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A Study of Ephesians
Daily Devotionals for March 7-11
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NOTE: This week we pick up our studies in the New Testament book of Ephesians, continuing our weekday preparation for the upcoming Sunday's sermon by Pastor Rob. As you read and meditate on the verses we'll study this week, invite God to speak through this text, praying as Paul did for the Ephesians, that "the eyes of your heart may be enlightened" (Ephesians 1:18).
We thank Vance Frusher, WBC's Children's Pastor, for preparing this week's devotionals.
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 | MONDAY, MARCH 7
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| | This week we are focusing on Ephesians 6:1-4, the text of Pastor Rob's sermon next Sunday.
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother" -- which is the first commandment with a promise -- 3"so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." 4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
As we look at the first verse of this passage and Paul's instruction to children, it is helpful to see this in the context of the previous chapter, where the church is instructed to "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." These verses apply that truth to children, and their relationship with their parents
You may be saying, "I am not a child anymore." Or, "All my children have grown up and are gone." While that may true, the underlying principle here is that children -- all of us -- have our first opportunity to learn submission through the home. It is the laboratory where the principle of submission is taught. And as they learn to submit to the authority of their parents, that submission will become a part of who they are at an early age.
You likely know people of all ages who have struggled with submission because they didn't learn it as a child. You may be a person who struggles with submitting. As we learned in the passage about husbands and wives, submission does not mean becoming a doormat, but rather it means to follow God's plan for function. As you look at your own life, how do you do with submitting? Or as a parent, how have you done in teaching your children obedience?
We have a little saying we use in our family relating to obedience -- we bring it up when we see a heart that is not willing to obey. It goes like this: I will obey, right away, all the way, the happy way. That is truly what God wants from us: Yes, God I will obey, right away, all the way, the happy way. Unlike our parents, who cannot see into the inner workings of our heart, God can and He knows when we are truly submitting and happily, willingly obeying Him.
Father,
Thank You for giving me parents to show me how to live a life that is honoring and glorifying to You. Just as I learned to obey them, may I also learn obey You and honor You. Help me today to obey You right away, all the way, the happy way.
Amen
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| TUESDAY, MARCH 8
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| This week we are focusing on Ephesians 6:1-4, the text Pastor Rob will teach from on Sunday, March 13.
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother" -- which is the first commandment with a promise -- 3"so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." 4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
As we continue on in with verses 2 and 3, we notice that parts of these verses are quoted from the fifth of the Ten Commandments, which are found in Deuteronomy 5 and Exodus 20. Paul adds in some commentary to his quotation with his statement, "which is the first commandment with a promise."
Obviously this was not the first commandment in the Bible with a promise, but rather it is the first and only one of the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses that is tied to a promise. As the commandments were delivered to the people of Israel, the reference to the long life on the earth points to their entry into the Promised Land. "Honor your father and mother," Exodus 20:12 says. "Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you."
You'll notice that Paul changes up the words of the quote a little. Some commentators have suggested that he is thinking in terms of the new covenant that came into place with Jesus' death and resurrection, and that the "long life" referenced here includes the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ, including eternal life in Him. Paul is not advocating for works-based salvation, but rather that honoring is evidence of the life-changing work of God that brings us eternal life.
The commandment uses the word honor to describe how children are to relate to their parents. To honor means to not only be obedient, but also to be respectful, to be reverent, and to be a blessing to them. And just as children are instructed to honor their parents, we can apply this teaching to our relationship to God -- our Heavenly Father, who has adopted us as His children through Jesus Christ.
Father,
Help me to live a life that is honoring to you. Just as Your Word instructs children to honor their parents, please help me to live -- as Your child -- in ways that are respectful, reverent, and obedient toward You. Work through me today, that the way I act and speak brings You honor and draws people to want to know more about You.
Amen
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| WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9
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| | This week we are focusing on Ephesians 6:1-4, the text Pastor Rob will teach from on Sunday, March 13.
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother" -- which is the first commandment with a promise -- 3"so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." 4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
As we look at verse four, we see fathers are given two commands. Today we will be looking at the first commandment and tomorrow we will be looking at the second. Paul once again is building upon the idea of submission which has been a recurring theme in our Ephesians studies over the past several weeks. In these verses he addresses the fathers who are positioned as the head of the home. (This verse does not remove mothers from the picture when it comes to parenting. In other Scripture texts mothers also instruct their children in matters of faith. Rather, Paul is directing the fathers to take the lead and make sure that these two commands are reflected in the home.)
"Do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them," Paul says in verse 4. He was addressing a culture where the father had ultimate control over his family and could be very harsh toward his children if he wanted to -- for no reason at all. In today's culture, that is not typically the case. If anything, we see children exasperating their parents with disrespect and attitude. In talking with grown up children, I often hear them being bitter that their parents did not care enough to correct them. Others tell me that their parents seemed to care more about the sport or activity their children were involved in than the children themselves. Others felt rejected because their parents invested more into their hobby or job than into their children.
As a parent, none of us can be perfect. But we can avoid the ditches on either side of this parenting journey -- overbearing one side and permissiveness on the others -- by taking the time to correct, guide, and engage our children for who they are in Christ not what they will do or become. If we do this, in the end our children will not be exasperated but appreciative.
Father,
Help us to love our children by investing into them for who they are not what they do or do not do. Help me to have Your eyes to know how to best build them up in You, so that they might become lifelong followers of You. Help me to guide them and correct them in love so that they will know that they have been cared for and supported by their family.
Amen
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| THURSDAY, MARCH 10
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| | This week we are focusing on Ephesians 6:1-4, the text Pastor Rob will teach from on Sunday, March 13. Today we're reading from the New Living Translation.
1Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. 2"Honor your father and mother." This is the first commandment with a promise: 3If you honor your father and mother, "things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth." 4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
Yesterday we looked at the first of God's two commands to fathers in verse 4. Today we will be looking at the second half of the verse, where Paul directs fathers to bring their children up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Dr. Paul Tripp, in his DVD "Getting to the Heart of Parenting," argues that one of the primary purposes of the home is the theological education and training of children. Just for clarifying purposes, this does not mean you have to homeschool your children, but rather it means that the home or family is the place where children learn about who God is and discover the wonder of Him. In Deuteronomy 6, parents are encouraged to teach their children about God and to love God as they go through life with them:
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
One of the ways we want to partner with parents at WBC, as they seek to teach their children about God, is to provide them with resources to do that, including our Family Worship Guides. (You can pick up the current Family Worship Guide at the Children's Ministry Welcome Desks and at Chapters bookstore.) In these guides, parents are given a variety of activities and lessons to help them teach their children at home about who God is. In turn, we will affirm that teaching at home when the family comes to church by teaching the same lesson on the following Sunday.
Partnering together, it is our hope and prayer that we will teach this next generation the wonders of God in action -- working our way systematically through God's Word -- so that they know God and worship Him.
Father,
Please help me to be diligent to pointing my children towards Christ. May you be at the center of all we do in our home. Open the hearts of our children and may they be changed forever thought the truths they are taught from your Word.
Amen
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| FRIDAY, MARCH 11
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| | This week we are focusing on Ephesians 6:1-4, the text Pastor Rob will teach from on Sunday, March 13.
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother" -- which is the first commandment with a promise -- 3"so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." 4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
We have covered a lot of ground since we began our studies in Ephesians back in September -- starting with the rich theology of chapters one, two, and three, followed by the hands-on application of chapters four, five, and now, six!
As we have focused this week on the specific instructions to families, I would strongly encourage you to take a few minutes and read this week's verses in the context of chapters four and five. [Click here for Ephesians 4:1 through 6:4] These verses that begin chapter 6, and what they say about children and parents, take on a whole new level of meaning when we see families within God's new society -- those transformed through God's grace-based gift of salvation.
God wants us to live our lives for Him. He lays out what this looks like in these chapters. When you read them together, it provides the complete picture of what our lives -- in light of what God has done in us and for us in Christ -- should look like.
Though you may or may not have children, the principles about children apply to all of us. As you read through this passage, make a list of those characteristics, attitudes, and actions that would show evidence that God is at work in a person's life. How are you doing in these areas?
As you prepare to come to worship this Sunday, please take time to ask God to examine your heart. Ask Him to reveal areas in your life that need attention whether it be submission, purity, unity, generosity, speech, compassion, or other attitudes or behaviors that He brings to your attention. Ask Him to make the change in you.
Father,
Please examine my heart today. What areas need to be addressed? What do You want to change in me? Help me to obey and submit to You so that I can live a life worthy of the Gospel -- a life that brings glory and honor to You.
Amen
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