Confusing? Okay, this is week two, day two, and homing in on Ephesians -chapter 3 and 4.
Having said where my reading took me today, it's interesting that verse 1 of chapter 5 kind of sounds like it belongs to this reading. More about that later.
It was interesting how you find Paul referring to himself in verse 2 and does not say how important he is, but rather "I got this gift (grace) and it made me fit for you – the gift was so I could be the messenger for you. (v2). How different from so many who come with self-help or "get rich" philosophies. Those kind of people usually come boasting about how great they are and how we (the lesser people) ought to try to be like them.
Paul makes clear in chapter 3, verse 7 [more]that he is not the important one when he says "I became a servant of this Gospel." In the minds of the Ephesians, it was clear that Paul was saying "Don't look at me as the great one – I am your servant!" To them that was a clear picture. They understood what a servant was – how they acted, how they spoke to those around them. He was a messenger.
Then he tries to make sure that they understand that this Christ, the one who by grace set them free, was giving them power. His words were that God's intent was to use the church (the body of Christ), and they were to be bold in proclaiming the Gospel. Constantly, he encouraged them to not be discouraged or worry about him in prison – in effect, don't get side-tracked.
Paul, in verse 17-19 paints a picture that gets very difficult to imagine. It's as though he says to them, "Close your eyes, and think of the deepest hole you have ever seen, or the darkest place you have ever been. Remember how far it was to the horizon – you thought you'd never get where you were going." It was a "You ain't seen nothing yet!" moment. The imagery was to remind them that God was and is bigger than anything they have encountered or could imagine. It was a clear message that God's love knows no limits. It is not bound by borders or knowledge or anything measurable.
In other words, God's love cannot be stopped!
Now, he starts on the work of unity – how believers need to be helping one another. Building up rather than tearing down. There are his words that "speaking the truth in love" we can and will grow to be more and more like Christ. We, the body, the Church, builds itself in love.
It's interesting that he speaks again about how we should talk to one another. And before you growl back at me, this was a letter to believers. He was not talking to the all the people of Ephesus, but rather, the church in Ephesus. This was about brothers and sisters in Christ. Don't but this load on your non-Jesus-following friends or neighbors!
As Paul closes chapter 4, he tells us to watch our mouths. He leaves a big question for us without really saying it. One of those "Are you doing this?" moments in life. You have to listen to what you are saying even before you say it. Think about what you are going to say and then apply the words in verse 29.
Wait a minute Paul! You can't mean verse 32 about how I should treat them!
If this chapter just ended with verse 32 we might be able to sneak something by, but smack up against the first verse in chapter 5, we got a problem.
The problem is the imitation of Christ, and the fact that we are supposed to do that, living a life of love and giving ourselves up.
If that's true, then…