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[0:00] But first we'll pray. So let me introduce this talk in this way to ask you what do you think advanced holiness looks like?

[0:16] ! So not just common or garden holiness, advanced holiness, degree level holiness, PhD holiness.

[0:27] ! Different religions would see this in a different way. So some of the eastern religions would see holiness as really to do with power. So the ability for example to cover your body with ice and still be cheerful or the ability to walk on fire and not be hurt.

[0:48] That's the sort of thing that holiness is to do with eastern spiritual power. In some branches of the Christian church, not the branch that we belong to, in some branches of the Christian church, holiness would be seen in the ability to put yourself into extreme discomfort and do that as some sort of spiritual exercise.

[1:15] So pilgrimages, keeping rules, things like making your way to such and such a holy island by crawling on your knees across sharp stones.

[1:30] People would say, oh that's real holiness. Don't actually agree with that. Don't actually agree with that. In some forms of religion, getting yourself into a frenzy and a trance would be the way to extreme holiness.

[1:44] So if we were doing that, we'd clear the chairs, we'd get some drums going and we'd turn the lights down, have a fire in the middle. We'd perhaps need to do a risk assessment first. And we'd dance around it and we'd all get worked up.

[1:57] And that would be the way to holiness. In English history, you'll find that people who were monks were viewed as being particularly holy. And the more uncomfortable their clothing, the more holy they were thought.

[2:12] Modern day holiness, extreme holiness, people say, if people go to a meeting, a Christian meeting, and in the intensity of what happens, they fall over backwards.

[2:26] The name for this is slain in the spirit. They say that is a mark of real, top of the range holiness. There are branches of the Christian church that would say that the more miracles you have, in other words, the more God works in ways that he doesn't usually work, that that is the sign that God is there in his holiness.

[2:52] And I want us to see in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, presumably he is saying to him, this is what I want you to be like. His answer, what does holiness look like, is loving and holy Christian communities, loving marriages, orderly homes, respectful employment, and daily Christian living.

[3:18] Because that's what the rest of the letter to the Ephesians is about. And you may say, well Paul, you've got this wrong. Because you've missed out the frenzy, and you've missed out slaying in the spirit.

[3:31] And Paul says, well actually, no. I've written what I've written. This is what I want you to be. This is the way of holiness. So that's what we're going to look at this morning.

[3:42] And as I've said before, the aim of these sermons is to produce exactly those things. Beautiful, useful, appreciative children of God, in terms of Christian community, in terms of the witness as people see, the light shining from us, as being husbands and wives, parents and children, and workers and employees, and spiritual soldiers in the ongoing battle, and in the world to come, the spotless bride of Christ.

[4:10] So just, if you've been here over the past few weeks, let me just remind you of the sort of things we were looking at quickly. It says, for example, in chapter 4, verse 20, you did not come to know Christ that way.

[4:30] He talks about how we've learned Christ. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, and to put on the new self.

[4:45] So he talks about how you learned Jesus Christ. So it's all to do with Jesus Christ. This is Christian ethics. This is how Christians are to behave. It's about walking, you remember?

[4:57] So we were thinking about going forward steadily, and he says, don't walk the way you used to walk before you were a Christian. Walk in a Christian way.

[5:08] Walk as children of light. So we looked at that, and we had a song about, wake up, O sleeper, and rise from the dead. Probably been going around in your head. Probably not thanking me for reminding you of it.

[5:22] So walking, he's interested in the steady, calm, regular progress of Christian people. And he also talks about the mind. You will remember, you were taught Jesus Christ.

[5:34] You are, in verse 23, Ephesians 4, 23, to be new in the spirit of your mind. Putting on and putting off. Remember, I had a little picture for that.

[5:48] Those are the things that we've looked at, just to remind you of where we've come from. But what are the themes that we're looking at today? Well, on the diary, I thought I would have got as far as the bit about husbands and wives.

[6:02] So sorry to disappoint you. I think we will do the few verses before that, and save the husbands and wives thing for another time. So the themes we're going to look at are wisdom.

[6:14] He says, verse 15, be very careful then how you live, not as unwise, but as wise.

[6:25] So we're going to think about walking wisely. Why do we walk wisely? How do we walk wisely? What is wisdom? And then he says, do not get drunk on wine.

[6:37] Instead, be filled with the spirit. So that's the second thing we'll look at, being filled with the spirit. So what does that look like? How does it work out?

[6:48] That's the sort of thing we'll think about. So it's just those two things this morning. Doesn't mean it's going to be short, though. So let's, I didn't want to get your hopes up.

[7:00] So let's look first at wisdom and understanding. So he does say this, and let's just notice what he says. Verse 15, be very careful then how you live.

[7:14] So not as unwise, but as wise. So wisdom's twice there, isn't it?

[7:24] Not unwise, but wise. And then in verse 17, he says almost the same thing. Do not be foolish.

[7:35] Foolish is the opposite of wise. And then he says, but understand what the Lord's will is. So that's yet another reference to the idea of wisdom.

[7:50] Thinking, understanding. Understanding. And if you look back, this is not a new theme. In chapter 4, verse 17, he said that the characteristic of people who had not come to understand Christian faith is, as he says there, you no longer live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking.

[8:16] They are darkened in their understanding. And separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

[8:31] So he says that people who are not yet Christians, he says there's something wrong with the way they think. So if you were to say to them, aren't you grateful to God for all he's done for you?

[8:46] They'd say, no, I don't think that at all. Because their thinking has gone wrong. They don't understand the way things are with God.

[8:58] So he talks about futile thinking, darkened understanding, and ignorance. And he's already said that the way we become Christians is there's a mind part of that.

[9:09] It's a mind thing. Verse 20, you did not come to know Christ that way. You heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.

[9:25] So you notice how he's emphasizing not just a mindless emotional reaction. He's not saying, so emotions are involved with becoming a Christian, but he's not saying that part.

[9:39] He's saying you learned something. You saw something. You came to understand something. You were taught something. It's very close to the idea of being a disciple.

[9:50] Disciple is almost like a student who follows the master and learns from the master and learns to live as the master lives. That's what being a Christian is, isn't it?

[10:01] A disciple of Jesus. And he says that the renewing of our minds is an important part of being a Christian. And it isn't only that wisdom is something for us.

[10:17] If you look at what he says about God, chapter 1, verse 8, he says, We have received forgiveness, redemption, the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

[10:43] So part of God's grace that he's made. The plans that he's made, the way he's found to make these plans work, the way he brings them into being.

[11:01] He's lavished this on us with all wisdom and understanding. And in chapter 1, verse 17, he says, I keep asking the God of our Father, Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation that you may know him.

[11:24] So time and again, the New Testament is saying, God is a God of wisdom. He brings you into understanding.

[11:38] So understand, think, learn. In chapter 3, verse 10, he talks about the way the gospel goes out.

[11:53] The good news of Jesus Christ goes out to the different nations. And he says in chapter 3, verse 10, His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purposes in Christ Jesus.

[12:20] So he's saying there, so here we have these rulers and authorities in heavenly realms, the angels on God's side and the angels who aren't on God's side.

[12:33] And they're looking down to earth and they're saying, I wonder how wise God is. I wonder how brilliant God is. And when they look down, they see the church.

[12:46] They see us. And they say, wow, God is wise. Look at that. Look at the way he arranged that Sicilian young man to hear my voice, says God, while he was younger.

[13:06] And then I just nudged him in the right direction of meeting this beautiful young lady who was a Christian. And fantastically, rather than her not being a Christian so that she could marry this young man, he became a Christian so that he could marry her.

[13:22] What a wonderful, what wonderful planning. Just think how many, how many spreadsheets God must have done just to get the timing right. Oh no, if I do it that way, then she'll be at the bus when he's on the, and the manifold wisdom of God and the heavenly rulers look down and they say, wow, look how God's doing this.

[13:44] Look at what he's doing. So the wisdom of God. So what is wisdom? One way of explaining it would be to say it's the power of seeing the best goal and forming plans to get there.

[14:03] What is a good outcome and what's a good way to get there? And the Bible actually says a lot about wisdom. There's a whole section of Old Testament writings which are called wisdom literature.

[14:19] And the most famous wisdom book is the book of Proverbs. And I know many of you have read it, but isn't it interesting that Paul says, wisdom is key to your Christian life.

[14:34] Makes us want to go back and read the book of Proverbs all over again, doesn't it? The opposite of wisdom is foolishness or folly. And a couple of quotes, one quote here from Proverbs, which says, which wisdom talks and wisdom says, by me kings reign and rulers make laws that are just.

[15:02] So there's a sense that wisdom is how this world works. And whether you're a Buddhist or a Hindu or whatever you might be, the rules are the same.

[15:15] And good kings, whoever they are, and queens, reign by tapping into the way God works things, by tapping into his wisdom, by me kings reign.

[15:27] So there's a sense in which wisdom is all around us. That's wisdom that teaches the farmer to farm by ploughing at the right time and planting his seed at the right time and all sorts of things that are just part of the way God works the world.

[15:43] It's also true that the key to wisdom is found particularly in God himself. So without God himself, you don't actually get the full deal on wisdom.

[15:57] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And in the New Testament, it says that the very, very wisest thing that God ever did was to have his son Jesus Christ crucified.

[16:15] 1 Corinthians 1 verse 22 says, The Jews demand miraculous signs. So the Jews say, Do us a miracle. That's really wise.

[16:27] That's what we want. Or it's really good. And the Greeks demand wisdom. Give us some long words. Then we'll be impressed. But God says, Well, I'm not into any of that.

[16:39] What I'm into is Jesus Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God. And God says, If you want to see real power, real wisdom, take a look at Jesus Christ dying on the cross, as he did in history.

[16:58] Just envisage that. That is the most powerful thing that this world has ever seen. And it is the most brilliant thing that this world has ever seen.

[17:09] And of course, people look at the cross of Jesus Christ and they say, Well, it's weak. Somebody dying. And they say, It's stupid. It's pointless. He died. He was innocent. Why did he let that happen?

[17:21] Stupid. But God says, Ah, you haven't understood, have you? Because the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

[17:34] And Christ dying on the cross is the best, most brilliant, most fantastic plan coming together. And in Ephesians, all of that is in view, or at least in the background.

[17:54] The whole plan of God, God's wisdom, chapter 1, verse 10, I can't remember why I quoted that.

[18:05] Yes. His goal. This is his goal. To fulfill everything and bring everything in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Jesus Christ.

[18:20] That's where it's all headed. That God will take all these strands of things that have been moving and bring it all together when Jesus Christ is head of everything, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and everything fits together under him.

[18:39] That's where it's all heading. So how are we to walk as wise ones? Because coming back to the text, be very careful how you live, not as unwise, but as wise.

[18:55] It's a word very careful. It's a careful word. Luke uses it at the beginning of his gospel. He says, I've inquired carefully before I've written anything down.

[19:06] I've been careful about it, double-checked it. He says, so you guys, I want you to be very careful how you walk. Think about it.

[19:17] Don't be unwise, but as wise. So what is this wisdom? So I don't think he's saying that I want you to develop the sensitivity for personal nudges on indifferent matters.

[19:32] So some people will say that God gives them guidance. They felt they should not get on that bus, but get on this bus. And most times, it doesn't really make a huge amount of difference.

[19:43] I don't think he's saying that's the sort of thing you need to develop. Maybe God will tell you something like that. But I don't think that's the mainstream of what he's on about here.

[19:55] And he's also saying, I don't want you to develop the capacity to think about your own personal ease and comfort. No, he's not saying, I want you to develop the idea of whether God wants you to wear your red socks today or your green socks today.

[20:10] Because that's really not, it's neither here nor there. It doesn't really count for much in God's wisdom. but getting our lives in line with God's wisdom.

[20:23] What is God's wisdom? What is God's plan? What is his, you know, what is his purpose? Well, you could say it includes glorifying his name.

[20:34] So it is one of his objectives that people will think that God is great. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever.

[20:51] So God seeming to be, being shown to be glory, glorious, is the way his wisdom goes.

[21:05] His wisdom also is to demonstrate his power. His intent was that now through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in heavenly realms according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[21:25] The power of God at work in Jesus Christ. It's part of his wisdom to save the nations. Remember Paul saying, this is what is revealed, chapter 3, verse 6, through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel.

[21:44] Wow. That's quite something. But that's God's wisdom at work to bring Russian people into the gospel and Italian people into the gospel and even the barbaric English people into the gospel.

[22:05] It's part of God's wisdom to have renewed human beings who've put off the old man or woman and put on the new man or woman.

[22:18] It's part of God's wisdom to have a pure church, a church which is holy like he says in 527 to present the church as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless.

[22:35] So this is the area of wisdom and he says I want you to just really think carefully how you walk.

[22:49] Not foolishly as if whether God was glorified doesn't really count as if whether God's power is neither here nor there. Don't live foolishly although it doesn't as if it doesn't matter that God wants to save all nations.

[23:05] Don't live foolishly as if God isn't in the business of renewing people. No. Live wisely. Be very careful how you walk not as unwise but as wise.

[23:22] Do not be foolish but understand the Lord's will. What the Lord's will is. Develop the skill of Christian living. In all the areas that God's wisdom touches on so relationships how you think of yourself how you think about the gifts God's given you how you think about what God's provided for you how you are to serve God in his purposes these are the things to think about so that you can walk not as unwise but as wise.

[24:02] And he gives one particular example of this which we'll now come to. He says making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.

[24:13] So here's a specific example of how to do wise living. The example of time. So what he says is buying up the time the kairos the season the opportunity because the days are evil.

[24:28] Now what does he mean by that? So let's think about the days are evil because that's his reasoning. And you might think well some days are quite nice days. Days for going on a picnic and days for sitting by the seaside.

[24:44] Fair enough. But he says don't forget chapter 6 verse 16 he uses this word evil again. Chapter 6 verse 16 he says take take up the shield of faith by which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

[25:02] He says don't forget every day there is an evil enemy around. He never goes off duty he never has days off he's always around. And chapter 6 verse 13 he says you're able to stand on the day of evil some days are particularly!

[25:21] I think what he's saying is you must always remember that Satan never takes a day off. Every day you need to be thinking about the use of time because we're never ever in a time when the battle stops.

[25:43] There's no day when we stop spiritual warfare until the great day comes. So he says therefore that should affect your use of time. So this idea of buying up what does he say lost it making the most of every opportunity well literally he says buy it up redeeming the time.

[26:05] So imagine you are on eBay some of you are on eBay how many people have no idea what eBay is? How many people are asleep?

[26:18] Let's take it there's some mileage in this illustration. So you're on eBay and you're looking you're thinking right what is a good thing to be buying?

[26:30] Is it this one? No that's far too expensive. Oh that's a good price. I'll need one of those next week. Yeah buy that. I might need one next week as well. So I'll buy two of them.

[26:41] And you're thinking what can I snap up? What bargains can I snap up? We go to the supermarket and you say oh look there's two for one on tomatoes and I'm going to need tomatoes so this is a good time so you snap that up you buy it up and he's saying this is the way to be using time it doesn't mean you buy everything it doesn't mean you buy into everything but be wise now that is an opportunity and that is an opportunity make the most of every opportunity so let me just say with time he's not I don't believe he's trying to make us into the sort of driven individuals who can never switch off because he actually tells us to switch off one day in seven he says you rest that's built into creation we're not made to be machines I don't think we're made to be spiritual machines either so rest is okay it's okay to rest but he does say even resting is before the

[27:49] Lord but there are opportunities so in Colossians let me read you what he says in Colossians chapter four he says the same idea of making the most of every opportunity he says be wise in the way you act towards outsiders make the most of every opportunity let your conversation be always full of grace seasoned with salt that you may know how to answer everyone he says there are particular opportunities to say something for Jesus Christ sometimes to keep your mouth shut sometimes just to say a little but if there is an opportunity snap it up before it goes there's opportunities of investment Jesus tells a story about the talents doesn't he about the somebody giving money to his servants and they invest it and one person says oh it's not the right time for investing

[28:50] I'll just dig a hole put that money in the ground and just leave it because I don't want to risk anything and when the owner comes back he's really cross with that man he says you should have invested it that was an opportunity which you didn't use he's very cross with him and so too the hours of our lives are an opportunity to invest and Jesus will be cross with us if we've never invested anything in the spiritual life look at all I gave you and you never invested it at all you never made anything of it you never capitalized on that well opportunity investment opportunities for service wisely evaluate every opportunity some opportunities don't come around very often some opportunities only come around once a year some opportunities come around once a lifetime he says make the most of it it's your job as a wise people to capitalize on the opportunities that God gives you there's wisdom let's move on to the second thing so the second thing is in the next verses where it says do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery instead be filled with the spirit that's what we're going to look at did you get that do not get drunk on wine which leads to he says debauchery whatever that is!

[30:16] instead be filled with the spirit and then he goes on from there so I think he's now talking about the things that dominate our lives so in now why does he mention alcohol was it a particular problem in Ephesus was it particularly connected with the worship in the temples that they used to be in I don't know I mean we do know that there are some cultures where alcohol abuse is a real real problem I guess Muslim cultures are spared this because observant Muslims do not drink alcohol so they probably find other ways to resolve problems there are some cultures where being controlled by alcohol is a real problem and he says don't be fueled up on wine and just say he's not forbidding wine ever

[31:21] I think he says sensible amounts that do not make you drunk he's not forbidding that but what he does say is it leads to debauchery now what does that word mean it's a funny looking word isn't it in the original it is the word for health turned upside down so it's non health the opposite of health so the opposite of salvation unsalvation and he says if you're dominated by alcohol it takes away the health of your life it takes away the good things the sort of saving things the redeeming things of your life and it makes you I think he would say sub human and he says don't go down that road to ruin now in our culture for sure there are sections of our culture that are dominated by alcohol but we could stretch that out to have lives that are filled with well there's many other substances nowadays that you can have your life dominated by you could also have your life dominated by worry what is this person filled with they're filled with worry they're filled with themselves they're filled with lust they're filled with trivia they're filled with doing something on their mobile phone all the time they're gaming or they're texting or they're just constantly filled with worry about money it isn't just alcohol that can fill our lives and take away our health and our the good things he says don't be filled with any of that rather be filled with the spirit so let's just think of it be filled with the spirit now there's a little question about what he means here so if you take a car that needs fuel you would fill it with petrol am I right that's the way you say what are you doing with your car

[33:52] I'm filling it with petrol and petrol is the stuff that you are putting in it's the stuff you put in now does he mean filled with the spirit like filling somebody with petrol or does he mean filled by the spirit in the sense that you would say I took my car to the garage and the garage filled it with oil so who did the filling the garage did what did they fill it with garage no no they filled it with oil so is he saying filled with the spirit that's the stuff that was put in or filled by the spirit so the spirit put something in which wasn't necessarily the spirit I've made that very confusing haven't I filled by the now I want to go for that second one that what he's actually saying is filled by the spirit with God I'd like to go down that route because in

[34:52] Ephesians there's quite a bit about filling and fullness so for example in chapter 1 verse 22 it says Christ is the fullness of him who fills everything in every way so he's saying that God fills Christ fills and he also says in chapter 3 verse 19 which is the prayer that he's prayed he wants them to be filled with the fullness of God so I would I'm thinking that he says he wants the spirit to be filled with God by the spirit be filled so I've slightly retranslated it by the spirit instead of filled with the spirit you can have your own thought on that but it makes it more trinitarian it isn't that the Holy Spirit says okay this is my department now father and son nothing to do with this I do the filling bit it's a sort of the

[35:53] Holy Spirit with father and with son all together by the spirit we are filled with Christ by Christ we are filled with God and so it I think I think that just is a more full orbed way of thinking of it let's move on please can we observe the grammar so be filled with the spirit verse 18 be filled with the spirit is an imperative imperative we have to do this I'm so sorry we have to an imperative is telling somebody to do something hit him with a hammer is an imperative don't do that that was just a figure of speech so be filled with the spirit is the imperative and then he has several participles so the participles are ing words so the

[36:57] NIV says be filled with the spirit imperative speak to one another the NIV says that's an imperative as well speak to one another it's a command but I did check it I did look in the people who know what they're talking about books he says it's these are participles and there are a number of them be filled with the spirit imperative speaking to one another participle singing participle making music participle giving thanks participle verse 21 submitting to one another participle so the things that look as though they're different sections actually fit together how am I filled with the spirit what does it look like it looks like I start speaking I'm singing

[37:59] I'm making music I'm giving thanks and I'm submitting so that is really quite important as we go on and the submitting he breaks that down submitting to one another to husbands and wives parents and children masters and slaves he has a little section about what submitting looks like in each of those situations so in answer to that question right at the beginning what does being filled with the spirit look like the answer is you get people who are speaking and singing you get people who are thanking you get people who are living in an orderly way and that's what being filled with the spirit looks like and you say well Paul hang on you've missed out all the stuff about where's the slaying surely slaying it must be in there somewhere no it isn't Paul says that's not really the work of the spirit

[39:01] I'm interested in let's take that on so let's look a little bit at how he takes this so the one another the spirit filled church meeting so Paul where's the bizarre bits where's the falling over where's the slaying no it's not there but what he does say is that the spirit filled congregation speak to one another one of the works of the holy spirit is to set people speaking spiritual things gospel things christ things true things be filled with the spirit speaking to one another so the one another is important because it says the spirit filled church people communicate to one another it's the horizontal it's a horizontal thing so it's a communication to one another and we could think of things in which we sing to one another in instruction so we sing we tell one another stuff we probably knew it but we tell it to one another again exhortation is when we say come on guys let's something or challenge can you think of a song in which we speak to one another for example in any of those

[40:29] I left a blank there because I thought I would ask if you had any ideas any songs that we conceivably sing that are to one another and put your armor on so that's that's an exhortation isn't it that's saying come on guys soldiers of Christ arise and put your armor on yeah and which says psalms no psalm one nine but it's okay so we ask another a question how shall the young direct their way what light shall be their perfect guide and the answer is your word oh lord will safely lead if in its wisdom we confide that's instruction anything else ah it's a challenge one isn't it yes how does it go after that okay yes the challenge one

[41:32] I thought of a challenge one but it's gone probably come back later publish abroad his wonderful name the name all victorious of Jesus extol his kingdom is glorious and rules over all some stick in the mind don't they the ones that stick in my mind are the ones I've known longest I suppose but these are in the horizontals we're talking to one another and he says speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing making music in your heart to the Lord so there's a to the Lord thing there's a vertical anybody think of a song that in particularly we sing to the Lord yeah well actually praise my soul the king of heaven it's actually just to oneself isn't it praise my soul the king of heaven so thank you okay

[42:33] I don't know that one do I know that one okay well done yeah thank you speak oh Lord as we come to you there's something something yeah excellent thank you that's it all in our song okay good good yes so there's both of those things what we do when we congregation is two dimensional we're singing to one another and we're singing to the Lord and both those things are there of course that makes it very important that we should understand one another

[43:37] I'm sorry to say this one I couldn't hear one or two of the prayers because whoever whatever kind person was praying was a little bit quiet and so I missed out I'm afraid it's not a criticism it's just an observation it's there's value in us hearing one another and understanding one another that's why in an English congregation the spiritual value is in speaking in English so that we can understand and he says making melody in your heart to the Lord so the heart is there too isn't it it's not just we take our I happen to see a Grudem systematic theology there we just don't read that out while we're busy thinking of what we're cooking at home or something like that it's a heart exercise we make melody in our hearts to the

[44:39] Lord and he says that one of the characteristics of Christian communication is thankfulness always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ so it's Trinitarian we're filled with the Spirit giving thanks to God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son and he can use this word thankfulness as sort of covering the quality of all the stuff that we're doing thankfulness is quite a wide term it isn't just thank you for my food this morning thanking God for he is good give thanks to God for he is good his love that's into the area of praise really isn't it but he says this is what we do by the Spirit and!

[46:05] dens so when Chris arranges the chairs so he's got them all in a certain way he's lining them up in a particular order and that's what he's saying get yourselves lined up in the order that God wants fall into place And it says, so submitting to one another, wives, husbands, children, parents, slaves, masters, etc.

[46:34] There's an order. It's interesting that even in this fallen world, there is a God-given order that we are meant to fall into. And we'll see some more about that in due course.

[46:46] He says, submitting to one another. So does he mean, they discussed this, does he mean one another? So exactly opposite.

[46:57] So is he in that bout to say, wives, submit to your husbands, husbands, submit to your wives. Children, obey your parents, parents, obey your children.

[47:10] Is that what he means by one another? And the answer doesn't make sense, does it? The one another means that as you relate together, in the appropriate way, we each fall into order in what he would say is, submitting to one another.

[47:28] So what he's not saying is, Christians are as disagreeable, contrary, and rebellious as they possibly can be in every situation.

[47:41] That's the opposite of what he's saying. Why did I bother to say that? Don't know really. I'm trying to give you what he's not saying. If you found a group of Christians and they, every time you suggested something, they were disagreeable, contrary, I don't want to do that.

[47:58] Don't tell me what to do. And rebellious. I'll do my own thing, thank you. That would be the very essence of being un-Christian about this. He says, submitting to one another, out of, the word actually is, fear of Christ.

[48:17] And that brings us neatly to where we started, because we started with, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And this is where we end up. Just one footnote.

[48:27] Paul tells us to walk carefully. And if we think about it, we've each failed in all manner of areas.

[48:41] John says, I write this to you, that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense, Jesus Christ, the righteous one.

[48:54] He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. And not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. We might be conscious as we look at these things that we fail.

[49:07] Well, we need to come to ask forgiveness. And then we need by faith to pick ourselves up again, to follow after the Lord, to keep pressing on, to keep fighting the fight, to keep walking the walk.

[49:23]  And Jesus says, you remain in me, and I will remain in you. Let's sing together. Let's sing together.