The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 of 6

 

The Letter of St. Paul 

to 

the 

Ephesians

Chapter 

5

 

 

¹ Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, ² and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verses 1 to 2)

 Oh God my beloved Father this is my aim in life is that of living according to the truth as found in Your Word. I may yet not be a perfect imitator of You but this is an aim that I am striving for. The world as it is does not accept me or understand me because I speak about a truth that is unpleasant for the ears of people of the world so much that they are saying that I am paranoid. However, the truth is not in such people who are led by a worldly spirit. I pray that Your will be done in my situation, my God and Father Amen.



³ But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among the saints. ⁴ Entirely out of place is obscene silly and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving.

(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verses 3 to 4)


Oh God my beloved Father, I thank You for these guidelines in holy living, for this fountain of wisdom that is contrary to the ways of the world, which dictate that in order to be part of the group one has to use the same language such as in dirty jokes and other terms in order to be accepted. Amen.


⁵Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verse 5)



Oh God my Father, I am a sinner among sinners and You have shown mercy to me, You have not denied me a share of Your inheritance and for this I will always thank and praise Your Holy Name Amen.


⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verse 6)


Oh God, my beloved Father as You well know, this era is one of lies and deception. We are exposed to many voices such as that of the media and politics and modern trends, who all claim to be proclaiming a truth, however, the truth is one and it can only be found in You Amen.


⁷ Therefore do not be associated with them. ⁸ For once you were darkness but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verses 7 to 8)



Oh God my beloved Father, now that You have saved us from our sinful selves, let us stay in Your light forever and not decide to go back to our state of Egypt Amen.



⁹ for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verse 9)



Oh God, my beloved Father, I thank You for these indications that show me where your presence the presence of righteousness may be found. I thank you for showing me that it is found in all that is good, meaning that it is not found in the negative drives and inclinations of the flesh, in violence, in fetishes, but in all that is positive, all that is according to Your will which makes it right and most of all in all that is true and according to Your will Amen.


¹⁰ Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verse 10)


Oh brothers and sisters, as much as we try to please our wives, husbands and partners or friends, we are to try and please You, my God and Father. Amen.



¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verse 11)


The light and darkness my God and Father have become so mixed up that life have become a foggy world. It is only with Your help that I am able to discern true light from darkness, for even works that are the fruit of the light at times end up having stains of darkness in them. I pray for Your guidance, my God and Father Amen.


¹² For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; ¹³ but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴ for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verses 12 to 14)



Oh, shameful and alienated world, wake up from your state of alienation, the light that you say you are seeing is pure darkness, this is a world of illusion, do not invest in it, because your future destination is not the world but heaven. We were born to die. Only on dying, we experience our fulfilment in Your presence and not on earth which is a constant struggle against our selves our sins and those of others Amen. Have mercy oh God my Father and wake us up while there is still time Amen.


¹⁵ Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of the time, because days are evil. ¹⁷ So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verses 15 to 16)



Oh God my Father, I pray that You help me discern in all the situations that You permit me to experience, what Your will is in the given situation and act accordingly Amen. I pray for the perfect wisdom strong faith enough to persuade me to make the right decisions at the right time, and which are according to Your will Amen.



¹⁷ So do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verse 17) 



Oh God, my Father many times we make decisions without consulting You and end up in a load of trouble. I thank You for always delivering me from such moments in time Amen. 



¹⁸ Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, ²⁰ giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verses 18 to 20) 


Oh God, I pray that You teach us how to give thanks and worship for all that happens in our lives, for every second, for every breath. I pray that I accept all that happens during the course of each day of my life as being according to Your will Amen.


²¹ Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. ²² Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verses 21 to 24) 



Oh God, my Father, this is the problem of our times. We are no longer subject to each other but we consider ourselves to be either on an equal footing or even superior. We are no longer humble but proud in our ways, so much that this is creating a power struggle among ourselves and many people are being hurt because of such an attitude Amen. I pray that You heal our society, my God and Father Amen.


²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶ in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind-yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verses 25 to 27) 



Oh God, my Father, You know that as long as I could I loved my wife, however when it became unhealthy for me to keep doing so because of issues of trust and depression I could not do so anymore. Amen. May we treat each other as being part of the same body of Christ and seek to build each other up by means of the same Word of the Bible Amen. 


²⁸ In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church. ³⁰ because we are members of his body.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verses 28 to 30) 



Oh God my Father, while my wife was still mine we had good moments when we loved each other or at least I was given the impression that I was being loved, however, such moments were blurred by moments of non-love, betrayal and a lot of negative criticism which destroyed the love that we had.


³¹, For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." ³² This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. ³³ Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 5 verses 31 to 32) 


Oh God, my Father I realize that marriage is a commitment which requires leaving the old life and embracing a new life. However, as based You know as based on my marriage this is no easy task. Even though there was a time when we prayed together and had peaceful times, it was not Your will that the marriage remain united. Today I realize my true calling that is to follow You and not the ways of the world. Amen.


I would like to end this reflection on the fifth chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians with the following prayer:-


Oh God my beloved Father I pray that we learn to follow You and not the ways of the world. I also pray that we be more aware of ourselves and that we learn to educate our thoughts and feelings so that with Your help we can filter out all negative thoughts and feelings and be more like You. Amen. I thank You for all that You do for me, with me and by means of all the life situations and people that You send in my life. Amen.

 

The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4

 

The Letter of St. Paul 

to 

the 

Ephesians

Chapter 4

 

¹ I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ making every effort to maintain the unity in the bond of peace.

(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 1 to 3)

Oh God my beloved Father these first few verses are daggers that pierce my heart, for in my marriage Ifeel and You know that together we did all we can to try and save this marriage, however there is no grounds for reconciliation between me and my wife. I am still open to Your intervention and may Your will be done. Amen.



⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.




(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 4 to 6)




Oh God my Father there is one God and I believe in You. I believe that every thing is under your control and that You can change any situation Amen.




⁷ But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. ⁸ Therefore it is said, 
"When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people."





(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 7 to 8)




Oh God my Father I thank You for the greatest gifts of all that are Your love, Faith, Mercy and the opportunity of forgiveness, that grants me reconciliation with You even though I am a sinner. I also thank You for destroying the power of death by making it a gateway to Heaven Amen.




⁹ When it says, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things,)




(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 9 to 10)




Oh God my beloved Father, the same Father who was in the heavens, permitted us to crucify Him in the human form of His Son, who was the Same person who rose again and by means of the Holy Spirit comes into the Eucharist at the time of consecration on the Altars. That same majestic presence that dwells in me and other human beings who are Your creation my God and Father Amen.




 


¹¹ The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets; some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.




(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 11 to 13)




Oh God my beloved Father I thank You for all the gifts that You have given me, especially for this opportunity to communicate with You in prayer and at the same time share the Word with others. I also thank You for the Community that You have permited me to join, for even there I can continue to spread the message of Your love and our relationship. I pray that You keep on providing me with opportunities of spreading the message of the Good News and of being of help, care and support to others Amen. 



¹⁴ We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and  blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.




(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 14 to 16)



Oh God my beloved Father, I pray that become more mature in my relationships at large, especially in Your relationship with me. I pray that I am cleansed from all traces of negativity and that I will reflect the truth and nothing but the truth. I also pray for my community and for Society at large, that we admit that we are sinners, and that You love us even though we are sinners, and that as You forgive and accept us as we are, we are to imitate You in a spirit of love.

Let us join together in this song and prayer by clicking on the following link that its content is credit to Sherin Sophia


Bind us together with love



¹⁷ Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord; you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 17 to 18)



Oh God my beloved Father, I thank You for this wise counsel and instruction. Even though I am compelled to live in this world, I am to be different in my belief and in my thoughts and behaviour Amen.


¹⁹ They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 19)





Oh God my beloved Father, once we have closed the door on our relationship with You we start a slow but sure death on many levels such as spiritual and even psychological, nothing would start having to mean in life and we become bitter to everything and everyone. I pray that You save us from such a depressing and negative state of being Amen.



²⁰ That is not the way you learned Christ!


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verse 20)



Oh God my beloved Father, on becoming part or members of the Church we start receiving the pure knowledge that sets us on our feet in our relationship with You, however along the way we may start formulating our own theories about who You really are, as based on our experiences of life, which may be both positive and negative. However we might end up holding untrue theories about who You are in our lives, and if not enlightened we may end up living up to these life scripts for a very long time. Moreover, such life scripts or beliefs may both help and hinder in Your relationship with us. Therefore, I pray that You purge our minds from any false beliefs that we have made and bring us back on track Amen.



²¹ For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. ²² You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, ²³ and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 21 to 24)




Oh God my Father, this is my daily struggle that of going against my natural nature and put on my spiritual clothing that of the Holy Spirit as I received at the time of my baptism Amen.




²⁵ So then putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verse 25)




Oh God my Father, brothers and sisters, the truth sets us free. Moreover, we are sons and daughters of the truth and not of evil. Even though our sinful nature compels us to say untruths, I pray for the strength to overcome our sinful nature Amen.



²⁶ Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and do not make room for the devil.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 26 to 27)




For all married couples or for those who are in some form of relationship resolve your differences before the end of the day with your husband or partner, before the devil sows seeds of more anger discontent, depression and other forms that may hinder the growth of your relationships, everybody makes mistakes, we are all fragile and prone to sin, even without having a bad intention, therefore always be ready to forgive and forget, for today it is your partner who has grieved you, and tomorrow it may be you Amen.



 ²⁸ Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.


(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 28)



Oh God almighty how loving it would be of us if our focus would not be only to the contributing to our own wants and needs but also to those of others Amen.




²⁹ Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.




(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 29)




Oh God my beloved Father, I pray that You make of me a positive person, one that no negativity comes from my heart, my lips or my mind. Even though the circumstances that I find myself in may not always be positive, I pray that You give me a positive spirit that will be good for me and even for others Amen.





³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. ³¹ Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, ³² and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you."



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 4 verses 30 to 32)
 


Oh God my beloved Father, I pray that You help me to forgive, as You forgive me, for this is a delicate area for me. I have been grieved and hurt many times so much that I have an open wound that You are treating and healing every day of my life. As my therapist and Counsellor, I pray that You continue guiding me through this process of healing Amen



In order to bring this prayer and reflection on the fourth chapter of the letter of st. Paul to the Ephesians to an end I would like to do so by means of the following prayer:



Oh God my beloved Father I pray that we go back to our roots and evaluate the state of our faith. We must question if we are living our baptism as based on the Word of God, or if we have created our own personal version of the word of God that we have tailored to suit our needs and values. I pray that You anoint us with the power of the Holy Spirit Amen








 


  

 


 

 

The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 3

The Letter of St. Paul 

to 

the 

Ephesians

Chapter 3

¹ This the reason that I paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles ² for surely you have already heard of the commission of God's grace that was given me for you, ³ and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, ⁴ a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ.

(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 3 verses 1 to 4)

Oh God my Father, I also feel like a prisoner in this body and in this world. I am conditioned by this body that at times gets me into trouble, by stimulating my feelings, and making me biased against my Spirit and thoughts. I pray that You give me self-control and mastery over this body of sin Amen. 



⁵ In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; ⁶ that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 3 verses 5 to 6) 



Oh God, my Father I thank You for giving me a share of this ministry even though I was a gentile during those times when I did not have a relationship with You. I thank You for giving me the opportunity of being an active part of Your body on earth that is the Church.



⁷  Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 3 verse 7)




Oh God my beloved Father although compared to others I am doing nothing special, I really thank You for giving me this mission of sharing my prayers to You with others Amen. 



⁸ Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; ¹⁰ so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.  



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 3 verse 8 to 10)




Oh God even though I am not grounded in theology or philosophy You still give me this opportunity to share my prayers on the Bible with others. I am one of Your small and humble followers Amen. May others benefit from these humble messages that are the fruit of Your relationship with me Amen.




¹¹ This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord ¹² in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.  



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 3 verses 11 to 12)




Oh God my Father, may all that happens in our lives, be according to Your Holy Will, and not according to the selfishness of humanity. May we place our faith and confidence totally in You Amen.




¹³ I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 3 verse 13)



 Oh God my beloved Father our sufferings in themselves may appear to be negative, however, on the other hand, each and every trial and tribulation is a test that I need to experience, and therefore there is the need for us to experience sorrow but in truth our sorrows are an occasion of joy Amen.



¹⁴, For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. ¹⁶ I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, ¹⁷ and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 3 verses 14 to 17)



Oh God, my beloved Father I thank You for such a blessing. I know that You are including me, for I am also a sinner and my inner spirit also needs to be renewed in Your Spirit Amen.



¹⁸  I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 3 verses 18 to 19)



Oh God, my Father, if I sincerely believed in Your love and mercy my life would be the complete opposite of what it is today. I really wish to see and hear You not in others or in situations but as Yourself. This would be the greatest gift of all. Amen. I thirst for You my God and Father Amen.



²⁰ Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever Amen.



(The Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Chapter 3 verses 20 to 21)



Oh God my beloved Father I would like to end the third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians with the following prayer:



Oh blessed God, my Father, Your name is higher than the heavens, in You and by You I find my existence and the reason to remain alive. Without You nothing has a sense or is worth living for, in this world of confusion. Blessed be Your name! I pray that You remain by my side and help me overcome the tidal waves and challenges of life Amen.