Heralds Digest

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". (Ephesians 5:11 NKJV) Just like sin and unrighteousness are natural characteristics of the unregenerated, it is expected that the lifestyle of the redeemed of the Lord represents a radiance of righteousness. Unfortunately, daily interaction with the system of this evil world is hardly engaged without intimate fellowship with its unfruitful works of darkness. Without a righteous defense by exposing every act of unrighteousness, dissociation from their call to fellowship will be impossible. Compassion for sinners is not the same as sympathy for their unrighteous activities.

"And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma". (Ephesians 5:2 NKJV) Love is all about friendship and association with a subject on one side; and a declaration of dissociation from others, whose interests are parallel to the interests of the subject of his love. While the declaration of association with Christ takes a startup faith for all the redeemed of the Lord, interest in worldly gains often impede the required safewalk declaration of dissociation from ungodliness. The walkway of life is crowded with distracting billboards, showing alternative routes to wealth and fame; but love is satisfied with the sacrifice of fellowship with God, while waiting for the fulfillment of His promises.

"Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath." (Ephesians 4:25-26 NKJV) A dishonest disposition represents an ungodly strategy of anger management. In times of honest displeasure, the scripture commands a sincere display of anger. A friend who cannot accommodate a sincere expression of anger does not worth the laying of the altar, where friendliness with God is sacrificed. Obviously, a bottled anger will burst, albeit in an uncontrollable environment. Otherwise, it finds a suitable but dishonest channel of penalty for personal justice. After all, members of the same family are naturally wedged together, especially more with honest display of anger.

"Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” Now this, “He ascended” —what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?". (Ephesians 4:8-9 NKJV) The fact of the matter is that Christ's ascension started with a descent into the deep in order to engage captivity in a classical fight. Unlike in all selfish struggles, the focus of the fight was the destruction of the power that held the whole world down into sin and captivity. Therefore, the victory of Jesus Christ resulted in special packages of deliverance gifts for different categories of all who call on His name. Invariably, true victory appears not based on the quantity of laurels loaded on the way up, but on the quality of lives lifted on the way down.

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace". (Ephesians 4:1-3 NKJV) The Newton's Third Law of Motion, which states that "Action and Reaction are Equal and Opposition" is generally valid for objects without definite focus of their own. Unlike objects, human reaction to every action is subject to the focus of the individual involved. Wrong focus always breed wrong reaction, irrespective of the good intention behind the initiating action. With the focus of Apostle Paul consistently on the Lord who called him into the ministry, it was difficult for him to treat all misgivings and mistreatment as personal attacks from the enemy. In-fact, he was proud to be called "the prisoner of the Lord", knowing that all things work together for goo...

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love". (Ephesians 3:17 NKJV) Being perfectly demonstrated by the Father's perfect gift of His only begotten Son, love is clearly evident in the giving, and not in the receiving. And unless we all, like Apostle Paul, are fully-drawn to be able to count our blessings on the basis of the privileges of service, rather than on the prospects of servings, genuine love will be unattainable. Even when facts of probable evidences are deficient, faith in the promises of God represents a sufficient offering from every heart with genuine love.

"To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ". (Ephesians 3:8 NKJV) The saving grace is all that sinners need to get started with God. However, the saving grace seem not to scratch the surface of the riches of Christ. Being privileged to become a saint, Apostle Paul was able to step up the search for Christ's riches through a deeper measure of grace. Unfortunately, the revelation of the mystery of God is possible only through un-alloyed fellowship with suffering and pain for righteousness' sake. God's glorious grace will never gloom while groaning to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.