"Relationships: A Matter of Spiritual Warfare"
Pt. 4

In our last issue we established that, in the book of Ephesians, the particular theater of war in spiritual conflict is the realm of relationships. In Christ, God’s people have been united into one body. However, during this present age, we live in a world of division and strife promoted by the god of this age. Relationships are such a point of contention because, through sin, mankind has been estranged from the God by whom, through whom and for whom all things exist. True harmony and unity must begin and end with a right relationship with the true and living God. In this article we will consider God’s remedy and purpose in redemption.

God’s Purpose: Recovering Unity

While the rebellious penchant for alienation and division renders humanity adept at isolation and exclusion, God Himself established the only distinction between human beings that really matters. After the fall, He declared that there would be two races of people, the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman (cf. Gen 3:15). The seed of the woman consists of those people God purposed to redeem and the seed of the serpent represents everyone else. While all manner of disharmony characterizes the world, God has been working redemption in His people, restoring, among other things, harmony and peace in relationships.

At the time of Christ, this single criterion for discrimination was largely understood in terms of the nation of Israel and the Gentiles. The Jews were the covenant people of God. The rest of the nations dwelt in darkness. However, God had promised Abraham that all nations of the earth would be blessed in him (Gen 12:3). The people of God would not always be restricted to the nation of Israel.

This is the great mystery of which Paul speaks in Ephesians (2:11-22). The Gentiles were excluded from the citizenship of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope, and without God in this world. The mystery is not that salvation would come to the Gentiles for this had been foretold by the prophets of old. The mystery is that God would break down the wall of division between Israel and the Gentiles. Furthermore, God is not simply making the Gentiles a part of old Israel. Indeed, from these two, He is making one new man. This new humanity is the people of God, the body of Christ. Christ has made peace between Jew and Gentile. Both Jews and Gentiles have been called out of their respective pasts and into a single, new identity. The redeemed people of God have been called to be in Christ, just as at one time, they were in Adam.

The simple distinction that God has made is between those who are His covenant people and the rest of the world that lives under the influence of this present evil age. By making one new man from both Jew and Gentile, God has obliterated the barriers that men so often employ to maintain division and exclusion. Such matters as race, ethnicity, social status, gender, or economic standing should no longer be an issue among God’s people. The unifying principle is that Christians belong to the family of God.

Harmonious relationships among the people of God are possible because, through Christ’s work of reconciliation, He has made peace between God and men. Through the redeeming work of Christ, God has restored the unity lost in the fall. God has purposed that the body of Christ live out this precious unity. However, the enemy is at work, not only promoting disunity within the world but also trying to sabotage this redemptive purpose of God. This is why the book of Ephesians concentrates so heavily on the language of unity. Those whom God has called to be one people are admonished to live according to that calling.

Eph 4:1-6 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called – 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Grieving the Spirit

This division and strife runs throughout the whole terrestrial created order. It not only characterizes individual relationships but those among families, neighbors, cities, and even nations. This discord assumes many forms. It may manifest itself according to race, social status, political persuasion, or gender. Human beings seem to be particularly adept at finding reasons for prejudice, segregation, and exclusion. Of course, they have supernatural help. This is the unmitigated work of the enemy. And this is the context for spiritual warfare.

According to Paul, this unity is a unity of the Spirit (Eph 4:3). Christians are to make every effort to maintain that which Christ’s work of redemption has accomplished and the Holy Spirit has applied to their lives. However, as the command suggests, energy must be expended to maintain the realization of this unity among God’s people. While this unity is a reality based upon what God has done, the expression of it in this present age is not automatic. There is a very real struggle in living it out. It is in this context that the Apostle instructs the Ephesians to pay attention to their various relationships (4:25-32). Therefore, this unity, purchased by Christ for His people, has practical implications. Harmony and peace, specifically within the body of Christ, is a goal to which Christians are called.

The reality of this redemptive unity forms the basis for much of the Apostle’s exhortation. Why must the Ephesians lay aside deception and instead, communicate truthfully? They are all members of one body (4:25).In effect, what one Christian does to another, he does to Christ and to himself. The believer has a restored relationship with God and His people. He must not think that he lives in independent isolation.

The Ephesians must also respect others and their property (4:28). Instead of stealing from their neighbors, which destroys trust and promotes alienation, the Ephesians must engage in some beneficial enterprise. This will provide them with honestly earned resources from which they may generously bless those in need, a practice that will engender trust and promote unity.

The Apostle urges the Ephesians not to engage in unwholesome talk (4:29). Such conduct only fosters estrangement. Instead, Christians are to speak those things that benefit and “build up” the body of Christ. The positive effects of the right kind of speech help us to see what Paul means by its counterpart, “unwholesome talk.” This is the kind of communication that serves no beneficial purpose for the community of faith. This manner of relating to others only tears down the people of God, strange behavior for those who are called to unity.

At this point we find a command that is often misunderstood among contemporary evangelicals: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (4:30). This verse is sometimes cited as support for a “no-holds-barred” approach to worship. Coupled with the command not to quench the Spirit in Thessalonians, it is used to justify chaotic behavior in the church. Another common use of this verse is to promote personal reflection and introspection. Grieving the Spirit is presented as a private offense wherein one’s persistence in sin saddens the Spirit. Therefore, one should search his own heart and consider his own private sins against God that would grieve the Spirit. However, such interpretations completely miss the point of the passage. Paul does not simply say, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” but continues, “with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” The “you” in this passage is plural. Paul is not speaking of individuals but the entire family of God, sealed by the Holy Spirit. This fact ties the passage to its context. Paul has been talking about proper relationships within the one body of Christ. Therefore, in this passage, grieving the Holy Spirit is not some individual, private sin. To grieve the Spirit is to disrupt the communal life of God’s people. Being deceitful, unrestrained anger, stealing, and destroying others with unwholesome talk; these are the things that grieve the Spirit of God.

The Unity of the Spirit

We must remember that the unity we possess is a unity of the Spirit (4:3). It is the Holy Spirit who makes us one. He seals us as the unified people of God. He is at work in us that we might realize the heavenly reality of this unity. We grieve the Spirit when we give place to the enemy who wages war against God and His redemptive purpose. If the enemy can pit Christian against Christian, he succeeds in having them oppose the very purpose of God. These relationships are truly a matter of spiritual warfare.

To emphasize this point, Paul summarizes his exhortation with a command to set aside those traits that foster dissension and disharmony among the people of God (4:31). The Christian must “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” Notice that these behaviors strike at the very root of relationships. If one gives himself to the expression of these traits, he will estrange himself from others. There is nothing that the enemy would rather see than a Christian engaging in such behavior and, therefore, isolating members of Christ’s one body. Laying aside these behaviors is one aspect of the Christian’s defensive posture in this spiritual warfare.

Finally, Paul contrasts the behavior that must be laid aside with that character that we must assume, virtues that distinguish God’s people (4:32). As much the previous traits alienate people, expressions of kindness, compassion, and forgiveness promote the unity of God’s people. Putting on these virtues is one aspect of the Christian’s offensive posture in this spiritual warfare.

Next month, we will continue our examination of spiritual warfare in the book of Ephesians, we will consider such things as preparation for unity and God’s divine order for relationships.

- Stan McGehee Jr