T – Treat others with respect
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32
Worship, Observe, Reveal, Determine = WORD, an inductive Bible Study.
Worship:
Dear Lord, I bow down before you heavily burdened for my missteps but also for the lost. I pray Lord that you continue to carry me through all the storms of my life that I will learn to become closer to You and rely on You. Please help me to push aside all other thoughts as I study Ephesians tonight. Help me glean what you have for me. Dear heavenly Father, You are an awesome and faithful God. I give You all the praise and glory. Amen.
Observe:
The book of Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians at Ephesus, a city in Asia Minor or Turkey. Ephesus had a harbor on the Cayster River which emptied into the Aegean Sea. It was also at the intersection of major trade routes. Ephesus claim to fame was a temple to the Roman Goddess of nature and the hunt, Diana. Since the town was a commercial center, Paul was able to make Ephesus a center of evangelism for three years. Paul wrote to Ephesus to educate them on God’s eternal purpose and grace and the Body of Christ, the church. Paul intended the letter to be shared with other churches that surrounded Ephesus.
Leading up to our verse, Paul talks about how as Christians we must live as children of the Light, of Jesus – “that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind” but “that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Paul spends several verses listing how as a Christian we must act. We should not lie, be angry, sin, let the sun go down on our wrath, steal, and speak evil of anyone.
Reveal:
Let’s examine some key words in our text. “Kind” in this verse is the Greek word chréstos which means useful, gentle, pleasant, kind. Eusplagchnos is Greek for “tenderhearted” which means merciful, compassionate. Looking at the root words, Eusplagchnos gives a sense of exercising positive gut-level sympathy, empathic compassion. “Forgive” is used twice in this verse and is the same Greek Word charizomai - willingly ("graciously") bestow forgiveness or pardon. This is freely done and therefore isn’t based on any merit by the forgiven one.
Paul sums up his point with this verse. And be useful, gentle, pleasant, kind to one another, exercising positive gut-level sympathy, freely, without merit forgiving one another, even as God in Christ freely, without merit forgave you. God instructs us to treat each other like He has treated us, freely forgive them of any wrong doing.
Determine:
Respect is defined as “to hold in esteem or honor.” You have “esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability.” As Christians, we esteem highly Christ for what he has done for us.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
John 3:16-17
This respect we have for Christ, or the forgiveness He freely gives, shows us that we must have respect, or forgiveness for one another. Therefore, treat others just as Christ treats the believer, with compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and respect.
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