Every Man's Bible - Proverbs - Flipbook - Page 17
Ephesians 5 | page 1566
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The Full Life
Ephesians 5:3-20
EVER SINCE GOD gave the Ten Commandments,
some have been tempted to think he enjoys
making people miserable and taking away their
happiness by denying them earthly pleasures.
The truth is, God wants to give us something
much better. But in order for us to receive it, we
need to clear some room in our lives. Often, that
means getting rid of sins or bad habits that are
using up the space God wants to claim. Instead
of filling our lives with sexual immorality, impurity,
greed, and obscene stories (Ephesians 5:3-4),
God wants us to be full of thankfulness. Instead
of drunkenness (5:18), God wants us to be
filled with the Holy Spirit.
Suppose you’re walking along the beach and
find an old treasure chest. But when you pry it
open, it’s full of sand, not gold coins. Now suppose someone else comes along and offers to
give you as much gold as you can fit into the
chest. Sounds great, right? Except for one problem: The chest is already full. In order to accept
the gold, you’d have to dump out the sand. You’d
need to make as much room as possible for the
more valuable treasure. Unless you get rid of the
sand, the chest will never hold anything of value.
The same goes for the sins in our lives—the
sand in the treasure chest. They may provide
temporary pleasure, but they won’t deliver lasting fulfillment. Sexual promiscuity may provide
an immediate thrill, but the long-term results are
catastrophic—it will never provide real happiness. On the other hand, true love for another
person and for God can fill us up to overflowing.
Drunkenness provides a temporary giddiness or
forgetfulness, but it’s nothing like the true peace
and joy that come from knowing and loving God.
It’s our choice. We can fill up our lives with
whatever silly or sinful things we choose, or we
can let God fill us up with the things that will
bring ultimate fulfillment.
30 And 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.
31 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.
5
Living in the Light
Imitate God, therefore, in everything
you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following
the example of Christ. He loved us* and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing
aroma to God.
3 Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have
no place among God’s people. 4 Obscene
stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these
are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. 5 You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit
the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a
greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the
things of this world.
6 Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall
on all who disobey him. 7 Don’t participate
in the things these people do. 8 For once you
were full of darkness, but now you have light
from the Lord. So live as people of light! 9 For
4:30 Or has put his seal on you.
read loved you.
5:2 Some manuscripts
4:31-32 Spiritual renewal involves committing
ourselves to getting to know God better through
prayer and meditation on his Word. In examining
our lives, we realize just how demanding God’s standards for righteous living are, but since it is God’s
grace that helps us conform to his will, we need not
despair. As we obey him, he will teach us humility
and help us forgive the people who have hurt us.
God is in the business of healing our relationships.
When we do things his way, we are well on the way
to reconciling with our alienated friends and building
a solid foundation for further spiritual growth.
5:1-7 God wants us to follow his will for our lives.
Some of us may wonder how we can know what
God wants us to do. Here we see that God wants
us to be like Jesus Christ. As we look at his life,
we can see how God would like us to think and act.
We are to love our enemies, just as Jesus did. We
are to avoid sexual impurity, greed, and obscene
speech since they stand counter to the character
of God. As difficult as imitating Christ might sound,
anything is possible with God’s powerful help.
