A Covenant of Love

August 25, 2019 Background Scripture: Ephesians 5:21 – 6:4 Lesson Passage: Ephesians 5:21 - 33 In the background scripture of today’s lesson, Paul gave a brief list of some characteristics of the relationship that should exist among Christians. Paul started the list by reminding the saints at Ephesus that their salvation is also a call for them to live out their lives according to the desires of God. Since Christ died for us, then we should live for him. The world is evil, but God has empowered Christians to live righteously in an evil world. Christ has broken the power of sin in the life of Christians. Therefore, how we live is a choice for Christians. Furthermore, how we interact with other Christians should be typical of actions befitting children of the same heavenly Father. Praising and worshiping God together should become part of our pattern of behavior. Put another way, Christians should seek opportunities to pray and worship God together. We are even told that we should not forsake assembling ourselves together. Beyond the assembly of Christians, we should accommodate each other by living in submission to each other. Paul’s instructions are definitely congruent with the teachings of Jesus. Jesus admonished his disciples to love one another. He went on to tell them that their love for each other would be the sign to all men that they were his disciples. These instructions would not be necessary if we naturally did these things. The truth is, we don’t do these things naturally. Therefore, we are instructed as to what it means to live as a community of believers in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I am reminded of a lesson I learned years ago in a secular career. Throughout the years, I have shared it with many others. The lesson was, “In this world, all we ever have to work with are real people. And each of us has flaws.” That simple lesson is sometimes extremely difficult to apply. Too often we focus on people’s imperfections and inconsistencies rather than on their strengths and personal support of our endeavors. Today’s lesson is a reminder that we should see the interactions between Christians as synonymous with the New Covenant. If we can understand and aspire to this within a local church congregation, then certainly this behavior should be no less within a Christian family. A wife who recognizes her independence in Christ should voluntarily submit to her husband as an act of obedience to God. A husband, likewise, should give sacrificially to support the welfare of his wife. Paul explained that marriage was patterned after the relationship between Christ and the church. The wife’s role is comparable to that of the church and the husband’s role is comparable to that of Christ. Christ voluntarily sacrificed himself for the church. He died a sinner’s death to pay the price for the sins of the church. He intercedes continuously in prayer for the church and continuously washes her with his word. He does this so that he can present the church as a perfect gift to himself. The church voluntarily submits to the Lordship of Christ, and over time allows herself to be conformed to the image of Christ. This is the divine description of love. Christians are united in a covenant of love. Robert C. Hudson July 31, 2019