Ephesians 4:3 | Our Common . . .
Relationships are the heart of Christian behavior. Relating with one another according to Scripture is paramount to relating rightly with God. Our text teaches that mutual submission is vital to relating with our neighbor in the Lord.
What does a Christian look like? Ephesians 5 answers, “A Christian imitates God, loving as Christ loved, maintaining a pure life and speech, and wisely making the most of their time by doing good works and exposing sin.”
Ephesians is Paul’s grand gesture of unity to the Gentile Christians. He reminds them that their identity is in Christ, not the world. Therefore, they are not to behave as Gentiles but as Christians, and all the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus need to be renewed in the spirit of our minds by the Holy Spirit daily.
The price of a believer’s freedom from sin comes at the expense of Jesus’ life. The Church, and every member thereof, is responsible for using that freedom for God’s glory. Ephesians 3 teaches us that one of our common responsibilities is making the mystery of God’s redemptive revelation known to the angels.
All those in Christ Jesus have this in common, our past, present, and future. Of these, we all give a common report.
God gives physical blessings which are not universal to all Christians, but there are spiritual blessings that are common to all the faithful in Christ Jesus. Redemption is one such blessing. In Christ, we are redeemed, and our sins are forgiven beyond any imaginable measure.
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