"But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says,
Awake, sleeper
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you." - Ephesians 5:13-14 [quoting Isaiah 60:1]
These two chapters of Ephesians shotgun a whole bunch of great principles for us to live by, such as the standard of conduct for marriage, the standards of how to walk - in unity, wisdom, light and love, how to live by the New Man and leave the old man behind, and so on. It's all great as usual.
I wanted to pull out the passage above to focus on today, just because it reveals a little how God works.
MacArthur encapsulates one of Paul's goals in his heading, "Do Not Grieve the Spirit." Our goals as Christian men align with the goals of the Spirit. The Spirit speaks to us, and it is easier to hear when we are willing to obey (this is in John 17, I think). Therefore, it behooves us not to grieve that Spirit if we want to be able to hear, set, and achieve our goals. The Lord is the source of our life! As Rob said, let's be humble to obey so that we may have, and show, life.
It is incumbent on us to conduct ourselves such as to pave the way for the Spirit to do its work in us as one body.
One of the ways we can accomplish that endeavor is to share our struggles, bring them into the light, and pray for and encourage each other.
For example, I thought the passage above fit nicely with Rob's observation of the AA group last week. He said that in church, they were by far the most animated, engaged group, and he speculated that the reason for their enthusiasm was that they were so open with one another about their struggles and confronted them head-on, as a body.
We are being made one in Christ. Eph. 4:4,5. Our struggles are not just our own, but an impediment to our growth together. Eph. 4:15,16. Let us follow our Savior's example and make light that which is dark in our own lives, in our own life.
Powell
I hadn't read Bobby's comment from the last post before I wrote this one, but I like it and I want to adopt it. My post today hinges on being willing and committed to finding our life in Christ, and from that willingness springs humility, and the desire and ability to follow the calls of the Spirit. There are actions we can take to demonstrate our commitment to living in the New Man, which make it easier for His work to be done, such as being open to each other as a church. What do y'all think about this?
ReplyDeleteEph. 5:8 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light". One of my favorites. We are part of the light and thus should shine above the darkness and crap and attract others to the light. So being open to others and allowing them to see Christ shining is crucial.
ReplyDeleteWe talked about Eph. 5:8 last week. It's really a great verse. It's interesting how chap. 5 begins by telling us to be imitators of God, of course not according to our natural life but by the divine life. In 5:2 it tells us to walk in love and in 5:8 it tells us to walk as children of light. God is love (1 John 4:8) and God is light (1 John 1:5). In John 8:12 and 9:5, Christ says "I am the light of the world" and in Matt. 5:14 he says that "you (the believers) are the light of the world". We shine by taking Christ as our life and living.
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