SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/12/2019
9:33 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
“The Positive Command”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ephesians
6:4
Message of the verse: “4 Fathers, do not
provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and
instruction of the Lord.”
Before
we begin this SD I want to remind you that we are looking at the main section
of Ephesians 6:4 which we said was entitled “The Submission of Parents” which
comes from John MacArthur’s commentary and we also stated that there are two
sub-sections under this main section, and we looked at two days on the first
part of verse four which was “The Negative Command” and now we will look at “The
Positive Command,” which is found in the last part of verse four: “in the discipline and instruction of the
Lord.”
Let’s
look at the Greek word for “discipline” “Paideia”
and MacArthur writes that this word “comes from the word pais (child) and refers to the systematic training of
children. It includes the idea of
correction for wrongdoing, as seen in the well-known proverb, ‘He who spares his
rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently’ (Prov. 13:24). In the several uses of the term in Hebrews
12:5-11, the translators of the Authorized Version rendered it ‘chastening,’
which is clearly the emphasis of that context.
Paul’s meaning here is expressed even more fully, however, in the
proverb ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will
not depart from it’ (22:6). ‘Discipline’
has to do with the overall training of children, including punishment.”
Some
of you may remember the mother of John and Charles Wesley as stories of her
have been written. I have read that
because she had 17 children that there were times when she wanted to be left
along and she would pull her apron over her head and so her children would know
that mom had had enough and wanted some time by herself. She said the following about raising
children: “The parent who studies to subdue [self-will] in his child works
together with God in renewing and saving a soul. The parent who indulges it does the devil’s
work, makes religion impracticable, salvation unattainable, and does all that
in him lies to damn his child, soul and body forever” (cited from “The Journal
of John Wesley,” Chicago: Moody.”
Next
we look at the word for “instruction” in the Greek and look again to MacArthur
to help us understand this word: “Nouthesia (‘instruction’) is literally a
‘putting in mind’ and also includes the connotation of correction. It refers to the type of instruction found in
the book of Proverbs, where the primary focus is on the training and teaching
of children. It does not have as much to
do with factual information as with right attitudes and principles of behavior.”
He
goes on to write “The key to right ‘discipline and instruction’ of children is
the being ‘ of the Lord.’ Everything
parents do for their children is to be on Him—according to the teaching of His
Word, by the guidance and power of His Holy Spirit, in the name of His Son,
Jesus Christ, and to His own glory and honor.”
This
is the end of our section about children and parents, and as mentioned and also
seen in the quote above the power of the Holy Spirit is what is most needed in
the family as far as relationships between husbands and wives, and now the
children.
I
asked my wife yesterday what she thought the greatest thing that is lacking in
the church today to which she talked about we should all be giving out the
gospel more, and I agree with that answer but it was not really what I was
looking for. I mentioned that from his
commentary on Ruth and Ester that Warren Wiersbe stated that if the Holy Spirit
were taken out of the church today that there would not be a whole lot of
difference in the church today, so with that thought I believe that the
greatest thing that the church needs today is to have its people be filled with
the Holy Spirit so that the church would be what the Lord wants it to be. If the family is strong then the church is
strong and if the church is strong then the nation is strong, and for this to
be done we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit for this to happen.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I think that I said what I wanted to say in the
paragraph above.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Have a short list with the Lord so that I can
be filled with the Spirit so that as I continue to think of humility then I can
be humble.
Today’s Quotation from “Love in Action”
a book about encouragement:
“By this all will know that you are My
disciples,
if you have love for one another.
John 13:35”
9/12/2019 10:03 AM
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