Paul’s Thanksgiving for the Philippians

Introduction:

Note what Paul is most thankful for in this lesson.

Philippians 1:3-8 NLT
Paul’s Thanksgiving for the Philippians
³ Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. ⁴ Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, ⁵ for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. ⁶ And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
⁷ So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. ⁸ God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. 

Examine the scriptures:

Philippians 1:3-8 NLT
Paul’s Thanksgiving for the Philippians 

³ Every time I think of you,

About 10 years had passed since Paul first worked with the Philippians.

Paul was now in Roman chains 800 miles away. 

I give thanks to my God. 

Paul expresses his sincere gratitude to God for his friends in Philippi.

Paul is constantly praying for the people in his life.  In fact, he tells the Philippians that he prays for them every time he thinks about them.

• Paul is constantly praying for the people in his life.

Ephesians 6:18 NLT
¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. 

• Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Notice what Paul is most thankful for in the following verses.

Romans 1:8 NLT
⁸ Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world.

1 Corinthians 1:4 NLT
⁴ I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:3-4 NLT
³ We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people,

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 NLT
² We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. ³ As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:3
³ Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.

2 Timothy 1:3-5 NLT
³ Timothy, I thank God for you …Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. ⁴ … ⁵ I remember your genuine faith, …

Philemon 1:4-5 NLT
⁴ I always thank my God when I pray for you, Philemon, ⁵ because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. 

• Paul is thankful for people’s …

Paul is thankful for people’s faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all of God’s people.

⁴ Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 

When Paul prays for the Philippians, he does so with joy. 

⁵ for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 

The Philippians readily (“from the first time you heard it”) received the Gospel and became partners with Paul in spreading the Gospel.

Paul introduced and summarized the main theme of Philippians, namely, partnership in the gospel.

Paul’s imprisonment limited his ministry to the Philippian church, but he still prayed for his brethren in Philippi. His prayers were full of joy as he petitioned God for the saints there.

This partnership includes financial support and their concern for Paul, including now while he is in prison. 

⁶ And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

These are powerful words of encouragement.

• It is God who initiates our salvation.
• It is God who transforms us (believers) into the likeness of His son Jesus.
• It is God who will one day take us (believers) to be with Him in heaven.
• God will be with us, as believers, until the day we die or until Jesus’ return and then we will be with Him for all of eternity.

God began a good work within us.

It is God who initiates our salvation.

Romans 8:29 NLT
²⁹ For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 

Ephesians 1:3-8 NLT
³ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. ⁴ Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. ⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. ⁶ So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. ⁷ He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. ⁸ He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

God will continue his work in us until it is finished.

It is God who transforms us (believers) into the likeness of His son Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 NLT
²³ Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

Hebrews 10:10 & 14 NLT
¹⁰ For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

¹⁴ For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

Ephesians 4:11-15 NLT
¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
¹⁴ Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. ¹⁵ Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

It is God who will one day take us (believers) to be with Him in heaven.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 NLT
⁹ For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. ¹⁰ Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. ¹¹ So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. 

Ephesians 1:13 NLT
¹³ And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. ¹⁴ The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Verse six is loaded. (Read the following from Dr. Constable’s Notes on Philippians.) 

In the New Testament God has revealed that salvation is a process. It involves justification, which takes place when a sinner trusts Jesus Christ as his or her Savior. It also includes progressive sanctification, which occurs continuously from the time of justification until the Christian’s death or the Rapture. And it culminates in glorification, when the redeemed sinner finally sees Jesus Christ and experiences transformation into His image. (From Dr. Constable’s Notes on Philippians)

Ephesians 2:10 NLT
¹⁰ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. 

In this life here on earth, none of us are perfect.
Many of us are not always doing the good things that God planned for us to do.

Christians can and do resist, oppose, and limit God’s sanctifying work in them (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19).

Ephesians 4:30 NLT
³⁰ And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

1 Thessalonians 5:19 NLT
¹⁹ Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.

• Christians can and do resist, oppose, and limit God’s sanctifying work in them (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19). 

Reread: 

³ Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. ⁴ Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, ⁵ for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. ⁶ And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 

⁷ So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart.

You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 

Imprisonment would have been a source of shame in the culture of that time.  In spite of that, the Philippines willingly identified themselves with Paul with their continued support. 

⁸ God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

• Paul’s love for the Philippians originated from Christ’s love for Paul.

John 13:34 NLT
³⁴ So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings from Paul to the Philippians

Introduction:

Central theme of Philippians:

How to live as a Christian in a non-Christian World.

Philippi was certainly “a non-Christian world”.

Remember the difference between scripture (God’s Word) and commentary (man’s words).

Much of the content in this lesson is from commentaries.

Philippians 1:1-2 NLT
Greetings from Paul
^1:1 This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and deacons.
² May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Compare this greeting to some of Paul’s other greetings.

• Paul’s greeting to the Philippians was similar to greetings from some of his other letters.

2 Corinthians 1 NLT
Greetings from Paul
¹ This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
I am writing to God’s church in Corinth and to all of his holy people throughout Greece.
² May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Colossians 1 NLT
Greetings from Paul¹ 
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
² We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.
May God our Father give you grace and peace.

1 Thessalonians 1 NLT
Greetings from Paul
¹ This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
May God give you grace and peace.

2 Thessalonians 1 NLT
Greetings from Paul
¹ This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
² May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Philemon NLT
Greetings from Paul
¹ This letter is from Paul, a prisoner for preaching the Good News about Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
I am writing to Philemon, our beloved co-worker, ² and to our sister Apphia, and to our fellow soldier Archippus, and to the church that meets in your house.
³ May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Examine the scriptures:
Philippians 1:1-2 NLT
Greetings from Paul 

^1:1 This letter is from Paul and

Written by Paul

61 or 62 A.D.

• Philippians was a letter written by Paul to the Church in Philippi. 

Timothy,

Timothy was not a co-author of this letter.

Timothy was one of Paul’s most trusted co-workers and messengers.

Timothy was Paul’s beloved son in the faith.

1 Timothy 1:2 NLT
² I am writing to Timothy, my true son in the faith.

• Timothy had a special interest in the Philippian saints.

Philippians 2:20 NLT
²⁰ I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare.

Philippians 2:19 & 23 NLT
¹⁹ If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along.
²³ I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here.

Paul may have dictated this letter to Timothy.

slaves of Christ Jesus.

• Paul and Timothy considered themselves slaves of Christ Jesus.

Someone who belongs entirely to Christ, completely devoted to His service.

Someone with a spiritual union with Christ.

I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi

God’s holy people.  (Set apart).

The saints at Philippi were set apart for God.

Paul was writing to a church of believers.

Paul most likely wrote this letter to the Philippians during his first Roman imprisonment (A.D. 60-62). It is believed that Paul also wrote Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, the other Prison Epistles during this same time period.

Paul’s visits to Philippi.

Paul visited Philippi on his second missionary journey about 50 A.D.  (49-52 A.D.)

From the beginning there was opposition to Paul’s preaching.

Paul stopped at Philippi two times during his third missionary journey.  (53-57 A.D.)

Paul’s letter was written to the Philippians after he had visited them.

Philippi

Philippi was a small but prosperous Roman colony in the providence of Macedonia.

• Philippians were citizens of Rome and the people enjoyed the special privileges this entailed.

Acts 16: ¹² From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.

The Via Egnatia, which was the main highway going from Rome to Asia ran through Philippi, and it brought much commerce and many travelers to Philippi.

The area was important for its gold mines.

The economy was bolstered by the fertility of the land.

Not enough Jews to permit the establishment of a synagogue (needed 10 Jewish men who were heads of households)

Paul does not quote the Old Testament in this letter.

The first church in Macedonia was established here.

Through his ministry there several people trusted Christ as their Savior.  Some of these were Lydia and her family and the Philippian jailer and his family.

Lydia and her family.

Acts 16:14-15
¹⁴ One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. ¹⁵ She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed. 

The Philippian jailer and his family.

Acts 16:16-34
Paul and Silas in Prison
¹⁶ One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. ¹⁷ …
¹⁸ This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.
¹⁹ …
²² A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. ²³ They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. ²⁴ So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
²⁵ Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. ²⁶ Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! ²⁷ The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. ²⁸ But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”
²⁹ The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” ³² And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. ³³ … Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. ³⁴ He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

Soon after Paul’s visit a local church was established in Phillipi.

• Lydia and her family and the Philippian jailer and his family were a part of this community of believers.

 who belong to Christ Jesus,

• This letter was written to Christians.

including the church leaders

Overseers, bishops, or elders were responsible for shepherding or pastoring the flock.

and deacons.

Deacons had special practical service responsibilities in the assembly.

Paul does not normally single out “church leaders and deacons” in his greetings.

This communicates the fact that the Philippian church was structured and had leaders and deacons.

² May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Paul’s standard greeting.

Grace:

In Christianity, God’s grace and God’s mercy are often confused. Although they are similar expressions of God’s favor and love, they possess a clear distinction. When we experience God’s grace, we receive blessings from God that we do not deserve. When we experience God’s mercy, we are spared from punishment that we do deserve.

Grace can even be defined by the acronym God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense.

Grace is undeserved blessing that comes from God’s kindness.

Grace expresses God’s steadfast love toward man.

 

Grace followed by peace.

Both grace and peace find their source in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Purpose:

-Tell the Philippians that Epaphroditus had served him well.  Epaphroditus had been sent by the Philippians to minister to Paul who was in prison.

-Tell the Philippians that Epaphroditus had recovered from a serious illness.

It is possible that Epaphroditus had carried this letter back to Philippi.

Philippians 2:25-27 NLT
Paul Commends Epaphroditus
²⁵ Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. ²⁶ I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. ²⁷ And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.

-Encourage the Philippians in their faith. Challenge them to stand firm in the face of persecution.

-Inform the Philippians of his circumstances in Rome, and assure them that he was still in good spirits,

-Thank the Philippians for their continued support.  The church helped Paul in different ways.

Philippians 4:15-18 NLT
¹⁵ As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. ¹⁶ Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. ¹⁷ I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness.
¹⁸ At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus.

2 Corinthians 11:9 NLT
Speaking to the Church in Corinth
⁹ And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be.

-Address some problems in the church

Warn the Philippians against false teachers (Judaizers)

Encourage the Philippians to live in humility, unity, and harmony with each other.

 

Philippians is personal and practical and joyful in its tone and teaching.

 

Completing the Armor and Final Greetings

The Final Piece of Armor.

The Whole Armor of God.

We are in a spiritual on a daily basis.

God has made spiritual resources available to us through Jesus Christ, and we need to use them in our battle against evil.

The spiritual resources mentioned in the previous passage were the truth (belt), righteousness (breastplate), the Gospel (shoes), faith (shield), salvation (helmet), and the Word of God (sword).

The final piece of our armor is prayer.

Without prayer we are not properly armed for spiritual battle.

Without prayer, our armor is incomplete.

Ephesians 6:18-24 NLT
¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
¹⁹ And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. ²⁰ I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

Final Greetings
²¹ To bring you up to date, Tychicus will give you a full report about what I am doing and how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work. ²² I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you.
²³ Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. ²⁴ May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.

Examine the scriptures:

Ephesians 6:18-24 NLT

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit

We are in a spiritual warfare.

• Without prayer, our armor is incomplete.

Pray in the Spirit.

Pray with divine help.

• Pray with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

Jude 20 NLT
²⁰ But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,

Praying out of hearts and souls that are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:26 NLT
²⁶ And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

Pray for things the Spirit wants us to pray for.

Praying in the Spirit is praying for things the Spirit leads us to pray for.

Verses to reflect on.

Matthew 6:10 NLT
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven. 

Colossians 1:9 NLT
⁹ So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 

1 John 5:14 NLT
¹⁴ And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 

at all times and on every occasion.

• Pray continually in all situations.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT
¹⁷ Never stop praying.

Philippians 4:6 NLT
⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  

Romans 12:12 NLT
¹² Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

Prayer is crucial in spiritual warfare.

• Prayer is essential at all times and on every occasion. 

Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers

Stay alert and be persistent.

Matthew 26:41 NLT
⁴¹ Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”

Mark 13:33 NLT
³³ …, be on guard! Stay alert! 

Luke 11:9 NLT
⁹ “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 

• Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers. “…, keep on asking, … keep on seeking, … and keep on knocking, …” 

 for all believers everywhere.

• • Scripture tells us to pray for all believers everywhere.

• Scripture tells us to pray for all people.

Pray for all people.

1 Timothy 2:1 NLT
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 

Apply the following to prayer. 

Galatians 6:10 NLT
¹⁰ Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

• Request prayer for specific needs. 

¹⁹ And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. 

²⁰ I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador.

So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

As a teacher, ask God to give you the right words as you are addressing your students.

Ask God to help you to be bold in sharing Biblical principles.

Final Greetings

²¹ To bring you up to date, Tychicus will give you a full report about what I am doing and how I am getting along.

Apparently Tychicus was the person who brought this epistle to the Ephesians.

He is a beloved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work. ²² I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you.

Paul’s salutation to the Ephesians. (An expression of goodwill.) 

²³ Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, 

and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. 

Peace, love, and faith are gifts from God.

“Keep on keeping on” seems to fit here.

1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT
¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

These are gifts that will last forever.

Paul’s benediction to the Ephesians. (Bestowing a blessing.) 

²⁴ May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul concludes the letter much like he began the letter.

Ephesians 1:2 NLT
² May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 

• Paul’s closing words are both encouraging and motivating,

 

For the faculty and staff at Redeemer Day School

1 Thessalonians 1:2-4 NLT
² We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. ³ As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
⁴ We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people.

 

• • • Without prayer, our armor is incomplete.
    • Pray with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
    • Pray continually in all situations.
    • Prayer is essential at all times and on every occasion.
    • Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers. “…, keep on asking, … keep on seeking, … and keep on knocking, …”
    • Scripture tells us to pray for all believers everywhere.
    • Scripture tells us to pray for all people.
    • Request prayer for specific needs.
    • Paul’s closing words are both encouraging and motivating,

 

 

 

The Whole Armor of God (Part 2)

We are in a spiritual on a daily basis.

God has made spiritual resources available to us through Jesus Christ, and we need to use them in our battle against evil.

The spiritual resources mentioned in this passage are the truth, righteousness, the Gospel, faith, salvation, and the Word of God.

Ephesians 6:14-17 NLT
¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. ¹⁶ In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. ¹⁷ Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Examine the scriptures:
Ephesians 6:14-17 NLT

Verses 14-20 make up one sentence.

¹⁴ Stand your ground,

For the third time (vv. 11, 13), Paul tells Christians to take a firm position in the spiritual battle against Satan and his minions.

We are in a spiritual war on a daily basis.

• Stand firm in your battle against Satan. Never back down.

Resist Satan’s attacks by being properly armed.

• Never compromise the teachings of scripture. (Compromise is not “standing your ground”.)

Deuteronomy 5:32 NLT
³² “You must be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, following his instructions in every detail.

Deuteronomy 5:32 NIV
So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.

Paul uses the armor of a Roman soldier as imagery for spiritual armor used by believers.

Roman infantrymen were commonplace throughout the empire.

One may have even been guarding Paul when he wrote this epistle.

Everyone knew what they looked like.

Paul described the items that the Roman infantryman wore in the order in which he would have put them on.

Most of this equipment is used to defend, not to attack. 

The truth. 

¹⁴ Stand your ground,
putting on the belt of truth 

The belt of a Roman soldier held his garments in place and gave ease and freedom of movement.

The soldiers belt kept him from getting tripped up.

Everything that hinders is tucked away.

It was also designed to hold other pieces of the soldier’s armor in place.

We have access to truth.  We need to put on the belt of truth.

John 8:32 NLT
³² And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 

• You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 17:17 NLT
¹⁷ Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.

Psalm 119:142 NLT
Your justice is eternal,
and your instructions are perfectly true.

The truths found in scripture as well as a lifestyle that reflects that truth are essential for a defense against Satan.

It is not enough just knowing the truth.

We need to know and live truth.

We need to live a life of truthfulness.  A man of integrity, with a clear conscience, can face the enemy without fear.

Once a lie gets into the life of a believer, everything begins to fall apart.

Proverbs 6:16-19 NLT
¹⁶ There are six things the Lord hates—
no, seven things he detests:
¹⁷ haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
¹⁸ a heart that plots evil,
feet that race to do wrong,
¹⁹ a false witness who pours out lies,
a person who sows discord in a family.

If we choose not to live truthful lives we will get tripped up. 

Righteousness. 

and the body armor of God’s righteousness. (the breastplate of righteousness)

The soldier’s breastplate protects his heart and other vital organs.

As a soldier’s breastplate protected his chest from an enemy’s attacks, so God’s righteousness, resulting in righteous living guards a believer’s heart against the assaults of the devil.

1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT
³⁰ God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.

Romans 6:13 NLT
¹³ Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

Righteous living protects a believer’s heart against the assaults of the devil.

• Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.

• Without God’s righteousness, we are vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. 

The Gospel. 

¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

The soldier’s shoes were designed to give the soldier a good grip to the ground, stability, and surefootedness in combat.

The Gospels are a source of peace.  The Gospels give stability to our lives.

The Gospel tells us how to have a right relationship with God.

• The Gospel tells us how to have a right relationship with God.

Through Christ believers are at peace with God knowing that He is on their side.

Romans 5:1 NLT
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

• Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

God is our strength and with that divine strength we can stand firm.

• We have been made right in God’s sight by faith.

Romans 8:31, 37-39 NLT
³¹ What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

• If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 

Faith.  

¹⁶ In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 

A Roman soldier carried a shield that was designed to absorb fiery arrows, without catching on fire, to protect the other pieces of armor as well as the soldier himself.

• A Christian’s faith in the Lord can stop and extinguish all the flaming arrows of the devil.

Faith is trust in Christ as Savior and trust in God to meet our needs in evil times.

Hebrews 11:1 NIV
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT
¹³ The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 

Salvation. 

¹⁷ Put on salvation as your helmet,

Roman soldiers used their helmets to protect their heads.

The confidence of our salvation protects our minds and our thoughts.

We can know that we are saved,

John 3:16 NLT
¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 10:9 NLT
⁹ If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Knowing that we are saved, we can face the enemy with confidence.

• Protect your mind and thoughts with the assurance that God has indeed saved and given eternal life to those who believe in Christ.

The last resource mentioned is

The Word of God.

and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The sword is the soldier’s only offensive weapon.

The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.

Hebrews 4:12 NLT
¹² For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 

Jeremiah 23:29 NLT
²⁹ Does not my word burn like fire?”
says the Lord.
“Is it not like a mighty hammer
that smashes a rock to pieces? 

• God’s Word is like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces.

Believers need God’s Word to combat the enemy’s assault, much as Christ did when tempted by the devil. 

• We need to be spending quality time in the Word. We need to know God’s Word and we need to be putting Biblical principles into practice on a daily basis. 

Grounding in Christ and scripture provides protection and ability to stand your ground. 

 

 

• Stand firm in your battle against Satan. Never back down.
• Never compromise the teachings of scripture. (Compromise is not “standing your ground”.)
• You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
• Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.
• Without God’s righteousness, we are vulnerable to Satan’s attacks.
• The Gospel tells us how to have a right relationship with God.
• Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
• We have been made right in God’s sight by faith
• If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
• A Christian’s faith in the Lord can stop and extinguish all the flaming arrows of the devil.
• Protect your mind and thoughts with the assurance that God has indeed saved and given eternal life to those who believe in Christ.
• God’s Word is like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces.
• We need to be spending quality time in the Word. We need to know God’s Word and we need to be putting Biblical principles into practice on a daily basis.

 

 

The Whole Armor of God

Know Your Enemy

Our enemy is a real enemy.

Ephesians 6:10-13 NLT
¹⁰ A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹² For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

Examine the scriptures:

Ephesians 6:10-13 NLTThe Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ A final word:

Paul is finishing up his letter to the Ephesians.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 

We are in a spiritual war on a daily basis.

• Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Ephesians 1:19-21 NLT
¹⁹ I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power ²⁰ that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. ²¹ Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.

Jesus’ power and authority transcend all rival powers, in this world and in the world to come.

• God is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.

David recognized where his strength came from.

Psalm 28:7 NLT
A psalm of David.
David was not only a king, but he was also a fierce warrior. 

⁷ The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

Other scriptures:

2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT
³ But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT
⁵⁷ But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 2:14 NLT
¹⁴ Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.

Philippians 4:13 NLT
¹³ For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

• Human effort is inadequate but God’s power is invincible.

• The Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 

¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor

We need to be wearing all of God’s armor every day of our loves. 

so that you will be able to stand firm

Here on earth, Satan’s attacks are unending.

God is all powerful, but we are still faced with evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places on a daily basis.

Christians are to stand firm.  Hold on to what we have.  We are not told to attack the massive domain of evil.

against all strategies

A few of Satan’s strategies include:

Immorality

False theology

Worldly enticements

Idolatry and perversion are prevalent all around us.

Secular humanism is the prevailing philosophy of:

Government

School systems

Churches

Communities 

of the devil. 

• Satan is a real and powerful enemy.

Satan and his demons are clever, crafty, cunning, and deceptive.

He is:

the prince (the ruler) of demons.” Luke 11:15

the God of this world. 2 Corinthians 4:4

the commander of the powers in the unseen world. Ephesians 2:2

a perverter of God’s Word. Matthew 4:6

a great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world. Revelation 12:9

He:

hinders God’s servants. 1 Thessalonians 2:18

obscures God’s Word. 2 Corinthians 4:4

controls the world around us. 1 John 5:19

1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT
⁸ Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

Our battle is against Satan and his demonic hosts.

• It is only by the Lord’s protection that a believer can stand firm against the strategies of the devil.

More about Satan:

Ephesians 2:2 NLT
² You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.

1 John 5:19 NLT
¹⁹ We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. 

The entire unbelieving world is subject to the power of sin and the devil.

2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT
⁴ Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 

• The world around us is under the control of the evil one.

• Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe.  

¹² For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies,

We are in a battle, but human beings are not our enemies.

but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

We are fighting against:

evil rulers

authorities of the unseen world

mighty powers in this dark world

evil spirits in the heavenly places

1 Peter 5:8 NLT (repeated)
⁸ Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 

¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor

Not partially clothed.

so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 

• God’s armor gives believers the ability to resist the attacks of the devil.

James 4:7 NLT
⁷ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

Additional encouragement from scripture: 

Isaiah 41:10 NLT
¹⁰ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Psalm 121:2 NLT
² My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth! 

Hebrews 13:5 NLT
⁵ … For God has said,“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”

Psalm 125:2 NLT
² Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever.

Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT
⁸ Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” 

 

Spirit-Guided Relationships: Slaves and Masters

Introduction:

Previous lessons:

            Living by the Spirit’s Power
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Wives and Husbands

Spirit-Guided Relationships: Children and Parents

Today’s lesson:

Spirit-Guided Relationships: Slaves and Masters

Ephesians 5:18 NLT tells us to:
¹⁸ …  be filled with the Holy Spirit,

• A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live.  (This theme is repeated from the two previous lessons.)

Ephesians 6:5-9 NLT
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Slaves and Masters
⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. ⁶ Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. ⁷ Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. ⁸ Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
⁹ Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.

Examine the scriptures:

Ephesians 6:5-9 NLT
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Slaves and Masters 

⁵ Slaves,

Slaves – Servants – Bondservants

Bible scholars have estimated that about one-third of the population in the Roman Empire in Paul’s time were slaves.  One-third of the population in Ephesus would have been slaves.

• Bible scholars have estimated that about one-third of the population in the Roman Empire in Paul’s time were slaves.

Slaves were, indirectly, a part of the family (household).

Husbands/wives
Children/parents
Slaves/masters

These passages all involve relationships between people.

Galatians 3:26-28 NLT
²⁶ For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. ²⁸ There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

There would have been Christian slaves under Christian masters.

There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

• A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live.

This passage is not approving of or condemning slavery.

Slavery was a fact of life in that culture.

This passage is addressing relationships that existed in the Roman Empire. 

obey your earthly masters 

• We are commanded to obey those who are in authority over us. (Repeated from previous lesson.)

Romans 13:1 NLT
Respect for Authority
^13:1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.

Colossians 3:22 NLT
²² Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. …

The principles taught here would apply to employee/employer relationships today.

Obey those in positions of authority over you.

We are to practice continuous, uninterrupted submission to those in authority. (as long as the expectations do not contradict scripture.)

• Obedience is the right thing to do.
• Obedience pleases the Lord. 

with deep respect and fear 

With:

Respect for their authority.

Sincerity.

A healthy fear.

1 Peter 2:18-23 NLT
¹⁸ You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. 

1 Timothy 6:1-2 NLT
6 All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching. ² If the masters are believers, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. Those slaves should work all the harder because their efforts are helping other believers who are well loved.

Everyone should show full respect for those in authority so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching.

• We are commanded to obey AND respect those who are in authority over us.

Romans 13:7 NLT
⁷ Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. 

Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 

Colossians 3:22-23 NLT (repeated)
²² Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. ²³ Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Ephesians 5:21 NLT
²¹ And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
for this is the right thing to do.  

⁶ Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. 

Not just when it is easy to do so.

1 Peter 2:18-23 NLT
¹⁸ You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. ¹⁹ For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. ²⁰ Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.
²¹ For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
²² He never sinned,
nor ever deceived anyone.
²³ He did not retaliate when he was insulted,
nor threaten revenge when he suffered.
He left his case in the hands of God,
    who always judges fairly. 

As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT
¹⁹ Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, ²⁰ for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

Titus 2:9-10 NLT
9 Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back 10 or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.

• Obey with obedience that comes from your heart.

• Obey because you belong to the Lord. (6:1)

 ⁷ Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 

• The will of God is that Christian slaves honor Him by serving their human masters faithfully and with enthusiasm.

• The will of God is that Christian employees honor Him by serving their employers faithfully and with enthusiasm.

⁸ Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.

⁹ Masters, treat your slaves in the same way.

With integrity and concern.

Mutual honor and respect.

Colossians 4:1 NLT
^4:1 Masters, be just and fair to your slaves.

Paul speaking to Philemon about his slave Onesimus.

Philemon 1:16 NLT
¹⁶ He is no longer like a slave to you. He is more than a slave, for he is a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

Application:

Teachers, treat your students in the same way.

Administrators, treat your teachers in the same way.

Don’t threaten them; 

More application.

Teachers, don’t threaten your students.

Administrators, don’t threaten your teachers. 

• Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. 

remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites. 

Romans 2:11 NLT
¹¹ For God does not show favoritism.

1 Peter 1:17 NLT
¹⁷ And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”

Galatians 3:26-28 NLT
²⁶ For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. ²⁸ There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

With different roles.

God will fairly judge both masters and servants.

• A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live.  (Repeated)
•  

“We will…tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord…
so that they should set their hope in God.” 

Spirit-Guided Relationships: Slaves and Masters 

Ephesians 6:5-9 NLT
⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. ⁶ Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. ⁷ Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. ⁸ Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
⁹ Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.

• A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live.  (This theme is repeated from the two previous lessons.)

• Bible scholars have estimated that about one-third of the population in the Roman Empire in Paul’s time were slaves.

• We are commanded to obey those who are in authority over us. (Repeated from previous lesson.)

• Obedience is the right thing to do.

• Obedience pleases the Lord.

• We are commanded to obey AND respect those who are in authority over us.

• Obey with obedience that comes from your heart.

• Obey because you belong to the Lord. (6:1)

• The will of God is that Christian slaves (Christian employees) honor Him by serving their human masters (employers) faithfully and with enthusiasm.

• Masters, be just and fair to your slaves.

• A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live.

 

Introduction:

A brief look at two of Redeemer Day School’s four core values.

Redeemer’s four core values:

Christ-Centered
Teacher Directed
Academically Challenging
Mentoring Relationships

Two of our Core Values talk about obedience.

Christ-Centered

Nurturing students in displaying obedience.

Teacher Directed

Respect is fostered through listening and obeying.

Ephesians 6:1-4 NLT
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Children and Parents
^6:1 Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. ² “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: ³ If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

Examine the scriptures:
Ephesians 6:1-4 NLT
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Children and Parents

Previous lesson:

Living by the Spirit’s Power
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Wives and Husbands

Today’s lesson

Spirit-Guided Relationships: Children and Parents

Next lesson:

Spirit-Guided Relationships: Slaves and Masters

Ephesians 5:18 NLT tells us to:
¹⁸ …  be filled with the Holy Spirit,

• A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live.

^6:1 Children, obey your parents

Both parents.

because you belong to the Lord,  

Additional scriptures:

Ephesians 5:21 NLT
²¹ And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Colossians 3:20 NLT
²⁰ Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. 

Proverbs 6:20 NLT
²⁰ My son, obey your father’s commands,
and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
²¹ Keep their words always in your heart.
Tie them around your neck.
²² When you walk, their counsel will lead you.
When you sleep, they will protect you.
When you wake up, they will advise you.
²³ For their command is a lamp
and their instruction a light;
their corrective discipline
is the way to life. 

for this is the right thing to do. 

As if obeying the Lord Himself.

• Obedience is the right thing to do.
• Obedience pleases the Lord.

² “Honor your father and mother.”

Additional scriptures:

Exodus 20:12 NLT
¹² “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Deuteronomy 5:16 NLT
¹⁶ “Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Honor is more than obedience.

Hebrews 12:9 NLT
⁹ Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

Proverbs 1:7-9 NLT
⁷ Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
⁸ My child, listen when your father corrects you.
Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
⁹ What you learn from them will crown you with grace
and be a chain of honor around your neck.

Honor is more than obedience.

Honor shows respect.

Honor displays a right attitude.

Honor is an act of submission. 

• Honor is more than obedience. Honor recognizes the importance or value of obedience.

This is the first commandment with a promise:

This might not actually be the first commandment with a promise.  (See Exodus 20:6)

Exodus 20:6 NLT
⁶ But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

This might not even the greatest commandment. (See Matthew 22:37 – Mark 12:30 – Luke 10:27)

This is a commandment of primary importance for children.

 ³ If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” 

Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, disobeyed Eli and ….

1 Samuel 2:12 & 25
¹² Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord …

²⁵ … But Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death. 

1 Samuel 4:10-11 NLT
¹⁰ So the Philistines fought desperately, and Israel was defeated again. The slaughter was great; 30,000 Israelite soldiers died that day. The survivors turned and fled to their tents. ¹¹ The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed.

• The environment in a home (classroom) is more pleasant when obedience is being practiced.

Jeremiah 7:22-23 NLT
²² When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them. ²³ This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’

Isaiah 1:19-20 NLT
¹⁹ If you will only obey me,
you will have plenty to eat.
²⁰ But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
I, the Lord, have spoken!” 

⁴ Fathers, 

The head of the family, responsible for disciplining the children. 

do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them.

Colossians 3:21 NLT
²¹ Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.

Not excessive
Not harsh
Nor unjust
Domineering and thoughtless acts will discourage children.

Loving and gentle
No unreasonable demands, petty rules, or favoritism.

• Fathers (parents) do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged. 

Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

Disciple

Teach by example.

Reflect on the Lord’s discipline.

Hebrews 12:5-11 NLT
⁵ And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?  He said,
“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t give up when he corrects you.
⁶ For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”
⁷ As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? ⁸ If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. ⁹ Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
¹⁰ For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

• The Lord disciplines those he loves.

 

• There are numerous scriptures that are amazing similar to Ephesians 6:1-4 directed to us as adults.

Remember, we are children of God.

As children of God:

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 NLT
^6:1 “These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, ² and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. ³ Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
⁴ “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. ⁶ And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. ⁷ Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. ⁸ Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 

Deuteronomy 11:13-21 NLT
¹³ “If you carefully obey the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, ¹⁴ then he will send the rains in their proper seasons—the early and late rains—so you can bring in your harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil. ¹⁵ He will give you lush pastureland for your livestock, and you yourselves will have all you want to eat.
¹⁶ “But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods. ¹⁷ If you do, the Lord’s anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the Lord is giving you.
¹⁸ “So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. ²⁰ Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, ²¹ so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. 

The Biblical principles found in Ephesians 6:1-4 certainly apply to adults as well as to children.

They applied to Jesus.

Philippians 2:8 NLT
⁸     he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

We are commanded to obey those in authority.

Romans 13:1 NLT
Respect for Authority
^13:1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.

• A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live. 

“We will…tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord…
so that they should set their hope in God.”

Spirit-Guided Relationships: Children and Parents 

Ephesians 6:1-4 NLT
^6:1 Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. ² “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: ³ If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

• A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live.
• Obedience is the right thing to do.
• Obedience pleases the Lord.
• Honor is more than obedience. Honor recognizes the importance or value of obedience.
• The environment in a home (classroom) is more pleasant when obedience is being practiced.
• Fathers (parents), do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.
• The Lorddisciplines those he loves.
• There are numerous scriptures that are amazing similar to Ephesians 6:1-4 directed to us as adults.
• A Spirit-controlled (Spirit-Guided) life is necessary for living the life God has planned for us to live.

 

 

 

Jesus, the True Vine

From Redeemer’s web page (www.redeemerdayschool.org):

Our Mission

To provide a Christ-centered, teacher-directed, academically challenging school for Atlanta’s children while mentoring parents in Christ-centered child-rearing.

A brief summary of one of Redeemer’s Core Values.

Core value (under Christ-Centered)

Nurturing students in love for the Lord by learning the Bible is Truth.

Redeemer Day School teaches that all Scripture is truth.

2 Timothy 3:16 NLT
¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God (God breathed) and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. ¹⁷ God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Either you believe that everything from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 is truth or you don’t.

We, at Redeemer Day School, believe all of scripture is truth.

We may not understand everything we read in scripture, but we know that it is truth.

Our Mission

To provide a Christ-centered, teacher-directed, academically challenging school for Atlanta’s children while mentoring parents in Christ-centered child-rearing.

The words of Jesus clearly address the importance of Christ-centered lives.

Redeemer’s school verse.

Psalm 78:4-7 NLT
⁴ We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.
⁵ …
He commanded our ancestors
to teach them to their children,
⁶ so the next generation might know them—
even the children not yet born—
and they in turn will teach their own children.
⁷ So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
not forgetting his glorious miracles
and obeying his commands. 

One of Redeemer Day School’s primary reasons for existing is to share Biblical truths from both the Old and New Testament with all of the students. (verse 4)

At some point in their lives:

We want our students to learn to set their hope on Christ (God) and not on themselves. (verse 7) 

We want our students to come to understand Psalm 127:1 

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. — Psalm 127:1.

We want our students to live Christ-centered lives.

Our goals are clearly contrary to the goals of secular humanism and the modern paganism that goes with it.

A look at some of the Words of Jesus.

John 15:1-17 NLT
Jesus, the True Vine
^15:1 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³ You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. ⁷ But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! ⁸ When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
⁹ “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 

Examine the Scriptures:

John 15:1-10 NLT

This passage of scripture may have been directed to the disciples, but the principles of this passage apply to all believers.

^15:1 “I am

the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 

This is the last of the seven “I am” statements.

I am:

The bread of life
The light of the world
The door
The good shepherd
The resurrection and the life
The way and the truth and the life
The true vine 

² He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³ You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.  

• God, the gardener wants branches (people, Christians) who bear fruit (much fruit).

• We, at Redeemer Day School, want our students to be “Fruit bearers” – those who produce much fruit.

God does what is needed to make the vines produce fruit.
Pruning produces fruitfulness.

Most of us desire the same thing for our children, our students, and ourselves.

We pray for this.

Paul prayed for this

Colossians 1:9-10 NLT
⁹ So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰ Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. 

Another of Paul’s prayers:

Philippians 1:9-11 NLT
⁹ I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. ¹⁰ For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. ¹¹ May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God. 

Instructions from Jesus. (For our children, our students, and for us.) 

⁴ Remain in me, (abide)           

What does it mean to remain, or abide, in Christ?

 Accept Jesus as Savior.

Believe the truth of the Bible.

Obey God’s commands.

Committed to serving Jesus and obeying His Word.

John 8:31 NLT
³¹ Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. (We need to know the scripture.)

Colossians 1:21-23
²¹ This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. ²² Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
²³ But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.  

1 John 2:24 NLT
²⁴ So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father.

John 14:21 NLT
²¹ Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
²³ Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 

• Jesus instructs us to remain in Him.

and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 

• A branch out of contact with the vine is lifeless. 

⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. 

For apart from me (Christ) you can do nothing.  

Apart from Christ people do become doctors, lawyers, teachers, professional athletes, successful entrepreneurs, 

What is it that we can’t do without Jesus?  We can’t produce the fruit Christ wants us to produce. 

What does it mean to produce much fruit?

I can be the person God intended me to be.

I can live the life God has planned for me to live.

I can do everything God wants me to do.

I can bear the fruit God wants me to bear.

I can have the impact on others that God intends for me to have.

• Apart from Christ we can do nothing. 

• Our goal is for all of our students to learn to set their hope on Christ (God) and not on themselves. 

Gold, silver, and jewels vs. wood, hay, and stubble.

1 Corinthians 3:11-15

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 NLT
¹⁰ Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
¹² Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. ¹³ But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. ¹⁴ If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

Unless the Lord build …

Psalm 127:1-2 NLT
A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of Solomon.
¹ Unless the Lord builds a house,
the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.
² It is useless for you to work so hard
from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones. 

• Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.— Psalm 127:1 ESV 

• Are we teaching our students to build on wood, hay, and stubble or gold, silver, and jewels? 

⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. ⁷ But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! ⁸ When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
⁹ “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.  

• Obedience and love go together.

 What does this look like?

Psalm 1:1-3 NLT
¹ Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
² But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
³ They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do. 

Colossians 2:6-7 NLT
⁶ And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. ⁷ Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Psalm 92:12-15 NLT
¹² But the godly will flourish like palm trees
and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.
¹³ For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house.
They flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ Even in old age they will still produce fruit;
they will remain vital and green.
¹⁵ They will declare, “The Lord is just!
He is my rock!
There is no evil in him!”

A final thought.

Philippians 4:13 NLT
¹³ For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

I can be the person God intended me to be.

I can live the life God has planned for me to live.

I can do everything God wants me to do.

I can bear the fruit God wants me to bear.

I can have the impact on others that God intends for me to have.

 

Jesus, the True Vine

John 15:1-17 NLT
^15:1 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³ You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. ⁷ But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! ⁸ When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
⁹ “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

• Our goal is for students to learn to set their hope on Christ (God) and not on themselves.
• God, the gardener wants branches (people, Christians) who bear fruit (much fruit).
• Jesus instructs us to remain in Him.
• A branch out of contact with the vine is lifeless.
• Apart from Christ we can do nothing.
• Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.— Psalm 127:1.
• Are we teaching our students to build on wood, hay, and stubble or gold, silver, and jewels?
• Obedience and love go together.

Spirit-Guided Relationships: Wives and Husbands

Introduction:

Verses 22-24 are directed to wives,
Verses 25-32 are directed to husbands.
One is not dependent on the other.

Ephesians 5:21-33 NLT

²¹ And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
²² For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. ²³ For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. ²⁴ As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
²⁵ For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her ²⁶ to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. ²⁷ He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. ²⁸ In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. ²⁹ No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. ³⁰ And we are members of his body.<BR>³¹ As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” ³² This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. ³³ So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Examine the scriptures:

Ephesians 5:21-33 NLT
Spirit-Guided Relationships: Wives and Husbands

Previously: Instructions for holy living.

Ephesians 5:15-20 NLT
Living by the Spirit’s Power
¹⁵ So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. ¹⁶ Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. ¹⁷ Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. ¹⁸ Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, ¹⁹ singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. ²⁰ And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Without being filled with the Holy Spirit, it would be impossible to live up to the expectations of today’s passage of scripture. 

Verse 21 is addressed to all believers. 

²¹ And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Spirit-controlled believers are to submit to one another.

Christ’s example.

Matthew 20:28 NLT
²⁸ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

• Submission to others is not expressed out of fear or desire for personal gain, but out of reverence for Christ.

• No believer is inherently superior to any other believer. In their standing before God, they are equal in every way.

Submission does not mean inferiority.  Submission is recognizing God given roles.

Submission is accepting the role God has given to you, and respecting the role God has given to others.

• Submission results out of reverence for Christ and a recognition of God given roles.

Submit to others according to the order and authority established by God.

Examples:

Romans 13:1 NLT
Respect for Authority
¹ Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. 

Ephesians 6:1-4 NLT (Next Lesson)
Children and Parents
^6:1 Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. ² “Honor your father and mother.” 

Ephesians 6:5 NLT
Slaves and Masters
⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.

Today’s lesson:
Wives and Husbands

In each of these relationships the first partner is commanded to be to be submissive or obedient. The second partner is also to show submissiveness by his care and concern for the first partner. 

Note: The word obey does not appear in scripture with respect to wives, though it does with respect to children and slaves.

To submit (the way it is used in this passage) means to yield one’s own rights.

As educators a review of the following may help us better understand this passage.

In a school setting things go better when students submit to their teachers.
That does not mean that teachers are smarter or better than their students.
It does mean that the role of the teacher is different than the role of the student.
The student needs to respect the role of the teacher.
The teacher needs to love the student and have a desire to help the student learn and mature and develop into the person God intended them to be.

²² For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 

Instructions given to wives.

Other related scriptures:

1 Corinthians 11:3 NLT
³ But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

Colossians 3:18 NLT
¹⁸ Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.

1 Timothy 2:11-12 NLT
¹¹ Women should learn quietly and submissively. ¹² I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly.

Titus 2:4-5 NLT
⁴ These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, ⁵ to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

1 Peter 3:1-2 NLT
¹ In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over ² by observing your pure and reverent lives. 

• Wives submit to your husbands out of reverence for Christ. (v. 21)

• Submission is something wives should willingly and lovingly offer. It is not something for the husband to command.

Out of obedience to the Lord, a wife submits to her husband regardless of his personal worthiness or spiritual condition. 

²³ For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. ²⁴ As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.

• Husbands have a God given role of leadership in the family for the health of the marriage relationship. 

²⁵ For husbands, this means love your wives,

• Husbands are commanded to love their wives.

Instructions given to husbands.

Paul uses 9 verses to address the husband’s duty.
Paul used 3 verses to address the wife’s duty.

Other related scriptures:

1 Peter 3:7 NLT
Husbands
⁷ In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. 

Colossians 3:19 NLT
¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.

1 Corinthians 11:3 NLT
³ But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 

Husbands are commanded to submit to Christ.

Husbands are commanded to love and honor their wives.
Husbands are to treat their wives with understanding, being thoughtful of their needs.
Husbands should never treat their wives harshly.

• Love and honor are things husbands should willingly give to their wives. It is not something for the wives to command. 

just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her ²⁶ to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 

Husbands should love their wives with unreserved, selfless, and sacrificial love.

²⁷ He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. 

• A husband’s greatest desire for his wife should be that she grows in her relationship with God and becomes the person God intended her to be.

²⁸ In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. ²⁹ No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. ³⁰ And we are members of his body.

A husband should provide for the needs of his wife.  “… feeds and care for …”
Numerous translations say “… nourishes and cherishes …”.

• Husbands should love, prize and cherish their wives. 

³¹ As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 

Genesis 2:24 NLT
²⁴ This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

In marriage, the husband’s life is so intimately joined to the wife’s that they are one.

“Joined” carries the sense of a permanent or indissoluble union.

³² This is a great mystery,

• The unity of husband and wife is a great mystery.

Two becoming one. 

but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 

Christian marriages become a reflection of the union and relationship between the Lord and the church. 

³³ So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

• Christian marriages should be marked by love and respect.

Remember Paul’s (God’s) instructions for holy living.

Ephesians 5:18
… be filled with the Holy Spirit. … 

None of this is possible without God’s help.

Living by the Spirit’s Power

Introduction:

Good reminders of how we are to live.

Ephesians 5:15-20 NLT
¹⁵ So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. ¹⁶ Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. ¹⁷ Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. ¹⁸ Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, ¹⁹ singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. ²⁰ And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Examine the scriptures:
Ephesians 5:15-20 NLT
Living by the Spirit’s Power 

¹⁵ So be careful how you live. 

• Be careful how you live. 

• • Don’t be fooled by false teaching.

Colossians 2:8 NLT
⁸ Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 

Mark 13:22 NLT
²² For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

2 Peter 2;1-2 NLT
The Danger of False Teachers
^2:1 But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 

Be careful how you live. “The stakes are high.”

Matthew 7:13-14 NLT
¹³ “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. ¹⁴ But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

• • The stakes are high. 

Don’t live like fools, 

The word fool used here is not describing someone with intellectual limits, rather it is describing someone who does not believe the message of the gospel and is living apart from God and his Word. 

Proverbs 14:7 NLT
⁷ Stay away from fools,
for you won’t find knowledge on their lips.

Proverbs 1:22 NLT
²²   How long will you fools hate knowledge?

Luke 24:25 NLT
²⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures.

Galatians 3:1-3 NLT
^3:1 Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. ² Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. ³ How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 

Psalm 14:1 NLT
¹ Only fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.” 

• Don’t live like fools.

• • Fools do not believe the message of the gospel and are living apart from God and his Word. 

but like those who are wise.

Proverbs 1:7 NLT
⁷ Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

John 6:29 NLT
²⁹ Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

If you need wisdom:

James 1:5 NLT
⁵ If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

Colossians 1:9-10 NLT
⁹ So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰ Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

• Live wisely 

 ¹⁶ Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 

Colossians 4:5 NLT
⁵ Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. 

Our time on earth is brief.

James 4:14 NLT
¹⁴ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.

Psalm 39:4 NLT
⁴ “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is. 

• Our time on earth is brief. Make the most of every opportunity. 

¹⁷ Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. 

Spend time in the Word.

God’s general guidelines for life are found in the Bible.

God’s will for us is described throughout His Word.

Psalm 119:105 NLT
¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
and a light for my path.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
⁶ Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

Romans 12:2 NLT
² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Accept counsel from other believers.

Proverbs 11:14 NLT
¹⁴ Without wise leadership, a nation falls;
there is safety in having many advisers.

• Seek God’s will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

• Understand what the Lord wants you to do, and then do it.

Romans 12:6-8 NLT
⁶ In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. ⁷ If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. ⁸ If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. 

¹⁸ Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,

Do not get drunk on wine.

Galatians 5:16 NLT
¹⁶ So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Practical

Colossians 3:16 NLT
¹⁶ Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.

• Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. 

 ¹⁹ singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves,

Corporately worship the Lord.

Psalm 22:22 NLT (David)
²² I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you among your assembled people.

Psalm 100
A psalm of thanksgiving.
¹ Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
²     Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation. 

and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 

Not just in public, but also worship the Lord in private.

• Worship the Lord both corporately and privately. 

²⁰ And give thanks for everything to God the Father

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT
¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:6 NLT
⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 

• Give thanks for everything to God the Father. 

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

John 14:6 NLT
⁶ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 

Romans 8:34 NLT
Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. (Interceding for us.)

Jesus intercedes for us.

• Jesus Christ is our mediator and representative as we approach God.