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Devotion Time:2012 Devotions: Ephesians 4b-5a November 19 – November 24, 2012
Monday, November 19Bible Text
Ephesians 4:17-24(ESV)
17Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
REFLECTION Questions
Ephesians 4:17-19
“Both Ephesians 4:17-19 and Romans 1:21-32 focus on willful futility, darkness, distorted reasoning leading to alienation from God, and resulting passions and desires that lead to uncleanness and sins. Sins are not the cause of the problem, but the result; the problem lies in the mind and in the choices made against God. In Romans, God gave people over to the desires of their hearts, whereas Paul uses the same word here to say they give themselves over.”[1]
- What is the significance of Apostle Paul describing the Gentiles in terms of their “futility of … mind,” “darkened…understanding,” and “ignorance?”
- What is the relationship between the mind, heart, and actions, according to vv. 17-19?
- In what ways have I experienced (or seen at work in others) this progression play out?
- What resources has God provided for me to be renewed in my mind (v.23)?
“Conversion is renunciation of a self-centered identity in favor of a Christ-defined identity. All that shapes us is given over to Christ, and his mindset of self-giving love becomes our mindset. Conversion is the restructuring of a person’s thinking by the Holy Spirit as the result of a direct encounter with the love of God in the person of Christ. Otherwise, we are not Christians. In effect, we take off what we thought was life and put on Christ.”[2]
- What is God’s ultimate vision for my life?
- To fulfill God’s vision for my life, what are the things that I need to “put off” and the new self that I need to “put on?”
Write out a brief prayer based on today’s DT.
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Devotion Time:2012 Devotions: Ephesians 4b-5a November 19 – November 24, 2012
tuesday, November 20Bible Text
Ephesians 4:25-27 (ESV)
25Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27and give no opportunity to the devil.
REFLECTION Questions
Ephesians 4:25
“For fellowship is built on trust, and trust is built on truth. So falsehood undermines fellowship, while truth strengthens it.”[3]
“’A lie is a stab into the very vitals of the Body of Christ.’ […] Lies distort reality and accompany every other form of wrongdoing. They are usually motivated by self-enhancement or self-defense and usually comes in bunches, for it is difficult to tell only one. The evil are people of the lie. […] ‘To obey the truth is to be free…We do not “have” the truth, truth owns us…’ Truth – that which corresponds to the facts and on which we can rely – is both necessary and freeing (cf. John 8:31-32).”[4]
- Why is “speak[ing] the truth” vital to maintain unity and fellowship as “members one of another?”
- What are some difficulties I’ve had in speaking the truth? How trustworthy are my words? Is there some falsehood that I need to confess and set the record straight?
- Assess how I handle anger based on this passage.
- How does anger “give…opportunity to the devil?”
Write out a brief prayer based on today’s DT.
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Devotion Time:2012 Devotions: Ephesians 4b-5a November 19 – November 24, 2012
wednesday, November 21Bible Text
Ephesians 4:28-32 (ESV)
28Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
REFLECTION Questions
Ephesians 4:28
“Our goal is not enjoyment; it is productivity so that we can give. We do not exist for ourselves, but for relations with other people and with God. […] In failing to be productive we fail to live up to our vocation as humans. Possibly the strongest witness Christians can make is to become givers. The concern is not about giving money, which is at most ancillary to the text. The concern is working to benefit others.”[5]
- What should motivate me to “labor” and to develop myself to do “honest work with [my] own hands?”
- Are there some ways in which I end up “stealing” by the way I approach labor and honest work with my hands?
- What sins of speech are listed here?
- Evaluate my speech based on these exhortations.
- What should the goal of my speech be?
- Reflect on the words: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.”
- What does this tell me about the role of sin, or the role of obedience in the life of a Christian?
Write out a brief prayer based on today’s DT.
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Devotion Time:2012 Devotions: Ephesians 4b-5a November 19 – November 24, 2012
Thursday, November 22Bible Text
Ephesians 4:20-32(ESV)
20But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
25Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27and give no opportunity to the devil. 28Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
REFLECTION Questions
Ephesians 4:25-32
“…In each example a negative prohibition is balanced by a corresponding positive command. It is not good enough to put off the old rags; we have to put on new garments. It is not enough to give up lying and stealing and losing our temper, unless we also start speaking the truth, working hard and being kind to people.”[6]
- List all the positive and negative things that Apostle Paul lists here.
- What sins listed here am I particularly prone to?
- What virtues listed here particularly inspire me?
- What can I learn about the nature of Christian life from the fact that for every prohibition there was a positive exhortation?
- Reflect on “something to share,” “only such as is good for building up,” “give grace to those who hear.” How much of this is a concern to me as I live my life?
Write out a brief prayer based on today’s DT.
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Devotion Time:2012 Devotions: Ephesians 4b-5a November 19 – November 24, 2012
FRIDAY, November 23Bible Text
Ephesians 5:1-3 (ESV)
5Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
REFLECTION Questions
Ephesians 5:1-2
“The standard is high, but so is the privilege. Christians have God’s spirit with them (4:30) and belong in God’s family (5:1). Such a lofty position requires that God’s character be reflected in the way we treat other people. Copying God only means taking seriously who God says we are.” [7]
- How does the phrase “as beloved children” give insight into what it means to “be imitators of God?”
- Who is our model for a life of love? Reflect on the love of Christ demonstrated in giving himself “for us” as an offering “to God.”
- To whom has God called me to give myself, and in so doing, present a “fragrant offering” to God?
Write out a brief prayer based on today’s DT.
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Devotion Time:2012 Devotions: Ephesians 4b-5a November 19 – November 24, 2012
Saturday, November 24REFLECTION
Review the past week’s DT.
Personal Prayer
Write out a brief prayer based on today’s DT.
[1] Klyne Snodgras. Ephesians. The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996) 230.
[2] Klyne Snodgras. Ephesians. The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996) 240.
[3]John R.W. Stott, The Message of Ephesians, The Bible Speaks Today Series (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1979), p. 185.
[4]Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians, The NIV Application Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), p. 255.
[5]Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians, The NIV Application Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), p. 258.
[6]John R.W. Stott, The Message of Ephesians, The Bible Speaks Today Series (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1979), p. 184.
[7] Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 255.