with Elder Elico Manenji
✝️The Apostle says, as God's children, we should imitate our heavenly Father, to walk in love, after the example of Jesus Christ. Christians should avoid all uncleanness, impurity, covetousness, foolish jesting, idolatry.and.many other evils which should not be heard or mentioned amongst believers as they wil be excluded in the. from the kingdom of God. As children of God, we now are in the light but we were once in darkness so now we need to continue to walk in the light. We should desire the fruits of the Holy Spirit and have no fellowship with the workers of iniquity as we walk circumspectly, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Christians should avoid intoxicating wine and strong drink, they should always praise God, singing hymns and giving thanks to His Holy name and submitting to one another in love.
Christian husbands should love their wives as Christ loved
the Church and died for it. For the marriage union always remind us of the union between Christ and the Church, so as the Church submit to Christ's love, so wives are to submit to their husbands and reverence them.
*1️⃣Ephesians 5:1-20: Christians extenuated as the days are evil.*
⏹️It is the duty of the true followers of God to avoid all evil practices and walk in the light as God is the Light. Light dispels darkness and darkness the light, no an can claim to be of God yet they commit sin wilfully. Such things as fornication, adultery, drunkenness and all evil orgies should never be found or mentioned amongst believers. Jesus said, *"I am come a light into the world, that whoever believes on me should not abide in darkness"(John 12:46).*
⏭️Holiness must be spontaneous, as children of God we should imitate our Heavenly Father who is the source of all good things. Jesus said, *" Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect"(Matthew 5:48).*
⏭️Although we can not imitate God's Divine attributes, yet we can copy His moral attributes, for God is love so can we too love one another. By the aid of His Divine Spirit we can copy our God in His justice, righteousness, holiness, purity, truth, and faithfulness. The Revelator says, *" He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still"( Revelation 22:11).*
⏹As God's children, we should walk in the light and not in darkness, our deeds should be pure and no impure actions should be mentioned amongst the believing for the days are evil. So we need always to redeem the lost opportunities by doing good for the days are evil. The Apostle John says, *"He that loves his brother stays in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him"(1John 2:10).*
⏭️As God is Light, mankind is the image and likeness of the Triune God so by our impurities we commit, we revile God the Father, who created our limbs in honour, we revile God the Son in our evil deeds whose members we are and we revile God the Holy Ghost of whom our body is the temple of His dwelling. The Apostle says, *"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed to the day of redemption"(Ephesians 4:30).*
*2️⃣Ephesians 5:21-33: Men duties towards their wives and wives towards their husbands as ana example of Christ's love for the Church.*
⏹️As Christians, we should have good relations with one another and with God as we belong to the family of God.This is a general principle of pure religion which is undefiled before God that husbands are the head of the family, the spiritual leaders of the home. That wives, the home makers should submit in love to their own husbands. That wives are representatives of the church, the bride of Christ and that all men, wives, children and servants are obligated to submit to Christ's love, who loved us and died so that we may receive redemption by His blood. The Apostle says, *"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace"(Ephesians 1:7).*
*"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins"(Colossians 1:14).*
⏹️The wives should know that submission is not subjection but a willing response because of the love extended to each other in equal partnership.
Christ accepted His work to save mankind to serve the will of God, His Father. Even in His intercession and His exaltation to the right hand of God is according to the will and love of God. The Apostle says, *" In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you"(1Thessalonians 5:18).*
*"Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father"(Galatians 1:4).*
⏭️As the Church is the bride of Christ, she is bound to obey God rather than any other man. Any other man who tries to invade the privacy of the Church in arrangement to submitting to the worship of God interferes and attempts to control her (Church) steps beyond their proper bounds. The Church is espoused to Christ and the Church should only get instructions from Christ her husband and no other institution or government has a right to interfere in religious matters except for Christ. The Apostle Peter said, *"We ought to obey God rather than men"(Acts 5:29).*
*🅰️Appeal*
We, members of the body of Christ must be of a yielding and submissive spirit, ready to perform all duties of the respective places and stations that God has allotted to us in the world. In the fear of God, that is, so far as is consistent with the fear of God, for his sake, and out of conscience towards him, and that hereby we may give proof that we truly fear him. Where there is this mutual condescension and submission, the duties of all relations will be the better performed. As the duties of husbands and wives, wives to husbands, children to parents and parents to children, so is our duties to God. The husband should love the wife, as Christ loved the Church and the wife submit herself to her husband as the Church submits to tje authority of Christ, as obedient children who are not coerced to honor and respect but who lovingly honor their parents as this is the only commandment with a promise of extended life. The Apostle says, *"Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing to the Lord"(Colossians 3:20).* Amen!!!
Elico Manenji
(+263712952704)
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