The paragraph is short but powerful!
It's Paul at his best!
"Be ye therefore
followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ
also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering
and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 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. For this ye know, that no whoremonger,
nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath
any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man
deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh
the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye
therefore partakers with them." Ephesians 5:1-7
I've just finished reading a book, one of the
most difficult ever. It's an overview of philosophy, evil
philosophy. Maybe I had better say it is a compendium of wicked
ideology! The Volume reviews and exposes a dozen or more of the
most damaging books ever written!
Nearly all of these "target" books, directly
or indirectly, explain and encourage the human propensity to
immorality! The men and women who authored these things
range in scope from naturalists to communists to fascists to
so-called scientists to even feminists!
These works are filled with lies, but with
lies dressed to look like truth! John 8:44 nearly personifies
the spirit of these writers. "Ye are of
your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will
do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie,
he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
And do remember the devil's main method of
operation: "The god of this world hath
blinded the minds of them which believe not." 2nd
Corinthians 4:4
Today we shall study the first verse of our
Text.
It's short. "Be ye
therefore followers of God, as dear children." Ephesians
5:1 is of course written to Christians. "Children" is
represented by the Greek noun "teknon," one's "offspring," often
with this implication, "having likeness to his or her father!"
"Dear," the accompanying adjective, is
spelled "agapetos." Anyone can see the noun "agape" therein. A
deeply unselfish abiding kind of love. A giving love! In its
highest form ascribed to God!
Paul is definitely writing Ephesians 5:1-7 to
the saints of God!
The Greek lexicons say of the opening verb,
translated "be ye," using the standard grammatical sequence:
"verb, imperative mood, present tense, middle or passive
voice, 2nd person plural."
"Be ye" is a command here! That's what an
"imperative" is!
God requires such of His people, the quality
expressed next in the verse, "following" Him!
"Be ye" is also an ongoing, durative way of
life for the Believer too. Not a one-time thing! A lifestyle!
Hence, "present tense."
But here's the ambiguous thing. Purposely so
I'm sure. The voice is either "middle or passive!" The verb form
here used is compatible with both! If indeed "be ye" is in the
"middle" voice, our obeying this injunction will impact us so
much that we'll be changed in the process! If it's a
"passive" voice, we are not even the ones doing the changing!
God is! We merely respond to His Holy Spirit!
And Paul is writing not to just one Christian
somewhere. If so, the verb would have been "singular" in number.
But instead, it's "plural." A group! The "Church" at Corinth!
They are being addressed collectively.
"Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children."
The noun "followers" is "mimetes." It is
built upon "mimeomai," meaning "to imitate!" Actually our
English word "mimic" is borrowed form these terms! Is anyone old
enough to remember the old "mimeograph" machines? Primitive
duplicators!
In a good sense, we are being told to "mimic"
our Heavenly Father!
That's what a "teknon" does! A child learns
from his Father or Mother! She has no other source of knowledge
in early life!
This Verse alone, if obeyed diligently, would
solve many an "issue" for the family of God!
Such "problems" Paul will soon mention in
full, wicked things like fornication, covetousness, filthiness,
foolish talking, improper jesting, even idolatry!
Grandma used to say, "An ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure!" Nowadays it might be worth a "ton" of
cure!
This Passage is so brief each of us could
memorize it today, including the reference! Let's try!
"Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear
children." Ephesians 5:1
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 2, VERSE 2:
Our Text, Ephesians 5:1-5, is basically a sermon against sin,
especially and particularly sexual sins. Things like fornication
and filthiness and foolishness, all sensual in nature.
But Paul begins his Message with an emphasis
on the love of God!
Partly, "Walk in love,
as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. But
fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be
once named among you."
What does that, the precious love of God, as
positive a truth as there is in all the Bible, have to do
with overcoming some of the most hideous of all sins,
negative as they can be?
Avoid fornication!
Live in the Love of God!
This is ... overcoming false love, lust
really, with the Real Thing, with Real Love!
Almost as if Truth and pristine
Beauty and genuine Love, the very Essence of Almighty
God, could expel the devil's pack of lies, replete moral
ugliness and ultra selfish lust!
And do so handily!
Love overcoming sin!
Isn't this what Simon Peter at least "hints"
in 1st Peter 4:8? "And above all things
have fervent charity among yourselves:
for charity shall cover
the multitude of sins."
And John, in His first Epistle, does too!
Watch!
Love first, God's Love!
Then victory over sin, all kinds of sin!
"Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man
love the world,
the love of the Father
is not in him." 1st John 2:15
Love expelling the sins of the world!
More ... "Love not the
world, neither the things that are in the world. If any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For
all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world." Now we have
Verses 15 and 16 of 1st John chapter 1, elaborating the defeated
sins! Three categories of them!
All are "slain" by Love!
Conquering Love!
Overcoming Love!
The blessed Love of God!
Of course, let me be quick to mention, God's
Love is culminated at Calvary! It is illustrated with the
precious flowing Blood of Jesus! "For God
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." John 3:16's "giving" occurred on
Golgotha's Hill!
Sometimes a person can be "loved" out of sin
more easily that he can be "beaten" of of sin!
Back to today's Verse, today's full Verse.
"And walk in love, as
Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."
Ephesians 5:2
The verb "walk," in Greek "peripateo," refers
to one's whole manner of life. One's overall conduct! The path
he or she walks day in and day out! "Peri" means all "around."
And "pateo" means "to tread" with one's feet. The Bible is full
of lovely "word pictures!"
"Love," both times it appears in the Verse,
is "agape" or "agapao," a noun and a verb respectively. It
infers God's Love, deep abiding love, never-ending love,
unselfish love, giving love, giving
no-matter-how-its-recipient-responds love! Miraculous Love! 1st
Corinthians 13 Love!
Jesus has "loved" us so much, so deeply, so
overwhelmingly, at Calvary, that such Love should
permeate and saturate and imbue our lives from end to end! We
love ... because He first loved!
We've even learned how to love ... because
we've experienced His great Love!
In our Verse today, we "love," present tense!
Because He "has loved" us; aorist tense, past
tense, even a 2,000-years-ago sense!
And again, just like John 3:16 quoted
earlier, the Holy Spirit links "loving" and "giving!" See here:
"Walk in love, as Christ also
hath loved us,
and hath given
Himself for us." Amen!
"Paradidomai," an intensive verb due to its
prefix, means "to give" in this sense, "to deliver, to commit,
to place in custody!" To put oneself into the hands of another!
Jesus did this on the Cross!
The preposition, "for," as in "for us,"
translates "huper," meaning "in the place of" someone else! "In
behalf of" him or her or them! Jesus died in your place, and
mine! This is sometimes called "vicarious" Death, or "vicarious"
Atonement. A "vicar" is one who has taken the place of another!
Then, in rapid succession, Jesus is likened
to three metaphors.
He is an "offering!"
The noun is "prosphora" and means "to carry"
something ("phero") "before" (in front of, "pros") Almighty God!
Jesus, through His shed Blood, sinless and
powerful, picks us up, old sinners repenting from their past,
and sets us down in the very heavenly Presence of the eternal
God!
Offering!
Next, Jesus is a "sacrifice!" Now "thusia"
means someone or something that has been "immolated, slain,
brutally put to death" such as a little lamb ... for religious
purposes. To "cover" sin! This is a bloody word! But,
"without the shedding of blood there is no
remission," says Hebrews 9:22.
Then, lastly, Jesus is "a sweetsmelling
savour." That's the Greek term for a pleasant fragrance! In the
Song of Solomon the Bride is constantly telling her Groom, Her
Husband, Her Lover, that He smells good!
"Because of the savour of Thy good ointments Thy name is as
ointment poured forth." Song of Solomon 1:3
Jesus' Death on Calvary, as the Perfect
Substitute and the Obedient Son and the sinless Sacrifice, is
infinitely pleasing to God the Father!
Is fragrant to Him!
Here's Leviticus 1:9, written by Moses
thousands of years ago! It's talking about the whole burnt
offering, a little dying lamb, but certainly a direct picture of
Jesus on the Cross! "But his inwards and
his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all
on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made
by fire, of a sweet
savour unto the LORD."
Jesus' Death, the way to Heaven!
Such love as this, "Behold what manner of
Love," has the awesome power to drive out of our lives all
kinds of sins!
Including fornication and all uncleanness,
covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, jesting, and all the
rest!
Out-of-this-world Love!
Oh, by the way, when Paul tells us to "walk"
in such love, "peripateo" there is framed as an imperative
verb!
It's a command!
Not an option!
Yes, "Be ye therefore
followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ
also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering
and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."
That's our Text, so far!
More tomorrow!
What a Book, the Bible!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3, VERSE 3:
Our Verse for today, Ephesians 5:3, gets to the very "heart" of
our Text. Paul is really preaching! "But
fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be
once named among you, as becometh saints."
This Verse, along with a dozen or so others,
is why Paul is known as the Apostle who hated anything
"physical!" Anything "sexual" in nature!
As with most impetuous accusations, this one
is wrong, seriously wrong! If Paul "hated" sex and physical love
and marriage and even women, why did he pen such things as:
"Husbands, love your
wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself
for it." Ephesians 5:25
"Husbands, love your
wives, and be not bitter against them." Colossians
3:19
"Teach the young women
to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children."
Titus 2:4
Paul even defended his right to marry and
travel with his wife from place to place!
"Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as
other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and
Cephas?" 1 Corinthians 9:5
"Let every man have his own wife,
and let every woman have her own husband." 1st
Corinthians 7:2
"He that is married
careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please
his wife." Then, "She that
is married careth for the things of the world, how she may
please her husband." 1st Corinthians 7:33-34
And "Marriage is
honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and
adulterers God will judge." Hebrews 13:4
It's not all things sexual that Paul
dislikes, but things that violate God's Word. Things like:
"Thou shalt not commit adultery,"
or even, "Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife
...."
Moral purity, likeness to our Saviour as much
as is humanly possible, is Paul's driving motive here.
Especially here in today's Text Verse.
"But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it
not be once named among you, as becometh saints." Again,
this is Ephesians 5:3.
The Roman Empire had become so sensual, so
perverse, so driven by its base desires! The saints of God, when
living Biblically, would "shine" in such moral darkness as
"lights" to that dark world! And Paul knew it!
"That ye may be blameless and harmless,
the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and
perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.
Holding forth the word of life." Paul wrote this to the
Philippians, who lived in the middle of such Roman filth!
Paul has written a list, so far with only
three members, to be avoided! "Not once named" among the saints
of God! The adverb "once" is "mede," a blending of "me" and "de"
in Greek, meaning "no, never" and "but, to the contrary"
respectively. Look again at "once" in the Verse:
"But fornication, and all uncleanness, or
covetousness, let it not be
once named among
you, as becometh saints."
Paul is serious!
The general population in Paul's day would
have thought this command to be stupid! Anti-social! From some
other strange world! Outrageous! Perhaps psychologically
harmful!
And so do people today!
The verb "named," in Greek "onomazo," can
even mean "mentioned!" Not a "hint" of this stuff! So warns
Paul!
Pursue lives that are "becoming" to the
saints of God! Here "prepo" means "proper, suitable, fit," but
more literally "eminent, conspicuous, outstanding!" When
standing alone, "prepo" means "to stick out, to tower up!"
"Saints" are those who are "clean, separated,
holy ones." The word is "hagios," people "set apart," actually
"consecrated" to God!
Live like the children of God, commands Paul!
Yes, the verb "named," as in "not once named," is in the
imperative mood! It's an absolute requirement for the Christian
life!
Now, specifically, three sins are listed.
"Fornication," in Greek "porneia," is derived
from a verb that literally means "to prostitute one's body to
the lust of another." Further back, "porne" is a person who
"sells" his or her body for sexual purposes. It means "unlawful
sexual intercourse," according to one dictionary. And for Paul
the "law" in view is not civil, but Biblical!
No sexual relationships outside of marriage!
Not for the Saint of God!
Now once a person is married, Paul reverses
this stand! With one's own mate! Here is Paul on the "physical"
side of marriage. "Let the husband render
unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto
the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the
husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own
body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it
be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to
fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt
you not for your incontinency." This, 1st Corinthians
7:3-5, is his solution to the "fornication" problem for the
Believer! "Nevertheless, to avoid
fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every
woman have her own husband." Verse 1 of the 1st
Corinthians 7 context.
It's definitely "no" to fornication!
One sin down ... two to go!
Next comes "uncleanness." It originally just
meant "dirt," as is often on the floor, needing to be swept
away. That's an example. Then it came to mean "ceremonial
defilement," things like having touched a dead body, as when one
is a pallbearer or something. When that happened a Jew could not
go to the Temple and worship God for a set period of time. He
was ritually unclean in the eyes of God. Eating pork or enjoying
catfish would have done the same thing too, for an Old Testament
Israelite. Of course, dead bodies still had to be interred! The
dead were still respected. Someone just had to be purified
religiously.
Then "akatharsia" arrived at the meaning
Paul's using here, "moral impurity." Sexually dirty! Lustful
profligacy! Simon Peter wrote about dirty old men who,
"Having eyes full of adultery, cannot
cease from sin." 2nd Peter 2:14
Then thirdly, and strangely, avoid
"covetousness" requires Paul! The noun is "pleonexia," hailing
from the verb "echo," meaning "to have, to hold, to grasp" and
the adjective "pleion," that is "more and more and more!" This
is a word picture! Hands full, again and again!
Grabbing for more and more! Never satisfied!
Ever hungry!
But here, obviously, "covetousness" is being
used in a sexual sense. More and more things of the flesh!
Excuse me, I'm just going to say it, "More sex! Then more! Then
more again!"
Hooked!
Like a person on narcotics!
Insatiable!
An addict, to ungodly men or women!
That's the way the heathen world lived! And
still does!
And such a lifestyle is creeping into the
Church today as well!
Paul is starkly drawing a line!
Stop!
No!
It can't be!
"But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it
not be once named among you, as becometh saints."
Period!
And the Word of God has not changed over the
past two thousand years, either!
What's so wrong with "loose" American
Christianity?
Or is it even Christianity anymore?
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4, VERSE 4:
The Verse is prohibitive.
It forbids certain activities for the
Christian.
Yet this is not a case of mere denial.
Something better has taken the place of the now absent
lifestyle.
Well, really, more than just taken its place!
It has expelled it!
It has outclassed it!
The "new" life is so superior to the "old"
life that practically no choice remains!
"Be ye therefore
followers of God, as dear children," Ephesians 5:1. God
loves us ... like His Own children! God is Holy! If I follow
Him, I will be that way too! Not within myself, but by the power
of the Holy Spirit! "Because it is
written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." God is here being
quoted in 1st Peter 1:16.
God's Love literally overcomes my love for
the world! If Someone loves me this much ...
"Christ also hath loved us, and hath given
Himself for us an Offering and a Sacrifice" ... no other
love can compare! Ephesians 5:2
Therefore, sins that insult and belittle
Almighty God, sins that question His Lordship, His Supreme
Status in my life, must be extinguished! Conquered!
"Not once named," says Paul in no
uncertain terms!
Here are the first three:
"But fornication, and all uncleanness, or
covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh
saints." Ephesians 5:3
Now, we're ready for Verse 4, more things
that should have "fallen away" by now! Just like old dead
leaves, those few remaining "stubborn" ones, finally "drop" from
the tree in the Springtime, when the invigorating sap begins to
rise, infusing new life into the tree, forcing out the old and
the dead ... bringing in the new and the vibrant! That's how the
Holy Spirit, the Love of God, our New Creaturehood, a Born-again
life ... expel these next three sins!
"Neither filthiness,
nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but
rather giving of thanks." Ephesians 5:4
Let's get started.
"Filthiness" translates "aischrotes," a noun
used only here in all the Bible! However, it does have a few
relatives in Scripture, all related to the word "shame." These
are activities that should "shame" us! Disgraceful! Obscene!
Base! Venal!
Of course some people can slide so far into
sin that even "shameful" things do not phase them one bit!
Listen to Paul describe this crowd, "They
are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is
destruction, whose God is their belly, and
whose glory is in their
shame, who mind earthly things." Philippians 3:19,
note the capitalized clause!
But for the saint of God, no "shameful" acts!
"Foolish talking," another hapax legomenon,
is spelled "morologia." This compound word links the Greek word
for "fool," that's "moros," and their word for "talk" or
"words," the very familiar "logos." That's "foolish" in the
sense of being impious, ungodly!
Even our words are to be sanctified!
Listen to Jesus in Matthew 12:36.
"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."
Wow! Our Lord's word for "idle" is "argos," meaning "not
working!" Useless! Not profitable! Unemployed! Not producing
something good! The prohibitive "a" in front of "ergon," common
"work or labor!"
Then, no "jesting" is allowed! "Eutrapelia"
means "well-turned!" A cute little "turn" of words, with a dirty
slant of course, meant to be humorous! A filthy joke, in other
words! Sensual comedy! Double meanings in the moral sense! Maybe
it goes even this far, a "light" or "frivolous" lifestyle! This
is another "one time only" word in the New Testament.
But then Paul, compositely, says of all these
sins ... "fornication, and all uncleanness, covetousness,
filthiness, foolish talking, and jesting" ...
"which are not convenient."
What does this mean? "Convenient" is "aneko,"
usually meaning "not to have come or arrived or achieved
intimacy" with a person. Paul is saying of these sins something
like this: "This is not where you are headed! You will not find
closeness to Jesus here! These things are not fit for the
Believer!" This same clause, "not convenient" or "not fit,"
occurs in Colossians 3:18. "Wives, submit
yourselves unto your own husbands,
as it is fit in
the Lord."
Then Paul adds one more thing!
Not something to be omitted, but included!
The "giving of thanks!"
It's almost as if this "thanksgiving" can
further ward off these sins!
A "sin repellant!"
The word "giving thanks" is lovely too! It is
spelled "eucharistia," It combines the Greek word for "good,"
that's "eu," and the noun "grace" or "charis!"
Good Grace!
Literally!
Talk much of God's
good grace
in your life! And express to Him sincere appreciation for it!
That's truly giving thanks, the Bible way!
And, just maybe, that spontaneous
thanksgiving will further lessen the "pull" of these malicious
sins too!
Today's whole Verse again, things "not once"
to be named among us Christians: "Neither
filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not
convenient: but rather giving of thanks."
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 5, VERSE 5:
Today's Verse is blunt!
It leaves no doubt in one's mind!
"For this ye know, that
no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an
idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of
God." Ephesians 5:5
The verbal adjective "know" translates "ginosko,"
which often includes "perceiving and understanding" as well as
the acquiring of knowledge.
The personal pronoun "ye" is included in
another little verb, nearly hidden, "eimi" in its 2nd person
plural form. Paul is preaching to a group, the whole Church at
Ephesus!
No exceptions!
It seems that in Paul's mind no true
Christianity can really exist ("eimi") in the presence of these
sensual sins!
These kinds of people, simply stated, are
just NOT saved!
They have no part in the Kingdom of God!
Who are they?
Paul is specific!
"Whoremongers" utilizes the noun "pornos,"
which we studied earlier in this series of lessons. It means a
"fornicator." It is from the verb "pernemi" and means "to sell."
One who sells his body! Yes, male prostitutes existed n Paul's
day, as well as female. Both secularly and religiously they were
abundantly present in the polytheistic Greek-Roman world.
"Unclean" people, "akathartos," are stained
with filth and impurity. Morally and spiritually again! "Kathairo"
first means "to cleanse" from dirt! Then from ritual impurity!
And finally, from the darkness of sin! The little "a" in front
of the word, the alpha privative, negates the meaning. NOT
cleansed! These are folks who sin and sin and sin, chain
sinning, with no thought of repentance or remorse, even though
they "profess" to be saved!
Yes, the true Christian sins, but not on a
wholesale level! Not with impunity! Not without sorrow! The
saint of God has learned to use 1st John 1:9 consistently!
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness."
The idea of "covetousness" enters the list, a
sensual list obviously, because lust and its companions are
never satisfied! The word picture behind "covetousness" is a
person who always wants more of a thing! "Pleonektes,"
a noun, is built upon the Greek verb "echo," meaning "to
vigorously hold on to something," and "pleion," meaning "more
and more!"
More girlfriends, for the sex fiend!
More affairs, for the libertine!
More one night stands, for the fornicator!
And once a person gets this far, he or she
has become a devotee to one's "base" desires! Living only to
satisfy his or her flesh!
Sensuality has become their very god!
Hence, they are "idolaters." If any person
covets something MORE than God, he or she is immediately an
idolater anyway! By definition! "Eidolon" is the Greek word for
an idol. And "latreuo" is the verb for "serving or ministering"
in a religious sense. A "servant" of sin!
Paul has built a "progression" here, a
downward spiraling one! That is; initially fornication (where it
all starts), then a filthy lifestyle (where it leads), then
covetousness (once it's a habit) and finally idolatry (an
addiction by now) ... with absolutely no room for Almighty God!
These folks, pleasant as they seem, and they
well may be physically alluring, personality plus types, have no
"inheritance" in God's Kingdom!
The modifier "no," used once in our Verse but
implied twice more, is the "absolute" negative in Greek! It is
placed just before the verb in the Textus Receptus; people who
do NOT have any place in Heaven!
Saved people are forgiven, and they stay
clean in their moral lives!
Whereas mere religious "professors," folks in
Church but not in Christ, might live just anyway they
please, loosely speaking.
The noun "inheritance" is "kleronomia," part
of an estate. That which was given you in the "will" of a
deceased loved one! "Nomos" means "law" in Greek. And "kleros"
is any object used to make decisions, as in the casting of
"lots," for example.
If you are saved, God has placed you in His
"Will!" You have an inheritance in Glory! A mansion! Citizenship
in that fair Land! Eternal Joy! Companionship with Jesus,
unendingly!
And, perhaps just to be conclusive, Paul uses
two terms for Heaven, for the future state of the Child of God.
He leaves no room for doubt here.
Both "the kingdom of Christ" and "and of God"
are listed! That's encircles Heaven and New Jerusalem and the
Millennial Kingdom, everything future and glorious and wonderful
for God and Christ and the redeemed!
No Verse could be more clear!
Christianity has given the world quite a
gift, moral purity!
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6, VERSE 6:
Today's Verse is frightening!
Unless one has been saved by the Grace of
God!
"Let no man deceive you
with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of
God upon the children of disobedience." Ephesians 5:6
Any Verse that threatens the "wrath" of God
is very serious!
The noun for "wrath" here is spelled "orge."
It means "anger" but with this nuance, "an anger that lasts
indefinitely, always calling for judgment." The Greek teachers
often contrast "orge" with a synonym, "thumos," a more agitated
but less lengthy episode of fury.
While all sinners are subject to the wrath of
God; "He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not
see life; but the wrath
of God abideth on him," it also seems that certain
"sins" invite His wrath in a particular way.
A few named sins especially arouse God's
anger! Even to the point of holy hatred! Here's an example.
"These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are
an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and
hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked
imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false
witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord
among brethren." Proverbs 6:16-19
So, to all lovers of fornication,
uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, coarse
jesting, "whoremongering" Paul calls it in Ephesians 5, beware!
"Because of these things cometh the wrath
of God upon the children of disobedience."
The verb "cometh," in Greek "erchomai," is
famed in the present tense. It just keeps on coming and coming!
Until a person repents and gets saved! Otherwise, it's eternity
in Hell!
The noun "son" here is "huios," one of
several available words to Paul. Usually "huios" carries with it
the idea of "dignity" and "status" in the family! Whereas "teknon"
might indicate a likeness to one's father! And "pais" or "paidion"
hints at children who will need discipline!
"Children" of disobedience, rebellious as
they are, are appaently still precious candidates for the Grace
of God, His saving Grace! Remember, God is using the "quality"
word for these men and women! They are not "trash" in His Eyes!
Jesus died for such people!
The word "disobedience" translates "apeitheia,"
the state of being "not persuadable!" The first letter, the "a,"
reverses the meaning of the main syllable. Then "peithes," as a
verb "peitho," means "to convince or persuade," then ultimately,
"to believe or trust."
These "disobedient" ones are stubborn! Not
easily persuaded concerning the truth! If one does not "believe"
a command of God, is not "persuaded" of its validity, he or she
certainly will not "obey" it!
Again, "For because of
these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of
disobedience."
But so far we've omitted the first clause in
today's Verse. We can't do that! "Let
no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these
things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of
disobedience." Remember, this is Ephesians 5:6.
To be "deceived," spelled "apateo" in Greek,
is "to be cheated or beguiled" primarily. Sins deceives! It
cheats one of quality of life! I can only find "apateo" four
times in the whole New Testament! Paul uses it twice in 1st
Timothy 2:14. "And Adam was not
deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the
transgression."
"Apateo" in our 1st Corinthians 5:6 Text here
is built as an imperative verb too, expressing a direct
command from Paul to the Ephesians! Really, it's from God
to the Ephesians ... if one believes in verbal inspiration.
The expression "no man" translates "medeis,"
which also has other forms for "no woman" and "no thing." The
King James Version translators have accurately rendered it "no
man" because of its gender, "masculine."
"Vain" words are "empty, devoid of truth,
without effect!" In Greek this adjective is spelled "kenos."
"Words," the familiar noun "logos," means
speech which is "logical, chosen carefully!" But keep this in
mind too, "There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of
death." These words are found both in Proverbs 14:12 and
again in Proverbs 16:25! Twice in Scripture! Must be very
important!
Man's "logic" is most often opposed to God's
"Logic" anyway! "For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
saith the LORD." Isaiah 55:8, but the Passage continues:
"For as the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thoughts."
While "vain" words can deceive, God's Words
bring life! That's according to Jesus!
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
heareth my word,
and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and
shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto
life." John 5:24
God's Words are trustworthy!
"The words of the LORD are pure
words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified
seven times." Psalm 12:6
I don't know what else to say today.
"Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these
things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of
disobedience."
And Ephesians 5:6 is God's Word!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 7, VERSE 7:
Today we study Ephesians 6:7, a short but powerful Verse of
Scripture. "Be not ye therefore partakers
with them."
The pronoun "them" refers to certain
categories of people Paul has earlier mentioned. Namely,
fornicators and idolaters and whoremongers, plus those who
covet!
The verb "be" translates "ginomai," which in
our context is in the imperative mood. We have been commanded to
disassociate with these people! "Ginomai" means "to become, to
come into being, to happen, to take place, to come to pass."
The adverb "not" is "me," pronounced "may" in
Greek. It is the most often used particle of "qualified"
negation, according to the lexicons. There might be a
case where such strict separation is not possible. Say, for
example, if a lady is married to a husband who otherwise is good
to her, but tells a lot of dirty jokes ("foolish talking" or
"jesting" of our Text, back in Ephesians 5:4) ... she is not to
leave him and divorce him over his twisted sense of humor! Such
is not a Biblical cause for divorce!
On the other hand, the Greek word for
"absolute" negation is "ou," sometimes spelled "ouk," indicating
no exceptions whatsoever!
Don't tell me that every word in the Bible is
not inspired! Even its adverbs! When God speaks, every word
carries ultimate weight! "The words of the
LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace
of earth, purified seven times." Psalm 12:6
"Therefore," another adverb, is spelled "oun,"
meaning "then" or "so" or "wherefore" or even "now." That is,
"consequently, accordingly." A conclusion is being drawn by
Paul. By the Holy Spirit really!
The noun "partakers" is quite a blend! "Summetochos"
basically means a "sharer" or a "participant" in something. It
is taken from three Greek words. "Sun," the prefix, means
"with." Then "meta," the middle component, means "among, in the
midst!" Finally comes a verb, "echo," meaning "to have, to hold,
to keep!"
This is close fellowship!
Too close!
It's nearly cohesion!
Addiction!
And it's wrong!
Especially when later Paul commands,
"Abstain from all appearance of evil."
1st Thessalonians 5:22, the very "appearance!"
Today's Verse, "Be not
ye therefore partakers with them," needs no embellishment
at all! It just needs to be obeyed!
It "fits" into the Pauline pattern of
"separation" from sin taught from Romans to Hebrews, in all
fourteen of the Apostle's writings!
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness?"
"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith
the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my
sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."
"Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners."
"But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man
that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an
idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with
such an one no not to eat."
Wow!
That's clear enough!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8, AN ADDENDUM:
This Lesson is important too!
We have been studying one of the Bible's premier Texts on the
subject of moral purity. That is, Ephesians 5:1-7. In part,
"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. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean
person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Be not ye
therefore partakers with them."
This whole Paragraph defies most modern
philosophy. And a great deal of ancient philosophy too!
The evolutionists tell us, wrongly so of
course, that we are mere animals. And animals, when it comes to
sex, are simply following a biological instinct! That's all!
Therefore, reasons Darwin and his ilk, when men are sensual and
uninhibited, they just can't help it! They are hard-wired
through eons of evolutionary history to be that way!
Earlier philosophers say that man is his best
in his primordial state! Back when he was wild! Without law!
Unrestrained! Sexually and socially and every other way!
Then enters psychoanalysis! Here we are
informed that our inner sex drives determine who we are! We
prehistorically hated out Fathers! Loved our Mothers, or at
least lusted after them! So said Freud! The earliest of
psychotherapists find herein the "seeds" of religion, guilt and
hope and trust! They also strip us of any obligation to live
pure lives! Not to be free sexually is to repress one's very
personhood!
Then came the sociologists, the immoral ones
especially! They normalized ungodliness, fornication and such,
tracking it in other cultures around the world! And
postmodernism now demands that one culture is just as good as
another! No values judgments please! If the happiest and the
longest living peoples of earth are free lovers and drifters
without the slightest hint of restraint sexually, then perhaps
we should all be!
Folks, this "garbage" is yet being taught on
many a university campus, American universities included!
Then case studies, with the numbers stacked
toward the libertarian side, reflect that "Everybody's doing it
these days!" Wife swapping, one night stands, hooking up,
defiant sex! And, with the added help of godless science, her
gifts of birth control and abortion and rapid transportation and
readily available media, the "revolution" is well underway!
And I've not even mentioned the radical
anti-Christian feminists! Those who preach a woman's right to
... everything! And not just the legal option of killing any
unborn child she might wish! The right to love freely! To
magnify her sexuality anyway she pleases! To love another man
... or woman! This crowd is big enough now that they well might
be the deciding factor in some future national election, even in
the United States!
Well, I've got news for these people!
Everybody is not in agreement!
Not all people are immoral!
The saints of God are not!
Instead, real Christians, going back to our
Text now, love God first! Not their own bodies! Not their
passions! Not multiple partners!
And we strive to have "not once named among
us" fornication and adultery and other unbridled lusts!
We are "not partakers" of those things!
Paul even goes further. In Ephesians 5:11 he
encourages the saints of God to "reprove" such lawless
lifestyles! "And have no fellowship with
the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them."
Wow!
"Elegcho" means "to convince a person he is
wrong, even to the point that shame envelops him or her!" Or,
"to chide severely!" This is a strong verb! It is once
translated "convict" in the King James Bible!
Paul encourages us, in Ephesians 5:12 now,
not to go into detail about the lewd sensual sins these people
commit! "For it is a shame even to speak
of those things which are done of them in secret." That's
why, in today's opening paragraphs, I had to speak in vague
generalities when describing their false teachings!
Of course nowadays, it's no longer done in
secret! They have come out of hiding, "out of the closet" so to
speak.
Then, in one last salvo, Paul basically calls
these sexually out-of-control individuals "fools!" Listen, the
Apostle is addressing the Christians at Ephesus.
"See then that ye walk circumspectly,
not as fools, but
as wise." Ephesians 5:16
"Circumspectly," even in English, means
"looking all around!" Vigilantly! Alertly!
Two separate lifestyles! As different as day
and night! "For ye were sometimes
darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as
children of light." Ephesians 5:8
Thank God for the Light!
And to those still intoxicated by such
alluring sins of the devil, "Awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light." Ephesians 5:14
There's hope!
Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ!
That "darkness" need not be permanent!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 9, CONCLUSION:
Today we conclude our study of Ephesians 5:1-7, perhaps Paul's
greatest Text on the subject of moral purity in the life of a
Christian.
Any immorality is forbidden, absolutely!
Here are Paul's words, verbatim:
"Let it not be once named among you, as
becometh saints." Ephesians 5:3
That not only forbids any direct act of
fornication, for example, but also such things as coarse joking
about sensuality!
Not just sex outside of marriage, but
"neither filthiness, nor foolish talking,
nor jesting" as well! Ephesians 5:4
A Christian scholar of bygone years said that
the most outstanding contribution nascent Christianity made to
the culture of its day, the first century Greco-Roman world, was
moral purity! He literally called it a "moral miracle!"
And Corinth, obviously the city in which the
Corinthian Church was located, the people to whom Paul
originally wrote our Text, were infamous for their moral laxity!
Just to be known as a "Corinthian" was once
to be considered a moral pervert! The morals of that seaport
city were such that even pagan Rome at times blushed!
Yet in that sensual free-for-all, that
lustful metropolis, God raised up a Church of born-again
Believers, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, pure and separated
from the world!
Glory to His Name!
Things were so bad in Greek culture, that one
ancient orator, Demosthenes, said this: "We have courtesans
(prostitutes) for the sake of pleasure; we have concubines for
the sake of daily cohabitation; we have wives for the purpose of
having children legitimately and caring for our household
affairs."
Then, after three centuries of that kind of
sexual chaos, Christianity exploded on the world scene! It
arrived teaching, yea, even demanding, a new way of life!
Supplanting immorality!
Extinguishing it with something far better!
One man, one woman, one lifetime!
Marriage, holy and picturesque!
The husband a picture of Jesus!
The wife a symbol of the Church!
The goal, "not having
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy
and without blemish." Ephesians 5:27
I sense the need to read with you our whole
Paragraph, a "pericope" of Scripture it's called, on more time!
Please don't skip it, even if you're rushed today.
"Be ye therefore
followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ
also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering
and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 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. For this ye know, that no whoremonger,
nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath
any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man
deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh
the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye
therefore partakers with them." Ephesians 5:1-7
I once heard a Preacher say, "No difference,
no conviction!" If we as Believers are no different from the
world, including the moral issues, there probably will be less
and less true Revival in our land! Less Holy Ghost conviction!
Fewer and fewer souls being saved!
Lord, help us!
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
Each of us should be
morally stronger for having studied this Slice of Scripture! It
is Paul's "classic" Text on moral purity in the lives of God's
children. In just a few divinely inspired words, it truly says
it all! "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried
in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." Psalm 12:7
