Ephesians 6:1-4 - Do not exasperate your children

6:1-3

Now we move from the husband-wife relationship to that of parents and children. First, children are taught to obey their parents. Society encourages children and adolescents to rebel. God says different, and Paul adds that “this is right”. Paul then goes on to refer back to the Ten Commandments, and to point out that it is associated with a promise. Note, by the way, that it refers to honouring your father and mother. The promise is that it may go well with us and that we may enjoy long life. God’s commands are given so that we may have life to the full. When a society rejects God’s commands it makes life more difficult for itself. And when individuals reject God’s commands they make life more difficult for themselves and for everyone else.

6:4

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children”. Note that it is Fathers who are singled out here. Why does Paul say this? Because if we have authority then it is possible for us to use it unwisely, to use it in a way that just drives people nuts. The answer to this problem is not to stop exercising authority, which is the road society is going down, but to “bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord”. So as parents we are not to use our authority to get our own way, but to instill God’s ways in our children.

Isaiah 43:20,21 - That they may proclaim my praise

43:20

One time Jesus said that God provides for the birds and the animals, we are far more important than the birds and the animals, so He provides for us. 43:20 tells a similar tale. God provides for these animals (ones which were not popular, definitely not nice and cuddly!), He provides streams in the desert for them. Therefore how much more will He provide for His people in the wilderness? Indeed, He had already demonstrated His willingness and ability to do this when He led the Israelites through the desert. 

43:21

We then get purpose for our being chosen. We were formed for God. That is our identity. We need to be God centred, otherwise we will never find nor fulfil our true purpose in life. Examine your thoughts and feelings, especially if times are tough or you are feeling uncertain about the future. What are our thoughts focused on? More than likely, “how is this going to affect me”. “Me” there may well include our families. Now think “I am here for God’s purposes”. That puts a whole different complexion on it, one of which is to relieve a whole lot of the anxiety. We know that the Bible says, Jesus says, God will always provide our needs. But if we think along the lines “I am here to fulfil my purpose, and God will help me” you will not actually find a whole lot of peace. You may claim promises in the Bible, but your claims are bogus. On the other hand, if we think “I am here for God’s purposes to be fulfilled, and He will provide everything I need” then we will find God’s peace, and we will find the promises of the Bible are indeed true.

Ephesians 5:30-33 - The mystery is profound

5:30

“For we are members of His body”. Jesus feeds and cares for the church. Obviously His supreme work for the church was on the cross, but that is not the end of it. Jesus is not sitting around twiddling His thumbs until the second coming. He is working actively in His church today, as was demonstrated in the book of Acts. We need to appreciate what the church is. So often it acts as if it is there for its own benefit or there to chose its own purpose. Neither of these are true. We are the body of Christ, to enable Him to achieve His purposes.

5:31,32

Paul then quotes from Genesis 2:24 which sets out the marriage mandate, and one which was endorsed by Jesus. There is meant to be an amazing unity between man and wife, but the primary point that Paul is drawing out here is that it is meant to be a reflection of the relationship between Christ and the church. We were created in God’s image, male and female. Together we reflect something of the glory of God. 

5:33

Paul has been talking about the deep relationship between Christ and the church, but it also has important practical relevance for us right now in our marriages. We are to love our wives as we love ourselves, and wives must respect their husbands. The picture of marriage (or partnerships, as is so often the case in the world today) in the world is often so different from God’s intended plan. We need to have a fully Biblical understanding, along with real practicality.

Isaiah 43:16-19 - Forget the former things

43:16,17

This is a reference to the Israelites passing through the Red Sea to escape the Egyptians, and the parting of the Jordan to enter the promised land. The Exodus was central to Israel’s identity, it is also vital for all of us. First the reference here shows that the Exodus was not the final act, there was much more to come. Secondly they, and the associated events, are a reminder that salvation was totally dependent upon the Lord. There was no natural way that Israel could escape, but she did because God made a way. She had been oppressed for hundreds of years, and would seemingly always be so. Yet God intervened and transformed everything.

43:18,19

“Forget the former things ...”. While she should remember the past, she should not stay stuck in the past. The same applies to all of us. This means not relying on past victories, not thinking that we are stuck in oppression of whatever sort forever. There is a right and a wrong way of remembering the past. We should learn from the times we have seen God act in our lives, we should remember His power, His love and His faithfulness. We should remember the things we have been saved from. But God is a God who does new things. What we have seen Him do in the past is an assurance that He is well able to do the necessary great things in the future. And He will act beyond our imagination, we must not limit God.

Ephesians 5:28,29 - He who loves his wife loves himself

5:28

Perhaps the predominant attitude in society was to see a wife as someone to be made use of, to take advantage of. Indeed, this attitude is found in most societies, even in our own. For instance, if you look at your partner as someone to fulfil your needs then this is having a wrong attitude, and is one of the reasons why relationships break down so easily. Instead we are to love our wives as Christ loves the church, making her flourishing our primary goal, not our own fulfilment. In doing this we are actually loving ourselves as well. Jesus said that if we lose our lives for His sake, we will find them. Self-centredness in all its various guises actually results in our becoming less of a person. When we live for Christ and for others we become more of a person.

5:29

Our natural inclination is that my needs are the top priority. “Look after No 1, for no one else will” is a common phrase, but it is actually false. If we do not look after our wives properly we actually do harm to ourselves as well. So there is a very practical everyday outworking of this teaching, but Paul now turns the focus back onto the relationship between Christ and the church.

Isaiah 43:14,15 - I am the Lord, your Creator and King

43:14

God tells them what He will do. His plans for salvation are not mere generalities, but are specific. This verse is also set for the Babylonian exile context. The very means that the Babylonians used to help with their conquest will be used against them. “For your sake”. We rightly say that things are done for the glory of God, for the sake of Christ, but we must not forget that God also does things for our sake. He does act on our behalf, for our well being. This is fundamental to having a right view of God.

43:15

“I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s creator, your king”. There is so much in this verse. First God is the Lord. He is the one with all power and authority. Every other claimant is a mere pretender.  He is our Holy One. Ie He is the one we are to regard as special, the one from whom all things originate, including what is right and what is wrong. He is our creator. Anything that opposes us is a mere creature. He is our King, He is the one who rules over us. If we forget any of these things our thinking, and then our actions, and then our being, will go astray.

Ephesians 5:26,27 - Without spot or wrinkle

5:26

Christ gave Himself up for us so that we could be holy. We are washed by His word. The use of the term washed implies that this was perhaps referring to baptismal services. There are two lessons to be drawn from this. The first is a general one. We are saved not so that we can get away with sin, but so that we can be made holy. “Holiness” is a word that perhaps has negative connotations, and it is interesting how the devil seeks to corrupt language, distorting the meaning of words, or rendering them meaningless. However, holiness is a very positive word in the Bible. It means set apart for God, living for God, living in the power of God. It is an exciting word! Secondly, husbands are to be dedicated to helping their wives achieve this Biblical holiness. Any notion that the man is more important than the woman, or that it is the man’s “ministry” that matters most is entirely misplaced.

5:27

Jesus died for us so that we, the church, could be presented to Him as holy and blameless, the perfect bride. This is kind of repeating the teaching of the previous verse, but is also moving us on to the analogy between the relationship between Christ and the church, and that between husband and wife.