16. The Blessed Christian Life (2)

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Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians

Knowing Your Privilege in Christ

 “The Blessed Christian Life (2)”

Ephesians 5:1-4 (KJV) 


1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 

3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 

OUTLINE

  • Followers of God (v1-4)

a.    In Love (v2)

b.    Not in Immorality and Greed (v3-4a)

  • But with Thanksgiving (v4b)

INTRODUCTION

We said that the Christian life is a blessed life. God has renewed His image in us. And we have the ability to model our lives after Him. What is the portrait of godliness in man? The Apostle Paul shows us that picture. The blessed life is received by being followers of God.

The word “follower” literally means “to mimic”, one who follows another’s example imitator, follower. The object of imitation is God. Not in His incommunicable attributes (He is infinite, eternal and unchangeable while we are finite, limited in time, and changing) but in His communicable attributes which is specially highlighted for us. There is also a contrast made here to help us to see what God is not!

The action of the verb demands continuous action. We are to follow God as a lifestyle. 

  • Followers of God (v1-4)
    • In Love (v2)
    • Not in Immorality and Greed (v3-4a)
    • But with Thanksgiving (v4b)


Continued…

3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient:

Fornication describes sins of immorality, sexual sins on those who are unmarried. It is a serious sin that is rampant today whether among non-Christians or professing Christians.

We studied that the body is not made for fornication, that is, any sexual sin or immorality. Rather, we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable in the sight of the Lord. The Lord is very concern that believers will not possess their God-given vessel to dishonour through any form of defilement. The believer is to understand God’s holy purpose for the human body wherein dwells the Spirit of God.

The admonition is to flee fornication.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

We said that the believer is exhorted to flee sexual immorality. This is a command to act decisively, to move hastily from danger from fear of being ensnared. Let this be a spiritual reflex in your life. All other sins a man commits are outside his body but sexual sins harms the body. It defiles him. How so? As one writer puts it succinctly, “It wastes the bodily energies; produces feebleness, weakness, and disease; it impairs the strength, enervates the man, and shortens life.” [Barnes]


Solomonjolts the believer to beware of the snare of lusting after any strange woman – Proverbs 5:1-5 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

The essential thought is that the body is not for fornication but for the Lord. Therefore, the believer is exhorted to be vigilant to keep himself pure. 

1 Corinthians 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

The Apostle Paul highlights the temptation to fall into the the sin of sexual immorality for believers who are single is very real. And he administers the remedy that one finds a spouse in marriage to avoid fornication. Of course, it is not the case that all single believers will face this problem. He tells us that it can happen.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints…

“Uncleanness” literally means “worthless material, waste”. [Friberg] In a moral sense, the impurity of lustful, luxurious, profligate living. [Thayer]

We see the example of the prodigal son in Luke 15 who wasted his inheritance in wanton living. This must not be the behaviour of Christians.

Covetousness describes the greedy heart, to greatly desire the things that does not belong to him.

Hebrews 13:5 (KJV) 5 Let yourconversation bewithout covetousness; and becontent with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Living with contentment is God’s wisdom for protecting His people from the perils of covetousness.

This first principle is taught in verse 5a, “Let your conversation be without covetousness.” Note two words in this phrase — “conversation” and “covetousness”. 

Conversation simply means “lifestyle” or “manner of living”. “Without covetousness” is one word in the original that literally means “free from the love of money”. Thus, “live not covetously” means our lifestyle must be free from the love of money. I

n other words, living contentedly is about a person who is not living for money. The Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil, the mother of all sin. 

This same word “covetousness” is translated “the love of money” in 1 Timothy 6:10. “For the love of money is the root of all evil,” said the Apostle Paul. {I believe the book of Hebrews was written by the Apostle Paul because Hebrews 13:5 fits so well his teaching to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after (desire, long or lust after), they have erred (they have been misled, they have been led astray from the way of godliness) from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”} 

This was the plight of Mr Michael Tan. 

Mr Michael Tan was a successful manager with an MNC drawing a monthly salary of $10,000. When Mr Tan was promoted in 1999, he upgraded to a bigger home and bought a new car. Mr Tan held credit cards with eight banks, and spent more than $5,000 monthly on entertainment, fine dining and shopping. He did not keep track of his spending, and often rolled over his credit card payments. When the recession hit in 2002, Mr Tan’s company downsized and he was retrenched. Although he was jobless, Mr Tan continued to chalk up debts on his credit cards and paid only the minimum sum every month. A year after losing his job, his savings ran out and he had difficulty servicing his credit card payments and other loans. Mr Tan’s house and car were repossessed, and he was eventually forced to declare bankruptcy. 

1 Timothy 6:9 further enlightens us, “But they that will be rich (they that love money, they that let money be their god) fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (or harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (the state of final spiritual ruin).” 

How do we know if we are covetous? How do we know if we are loving money more than we love our Lord? One litmus test is this — the security of the covetous is in the abundance which he or she possesses. We are covetous when we build our confidence and security in life on the health of our bank account, our assets, our insurances! We feel we must, at all cost, grow our bank account to feel secure. Otherwise we become depressed and insecure. Jesus said, “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s 

life consisteth not in the
abundance of the things
which he possesseth”
(Luke 12:15). The man in
the parable died before
he could build a bigger
barn as he had arrogantly
planned. He had said in his heart, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry.” 

God said to him, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” There is nothing wrong with having savings. In fact, it is important to save, for then we are in the position of stewardship. We have the means to be a blessing to others. But when we shift our security from our Lord to our bank account, that’s when we fall. At the root of covetousness lies a distrust of God’s providence. We become worried, forfeit our peace and lose sleep. 

Dear friends, we ought to be building our life centred upon our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because Jesus Christ is the Christian’s true security. He is Creator, Sustainer of this universe and Saviour. This is the theme of the book of Hebrews which was written to prepare the Jewish Christians for a time of hardship and persecution for the faith when they would lose their homes and their livelihood. May we, as we similarly go through times of true testing and reckoning, experience in equal measure the faithfulness and power of God in caring for us. Faith believes that God will provide and He will not fail to provide. 

King Solomon, the man who experienced this earthly, materialistic “life under the sun” to the fullest, concluded that such a life was all vanity of vanities, empty and did not satisfy. He wrote, “Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven” (Proverbs 23:4-5). 

Security that is based on the riches of this world is very fleeting, temporal and transient. They come easily and go just as quickly. This is the snare of the covetous mind-set. Covetousness is sin. In fact covetousness is the mother of all sins, the root of all evil. “Covetousness will lead to the breach of all the 10 commandments,” observed the Puritan Pastor Thomas Watson. It breaks the first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”. The covetous man has gold as his god, therefore he is called an idolater. The covetous man breaks the second commandment, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image”. He bows down to his coin. The covetous man breaks the fifth commandment. He will not keep the Sabbath day because he would like to work overtime … 

Notice also the verb “to be”. Let your conversation “be” without covetousness. It is in italics, added to emphasise the need for us to constantly check that our focus in life is not on money, discerning the futility of seeking material possessions, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7). Amassing wealth as an end in itself does not satisfy. 

Live within your means 

This brings us to the second principle in verse 5b — “and be content with such things as ye have” or “live within your means”. A Christian sister once gave practical advice to another who was overspending each month and chalking up debt which consisted of a renovation loan and some credit card rollover payments. She had been unable to repay for a period of time. 

The creditors threatened
legal action and
imposed punitive
interest rates. Life was
miserable. She did not
know how to solve her
financial woes. One
way out was to file for
bankruptcy. When she
finally managed to get an interest-free loan to repay her debt, this was the advice the Christian sister gave her. “Every month when you receive your pay, divide it into four or five parts, according to the number of weeks there are in that month. Do not spend more than the amount allotted per week.” This was practical advice to live within her means. 

Living within our means is rooted in the doctrine of biblical contentment. To be content is to be truly satisfied, acknowledging sufficiency in whatever we have. Contentment is one of the most distinguishing traits of a godly person, because such a man has his heart focused on God rather than on possessions. The contented person experiences the sufficiency of God’s provision for his needs and the sufficiency of God’s grace for his circumstances. That is why Paul said, “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). 

The godly person has found what the greedy or discontented person always searches for but never finds. He has found satisfaction and rest in his soul. Contentment is an attitude of the heart and not about how much we possess. It is godliness in action. 

Live by faith 

Live not covetously, live within your means. The third principle is taken from v5c, “for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” or “live by faith”. 

The word translated “never” consists of two negatives put side by side. It is the strongest negation in the Greek language to forbid the occurrence of a situation, that there is no possibility that such an event will take place. God will neither leave nor forsake His children. This phrase speaks of God’s power and God’s promise. It speaks of His infinite ability to care for us and His enduring perseverance with us until he conducts us all the way to heaven! 

David testified in Psalm 37:25-26, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.” 

Dear friends, how do we live contentedly? It is to “live not covetously” and to “live within your means” and to “live by faith”. It is faith in Jesus Christ, our All-Sufficiency! This is the thesis of the book of Hebrews. 

Living contentedly is our testimony to the world that this world is not our home. We have a better home that is eternal. We may not have the riches of this world but we have God’s love, joy and peace in our hearts that are far superior to the riches this world can ever offer, for to know that God will take good care of us is truly priceless. Thus, we surrender ourselves to our Lord wholeheartedly, entrusting our care to Him through prayer. We are willing to wait on God to experience His power. When the world goes into a tailspin, when it grapples as it will have to its debt problem — a time bomb on a short fuse — we know we will be kept by the power of God. 

4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 

“Filthiness” is literally “ugliness”; figuratively indecency. [Friberg] It is baseness, dishonour. [Thayer] It describes “obscenity, a dirty mouth, or dirty talking”. 

“Foolish talking” is from the word that means “a fool”. It means speaking and acting like a fool.

The word “fool(s)” (in English) occurs more than 60 times in Proverbs. In Proverbs, a fool is often placed against the wise. Many characteristics that Proverbs describes a fool are found in many people of our time who think themselves as wise. Even if a person thinks of himself as wise, he can still be a fool in God’s eyes. So let us carefully examine ourselves in the light of God’s description of who really is a fool.

The word “fool” has a specialized usage in Proverbs. It normally carries the meaning, “a sinner”. A fool is a stubborn individual, either a child or an adult, who continues in his evil behaviour and actions.

There are three Hebrew words used to denote a fool. They are kesil, ewil, nabal.

Kesil[1]–He is a dull and obstinate person, who does not recognize or acknowledge his foolishness.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Ewil[2]– He is one degree worse than the kesil.He moves beyond simple foolish stubbornness by living an immoral life.

Nabal[3]– He is foolish and senseless, adamant, and shuts his ears against any good advice. Yet, he loudly insists in public that he is right.

1 Samuel 25:37-39 But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died. And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.

1 Samuel 25:9-11 And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased. And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Then there is the word “peti” translated simple (Prov. 7:7) is the kind of person who is gullible and naïve. In the Hebrew “peti” means “to open” and it describes how a person who is called the simple in Proverbs is open to deceit and easily misled.

Pro 7:7 – And beheldamong the simple ones, I discernedamong the youths,a young manvoidof understanding…

The simple is also a rather stubborn person. The simple man turns away from God’s wisdom. The simple woman is insistent and quarrelsome. They are ignorant of the dangers of their stubbornness. Chapter 7 describes him as aimless, inexperienced, drifting into temptation – indeed courting it. He then falls quickly into the trap of seduction. The simple man is insistent on what he feels like doing, he will easily and quickly yield to satanic enticement or temptation.

The word “entice” of 1:10 is from the same root word “simple”. We read, “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.” To yield to temptations is to be “simple”.

4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting,which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 

“Jesting” used here in a bad sense means coarse joking, clowning around, vulgar talk. 

Waite said well, “Sin of speech – dirty talk, foolish talk, filthy talk””, we must stop.

Rather the believer is to be engaged the mouth in thanksgiving for all that God has done for us through Christ Jesus our Lord.

As we read the psalms, the praise book of the Bible, we observed how praise and thanksgiving is so much in the psalmist’s life. He is engaged with praise and thanksgiving because he is living the life of faith and cleaving. It is such a blessed life. This is the life of the follower of Christ. Redeemed from the bondage of sin in heart, hands and feet. 

He is thankful and very much aware of the mercy and grace of God sustaining him. He sees God’s good hand keeping and strengthening him daily as he puts his trust in God.

Psalm 103:1-6 A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

God’s care for His people is so complete and comprehensive that not one hair will fall to the ground without the Father’s knowledge or permission.

CONCLUSION

May the Lord help us to see our privilege in Christ and walk worthy of the Name of Christ, after Whom we are. Amen.

[1]ְכִּסיל: A masculine noun meaning fool, foolish. It refers to one of several types of fools in Scripture, especially in Proverbs. Such persons are usually unable to deal with life in a successful, practical way (Ecc_4:5,Ecc_4:13) and are lacking in religious or spiritual sympathies (Psa_49:10[11]; Pro_1:22, Pro_1:32). Fools do not understand issues (lō’-yāḇîn, Psa_92:6[7]), for they conduct their lives in a haze or darkness (Ecc_2:14-16). Fools act rashly (Ecc_5:1), and their laughter is senseless (Ecc_7:6). As the proverb goes, they are always going to the left, not the right (Ecc_10:2). Wise persons receive honour, but the kesiylonly shame after shame (Pro_3:35). These persons need understanding, literally lēḇ, hearts (Pro_8:5). They are sources of despair to their parents (Pro_10:1).

[2]ֱאִויל: An adjective meaning foolish in the sense of one who hates wisdom and walks in folly, despising wisdom and morality. The adjective is used in Jer_4:22, depicting God’s people as a whole, while in Hos_9:7God’s foolish people call the prophet a fool. The word depicts a simpleton, fool thirteen times in Proverbs (e.g. Pro_1:7; Pro_7:22; Pro_24:7;Pro_29:9). The wise advisors of Pharaoh in Zoan are ironically called fools (Isa_19:11).

[3]ָנָבל nāḇāl: An arrogant bore, dense morally, intellectually, and spiritually. As an adjective or noun, it means foolish, a fool. It is used to describe a whole nation (Deu_32:6); or persons individually (2Sa_3:33). Such persons cannot speak well or civilly to anyone (Pro_17:7) and shame their parents (Pro_17:21). They reject God (Psa_14:1). The person who gets unjust wealth dies a fool in God’s eyes (Jer_17:11). He dies a shameful and disrespectful death (2Sa_3:33). The word is used as an adjective to describe false prophets (Eze_13:3). [The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old Testament, Spiros Zodhiates]