Devotionals: Ephesians Archives - Page 2 of 4

Spirit-Filled Living

By Andrew YoungJanuary 15, 2018Devotionals: Ephesians

“Do not get drunk with wine… but be filled with the Spirit…” (Ephesians 5:18) Bible Reading: Ephesians 5:18-21 As Paul brings his warnings and instructions about living in an evil world to a close, he makes mention of a special vice to avoid, namely, drunkenness. “Do not get drunk with wine,” he says, “for that is debauchery” (Ephesians 5:18). The abuse of alcoholic drinks has been a problem throughout the ages, even from as early as the days of Noah (Genesis 9:21). It was an evil that Titus was to warn older women against in Crete (Titus 2:3), and according […]

Living Wisely

By Andrew YoungJanuary 14, 2018Devotionals: Ephesians

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise…” (Ephesians 5:15) Bible Reading: Ephesians 5:15-17 Standing firmly against life in the darkness is not something that happens without effort on our part. True, we cannot find the inner moral strength – the desire for holiness – to do that on our own. Only God’s grace can provide that. But nevertheless, there are things we have to do. Paul mentions several of them in this section. We are to make every effort “to discern what is pleasing to the Lord,” or put another way, to “understand what the […]

Light and Darkness

By Andrew YoungJanuary 13, 2018Devotionals: Ephesians

“…for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:8) Bible Reading: Ephesians 5:7-14 The dire consequences awaiting those who live in immorality or idolatry – exclusion from the kingdom of God and exposure to God’s wrath – lead Paul to warn his readers about partnering with such people in their evil. “Therefore do not become partners with them,” he writes (Ephesians 5:7). Such associations belong to the old life, not the new order of things they enjoy in Christ. “At one time you were darkness,” he continues, referring to their former life in […]

Serious Consequences

By Andrew YoungJanuary 6, 2018Devotionals: Ephesians

“…everyone who is sexually immoral or impure… has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Ephesians 5:5) Bible Reading: Ephesians 5:5-7 We have noted that in this section of his letter, Paul is warning his readers to avoid practices that are hateful to God. His language is so strong we might even think he is “a little over the top” in insisting that such things as sexual immorality are “not even to be named” within the Christian community (Ephesians 5:3). Aware of how prevalent immorality and the like were in the world of his day, Paul backs up […]

Things to Avoid

By Andrew YoungJanuary 5, 2018Devotionals: Ephesians

“But sexual immorality and all impurity… must not even be named among you…” (Ephesians 5:3) Bible Reading: Ephesians 5:3-5 There is a marked change in the tone of this next section of Paul’s letter. It is no longer simple encouragement and exhortation; his words have an edge of urgency and warning about them. The apostle stresses things (especially behaviour patterns) that Christians are to avoid. The first of these is “sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness” (Ephesians 5:3). These things, he says, must “not even be named among you, as is proper of saints.” As I read these words […]

Imitators of God

By Andrew YoungJanuary 4, 2018Devotionals: Ephesians

“Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children… ” (Ephesians 5:1) Bible Reading: Ephesians 5:1-2 These two verses bring to a close the section we have been studying on “the new self” (Ephesians 4:20ff.). They provide a summary that ties everything that Paul says on this matter together. The new person we are to become is to take on the form of God and Christ. Our lifestyle is to be one of imitation. “Therefore, be imitators of God,” the apostle writes (5:1). The reason for imitating “God” is that in Christ, we have become his “dear children.” We have been […]

A Vision to be Pursued

By Andrew YoungJanuary 3, 2018Devotionals: Ephesians

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another…” (Ephesians 4:32) Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:32 I ended the last devotional mentioning that we can only “put away” destructive and negative behaviours such as bitterness and slander by replacing the deep-seated feelings underlying these things with wholesome desires and emotions produced by the Spirit of God. What will such desires and their resultant good fruit look like? Paul gives us a vision of them here when he writes, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). The counterpart to anger and wrath […]

Things to Put Away

By Andrew YoungJanuary 2, 2018Devotionals: Ephesians

“Let all bitterness and wrath… be put away from you.” (Ephesians 4:31) Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:31 In this verse, Paul continues to detail the old attitudes, practices and behaviours that Christians have to put away from them. This is part of the journey towards Christlikeness that every Christian has to walk. The old practices mentioned here are a cluster of negative, destructive attitudes and behaviours that can literally tear us and other people apart. “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you,” Paul writes (Ephesians 4:31). He has already dealt with anger (v. […]

Honouring the Spirit

By Andrew YoungJanuary 1, 2018Devotionals: Ephesians

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…” (Ephesians 4:30) Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:30 In the midst of instructions about very practical patterns of living, the apostle Paul inserts a pointed instruction about not grieving the Holy Spirit. “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,” he writes, “by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). Paul first mentions the Holy Spirit in the opening chapter of his letter (1:13, 14). In affirming that his (largely) Gentile readers were included “in Christ” when they believed the gospel, he adds that they have been “sealed with the […]

Positive Speech

By Andrew YoungDecember 31, 2017Devotionals: Ephesians

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth…” (Ephesians 4:29) Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:29 As tempting as it is to rush over these areas of life-change that belong to being a Christian, it is important that we take moments to dwell upon them. Truth will never change us if it is not carefully considered and prayerfully applied. Paul next speaks of the change that needs to take place in our speech. Our “old self” – the person we were when we lived for ourselves in sin – used words to wound and destroy others for our gain. How common […]