Why Applying the Word to Your Everyday Life Is Vital, Right, and True

In today’s podcast, we are focusing our sights on the vital nature of applying the Word of God to your everyday life. I ran across this superb illustration that references translating the Bible into real life. The illustration talked about how many Christian wives led their husbands to the Lord. The key is a woman willing to live what she believes in each case. A small group of men concluded their weekly Bible study on one occasion. At the time, they were sharing their thoughts about all the different translations.

The first man said, “I’ll stick with the good old King James Version. It has always been my favorite.” The next man said, “I can’t understand that old English. The New American Standard is my choice for translation.” The third man was a recent believer. “My favorite translation is my wife. Her life translated the gospel into a language I could understand.”

What a great testimony! Living out the Word in a way that bears the fruit of salvation! Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Practical Illustrations: 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2003), 87–88. Your goal, your aim, the target you need to shoot at is this: is your life the best translation of the Bible? We are over in Ephesians chapter four, and we are going to look at this thought as we focus on Why Applying the Word to Your Everyday Life Is Vital, Right, and True, all in this week’s Light on Life.

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Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
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There’s only one thing left to do: do the Word. Set your heart and make the decision.

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You can find more information on the book of Ephesians by clicking on the links below.

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 35 years, emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes

Applying the Word Ephesians Style

Ephesians 4:1–7 (ESV) — 1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner 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 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

‘Prisoner for the Lord’ is not flowery or symbolic speech.
Paul was literally in a dungeon-like jail cell.
In a previous podcast, we already covered the ‘walking in a manner worthy’ part of verses one and two.
But chapter four marks a change in direction in this letter.
In chapters 1–3, we have ‘In Him’ — positional truths spelled out.
But now, in chapter four, we have the ‘walking out part.’
We are the righteousness of God in Christ, yes — but how do righteous people live?
What does righteousness walking on two legs look like?
We are born again and made one in Christ — the walls are broken down — Jew and Gentile are fused into one body — what does that look like walking on two legs — in everyday life?
So, in chapters four through six, we have to live the life of chapters one through three – live as God fashioned you in Christ.
‘Therefore’ is the keyword in this first verse.
It’s a coupler — a handshake if you would.
The word ‘therefore’ looks back at everything Paul has been talking about in chapters one through three and couples it with ‘walk.’
Saying it another way, ‘therefore’ hooks together positional in Christ truths of chapters 1–3 with the believer’s lifestyle.
In chapter four, we walk out what we see in the previous chapters.
Time to put the Word to practice.
Time to put it into action.
Let’s see how this goes.

Applying the Words Blessed with All Spiritual Blessings

Ephesians 1:3 (ESV) — 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

Because you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, you should, therefore, walk a certain way.
You should walk in humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance — that’s putting up with one another, love, unity, and peace.
And why can you?
Because you have all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, you have everything you need to navigate the realm of human relationships in Christ.
And one of those spiritual blessings you have is the love of God coming to make its home in you.

Applying the Word: Humility

Romans 5:5 (TNIV) — 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Everything starts with love.
Humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance are all children of the fruit of love.
They are love’s offspring.
When you walk in humility, it makes other people feel good inside.
It lights people up inside in their spirits.
When you walk in pride, when you are in the presence of arrogance, it irritates the spirit man.
It’s yucky — it’s not right.
Don’t do that to people.
Don’t lift yourself in their presence.
Do the opposite – lift them – let them be the superstar.
Don’t worry about being seen or heard.
Let the other guy have the credit.
That makes people feel good — part of the love walk that displays itself in humility.

Applying the Word: Gentleness

Gentleness is a giant fruit of the spirit.

Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV) — 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

The Greek word gentleness means acting in a mild and even-tempered manner.
Gentleness is the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance.
And so it ties into humility, courtesy, considerateness, meekness¹
In the Greek language, people would use this word for soothing medicine.
They would use it for a colt that had been broken or a soft wind.
Gentleness is enhanced in your life by hanging with gentle people.
Iron sharpens iron, you know.
Listen to the Psalmist David.

Psalm 18:35 (ESV) — 35 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.

God the Father is gentle.
Do you view Him this way?

Matthew 11:29 (ESV) — 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Gentle and lowly in heart is the Jesus lifestyle.
I ran across this story about pearl necklaces that intrigued me.

Pearls are delicate and require care. They must be worn frequently and close to the skin or they fade and die. This is perhaps because, as a product of the oyster, they are partly of animal origin. We are told that pearls must be worn against the human flesh to retain their life and lustre. In fact, it is so important they be worn, that banks where pearls are stored hire girls for that purpose. The girls sit a specified number of hours and wear pearls which clients have left with the bank for safekeeping. These pearls are kept “alive” by human contact. Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 676.

Gentleness is kept alive by Holy Spirit contact by you abiding in Jesus by you soaking in the Presence of God.
Again, iron sharpens iron.
We have to do better at emphasizing gentleness in our everyday life.
It’s vital.

1 Peter 3:3–4 (ESV) — 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

Let the words “very precious” jump out in your thinking.
“Very precious”- how do I wrap my mind around that?
The Greek word very precious is one word that means high priced or extremely valuable.
It was Paul’s preferred method of operating.
The Corinthians had messed up some things.
They were playing favorites with leaders and, by that, bringing division among the saints.
This divisive and arrogant behavior needed to be corrected.
But how was it going to be corrected?
Let’s read.

1 Corinthians 4:18–21 (ESV) — 18 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21 What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

When Paul talks about coming with a rod, he is not talking about a physical stick.
Paul is not talking about beating people up or clubbing people physically; he’s talking about a verbal rod.
What he is saying here is, ‘do you want me to come and chew you out or talk with you in a gentle corrective manner?
Paul’s preferred method was gentleness.
Hasn’t Paul come a long way since his Damascus road days where he was terrorizing the church, hauling people off to jail, standing by, and watching another human being stoned to death over his religious fervor and convictions?
Yes, he has, and Paul references this very precious ‘in the sight of God’ trait in several other places.
Here are three of those places.
Paul encouraging Timothy said.

1 Timothy 3:1–3 (ESV) — 1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

2 Timothy 2:23–25 (ESV) — 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,

Hebrews 5:1–2 (ESV) — 1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.

Again, we are talking about taking the Word of God and applying it to your everyday life.
We are translating forward spiritual blessings into the believer’s lifestyle.

Titus 3:2 (ESV) — 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

I don’t want to confuse you here — I know that your ears are tuned to the word ‘gentle’ because that’s what we’ve been talking about.
The word gentle IS NOT the same word we’ve been talking it – it is a different word in Greek and means lenient.
It might have been better if they translated that word as avoid quarreling, be gentle, and show perfect courtesy toward all people.
The word ‘courtesy,’ translated in this verse, is the Greek word gentleness we’ve been looking at.
Show perfect gentleness is what Paul is saying.
Let’s look at another way the word is used in the book of James.

James 1:21 (ESV) — 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

The word meekness here is the word for gentleness – receive with gentleness the Word of God that can save your soul.
So, gentleness should be how you hear the Word of G0d with — that you study the Word of God with — that you read the Word of God with.
Dial that into your spirit consciousness — set your mind to receive from Jesus, who is gentle and lowly in heart, as you sit down to partake of the Word.
One final place to turn, and that’s chapter three of James.

James 3:13 (ESV) — 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

Gentleness of wisdom doesn’t run people over — make people feel small because they don’t know something.
So, you see, we have humility, gentleness, and forbearance — that’s putting up with one another.
Repeating our main point: You should apply the Word of God to your everyday life.
Because you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, you should, therefore, walk a certain way.

Applying the Word: Forbearance

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

The word’ ‘bearing with’ is one word in Greek and means putting up with all that is disagreeable in other people.
Notice I said ‘put up with all’ — I did not say correct all that is disagreeable.
I ran into one reference that pointed to forbearing as refraining or keeping silent.
So part of putting up with all that is disagreeable in people is just not saying something.
So, there’s something powerful about those spiritual blessings in heavenly places that impact your walk.
Let’s look at other tie-ins to the word ‘therefore’ that will help us apply the Word in our everyday life.
One more time: You should apply the Word of God to your everyday life.
Because you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, you should, therefore, walk a certain way.

Applying the Word: Chosen in Him

Ephesians 1:4–5 (ESV) — 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

There’s something about being ‘chosen in Him’ — the fact that God planned for you before the foundation of the world that should affect how you walk.
You should have a consciousness of purpose.
God chose you, crafted you, and wired you the way He did for a purpose.
You were not aimlessly just slapped together.
A chosen child should be a mindful child.
Mindful of your purpose.
Mindful of the fact that God thought about you.
After a trial or a dry season in their life, you will hear people say that “God’s not through with me yet.”
That’s good — that’s right — that’s true.
If you are alive on planet earth, with breath in your lungs and blood coursing through your veins, God is not through with you.
And here’s the glorious truth, when you’re done with this life, and you’ve gone on to heaven, he’s still not through with you.
There are marvelous things on the other side of eternity, most of which we don’t know yet.
So, you have been chosen and have been pre-destinated, and there is something about all that, as a son through Jesus Christ, which should influence your walk.
But you only get there by choosing to apply the Word in your everyday life.

Applying the Word: Redemption Through His Blood

Ephesians 1:7 (ESV) — 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

Because you have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of all your sins that should adjust where your feet take you and where your feet don’t take you.
How do forgiven people live?
Are they arrogant, or do they walk in humility?
Is being egotistical and haughty a becoming Christian virtue knowing that God has forgiven you so much?
So you see, forgiveness and arrogance don’t play well in the same sandbox with each other.
It’s almost like the parable Jesus told of the man who had such an outstanding debt, and yet he was forgiven but yet wouldn’t return the favor to someone who owed him a small debt.

Matthew 18:23–29 (ESV) — 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.

Is this how forgiven people should live?
Is this how they should walk?

Matthew 18:33–35 (ESV)— 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Forgiven people must be people of mercy.
It is unbecoming for any man or any woman who has been forgiven so much not to reciprocate and forgive.
If we’ve been shown mercy, we should reciprocate that — we should walk as people of mercy.
It’s unbecoming to hold grudges — it’s not right to have animosity in your hearts against others.
As forgiven as you are, it should never be.
So you see, there is the bridge that the word ‘therefore’ builds for us.
To successfully travel across this bridge, you must constantly feed on the positional truths of chapters one through three.
You should constantly remind yourself of how God sees you because it’s as you keep that uppermost in your thinking, the forefront of your mind.
The Bible calls this renewing the mind in Romans 12:2, that you can show mercy when you remember that you received it.

Applying the Word: The Goal of Our Aim

Now up to this point, I gave you a representative way that you can look at chapters one through three, tying it all into the word ‘therefore,’ in Ephesians 4:1 and springing that forward into the walk of a believer’s life.
I only touched on a few things here because of time, but you can go back through chapters one through three and build the same bridge in each one of those positional truths and carry that forward into your everyday life.
So, as you read those positional truths of chapters one through three, ask yourself the question, how does this make it into my life?
I’ve said this before, and I’m going to repeat it: your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take God’s positional realities that have come because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and bring them into the here and now.
Here is the ultimate goal of Bible truth.
It’s like the opening illustration that I gave you.
The man said, ‘My wife is the best translation of the Bible that I have ever read.’
The goal is that you apply the Word of God to your every day to such an extent that your life, conduct, and relationships are a walking Bible.
Listen to it in the book of Corinthians as we get ready to close.

2 Corinthians 3:2–3 (TNIV) — 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

You see, they took the Word of God from Paul and applied it, applied it, and applied it until it was written in their hearts.
It was not written with ink — it was written with the Spirit of the living God, not on cell phones, but on tablets of human hearts.
You guys have a great God week, and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

__________
References:

William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 861. ↩

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Why Applying the Word to Your Everyday Life Is Vital, Right, and True

Podcast: Light on Life Season Nine Episode Fourteen

by Emery Horvath

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