In Sunday school this week, Kara, continued our lessons through the book of Ephesians. For this particular lesson, we looked at Ephesians 4:1-4. These verses outlined a formula for a person who is living out the "call". Those criteria were being completely gentle, completely humble, be patient, love one another, and make every effort to keep unity. After looking at this list, two big things jumped out at me. 1) This list all seemed to be leading towards the goal of unity. Love, patience, humility, gentle all lead to unity in mind and spirit if accomplished well. As a result, this is another passage within Ephesians that is focused on the unity of Christ's body. 2) Paul makes this statement "as a prisoner". What exactly does that mean? Could he not say this formula if he was not a prisoner for the lord. Through the discussion, I am convinced that the phrase "as a prisoner for the lord" makes Paul the example of living the life worthy of the "call". This is made evident because he was arrested for doing such a good job. Therefore, I think Paul is calling us to also be "prisoners for the Lord", Christians that strive for unity within the church and strive for evangelism to the point where are very lives could be in jeopardy.
Questions:
1) What do you think about the statement "as a prisoner of the Lord"? Does your view line up with mine?
2) What do you think "completely" means in that list?
Almost done now... good job!
ReplyDelete