Good Evening to All!
Paul's letter to the Ephesian church divides neatly into two sections. The first describes the spiritual blessings all believers possess, and the second outlines what God expects of believers in light of all that He has done for them.
I have a question for each of you. Are you one of those people who think that everything God has given us, and done for us should be "handed to us on a silver platter", without us having to give anything back, or do you realize that our relationship, our Covenant with God is a two way street?
Here is what God's Word, precisely Paul has to say about it. First I will name some of the Responsibilities we have as Christians, then I will elaborate on some of the Blessings which God has in store for us if we hold up to our part of the
covenant.Responsibilities Christians Have:
- To keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians. 4:3-6)
- To use our abilities for the church's benefit (Ephesians. 4:7-13)
- To keep growing and maturing (4:14,15)
- To put away old, sinful ways (4:17-24, 5:2-14)
- To speak honestly and purely (4:25, 29)
- To do what the Spirit leads us to do (4:30)
- To imitate God (5:1) (Believers are to follow the example of God's actions. He loved us when we were still His enemies.
- To walk in Love (5:2)
- To find out what is acceptable to the Lord (5:10)
- To make the most of our time (5:16)
- To be filled with the Spirit (5:18)
- To submit to one another (5:21)
- To have marriages that honor God (5:22-33)
- To demonstrate integrity in the workplace (6:5-9)
- To stand strong against the forces of evil (6:10-18)
- Chosen by God; election (Ephesians. 1:4)
- Adoption into God's family (Ephesians. 1:5; 2:19)
- Acceptance before God (1:6)
- Forgiveness of sins (1:7)
- Insight into God's will (1:9)
- An eternal inheritance (1:11)
- The seal of the Spirit (1:13; 2:18)
- God's mercy and love (2:4, 3:17-19)
- Wisdom and knowledge (1:17)
- Divine Power (1:19, 20; 3:16, 20)
- Spiritual life (2:1, 5)
- The promise of eternal kindness (2:7)
- The knowledge that God's plan for us is good (2:10)
- Unity and peace with all believers 2:11-18, 3:6)
- Heavenly citizenship (2:19)
- Access to God through Christ (3:12)
I am going to print this out and put it on my bulletin board right next to my "banner" that says, "The Effective Fervent Prayer of a Righteous man availeth much".
Good Night to All and May God Bless!
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2 comments:
I fully agree with the first listing as these are the things which honours God in the sight of other people who are watching us. The motive of our responsibility is love for God for saving us and to glorify his name, which is the end result of all the blessings on the second list.
I believe the secret of it all is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and allow God to work in you, and enjoy the peace he has given you. But there is the danger that all the responsibilities on the upper list could be viewed as a kind of rulebook. If so then they could all become a burden we are not able to keep, that is to say, living under the law.
Rather, let us revel in the love and freedom Christ has given us, and then we will find ourselves fulfilling the responsibilities listed above with fulness of joy.
God bless,
Frank.
Hi PJ,
I know I haven't stopped by in a while, but it's always a blessing to visit with you. I think we should always be mindful of our responsibilities as God's children. Yes, He loves us, will always love us even if we never lift a finger to do anything for the body of Christ, but He needs us to build His kingdom here on this earth. We must remember that.
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