You’re (Probably) Exactly Where God Wants You To Be | Ephesians 4-6

After spending three chapters extolling “every spiritual blessing” that we are given in Christ, Paul turns his attention from orthodoxy (right belief) to orthopraxy (right practice). Chapter four begins, “I therefore… urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (4:1). The practical and the theological are tethered together. In light of these incredible spiritual gifts and this new reality, how are we to live?

One might expect Paul to call on the believers in Ephesus to dedicate their lives to missions, as he has. Or to get out into their city to do door-to-door evangelism. Or, remember See You At the Pole, when Christian high school students would meet to pray at their school flag pole? How about See You at the Temple (of Artemis)?

But no. Paul doesn’t suggest any particularly radical ways for the church in Ephesus to live out their new spiritual reality. Instead, he instructs them in unity (4:1-16), personal purity (4:17-5:21), marriage (5:22-33), parenting, (6:1-4), employer/employee relationships (6:5-9), and then reassures them that they have access in Christ to everything they need to carry out these instructions (6:10-20). Here are some of the most boring and basic instructions included in Ephesians 4-6.

• Be humble and gentle. (4:2)
• Don’t steal. Do honest work so you can meet your own needs and also be generous. (4:28)
• Be kind and forgive each other. (4:32)
• Don’t tell dirty jokes. (5:4)
• Don’t get drunk. (5:18)
• Husbands, love your wives as you love yourselves. (5:28)
• Children, honor your parents. (6:2)
• Masters, don’t threaten your bondservants. (6:9)

These things were not common in ancient Ephesus, and they aren’t common in our own culture. But, this is also a very different definition of “radical” than the one you might be familiar with. It sounds like Paul is saying that in light of the incredible riches we have been given in Christ, we’re just supposed to… keep living our lives? He doesn’t expect our physical, geographic, and demographic position to change, even though our spiritual position has been radically altered.

Ephesians reveals that what God desires is not a handful of “radical”, “sold out”, “on fire” Christians, but millions of faithful men and women who are embodying the kingdom in their ordinary lives, in their marriages, in their parenting, in their secular jobs.

What if you are already exactly where God wants you to be? What if you stopped chasing God’s elusive “will” for your life and made it your aim to live faithfully right where you are? What if God doesn’t actually want you to do anything “great” for him, but just wants you to embrace ordinary faithfulness?

Ephesians 4-6 reveals that if you are seeking to be faithfully involved in your local church, to use your unique skills, talents, and resources to edify your fellow saints, you are right where God wants you to be. If you are walking in relationship with Jesus, relying on his grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to live like him in your roles as a spouse, parent, friend, and co-worker, you are already in the center of his will.

Of course, none of us live out the instructions in these chapters flawlessly. There is still plenty of sanctifying work for the Holy Spirit to do in all of us. I encourage you to take some time in prayer this week asking God which of these areas he wants you to grow in. Ask him to grow contentment in you for the opportunities that he has already given you to live faithfully. Thank him for making his expectations for us so clear in his Word that we don’t have to live in anxiety, wondering what impressive efforts of faith will please him.