The Heavenly Home

God has given us a mind (EPH5:17

Ephesians 5:17 KJV 1900

17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

"Understanding" suggests using our minds to discover and do the will of God, 'too many Christians have the idea that discovering God' will is a mystical experience that miles out dear thinking. But this idea is wrong and dangerous. We discover the will of God as He transforms the mind (Rom. 12:1-2)r, and this transformation is the result of the Word of God, prayer, meditation, and worship. If. God gave you a mind; then He expects you to use it. This means that learning His will involves gathering facts, examining them, weighing them, and praying for His wisdom (James 1:5)

God has a plan for our lives vs 17 B.

Paul led to this plan in Ephesians 2:10. If God saved me, he has a purpose for my life, and I should discover that purpose and then guide my life accordingly. He reveals His plan through His Word (Col. 1:9-10), His Spirit in our hearts (Col.

3:15), and the working of circumstances (Rom. 8:28). The Christian can walk carefully and accurately because he knows what God wants him to do. Like the builder following the blueprint, he accomplishes what the architect planned.

This completes the section we have called "Walk in Purity." The emphasis is on the new life as contrasted with the old life, imitating God and not the evil world around us. In the next section, "Walk in Harmony," Paul deals with the relationships of life and shows how life in Christ can bring heaven to the home.

When home is ruled according to God's Word," said Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "angels might be asked to stay with us, and they would not find themselves out of their element."

The trouble is that God’s Word does not govern many homes— even homes where the members profess Christianity- and the consequences are tragic. Instead of angels being guests in some homes, demons seem to be the masters. Too many marriages end in the divorce court, and nobody knows how many husbands and wives are emotionally divorced even though they share the same address. The poet William Cowper called the home "the only bliss of Paradise that hast survived the Fall," but too many homes are an outpost of hell instead of a parcel of paradise.

The answer is the Holy Spirit of God! It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can walk in harmony as husbands and wives (Eph. 5:22-33), parents and children (Eph. 6:1-4), and employers and employees (Eph. 6:5-9). The unity of the people of God that Paul described (Eph. 4:1-16) must be translated into daily living to enjoy the harmony that is a foretaste of heaven on earth.

"Be filled with the Spirit" is God's command, and He expects us to obey.

The command is plural, so it applies to all Christians and not just to a select few. The verb is in the present tense-“keep on being filled" —so it is an experience we should enjoy constantly, not just on special occasions. And the verb is passive. We do not fill ourselves but permit the Spirit to fill us. The verb "fall" has nothing to do with contents or quantity, as though we are empty vessels that need a required amount of spiritual fuel to keep going. In the Bible, filled means "controlled by?" "They ... were filled with wrath" (Luke 4:28) means "they were controlled by wrath" and, for that reason, tried to kill Jesus. "The Jews ... were filled with envy" (Acts

13:45) means that the Jews were controlled by envy and opposed the ministry of Paul and Barnabas. To be "filled with the Spirit" means constantly controlled by the Spirit in our mind, emotions, and will.

When a person trusts Christ as his Savior, he is immediately baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). Nowhere in the New Testament are we commanded to be baptized by the Spirit because this is a once-for-all experience that takes place at conversion. When the Spirit came at Pentecost, the believers were baptized by the Spirit, and thus, the body of Christ was formed (Acts 1:4-5). But they were also "filled with the Spirit" (Acts 2:4), and it was this filling that gave them the power they needed to witness for Christ (Acts 1:8). In Acts 2, the Jewish believers were baptized by the Spirit, and in Acts 10 the Gentile believers had the same experience (Acts 10:44-48; 11:15-17). Thus, the body of Christ was made up of Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:11-22). That historic baptism, in two stages, has never been repeated any more than Calvary has been repeated.

But that baptism is made personal when the sinner trusts Christ and the Spirit enters in to make him a member of the body of Christ. The baptism of the Spirit means that I belong to Christ's body. The filling of the spirit means that my body belongs to Christ.

We usually think of the power of the Spirit as necessary for preaching and witnessing, which is true. (See Acts 4:8, 31; 6:3, 5; 7:55; 13:9. The apostles experienced repeated fillings after that initial experience at Pentecost.) But Paul wrote that the Spirit's fullness is also needed in the home. If our homes are to be a heaven on earth, then we must be controlled by the Holy Spirit. But how can a person tell whether or not he is filled with the Spirit? Paul stated that there are three evidences of the fullness of the Spirit in the life of the believer: he is joyful (Eph. 5:19), thankful (Eph. 5:20), and submissive (Eph. 5:21-33). Paul said nothing about miracles or tongues or other remarkable manifestations. He stated that the home can be a heaven on earth if the Spirit controls each family member and is joyful, thankful, and submissive.

3. A NATURE OF JOY (EPH 5:19

Ephesians 5:19 KJV 1900

19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Christian joy is not a shallow emotion that, like a thermometer, rises and falls with the changing atmosphere of the home. Instead, Christian joy is a profound experience of adequacy and confidence despite the circumstances around us. The Christian can be joyful even in the midst of pain and suffering. This kind of joy is not a thermometer but a thermostat. Instead of rising and falling with the circumstances, it determines the spiritual temperature of the circumstances. Paul put it beautifully when he wrote, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (Phil. 4:11).

To illustrate this joy, Paul used the familiar image of drunkenness: "Be not drunk with wine ... but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18). When the believers at Pentecost were filled with the Spirit, the crowd accused them of being drunk with new wine (Acts 2:13-15). There was such a joyfulness about them that the unbelievers could not think of a better comparison. But some practical lessons can be learned from the contrasts. To begin with, the self (though what he says and does is shameful) cannot hide what is going on in his life.

Transfer this picture to the believer who is filled with the Spirit. God controls his life, and he experiences a deep joy he is not afraid to express to the glory of God. Of course, the drunk is really out of control since the alcohol affects his brain, while the believer experiences a beautiful selfControl that is God in control. Self-control is among the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23). "The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets' (1 Cor. 14:32). The drunk makes a fool of himself, but the Spirit-filled Christian glorifies God and is willing to be a "fool for Christ's sake® (1 Cor. 4:10). The drunk calls attention to himself, while the Spirit-filled believer is a witness for Christ.

Living or working with someone filled with Spirit and joy is certainly not difficult. He has a song in his heart and on his lips. The drunk often sings, but his songs only reveal the corruption in his heart.

The Spirit-filled Christian's song comes from God, a song he could never sing apart from the Spirit's power. God even gives us songs in the night (Ps. 42:8). In spite of pain and shame, Paul and Silas were able to sing praises to God in the Philippian jail (Acts 16:25), and the result was the conversion of the jailer and his family. What a happy time they all had that midnight hour—and they did not need to get drunk to enjoy it!

But this headline reminded me that people who drink together often experience sympathy and conviviality. This fact is no argument for alcohol, but it does illustrate a point: Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit enjoy being together and experience a sense of joyful oneness in the Lord.

They do not need the false stimulants of the world. They have the Spirit of God, and He is all they need.

THANKFUL (EPH 5:20

Ephesians 5:20 (KJV 1900)

20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Someone defined the home as "the place where we are treated the best and complain the most!" How true this is! "My father never talks to me unless he wants to bawl me out or ask about my grades," a teenager once told me. "After all, a guy needs some encouragement once in a while!" Marriage counselors tell us that "raking each other for granted" is one of the chief causes of marital problems. Being thankful to God for each other is a secret of a happy home, and the Holy Spirit gives us the grace of thankfulness.

How does a grateful heart promote harmony in the home? For one thing, the sincerely grateful person realizes that he is enriched because of others, which is a mark of humility. The person who thinks the world owes him a living is never thankful for anything. He thinks he is doing others a favor by permitting them to serve him. The grateful heart is usually humbled and gladly acknowledges God as the "Giver of every good and perfect gift James 1:17). Like Mary's gift to Jesus in John 12, gratitude fills the house with fragrance.

To be sure, all of us are grateful for some things on special occasions, but Paul commanded his readers to be thankful for all things at all times. This exhortation in itself proves our need for the Spirit of God because, in our own strength, we could never obey this commandment. Can we really be thankful in times of suffering, disappointment, and even bereavement? Keep in mind that Paul was a prisoner when he wrote those words, yet he was grateful for what God was doing in him and for him (Eph. 1:16; 5:4, 20; Phil. 1:3; Col. 1:3, 12; 2:7; 3:17; 4:2). When a Christian finds himself in a difficult situation, he should immediately give thanks to the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Spirit, to keep his heart from complaining and fretting. When a Christian starts to complain, the Devil moves in, but thanksgiving in the Spirit defeats the Devil and glorifies the Lord. "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thess. 5:18).

The word gratitude comes from the same root word as grace. If we have experienced the grace of God, then we ought to be grateful for what God brings to us. Thank and think also come from the same root word. If we think more, we will be more thankful.

SUBMISSION

Husbands and wives EPH 5:21-33), parents and children (Eph. 6: 1-4), and masters and servants (Eph. 6:5-9), and he began with the admonition that each submits to the other (Eph. 5:21). Does this suggest that the children tell the parents what to do, or that the masters obey the servants? Of course not! Submission has nothing to do with the order of authority but rather governs the operation of authority, how it is given and how it is received. Often Jesus tried to teach His disciples not to throw their weight around or seek to become great at somebody else's expense. Unfortunately, they failed to learn the lesson, and even at the Last Supper they were arguing over who was the greatest (Luke 22:24-27). When Jesus washed their feet, He taught them that the greatest is the person who uses his authority to build up people and not, like the Pharisees, to build up his authority and make himself important. We are to esteem others "more important than ourselves.”

(Rom. 12:10; Phil. 211-4). By nature, we want the Holy Spirit enables us to submit ourselves.

As you, study Paul's words to husbands and wives, remember that he was writing to believers. He was nowhere suggesting that women are inferior to men, or that all women must be in subjection to all men in every situation.

His use of Christ and the church as his illustration is evidence that he has the Christian home in mind.

Wives, submit yourselves (w. 22-24). He gives two reasons for this command: the lordship of Christ (Eph. 5:22) and the headship of the man In Christ (Eph. 5:23). When the Christian wife submits herself to Christ and lets Him be the Lord of her life, she will have no difficulty submitting to her husband. This does not mean that she becomes a slave, for the husband is also to submit to Christ. And if both are living under the lordship of Christ, there can be only harmony: Headship is not dictatorship. "Bach for the other, both for the Lord." The Christian husband and wife should pay together and spend time in the Word so that they might know God's will for their individual lives and for their home. Most of the marital con-fices I have dealt with as a pastor have stemmed from the failure of the husband and wife to submit to Christ, spend time in His Word, and seek to do His will each day.

This explains why a Christian should marry a Christian and not become "unequally yoked together" with an unbeliever (2 Cor. 6:14-18).

If then the Christian is submitted to Christ, he will not try to establish a home that disobeys the Word of God. Such a home invites civil war from the beginning. But something else is essential. The Christian couple must carefully submit to Christ's lordship before marriage.

Unless the couple prays together and sincerely seeks God’s will in His Word, their marriage begins on a work foundation. Sins committed before marriage ("We're Christians can get away with this!") have a way of causing problems after marriage. Indeed God is able to forgive, but something very precious is lost just the same.

Husbands love your wives (v. 25-33).

Paul had much more to say to the Christian husbands than wives. He set a very high standard for them: Love your wives "even as Christ also loved the church." Paul was lifting married love to the highest level possible, for he saw an illustration of the relationship between Christ and the church in the Christian home. God established marriage for many reasons. For one thing, it meets man’s emotional needs. "It is nor good that the man should be alone" (Gen. 2:18).

Marriage also has a social purpose in the bearing of children to continue the race (Gen. 1:28). Paul indicated a physical purpose for marriage to help man and woman fulfill the normal desires given them by God (1 Cor. 7:1-3). But in Ephesians 5. Paul also indicated a spiritual purpose in marriage, as the husband and wife share the submission and the love of Christ (Eph. S:22-33).

If the husband makes Christ's love for the church the pattern for lowing his wife, then he will love her sacrificially (Eph. 5:25). Christ gave Himself for the church, so the husband, in love, gives himself for his wife.

Jacob loved Rachel so much that he sacrificed fourteen years to win her.

True Christian love "seeketh not her own" (1 Cor. 13:5) - it is not selfish.

If the husband is submitted to Christ and filled with the Spirit, his sacrificial love will willingly pay the price so that she might be able to serve Christ in the home and glorify Him.

The husband's love will also be a sanctifying love (Eph. 5:26-27). The word sanctify means to set apart." In the marriage ceremony, the husband Is set apart to belong to the wife, and the wife is set apart to belong to the husband. Any interference with this God-given arrangement is sin. Today, Christ is cleansing His church through the ministry of His Word John 15:3; 17:17). The husband’s love for his wife ought to be cleansing her (and him) so that both are becoming more like Christ. Even their physical relationship should be so controlled by God that it becomes a means of spiritual enrichment and personal enjoyment (1 Cor. 7:3-5). The husband is not to "use" his wife for his own pleasure but rather to show the kind of love that is mutually rewarding and sanctifying. The marriage relationship is one of constant growth when Christ is the Lord of the home. Love always enlarges and enriches, while selfishness does just the opposite.

The church today is not perfect; it has spots and wrinkles. Spots are caused by defilement on the outside, while wrinkles are caused by decay on the inside. Because the church becomes defiled by the world, it needs constant cleansing, and the Word of God is the cleansing agent. "Keep yourselves unspotted from the world" (James 1:27). Strictly speaking, there should be no wrinkles in the church because wrinkles are evidence of old age and internal decay. As the Word nourishes the church, these wrinkles ought to disappear. Like a beautiful bride, the church ought to be clean and youthful, which is possible through the Spirit of God using the Word of God. One day the church will be presented in heaven "a glorious church" at the coming of Jesus Christ (Jude 24).

The husband's love for his wife should be sacrificial and sanctifying but also satisfying (Eph. 5:28-30). In the marriage relationship, the husband and wife become "one flesh." Therefore, whatever the SPOUSE does to the other, he or she does to himself or herself. It is a mutually satisfying experience. The man who loves his wife is actually loving his own body. Since he and his wife are one flesh. As he loves her, he is nourishing ber. Just as love is the circulatory system of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:16), so love is the nourishment of the home. How many people have confessed? "I am starved for love." There should be no starvation for love in the Christian home, for the husband and wife should love each other so that their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs are met. If both are submitted to the Lord, and to each other, they will be so satisfied that they will not be tempted to look anywhere else for fulfillment.

Our Christian homes are to be pictures of Christ's relationship to His church. Each believer is a member of Christ's body, and each believer is to help nourish the body in love (Eph. 4:16). We are one with Christ. The church is His body and His bride, and the Christian home is a divinely ordained illustration of this relationship. This certainly makes marriage a severe matter.

Paul referred to the creation of Eve and the forming of the first home (Gen. 2:18-24). Adam had to give part of himself in order to ger a bride. but Christ gave all of Himself to purchase His bride at the cross. God opened Adam's side, but sinful men pierced Christ's side. So united are a husband and wife that they are "one flesh." Their union is even closer than that of parents and children. The believer's union with Christ is even closer and, unlike human marriage, will last for all eternity. Paul closed with a final admonition that the husband love his wife and that the wife reverence (respect) her husband, both of which require the power of the Holy Spirit.

If Christian husbands and wives have the power of the Spirit to enable them, and the example of Christ to encourage them, why do too many Christian marriages fail? Somebody is out of the will of God. Just because two Christians know each other and get along together does not mean they are supposed to get married. In fact, not every believer is supposed to marry. Sometimes, God's will is for a Christian to remain single (Matt. 19:12;

1 Cor. 7:7-9). It is wrong for a believer to marry an unbeliever, but it is also wrong for two Christians to marry out of the will of God.

But even if two Christians marry in the will of God, they must stay in God's will if their home is to be the creative fellowship God wants it to be. "The fruit of the Spirit is love" (Gal. 5:22), and unless both husband and wife are walking in the Spirit, they cannot share the love of Christ, the love that is so beautifully described in 1 Corinthians 13. The root of most marital problems is sin, and the root of all sin is selfishness.

Submission to Christ and to one another is the only way to overcome selfishness; for when we submit, the Holy Spirit can fill us and enable us to love one another in a sacrificial, sanctifying, satisfying way Christ loves the church.

To experience the fullness of the Spirit, a person must first possess the Spirit —be a Christian. Then there must be a sincere desire to glorify Christ, since this is why the Holy Spirit was given (John 16:14). We do not use the Holy Spirit: He uses us. There must be a deep thirst for God's fullness, a confession that we cannot do His will apart from His power. We must claim the promise of John 7:37-39: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me. and drink.” By faith, yield yourself to Christ by faith. Ask Him for the fullness of the Spirit. By faith receive. When you find yourself joyful and thankful. and submissive, you will know that God has answered.

One more important factor should be considered. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to work in our lives. Read Colossians 3:16-4:1, and you will see a parallel to our Ephesians passage. And you will note that being filled with God’s Word produces joy, thanksgiving, and submission. In other words, when controlled by the Word of God, you are filed with the Spirit of God. Not only husbands and wives, but all Chris-Eins need to spend time daily letting the Word of Christ dwell in them richly, for then the Spirit of God can work in our lives to make us joyful, thankful, and submissive. And this means heaven in the home-or wherever God may put us.(Rom. 12:10; Phil. 2:1-4). We want to promote ourselves by nature, but the Holy Spirit enables us to submit ourselves.

As you study Paul's words to husbands and wives, remember that he was writing to believers. He was nowhere suggesting that women are inferior to men, or that all women must be in subjection to all men in every situation.

His use of Christ and the church as his illustration is evidence that he has the Christian home in mind.

Wives, submit yourselves (w. 22-24). He gives two reasons for this command: the lordship of Christ (Eph. 5:22) and the headship of the man in Christ (Eph. 5:23). When the Christian wife submits herself to Christ and lets Him be the Lord of her life, she will have no difficulty submitting to her husband. This does not mean that she becomes a slave, for the husband is also to submit to Christ. And if both live under Christ’s lordship, there can be only harmony. Headship is not dictatorship. "Each for the other, both for the Lord." The Christian husband and wife should pray together and spend time in the Word, so that they might know God's will for their individual lives and for their home. Most of the marital con-(Rom. 12:10; Phil. 2:1-4). By nature, we want to promote ourselves, but the Holy Spirit enables us to submit ourselves.

As you study Paul's words to husbands and wives, remember that he was writing to believers. He was nowhere suggesting that women are inferior to men, or that all women must be in subjection to all men in every situation.

His use of Christ and the church as his illustration is evidence that he has the Christian home in mind.

Wives, submit yourselves (v. 22-24). He gives two reasons for this command: the lordship of Christ (Eph. 5:22) and the headship of the man in Christ (Eph. 5:23). When the Christian wife submits herself to Christ and lets Him be the Lord of her life, she will have no difficulty submitting5:21-33), parents and children (Eph. 6:1-4), and masters and servants (Eph. 6:5-9), and he began with the admonition that each submit to the other (Eph. 5:21). Does this suggest that the children tell the parents what to do, or that the masters obey the servants? Of course not! Submission has nothing to do with the order of authority, but rather governs the operation of authority, how it is given and received. Often Jesus tried to teach His disciples not to throw their weight around, or seek to bec