, how Christ relates to the church

  • Jesus is both the head of the church, which is his body
  • And he is the groom of the church, which is his bride. 
  • Unlike any ordinary groom though, Jesus’ love has the power to transform his bride and bring out her natural God given beauty. 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. How are we to understand Paul’s instruction for wives to submit to their husbands? What might mutual submission (in marriage) look like? Do you have a story of mutual submission you could share?
  3. What does Paul mean when he says that the husband is the head of the wife? What does a head do?
  4. If you are married, when was the last time you really listened to your spouse?
  5. Discuss / reflect on the mystery of the oneness of Christ and the church. What images does Paul use for portraying Christ’s oneness with the church? What are the implications for us?
  6. How is Christ’s love for the church different from a husband’s love for his wife?
  7. What does it mean that Jesus makes the church holy?
  8. How might we submit to Jesus’ love?

[1] Eugene Peterson, ‘Practise Resurrection’, pages 248 & 249.