Each time I
read a section of the Bible, I see it through different eyes – and I’m not talking
about my occasionally changing glasses prescription… Life experiences lead me to see things
differently now than in earlier times of my life. Today’s lesson is a good example of
this. I’ve read Ephesians[A]
many times but not really noticed what I’m about to share until recent life
experiences pointed this out to me more clearly.
The following Bible reading is copied
from Arterburn, Stephen; Stoop, David (2012-12-14). The Life Recovery Bible NLT
(LRB: Full Size) (Kindle Locations 68515-68538). Tyndale House Publishers.
Kindle Edition.
*****
Living as Children of Light
17With the
Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are
hopelessly confused. 18Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from
the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their
hearts against him. 19They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure
and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. 20But that isn’t what you learned
about Christ. 21Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth
that comes from him, 22throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of
life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23Instead, let the Spirit renew
your thoughts and attitudes. 24Put on your new nature, created to be like God—
truly righteous and holy. 25So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the
truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26And “don’t sin by letting anger
control you.”* Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27for anger
gives a foothold to the devil. 28If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead,
use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.
29Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and
helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
30And 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. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and
slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32Instead, be kind to each
other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has
forgiven you.
*****
The Bible,
often referred to as “Scripture,” is filled with the idea of choosing this or
that. Today’s reading is a great
example. I’m going to go through this
verse by verse and show you what I mean.
If you’re not sure what I mean by “verse,” this is what I’m talking
about: A verse in the Bible starts at a number and ends just before the next
number. Every verse in the Bible acts as
a street address and makes it possible to find a specific sentence in the Bible. Our reading starts with Ephesians 4:17. You would say this “Ephesians chapter 4 verse
17.”
Ephesians
4:17 - 32
Living as
Children of Light
17With the
Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles[B]
do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18Their minds are full of darkness; they
wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened
their hearts against him. 19They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful
pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
For clarity in understanding the intent
of this verse, add this in verse 17: Choose to live no longer as the Gentiles do…
Now read starting to the right of the
comma in verse 17:
…for they are hopelessly confused.
18Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives
because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.
19They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly
practice every kind of impurity.
This is the result of not choosing to
follow Jesus. This is a somewhat passive
decision. The more direct decision is to
deliberately choose not to follow Jesus.
The passive decision may be out of not knowing that there is an option
to choose to follow Jesus. The more
direct decision is when you know there is an option and deliberately choose not
to follow Jesus.
20But that
isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21Since you have heard about Jesus and
have learned the truth that comes from him,
Verses 20 and 21 make it clear that in
this Scripture reading, we do know that there is a deliberate decision to be
made. I will or I will not follow
Jesus.
22 throw off
your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust
and deception.
Again, add ‘choose to” to this and read
it as:
Choose to
throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is
corrupted by lust and deception.
By now, you probably understand where I’m
going with this so I’ll shorten my commentary.
23 Instead,
let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
Instead, choose
to let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
Choose
to put on your new nature, created to be like God— truly righteous and
holy.
25 So stop
telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the
same body[E].
So choose
to stop telling lies. Let us choose to
tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.
26 And
“don’t sin by letting anger control you.”* Don’t let the sun go down while you
are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
And “choose
not to sin by letting anger control you.”* Choose
not to let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives
a foothold to the devil.
28 If you are
a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then
give generously to others in need.
If you are a thief, choose to quit stealing. Instead, choose to use your hands for good hard work, and
then choose to give generously to others in
need.
29 Don’t use
foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that
your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Choose not
to use foul or abusive language. Choose to
let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an
encouragement to those who hear them.
30 And do
not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit[F]
by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own,* guaranteeing
that you will be saved on the day of redemption[G][H][I].
And choose
not to bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Choose to remember, he has identified you as his
own,* guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
31 Get rid
of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types
of evil behavior.
Choose to
get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as
all types of evil behavior.
32 Instead,
be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God
through Christ has forgiven you.
Instead, choose
to be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as
God through Christ has chosen to forgive
you.
Closing
Thoughts:
The Book of
Ephesians is a great book to study. It’s
six “chapters” long and eight pages total!
It helps us understand the benefits and blessings[J]
of choosing to follow Jesus. It also
helps us understand the results of choosing not to follow Jesus. Some people reading this might be saying, “I
believe this story about Jesus. I don’t understand
much of it but I do believe what I’ve heard.”
That’s great! Jesus accepts you
wherever you are in your understanding and invites you to follow Him. Understanding will come with time. Choose to follow Jesus today!
[A] a
book of the Bible, originally a letter to the church in Ephesus and
traditionally attributed to St. Paul.
[B] somebody
who is not Jewish
[C] always
behaving according to a religious or moral code
[D] devoted
to the service of God
[E] an
organized group of people
[F] in
Christianity, the third person of the Trinity, understood as the spiritual
force of God
[G] deliverance
from the sins of humanity by the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross
[H] the
act of saving something or somebody from a declined, dilapidated, or corrupted
state and restoring it, him, or her to a better condition
[I] the
improved state of somebody or something saved from apparently irreversible
decline
[J] help
believed to come from God
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