Bible Study - Connected (5) - Connected in Service - Ephesians 5:15-21 - October 5, 2014

Bible Study – Connected (5) – Connected in Service – October 5, 2014

This is lesson five (5) in our series entitled “Connected: My Life in Church.”

Our focus scripture is Ephesians 5:15-21.

Serving in the church is not about what I want but what GOD wants and reveals to us individually and collectively through the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s read Ephesians 5:1-2 and 8 using the Amplified translation:

1 Therefore be imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father].

2 And walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.

8 For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [lead the lives of those native-born to the Light].

Christians are to be imitators of GOD who are in unity with GOD, CHRIST, the Holy Spirit and fellow Christians. Christians are the light of the world and as such we are to shine as the Holy Spirit leads us. This leads us to our focus scripture.

Let’s read Ephesians 5:15-17:

15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk —not as unwise people but as wise— 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

The King James version translates verse 15 “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,” “See” carries the idea of “take heed, look, beware, perceive, and discover” and means more than what our physical eyes perceive. What we see physically, we are to ponder, probe deeper and discern. Christians are to make it a habit of looking and watching how they walk. They must pay attention to where they step and also look around and observe as they step. The word “then” ties what Paul was writing in verses 15-17 to what he wrote in verses 1-2 and 8. 

The word “walk” means our lifestyle that is how we live on a daily basis. Does our lifestyle reflect our new life in Christ? Does our walk match our talk?

The word “circumspectly” carries the idea of a person walking across the narrow steel beam of a skyscraper high up with the wind blowing and it raining. Or if you recall Nik Wallenda’s tight rope walk across Niagara Falls in 2012. He was very careful with each step he took and the placement of his feet. The cable was wet, the wind was blowing and the cable sagging.

Circumspectly, as the Holman version translates it, means to “pay careful attention” to every step we take, as Christians. Life offers many opportunities to make a misstep as we walk along life’s paths. Christians must be diligent as they live each moment of each day and keep their minds focused upon CHRIST and listen to and respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Each person has the same 24 hour day, what will he or she do with it?

The most important decision a Christian can make is to be obedient to the will of GOD. That requires a Christian to yield his or her will to GOD and allows the Holy Spirit to lead and direct him or her according to the will and purpose of GOD in order to use time wisely.

Redeeming the time is not necessarily seconds, minutes and hours but a season of time. However, the season of time is filled with seconds, minutes and hours. When Christians walk as led by the Holy Spirit, they walk in wisdom and understanding because wisdom and understanding come from GOD.

Christians are to understand the will of GOD. First, Christians must have the desire to do the will of GOD and then seek the will of GOD. They have to move from “I want” to “Father, what do You want for me?” HIS desire is for HIS children to have an intimate, personal relationship with HIM and then for them to build upon that relationship. Honesty is necessary for any relationship to have a firm foundation and upon which to build.

GOD can speak and reveal HIS will and purpose any way HE chooses – through reading and studying the Bible, talking to HIM in prayer, listening, waiting and taking action as opportunities are revealed. When Christians are in an intimate, personal, dynamic relationship with CHRIST they are in the will of GOD. Building such an intimate relationship is accomplished through sanctification. Sanctification brings to the surface of our minds the things that Christians need to face and deal with, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Who or what controls our lives is vital. The Holy Spirit is vital to all Christians who desire to live wisely, recognize and seize the opportunities GOD has for them and for them to understand and respond to the will of GOD. Just as there is diversity of Spiritual gifts, GOD calls HIS chosen to be actively involved in HIS plan and purpose. HE gives the invitation but it is up to us to accept and respond.  

Let’s read Ephesians 5:18:

18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit:

Paul made it clear that Christians are not to allow substances such as wine to control their lives. When things control Christians, alcohol, sex, pornography, drugs, gambling, overeating, gossip and the list goes on, that means that the Holy Spirit does not. When Christians lean upon their own understanding, it means that the flesh is in control and blocks the Holy Spirit’s ability to reveal GOD’S direction to them. It robs the Christian of the joy their salvation and Christian fellowship because unity and trust has been broken.

When Christians are in unity with GOD, CHRIST and the Holy Spirit they are in unity with fellow Christians, including their family. The greatest field of service is our family. This is possible by Christians who are filled by the Holy Spirit. When a Christian is filled by the Holy Spirit, they have direct access to the wisdom of GOD.  

Christians are to be “filled by the Spirit.” What is being filled by the Holy Spirit mean? When is a Christian filled and how do they know it? Oh yes, these are powerful questions most Christians ponder.

At the instant of salvation, the shed blood of CHRIST redeems us from the consequences of sin and eternal death. The new Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Salvation is the beginning of the Christian’s walk with JESUS and the sanctification process. Sanctification means being set aside to be used for the purposes of GOD. It is the process of renewing the mind and bringing the flesh, the natural will, under the influence and control of the Holy Spirit. This is accomplished by building an intimate, personal relationship with CHRIST. We must become very best friends with CHRIST.

We see attempts of some Christian circles or groups to achieve this relationship through strict rules and regulations. But when man erects unwise parameters it usually means trouble. Christians must lead by example. They must recognize that each individual must be led by the Holy Spirit to see his or her need for salvation. Do those with whom we come into contact, family, friends and associates see the joy, Spiritual growth and personal relationship in us which comes from obedient service to our LORD JESUS?  

The Bible is clear that parents are to bring up a child in the way he or she should go and when the child is old, the child will not depart from it. Parents must be the role model for their children. They must discipline and train their children. Christians must be the role model not only to their families but to fellow Christians and non-Christians. Consistency and integrity are necessary attributes of Christians.

How is this possible? It is not possible without being filled with, controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit.

So when are Christians filled with the Holy Spirit? They are filled at the instant of their salvation. But some may say, “But I had a second experience that was Spiritually powerful.” So did I many years ago. I received CHRIST as my Savior around the age of 10. I did not know that I was saved. I was baptized when I was about 20 years old. About the age of 34, after trying to live the Christian life in my own strength, I gave up and asked the LORD to take my life, good and bad, and to give me the strength live the Christian life. HE did in an instant. It was a WOW!!! moment. In that instant my life changed and for the first time I knew that I was a child of GOD. My eyes were opened to truth and the beginning of an exciting journey of building a relationship with GOD through CHRIST.

This was exciting but it was just another step in the sanctification process. I had false notions and my own ideas about GOD that needed to be dealt with. Over the years it has been a journey of discovery and getting to know GOD. About 7 years ago, my wife and I studied “Experiencing God” written by Dr. Henry Blackaby and Claude V King, published by LifeWay Press in Nashville, TN. While going through this study, the LORD and I developed a more intimate, personal relationship. I had to confess some things that had built a barrier in our relationship.

In my upper 70’s, I am still a Christian under construction.

We all have a desire to succeed in life. We seek all sorts of things which appeal to our egos but what is the most important for us to seek? JESUS said it best in Matthew 6:33:

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

A Christian’s priority is to seek the kingdom of GOD and HIS righteousness. Christians need to have the desire to have the fullness of CHRIST emanate from them, which is accomplished by being filled by the Holy Spirit. Is there more than one filling of the Holy Spirit? No, there is one filling that lasts a lifetime. Christians are constantly being filled by the Holy Spirit as they make room for HIM in their lives. As the Holy Spirit reveals the things in our lives that need to be removed and they are removed, they must be replaced by the Holy Spirit. The question is who is in charge? That is where our will raises its head in our lives. Do we yield our will to GOD or not? To yield takes trust in HIM.

How do Christians know when they are complete? It is when they are made into the image of CHRIST and in complete unity with GOD their Father.

Paul gives us some clarity regarding how to measure our progress as he wrote in Galatians 5:22-23:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

When Christians experience the leadership of the Holy Spirit in their lives they minister where GOD directs them using the Spiritual gift or gifts HE has equipped them with in unity with HIS will.

The Apostle Paul gave us examples of what it means to be filled by the Holy Spirit as we read our next scripture. Being filled by the Holy Spirit is reflected in our lives as we journey each day.

Let’s read Ephesians 5:19-21:

19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music from your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.

These three verses reflect the heart and attitude of those filled by the Holy Spirit.

Obedience and yielding to the Holy Spirit leads Christians to experience the joy of their salvation. Unity pleases GOD, CHRIST and the Holy Spirit because in unity, Christians embrace one another in a common goal and serve as directed by GOD by the Holy Spirit. There is harmony.

Speaking and singing is a reflection and outpouring of the heart filled with the presence of GOD and gratitude for being redeemed from sin and eternal death by the shed blood of JESUS. Being filled by the Holy Spirit, through an intimate, dynamic relationship with CHRIST, comes from Christians knowing and trusting GOD because HE is sovereign and in control of all things. They see, through their Spiritual eyes, that they are connected by their faith in CHRIST to the living Spiritual body. They are a vital to the function, unity and harmony of the living Spiritual body in conjunction with fellow Christians. Christians have the common bond of being GOD’S children and are in unity with the living Spiritual body through their faith and trust in CHRIST. As such, Christians submit to each other in the work of the living Spiritual body because they are being led and guided by the indwelling Holy Spirit, Who is the communication link with CHRIST, the head. CHRIST, in turn, knows the plans and purpose of GOD. GOD has given over all things into the hands of CHRIST to complete. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:20-28:

20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the • firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at His coming, those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when He abolishes all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He puts all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy to be abolished is death. 27 For God has put everything under His feet. But when it says “everything” is put under Him, it is obvious that He who puts everything under Him is the exception. 28 And when everything is subject to Christ, then the Son Himself will also be subject to the One who subjected everything to Him, so that God may be all in all.    

Every Christian is part of GOD’S plan and purpose, therefore when we yield our will to CHRIST and allow the Holy Spirit to lead, direct and control our lives each moment, we experience HIS presence. Our part is to yield and HIS part is to fill, equip, lead, empower and direct. Blessings!!!