Ephesians 6: The Lord Wants Believers to Walk in a Manner Worthy of Relationships

Class Outline:

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Steps of harmony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re in the resident congregation, turn off your electronic devices and put them away.  Let this be a place where you aren’t distracted by the world.

 

Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

 

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with a worldwide impact.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  Thanks for listening to this Bible lesson!

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Wants Believers to Walk in a Manner Worthy of Relationships

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

What are the critical relationships in your life?  How does the Lord want you to handle them?  In today’s lesson, we’ll conclude the second portion of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the WALK portion of the letter, as we venture into the final chapter of this prison epistle…Ephesians6.

 

OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s hear some music!  Obedience is the key to a great relationship with the Lord.  In John, Chapter 14, Verse 15 the Lord says…

 

JOHN 14:15

“If (3) you love Me (maybe you will and maybe you won’t…you have a choice)… you will obey My commands.”

 

When we align our will with the Lord’s will, things go well with us.  The converse is true as well.  When our will is aligned with self-gratification, things don’t go well with us.Let’s listen to June Murphy explain the power of I WILL in song.

 

 

 

MUSIC

OPENING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

I WILL

June Murphy

 

OPENING PRAYER

 

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, that you provide us with the Word of God to direct our live and to guide us down the right path…

 

…thank you for being an ever-present help in times of trouble…thank you for allowing us to make choices so we can learn firsthand the wisdom of your commands when we see how obedience to You and your commands works out for us…thank you for the compassion You instill in our hearts so we can be patient and understanding about where people are in their spiritual journeys…thank you for reminding us not to be judgmental until the end of a person’s days…thank you for the perfect example all three members of the Godhead provide so we can walk in a manner worthy, especially in relationships…

 

…as we study today’s lesson, enlighten our spiritual eyes so we can see what You want us to see…open our spiritual ears so we can hear what you want us to hear… and install in us the wisdom and discernment Your Word always provides, so it changes the way we live…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Wants Believers to Walk in a Manner Worthy of Relationships

 

LESSON PART ONE

 

If it is not obvious, life is filled with relationships.  What is a relationship?

 

 

RELATIONSHIP

The way two or more people connect

 

At the foundation of great relationships is harmony.  The Lord Jesus Christ is the masterful orchestrator of successful relationships.  Satan, the enemy of God and the ruler of this world, is the masterful orchestrator of failed relationships.  He loves to do as the Lord highlights in John, Chapter 10, Verse 10…

 

JOHN 10:10a

The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy (relationships)…

 

You’ll remember when we started our study of the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, you were introduced to Watchman Nee’s book SIT WALK STAND.

This Chinese Bible teacher found an easy way to characterize what the Lord is communicating through the apostle Paul in the letter to the Ephesians.  What the Lord Jesus Christ wants for His believers is that we…

 

WHAT THE LORD WANTS FOR HIS BELIEVERS

 

SIT

Never forgetting our position in union with Christ

 

IN CHRIST JESUS

 

The Lord wants us to enjoy our position in Christ and to be comforted by its power.Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 5 and 6 remind us that…

 

EPHESIANS 2:5

…even when we were spiritually dead in our transgressions…God the Father made us believers in Christ spiritually alive together with Christ (by grace we have been saved)…

 

EPHESIANS 2:6

…and God the Father raised us believers in Christ up with Jesus, and made us to SIT with Him in the heavenly places…because we are IN CHRIST JESUS…

 

After we realize how special the Lord has made us, He wants us to…

 

 

 

WHAT THE LORD WANTS FOR HIS BELIEVERS

 

WALK

Live a lifestyle that reflects the thinking of Christ to everyone we meet

 

Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verse 1…

 

EPHESIANS 4:1

Therefore I (Paul)…the prisoner of the Lord…implore you believers in Christ to WALK in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called…

 

As we have studied the WALK section of this letter to the Ephesians, the focus is on relationships.  The study began by communicating how to handle one of the most sacred relationships the Lord has gifted us with…marriage…and it concludes in the first part of Ephesians, Chapter 6 with a few other important relationships…the relationshipof parents and children and the relationship between masters and slaves.  We’ll study these relationships today.

 

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians concludes by teaching us the attitude the Lord wants us to have toward the enemy.  He wants us to…

 

WHAT THE LORD WANTS FOR HIS BELIEVERS

 

STAND

To resist the temptations offered by Satan and his minions

 

These temptations are designed to ruin everything dear, holy, good, and pure…so Ephesians, Chapter 6, Verse 11 implores us to…

 

EPHESIANS 6:11

Pick up and put on the full armor of God…so that you will be able to STAND firm against the schemes of the devil.

 

The Lord doesn’t need us to go on the offensive against Satan because the Lord has already won the victory in the Creator-creature conflict through the Cross.  The Lord wants us to STAND on His victorious ground.  The Lord instructs us in James, Chapter 4, Verse 7 to…

 

JAMES 4:7b

Resist the devil (believers in Christ) and the devil will flee from you…

 

When we resist something or someone, we oppose it and refrain from indulging in it.  Why will the devil flee our resistance?  Because the devil is a coward.

 

Let’s listen to the passage of study for today in the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD TRANSLATION…Ephesians, Chapter 6, Verses 1 to 9…

 

EPHESIANS 6:1

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

 

EPHESIANS 6:2

Honor your father and mother…which is the first commandment with a promise…

 

EPHESIANS 6:3

…so that it may be well with you, and so you may live long on the earth.

 

EPHESIANS 6:4

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

 

EPHESIANS 6:5

Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ…

 

EPHESIANS 6:6

…not by way of eyeservice as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

 

EPHESIANS 6:7

With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men…

 

EPHESIANS 6:8

…knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.

 

EPHESIANS 6:9

And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that

both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

 

Here’s the structure of the passage…

 

STRUCTURE OF EPHESIANS 6:1-9

 

Instructions to Children

Verses 1 to 3

 

Instructions to Fathers

Verse 4

 

STRUCTURE OF EPHESIANS 6:1-9

 

Instructions to Slaves

Verses 5 to 8

 

Instructions to Masters

Verse 9

 

Now let’s study the passage verse-by-verse beginning at Ephesians, Chapter 6, Verses 1 to 3…

 

EPHESIANS 6:1

Children, obey your parents who are in union with the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.

 

EPHESIANS 6:2

Honor your father and mother…which is the first of the ten commandments with a promise attached…

 

EPHESIANS 6:3

…honor them so that things may go well with you, and so you may live for a long time on the earth.

 

Leave it to the Lord to NEVER mince words.  When someone “minces words” they are indirect, hesitant, and “tiptoeing through the tulips” instead of getting right to the point.  The Lord gets to the point.

 

Children…OBEY!Why?  Remember in our study of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he made the same point and gave a reason…Colossians, Chapter 3, Verse 20…

 

COLOSSIANS 3:20

Children…be obedient to your parents IN ALL THINGS…for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.

 

One reason children do well to obey their parents is that it’s pleasing to the Lord.  Another reason Paul offers in Ephesians, Chapter 6, Verse 1…it’s the right thing to do.  Why is it the right thing to do?  Because parents usually have more wisdom that their children, wisdom earned through ass-kickings.  When children obey their parents, there is a relationship…a connection…and it promotes harmony in the home.  In addition, it is good for children to know how to avoid life’s pitfalls.

 

Who can forget what Satan did to disrupt the harmony between the Lord and His angelic creatures…Isaiah, Chapter 14, Verses 13 and 14…

 

ISAIAH 14:13a

“Satan…you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the third heaven (the location of the throne room of God)…I will raise my throne above the stars of God (the second heaven (the abode of angels)…’”

 

ISAIAH 14:13b

“‘…and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north (the first heaven…the atmosphere surrounding planet earth)…’”

 

ISAIAH 14:14

“‘…I will ascend above the heights of the clouds (taking over the function of God)…I will make myself LIKE the Most High.’”

 

The words of a counterfeiter…I will be “like.”  Now you know why being “Christ-like” is an abominable idea, and you know where the idea originated.  Satan usurps.  He always seeks wrongfully to take over what is not rightfully his to take.

 

Obedience, doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord,  promotes harmony.  The

ideal harmony for Christians happens when we OBEY what the Lord wants us to do.

 

Isn’t it great these first three verses are directed TO children.  Paul isn’t doing what is prevalent in the world today, scolding parents.  The world’s messages to parents?  “You’re the problem.  Be your child’s friend.  Give them what they want.  Coddle them.  Don’t discipline them.  Don’t offend them.  Be nice to them.  Let electronic devices educate them.  Let them grow up without the ability to connect with others and without empathy for others.”

 

The world’s admonition to parents directly contradicts the Lord’s warning in

Proverbs, Chapter 13, Verse 24…

 

PROVERBS 13:24

He who withholds his rod HATES his son…but he who loves his son disciplines him diligently.

 

Children need discipline and they crave it.  Discipline is a rudder for children, directing them to the right path.

 

Children are commanded to honor their parents in Ephesians, Chapter 6, Verses 2 and 3…children…

 

EPHESIANS 6:2

Honor your father and mother…which is the first of the ten commandments with a promise attached…

 

EPHESIANS 6:3

…honor them so that things may go well with you, and so you may live for a long time on the earth.

 

What does it mean to honor the parents?

 

HONOR

To respect the principles for which someone or something stands…to esteem

 

I had an interesting dichotomy in my parents.  I had one parent who was worthy of honor and one who wasn’t.  Notice.  The command doesn’t say honor the parent you think is worthy.  It says to honor your parents.  There are MANY parents who are not worthy of honor.  Yet children are being honorable and are reflecting the compassion of the Lord when they honor parents no matter what.

 

The Lord’s promise is that honoring parents is one of the components of longevity.  His command goes all the way back to the fifth commandment…Exodus, Chapter 20, Verse 12…

 

EXODUS 20:12

“Honor your father and your mother that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.”

 

I wish I could count all the times my Mom said this to me.  She helped me to see that honoring parents is the right thing to do and it’s pleasing to the Lord.

 

When we return from the break we’ll take the offering and then we’ll hear more wonderful truths about the value of great relationships.  On the break you’ll hear a song about relationships.

 

FIVE-MINUTE BREAK

RELATIONSHIP

Phil Wickham

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Wants Believers to Walk in a Manner Worthy of Relationships

 

OFFERING INTRODUCTION

 

The Bible makes it clear.  For Christians, generosity isn’t optional, it’s expected. But giving isn’t just a box to check. Instead, it’s a way to worship God and to honor Him while serving others.  Thanks for your continued generosity!Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall to remind us of the importance of giving.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

ROMANS 1:11

For I (Paul) long to see you believers in Christ in Rome so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you that you may be established…

 

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

Instrumental Version

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Wants Believers to Walk in a Manner Worthy of Relationships

 

LESSON PART TWO

 

Welcome back!

 

Interesting how the Lord gives a specific instruction to fathers in their relationship with children in Ephesians, Chapter 6, Verse 4…

 

EPHESIANS 6:4

Fathers…do not provoke your children to anger…instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

 

What does it mean to provoke?

 

PROVOKE

To cause a reaction…to incite a person to anger…to irritate…to enrage

 

The opposite of provocation is encouragement.  It’s easy for a father to be the “tough guy” with children, and in fact many mothers promote it.  “Wait until you father gets home!”

 

What fathers must do is to give clear instructions to their children about how to conduct themselves and about how to live their lives.

 

Unfortunately, fathers are not perfect, and children notice.  Therefore, when fathers expect their children to be perfect, allowing no room for error, these fathers are not reflecting the grace of the Lord.  Fathers…the Lord asking you to realize the impact you have on your children and to do what is right for your children.

 

Fathers nurture and encourage their children best when they raise them in the instruction of the Lord… spiritual nurturing… training them in a Biblical character pattern.  That's discipline.  Nurturing is not only planning, provision, and protection, but also nurturing involves attending to a child's emotional needs.  For fathers, relationship with the kids is primary.  Rules without relationship is not wise.

 

A great father doesn't delegate the things only a father can do to unconcerned parties.  Only the Lord loves our children more than we do.  Don’t be an absentee father.

 

So marriage, the relationship between a husband and a wife, is a classroom for

unconditional love, submission, sacrifice, and service.  The home, where the relationship between parents and children is nurtured, is a classroom for the power of obedience.

 

What about the workplace?  Let’s look at the relationship between bosses and their workers…Ephesians, Chapter 6, Verses 5 to 8…

 

EPHESIANS 6:5

Slaves, be obedient to those who are your human masters, with sincere respect in your heart, just as you are obedient to and respectful of Christ…

 

EPHESIANS 6:6

…and not obedience by way of eyeservice…as men-pleasers…but obedience as slaves of Christ…doing the will of God voluntarily…and from the heart.

 

EPHESIANS 6:7

With good will render your service…just as you serve the Lord…and not for the approval of men…

 

EPHESIANS 6:8

…knowing that whatever good thing each of us does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.

 

Let’s get one thing straight.  The Bible must be interpreted in the time it was written, and in the first century the master-slave relationship was valued.  Masters offered employment and sustenance…slaves were grateful for it.  So let’s not get ourselves wrapped up in Satan’s distortion of this relationship.

 

The word for slave in the Koine Greek language is doulos.  As Christians, the Bible describes us as doulos to the Lord…slaves in a twenty-four-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week service to the Lord.

 

The key to effectiveness in the master-slave relationship is obedience.  Obedience neither infers weakness nor inferiority…it encourages harmony.  Obedience is to be genuine and sincere, not phony (eyeservice).  It is to be voluntary and excellent.

 

 

Just as in marriage, the slave’s perfect master is in heaven and his imperfect master is here on earth.  He must work for both of them in unconditional love, submission, sacrifice, and service.

 

A worker is to do his job as if he is doing it for the Lord.  It is a blessing from God when we have to work for people we don’t like.  When we use unconditional love in our service to these people, we reflect the Lord and we learn how to be effective in spite of circumstances.  It makes sense to respect our bosses because they provide our income.

 

 

Talking behind the boss’ back (eye service) and portraying the boss in a negative light is always out of line.  It’s not conduct becoming of a Christian.  As Christians, we put our hearts in to our work and do the job the right way.  A lot of tasks that appear distasteful actually prepare us to handle adversity effectively.  So as Christians, we trust the Lord for the situations in which He places us.

 

What slaves count on is a reward from the Lord for diligent service.

 

And what of masters?  Ephesians, Chapter 6, Verse 9…

 

EPHESIANS 6:9

And masters…do the same things for slaves…and give up threatening them… knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven…and there is no partiality with Him.

 

The Lord expects masters to treat slaves well, because the Lord treats slaves AND enemies well.  When the boss treats workers well it pays off.  Great bosses don’t use position power to get results.  They use personal power.  They develop a culture where others WANT TO follow rather than feeling like they HAVE TO follow.  Therefore, no threats.

In Colossians, Chapter 4, Verse 1 Paul says the same thing…

 

COLOSSIANS 4:1

Masters…grant to your slaves both justice and fairness…knowing that you too have a Master in heaven (who grants justice and fairness).

 

What does it mean to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” in relationships?  Wives…be in submission to your own husbands just as you are in submission to the Lord…husbands…love your wives unconditionally just as Christ loves the Church unconditionally…children…obey your parents who are in union with the Lord because it is the right thing to do…servants…do your job as if you are working for the Lord…masters…treat your servants the same way the Lord treats them…with unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace.

 

The result?  The Lord says things will go well with you!

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race

 

The next ten minutes could be the ten most important minutes of your life.  You’ll be introduced to the good news concerning how you can spend all eternity in heaven when you close your eyes in this life.  We want you to know that…

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

He Wants You Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

…and what He wants for you is that you make the most important decision of your life.

 

If you want to travel to a country where you are not a citizen, you require a passport.  By using this official documentissued by the government of your country, certifyingyour identity and your citizenship, you are entitled to travel under its protection to countries where you are not a citizen.

 

All of us are born citizens of the world.

 

Unfortunately, this citizenship was given to us by the federal head of the human race, Adam, as a result of his sin.  Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 12…

 

ROMANS 5:12

…through one man…Adam…sin entered into the world…and spiritual death entered the world through his sin…so spiritual death spread to all men…because all men were considered by God to have sinned when Adam sinned.

 

Just so you don’t blame Adam for your plight, you commit personal sins as well according to Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23…

 

ROMANS 3:23

…all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

 

If you die a citizen of the world your eternal future will not be pleasant. Lucky for you, the God who created you does not want you to be a citizen of the world.  If you are when you close your eyes in this life, your destiny is an eternity in the Lake of Fire.  Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9 makes God’s will for you clear…

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of...instead, He is patient toward unbelievers…NOT WISHING FOR ANY TO PERISH IN THE LAKE OF FIRE…but wishing for all unbelievers to come to repentance (a voluntary change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

Through His work on the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ made it possible for you to renounce your citizenship in the world, instead becoming a citizen of heaven.  It’s the equivalent of becoming a naturalized citizen of a new country, much like people who are not born American can become naturalized citizens of the United States.

 

God’s plan for all His creatures is to save you from an eternity in the Lake of Fire by offering you a new possibility…salvation…citizenship in heaven when you close your eyes in this life.  You can be saved!  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

ACTS 16:31

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved by God…you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

Why?

 

Because expressing your faith in Jesus Christ’s Person and His work at the Cross on your behalf changes your citizenship.  John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

JOHN 14:6

Jesus said to the doubting apostleThomas, “I am the way (to salvation) … and I am the truth (through the gospel message in the Word of God) … and I am the resurrection life (eternal life) …and no one comes to God the Father in heaven but through believing in Me.”

 

You can’t do a thing to change your citizenship from the world to heaven on your own.  God has to do it for you.  The apostle Paul describes this God, the Lord Jesus Christ, in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3

For I (the apostle Paul) delivered to you as of primary importance the gospel message I also received from God…that it was Jesus Christ who died for your sins according to the Old Testament Scriptures…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4

…and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Old Testament Scriptures…

 

If you don’t have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ…right now…right where you sit…right this moment…you have a choice.  You can remain a spiritually dead citizen of the world, or you can choose to be a spiritually alive citizen of heaven.  First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22

For all those in union with Adam (the citizens of the world) are spiritually dead…for all those in union with Christ are made spiritually alive by God.

 

What’s your choice?  John, Chapter 3, Verse 36, God offers the ONLY two choices…

 

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment (they

are made citizens of heaven by God) …but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him (they remain citizens of the world for all eternity).”

 

Believers in Christ have made their choice according to Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 20…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:20

(As believers in Christ)…our citizenship  is in heaven…from which heaven also we eagerly wait for a Savior…the Lord Jesus Christ…

 

God’s enemy, Satan, is the ruler of this world.  He welcomes you to remain a citizen of the world because he’d be pleased to have you live with him in the Lake of Fire for all eternity.  If you choose to remain a citizen of the world by rejecting the relationship offer of the Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew, Chapter 8, Verse 12 explains your eternal destiny…

 

MATTHEW 8:12

“…the sons of Satan’skingdom (unbelievers…the citizens of the world) will be cast out into the outer darkness…in that place (the Lake of Fire) there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 

That is not God’s will for you.  If you end up in the Lake of Fire for all eternity it will be your choice, and God will honor it.

 

Do yourself a favor…BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Take His word for what it takes to be saved.  It’s the easiest, smartest decision you will ever make.  Place your faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ on your behalf and He will be more than happy to welcome you as a citizen of His kingdom, heaven.  Jesus is much better than a passport.  You can reside in His kingdom forever and ever with one simple choice.

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race

 

CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s close with music!

 

Unconditional love is the answer in every relationship.  Let’s all follow Chris Tomlin’s advice and LOVE PEOPLE.

 

MUSIC

CLOSING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

LOVE PEOPLE

Chris Tomlin

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Heavenly Father…

 

…thank you for the lessons on relationships…in marriages…in parenting…and in the workplace…help us to always be mindful of how we treat others…show us how to treat others as You would…and let God the Holy Spirit keep pouring His enabling power into us so that we walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

LISTEN TO THE ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Make it a habit.  They are posted separately.  Keep current on the things going on and coming up in Barah Ministries.

 

DISCUSSION OF THE LESSON AND PRAYER CIRCLE

 

Take the day off.  We’ll resume the lesson discussion and prayer circle next Sunday

 

GOT BIBLICAL QUESTIONS OR WANT US TO PRAY FOR SOMEONE?

 

Send your request to pastor@barahministries.com

 

KEEP ON STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD DAILY!

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

 

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