In Christ - Know It, Live It - 2 (Knowing Comes Before Living)

The first three chapters of Ephesians focus on KNOWING what it means to be in Christ. The Apostle Paul begins the letter with a burst of PRAISE in 1:3-14 for the spiritual blessings believers have been blessed with in Christ. Then, in 1:15-23 he launches into PRAYER that these same believers will KNOW God as the God who blesses them with hope, as being His treasured inheritance, and as the God of immeasurably great power towards them. Chapter 2 then looks at WHO we were before Christ: spiritually dead Satan-followers facing God's wrath (who have been saved by the loving grace of God) 2:1-10, and aliens to God's people without hope and without God, (who have been brought into the family by the blood of Christ), 2:11-22. In Chapter 3, Paul begins to pray again, but is sidetracked by the wonder and an explanation of how he came to have the privilege of proclaiming the mystery of the gospel to Gentiles, 3:2-13. He finally returns to finish his prayer, one of the most lofty and amazing of all biblical prayers, that we will have power by the Holy Spirit to know the love of Christ that has made all these blessings possible, 3:1,14-21.

The second three chapters of Ephesians (4-6) are all about HOW we are to live out this blessed life in Christ which God the Father has called us to. This simple division of the letter, this doctrine and then duty, this wealth and then walk, this KNOW and then LIVE, teaches us several important lessons:

• Knowing DOES come before Living. To live in a manner that is appropriate to our calling in Christ, we must first KNOW what it means to be in Christ. If we try to live without instruction in who we are in Christ, we will simply live OUR WAY, and not God's. And...our living will NOT honor God or be in a "worthy manner" 4:1.
• But even knowing who we are in Christ does not automatically or intuitively lead us to living correctly, in a God-pleasing way. We must be INSTRUCTED by God in the practical living, as well. We need the WORD to instruct us in every area of our lives. And therefore, we need to give ourselves to study and meditation in the Word so we know how to walk out our spiritual wealth.

And so, in Chapters 4-6 Paul gives practical instruction in:

• How to live in UNITY in the Church, 4:1-16
• How to CHANGE from what we were to what God has called us to be. There is a biblical process of change given in 4:17-32.
• How to live in love and purity and wisdom so that we properly imitate our Father, 5:1-20
• How we live as God's people in our relationships: marriage, family, work, 5:21-6:9
• How we fight the spiritual battles that are part of belonging to Christ and the church, 6:10-20

But to live this way we need this specific, practical BIBLICAL INSTRUCTION. We are not on our own to determine the best way to live...God has laid down His commands and principles for life for us. Therefore, once again, let us give ourselves to the Word in every area of our lives, knowing that our Father, who by grace has saved us from wrath, in grace ALSO has given us instructions for saved living.

Ephesians is a wonderful example of this: Know It (1-3), Live It (4-6). May God be gracious to us in giving us hearts to be taught in both.