Commanded to Love, in Hope of Respect

Commanded to Love, in Hope of Respect
I skipped ahead in my study in Ephesians to Paul’s words in chapter 5 on husbands and wives. I was struck by the verse 33, which in the NIV reads, “However, each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
This verse generates a lot of questions in ministry because of people's unending search for answers regarding marriage, and also Dr. Emerson Eggerichs’ successful book, Love and Respect. The book claims that a neglected truth about marriage is that women need love messages from their husbands, and men need to hear that their wives respect them.
Whatever the truth or helpfulness of that insight, a close look at 5:33 turns up that the word translated ‘must respect, ’ ( based on Greek phobos, or fear), is in the passive voice. This is NOT reflected in most translations, and, amusingly, overlooked entirely by Dr. Eggerichs.
If respect is a passive verb, then we ought to read this,.. ‘may she be enabled to respect her husband.’ I am hoping some of you could supply your own understanding of the verse, but it is definitely not ‘must respect.’ The husband is commanded to love, three times in this section, and we see that this love is an outgrowth of the presence of Christ filling his whole field of view. We may understand that the respect is the hoped for fruit of a Christ-saturated marriage.
Your thoughts?

Pastor Harley

Known Through You

Ephesians 3:10 “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the ruler and authorities in the heavenly realms”
Leading up to this verse, Paul has been relating all that God has done for us in Jesus. We are made alive in Him (2:5), He has reconciled us to God through the cross, (2:16) made us one in His Peace (2:15) and made us a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit (2:22).
Next, he announces that God will use us to make His wisdom known. The Principalities and Powers in the Heavenlies will know the manifold wisdom of God, through,(Grk. ‘dia’),the Church.
Whether the principalities and powers are supposed to be earthly powers, human systems of control, power and care, or the spiritual powers that oppose God need not be decided to get the force of this verse. We may safely guess that they are not exclusive of each other. We need however, to expose ourselves to the challenge that is presented to us. God wants to make his manifold (abundant and various) wisdom concerning all that He has been doing in Jesus , KNOWN to the Powers through the agency of us, the church. The only verb in this verse is make known. The impact of Jesus upon the Powers will be made known through us. The Greek word for known, gnorizo, is not the mere sense of realizing, as in “Yeah, I’m starting to see that”, it is an experiential certainty. It is the kind of realization that undeniably grips you, it is unmistakable, and it has the impact and suddenness of revelation.
Your church; Are the powers being slapped in the face with your witness? Has the reality of God dwelling in you by His Spirit been a stunning revelation to sinners? Is your community seeing new possibilities arising because it is not you that lives, but Christ lives within you? Are there whole areas of satanic domination that are suddenly overthrown with light and freedom because of the one life in Christ that we now share? These are clearly the expectations that Paul has for a people newly alive in Jesus, and this is what is possible for us if we go forward in His strength.
Pastor Harley

A Little Bible Study

Ephesians 2:14

“For He himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (NIV)

The verse says, by beginning with ‘for’ (greek;gar) , that the reason the ones who were far away have been brought near is Jesus, who is pointed out emphatically, by the use of ‘he, himself’, stressing that it is attention to Jesus that we should be paying, because He is our peace.

How is a person our peace? The verb tense for ‘is’ indicates that he is becoming our peace while the main action is occuring, which is the ‘breaking down’ of the dividing wall. The key action that is attributed to Christ in Ephesians is the Cross followed by the Resurrection Enthronement, and we have a new insight into this action as we see it as breaking what divides the Gentile and Jewish world, an action which makes Jesus to be peace for the Jew and for the Gentile.

I resist the idea sometimes put forward that all of Ephesians is about the present oneness of the Jewish and Gentile believers. This oneness is presented however, as a strong evidence of the decisive work that was done in the Cross and in the Resurection Enthronement, (2:6) which we participate in.

The central theme of Ephesians is that those previously dead in transgressions have been raised with Christ. This includes those dead because they could not fulfill the law of moses, and also those who, as gentiles were just as dead in trangressions and sins.

It was interesting to study this passage while I was reading in Acts 10 & 11, about the conversion opf Cornelious. Peter is well aware that both Jew and gentile are equally dead in the sinful nature, but the Gentile might easily be said to be in a more desperate case of morbidity, because they have also been removed far from hope. (Ephesians 2:12). They have not even a testimony to refer to of a God that saves the diusobedient.

So what should Peter say to the Gentile? The Gentiles would be vexed, like our own non-believing neighbors, with many problems, many ethical dilemmas, and many theologiocal conundrums, none of which amounted ton the Jew’s problem of “How to fulfill ther Law of Moses”.

Peter realizes that he is to say to the Gentile, Jesus. Jesus is peace, and in his crucifixtion and resurection and enthronement, He makes us all heirs to life in Him.

In Jesus,

Pastor Harley

Love Your Church

Loving Your ChurchEphesians 1:15-16 " For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers."

This is a message for Pastors today, because it shows that Paul commends the church for its love for the saints. Now if Paul says he is thankful that they love 'the sainted', ('hagios' is an adjectival noun, identifying the saints as those whom an action of God has made holy) doesn't it follow that Paul and we who bear his mantle are also to nurture a love of the Church? we should love the church, because they love by the presence of Christ. Their love is Jesus being manifest in our church walls. Shouldn't we be thankful for that?

But how few of us do so! A recent survey says that 79% of UMC pastors believe that cliques and power groups have too much influence in their church. The same survey shows a third of laypeople believing their church needs a new pastor if it is to survive.

Not too much thankfulness there.

There are some unpleasant characters in the pews and pulpits, but notice Paul's passion for the faithful. "Giving thanks is a present active participle, which shows continous action, he gives thanks and doesn't stop. The word, 'eucharisteo' is a combination of eu-(good) and 'Charis" (grace). This is the expression of someone who doesn't feel he deserves the blessing for which he is presently giving thanks.

How many of the 79% listed above would you guess will say that they don't deserve their church?

We need to have an attitude of thankfulness and open eyes toward the faithfulness and love that is in the Body of Christ.

Love the Church, Harley Wheeler