Poisonous Problem

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” Ephesians 4:31

In one sense bitterness can be said to be like cancer. It eats away at the person who is filled with it. It sucks the joy and love out of his soul. But cancer may not be the best analogy, because while cancer is not contagious, bitterness most certainly is.

The writer of Hebrews recognizes how bitterness moves rapidly from heart to heart when he writes, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:15). The word used for “bitterness” is pikria, which can also mean “poison.” In the body of Christ, that is exactly what bitterness is. It poisons and defiles the whole body.

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism

Ephesians 4:4-6

There is one body and one Spirit¾just as you were called to one hope when you were called¾⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

There is “one faith” (v5). This is not something disconnected from Jesus. When Paul wrote “one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” he was describing realities that always went together in his mind and in his message. The one faith is not “faith in faith.” It is not the virtue of just believing in something, like what you find described in various forms of spirituality today. 

No Tolerance for Pride

 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” Ephesians 4:2

If anybody should understand how foolish pride is, it should be Christians. If we remember what we were like outside of Christ, if we remind ourselves about how far away from God we were and how enslaved we were by our own sin, we will know that we have no basis for pride and every reason to relate to others with humility.

Defeating the Nastiness

If it is God’s will to bring people together, you don’t have to have a lot of “smarts” to guess what the objective would be for the powers of this dark world. Though unseen, they are at work as Satan’s messengers, seeking to plant selfishness, suspicion, jealousy, distrust, envy and hatred in the hearts of people, thus producing division wherever they can. Obviously, they target different racial and ethnic groups; they nurture nationalism and tribalism. But they go further and bore their ways into the hearts of families and neighbors.

Love that Is a Many Splendored Thing

The gospel is a love story with depth. It is no cheap romance novel, but the story of a God who created us, has plans for us and who pursues us in order that he might bless us. In one of the most memorable lines in Ephesians, Paul prays that we might “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (v18). Paul knows much will change in our lives if we get a good view of the majestic nature of God’s love.

But there is something very important to notice here: His prayer is that this would be done “together with all the saints.” It is not surprising to find this in Ephesians, but we should not let it slip by us. Getting a great perspective on the height and breadth of God’s love does not come as we isolate ourselves and seek God alone. It comes as we are “together with all the saints.” We need each other.

God’s plan is to bring us together. In our togetherness we have a much greater opportunity to experience the love of God and to help each other see its richness. I need what you can teach me about God’s love, and you need what I can teach you. As we relate to each other, accept each other, help each other and forgive each other, and as we ourselves are “rooted and established in love” (v17), our appreciation and understanding of God’s love will grow

A Prisoner...with Purpose

   For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- Ephesians 3:1

            Before we go on to look at more of Paul’s message, we need to stop and look at the one sentence that begins Ephesians 3. It is actually an aborted, incomplete sentence¾one Paul never finished. We modern editors would correct it, yet it makes such an important statement. It says simply, “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles….” We have already pointed out that Paul wrote this while in chains (Ephesians 6:20). He was under arrest, held as a prisoner by the Roman government. We can only guess as to which imprisonment this refers to, but in any case, there would have been no doubt to his captors that he was their prisoner.

The Seal of Ownership

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit... 
Ephesians 1:13

Here is why we can be so confident that God is going to work for good in all circumstances: We belong to him. He takes care of those who are his. When we were baptized into Christ, we were given the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), but Paul helps us see here that the reception of the Spirit marked us “with a seal.” In the ancient world, a package or a crate that was being shipped would have a seal of ownership placed on it indicating who it belonged to. In some cases the seal might be a unique symbol, somewhat akin to what we know as corporate logos today. When that seal was seen, there was no doubt about who the owner was. Paul says the Holy Spirit has been placed on us who are in Christ to clearly show that we belong to God.