February 29, 2024

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” (Ephesians 4.22-25)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

The premise of these past reflections were to show how verse 25 was for Paul a central teaching. Verses 22-24 lead up to its power admonition which is “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” If we remember, “falsehood and truth” were related to the teaching of the gospel and the commitment is demanded to live it out in the world so that the believer would no longer be of the world. Now we make the “leap” forward (pun intended as today is “Leap Year Day”) to the verses following verse 25. These verses reflect what should be the truth in the life of the believer as it relates to this in the circles of life around him or her. Those circles were among the fellowship of believers and then those outside that circle who were “possible believers” or at the very least “witnesses of the gospel in action.” I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize that within the fellowship circle there were other circles of influence and relationship. Paul’s reminder to the Ephesian community of faith in Jesus as the Christ was simply “we are all of one body.” We see that in our own faith fellowships today with life groups, age groups, gender groups, serving teams and leadership teams, etc. Even if we are only of one or another or a small collection of those groups, we are still in the body of Christ as members of the local congregation. Extend that truth to the reality that then we must recognize and embrace that we are of “one body which is the Church Universal” with Christ as the head of the body. We all then relate to the head in some fashion following the veins, arteries and nerves of faith, hope and love. Now hear the beginning of this teaching in verse 22 and see if there is not a connection: You were taught, with regard to your former way of life we are all members of one body.” Is Paul reminding them that in their former lives as those in and of the world they did not see themselves as one community and equally members of it? If so, then they way the talked, thought and acted worked more against the whole than for it. There was no true central focus not identity accept that they all existed in the midst of one another. I might suggest that even their civic pride would have been limited, disjointed and evidence that “a house divided against itself shall never stand and when it falls the fall itself will be great.” A word to the wise, I daresay, to those in this country as we battle immigration, infiltration and entitlement which serves more to divide so that we are more easily conquered than unite so we become incorruptible. Of course, without a moral compass and spiritual direction this can never happen. To me this is why Jesus declared “This world is not My home, I AM of my Father’s kingdom.” We would do well to remember this and the truth which it calls us to teach and live out on a daily, moment by moment, basis. Shalom, y’all.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit spoke us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.