Chapter 5Walking in Matrimonial Harmony

• Duties of husbands (25-32)– Love wives as their own bodies– Nourish and cherish• Even as the Lord does His church• We are members of His body

– In marriage man and woman become one just as with Christ and His church

• Summary of duties (33)– Let each man love his wife as himself– Let each wife respect her husband

Ephesians & ColossiansSpring Quarter 2012

A Christian Has The Best Life

• Stable home life (Eph. 5:22-6:4)– Wife submits to her husband– Husband loves and nourishes his wife and is

willing to die for her– Children are taught to obey their parents and

parents bring their children up in the discipline (nurture) and instruction (admonition) of the Lord

A Christian Has The Best Life

• Makes the best employee (Eph. 6:5-9)– The gospel made no provision to abolish slavery,

but did change the attitude of servants and masters.

– A servant works “as unto Christ”– A master deals justly with his servants in a manner

as he himself would want to be treated

Walking Victoriously!

• A Christian has the greatest outlook on life– Satan is his constant threat• Deceitful• Shrewd (cunning)

– God has provided undefeatable protection and assurance of victory

– Thus, a Christian will pray at all times and be on the alert

Colossians

The Incomparable Supremacy of Christ

The “Twin Epistles”

• Both written at the same time• Tychicus was the messenger for both • Both contain many parallel exhortations• Ephesians: Salvation is through Christ and His

body, the church• Colossians: The deity and preeminence of Christ

A Prayer of Thanksgiving & Supplication (1:1-12)

• Thanks for their faith in Christ and the love they had for all the saints

• Epaphras had taught them and brought word to Paul about their circumstances– False teachers were attempting to pull them away

by questioning the true nature of Christ• Supplication for strength to answer and

overcome this heresy– That they would increase in knowledge of the

character of God – Strengthened by His power to remain faithful

The Preeminence of Christ

Colossians 1:13-29

Christ Is Preeminent In His Redeeming Power (1:12-14)

• Light – truth and holiness• Darkness – error and wickedness• Sinners are rescued from Satan’s domain

(darkness) and transferred to Christ’s kingdom (light)

• This fact proves the kingdom had already been established

Christ Is Preeminent In His Relationship To God (1:15-17)

• He is the image of the invisible God– John 1:18; Hebrews 1:3– His love, mercy, justice, pity, etc.

• Christ’s eternal nature and work in creation– Firstborn of all creation• Preeminent over all things that were created

– Possessed the eternal nature of God• He created all things, material and heavenly

Christ Is Preeminent In His Relationship To the Church (1:18-23)

• He is head of the body, the church”– Eph. 1:22-23

• He has preeminence over the living and the dead– Rom. 6:9; 1 Cor. 15:22-24; John 5:28-29

• He was both man and God– “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell”– Col. 2:9

Gnosticism

• All flesh is inherently sinful• Jesus was without sin• Thus, Jesus did not come in the flesh• Jesus reconciled in his body of flesh by His

death (1:22)• The spirit of the Antichrist (1 John 4:1-3)

A Warning

• The reward of eternal life for those who have been reconciled (cleansed of sin) is only possible IF one continues in the faith and is not moving away from the gospel

The Spread of the Gospel

• Proclaimed in all creation (to every creature)– Mark 16:15-16

Christ Is Preeminent In The Hope of Glory He Provides (1:24-29)

• Paul was in prison, but rejoicing– He had been given a wonderful responsibility to

preach the gospel– He was persecuted because of what he preached• Jew and Gentile stand equal before God and have been

reconciled to Him in one body, the church (Eph. 2:16)• If he had compromised the message or rejected the

Gentiles, perhaps the Jews would not have hated him so much

The Mystery• Hidden for ages and generations, but now

made known (revealed)– Eph. 3:3-5; Rom. 15:25-26

• The plan had been chosen by God before the foundation of the world, God had sent His prophets who foretold many details, but no one knew when or exactly how God would redeem mankind…until now!– 2 Pet. 1:10-11; 1 Cor. 2:7-8

• Christ in you, the hope of glory!