“Stand, Stand, Stand, Stand” (Ephesians 6:10-20)

 Spiritual Warfare?

What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase “spiritual warfare”? The nineteenth century French poet Charles Baudelaire once wrote that “the devil’s finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist.” As C. S. Lewis says in the introduction to his famous Screwtape Letters, the general public prefers either to ignore the forces of evil altogether or to take an unhealthy interest in everything demonic. It’s so important to have a healthy, balanced, biblical understanding of spiritual warfare.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we know that the devil exists. This is the first step to win the battles: to recognize that the enemy does exist and his attacks are coming. So what kind of spiritual warfare are we engaged in? Sometimes the attack will take the obvious form of actual authorities in towns and cities who try to prevent Christians from spreading the message. Sometimes it will take the more subtle form of persuading Christians to invest time and energy in irrelevant side issues, or to become fascinated by distorted teaching. Sometimes it will be simply the classical temptations of money, sex and power.[1] We wrestle daily with some of these whether we like it or not. Paul says that our struggle is not with human beings, but with evil spiritual forces. Our enemies are not human but demonic. So we must be prepared for spiritual battle.

Put on the Full Armor of God

Thankfully, to win the battles, God has provided a set of armor for us (vv. 13-17). For Paul and his audience, this armor analogy is very down-to-earth and effective. At that time they were very familiar with Roman soldiers. They saw the soldiers everywhere – in their travels and in their everyday life. Paul details the six main pieces of a soldier’s equipment from head to toe, and uses them as pictures of Christian soldiers - the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the boots of good news of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the word of God. But here putting on the full armor of God is not a mechanical operation. We don’t literally put the armor on. Putting on the full armor of God is a symbolic metaphor for our full dependence on God[2], or our union with Christ. It is to put off the old self and to put on the new self, who is Jesus Christ our Lord. So Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Rom 13:13-14, ESV).

In C. S. Lewis’ book, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” Eustace is the character that you love to hate, he’s selfish, greedy, spoiled and complains constantly. He enters the cave where he sees a dead dragon and discovers a huge treasure chest. He ends up falling asleep on the treasure only to wake up and find that he has turned into a dragon himself. He is miserable and lonely. He starts scratching himself and his scales begin coming off all over the place. But the problem is that there is another layer of the scales underneath the first one. So he scratches again and peels off his scales, but then he finds another layer. He does this three times, but the same thing happens again. Now he thinks to himself, “O dear, how many skins should I take off?” Finally, the Lion, the Christ-figure, comes. Eustace describes what happens next:[3]

This is what the Lion said, but I don’t know if he spoke. “You will have to let me undress you.” I was afraid of his claws I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate, so I just lay flat on my back and let him do it. The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right to my heart and when he began pulling the skin off it hurt worse than anything I had ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off.

All-Prayer

That is how it is with putting off the old self and putting on the new self. We would rather do it ourselves, but we cannot. The only way to do it is to let Christ undress us first, and then to put on his new clothes. So how do we put on the full armor of God? The answer is by prayer. After describing the six main pieces of the armor, Paul tells us how to put it on: “Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication” (v. 18). We equip ourselves with God’s armor as we pray. As we pray, we learn to fully rely on God. As we pray, we learn to be united with Christ. We put on the full armor of God by prayer – being in communion with God. In Pilgrim’s Progress Christian defeats Apollyon the dragon with his sword. But then he enters the valley of the shadow of death. In that valley you hear things like a continual howling and yelling; you see people bound in afflictions and irons, discouraging clouds of confusion hang over the valley; the pathway is so dark, that you can’t see where your next step would land. It was when Christian ‘perceived the mouth of hell … hard by the narrow way, and saw flame and smoke and heard hideous noises, that ‘he was forced to put up his sword, and take another weapon, called All-prayer: so he cried, “O Lord, I beg you, deliver my soul!”[4]

Oftentimes Satan’s attacks are so subtle but persistent. He whispers that God is not good and that he is not for us. The enemy makes every effort to discourage us, tempt us, intimidate us, make us doubt, “If God is good, why do bad things happen in the world?” That’s the time when we need to put on the full armor of God by All-prayer – pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. When you feel unworthy and down, pray, “Lord, have mercy” (Ps 123:3). When you are confused, pray, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (Sam 3:9). When you feel powerless, pray, “Help me Lord, the maker of heaven and earth” (Ps 121:2). When you are worried and afraid, pray, “When I am afraid, I will trust you” (Ps 56:3). When you are anxious or impatient, pray, “Not my will, but yours” (Lk 22:42). When you are overwhelmed by sad news, pray, “Come Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20). Always be in communion with God. By All-prayer, we win the battles.  

Stand Firm

When we think about our spiritual warfare, God does all the work. He provides the armor for us. He protects us, sustains us, helps us. He gives us desire and strength to win the battles. But there is one thing that God requires of us. That is to stand. In today’s passage God commends us to stand four times. Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (v. 11), that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore. Stand, stand, stand, stand. That’s our part. God provides all the means to overcome, but still we need to stand, endure, persevere. We need to be willing to fight the battles.

When the Moabites and Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat for battle, Jehoshaphat was afraid. But he resolved to seek the Lord, praying, “O our God… we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” God answered, “Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s… You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf” (2 Ch 20:17). Early the next morning Jehoshaphat and his army went out, marching and singing to the Lord, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever!” As they began to sing and praise, the Lord ambushed the enemies, and they were defeated. They began attacking each other, and no one had escaped. So how did Israel win the battle? By standing. God did all the work, but still Israel had to stand firm, hold their position by faith.

I still remember an inspiring story of the father-and-son team of Dick and Ricky Hoyt for an “iron man” competition (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run) in 1999. The two have run together in more than eight hundred races. Even more remarkable fact is that the now adult son, Ricky, was born with cerebral palsy. To race, he must be pulled, pushed, or carried by his father with special equipment. Yes in the race the father does all the work. But there is the son’s role. The son still has to endure wind, cold, and an equipment failure with the father. In one competition the father knelt down to his son, contorted and trembling in the cold, as the two were still facing many more miles of race on the defective bike. Said the father to the child belted to the bicycle seat, “Do you still want to keep going, Son?”[5] The son nodded, and they finally finished the course together. I believe that’s how it is with standing. We have a Father who is right with us, and who is for us. We have a Father who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us. We have a Father who has already provided his full armor to overcome all the challenges of the enemy. Whatever be the challenges, we can prevail through him who gives us strength. So sisters and brothers in Christ, let us stand, stand, stand, stand. Amen.

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[1] N. T. Wright, Ephesians (N. T. Wright for Everyone Bible Study Guides) . InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition. Location 867 of 1084.

[2] John Scott, The Message of Ephesians, InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition, 283.

[3] C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (London: Collins, 1974), p. 102.

[4] John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress, Aneko Press. Kindle Edition. 69-70.

[5] Bryan Chapell, Ephesians, P&R Publishing. Kindle Edition. 349.

“Living Coram Deo” (Ephesians 6:1-9)

How Do You Read the Bible?

As we Christians are processing this week’s events, the Atlanta shootings – 8 people killed, including 6 of Asian descent, our heads are filled with questions. The suspected shooter, Robert Aaron Long, is a self-identified Christian nationalist, who was discipled in a white evangelical church (SBC). His self-description on Instagram said, “Pizza, guns, drums, music, family, and God. This pretty much sums up my life.”[1] Long’s passion for God and country led to this anti-Asian violence. How did he read the Bible?

 When I was newly appointed to serve as the lead pastor at the precious church, I had to face racism at first hand. On the day the news about the pastoral appointment change was announced, two families had left that church even before I met them in person. My predecessor, a white male pastor, at that church spread rumors that my ministry would not be successful, even before I started to serve the church, because I am different – because I am a person of color, unlike him. How does the pastor read the Bible?

Today’s scripture (the slave text) is difficult to make sense of it. Howard Thurman shares his experience of reading the Bible for his grandmother, a former slave. She always asked him to omit sections of Paul’s letters. One day he asks her why she avoids Paul. She said this way:[2]

“During the days of slavery, the master’s minister would occasionally hold services for the slaves. Old man McGhee was so mean that he would not let a Negro minister preach to his slaves. Always the white minister used as his text something from Paul. At least three or four times a year he used as a text: ‘Slaves, be obedient to them that are your masters . . . as unto Christ.’ Then he would go on to show how it was God’s will that we were slaves and how, if we were good and happy slaves, God would bless us. I promised my Maker that if I ever learned to read and if freedom ever came, I would not read that part of the Bible.”

So how did the slave masters read the Bible? And how should we read today’s scripture and apply it to our lives?

The Metanarrative (Grand Narrative)

First, we ought to interpret the text. In particular, it’s very helpful to read the particular text from the big picture – an overarching story of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ as the point of the whole Bible. For example, one Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. The Pharisees saw it and said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?” Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” (Mark 2:23-28). Here apparently, the Pharisees don’t see the big picture. They just read the scripture literally from a micro-perspective. Result? They have missed the point and condemned the innocent. So Jesus expounds the true meaning of Sabbath from God’s marco-perspective: “My Father gave Sabbath as a gift for you to enjoy, not to make you miserable. It’s a day of refreshing your souls and restoring your relationships with God and with others. It’s a day of playing and praying.”

In the same way, if we read today’s text literally just from a micro-perspective, it sounds like the text justifies slavery. But that’s not the point. Here Paul’s point is neither to condone slavery, nor condemn it. In Paul’s time antagonism was everywhere between husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves. Paul’s solution to this antagonism was regeneration – a new heart from God and a new submission to one another out of respect for Christ.[3] Paul proclaims how God created his new society through Christ Jesus where God is our Father, and all of his members are related to one another in Christ as brothers and sisters. So he proclaims by the Holy Spirit, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28, NRSV). From this grand narrative, Paul exhorts both masters and slaves to love another and submit to one another as sisters and brothers in Christ. So there is no place for proslavery interpretation from today’s scripture.

 Living as Slaves of Christ

So what’s the point? If we summarize today’s passage (6:5-9) into one sentence, it would be something like this: “Whatever your role is (masters/slaves, employers/employees), live as slaves of Christ” (vv. 6, 9). A simple definition of slave is the one who knows and does the master’s will. So good slaves of Christ are those who know and do the will of Christ from the heart (v. 6). Then, how do we know his will? George Mueller shares six steps to find the will of God as follows:[4]

1. Surrender your own will.

2. Do not depend on feelings.

3. Seek, the Spirit's will through God's Word.

4. Note providential circumstances.

5. Pray.

6. Wait.

In particular, Mueller emphasizes the surrendered will as the first and most important quality for slaves of Christ. He continues,

“I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.”

The Jews asked Jesus, “How do we know your teaching is from God?” In other words, they asked, “How do we know God’s will?” Jesus answered, “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17). God reveals his will to those who surrender their will and are willing to do the Lord’s will. So living as Christ’s slaves means living a surrendered life.

Living Coram Deo

Living as Christ’s slaves also means living Coram Deo (before the sight of God; cf. vv. 8-9). How can we recognize more of God’s presence in a real way? I think the following illustration may help. When actors play, they learn Uta Hagan’s concept of the “fourth wall.” Simply speaking, in performance theater, the “fourth wall” is an imaginary wall located in between the audience and the stage. Actors are instructed to envision specific items on their fourth wall (eg. a sunset, farmland, rolling ocean waves…whatever is required by the scene), keeping their eyes pointed toward this foreground. By doing this, by giving attention to the unseen dimension, the actor’s mind, emotions, and countenance are lifted above the mundane theater environment in apprehension of a new world.[5] Just as an actor will concentrate on his character’s foreground, we focus on the reality of God’s presence. For Christians, the truth is that we have only one audience to please, the audience always present and to whom we are accountable – God (v.8).

Then, how may we live before the sight of God? How may we please God? We can please God as we recognize and honor all people as God’s image bearers, especially the weak. In ancient Israel wives (women), children, and slaves were to be obedient, and that was the end of it. But in today’s scripture now Paul also exhorts the strong to do the same, “Husbands, love your wives” (5:25), “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger” (6:4), “Masters, treat your slaves with love” (v. 9). We live Coram Deo by honoring all God’s people, including the weak.

 

After the Atlanta shootings this week, some of the Asian American leaders were asked about what they want the church to know right now. Soong-Chan Rah, professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, shares it this way:[6]

My eyes are swollen from crying. My fingers are landing heavy on my computer keyboard in equal parts anger and deep sadness. My community is reeling from another violent crime committed against us. Wave after wave. 3,800 anti-Asian incidents of hate reported during this pandemic. My friends and their children have been yelled at and called names. I fear for my elderly parents. For my daughter. For myself.

I want you to know. Learn Asian American history.

I want you to see. Stop erasing. Stop seeing us as the perpetual foreigner.

I want you to care. Don’t write off these murders as a stand-alone act committed by a sex addict. Every act of terrorism at the hands of white men is portrayed in media as an individual act by a troubled victim.

I want you to step in. Commit to speaking up anytime you witness anti-Asian sentiments—in your family, among your friends, and out in public.

I want you to address violence against the AAPI community. Teach, train, equip and disciple believers to honor all of God’s image bearers.

I want you to state from the pulpit, on social media, in no uncertain terms, that you stand with us.

I want you to know we are hurting and tired.

 How do you read the Bible? And how do you read today’s world? May we listen to the voiceless and speak up for them. May we see the invisible in our society and care for them. May we step in and stand with the weak. May we honor all people as God’s image bearers. By doing this, may we live before the sight of God always. Amen.

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[1] Jason Dees, “Atlanta Shooter’s Church Ties Raise Questions for Pastors,” https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2021/march-web-exclusives/atlanta-shooter-church-pastor-discipleship-preach-gospel.html

[2] Esau McCaulley, Reading While Black (p. 18). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Study Series: Ephesians: Gaining the Things That Money Can't Buy (p. 108). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

[4] Precept Austin, Ephesians 6:5-6 Commentary, https://www.preceptaustin.org/ephesians_65-6

[5] Chris Castaldo, Live Coram Deo (Aug 28, 2015), https://unlockingthebible.org/2015/08/live-coram-deo/

[6] “Asian American Leaders on Atlanta Murders: “I Want You to Step in,” https://www.christianitytoday.com/better-samaritan/2021/march/asian-american-leaders-on-atlanta-murders-i-want-you-to-ste.html?utm_source=CT+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_term=10578&utm_content=3623&utm_campaign=email

“The Most Loving Thing” (Eph 5:21-33)

 How the Father Loved Us!

Today’s text is perhaps one of the most controversial passages in the Bible. Plus, we are at different stages in life – single, married, separated, divorced, or widowed. How should we read this controversial marriage passage and apply it to our lives? It can be challenging. But if we take this passage and place it in a larger context, it can give us a fresh look at what this passage really says and doesn’t say. And as a result, we can apply the text to our own circumstances.

The larger context is something like this: God created Adam and Eve out of love. They enjoyed perfect relationships with God and with each other. But when they had disobeyed God, sin entered. Since then, all our relationships were broken – with God and with others. But God is faithful. Even before he made the world God chose us and decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. He first loved us while we were still sinners and dead in our sins. Not only that, he made us alive together with Christ. He restored our broken relationships – with him and with others. He redeemed our relationships with our spouses, our parents, our children, our bosses, our employees. We are forgiven, accepted, reconciled. As the beloved children of God, now we have a job to do – love one another. The Bible says, “This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love one another” (1 John 4:10-11 ISV). We ought to love one another. But where do we start? Our family – our spouse, our parents, our children. In this larger context, Paul exhorts us to love the person right next to us.

Biblical Headship

To many of us, the person right next to us would be our spouse. Let me start with husbands. Paul says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (v. 25). God appointed husbands to be the head of the family, the head of the wife (v. 23). It’s called “headship.” But what does it mean to be the head? Our Lord Jesus Christ himself defines the meaning of “biblical headship” this way:

But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matt 20:26-28, NLT).

So Jesus tells us what headship is and what it isn’t. Headship is not about bossing the wife around. It is not a right to command and control. Headship is a responsibility to love like Christ. It’s servant-leadership. In practical terms, headship is mainly about serving “first” – apologizing first, even if you think it’s her fault, forgiving first, dying for the wife first. That’s headship. About three years ago Joyce and I attended a marriage conference. That was perfect timing because around that time we found ourselves more easily getting into argument. I thought my wife was a problem. I thought I was doing my part. But during the seminar, the Holy Spirit convicted me of my “50/50 mindset.” My love for Joyce did not reflect Christ’s. It was so conditional. I thought if Joyce did her part (50%), then I would do my part (50%). If Joyce did laundry, I would then do wash dishes, something like that. If she didn’t, I was frustrated and angry. But the Spirit said to me, “No, you do 100%. You love her first. You lay down your life for her first. Be the servant leader of your family.” That’s headship.

Biblical headship is also life-giving and empowering as well as serving first. Jesus died for his church, so that she would be made holy, splendid, thriving (vv. 26-27). If the wife isn’t flourishing, it may be the husband’s problem. If the wife is angry all the time, depressed all the time, or sells herself short all the time, the husband is primarily responsible. Jesus is going to talk to the husband first about this problem and then her. Recently, I shared how Jesus liberated Joyce and me from my selfishness as I was doing my genogram. Deep in my heart I always thought the wife is my “helper” – the person who assists me to thrive and realize my dream. But I never thought that I, the husband, am the one who ought to empower the wife to be splendid and flourishing. The Holy Spirit showed me how I was limiting my wife out of my selfish ambition. Jesus died for his church that she would be splendid. Biblical headship is the husband’s primary responsibility for Christ-like servant leadership.

Biblical Submission

Now wives. Paul says, “Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord” (v. 22). The word submission has a negative connotation to many of us. So it needs clarification – what biblical submission is and what it isn’t. Submission does not mean putting the husband in the place of Christ. Verse 21 clearly says that we ought to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Submission does not mean surrendering thought. It does not mean the wife has no input on decisions or no influence on her husband. Submission does mean to respect (v. 33) and affirm the husband’s leadership and support his initiatives. It means, “I’m right with you. I’m linking arms with you. I am on your side. Lead on. I affirm your leadership and will help carry it through according to my gifts.” That’s submission.

In this respect, for me personally, I truly appreciate Joyce. There are times when I fail to bring my children up with the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Instead, I tend to react emotionally and scold them too harshly. When I do that, Joyce doesn’t take sides with the children and make me feel shameful. She calms the situation down by asking the children to say, “I’m sorry” about what they did wrong. Then, later on, when she is alone with me, she asks for further clarification and invites me to think about what I would have done differently. That way I feel still supported and respected.

The Most Loving Thing

We are all sinners. The husband is a sinner. The wife is a sinner. So actually, it’s impossible that the husband should love his wife as Christ did, and that the wife should submit herself to her husband as to the Lord. They both are sinful, selfish human beings, and that makes things very complicated. There is no easy answer. We need godly wisdom as we practice biblical headship and submission, love and respect, in our unique circumstances.

Speaking of godly wisdom, I think we can learn a lot from Martin Luther’s wise advice on “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague.” In 1527 the bubonic plague was spreading across Europe, and Elector John (Luther’s sovereign) ordered Luther to leave in order to save his life. Instead, Luther remained and stayed to minister to the sick and dying. He eventually turned his own home into a field hospital. He was asked by many whether Christians should flee or stay. In his open letter Luther responds that both can be right. First, “to flee from death … is a natural tendency, implanted by God and not forbidden…  Appropriate it is therefore to seek to preserve life and avoid death if this can be done without harm to our neighbor.” Luther argues that to risk your own life needlessly, just to supposedly demonstrate your freedom from fear, is proud and reckless. On the other hand, if Christians find themselves in situations where their retreat from the plague would leave anyone else defenseless to it, for the same reason (the infinite value of human life) they should stay. “Christ does not want his weak ones to be abandoned [by the strong].” If the sick in your home, neighborhood, or town would not get sufficient care because of your withdrawal then you should not go. In particular, Luther argued that ministers, mayors, judges, “and the like” must stay and “remain steadfast before the peril of death.” Luther concludes that it may be right to flee the plague and it may be wrong to flee, and that therefore all people should assess their situation wisely and ask the important question: What is the most loving thing for me to do in my circumstances?[1]

Before we leave this room, I want to invite us to ask ourselves the same question: As a husband, as a wife, as a parent, as a grandparent, as a pastor, as a teacher, as a farmer, as a Christian, what is the most loving thing for me to do in my circumstances? What is the most Christ-honoring, other-serving thing for me to do in my circumstances? May the Lord give us a sense of clarity and wisdom to know his will in our unique situations, and may the Lord give us strength to do it. Amen.  

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[1] Keller, Timothy Keller, Hope in Times of Fear (p. 19). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

“Life in the Spirit” (Eph 5:15-21)

The Stimulus of the Spirit
Many are waiting for the next stimulus check. As coronavirus pandemic lasts longer than expected, US economy struggles to sustain a recovery. So the government is pursuing a third round of the stimulus package. Likewise, when life gets hard, we need stimulus to sustain. So many people turn to alcohol or things sort of. But the point of today’s scripture is clear: “Don’t turn to alcohol; turn to the Spirit.” Medical doctor and pastor, Martyn Lloyd-Jones rightly expounds today’s passage this way:[1]

“Wine—alcohol—… pharmacologically speaking is not a stimulant—it is a depressant. Take up any book on pharmacology and look up ‘alcohol’, and you will find, always, that it is classified among the depressants. It is not a stimulant’. Further, ‘it depresses first and foremost the highest centers of all in the brain … They control everything that gives a man self-control, wisdom, understanding, discrimination, judgment, balance, the power to assess everything; in other words everything that makes a man behave at his very best and highest’. What the Holy Spirit does, however, is the exact opposite. ‘If it were possible to put the Holy Spirit into a textbook of Pharmacology, I would put him under the stimulants, for that is where he belongs. He really does stimulate… He stimulates our every faculty… the mind and the intellect … the heart … and the will …”

The apostle Paul was well aware of what Ephesian Christians were going through and how challenging it could be. They were facing social ostracism, persecution, economic hardships, sexual temptations. Their life was hard. But Paul exhorts them not to just give in to their old stimulants, former ways of life, turning into alcohol, sexual sin, or loving money (cf. Eph 5:3). Instead, he commends them to be filled, encouraged, empowered by the new stimulant, that is the Holy Spirit. In verse 18 Paul says, “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit.” He uses a “present imperative,” which means we are to be continually filled with the Spirit. The question is “How do we stay filled with the Spirit?” We can find the clue to that question in today’s text. After the commandment of “being filled with the Spirit,” there follows five participles in verses 19-21: (1) speaking, (2) singing, (3) making music, (4) giving thanks, (5) submitting. These participles indicate the means by which we are filled with the Spirit. We will explore them one by one.

Worship
The context of the first three participles – speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord (v. 19 NKJV) – is public worship. In other words, we are filled with the Spirit and keep on being filled with the Spirit in worship. The Book of Haggai tells us how important it is to restore our worship more than anything else. At that time the Israelites were exiled to Babylon because of their sins, especially idol worship, and about 50 years later some of them began to return to their homeland. When they returned, they determined to restore the worship of God at the center of their lives. So, as soon as they came back, the first thing they did was to lay the foundation for a new temple (Ezra 1). But, the enemies launched a fierce counterattack, and the work on the temple was stopped for the time being. Then, the people began to lose their early passion for the worship of God. They got involved in many other commitments. Then, they totally forgot about the temple that still remained a ruin, and before they knew it, about 16 years had gone by. They always said, “We’ll get around to it. It’s not the right time to rebuild it yet. We are too busy now” (1:2). They worked hard for a living. They worked hard for the decoration of their homes. But for some reason, although they worked very hard from morning till night, they always seemed to have one problem after another. They wondered why. Then, the Lord exhorted them to examine their spiritual life first. The Lord Almighty said to them:

Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored… You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?... Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. (1:7-9, NIV)

Here God was saying “First things first! Restore your worship first!” In church history we hear numerous stories of how our spiritual ancestors were converted, transformed, filled with the Holy Spirit while worshiping God. For example, one Sunday morning Charles Spurgeon had to attend a small Methodist church nearby his house because of a snowstorm. He heard a fill-in lay speaker preaching Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” By faith Spurgeon did look to Jesus, and he felt the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment he saw the sun. He was filled with the Spirit. John Wesley is another good example. While he was “unwillingly” attending a worship gathering on Aldersgate Street in London, he heard the preacher reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. He felt his heart strangely warmed. He was filled with the Spirit. Have you felt the Holy Spirit while worshiping? Indeed, now is the time to worship, and this is the place to be filled with the Spirit.

Thanksgiving
Secondly, Paul exhorts us to give thanks to God always and for everything in Jesus’ name (v. 20) to be filled with the Spirit. In fact, this exhortation is from Paul’s own experience. One time Paul and Silas were put into jail in Philippi. About midnight they were praying, singing hymns, giving thanks to God. Suddenly there was an earthquake, and all the prison doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. The jailor was about to kill himself because he thought that the prisoners had escaped. Then, Paul shouted, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” The jailer fell down and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul said to him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, and you and your household” (Acts 16:31). Thankfulness is a soil where the Holy Spirit can fill us and grow us.

Giving thanks always and for everything doesn’t mean we ought to give thanks for evil or tragedy. Instead, we are asked to trust God in our suffering, and indeed to thank him for his loving providence and sovereignty, knowing that he is in control and that he can turn even evil to his good purposes (cf. Rom 8:28). When the five thousand were coming toward Jesus, his disciples were overwhelmed by their great needs. But Jesus took five loaves and two fish, gave thanks to God for his provision, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples. And all were satisfied. On another occasion when his close friend, Lazarus, died, Jesus wept. But then he went to his tomb and said before the crowd, “Father, I thank you for having heard me” (John 11:42). Thank and think come from the same root word. The more we would think about God – who he is and what he has done for us, the more we would thank him. And the more we would thank him, the more we would be filled with his Holy Spirit.

Submission
Thirdly, we are filled with the Spirit when we submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (v. 21). Here what Paul has in mind is that when we arrange ourselves for service to other people, our humble Savior shines through us and we are filled with his Spirit. Martyn Lloyd Jones rightly says, “The Spirit-filled life is not to be measured merely by one's private morality or even by one's private spiritual experience but by how one conducts himself or herself with other persons.” In this very context, Paul says in Philippians 2, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” Then, Paul continues, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who emptied himself, and humbled himself, and became obedient to the point of death.” In a word, biblical submission is to arrange ourselves under others out of love and respect for Christ.

The other day I heard news about the family going through very difficult time – their job situation, health issues, etc. They needed some encouragement. The next morning I received the parcel, containing a new necktie, some clothes, ramens, and some other Korean nonperishable foodstuff, from my parents. As soon as Joyce and I opened the parcel, we were thinking of that family. We felt that the Holy Spirit wanted us to encourage that family by sharing our gifts with them. For a moment, I was hesitant because I really liked the new tie. But when I finally obeyed the promptings of the Spirit, sharing some of the gifts with them, I can tell you I could feel the Holy Spirit rejoicing in me. It was my high of the entire week. We are filled with the Spirit when we humble ourselves and work for the good of others.

Love God, Love Others
The third round of the stimulus check would be helpful for many of us to sustain. But there is a far better, greater stimulant for our souls, the Holy Spirit. And the even better news is we don’t have to wait for him. We can be filled with the Spirit now as we restore our worship, give thanks to God, and serve others. Filling of the Spirit is about relationships – vertical and horizontal. We are filled with the Spirit, and we stay filled with the Spirit when we love God (worship and give thanks to God) and love others (submit or serve others). Jesus said, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ And ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” May we hear the Word and do the Word. Amen.
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[1] John Stott, The Message of Ephesians (The Bible Speaks Today Series) (p. 205). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

“Embracing Weakness” (Ephesians 4:17-24)

The Apostle
The Apostle, released in 1997, is a powerful movie about a Christian leader in rural Texas — the Reverend Eulis “Sonny” Dewey. Sonny spends most of his time on the road leading revivals. The movie opens with how Sonny leads the young man dying from his car accident to Christ. Spiritual passion permeates his life. Meanwhile, his beautiful but long-suffering wife, Jessie, grows tired of both his adulteries and her being alone. She asks for a divorce. It turns out she also is having an affair with the youth pastor at church. In a moment of jealous rage, Sonny gets drunk and attacks the youth pastor with a baseball bat while the youth pastor is coaching his son’s game. Eventually the youth pastor dies. Meanwhile, Sonny leaves town, destroying his old identity and setting off to find a new life.

After sincerely seeking God through prayer and fasting, he perceives a new calling and direction from God, bearing the name and title of “The Apostle E. F” and baptizing himself in a nearby lake. With the help of a respected local African-American pastor, he begins a new church in Louisiana. He starts a radio ministry, fixes up a used bus, and begins picking up people to attend church. His relationship with God is infectious. The church prospers. People come to faith in Christ. He feeds the hungry. The community is impacted. The congregation loves his zeal and preaching. Underneath his impressive faith, however, ugly gaps remain and erupt in his spiritual formation. While starting the new church he meets Toosie, a woman who works in the radio station. She draws his romantic affections. Sonny also gets into a fistfight with a troublemaker who questions his integrity. Eventually the authorities catch up with the tragic mistake in Sonny’s past. The police arrest him, and he is sent to jail. But even in prison we see Sonny enthusiastically leading a chain gang to Christ.[1]

The Old You vs. the New You
Sonny is a complex individual. He is a gifted, zealous, committed Christian whom we admire, and yet he is also terribly inconsistent. He has a temper, womanizer, and misuses alcohol. We wish this were only Hollywood. It is not. Unfortunately, we see so many similar examples – “the gaps” – in our real Christian life more than we want to admit. For example, we can be a dynamic, gifted speaker for God in public and be an unloving spouse and parent at home. We can function as a church leader or pastor and be unteachable, insecure, and defensive. We can fast and pray and constantly be critical of others.

The apostle Paul saw those gaps in Ephesian Christians’ lives. They became true Christians, and yet they were still living in their former patterns, following the world’s ways of life with selfishness, greed, and impurity. Then, what is the cure for this spiritual imbalance?

Learning Christ
In today’s scripture Paul gently rebukes and guides the church to God’s ways:

“But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus” (vv. 20-21, NKJV).

Here Paul uses the image of a school. You learned Christ, you heard Christ, you were taught by Christ. Learning Christ is the key to becoming an authentic, congruent Christian. Learning Christ is like learning a language. It’s interesting to see how children learn a language. For me, when I learn English, in my mind I constantly translate Korean into English. I can’t think English very well. For me, English is a useful tool. I use it once a week for my sermon or when needed. But as for my children, English is a part of their life. So natural. They just live English 24/7. They think English. They don’t translate it. In the same way, Paul exhorts us to learn Christ, not by translating him or using him when needed, but by hearing him, imitating him, immersing ourselves in him 24/7.

Embracing Weakness
The Bible says, “Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered” (Heb 5:8, NRSV). Paul himself learned Christ that way. Like us, Paul struggled between his old self and the new self, saying, “I love God’s law with all my heart, but there is another power within me that is at war with my mind… What a wretched man I am!” (Rom 7:23-24). Also, like us, Paul suffered for life because of the thorn in his flesh. Biblical scholars are not sure what exactly his thorn was. It could be a physical handicap (such as an eye problem, speech defect, or epilepsy), or a spiritual or emotional temptation (bitterness, depression, or a terrible temper). Whatever it was, the thorn tormented him greatly and caused many people to question his leadership. So three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it away. But our Lord Jesus Christ said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). Not in spite of his weakness, but because of it, he learned Christ. He became a mature, congruent Christian more and more. At first, Paul says, “As for those were held in high esteem (apostles) – whatever they were makes no difference to me” (Gal 2:6). Six years later, he writes in a more humble manner, “I am the least of the apostles” (1 Cor 15:9). Lastly, about two years before his death, he says, “I am the worst of all sinners” (1 Tim 1:15). By embracing his weakness as a gift, Paul learned to solely rely on Christ.

This past week was one of the defining moments on my spiritual journey. Earlier this week Joyce was very excited by her mentor’s testimony and freshly filled with God-given visions for her life, and shared it with me. My reaction was cold, indifferent and even defensive. But I didn’t know why I reacted that way. By God’s grace, at that time I was reading Peter Scazzero’s The Emotionally Healthy Church, and the author encouraged us to do a genogram to examine our marriage in light of our parents. A genogram is a way of drawing a family tree that looks at information about family members and their relationships (How did they resolve conflict? Express anger? Understand gender roles? and so on) over two to three generations. So I sat down and did a very simple genogram. And I found why I always reacted that way. My father grew up as a middle child, lost his mother when he was very young, and his father didn’t take care of the family. So he always felt the absence of the mother. When he started a new family, he made sure that my mother was always present at home, raising the children. So when Joyce talked about her dreams, unconsciously I had fear and concerns that she might not be present, not support my children and me. At first, I didn’t want to admit my brokenness. But by God’s grace, when I confessed it to Joyce, she said, “Every time I shared my visions with you, I felt suffocated. Because you always defended yourself how hard you were trying. But for the first time I feel liberated.”

“I Am a Cracked Pot”
God heals our brokenness and mends our wounds. But for some reason he allows the scars and weakness to remain. That way we learn to fully rely on God and to heal others as wounded healers.

There once lived a water carrier in India. He used two large pots for his task. One of the pots had a big crack in it while the other pot was perfect. The perfect pot always delivered a full portion of water from the stream to the master’s house, while the cracked pot arrived only half full each day. For two years this water carrier made the same journey. The perfect pot became proud, while the cracked pot felt ashamed. Finally, one day by the stream, the cracked pot spoke to his owner, “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize that I have only been able to deliver half my water to your house.” Then the water carrier replied, smiling, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” On that trip from the stream, the cracked pot looked around. “Did you notice there are flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?” the water carrier commented. “That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we passed these spots, you watered them. Without you being just the way you are, I would not have this beauty to grace my master’s house.”[2]

What might be a “thorn in your flesh”? What might be “the gift of a handicap” (2 Cor 12:7 MSG) God has given you? It can be a family member with special needs. It can be a struggle with an addiction that forces you to be vigilant every day. It can be a tendency to depression or loneliness. It can be scars from an abusive past. It can be physical illness or weakness. Whatever our brokenness is, not in spite of it but because of it we learn Christ. We come to know him, draw close to him, learn to fully rely on him. May we embrace the gift of a handicap and join Paul in saying, “Now I delight in my weaknesses for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10). Praise be to the Lord. Amen.

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[1] Peter Scazzero & Warren Bird, The Emotionally Healthy Church, Updated and Expanded Edition (pp.38-40). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
[2] Ibid., 123.