The Epistle to the Ephesians

1. The Epistle to the Ephesians Walking in Love: Ephesians 4:30-5:2 • Ephesians 4:30 – “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” • What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit of God? • According to the following Blue Letter Bible choices, which of the following fits best here? • to make sorrowful • to affect with sadness, cause grief, to throw into sorrow • to offend • to make one uneasy, cause him a scruple 1 June 14, 2009 Bob Eckel

2. The Epistle to the Ephesians Walking in Love: Ephesians 4:30-5:2 • Ephesians 4:30 – “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” • What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit of God? • According to the following Blue Letter Bible choices, which of the following fits best here? • to make sorrowful • to affect with sadness, cause grief, to throw into sorrow • to offend -  • to make one uneasy, cause him a scruple • Relate to the sins that reflect the old man described immediately before. 1 June 14, 2009 Bob Eckel

3. The Epistle to the Ephesians Walking in Love: Ephesians 4:30-5:2 • ‘by whomyou weresealed unto the day of redemption.’ • The sealing of the Holy Spirit is an earnest, a proof, an assurance of the final redemption. • Agree or disagree – ‘If we grieve Him away, the seal will be gone.’ • Eph 1:13,14 - ‘In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spiritof promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.’ • Ephesians 4:31 – “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” • This verse reflects a principle of the Christ life noted earlier n the chapter. 2 June 14, 2009 Bob Eckel

4. The Epistle to the Ephesians Walking in Love: Ephesians 4:30-5:2 • Eph 4:3 - ‘endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.’ • Other than being rooted in the sin nature, what are bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, malice? • bitterness – intense hatred, lasting resentment, manifested by wickedness • wrath – passion, anger, often reflecting indignation • anger – temper, impulsive • clamor – outcry • slander – injurious speech to another’s name • malice – ill-will, desire to injure • Can you see these building one upon another? • Ephesians 4:32 – “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” 3 June 14, 2009 Bob Eckel

5. The Epistle to the Ephesians Walking in Love: Ephesians 4:30-5:2 • being kind to one another - a Christ-like attribute: • Rom 2:4 – ‘Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?’ • tenderhearted – compassionate • forgiving one another – present passive participle • What does this tense indicate here? • even as God in Christ forgave you. • In Christ, how could you behave alternatively? • Remember, at the foot of the Cross we are all equal! • Ephesians 5:1 – “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.” 4 June 14, 2009 Bob Eckel

6. The Epistle to the Ephesians Walking in Love: Ephesians 4:30-5:2 • Therefore reflects on God’s kindness just stated in Eph 4:32and in Eph 5:2 to follow. • What’s this ‘imitators’ or ‘followers’ stuff? • How are you doing here? • imitators or followers: • I Thess 1:5-7 – ‘For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.’ • And what is the purpose of the Holy Spirit? • John 16:14 – ‘He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare [it] to you. • as dear children (teknon – small children) • They seek to do like their father. 5 June 14, 2009 Bob Eckel

7. The Epistle to the Ephesians Walking in Love: Ephesians 4:30-5:2 • Ephesians 5:2 – “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” • How do we walk (to conduct one’s self) in love? • as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us • Offering – gift, sacrifice • Sacrifice – victim • Sweet-smelling aroma - a sweet odor, spoken of the smell of sacrifices and obligations, agrees with the notion that God smells and is pleased with the odor of sacrifices • Gen 8:21 – ‘And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.’ • II Cor 2:15 – ‘For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.’ • How are you doing here? • What happens when you work on this? • So what do we need to do? 6 June 14, 2009 Bob Eckel

8. The Epistle to the Ephesians Walking in Love: Ephesians 4:30-5:2 Rest Believe Keep Looking Down Phil 1:21 – “For to me, to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain. 7 June 14, 2009 Bob Eckel