Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
    he took many captives
    and gave gifts to his people.”
(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

• Ephesians 4:1-32

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Ephesians 4:1-2 ‘forgiving’: “Are you aware of the joy-stealing effect an unforgiving spirit is having on your life?
“Start by telling God how much it hurts and that you need Him to help you to forgive the offense. Get rid of all the poison of built-up anger and pour out all the acid of long-term resentment. Fully forgive the offender. Once that is done, you will discover that you no longer rehearse the ugly scenes in your mind. The revengeful desire to get back and get even will wane, and in its now-empty space will come a new spirit of joy.”

• Charles R. Swindoll, Bedside Blessings

Ephesians 4:1-2 ‘Naturally Sharpened’: “When I was growing up, I was mesmerized by the talk that went on inside our local barbershop, and I especially enjoyed listening to my barber, Mr. Hampton. He was another of those people in my life who probably didn’t realize the platform he had but used it to impact many people anyway. I often got my hair cut on Fridays before foot­ ball games, and Mr. Hampton would always wish me well. …
“Mr. Hampton didn’t seem concerned with impressing people with status or fulfilling a certain role. He believed that if he simply listened and showed that he cared, God would sort out the rest. As he faithfully did the best he could at cutting hair, he was able to be involved in the lives of those who came into his shop. And everyone who walked in the door would leave feeling a little better about life than when they came in.
“That’s a wise way to live. God has put each of us in a place where no one else stands. There are people around us who will look up to us, listen to us, and follow our example for no other reasons than because we are available, have shown that we care, and have offered whatever wisdom we have. That’s a role worth appreciating-and using to build into the lives of others.”

• Tony Dungy, Uncommon Life – Daily Challenge (excerpt from devotion for 30 June)

Ephesians 4:1 ‘The church’s calling’: ”This, then, is our sixfold calling. God has equipped us with every spiritual blessing, with every gift we need, so that we might become a body, a temple, a mystery, a new self, a bride, and a soldier for Jesus Christ. That is quite a calling. The ultimate word of encouragement in this letter is found in Ephesians 4:1
Ephesians gives us an exalted picture-a series of pictures, in fact-to reveal to us the grandeur of the church in God’s plan and the crucial importance of every believer in God’s sight. Never lose sight of what God is doing through you (through the church). “

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Ephesians 4:2 ‘lowliness’: “Humility is a term not found in the Latin or Greek vocabularies of Paul’s day. The Greek word apparently was coined by Christians, perhaps even by Paul himself, to describe a quality for which no other word was available. Humility, the most foundational Christian virtue (James 4:6), is the quality of character commanded in the first beatitude (Matt. 5:3), and describes the noble grace of Christ (Phil. 2:7, 8). gentleness. Meekness, an inevitable product of humility, refers to that which is mild-spirited and self-controlled (cf. Matt. 5:5; 11:29; Gal. 5:23; Col. 3:12). longsuffering. The Greek word literally means long-tempered, and refers to a resolved patience that is an out­ growth of humility and gentleness (cf. 1 Thess. 5:14; James 5:10). bearing with one another in love. Humility, gentleness, and patience are reflected in a forbearing love for others that is continuous and unconditional (cf. 1 Pet. 4:8).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Ephesians 4:3 ‘maintain the unity of the Spirit’: “The text bids us endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit, but it does not tell us to endeavor to maintain the unity of evil, the unity of superstition, or the unity of spiritual tyranny! The unity of evil we are to break down by every weapon our hands can grasp. The unity of the Spirit we are to maintain and foster is another thing. We dare not commit the sin of quenching the Holy Spirit even though it were with the view of promoting unity!“

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Ephesians 4:4-6 ‘Christ is all in all’: “To the convinced Christian there can be but one true religion. The half-converted may shy away from the bigotry and intolerance which he fears lie in an exclusive devotion to Christianity, but the wholly converted will have no such apprehensions. To him Christ is all in all and the faith of Christ is God’s last word to mankind. To him there is but one God, the Father; one Lord and Savior, one faith, one baptism, one body, one Spirit, one fold and one Shepherd. To him there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. For him Christ is the only way, the only truth and the only life. For him Christ is the only wisdom, the only righteousness, the only sanctification, and the only redemption. He knows that his convictions will bring him into disrepute with the so-called liberals, and he knows he will be branded as narrow and ‘seventeenth century’ in his thinking. But he is willing to bear the stigma. What he has seen and heard and experienced precludes any possibility of compromise. He must be true to the heavenly vision.”

• A. W. Tozer, The Price of Neglect

Ephesians 4:4 ‘one hope’: “The church, the body of Christ, is composed of every believer since Pentecost (Acts 1, 2) without distinction, by the work of ·the ‘one Spirit’ (see 1 Cor. 12:11-13). one hope. This is the pledge and promise of eternal inheritance given to each believer (1:11-14) and sealed to each believer by the one Spirit (v. 13).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Ephesians 4:7-16 ‘The Maturity of the Church’: “As a conquering general the Lord ascended the heights, freed the captives, ‘and He gave gifts to men’ as if bestowing favor on His own followers (Ephesians 4:8). Christ came to earth to free the captives (verse 9), but after His resurrection He ascended ‘far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things’ (verse 10). He is now the Sovereign who rules over the church, giving some as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (verse 11). With these gifted leaders Christ will nourish the believers who are part of His spiritual body (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). As a result, He will be ‘equipping…the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:12).
Ephesians 4:13-16 shows that the Lord has a plan that may not always be seen with the physical eye. He is building His church, but this does not mean that simply numbers are in view. He is growing the church to be ‘a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ’ (verse 13). The church is to be fully grown and mature like the Lord, who is the measure and standard for spirituality.”

• Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy

Ephesians 4:7 ‘our new self is now’: ”But remember, this new creation is being made right now. You are invited to put on this new self, moment by moment, day by day, in order to meet the pressures and problems of life in the world today. That’s why the church is here. The church is a new self, and the purpose of the new self is to exercise a new ministry. Paul goes on to say in Ephesians 4:7
“This new self in each of us has been given a gift (that’s what the word grace means here)-a gift we never had before we became Christians. Our task is to discover and exercise that gift. When the church falters and loses its direction, it’s because Christians have lost this great truth, and the gifts He has given us lay undiscovered and unused.
The risen Lord has given a gift to you, just as the lord in the parable gave the talents to each of his servants, entrusting them with his property until his return (see Matt. 25). When our Lord comes back, His judgment will be based on what we did with the gift(s) He gave us. “

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Ephesians 4:8 ‘When He ascended on high.’: “Paul used an interpretive rendering of Psalm 68:18 as a parenthetical analogy to show how Christ received the right to bestow the spiritual gifts (v. 7). Psalm 68 is a victory hymn composed by David to celebrate God’s conquest of the Jebusite city of Jerusalem and the triumphant ascent of God up to Mount Zion (cf. 2 Sam. 6, 7; 1 Chr. 13). After such a triumph, the king would bring home the spoils and the prisoners. Here Paul depicts Christ returning from His battle on earth back into the glory of the heavenly city with the trophies of His great victory at Calvary (see … 2 Cor. 2:14-16). led captivity captive. Through His Crucifixion and Resurrection, Christ conquered Satan and death, and in triumph returned to God those who were once sinners and prisoners of Satan (cf. Col. 2:15). gave gifts to men. He distributes the spoils throughout His kingdom. After His Ascension came all the spiritual gifts empowered by the Spirit, who was then sent (see John 7:39; 14:12; Acts 2:33).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Ephesians 4:10 ‘that He might fill all things’: “After the Lord ascended, having fulfilled all prophecies and all His divinely-ordained redemptive tasks, He gained the right to rule the church and to give gifts, as He was then filling the entire universe with His divine presence, power, sovereignty, and blessing (cf. Phil. 2:9-11).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Ephesians 4:13 ‘unity of the faith’: “Faith here refers to the body of revealed truth that constitutes Christian teaching, particularly featuring the complete content of the gospel. Oneness and harmony among believers is possible only when it is built on the foundation of sound doctrine. the knowledge of the Son of God. This does not refer to salvation knowledge, but to the deep knowledge of Christ that a believer comes to have through prayer, faithful study of His Word, and obedience to His commands (cf. Phil. 3:8-10, 12; Col. 1:9, 10; 2:2; see note on 1 John 2:12-14). the fullness of Christ. God wants every believer to manifest the qualities of His Son, who is Himself the standard for their spiritual maturity and perfection. See … Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 1:28, 29.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Ephesians 4:15-16 ‘walk worthy in unity’: “Paul was most anxious to have the Ephesian church thoroughly knit together. With his manacled hands the prisoner of the Lord pleads with them to be truly one-to walk worthy of the vocation by which they were all called by the one Spirit of God. He entreats them-with all humility; meekness, and patience-to bear and to forbear with one another in love. Both in the inward creed and the outward confession of it they were all one. They were not divided on these points. So he begged them to be divided in nothing, especially as he was able to assure them that they had one God and Father, above all, through all and in all, and one Christ, the Savior of all.“

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Ephesians 4:15-16 ‘Speak in truth in love.’: “We often hear that ‘the truth hurts.’ But we have to understand that the truth-spoken in love–helps! With our children, with our friends, with our coworkers.
“We can see it happen a lot in Christian settings-churches, ministries, and other outreaches. Many people have an inability to speak truthfully-in a loving way or frankly, any way. We see it particularly with people in supervisory positions; they don’t want to write a negative evaluation of someone even if that person’s performance is subpar. And so that person who thinks he or she is doing a good job stays in that position, and the ministry’s or church’s mission suffers. We do a great disservice to people who need to hear an honest critique.”

• Tony Dungy, Uncommon Life – Daily Challenge (excerpt from devotion for 3 November)

Ephesians 4:17-19 ‘Reflections’: “God is not far away in distance, but He seems to be because He is far away in character. He Is unlike man because man has sinned and God Is holy. The Bible has a word for this moral incompatibility, this Spiritual unlikeness between man and God-alienation.
“The book of Ephesians tells us what it is that gives to the world that sense of God being ‘far away, beyond the starlit sky’… (Ephesians 2:1-3).
“Then in the fourth chapter we read …(4:17-19).
“Could these verses describe Jesus, who is God incarnated, who is in character all that God is, perfectly? No! They describe the alienated sinner, having his understanding darkened. Do they describe the glorious Son of God-ignorant, blind in heart., past feeling, given over to lasciviousness, walking in uncleanness and greediness? Of course not! They describe exactly the opposite of Jesus.
“These verses show that the sinner is so dissimilar to God that the distance is one of character, not space. God is not one inch away from a sinner. And yet He is far from the sinner. Am I contradicting myself? Not at all! Since God is omnipresent-close to anywhere, next to every­ where-then the distance is that of character, not space.
When the sinner prays, ‘Oh God, save me and forgive me for Jesus’ sake,’ he does not call God down from His high throne. God is already there. And he knows at that moment that God is there. But it’s a dissimilarity of character that makes the difference.”

• A. W. Tozer, The Attributes of God I

Ephesians 4:17 ‘no longer walk’: “Walk expresses daily conduct and refers back to what Paul has said about the believer’s high calling in Christ Jesus (v. 1). Because Christians are part of the body of Christ, have been spiritually gifted by the Holy Spirit, and are edified through other believers, they should not live like the ungodly (1 John 2:6). Gentiles. All ungodly, unregenerate pagans (cf. 1 Thess. 4:5 which defines them). the futility of their mind. First, unbelievers are intellectually un­ productive. As far as spiritual and moral is­ sues are. concerned, their rational processes are distorted and inadequate, inevitably failing to produce godly understanding or moral living. Their life is empty, vain, and without meaning (cf. Rom. 1:21-28; 1 Cor. 2:14; Col. 2:18).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Ephesians 4:19 ‘being past feeling’: “Third, unbelievers are morally insensitive. As they continue to sin and turn away from God, they become still more apathetic about moral and spiritual things (cf. Rom. 1:32). lewdness … uncleanness. Fourth, unbelievers are behaviorally depraved (cf. Rom. 1:28). As they keep succumbing to sensuality and licentiousness, they increasingly lose moral restraint, especially in the area of sexual sins. Impurity is inseparable from greediness, which is a form of idolatry (5:5; Col. 3:5). That some souls may not reach the extremes of verses 17-19 is due only to God’s common grace and the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Ephesians 4:23 ‘be renewed in the spirit of your mind’: “Salvation involves the mind (see notes on Rom. 12:2; 2 Car. 10:5), which is the center of thought, understanding, and belief, as well as of motive and action (cf. Col. 3:1, 2, 10). When a person becomes a Christian, God gives him a completely new spiritual and moral capability that a mind apart from Christ could never achieve (cf. l Cor. 2:9-16).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Ephesians 4:24 ‘the new self’: ”The church is a new being, a new self with a new nature, because every Christian in the church is a new self.  …
“The present creation, which began at the beginning of the heavens and the earth, has long since grown old and is passing away. The world with all its wealth and wisdom belongs to that which is passing. But God is building up a new generation, a new race of beings, a new order of souls or selves, the likes of which the world has never seen before. It is a generation that is even better than Adam, better than the original creation-it is a new creation. “

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

Ephesians 4:26-27 ‘Don’t let anger control you’: “Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. I get that. There are times when my anger is such that it’s better to simply walk away than to respond in a heated moment. Rash words at excitable moments can be deadly.
“At the same time, however, especially in our marriages, it can get awfully tempting to simply brush things aside to ‘deal with them later.’ Especially if it’s the same thing we’ve dealt with before. Who wants to go back over the same ground? It’s discouraging. Better to sweep it under the rug. It’ll go away, right?
“Let me urge you not to do that. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Find a moment to let the emotion pass, and even if it can’t all be resolved then, try to find a way to take the edge off the moment. Find common ground. Agree to come back to it later. But don’t stay angry and put it off until another time. …
Some people say that if you get through the first year of marriage, it’s smooth sailing from there. I think every day in marriage presents opportunities to practice patience, understanding, and compromise. Talk things out and don’t force your opinion. Listen to each other instead of resorting to the silent treatment.
“One final caveat: sometimes strict adherence to this isn’t healthy either. Sometimes you or your spouse is too tired to rationally deal with something. I know I’ve made things worse sometimes by thinking that we’ll ‘get it all straightened out’ before bed. Sometimes a good night’s sleep puts everything in perspective. Be wise. Don’t provoke, and don’t brush things aside.”

• Tony Dungy, Uncommon Life – Daily Challenge (excerpt from devotion for 6 March)

Ephesians 4:29 ‘The Discipline of the Tongue’: ” ‘Where the discipline of the tongue is practiced’ (Eph. 4:29), individuals will make an incomparable discovery. They will be able to stop incessantly observing others, judging them, condemning them, relegating them to their particular, controllable positions, and thus doing violence to them. They can let them stand entirely free, just as God placed them in regard to himself. Their vision widens, and for the first time-and to their astonishment-they know the wealth of God’s glory as Creator. God did not make others as I would have made them in their creaturely freedom, others now become for me a reason for joy, whereas earlier they represented only trouble and need. God does not want me to form other people in the image that seems good to me-that is, in my own image. Rather, in his freedom from me, God made others in his own image. I can never know in advance what God’s image will look like in others; again and again it has an entirely new form, based solely on God’s free creation…  The whole variety of individuals in the community will no longer be grounds for talking, judging, condemning-that is, for self-justification. It will become instead the basis for mutual joy.”

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I Want to Live These Days with You, devotional compiled from several of his writings

Ephesians 4:29 ‘Be an Encourager’: “We all remember the old joke, ‘How do you know if a politician is lying? His lips are moving.’ A serious twist on that classic is this quip: ’How do you know if someone needs encouragement? She is breathing.’
“In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul shares the importance of encourage­ ment among them and in the world they have been called to reach. He encourages the believers to remember this responsibility of their faith in Christ.
“Paul’s letter is as relevant and pertinent today as it was when he wrote it. The world of people both inside and outside the church is vast and growing. Day-to-day living is tough and getting tougher. The economy always seems to be one bad stock market plunge away from trouble. And somewhere out there someone needs a lift to get through the trouble. The number of people who need a word of encouragement and a lift in their lives is growing. It is our duty to be that voice and hand of encouragement to everyone we meet.”

• Tony Dungy, Uncommon Life – Daily Challenge (excerpt from devotion for 2 June)

Ephesians 4:30 ‘connection between the Holy Spirit and us’: “This text reveals to us the close connection between the Holy Spirit and the believer; he must take a tender and affectionate interest in us since he is grieved by our shortcomings and our sins. He is not a God who reigns in solitary isolation, divided by a great gulf; but he, the blessed Spirit, comes into such near contact with us, takes such minute observations, feels such tender regards, that he can be grieved by our faults and follies. Although the word ‘grieve’ is a painful one, yet there is honey in the rock; for it is an inexpressibly delightful thought that he who rules heaven and earth and is the Creator of all things and the infinite and ever blessed God condescends to enter into such infinite relationships with his people that his divine mind may be affected by their actions. What a marvel that Deity should be said to grieve over the faults of beings so utterly insignificant as we are.“

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Ephesians 4:31 ‘avoid hatred, forgive’: “Oh, the gradual grasp of hatred. Its damage begins like the crack in my windshield. Thanks to a speeding truck on a gravel road, my window was chipped. With time the nick became a crack, and the crack became a winding tributary … I couldn’t drive my car without thinking of the jerk who drove too fast. Though I’ve never seen him, I could describe him. He is some deadbeat bum who cheats on his wife, drives with a six-pack on the seat, and keeps the television so loud the neighbors can’t sleep …
“Ever heard the expression ‘blind rage’?
“Let me be very clear. Hatred will sour your outlook and break your back. The load of bitterness is simply too heavy. Your knees will buckle under the strain, and your heart will break beneath the weight. The mountain before you is steep enough without the heaviness of hatred on your back. The wisest choice-the only choice-is for you to drop the anger. You will never be called upon to give anyone more grace than God has already given you.“

• Max Lucado, In the Grip of Grace

My Thoughts

Paul uses this chapter to encourage the people of Ephesus.  We need to be worthy of our calling, bearing in love.  As believers we are one body, one Spirit, called to one hope, we are one with one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God.

For this reason, God sent apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip the people.  Apostles can interpret God’s word and provide leadership.  Prophets can illuminate the people by interpreting God’s Word, and today, since all is revealed in Scripture, they are limited by this.  Evangelists lead people to Christ, but these days there is a split between apologists who work through the resistance of believing in a god of any kind, and then an evangelist to lead the person to Christ.  Pastors differ from evangelists, in that they take care of a flock of believers, yet within that flock, there will be unbelievers which makes tending the flock a problem, the wolf in sheep’s clothing.  And teachers are those who can teach people from the word.  They may be able to interpret Scripture as do the apostle and the prophet, but they can get that interpretation from others, and their skill set is focused on getting the information transferred to those wanting to learn.

Having been in the training business for about thirty years of my career, the five roles within a church that Paul mentions carry a vastly different calling and a vastly different set of skills and knowledge.  In one of Tony Dungy’s quotes above you can find someone whose skill set does not match the job they are in.  It takes someone with tact and diplomacy to find that person a job that better fits them without discouraging the person.  Or if they only need knowledge, they could be trained.

But then, the second half of the chapter and spilling into the next chapter, is a laundry list of things that Christians should be.

I was thinking about listing and discussing each, but then someone would get the idea that Christianity is only a series of rules and laws.  But look over the list.  The list is practical ideas that come naturally if you truly love the other people in the church.  We should be light that spreads light into a dark world.  That is done by love.

The drastic turn in secular society away from civility is destroying any unity that Paul could hope to achieve within the church.  Everyone is angry, while Paul tells us to not let the sun set on that anger.  People distrust one another.  This is a direct attack from the Evil One and we have succumbed to the temptation.  We must be true to our values while trying to find common ground.  Common ground is hard to find when everyone has their own distinct piece of turf that they are protecting.

But, my barber and I had a discussion the other day.  We disagreed on a few points, but in allowing the conversation to develop, rather than immediate offense and shutting down of the other person, we found common ground and to be honest, we were not very far from the other’s point of view.  Upon first finding differences, we could have walked away angry with each other. And I would be looking for a new barber.

So, in looking at all those rules, look at them again, and see them as a natural part of loving someone else.  Then there becomes only one rule: to love.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Ephesians 4:1-16 Unity in the Body of Christ 1. Of the five qualities listed in verse 2, which one needs to be developed most in your life? What relationship will profit from developing that quality now?
“2. What does it mean to ‘speak the truth in love’, as opposed to love without truth or truth without love?
“3. From this passage, what is the problem with living the Christian life apart from the church? In what way do you need others? What strength can you give others?
“4. How can your group help you discover, develop, and use your gifts?
Ephesians 4:17-5:21 Living as Children of Light 1. What is one way you have seen the contrast of the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ in your life? What piece of ‘old life’ clothing seems to be skin-tight and hard to remove now?
“2. What are the positive and/or negative motivations which prompt you to live a Christian life? Where do you feel you are making progress in your Christian life at the moment?
“3. Of the different pictures of what it means to live as a Christian, which means the most to you, and why: (a) Putting off? (b) Putting on? (c) Imitating God as his ‘dearly beloved children’ (5:1)? (d) Being light instead of darkness?
“4. Compare Paul’s view of a Spirit filled life with your own life. In comparison, how full have you been with the Spirit this week? What do you want to work on, so that he may fill you more?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Ephesians 4 has two sets of questions, but one set stretches into Scripture from Ephesians 5.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.