Redeemer Church Of Waterford

How is the Spirit-filled believer to live within the reality of societal inequities? Pauls' instruction to the Ephesians does not advocate an abolishment of class distinctions so that everyone is equal, but rather that we apply the gospel in our relationships between the classes.

The Bible does not directly condemn slavery nor does it directly condone slavery. Dealing with this dilemma requires that we view the reality of slavery as resulting not from the Atlantic Slave Trade but rather from the fall of man into sin and the resulting distinctions of class and race.

Due to a technical issue Pastor Paul's message on Ephesians 6:1 -4 was not recorded. In its place we invite you to listen to the exposition of Ephesians 6:1-4 by Rev. Eric Alexander, minister in the Church of Scotland and retired from the pastorate of St. George's Tron in Glasgow. Pastor Paul noted during his sermon on this text that he drew heavily from Eric Alexander's sermon which you may listen to here. This sermon is used by permission of tapesfromscotland.org. Original Source File: http://www.tapesfromscotland.org/Audio5/5107.mp3.

"For we are members of his body, and of his flesh, and of his bones," is the amazing claim that the Apostle Paul makes in Ephesians 5:30 when he describes the relationship between Christ and His church. But what exactly does it mean? And who is included in the "we"?

The role of the husband as head of the wife is not to rule over her for to satisfy his own desires but rather to love her with a view toward God's objective of spiritual beauty in the marriage.

The relationship of husband and wife in Ephesians 5 is viewed by Paul in the context of the relationship between Christ and the church. To properly understand what Paul means by "subjection" in the case of the wife in verse 22, we must first understand what he means by "the head" in verse 23.

Submission in Christian marriage is not subjugation to the tyrannical whims or rules of the husband. It is a humble reception of the grace, mercy, and peace being served by the husband through love.

What the Apostle Paul is describing in Ephesians 5:22-33 is Spirit-controlled marriage and such a concept is completely foreign to the culture-at-large AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN. What does it mean for a wife to submit to her own husband and that the husband is the head of the wife?

Marriage is not an anthropological or social construct. It is a divine ordinance instituted by God in creation. Only as we see marriage in this way can we understand the proper relationship of submission and headship within marriage.

Psalm 18:7 is tells the dramatic story behind the earthquake in Matthew 28:2. In the resurrection, God loosed His Son from the pains of death in a dramatic rescue before dawn three days after His crucifixion. In response, there is a great earthquake as all of nature, with God Himself leading the way on a swift cherub, comes to the aid of its Creator Lord.

In the territory of terrors, Jesus is equipped by His Father for the battle with death, hell, and the devil which ends with all His enemies under His feet and the decimation of death.

While the body of Jesus is in the tomb, His spirit is in the territory of terrors in an epic battle with Death, Hell, and the Devil. Psalm 18 is the exhilarating drama of the spirit of Christ's epic battle with death, and His Father coming to rescue Him.

In this message from Psalm 18, Pastor Paul takes us through the entire Psalm to reveal the various elements of the drama which unfolds when the spirit of Christ is in the state of death ("the territory of terrors") while His body lay three days and three nights in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb. Then in verses 20-24 David points us to the active obedience of Jesus which produced the righteousness which met the law's demands, the righteousness which is imputed (credited) to every sinner who places their faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ alone.

Spirit-filled worship is 1) speaking the word of God to each other; 2) singing the word of God to the Lord; 3) a "eucharistic" life of thanksgiving to God and the Father; and 4) submitting to one another in the context of the church. What does it look like for me to submit myself to others in the body of Christ?

The Apostle's call for believers to submit themselves to one another within the body of Christ does not come out of the blue clear sky. The preceding chapters tell us precisely what it looks like for us to submit to one another, and it has nothing to do with some being superior to others. It has everything to do with all seeing themselves as equally in need of the riches of God's grace.

It is right for us to view God as God - which is to say, as wholly other than us, separate from sinners, high above us in holiness. But our holy God has condescended to us in His Son, and we have been adopted through His Son so that we ourselves are called the sons of God. What does it mean that this holy God is our Father?

In adopting us as His children, God is not making us into better versions of ourselves. He is conforming us to the image of His own Son. Only as we are like Jesus can we be like our Father in heaven.

"Giving Thanks" is not a periodic utterance of thanks, but a life of gratitude to God lived in stark contrast to the life of pagan unbelievers who are not grateful to God. The pagan unbeliever's lack of gratitude to God results in a depraved and darkened mind (Romans 1:21). This is the attitude that prevails in our culture, where elected representatives in the Congress now boldly say, "God's will is of no concern to this Congress."

"Giving thanks always for all things" in Ephesians 5:20 is the antithesis of "Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess" in 5:18. In the same way pagan unbelievers are unrestrained in their public displays of fleshly lusts, so the believer who is filled with the Spirit is to be unrestrained in their public displays of gratitude to God "always," as a manner of life.

This morning's message - which was a dog's breakfast on the subject of the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:18 ("and be not drunk with wine wherein is excess") - may have left some with the impression that followers of Jesus can be ambivalent toward the use of alcohol. If the Bible has no clear prohibitions against the use of alcohol, how then are we to think about and respond to the reality that alcohol consumption has been the cause of broken relationships, psychological and emotional trauma, and even death?