The Family Life of the Ephesians
Seeing What Matters For What Matters Most
Good Morning!
The family is one of those subjects where we all have an opinion and certainly an opinion we would like to share. Not all of our experiences with family are the same. Some of us were brought up in loving Christian homes where we knew nothing but unconditional love and grace. Others only knew trial, tribulation, manipulation, and anger. These kinds of experiences have a tendency to color our view of how families should operate and sometimes take a couple generations to clean up. J.D. Vance’s witness to this in Hillbilly Elegy is instructive on this point. Something that runs through each of the passages that speak to it in the book of Ephesians, but that Paul never explicitly says as he talks about roles within the family is that no matter who you are you are responsible to fulfill your role for the betterment of all the members in the home. In this morning's worship and prayer help I want to unspool that thread a little and help us to see the heart of the apostle's purpose for the Ephesians and for us as we desire only good for our own families.
In the book of the Song of Solomon, we read of the bride speaking of the bridegroom saying, "I am my beloved’s, And his desire is toward me." (Songs 7:4).
You hear what is being said there?
It's something that any husband worth his salt should know. Not only is the bride expressing the peace and safety she has in her husband (I am my beloved's) but she also notes that his heart is toward her and her alone. It's something that she knows about the groom. Not something that needs said or explained. This is her lived experience. Now, how has she come to know that this is the case? In the 4th chapter the Beloved spends fifteen verses describing the Shulamite woman (the bride) and in each verse his testimony grows in passion and knowledge. What is this telling us? It shows the reader that the bridegroom has taken the time to learn about his own beloved. There is a deep impulse within his heart to discover more and more about this woman who has so enraptured his soul. She has captivated his heart and his focus has changed completely towards her and her alone. And she knows this.
This is one of many reasons why the Song of Solomon has been such a treasured part of the Bible. It is not just describing love between husband and wife, but it has a deeper message for all Christians no matter their marital state. You see the love that is expressed in these passages is the same love that Christ has for His bride, the Church. He knows the depths or our hearts, He knows our trials, and as is said in 4:7, "You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you." When Jesus looks upon us He sees not our sin, but the white garment which He placed on us. Likewise when the Shulamite woman thinks of her beloved she says, "Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and see King Solomon with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day of the gladness of his heart." She wants everyone to know of this wonderful gift she has in her Beloved. It is an infectious desire, not for boasting, but that others might likewise know the love she knows.
One could go on and on with these beautiful expressions of the love Christ has for His Bride and the Bride is to have for Christ and this is why Song of Songs is such a wonderful book to read when the devil is striking down your soul. It is so rich and sweet with love, Biblical sacrificial love.
And here it is we see that common thread I spoke about earlier. In each of these soliloquy's there is a deep desire to know more about your spouse, your children, your parents, your brothers and sisters in Christ so that you can love them more. It is in this we see the power of Christian fellowship and worship. But most of all we see the blessing of learning more and more about our bridegroom, the Redeemer and sustainer of life in our soul. The more and more our hearts are drawn to Christ the more and more our minds will no longer be drawn towards temptations and sin. As we grow in our knowledge of our Savior so to will it naturally follow that in this newfound heart-focus your love for your husband, your wife, your mother, your father, and all your relations in this world will flourish. For no longer will your mind be centered on what is best for your own selfish desires, but will now be focused on desiring that which you have in your beloved.
As the Psalmist says, "Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear," (Psalm 10:17).
Today's reading is from a Ligonier devotion.
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/loving-one-another/
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church
I grew up listening to Sproul's Dust to Glory on VHS. He was always the gracious middle ground in opposing Zionism and knew the subversive element of Dispensationalism but still had friends like MacArthur. Now there's basically no one like him, that generation is now gone and we are much like children playing church sometimes it feels like.
Stuff like Solzhenitsyn's last book, I think when it comes in print next year (after being banned from print for 20) it's going to send shock waves throughout the church because of quotes like these, and I don't think the church is ready:
On why they push for immigration in US/Europe: https://files.catbox.moe/pti3tl.jpg
Communist issues that were largely hidden from Americans: https://files.catbox.moe/khk98o.jpg
All in all, while I do think we must start warning the dire situation we are in, I always look to Sproul to be gracious about it and pray for everyone's conversion to Christ, as lately I look at myself and I feel like the worst person on this planet. I don't want to hate any group of people, my own sin is worse than everyone's looking back, all I am is sin. I wish everyone saw this middleground, many of us who believe we are in serious danger, but this isn't coming from a place of blind hatred.
"The Israel of God is Jesus Christ and all those who are united to Him by faith alone. Faith in Christ, then, is what makes a person a member of the Israel of God, not mere ethnic descent. Paul confirms this elsewhere in Galatians 6:16, where he calls the Galatian church—made up predominantly of gentiles who believed in Jesus—as “the Israel of God. Blessing the Israel of God, therefore, does not mean supporting every policy of the modern nation-state of Israel. God will bless those who bless His people, the church."
-- R.C. Sproul, https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/bless-israel
"As a Jewish convert to Orthodox Christianity with a fairly wide set of historical books under my belt, it troubles me to see some hierarchs and channels following the world's narrative about "anti-Semitism" and all the things that have been done to "combat anti-Semitism." I'll tell you directly, as a 100% pure blooded Ashkenazi man, how to fix "anti-Semitism:" Anti-Semitism will end when faithless Jews leave other groups of people alone and stop trying to transform their nations and cultures in ways that invariably harm the populations in question. It is really not that complicated.”
– Brother Augustine (Michael Witcoff)