Blessings and Responsibilities of Christians

(from the book of Ephesians)

Mike Wencel

 

Winston Churchill once said “Where there is great power, there is great responsibility. The Bible expresses a similar idea in Luke 12:48b: “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required”

 

As Christians we have many blessings, but with those blessings come responsibilities. Let’s take at a look at some of our blessings as well as some of our responsibilities.

 

Blessings Enjoyed by Christians
1	Chosen by God	► Ephesians 1:3-4

► “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love…”

At one point in history the Jews were the chosen people of God, but when they continually rejected him, and preferred to worship idols, God selected a new group of people (Christians) to be his chosen people. What a privilege it is for us to know that we, through faith in Jesus Christ, have been chosen by God to be his people now and forever more.

Calvinists would have us believe that this passage proves pre-destination (unconditional election) but God did not choose us individually but as a group (all those who believe in his Son). How wonderful for us to know that when we come before God in the Judgment we can be blameless because of our belief in Jesus.

 

2

Adopted into God’s Family

► Ephesians 1:5      u Ephesians 2:19

► “having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself”

u “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God”

It’s interesting to me that Paul uses the word adoption here. Conception is sometimes unplanned, but adoption never is. One must go through an arduous process in order to adopt a child, and it takes a lot of planning and expense. Likewise, God did a lot or planning as to how we would be adopted into his family (1^st Peter 1:20) and He went through great expense (the sacrifice of his son Jesus) to do so.

[Barnes]: Adoption is the taking and treating a stranger as one’s own child. It is applied to Christians because God treats them as his children; he receives them into this relation, though they were by nature strangers and enemies.

 

3

Acceptance Before God

► Ephesians 1:6

► “by which He made us accepted in the Beloved”  

The Beloved here is our Lord Jesus Christ, the well-beloved Son of God. Teenagers go to great lengths to be accepted by their peers, so that they won’t feel isolated or ostracized. God has accepted us into his family for the same reason, so that we would not be isolated, but able to enjoy the friendship, unity and love of our fellow Christians and eventually to be able to enjoy the presence of God in heaven. 

 

4

Forgiveness of Sins

► Ephesians 1:7

► “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”  We have a savior who takes away our sins through his own blood. The heathen have no such blessing and will face God in Judgment fully clothed with all of their sin. We will face God with spotless garments, as our sons have been washed away by the blood of Jesus. 

Think about what our fate would be if there was no forgiveness for sin. Paul makes it pretty clear in Romans 6:23:  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

5

Insight into God’s Will

► Ephesians 1:9

► “having made known to us the mystery of His will,” 

It’s pretty amazing when you think about it that God, the creator of the Universe, the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God Almighty would give us lowly humans insight into his mind and his will. But that is exactly what he has done through the prophets and His written word.

Why would anyone in their right mind not want to tap into that intelligence and understanding? Solomon said it best: Proverbs 18:2 A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.   

 

6

An Eternal Inheritance

► Ephesians 1:11

► “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance”

As a parent loves his children and wants to leave them an earthly inheritance, God loves all of his children and has promised us a much better eternal inheritance

Vine gives a number of definitions and examples of the word “inheritance”. Two of the most telling are: (1) that which is received as a gift, in contrast with that which is received as the reward of law-keeping, and (2) that which is received on condition of obedience to certain precepts, and of faithfulness to God amidst opposition.

 

7

The Seal of the Spirit

► Ephesians 1:13

► “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 Spirit of promise”

Barnes: the word “seal” is used to denote setting a mark on something, to denote that it is genuine, authentic, confirmed, or approved, as when a deed, or agreement is sealed. it is thus made sure; and is confirmed or established. Hence, it is applied to Christian, as denoting that they are approved by God.

 

8

Wisdom and Knowledge

► Ephesians 1:17

► “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,”

We touched on this in point #5 above, that God freely shares his wisdom about the best way to live our lives in service to him, and experience joy and peace.

 

9

God’s Mercy and Love

► Ephesians 2:4     u Ephesians  3:19

► “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,”

There are many who read the Old Testament and come away with the opinion that God is a cruel, vengeful and unfair God, and therefore they want nothing to do with Him. But of course the opposite is true. God is a loving father who disciplines his children in order to help them grow and has a master plan, the details if which man is not always privy to.

u “to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge”

As sinners we require God’s mercy in order to receive salvation for the punishment our sins deserve. If God demonstrated a hard line “no-mercy” policy towards us, we would all be destined for an eternity of misery. But scripture tells us that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1^st Timothy 2:4). And in order to achieve that goal God continually extends his mercy to the repentant sinner. Recall Lamentations 3:22 - “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end”

 

10

Divine Power

► Ephesians 1:19-20

► “according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” 

Because of Jesus’ resurrection he conquered death, and because of the divine power given to Him, He is also able to conquer Satan. We therefore have the security of knowing that Jesus will indeed conquer Satan, when he comes again, and that good will triumph over evil, and the righteous will triumph over the ungodly.          

 

11

The Promise of Eternal Kindness

► Ephesians 2:7

► “that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

This is the greatest blessing of all – what could be more wonderful than eternal life in the presence in God? Paul  assures us of this same promise in Titus 1:2  in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, 

[Coffman]: “in Christ” - like a constant drumbeat, this concept is hammered into every line of Paul’s writings. The love, the goodness, the hope, the forgiveness, the joy, the salvation - everything is in Christ.

 

12

Unity and Peace with All Believers

► Ephesians 2:13-14

► “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,”

This signified the removal of the barrier between the common man and God, so that  Christians can now approach God individually through prayer.

 

13

Access to God through Christ

► Ephesians 3:12

► “in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”

We no longer have to rely on a high priest to intervene for us with the father, we now have a better high priest who is our advocate with the Father

Hebrews 2:17  “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

And Jesus is the best advocate that we could have, because as Hebrews 4:15 says “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

 

 

Responsibilities of Christians
1	To Keep the Unity of the Spirit	► Ephesians 4:3

► “endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

[Gill] the saints are united under one head, and are members of one and the same body, and should be of the same mind and judgment, and of one accord, heart, and affection - this may be called "the unity of the Spirit"; because it is a union of the spirits or souls of men.

Unity is such an important quality for Christians to maintain. Pretty much all of the New Testament writers had something to say about it:

■ Jesus prayed diligently for unity among his followers ( John 17 ). 

■ Paul pleaded for oneness among believers ( Romans 12:16 )

■ Peter exhorts Christians to be of one mind ( 1^st Peter 3:8 )

■ John warns against divisive members like Diotrephes ( 3^rd John 1:9 ) 

■ James encourages unity among believers by confessing to one another and praying for one another ( James 5:16 )

■ Jude warns against spiritual division ( Jude 1:19 ).

 

2

To Use our Abilities for the Church’s Benefit

► Ephesians 4:11-12

► “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,”

We all have different talents and abilities - Instead of focusing on what we can’t do, we need to find some area of service that we CAN do. An 80 year old may not be able to climb a ladder to hang VBS decorations, or administer the church website, but they could check to see that the baptistery is full of water, or help decorate the tables for a fellowship, or visit or call an ailing member.

 

3

To Keep Growing and Maturing

► Ephesians 4:14-15

► ”That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-Christ”

[Barnes]: In some respects Christians are to be like children. They are to be docile, gentle, mild, and free from ambition, pride, and haughtiness. But children are often changeable; influenced easily by others, and led astray, In these respects, Paul exhorts the Ephesians to be no longer children but urges them to put on the characteristics of manhood; and especially to put on the firmness in religious opinion.

It is nobody’s responsibility but our own to educate ourselves on the bible and to apply it in our lives. The preacher can help us get motivated to study God’s word, but he cannot study for us. The elders can bring in guest speakers, or initiate bible study programs, but they can’t make us into mature Christians – that takes self-discipline and sacrifice (e.g. we may have to forego some TV in order to make time for bible study).

The only way we can hope to not be fooled into false doctrine by slick “preachers” is to know God’s word well enough to be able to spot false teachings immediately – or at least be familiar enough with the principles of bible study to do our own research to refute those teachings.  Think of the temptation by Jesus in Matthew chapter 4 – Jesus answered Satan, not with human logic, not with esoteric philosophy, but with scripture.

 

4

To Put Away Old Sinful Ways

► Ephesians 4:17-19     u Ephesians 5:6-9

► “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”  

The ERV translation (paraphrased) says it this way:

I have something from the Lord to tell you. I warn you: Don't continue living like those who don't believe. Their thoughts are worth nothing. They have no understanding, and they know nothing because they refuse to listen. So they cannot have the life that God gives. They have lost their feeling of shame and use their lives to do what is morally wrong. More and more they want to do all kinds of evil. But that way of life is nothing like what you learned when you came to know Christ.

u “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth)”

It is our responsibility to keep ourselves as pure and godly as possible, and not be susceptible to falling back into our old sinful ways. This includes being unfaithful in our attendance, using alcohol or other intoxicants, and any other behavior that is not consistent with being “children of light”.

 

5

To Speak Honestly and Purely

► Ephesians 4:25    u Ephesians 4:29

u “Therefore, putting away lying, "let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.”

    [Barnes] “We are members of one another” means that we belong to one body - the church - which is  

    the body of Christ. Lying tends to loosen the bonds of brotherhood and can be ruinous to the local church

    and to the church universal

u “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

    Corrupt: [Strong] - rotten, worthless (literally or morally)

                 [Thayer] - rotten, putrefied, of poor quality, bad, unfit for use, worthless

    Edification: [Thayer] - building up, promoting another’s growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness, holiness

    Grace: [Thayer] - speech which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness

 

6

To Do What the Spirit Leads Us To Do

► Ephesians 4:30

► “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption”

    Just how do we grieve the Holy Spirit? Let’s look at a few commentators:

    [Barnes] We are not to suppose that the Holy Spirit literally endures grief, or pain at the conduct of people.    

    The language is used to describe what men endure, and is applied to him to denote that kind of conduct  

    which would cause grief or pain to the benevolent heart of a holy being. In other words, do not act toward

    the Holy Spirit in a manner which would produce pain in the heart of a friend who loves you.

  

    [Coffman] Any of the sins Paul was forbidding in these verses would, of course, grieve the Holy Spirit in the

    heart of any Christian committing them; but the thought here seems especially directed against filthy 

    conversation. In addition to "grieving" the Holy Spirit, the New Testament reveals a number of other ways in

    which people may sin against the Holy Spirit: n They may lust against him (Galatians 5:16) n They may

    resist him (Acts 7:51) n They may lie to him (Acts 5:3). n They may try him (Acts 5:9) n They may insult

    him (Hebrews 10:24). n They may blaspheme against him (Mark 3:29). n They may "quench" him (1st

    Thessalonians 5:19).

 

7

To Imitate God

► Ephesians 5:1

► “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.”

A child often imitates his parent – this can be a good thing (if he is emulating good behavior) or a bad thing (if he is emulating a parent’s bad behavior). But if we imitate God we can be assured that we are emulating only good, because there is no bad in God, he is all light and no darkness as 1^st John 1:5 tell us. 

Warning: While we are called to imitate God, the world will not necessarily respect us for doing so, especially if our behavior goes against their secular way of thinking. We may be branded as naive, “goody two shoes”, “holier than thou”, religious fanatic, intolerant, close-minded, homophobic, sexist  or any number of other things. But keep in mind that old saying we were taught as children: “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me”. As long as we are imitating God, we have nothing to fear. (cf. Matthew 10:28)

 

8

To Walk in Love

► Ephesians 5:2

► “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us” 

[Barnes] “to walk in love” means to let your life be characterized by love; and manifested in all your deportment and conversation; “As Christ also has loved us” - We are to show the same love for one another which Christ has showed for us. He showed his love by giving himself to die for us, and we should show similar love to one another; (1^st John 3:16).

Vine defines “walk” as:  signifying the whole round of the activities of the individual life. This is another way to express what Paul says in  1st Corinthians  16:14 -  Let all that you do be done with love.

 

9

To Find Out What is Acceptable to the Lord

► Ephesians 5:10-11

► “finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”

[Believer’s Bible Commentary]:  “find out what is acceptable to the Lord” - put every thought, word, and action to this test: What would the Lord think about this? How would it appear in His presence? Every area of life comes under the searchlight—conversation, standard of living, clothes, books, business, pleasures, activities, entertainments, friendships, charitable donations, vacations etc. Believers should have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, either by participation or by any attitude that might indicate tolerance or leniency. These works of darkness are unfruitful as far as God is concerned.

[Guzik]: Paul is careful to say that we should avoid the unfruitful works of darkness, not the people who are in darkness.

 

10

To Make the Most of Our Time

► Ephesians 5:16

► “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

Circumspectly [Webster]:  Cautiously, with watchfulness every way, with attention to guard against surprise or danger.

Redeeming the time [Vine]: making the most of every opportunity, turning each to the best advantage since none can be recalled if missed. [Thayer]: To make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good

It’s interesting that Paul says “the days are evil”. Even though that was nearly 2000 years ago, the days are still evil – we haven’t learned much in 2000 years – we just have more ways to commit evil now, movies, internet etc.

 

11

To Be Filled with the Spirit

► Ephesians 5:18

► “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,”

Dissipation: [Vine]: wastefully, in riotous living," synonymous with lasciviousness, outrageous conduct, wanton violence.

[Webster]:  Scattered attention; or that which diverts and calls off the mind from any subject. A dissolute, irregular course of life; a wandering from object to object in pursuit of pleasure; a course of life usually attended with careless and exorbitant expenditure of money, and indulgence in vices, which impair or ruin both health and fortune.

Other translations say it this way:

[GNB]:  Do not get drunk with wine, which will only ruin you; instead, be filled with the Spirit.

[GW]:   Don't get drunk on wine, which leads to wild living. Instead, be filled with the Spirit

 

12

To Submit to One Another

► Ephesians 5:20-21

► “Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.”

Other paraphrased translations say “submitting to one another” this way:

    [ERV] Be willing to serve each other out of respect for Christ

    [ESV] Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

[Guzik]:  In practical action submitting to one another implies the following: n thoughtful of others  n not individualistic, not self-assertive (audacious, cocky, overconfident, immodest, pushy) n not self-seeking  n possessing a team-player attitude n happy when someone else succeeds or has good fortune n bears his own discomforts and trials with courage.

 

13

To Have Marriages That Honor God

► Ephesians 5:22, 25–28

►“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.... Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.”

Some men like to quote Ephesians 5:22 but would like to ignore the rest of the passage starting in v.25.

This is a very special kind of love, a sacrificial love, that husbands are to have for their wives. Possessing this type of love would automatically eliminate unfaithfulness, flirting, lustfulness, and abuse of any kind.

It is important to note here that the husband is not a more valuable or important person in the eyes of God, it is just that he has been given a certain position in the family just as the wife has. Neither person, nor position should be regarded as inferior. These positions were established by God to ensure order and peace in the family. Imagine if there were no leaders in a government – total chaos would ensue. Or what if there were two presidents of the country or two governors of a state – constant bickering and competition would ensue. The same would occur in a leaderless home or a multi-leader home.   

 

14

To Train our Children Properly

u Ephesians 6:1     u Ephesians 6:4

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

u And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

[Vine] The difference between 'admonition' and 'training' seems to be that, the former deals mainly with things that are wrong and call for warning, the latter has to do chiefly with the impartation of positive truth.

Psalm 127:3 - Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Proverbs 20:7 - The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.

This proverb tells fathers they must not only teach their children verbally, but by their example in all things. And mothers must reinforce these teachings and not attempt to override them. These types of relationships lay the foundation for harmony in the home, when a person tries to extend their role or take on the role given to another family member, disharmony and dysfunction ensues.

 

15

To Demonstrate Integrity in the Workplace

► Ephesians 6:6-8

► “not with eye service, as men pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord,”

When we are working, we should always be of the mindset that we are working for God, that God is our boss, as it were. If God gave us a job to do, we would work diligently and the best we were capable of. This is the same attitude we should have towards our jobs that God has provided for us. 

Colossians 3:23 - And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,

When we read the terms “bondservant” and “master” in these verses, we immediately think of slaves and masters, and we attach to it the meaning of the term “slave” as we know it from America’s early history. But Barnes warns against this strict interpretation saying: “The word slave used here denotes one who is bound to render service to another, whether that service be free or voluntary, and may denote, therefore, either a slave, or one who binds himself to render service to another. So we can apply Paul’s teaching here to the worker-to-boss relationship, the citizen-to-civil authority relationship and other such subordinate relationships. Paul tells us both how we should act in these relationships (as if to the Lord and not to men) and he tells us the reward for this behavior – whatever good we do we will receive back from the Lord.   

 

16

To Stand Strong Against the Forces of Evil

► Ephesians 6:13-18

► Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints”  

In one paragraph Paul packs in every weapon we need to equip ourselves with to be strong Christians, impervious to Satan’s darts and attacks. Look again at the underlined words. If we possess all these things in abundance, we will have a solid defense against Satan and all his workers of iniquity in the world.