Spirit-filled living as church

Introduction

illustration?

ESV reflects rather faithfully the syntax of the original text in Greek

not “12 rules of living in the house of God”

not parallel imperatives

as visualized: 3 pairs of imperatives

negative command and a positive command (not … but …)

how they are related:

1. the participles explains how it looks like to walk as wise or to be filled with the Holy Spirit:

A person who is filled with the Spirit addresses … sings … gives thanks … submits …

2.

Walk in wisdom

Ephesians 5:15–16 (ESV)

Look carefully then

how you walk,

not as unwise

but as wise,

making the best use of the time,

because the days are evil.

The metaphor of walking in Ephesians/Paul

Ephesians 2:1–2 (ESV)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 4:1 (ESV)

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

Ephesians 4:17 (ESV)

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do (walk), in the futility of their minds.

Ephesians 5:2 (ESV)

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:8 (ESV)

for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

Ephesians 5:15 (ESV)

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

Redeeming the time because the days are evil.

Limited time

After becoming a Christian, I find “killing time” the most hideous expression in English.

We got time to kill? The time kills us, if don’t use it redemptively.

KJV: “redeeming the time”

Illustrations:

1. Tik-tok, Netflix, video games are not our friends in redeeming the time. They are intentionally engineered to cause addiction of the users.

2. iPhone screen-time report: horrifying

3.

Redeem the time for what?

“Time” also translated as “opportunity.”

Opportunity to worship.

Opportunity to make disciples.

Opportunity to love one another.

Opportunity to worship.

We all have a finite number of opportunities to worship together with the brothers and sisters sitting beside you.

And wherever we live, it won’t be long when we miss the days that we are strong enough to go to the church freely to worship God.

Psalm 90:9–10 ESV

For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Before long, we might regret on our sickbed or deathbed

that we wasted so many wonderful opportunities

to stand in the assembly of God’s people and sing aloud a beautiful hymn to God in harmony with other voices in the same room.

Opportunity to make disciples.

CCCTO has a heart for missions

Past 16 months: unusually challenges to missionaries, many trapped at home

It means evangelism cannot be zoomed, in most cases.

Why not just email the Middle East?

Christians are called to reach the nations, even at Church.

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

How are we to make disciples of all nations if we are even unwilling to reach people at our local church？

Mission = dangerous prayer = going to Africa

Probably God first moved us out of our comfortable couch or beanbag to our neighbor across the street.

By no means we are obeying to our Lord’s Great Commission when we are hiding behind the screens most of the times.

Opportunity to love one another.

1 Peter 4:7–8 (ESV)

The end of all things is at hand;

therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

transition to the next point: understand what the will of the Lord is.

Walk with understanding (of the will of the Lord)

Eph 5:17

Therefore do not be foolish,

but understand

what the will of the Lord is.

God’s will for our worship of Him

WLC 155: drive out of self

VS. individualized view of spiritual life

We emphasize: our relationship with God is mainly nurtured in our private time of prayer, scripture reading and devotion. We can still do all of that (theoretically, we have more time to do that better) when locked down.

service on Youtube: you can pause; you can watch it later; you can play back; you can skip the part you consider redundant or not so interesting

God’s wisdom:

God’s will for Christian fellowship

God’s will for our sanctification

What’s the purpose of church? What’s the job of Christian ministers?

Colossians 1:28 (ESV)

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Heidelberg Catechism:

I am not my own

Ultimately, church is not about “what I get out of it.”

We dare not say no to man, to our employers or superiors on earth.

But we dare say no to the will of God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth.

Walk in the Spirit

Ephesians 5:18 (ESV)

And do not get drunk with wine,

for that is debauchery,

but be filled with the Spirit,

Filled with the Spirit or something else

intoxicated with alcohol, drugs, pornography, or any drink or food or TV series or social media or video games or digital device or App or property without which we cannot live.

We are intoxicated!

Like wine, most of it does not make you sharper in seeing, understanding and acting.

On the contrary, it compromises your ability of judgment.

It makes your life as vulnerable as a car driven by a drunk driver.

How many times our life is crashed/crushed because we’re obsessed with something or someone？ ）（e.g., )

English Standard Version (Chapter 5)

19 addressing

one another

in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

singing and making melody

to the Lord with your heart,

Ps 35:18, 40:9-10, 68:26, 107:32, 111:1, 149:1

Colossians 3:16 (ESV)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs

is a way of the Word of God to dwell in you.

In other words, we’re not just singing songs in worship. We sing the truth. We sing the truth that is revealed in the Word of God.

There is a profound mystery as well as a spiritual reality going on when we sing out the Gospel Truth.

Illustration:

we’re sensitive enough to respond to the problematic theology of Hillsong, Bethel, Elevation worship, etc.

Jumping off the stage and let the audience catch you. What’s that about? No wonder the world often laughs at the anti-intellectual side of the Church for things like that.

The music in Christian worship is not primarily about expressing our own feelings or stirring up human excitement.

English Standard Version (Chapter 5)

20 giving thanks

always

and for everything

to God the Father

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Fight with gratitude. Gratitude Is a Defense

One of the most powerful defenses against fear is gratitude. The more your heart is directed toward gratitude, the more you’re counting your blessings; the less, at those moments, your mind is running to fear and rehearsing the what-ifs. How about intentionally looking around at all the things for which, today, you can give thanks—all the evidences of God’s provision, all the evidences of his care, all the people that love you, all those things that you would take for granted—how about counting your blessings? How about letting praise overwhelm complaint and gratitude silence grumbling? The final promise of the gospel is this: that in this present world, we will face trouble—troubles of various kinds (John 16:33).

This moment is a physical trouble, a trouble that can infect, weaken, and for some of us, destroy the body. But there is a sure promise that there will be a day when all such things will end forever and we will be in a place where there will be no more sickness and no more suffering. Hope in this promise is not some faint, dreamy wish for those who are embracing some kind of religious delusion. Hope in God’s promise is a confident expectation in a guaranteed result. It’s coming—paradise is coming—and it is yours by grace.

There will be a time—it’s hard to imagine—where we will look back on this as a brief moment of trouble as we are experiencing a perfect world, perfect bodies, perfect hearts, and perfect relationship with God. Everything will be as it’s supposed to be and function as it was meant to function—in peace and righteousness forever and ever. This scary moment reminds us of the most precious truths of the gospel. Instead of focusing on the what-ifs, how about meditating on those promises of future glory? God bless you as you do that. Stay safe, hunker down, and remember Jesus and the glories of his gospel of grace.

Paul Tripp

To non-believers: the secret of giving thanks always and for everything: Christ and Gospel

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation Php 4:10-13

English Standard Version (Chapter 5)

21 submitting

to one another

out of reverence for Christ.

in fear of Christ

The remarkable thing about God is that

when you fear God,

you fear nothing else,

whereas if you do not fear God,

you fear everything else.

— Oswald Chambers

Freedom is not just doing what I feel like.

A greater freedom: doing what is right and fitting even I don’t feel like doing it (e.g., )

To believers:

We are so free that we can submit to each other.

We can give up what we could do for the good of others’ conscience.

Application: who are you to judge? Paul: I don’t judge. The Lord will.

Romans 14:3–4 (ESV)

Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

To non-believers: you want to be free from fear and anxiety in such an uncertain world and such an uncertain time?

There is a certain message for you. The good news of Jesus Christ.

Trust in God’s sovereignty or our own petty sense of control?