Obey Your Parents!

A particular passage of scripture is examined around our house more than any other these days; Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.” With three children under the age of three, we find ourselves quoting/teaching it nearly every day of the week. During a recent family devotion time we captured the following audio. Click play or download below to hear how well-acquainted our girls are with this topic.

Download Obey Your Parents!

Reflecting on Ephesians

I hope you had the opportunity to follow our daily devotions from the book of Ephesians over the past ten days. Tomorrow we will pick up a series in Genesis, which we began, but were unable to complete several months ago. At the end of each book, I will post a PDF download containing every entry in the series. It will allow us time to reflect, and serve as a fitting end to the study. Tomorrow I will also begin work on a separate page containing all of our previous completed series. For now, I would encourage you to download Ephesians.

Ephesians 6:19-20

“And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Paul was urging the Ephesian church to, as part of the armor of God, pray. Here he makes a specific request for himself as he ministers for the Lord. If only every believer made this request today. What the lost world needs is a few men and women willing to open their mouths boldly. Paul did not make this request simply because he was an Apostle and preacher. He believed and taught that all Christians should proclaim the gospel. Indeed, every one of us “ought to speak” boldly. Why is it then that we are so often ruled by fear? I think the key lies in the overall topic of the passage, which is prayer. We need to both pray for strength and commitment for ourselves, as well as asking others for prayer. If anything is lacking on church request lists today it is our urgent need for powerful and courageous gospel preaching. Let’s not forget it the next time we meet together to seek our Lord!

Ephesians 6:1-3

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” Something that seems so elementary occurred to me as I was reading this passage. Just as Paul had spoken to the husbands and wives directly in previous verses, he was also speaking directly to children here. Paul meant for children to be reading this scripture! It seems so ridiculous to point it out, but I am afraid sometimes that we overlook that fact. Children’s hearts are not changed by Bible stories alone, they are turned toward God by the very words of scripture. Many of our Sunday School materials tell stories, but never actually focus on the text. Read the Bible to your young ones, and get them a Bible of their own. God’s word is profitable to everyone, and is written for all, both young and old. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our children were to grasp the concept of obedience as a result of their own reading, without need for a constant reminder from adults?

Ephesians 5:15-16

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Walking circumspectly and redeeming the time are both hard and constant jobs. As I read this exhortation I thought again of how broad the scope of our Christianity should be. Indeed the entirety of our lives should be (moment by moment) spent for His glory. We do not have time to catch our breath or lay down our armor, as the battle rages twenty four hours every day. It is late at night as I write this devotion, yet I knew I must spend time in God’s word, and in reflection on what it says. I cannot afford one evening of neglect, for tomorrow will bring spiritual struggle I cannot foresee. Though life often makes us weary, we should never fail in vigilance, redeeming every waking moment in this evil age. The morning will come early tomorrow, and some may have argued I need physical rest more the rehash of a few familiar scriptures. I am confident however, that God’s reminder of diligence in His service will profit me spiritually for the day to come.

Ephesians 5:3-4

“But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.” Should foolish talking be in the same category with fornication? According to Paul, neither should be once named among Christians. These type of lists in scripture often surprise us. They name what we would consider horrible sins, right along side actions we consider minor. No sin is minor, in fact it is likely the sins we have overlooked that are doing the most damage. The typical believer goes an entire lifetime without getting involved in gross sin. Still, that same average believer may have had a life-long poor witness, because he involved himself in many “well accepted” sins. They include the two mentioned here; foolish talking, and jesting, which refer to a careless way of speaking that focuses on worldly and ungodly things. Let’s be careful not to overlook any sin in our lives, no matter how common it may be.

Ephesians 4:29

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” I wonder how many of us consider whether or not our words minister grace unto the hearers? This type of speech puts the hearer first, and the speaker second. We don’t like to be in second place; that is why we often disobey God’s commands. While our concern ought to be for the welfare of the hearer, we are too often more interested in making our thoughts or feelings heard. We get our point across and let the chips fall where they may, instead of carefully considering whether or not our “point” is even needed. Some of the most corrupt, non-edifying, non-graceful words you will ever say will turn out to have been (in the final analysis) totally unnecessary. In reality, some of the most articulate and Godly communicators around put a high premium on silence. Now I’d better stop talking and let you think about that!

Ephesians 3:16

“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;” Someone asked me the other day how I would describe the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Christ. He said I could go in any direct I wanted, as long as I kept it within five sentences. Well, I think I went longer than five sentences, but in the end I applied the answer by saying we need to be strengthened in the inner man. Now I’ll try to clear up your confusion. I said I was struck most by the fact that God chose to allow His son to be crucified for us, and how Jesus chose to submit. They made these choices based upon their perfect character. This is precisely why we must focus on developing our own character, working from the inner man out. That is the only way we will build enough strength to make the kind of choices Jesus, and His Father made. The point is, God did what He did, because of who He was. In the same way, we act based upon who we are. Therefore we should concentrate on our inner man, realizing internal holiness results in external obedience.

Ephesians 3:8

“Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;” Have you ever considered the fact that Paul thought himself “less than the least”? If this is true of the Apostle, most of us are in serious trouble. Still, we are also granted the grace to preach Christ unto Jews, Gentiles, and indeed all creatures. Why is it that grace is needed in the preaching of this message? First, no man that has failed to accept the grace of God by receiving His son is equipped to present the message. Second, no man that has failed to grasp his incomprehensible need for grace will have the desire to proclaim it. The message of the cross is a strange thing to the unbeliever. They have no experience with grace, outside the meager offering of the world. At the same time, a sinner made clean by the blood of Christ cannot cease to be overwhelmed by it. We are saved by God’s grace, through the faith that He chooses to give us by His grace! It’s no wonder Paul calls the riches of Christ unsearchable.

Ephesians 2:3

“Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” If a man who is born again by Christ is ever tempted to look down his long nose at a sinful world, he ought to remember the theme of this verse. Many believers today are outraged by the sins of a generation without Christ. We should instead remember our own lives without Him! Christians should never be surprised that lost people engage in gross sin with no conscience or remorse. They are simply walking in slavery to “the desires of the flesh and of the mind”. This is not an excuse for secular society to do wrong, it is simply a fact of reality that should prompt us to do more witnessing than protesting. We were, and sometimes are (presently); “even as others”. Sinners saved by grace are not better than other sinners, we are simply capable of recognizing evil and avoiding it. Yet even these capabilities cannot be used to elevate our sense of self-righteousness, because they are provided exclusively by God’s Holy Spirit.