YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → Ephesians 5 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams

Ephesians 5 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

by Heritage Press · 4,116 words · 707 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00Paul is giving his vision for the
0:01church.
0:03And [music] in Ephesians 3,
0:06he is telling us about the eternal
0:09purpose of God.
0:11And in Ephesians 4,
0:13he is telling us that God is going to
0:16have [music] glory in the church through
0:18this administration,
0:20which is the church, but it's the
0:22kingdom, [music] it's the reign of God
0:24through his gifts.
0:26And uh
0:28he
0:28>> [clears throat]
0:28>> he basically tells us in chapter 4 that
0:31we need to walk [music] worthy of the
0:33calling, and he tells us the attitudes
0:36we need [music] to have toward each
0:37other. And then he says we need the
0:39fivefold ministry, which is going to
0:41stabilize
0:43our turbulence, our instability, and
0:46keep us from becoming flotsam in a
0:48shipwreck.
0:49>> [music]
0:50>> And then he finishes chapter 4 by
0:52telling us to let no unwholesome word
0:55proceed from our mouth, but only such a
0:58word as is good for edification, for
1:00building others up,
1:01to provide for the need of the moment.
1:05Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom
1:07you were sealed. Let all bitterness and
1:10wrath and anger and clamor and slander
1:13be put away from you,
1:14along with all malice. And how we should
1:17behave is we should be kind to one
1:19another, tenderhearted,
1:21forgiving each other, just as God in
1:24Christ also has forgiven you. And that
1:26kind of
1:27sandwiches his whole idea. This is what
1:29it means to walk worthy of the calling,
1:32and the calling is to become the
1:34dwelling of God. That's the big calling.
1:37And so now in chapter 5,
1:40he is going to show how the stones of
1:44the house of God fit together. He's
1:46going to show us the relational order
1:49and attitude that allows [music] us to
1:51come together as this administration of
1:54God.
1:56Ephesians chapter 5 verse 1, therefore
1:59be imitators of God as beloved children.
2:04And walk in love.
2:06So, he's just told them, be kind,
2:08tenderhearted, forgiving.
2:11Be imitators of God. So, he's saying
2:13everything I just told you is how God
2:15is.
2:16Be imitators of God as beloved children.
2:22To say beloved children, that means as
2:25children who are really loved by their
2:27father. [music]
2:28You can only imitate when you know
2:30you're really loved.
2:33Walk in love, just as Christ also loved
2:36you
2:37and gave himself up for us, an offering
2:41and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant
2:45aroma.
2:47This is what it means to walk worthy. We
2:50have to have a sacrificial worldview. We
2:53have to have a giving spirit. We have to
2:55be kind. We have to be in love. This is
2:58the attitude that builds the temple.
3:03Verse 3, but immorality or any impurity
3:06or greed must not even be named among
3:09you as is proper among saints.
3:13And there must be no filthiness and
3:15silly talk
3:17or coarse jesting, which are not
3:20fitting, but rather the giving of
3:22thanks.
3:24Why is Paul focusing so much on our
3:26mouths?
3:28Because the whole point of Ephesians 4
3:31was he said, you'll no longer be tossed
3:33to and fro, but speaking the truth in
3:37love, you'll grow up.
3:39Paul makes words
3:42the mechanism whereby we build one
3:45another up
3:46or tear one another down.
3:49So, he is focusing a lot on language.
3:53Jesus has already said,
3:56"By your words you will be justified,
3:58and by your words you will be
4:00condemned."
4:01And he says, "You will be judged for
4:03every idle word." Words have power.
4:07Jesus was the word made flesh, and the
4:10church is supposed to be the word made
4:14corporate flesh, made corporate
4:16expression
4:17as the temple and tabernacle of God.
4:20So, he's really focusing on language.
4:24If you can't trust that God can speak to
4:27you through your brothers, you have
4:29robbed yourself of a major way that he's
4:32going to build you up.
4:34You've robbed yourself of a grace that
4:36you can't get any other way.
4:39He says, "Let no unwholesome word come
4:42out of your mouth" in the previous
4:43chapter, "but only such a word as is
4:46helpful for building them up and
4:48providing grace
4:51that is needed in the moment."
4:54There must be no filthiness and silly
4:57talk or coarse jesting.
5:00If we if out of the same fountain pours
5:03filthy things or vile things,
5:06now we're not going to be able to trust
5:08it when good things and holy things
5:10come,
5:11"which are not fitting, but rather
5:13giving of thanks."
5:15We need to have an attitude of
5:17gratitude. Our words need to be
5:20positive, forward-looking. Our words
5:22need to be supporting, building one
5:25another up. Otherwise, our words become
5:28like acid on a garden. They just wither
5:31the planting of the Lord.
5:34"For this know with certainty that no
5:37immoral or impure person or covetous
5:40man, who is an idolater, has any
5:44inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and
5:47God.
5:48So, he tells us, "I'm trying to help you
5:50build something.
5:52And what I'm trying to help you build is
5:54the kingdom of Christ and God.
5:56And if you want to be a partaker in
5:58that, if you want to have an
6:00inheritance, a part in that,
6:02you're you can't be this.
6:04You can't ruin the covenants that bind
6:07us together through immorality.
6:10You can't be impure. You can't have foul
6:12language.
6:14You can't be a covetous man.
6:17You can't be eaten up with a desire
6:19other than the purpose of God. You've
6:21got to be able to say with the psalmist,
6:23"One thing have I desired of the Lord,
6:25and that will I seek after,
6:28to behold the beauty of the Lord and to
6:30inquire in his temple."
6:33He has no inheritance in the kingdom of
6:35God of Christ and God. Let no one
6:38deceive you with empty words.
6:42This is Paul. Let no one deceive you.
6:44So, someone's going to try to deceive
6:46you. Someone's going to try to tell you
6:48that now that you're under grace, you
6:49can be a horrible person without
6:52repentance, and you're going to make it.
6:54Let no one deceive you with empty words,
6:57for because of these things, because of
6:59covetousness, because of immorality,
7:02because of idolatry, because of these
7:05things, the wrath of God comes upon the
7:08sons of disobedience.
7:11Therefore, do not be partakers with
7:14them.
7:16So, he says, "Do not be deceived. You
7:18are not okay. You are not right with God
7:21until you repent.
7:23For you
7:25were
7:26formerly darkness.
7:30He doesn't say you were in darkness.
7:33He says you were darkness.
7:36The The light that is in you is
7:38darkness, how great is that darkness?
7:41Your words were darkness, conscience was
7:44darkness, your actions were darkness,
7:46your face was darkness, your
7:47relationships were darkness, you were a
7:50conduit conduit through whom darkness
7:54entered relationships in the world.
7:57You were formerly darkness.
8:00But now you are light in the Lord.
8:06Walk as children of light.
8:10Jesus has already said this, I am the
8:12light of the world and then he says, you
8:13are the light of the world.
8:15Let your light so shine before men that
8:17they may see your good deeds and
8:19credit your father.
8:21Walk as children of the light.
8:24For the fruit of the light
8:28consists in all goodness and
8:31righteousness and truth.
8:33So the light has a fruit, the light has
8:36a product.
8:37The light living in the light brings
8:40something forth in your life. What does
8:42it bring forth?
8:44Goodness,
8:46righteousness
8:47and truth.
8:49Amen.
8:52The fruit of the light consists in all
8:55goodness and righteousness and truth
8:58trying to learn
9:00what is pleasing to the Lord.
9:04The fruit of the light is you're still
9:06trying.
9:08You don't think you've arrived. You
9:10wouldn't still be trying.
9:12You're not complacent, you're not
9:14indifferent, you're still trying to
9:16learn what pleases the Lord.
9:19Was that in your will, God? Should I
9:20have said that last night?
9:23I missed it, brother, would you please
9:24forgive me? I let an unwholesome word
9:27come out of my mouth,
9:28but I am trying to learn what pleases
9:31the Lord.
9:33Do not participate
9:35in the unfruitful deeds of darkness.
9:40So, the light has fruit, goodness,
9:42righteousness, and truth, and trying to
9:45learn.
9:47And the darkness has fruit, badness,
9:50unrighteousness, dishonesty, and
9:52unwillingness to learn.
9:54Do not participate in the unfruitful
9:57deeds of darkness, but instead, even
10:01expose them.
10:04For it is disgraceful even to speak of
10:07the things which are done by them
10:10in secret.
10:12But all things become visible when they
10:14are exposed by the light. For everything
10:17that becomes visible
10:19is light.
10:21The devil wants you to live your life
10:24in the twilight of uncertainty.
10:27In the twilight, in the haze of human
10:30rationalizations,
10:32where clear distinctions blur and
10:35we like to think we don't know, is this
10:36right or is this wrong?
10:38And that's a lie.
10:40The fruit of the light is goodness,
10:43righteousness, and truth,
10:46and trying to learn. A willingness to
10:49say, you know, I got that wrong,
10:51but I'm still learning.
10:53Amen. He says, "Everything that becomes
10:56visible is light."
10:58God doesn't want there to be anything in
11:00your life that is opaque to you, that is
11:03obscure to you, that is invisible to
11:05you. That's darkness.
11:08But where there is a visibility,
11:10there is free choice.
11:13Aristotle said, "Any choice
11:16made in ignorance is not free at all."
11:21Any choice made in the fog of
11:23uncertainty is not free.
11:26But light
11:28gives you freedom. And you shall know
11:29the truth, and the truth shall make you
11:32free.
11:34For this reason, it says, "Awake,
11:36sleeper, and arise from the dead, and
11:39Christ will shine on you."
11:42So, he's saying we need visibility in
11:44our life. So, get out of the place of
11:46darkness. Get out of sleep,
11:50which is the place of confusion and
11:52twilight and darkness. Get out of that,
11:54and come into the light. Listen to the
11:56chronology. Wake up, get up, and the
12:00lights will turn on.
12:02You don't get up because the lights went
12:04on.
12:05You wake up, you get up, and the lights
12:07turn on.
12:09But, how do we do this? We wake up,
12:13we get up,
12:14and Christ shines on us.
12:16You don't sit there in your sle- in your
12:18bed.
12:19You don't lay in your sand. You don't
12:21stay in your fog, in your darkness, and
12:24say, "God, you're going to have to shine
12:26on me."
12:27You say, "God, I'm in darkness, which
12:29tells me I need to wake up.
12:31I need to clear my head and know I'm not
12:33thinking right. I need to get up. I need
12:35to stand up out of this situation and
12:37move. And as I do that, the light's
12:40going to turn on."
12:43It's interesting, he's quoting from
12:44Isaiah,
12:46but he adapts it. Christ will shine on
12:48you.
12:49Showing that Christ is God.
12:52Therefore, be careful
12:54how you walk,
12:56not as unwise men, but as wise.
13:00And what is wisdom for Paul? He tells us
13:02what that wisdom is in the very next
13:04verse. Making the most of your time,
13:07because the days are evil.
13:12Wisdom
13:14is many things.
13:16Wisdom is order. Wisdom is proportion.
13:20Wisdom is truth. Wisdom is precision.
13:24Wisdom is many things. Wisdom builds the
13:26house. Wisdom is a tree of life.
13:30But Paul's most tight definition of
13:33wisdom is this:
13:35recognizing you don't have much time
13:38and using the time you've got
13:41as fruitfully as humanly possible
13:44or as divinely possible as God would
13:46anoint you.
13:48Do not walk as unwise men but as wise,
13:52making the most of your time.
13:54If you don't exploit the opportunities
13:58that God gives you each day, you are a
14:00stupid person. You are an unwise person.
14:03You are acting like you have an
14:05unlimited amount of time.
14:07So the whole framework of wisdom is
14:10hurry up. We don't have much time.
14:14So then do not be foolish but understand
14:17what the will of the Lord is.
14:19He said we are trying to learn what the
14:21will of the Lord is.
14:23Right? But then he's given us the
14:24formula how to get out of the darkness
14:27and into the light,
14:29into clarity, into action, and into
14:31action that acts now, into quick, timely
14:35action. And he says, "Therefore, don't
14:37be stupid.
14:39You can understand what the will of the
14:40Lord is.
14:41When you understand what the will of the
14:43Lord is, the lights are on in your life.
14:45And when you don't, you're still living
14:47in the darkness.
14:48So then do not be foolish but understand
14:50what the will of the Lord is.
14:52And do not get drunk with wine, for that
14:55is dissipation.
14:58Dissipation is
15:00the the loss of a substance, the erosion
15:03of a substance, something that was held
15:05together and falls apart.
15:07To dissipate, to fracture, okay?
15:12Do not get drunk with wine for that is
15:14dissipation.
15:16You're spending your time on something
15:18that doesn't help you. You're wasting
15:20your feelings on something that doesn't
15:22change you. You're not actually getting
15:24anywhere. You're just diverting
15:26yourself. You're dissipating
15:28opportunity.
15:30But be filled with the Holy Spirit.
15:34The same hunger that makes you reach for
15:36the bottle is supposed to be fulfilled
15:39by the fountain of the Holy Spirit.
15:41Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled
15:43with the Holy Spirit, speaking to one
15:45another.
15:47Well, that's not dissipation.
15:49>> [clears throat]
15:49>> Here we go again. The truth is what
15:51builds up the church in the body. Don't
15:53be dissipating. Instead, speak to one
15:56another, because he said when we speak
15:58to speak the truth in love, we grow up.
16:01Growing up, coming together is the
16:03opposite of dissipating.
16:06Speaking to one another in Psalms and
16:09hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
16:14making melody with your hearts to the
16:16Lord. Look how much of our ministry has
16:19to do with music.
16:21A psalm refers to a song accompanied by
16:26a musical instrument.
16:28The idea that they didn't use musical
16:29instruments is absolutely ludicrous. The
16:32very word means a song accompanied by a
16:36musical instrument.
16:38Singing, that's another way. Making
16:41melody with your heart.
16:44Your heart resonating with God. Your
16:47heart finding a tune and a joy and a
16:50rhythm to what God is speaking. Making
16:53melody with your heart to the Lord.
16:56Always giving thanks for all things in
17:01the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to
17:03God, even the Father. And be subject to
17:07one another in the fear of Christ.
17:10This is how we don't dissipate.
17:14We build up ourselves in the Holy Spirit
17:17through this form of ministry and we
17:19stay submitted to one another in the
17:21fear of God.
17:23Amen. We maintain an attitude of
17:25gratitude. We're always giving thanks.
17:28Do you want to dissipate? Be a
17:30complainer.
17:32Do you want to dissipate? Grumble and
17:34complain and you will abort your process
17:37and you'll never become blameless and
17:39pure children of God. Do you want to
17:42gather together? Do you want to build up
17:44the body?
17:45Then speak gratitude. Speak
17:48Thanksgiving. Sing songs. Give words.
17:51Speak the truth in love and you'll
17:53gather together.
17:55And you'll be subject to one another in
17:57the fear of Christ.
18:00Subject to one another.
18:02And this is where Paul starts to get
18:04into the order of relationships that
18:07actually shows us how the stones come
18:09together.
18:10All of this is the attitude still.
18:13But now we're going to we're going to
18:14get into
18:15the specific ways that we are subject to
18:18one another in the fear of God.
18:20To be subject to one another
18:23means
18:25to
18:26be obedient.
18:28To be responsive.
18:30To be submitted.
18:32Amen. So this is just a general blanket
18:35rubric. This is how we should be toward
18:37one another.
18:38But then he says
18:39in the fear of Christ.
18:41What does that mean?
18:43What does it mean that we should be
18:46submitted in the fear of Christ?
18:49What is the fear of Christ?
18:52Jesus did nothing except what the Father
18:55told him to do.
18:56Amen. Jesus was unwilling to speak
18:59unless the Father was speaking through
19:00him. So the fear of Christ might refer
19:03and does in part refer to his own
19:05submission.
19:07But the major thing is
19:09that Christ has given us an inheritance.
19:12And we're going to stand before the
19:13judgment seat of Christ and answer for
19:15what we did to the people in our lives,
19:18to the church in our life. Did we build
19:20up or did we dissipate? Did we tear
19:23down?
19:24And so, subjection is in the fear of
19:27Christ that we're going to answer to
19:28Jesus for what we did with the kingdom
19:30he left us. Did it stay a pile of stones
19:34or did it become a
19:36temple not made with men's hands?
19:39Now, in verse 22, he begins to show the
19:41specific ways that we should be
19:43subjected to one another. Verse 22,
19:46"Wives, be subject to your own husbands
19:50as to the Lord.
19:53For the husband is the head of the wife
19:56as Christ also is the head of the
19:58church, he himself being the savior of
20:00the body.
20:03So, when he says, "Wives, be subject to
20:05your own husbands as to the Lord," what
20:08is he saying here? First of all, he's
20:09not saying,
20:11"Women, be subject to men."
20:13He's saying, "Wives, be subject to your
20:16own husbands as to the Lord."
20:19Does that mean that she should pretend
20:22that her husband is a god?
20:24No, that means she should remember that
20:26she is not submitting to him based on
20:28his worthiness.
20:30She is submitting to him as an
20:32expression of the order of the Lord, of
20:36the design of God.
20:38And it's actually the Lord that she's
20:40submitting to. He's just an imperfect
20:43player in a perfect design that God has
20:47given.
20:48"For the husband is the head of the wife
20:50as Christ also is the head of the
20:52church, he himself being the savior of
20:55the body."
20:56So, he says, "You need this subjection
20:59to your husband just like the church
21:02needs it from Christ because there's
21:04actually grace and help coming to you
21:07through this relationship, like it comes
21:09to the church from Christ.
21:11But as the church is subject to Christ,
21:13so also the wives ought to be to their
21:16husbands in everything.
21:19Husbands, love your wives just as Christ
21:21also loved the church and gave himself
21:24up for her,
21:27so that he might sanctify her, having
21:29cleansed her by the washing of water
21:31with the word, that he might present her
21:33to himself, the church, in her glory,
21:36having no spot or wrinkle or any such
21:38thing, but that she would be holy and
21:41blameless.
21:43So, in the first instance,
21:46we hear that we should all be subject.
21:49And then we start to get into the
21:51details.
21:52The wife is told to be subject to her
21:54husband, and you say, "Wow, that sounds
21:56like surrender. That sounds like
21:58yielding yieldedness."
22:01But then when the husband is told to
22:02love the wife, he's told that he should
22:05give himself up for her.
22:08So, that sounds like surrender and
22:09yieldedness, too.
22:11This doesn't sound like one is
22:12surrendering and yielding and the other
22:14is not. It sounds like both are.
22:17And in the equation between the church
22:19and Christ, who carried the greater
22:21weight of responsibility and love?
22:25Was it Jesus who bled? Was it Jesus or
22:28was it the church? Certainly was Jesus.
22:31So, the model of the husband's authority
22:34is not one of lording it over someone,
22:37but it's one of someone dying for
22:39another. Someone bleeding for another.
22:42Someone forgiving another.
22:44So, it's There's no paradigm of a
22:47military here or a politics here.
22:49There's a paradigm of sacrifice here.
22:53But there is an order in this.
22:55Now,
22:56someone will say, "Well, all he's
22:58telling us is that the husband needs
23:01respect because
23:03he's a mission-oriented creature and the
23:05wife needs love because she's an
23:07affection and connection-oriented
23:10creature.
23:11And that's not what Paul is saying.
23:13Paul is issuing a command to each that
23:17is equally sacrificial for each
23:20and that requires the giving of
23:22themself, each one to the other.
23:25Amen. And he's requiring this as a
23:27command
23:29because this represents how our flesh
23:33stays in submission to God.
23:36Amen.
23:37Now, it is true that
23:40a man
23:43is
23:44oriented toward fulfillment
23:48as he fulfills his mission and his task.
23:53Man was created first in the Garden of
23:55Eden and before woman was in the
23:57picture, he was told to tend the garden.
24:00He was told to name the animals. He was
24:02given instruction about what he could
24:04eat and what he could not eat. That was
24:06all before Eve was ever in the picture.
24:09So, the first relationship in a man's
24:11life is with his father.
24:13Not with his wife.
24:15That's the starting one. And and then
24:18Eve comes into the picture because God
24:20says it is not good for man to be alone.
24:23He needs a helper, which again points
24:26toward the fact that he is missionally
24:29driven.
24:30Amen.
24:32But the woman is not made as a helper to
24:34the mission. She is made as an helper to
24:37the man.
24:38So, as a rule, women derive more
24:41fulfillment from a relationship with her
24:45husband that gives her that sense that
24:48she is a helper to him and therefore her
24:51reward is love, affection, connection,
24:55etc. So, I acknowledge that these needs
24:58really do describe the way God set it
25:00up. But Paul isn't saying, "Be aware of
25:03each other's needs." He is issuing a
25:06command of subjection. The man is sub-
25:10subject to his sacrificial giving role,
25:13and the woman is subject to the man's
25:15guidance in the family.
25:17Full stop.
25:19And this is because he is trying to keep
25:21us in a structure of humility.
25:25The The relationship itself becomes a
25:28structure that keeps us in humility, and
25:31therefore keeps grace alive in our
25:34lives.
25:36The point of Jesus' lordship over the
25:38church is to present her in glory.
25:42So, the point of a husband's
25:44uh guidance of a wife is not to crush
25:47her.
25:48It's to present her in glory.
25:50So, healthy submission should manifest
25:54as a cleansing.
25:56Yes, as guiding. Yes.
25:59But ultimately as spotlessness, and
26:02ultimately as glory.
26:05So, it shouldn't be an oppression. It
26:06shouldn't be a doormat doormat model. It
26:09should be a "I'm more than I could have
26:11ever been under any other circumstance."
26:14That's what godly submission looks like.
26:17So, husbands ought also to love their
26:20own wives as their own bodies.
26:24He who loves his own wife loves himself.
26:28What he means by this is
26:31you're not allowed to look at her as
26:33different than you.
26:34Y'all are one.
26:37You're not allowed to care for her
26:39differently than you care for you.
26:41You're supposed to give up your
26:43priorities of self and treat her like
26:46you would treat you.
26:48For no one ever hated his own flesh, but
26:50nourishes it and cherishes it just as
26:53Christ also does the church. So, this is
26:57this is the submission.
26:59Nourish, care, cherish.
27:03Because we are members of his body.
27:07For this reason, a man shall leave his
27:09father and mother and shall be joined to
27:12his wife and the two shall become one
27:15flesh.
27:17So, he's saying it's stupid, it's
27:19unconscionable
27:21that you would [music] despise your own
27:22flesh.
27:24God made you one. Don't look at her as
27:26her problems.
27:27Look at her problems as your problems.
27:30There's no her and me. It's just us.
27:34This mystery is great, but I am speaking
27:37with reference to Christ and the church.
27:40When he says
27:41that the man left his father
27:45and became one with his wife, he said
27:47this is a big mystery, but I'm actually
27:48talking that Jesus did this with us.
27:51Jesus became one
27:54with his wife, the church.
27:57Nevertheless, each individual among you
28:00also is to love his own wife even as
28:04himself and the wife must see to it
28:07[music] that she respects her husband.
28:11So, here we have respect and love. She
28:15needs love. He needs respect. I don't
28:17deny that.
28:19But this is not just an insight into
28:21need, this is a commandment [music]
28:23whether we think we need it or not. It
28:25is in order
28:27that we come into the configuration
28:29where the stones
28:31can start to become a wall and the wall
28:34a structure of the temple and the temple
28:37a dwelling of God. That's the whole
28:39point and the fundamental building block
28:42of the kingdom is the family.
28:45That's what Paul is describing here. And
28:48he's going to keep giving these these
28:49same instructions of order and how we
28:51relate in the next chapter. [music]
29:06>> [music]

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of Ephesians 5 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams by Heritage Press, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 4,116 words across 707 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, translation to 100+ languages, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.