Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Eph. 5:1–20, 1 Cor. 5:1–11,
Rev. 16:1–16, Col. 4:5, Prov. 20:1, Prov. 23:29–35, Acts 16:25.
Memory Text: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise
but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord
is” (Ephesians 5:15–17, ESV).
Not long ago a crystal jug was placed on auction in the United
Kingdom. The auctioneers described it as a “nineteenth-century
French, claret jug,” estimating its worth at US$200. Two perceptive bidders recognized the jug as an extremely rare, Islamic ewer.
Its true, appraised worth? £5 million (about US$6.5 million). What
allowed that bidder to walk away with such a bargain? The bidder knew
something that the auctioneer did not: the true value of the jug.
In Ephesians 5:1–20, Paul contrasts what pagans and believers
valued. Pagans valued a racy story (Eph. 5:4), a drunken party (Eph.
5:18), and debauched sex (Eph. 5:3, 5) as the great treasures of life.
Believers, though, know an ultimate day of appraisal is coming, when
the true value of all things will become apparent (Eph. 5:5, 6). Instead
of placing their bid on partying and drunkenness, they treasure, among
other things, “all that is good and right and true” (Eph. 5:9, ESV) in
Christ. Paul, thus, urges them to snap up the bargains found in Christ
as they live (as we all do) on the threshold of eternity (Eph. 5:15–17).
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 26.
Lesson *August 19–25
73
August 20
“Instead Let There Be Thanksgiving”
In what sense does Paul intend believers to be “imitators of God”? See
Ephesians 5:1, 2, NKJV.
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Paul urges the believers in Ephesus to walk in love, a call important to this section (see Eph. 5:8, 15). This “walking in love” (see
Eph. 5:2) is to be modeled after Christ’s own love for us (compare
Eph. 4:32), expressed in His atoning sacrifice. Paul affirms four
things about that sacrifice: (1) It is motivated by both the love of
God the Father (Eph. 5:1) and of Christ Himself (Eph. 5:2); (2) it is
substitutionary, with Christ dying in our place. Christ is no passive
victim but gave Himself up for us; (3) under the imagery of the Old
Testament sanctuary service, Christ’s death is also a sacrifice, which
is made to God; and (4) the sacrifice is accepted by God since it
is “a fragrant offering” (Eph. 5:2, ESV; compare Exod. 29:18, Lev.
2:9, Phil. 4:18).
Ephesians 5:3–5 then introduces a section expressing concern for
sexual ethics. The young converts in Ephesus are in danger of reversing
their Christian calling and being drawn back into sexual behavior that
would negate their Christian witness (compare 1 Cor. 5:1–11, 1 Cor.
6:12–20, 2 Cor. 12:21).
On the one hand, the Greco-Roman world of the first century exhibited
the moral corruption and debauchery described elsewhere in the New
Testament (see 1 Cor. 6:9, Gal. 5:19, Eph. 4:17–19, Col. 3:5). For
example, banquets of the wealthy regularly featured the behaviors
Paul decries in Ephesians 5:3–14: drunkenness, ribald speech, risqué
entertainment, and immoral acts. In addition, urban centers provided
anonymity and permissiveness that fostered immoral sexual practices.
On the other hand, many in that society lived virtuous lives and served
as advocates for strict morality. When the New Testament provides
vice-or-virtue lists and household codes (e.g., Eph. 5:21–6:9, Col.
3:18–4:1), its authors mirror themes in the wider Greco-Roman world.
This world, at once debauched and virtuous, helps explain Paul’s exhortations to avoid the immoral behavior practiced by the Gentiles while
wishing for believers to be circumspect in their behavior and so to earn
good standing among outsiders.
In what ways are Paul’s words about sexual behavior applicable
to your culture, wherever you live?
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Sunday
74
August 21
Walking as Children of Light
Paul writes, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because
of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience”
(Eph. 5:6, NKJV).
Paul has identified those who practice various sins without shame or
repentance, the “sexually immoral, or impure, or who is covetous” (Eph. 5:5,
ESV). He has offered a blunt assessment: Those who are in Christ and destined to be participants in His future kingdom should not act like those who
are not (Eph. 5:5). He now worries over the effect of “empty words”; that is,
believers might be deceived by explicit language into thinking that sexual sin
is not taboo, or might even be drawn into such sins themselves (Eph. 5:6).
To be so deceived, warns Paul, risks God’s end-time judgment, “the wrath of
God” that “comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 5:6, ESV).
The phrase “the wrath of God” is a challenging one. That it is the
wrath or anger of God suggests a contrast to the usual, moody human
variety (compare Eph. 4:31). It is the just response of a long-suffering
and righteous God against stubborn commitment to evil, not a crazed,
volcanic reaction to some minor infraction. Moreover, mentions of divine
wrath most often occur in the context of inspired, biblical warnings about
the coming judgments of God (e.g., Rev. 6:12–17, Rev. 16:1–16, Rev.
19:11–16). God warns of His own coming judgments—an act of grace,
since human beings are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3, ESV),
subject to those judgments.
Why does Paul exhort believers not to become “partners” or “partakers”
with sinners? (Eph. 5:7–10).
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Paul exhorts, “Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8) and continues
with a further command: “and try to discern what is pleasing to the
Lord” (Eph. 5:10, ESV). The pagan seeks pleasure through “sexual
immorality and all impurity or covetousness” (Eph. 5:3, ESV). The
believer’s goal is dramatically different, not to please oneself but to
please God (compare Rom. 12:1, 2 Cor. 5:9, Heb. 13:21, which use the
same Greek word, euarestos, “pleasing” or “acceptable”). The believer
seeks to reflect the self-sacrifice of Christ (“walk in love, as Christ
loved us and gave himself up for us,” Eph. 5:2, ESV).
What are some of the “empty words” that in our day and age we
need to be wary of?
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Monday
75
“Awake, O Sleeper!”
Read Ephesians 5:11–14. What powerful warning is Paul giving here,
and how does this apply to our present situation?
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To understand Ephesians 5:11–14, it is helpful to observe that Paul
repeatedly offers two exhortations, alternating between them: (1) live a
God-honoring lifestyle as “children of light” (Eph. 5:8; see also Eph.
5:1, 2, 4, 9–10, 11, 13, 14); and (2) don’t live a sexually immoral, Godopposing lifestyle, exhibiting the “unfruitful works of darkness” (Eph.
5:11; see also Eph. 5:3–8, 12).
We may mine the parallel exhortations in Ephesians 5:8–10 in order to
understand Ephesians 5:11. Believers are to live before unbelievers as “light
in the Lord” and “children of light” (Eph. 5:8). The whole point of doing so
is to be seen, to make clear that “the fruit of light is found in all that is good
and right and true” (Eph. 5:9, ESV). Paul, then, is advocating a strategy of
showing forth God’s goodness. Believers are to expose the unfruitful works
of darkness by exhibiting the righteous alternative for all to see.
Meanwhile, we may take the challenging, poetic language of verses 13
and 14 as Paul’s daring assertion that believers, by exhibiting “the fruit of
the Spirit” (Eph. 5:9), may win worldlings to faith in Christ. The Spirit is
like light and reveals hidden things: “But when anything is exposed by the
light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light” (Eph.
5:13, 14, ESV). When decadent living is exposed by the light, worldlings
may see their behavior for what it is (“it becomes visible”), futureless and
wrath-bound (Eph. 5:5, 6), and experience a darkness-to-light transformation (“for anything that becomes visible is light,” ESV), the very change
that Paul’s Ephesian readers have experienced as believers themselves
(Eph. 5:8).
What are we to make of the poem or hymn in Ephesians 5:14, which
uses language associated with the resurrection of the dead at the end of
time (compare Eph. 2:1, 5) to issue a clarion call to awaken from spiritual
slumber and experience the transforming presence of Christ? Since Isaiah
60:1–3, which Paul seems to reflect, is directed to God’s people Israel,
we may view the hymn/poem of Ephesians 5:14 as a powerful appeal to
Christian believers to awaken to their role as missionaries, refractors of the
light of Christ in a darkened world (compare Phil. 2:14–16, Matt. 5:16).
How do you live the kind of lifestyle that can expose works of
darkness for what they are?
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Tuesday August 22
76
August 23
Snapping Up the Bargains
Paul concludes Ephesians 5:1–20 with two clusters of exhortations,
Ephesians 5:15–17 and Ephesians 5:18–20, completing a section with
sustained interest in sexual purity. The first cluster begins with the
exhortation, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as
wise” (Eph. 5:15, ESV), restated as “do not be foolish, but understand
what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17, ESV). In between is a call to
make “the best use of the time” (Eph. 5:16, ESV).
Consider Paul’s exhortations to live in a way that reflects prayerful,
discerning wisdom (Eph. 5:15–17). What is the difference between
walking not as fools but “wise”? Also, what does “redeeming the
time” mean?
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In Ephesians, Paul has repeatedly used the common Old Testament
metaphor of “walking” for how one lives (Eph. 2:2, 10; Eph. 4:1,
17; Eph. 5:2, 8). Here he uses the metaphor to encourage intentional
discipleship. Just as you should “watch your step” when walking on a
rough or darkened path, believers should “look carefully then how you
walk” (Eph. 5:15, ESV). Because Ephesians 5:15 finds a parallel in
Ephesians 5:17, we may look there for a definition of what it means to
live as wise people. We do not look within for wisdom. To be wise is
to reach beyond ourselves, to “understand what the will of the Lord is”
(Eph. 5:17, ESV).
Paul also encourages intentional discipleship with a vivid image. In
the phrase “making the best use of the time” (Eph. 5:16, ESV; compare
“redeeming the time,” NKJV), Paul uses the verb exagorazō (compare
Col. 4:5). Drawn from the marketplace, it is an intensive form of the
verb “to buy” and means “to snap up the bargains” on offer as we await
Christ’s return. “Time” here is the Greek word kairos, which describes
a moment of opportunity. The “time” until the end is a promising period
to be used to the full. It is also a challenging time because “the days
are evil” (Eph. 5:16, ESV; compare Eph. 6:13, Gal. 1:4) and because
“the course of this world” is dominated by “the prince of the power of
the air” (Eph. 2:2, ESV).
As believers look toward the return of Christ, they live in a difficult
time, one that Paul portrays as a hazardous but rewarding marketplace.
They are to be as attentive in their use of the time that remains as are
bargain hunters during a brief sale that offers steep discounts. Though
we can’t buy salvation, the imagery is still apt: take promptly what is
offered us in Christ.
Wednesday
77
Spirit-Filled Worship
In Ephesians 5:18–20, Paul imagines Christians gathered to worship.
What does he depict them as doing in that worship?
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In his final argument in Ephesians 5:1–20, Paul urges believers to
turn away from the mind-numbing use of wine and instead experience
together the presence and power of the Spirit. Paul bans drunkenness
(probably with a quotation from Proverbs 23:31 in the Greek version of the Old Testament), suggesting he has in mind the injunctions
against the use of alcohol as seen in the wisdom literature (Prov. 20:1,
Prov. 23:29–35). The evil things that come in the wake of drunkenness include crude, sexually explicit speech, mindlessness, immorality,
and idolatry (Eph. 5:3–14). These are to be exchanged for thoughtful,
Spirit-inspired worship of God. Paul’s exhortation to be filled with the
Spirit is a key one that is modified by a series of verbs in Ephesians
5:19–21 (“speaking”; “singing and making melody”; “giving thanks”;
“submitting yourselves”).
Paul here applies the exhortation to “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph.
5:18) corporately, imagining believers gathering in Spirit-inspired
worship of God that nourishes unity (Ephesians 4) and that stands in
contrast with egocentric, pagan behavior and worship (Eph. 5:1–18).
In this sketch of early Christian worship, musical praise dominates. It
has been argued that the church was born in song; and this passage,
together with Colossians 3:16, provides the best evidence for the claim
(compare Acts 16:25, James 5:13).
There is a “horizontal” element to worship since, in singing, church
members are in a sense “speaking to one another” (Eph. 5:19, NKJV).
However, the specific object of the musical praise is the Lord, which,
as indicated in Ephesians 5:20, identifies “the Lord Jesus Christ” (compare Col. 3:16). The thanksgiving of Ephesians 5:20, described in parallel
to the musical praise of Ephesians 5:19, is to be offered “unto God the
Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In the phrase “spiritual
songs,” the adjective “spiritual” (Greek, pneumatikos) highlights the
role of the Holy Spirit in worship since the term describes songs that
are inspired by or filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul’s sketch of early
Christian worship, then, portrays all three members of the Godhead as
active participants.
How can you use music to enhance your own worship experience?
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Thursday August 24
78
August 25
Further Thought: Looking back at Ephesians 5:1–20 as a whole,
we watch Paul take a strong stance against sin and evil, especially in
the form of sexual immorality and crude speech. He is unwilling to
accept the presence of corrupt behavior among the people of God.
Instead, he calls the believers in Ephesus to a high standard of conduct and to embrace their identity as the “beloved children” of God
and as “saints,” or holy ones (Eph. 5:1–10, ESV). He dares to believe
that when the Christians in community do so, they shine a light into
the darkness, drawing their neighbors away from self-defeating lifestyles and into God’s grace and truth (Eph. 5:11–14).
Paul imagines the church, buoyed by a renewed commitment to
“walk as children of light” while they await Christ’s return (Eph. 5:8;
see also Eph. 5:15, 16) and blessed by the presence of Christ (Eph.
5:14), gathering to worship. As they are motivated by their status “as
beloved children” of God and by Christ’s death for them (Eph. 5:1, 2,
ESV) and are filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18), their shared worship
is characterized by energy and joy as together they sing thanksgiving
praise to their Lord, Jesus Christ, and to God the Father. With a firm
grip on heavenly realities, they celebrate their hope for the future,
rooted in the story of what God has done, is doing, and will accomplish
through Jesus Christ their Lord (Eph. 5:18–20).
Understood in this way, the passage becomes far more than a set of
disconnected commands about Christian living. It becomes a prophetic
call concerning Christian identity, commitment, community, and worship in the last days, a pathos-filled invitation to “snap up the bargains”
on offer in the days until Christ’s return (Eph. 5:16).
Discussion Questions:
Ê Confronted today with a viral culture that preaches its values
24/7/365 through a withering array of media, how can believers
adopt Paul’s high standards?
Ë What strategies might believers today employ to “discern what
is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph. 5:10, ESV) and to “understand what
the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17, ESV)?
Ì Someone might argue that Paul’s ban against speaking of
sexual immorality among believers (Eph. 5:3, 4) means that we
should not deal with issues of sexual misbehavior and abuse. Why
is that an inappropriate conclusion?
Í In what ways does our contemporary society reflect similar
pagan practices to those that Paul dealt with in his time?
Friday
Provided by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission, which uses Sabbath School
mission offerings to spread the gospel worldwide. Read new stories daily at AdventistMission.org. 79
Story inside
Diapers on Grocery List
By Amy McHenry
One Friday morning, I was doing the weekly shopping at our local grocery store in Beirut, Lebanon. My husband, Peter, was buying apples and
granola bars for the Pathfinders’ weekend hike, and I was getting the family
food. We serve as missionaries teaching biology at Middle East University.
As I went upstairs to get some disinfectant and dish soap, I glanced down
the diaper aisle and saw someone looking at diapers. I thought to myself
how hard it must be for people who need diapers in Lebanon. The financial
situation is extremely difficult, with the Lebanese currency having lost more
than 90 percent of its value in two years and the cost of goods skyrocketing.
More than 80 percent of the country lives below the poverty line.
Suddenly a command popped into my head, “Buy a package of diapers.”
I was surprised at this sudden thought. “Lord, is that You?” I asked. “Why
would I buy diapers? The youngest of my three children is 10 years old!”
“Buy a package of diapers.”
I started to walk toward the escalator.
“Lord, I don’t even know anyone with a baby who needs diapers.”
The command became more insistent, “Buy a package of diapers.”
I walked back to the diaper aisle and prayed, “OK, Lord, I’ll buy some
diapers, and You’ll just have to show me later who they are for. What size
should I get?” I grabbed a package of size 3 diapers and continued shopping.
When my husband and I met at the car, I told him, “Don’t be surprised
if you see a package of diapers in the trunk. The Lord told me to purchase
them. They’re a gift, but I don’t know who they’re for yet.” We drove home.
The next day at church, I saw a friend whose wife works with refugee
families in Beirut. We chatted for a while, and I asked him, “Do you think
your wife might know someone who needs diapers? The Lord told me to get
some yesterday, and I don’t know who they are for.” He promised to ask her.
That evening I received a text from him. “When I told my wife your
story about the diapers, she started to cry,” he wrote. “Tomorrow she
will be visiting two families who need diapers. Can we pick them up
tonight?”
A short while later, as we hugged and chatted at the
door, I handed her the diapers that God had put on my
grocery list. I learned that she works with more than
twenty families who need diapers and can’t afford
them. Now I know to put diapers on my grocery list
more often.
Thank you for your mission offerings that help spread the
gospel in the Middle East and around the world.
but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of th..
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