Supporting Texts: Psalm 24:1; Daniel 4:34-35; Colossians 3:22-4:1; James 5:16b.
It was a dark and stormy night. Well, it was dark because it was night. And stormy because over thirty thousand enemy soldiers, which, according to one observer, was the largest and most powerful force ever sent forth from Britain or any nation. They completely surrounded the fledgling American army. It was August 29, 1776.
Just fifty-six days earlier, on July 4 (now nearly two-hundred-fifty years ago), the Second Continental Congress had declared the independence of the former British colonies in North America and the United States of America was born. Lieutenant General George Washington, appointed by the Continental Congress to be the commander in chief of the new American army, had taken command in Boston as militia units had surrounded British forces occupying that city. The British army and navy retired to Canada, where they would regroup, resupply, and reinforce. General Washington knew the British would be back and that they would return to New York, so, he gathered the army and marched south to New York.
The British did invade. On August 22, 1776, thirty-two thousand troops landed and prepared for the Battle of Brooklyn Heights. General Washington and the Continental Army didn’t stand a chance. The army was trapped in Brooklyn across the East River from Manhattan, (near the site of today’s Brooklyn Bridge,) and facing annihilation which would have ended the War less than two months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The army would have been completely defeated and General Washington would have been captured. Today, we would sing “God Save the King,” rather than “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
As the sun was setting on August 29th, Washington gave the order to retreat. The escape of nine thousand weary, rain-soaked soldiers across a mile-wide river was a desperate gamble. But with the British army surrounding them and the East River behind them, they had no choice. Concerned New York sailors and fishermen mobilized, loading soldiers, wagons, cannons, horses, and all manner of equipment onto boats. All night, boats silently ferried the army to the Manhattan side, yet as the first hint of sunrise streaked the eastern sky, a large portion of the army was still trapped.
The Bible tells us that “the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” Many prayers were offered, beseeching the Lord to intervene and help the stranded soldiers. To everyone’s amazement, a thick fog, even more dense than velvet (one soldier wrote) rolled in and shielded the remaining evacuees and it remained until all the soldiers and General Washington were safely across the East River, leaving the British army alone in Brooklyn (for the moment).
To what would you ascribe this amazing event? Years after the miraculous escape of his army, George Washington declared that it was due to divine providence. A soldier who survived the war wrote, “I recollect this peculiar providential occurrence perfectly well, and so very dense was the atmosphere that I could scarcely discern a man at six yards distance. The divinely providential appearance of the fog saved a part of our army from being captured and certainly myself who among others formed the rear guard.”
General Washington believed in divine providence. Unlike the deists of his day, who said God was something of a watch maker who created the world and then departed, leaving it to run on its own, Washington believed that God was always present in His creation and intervened into the natural world to make sure His will was done. In fact, the future first president of the United States was convinced that the United States now exists because of the living God’s divine providence.
Do you believe in God’s divine providence in your life? Does God have a divine purpose for your life, right now? Many people today reject the idea of God’s providence and live their lives as though they alone are responsible for their own successes. But the Bible paints a different picture – a picture that shows that God has intervened into every area of our lives and desires for us to live with the perspective of His continuous presence every moment of our lives. We will explore this actual reality as we continue our study of Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians.
GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY ON DISPLAY IN ORDINARY LIFE
God’s Sovereign Providence Over All Creation. The Bible declares God’s sovereign providence this way: “The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it” (Psalm 24:1). This verse reminds us of God’s ownership of all things. As the Creator, He has the right to assert His ownership and when He does, that is providence. Actually, providence is God’s personal involvement in every form of human affairs and His continuous holding together and maintaining His creation and its natural laws (which He also created).
In reality, natural law represents merely the constancy and regularity of God’s purposes, which, along with all creation is ultimately designed to bring glory to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Absolutely nothing is left to chance. God’s sovereign providence is expressed in many places throughout the Scriptures, but perhaps nowhere with such comprehensive clarity than Colossians 1:15-18, “He [the Lord Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” As Christians, we must learn to see every aspect of our lives as being included in God’s sovereign providence. Nothing that happens is arbitrary or coincidental: everything happens within our Lord’s providential design.
God’s Providential Intervention in Individual Lives. Now that we have defined God’s providence as His beneficial outworking of His sovereignty so that all events are directed and disposed to bring about those purposes for the glory of God for which He designed and created the universe. This is seen in various ways in the Bible. God intervenes in the personal lives of people, whether they are believers or unbelievers. He providentially intervened in the life of King Nebuchadnezzar, forcing him to live out in the fields and eat grass like cattle so that the king would learn a spiritual lesson. When his reason returned, Nebuchadnezzar, “Blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth” (Daniel 4:34-35).
Characteristics of the Spirit-Filled Life. Let us now return to our study of Ephesians. You already know that the book can be divided into two parts – chapters one through three is the doctrinal or theological section while chapters four through six are the practical applications of God’s truth. In chapter four we find God’s direction for unity in the church and the practical patterns of the changed life of the Christian. In chapter five, Paul applied God’s truth to specific aspects of the Christian life. In Ephesians 5:16, we are told to walk in wisdom. In verse seventeen, we are to understand what is the will of the Lord and in verse eighteen, we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. These three imperatives: the walk in wisdom, understanding God’s will, and being filled with the Spirit shows both God’s transcendence and immanence. He is continuously present in the lives of every true believer in Christ and in each life is working out His sovereign providence. He calls each of us to have a God-centered perspective on life.
He then chose several precise areas on which to focus, all of which are products of the filling of the Holy Spirit. How can you tell if a person is filled with the Holy Spirit? In the sixth chapter of the book of Acts, a church congregation was tasked with the responsibility of finding seven men who were filled with the Holy Spirit. What did they look for? Here, Paul gives us examples of the results of being filled with the Spirit. First, he emphasized our worship in verses nineteen through twenty-one. If a person is filled with the Spirit, he or she will speak in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in their heart to the Lord. In other words, a Spirit-filled Christian will sing and worship the Lord. Second, a Spirit-filled man or woman will be thankful. Gratitude will be a continual characteristic.
Next, being filled with the Spirit will impact the believer’s marriage. God has providentially provided for marriage and designed the marriage of each Christian so that the Spirit-filled husband will consistently love his wife, a love that will be characterized by sacrifice, sanctification, and selfless leadership. The wife who is filled with the Holy Spirit will submit to her husband’s leadership and will seek to help him and respect him. Being filled with the Spirit also impacts the family. Children who are Spirit-filled (yes, children can be filled with the Holy Spirit) will honor and obey their parents. Obedience to parents is actually an effect of a son or daughter being filled with the Spirit, while disobedience is a sign of inward rebellion to God as well as parents. Parents who are filled with the Spirit will not provoke their children, but bring them up to love and worship the Lord who created them.
SPIRIT-FILLED EMPLOYEES. Ephesians 6:5-8
Slavery in New Testament Times. In order to apply these verses to our lives today we must first define what “slave” means. One of the primary responsibilities in interpreting the Bible is to discover what the text meant to the original audience. This letter was written to Christians in a local church at Ephesus. They were quite familiar with the Roman Empire’s practice of slavery, and, in fact, many slaves and masters had been saved through believing in Jesus Christ by grace and worshiped together in this local church. Paul knew the congregation was made up of Christian slaves and Christian masters, and wrote instructions to both. In the original language, the word is doulos and it is translated “slave” in most English translations. We might prefer it to be translated “servant” but it properly means “slave.” Most of us do not like the word “slave” because it raises such negative thoughts and emotions. But slavery in the Apostle Paul’s first century was much different from the slavery practiced in the United States from colonial days up to the 1860’s. Slavery in this country was based on skin-color and an entire group of people were subjugated to this evil practice.
Slavery in the Roman Empire was not based on skin color or ethnicity. It is estimated that there were six million slaves in the Empire in Paul’s day, roughly one third of the total population. People became slaves by being captured by the Romans in one of their many wars and free people could sell themselves into slavery. In Paul’s day slaves worked in many sectors of the economy. They were used in various types of agriculture and industry. They worked as cooks, furniture makers; some were teachers, business agents, accountants, and physicians. Roman emperors used them throughout the empire in various capacities and some even managed and maintained the imperial properties. Of course, they were still slaves, and while many lived in virtual freedom, there were some who were mistreated and oppressed.
The Employee’s Responsibility. The first thing we must determine is to clarify the connection between the slaves in Paul’s day and employees of today. The Bible scholar, Dr. Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The word “slaves” undoubtedly refers to Christian slaves, but we may certainly apply these words to the Christian employee today.” Many other commentators of these verses agree and insist these principles are applicable to modern employees.
It is interesting to consider that through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, Paul focused on how we make our living. He takes us to the workplace, whether in agriculture, manufacturing, trades, or the office. He insists that God has a providential purpose in our work and therefore a responsibility to represent Christ in the workplace. Have you ever considered that you have the job and career you have because of God’s design. God desires to get His people out into the public eye so they can be witnesses for Christ. We are to live as examples of Christ-like, Spirit-filled faith so others will see the difference in our attitudes and behaviors and desire to trust in Jesus. Your job is an example of God’s providential care of His people and we should therefore do the best we can. He tells us first to be obedient. We should have an obedient attitude because, in reality, we are actually serving the Lord. He speaks of “fear and trembling” and I think that means to have an attitude of respect for those who are in authority over us. Sincerity is the opposite of duplicity and dishonesty. And notice the words, “as to Christ.” While we have a human boss, the Lord Jesus is our real superior, so that determination to obey our human master is an expression of our commitment to our divine Savior. Verse six tells us we are not to be men-pleasers. This and the phrase “not by way of eyeservice” means that we are to work hard even when the boss isn’t watching. The reason for our diligence is not to receive some reward from our employers but to recognize that our true boss is always watching and since we are His slaves, we must do the will of God from the heart.
The Employee’s Reward. God desires that we also have the attitude of being a blessing to those around us. Rendering service with good will is an eagerness to do the right thing with the right attitude. Christianity knows nothing of the division of sacred and secular. A Christian can perform any good work as a ministry to Christ to the glory of God. For this reason, the worker must do his job “from the heart,” since he or she is, in reality, serving Christ and doing the will of God. There were tasks assigned to these slaves that they detested, but they were to perform them just the same, so long as they were not disobeying the will of God. And notice that God’s providence does not stop with our service, He intends to reward good work. For our faithful work and service, He will repay. This has nothing to do with what our work is, but the attitude with which we serve. He will grant rewards because we have been faithfully serving Him.
SPIRIT-FILLED EMPLOYERS. Ephesians 6:9
The Employer’s Responsibility. There were in this local church, members who were the masters or the employers. They are also called upon to recognize that they too are serving the great God and Creator of all things. He is keeping account of their actions and attitudes. Since God created both employees and employers, the employers are to keep in mind that they are both accountable to the same Lord. There were undoubtedly masters whose slaves had become Christians and who worshiped together on Sunday morning.
The Employer’s Calling. Ultimately, the employer’s calling is no different from his or her employees. His or her first work is to do God’s will and to manifest Christlikeness through the Holy Spirit’s empowerment in all he or she does. Decisions must be made on the standard of God’s righteousness, truth and honesty. Employees must be dealt with on the basis of their own welfare and best interests. They must be shown fairness and respect because they are God’s servants and not simply employees.
Spirit-filled employers must give up threatening. Authority and power should be used as little as possible and lording it over or bullying employees should not be permitted. Employers must also recognize a God-perspective. Authority is God-given and strictly functional and temporary. A godly employer knows that he or she, along with their workers are alike under the supreme authority of God. They are masters only on earth and accountable to the Master who is in heaven.
Why does God expect such behavior from Christians, whether employers or employees? Because the most important task in this dispensation is to preach the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There are people who work for us and who work with us who need to hear the gospel and to see it lived out in the attitudes and actions of true believers in Christ. If you are a Christian, there are unsaved people who are watching what you do and listen to what you say. What kind of testimony are you leaving along the path of your life? Can your employees or employers see Jesus Christ living in you? Will you be Spirit-filled tomorrow as you return to work?
This is of great significance to our Sovereign God who has providentially placed you where you are in this time and this place. He has created us to serve Him joyfully and faithfully and to tell others how our Lord has blessed us. You may be here today and you may have never received the Lord Jesus as your Savior. Along with the rest of us, He created you, and He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save you by His grace. Have you received Jesus as your personal Savior? If you haven’t, please call upon Him as we go before His presence in prayer.
