Twin City church of Christ Blog
“Oct 24, 2024 - What Is Proper Among Saints”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsWhat Is Proper Among Saints
Reading: Ephesians 5:3-7
Paul continues to detail the shift that occurs when Jesus begins to transform us. “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints”(Eph 5:3). Our attitudes toward sex must change when we become saints. Sex outside our marriage bond pollutes us and compromises our newly-gained holiness. Likewise “impurity” (things that defile) and “covetousness” (a lust for possessions) must be removed from our lives. Why? Interestingly, Paul comments that a covetous person is an “idolater”(Eph 5:5), implying that we can make a false god out of the things we want. But his thought is even more sweeping: “For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God”(Eph 5:5). It is not enough to be cleansed from these things by the blood of Jesus; if we return to them, we stand to forfeit the inheritance he has given us.
Paul also sets expectations here for how Christian community should work. Having already said that some things are not “proper among saints,” he goes further: “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving”(Eph 5:4). Because we have experienced sin and its unpleasantness, we no longer want sin to be a part of our speech. It is “out of place.” Christians do not talk in crude or foolish ways to one another. We do not consider sin a laughing matter. Instead, Christian communities are full of “thanksgiving” as we continually remember and discuss all that God has done for us.
God has changed us from sinners to saints. Now we live with respect for what is “proper among saints.” The idea here is not that we simply keep our desires for evil things quiet around our brethren, but that we no longer want what we used to want. The Christian community helps transform us by giving us a place where gratitude and holiness are expected.
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One Thing to Think About: Do I bring impurity, evil ideas, or foolish talk to the community?
One Thing to Pray For: A stronger desire for the pure, good things that God has revealed
