Ephesians 6.5 - 9 - Slaves, Bondservants, & Christ

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Ephesians 6.5 - 9 - Slaves, Bond-servants & Christ

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Proverbs Wednesday - April 18

Proverbs Wednesday for April 18, 2018 - Observations and Prayer

Observations:

* Isolation seeks one's own selfish ambitions and opposes all wise judgement.  (The "anthem" of the recluse is "I Am A Rock" by Simon and Garfunkel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKlSVNxLB-A

* The lazy in work are the ally of destruction.

* "The Name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are saved."

* To interrupt another's speech is foolish and shameful.

* A good spirit will make a sick man well but a broken spirit will kill him.

* The wise heart accumulates knowledge and the wise ear looks for it.

* An offended brother is harder to win than a well fortified city.

* The produce of one's labors brings both life and satisfaction.

* A man of many contacts may come to ruin - BUT - a friend sticks closer than a brother!

Prayer:

Our Most Kind and Generous Holy Father;

All glory, power, and honor to Your most Holy Name!  May we reject isolation and instead embrace fellowship, friendship, and brotherhood in ever expanding hospitality.  May we reject laziness and instead embrace hard work and dedication to our vocation.  May this be always on our lips each day; "The Name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are saved."  As we speak with others may we cease interruption and answering out of turn for this is both foolish and shameful.  May Your Spirit infuse our souls so that we will live a sustained life here on earth.  May we all continually seek and accumulate knowledge until the day of our death.  May we seek never to offend others and work even harder to win back those whom we might offend.  May we dedicate ourselves to production of goods and services for this brings about profit, benefit, and satisfaction for both others and ourselves.  May we seek and keep real friends and never be satisfied with mere contacts.
Forgive us, Lord, when we fall short of these things.

In the Name of Jesus we pray; AMEN

Ephesians 5 - The Great Mystery Chiasm

Ephesians 5 speaks about marriage, but it is not about marriage.  Ephesians 5 speaks about Christian living, but it is not about Christian living.  Ephesians 5 speaks about singing in Christian worship, but it is not about singing in Christian worship.  If it is not about these things, just what IS it about?

Ephesians 5 is about God's great mystery, the church of Christ.  It is illustrated here by Paul primarily by marriage and "clean" living which includes "singing to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs."

Ephesians 5 tells us primarily about Christ's relationship to the church which is a "great mystery."  Since Paul in several places reveals the mysterious church of Christ (the mystery is that the gospel is for all, not just the Jews) and makes sure by inspiration that the church of Christ remain a mystery no longer!

The Jews organized their writings (including Inspired Scripture) is a way unlike extant Westerners (shocking!).  Instead of lining up arguments in a line with a conclusion at the end, Hebraic literature would often have a thesis in the middle with arguments on the front end descending to the thesis and corresponding arguments ascending backwards to the thesis.  These "chiasms" rendered emphasis without repetition.  There also was an "internal tension" between the various top and bottom assertions.  For example, the "no uncleanness to be named among you" of Ephesian 5.3 - 5 is contrasted by Ephesians 5.31's "For this reason..."  It goes without saying that a faithful monogamous relationship will allow no uncleanness.  This "chiastic" outline gets its name from the Greek alphabet letter "X" (chi) as it looks like a cut in half letter "X."

Here is Ephesians 5 outlined chiastically.  As Paul did not leave us his outlines, this has been organized by me and me alone.  The Word is without error but my outline might not be!  Feel free to construct your own chiasm's to further your study of God's Word!

2        Walk as did Christ in love, sacrifice and offering

          3 – 5  No uncleanness to be named among you      

                   6        Be wary of deception

                             16      Redeem the time

                                      20 – 21        Submit to all with thanksgiving

                                           22 – 23 Christ is the head of the church – LEADER

                                                                     Christ is the Savior of the Body - SERVANT

                                      24a    The church is submissive to Christ    

                             24b    Wives are subject to husbands in everything

                   25 – 26   Husbands, love your wives AS Christ loved the church

          31      “For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and…

32      This is a great mystery BUT see Romans 16.25 – 26 & Colossians 1.26 - 29

This outline was presented to the Archdale church of Christ, 2525 Archdale Drive, Charlotte, NC 28210 on 11 April 2018 by Russell H McCullough

The Hallowed Name of God

God is not limited to just one name.  The OT lists at least 21 formal names for God.  We serve and pray to a God who is intrinsically and definitionaly Holy.  Anything else and / or anyone else is only declaratively holy.  God must declare it to make it so.  Holiness can never be self obtained.  In this lesson on prayer, we learn that the God to whom we pray is the only Father, the only Hallowed One, and has many powerful Names for His Infinite Holiness.

LISTEN! now on SOUNDCLOUD!

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