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1, 2. a) When, where and why did Paul write the Letter to the Ephesians?
Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians in the year 60 or 61 while he was a prisoner in Rome. Despite his situation, he wanted to encourage his brothers in the faith, since he could not visit them personally. His love and concern for the Christians of Ephesus prompted him to write to them with the intention of strengthening their faith and helping them remain faithful to Jehovah, especially considering that it had been almost 10 years since he had preached among them and developed a deep affection for the congregation.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
So Paul's dedication demonstrates the importance of supporting and encouraging our spiritual brothers, even in difficult circumstances. His letter is an example of how we can use any means at our disposal to strengthen the faith of others.
As mentioned in Acts, he spent two years preaching with them, so he had to have a very close relationship with them and he had grown fond of them and wanted to encourage them to continue being faithful.
1, 2. b) What questions are we going to answer?
The article addresses two main questions which are: Why did Paul write to the Ephesian Christians about light and darkness? And what lessons can all Christians learn from the advice he gave them?
FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT
3. What examples did Paul use in Ephesians chapter 5?
Paul used the examples of light and darkness. In Ephesians 5:8 to illustrate the great change that the Ephesian Christians had experienced, they were once darkness because of their past practices and beliefs, but now they were light in the Lord, reflecting their new life in Christ.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Of course, because I use this example, because there is a total contrast between light and darkness, one thing has nothing to do with the other for them to realize the big change that being on one side or being on the other meant.
So the transformation from darkness to light symbolizes the radical change that occurs when a person accepts biblical truth and adjusts his or her life in accordance with Divine principles. This reminds us that there is always hope and possibility of change when we draw closer to God.
4. Why can it be said that the Ephesians were in religious darkness?
The Ephesus were in religious darkness, because they worshiped idols such as the goddess Artemis and practiced magic, these practices were common in their culture before knowing the Christian truth, the existence of a famous temple dedicated to Artemis and the local economy based on the sale of idols, evidenced the deep and rooted idolatry and Superstition in the city.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Well, they were really in spiritual darkness, since in Ephesus there were many false religious beliefs, they were also very superstitious people, they also had the temple of the goddess Artemis there and many people even made a living making figurines of this goddess, so we see that it was a truly total religious darkness.
Yes, I'm sure that at some point we have walked through a dark room and even though we know it, we are taking little steps, we do not know very well where things are. The same thing happened in a spiritual sense with the Ephesians, they were in the dark and what they were doing was not very clear.
It mentions that they put their books together and calculated the price and they were worth 50,000 silver coins and the note explains that this is perhaps equivalent to about 137 years 7 days a week, that is, they had to work for many years to earn that money and look, they were in religious darkness.
Religious darkness refers to the lack of knowledge and the practice of spiritual falsehoods. And it reminds us of the importance of seeking and adhering to biblical truth, to avoid falling into deceptions and supertitions that divert from true worship.
Yes because before knowing the truth they had and practiced all false religions such as superstitions, also magic and worshiped idols like Artemis.
Well, because in Acts 19:19 it shows us how many Ephesians, before being Christians and knowing the truth, had practiced magic and it says that they, well, ended up selling all those books that were worth a lot of money, which is why we know that it was a commercial religious center and where spiritualism and magic were practiced.
5. Why can it be said that the Ephesians were in moral darkness?
The Ephesians were in moral darkness, because they lived immorally with an indifferent attitude toward sin, their celebrations and social activities often included sexual and moral behaviors, and the people felt no remorse for their actions. This lack of conscience and moral sense kept them away from the life that belongs to God.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
If their life revolved around sex, everything they did was surrounded by actions in which sex was their main driving force and they were not ashamed of them, they had no remorse in their conscience because they did not know how to differentiate what they did well from what they did badly. .
While the apostle Paul's warning was not to mention these types of things among themselves, they did so first in their lives.
Because talking about these things not simply for an informational purpose but with a purpose of getting some satisfaction from talking about it, talking about it leads to thoughts that then little by little can lead to inappropriate behavior.
Hence the apostle Paul could say that they were in mental darkness and separated from the life that belongs to God because they did not distinguish what was right from what was wrong.
And in Ephesians 4 in verses 17 to 19, it explains that they had lost all sense of morality, they were shameless, they had a shameless behavior, so also in conversations that would be the point of conversation and that is why the apostle said that they would not even speak
In summary, moral darkness implies a life without ethical guidance and without sensitivity towards sin.
6. Why did Paul tell the Ephesians “now you are light”?
Paul told the Ephesians that they are now light, because they had left behind false religious practices and immoral behavior. Before they lived in spiritual darkness, but by knowing and applying the word of Jehovah, their lives radically changed. They began to imitate God and do everything. everything possible to worship and please him, guided by the light of the scriptures.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Because they had totally rejected those religious practices and also by embracing the word of God it becomes, as the psalm says, a lamp for their foot, allowing them to apply the biblical principles in their daily lives in small decisions and the Bible was also for them like A very powerful light that illuminated their path allowed them to follow the path that would lead them to happiness and also to know what will happen in the future.
Yes, as Ephesians 5:1 mentioned, they had been made imitators of God and that is why they also showed light.
The light is associated with Jehovah, so we do everything that pleases him, imitate him in his behavior and approach him to worship him as he pleases. That is Light; the rest moving away from this is darkness.
We see that some of those Ephesians became Christians and had come out of all that darkness, so Paul congratulated them since they had begun to live according to how Jehovah wanted them to live.
They had stopped practicing false religion and immoral behavior and were living according to what the Bible said, which was like a guiding light for them.
7. How is our situation similar to that of the Christians of Ephesus?
Our situation is similar to that of the Ephesian Christians in that many of us were also in religious and moral darkness before knowing the truth, perhaps we celebrated false religious festivals or led an immoral life, upon knowing Jehovah we adopted his rules about what that is right and wrong, which has benefited us enormously. However, staying away from the darkness and living as a child of light requires constant effort.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Yes, well, some of us, before knowing the truth, were also in this world in religious and moral darkness and we practiced certain false religious festivals or some led an immoral life, but when we knew the truth we knew the light because our way of living adapted to what what Jehovah wants and this has benefited us.
Because most of us lived lives similar to how we live today, that is, the people around us celebrate and live their lives with their moral standards, of course, we or many brothers have changed before, they did those things, not now, but the world around us He continues to do the same things and perhaps in the past we practiced.
Alluding to Isaiah 48:17 Well, at the moment that, as is being said, at the moment that we come to know the truth, what happens then we have allowed ourselves to be taught by Jehovah and that has made our previous life or the paths we had taken let us change them to a life and a path that conforms to Jehovah.
We have begun to walk another path, the path that comes from Jehovah, but we must recognize as an example at the end of the paragraph that sometimes continuing on this path is not easy, so now we will see the help we have.
Therefore, the process of transformation is not easy, but our way of life in accordance with biblical principles is also gratifying, since it brings blessings and helps us maintain a close relationship with God.
ILLUSTRATION
Those pieces of advice that Paul gave to them in a loving way also serve us today because sometimes it is not easy to follow this path, so for us today it is also good for us to have these types of reminders.
Series of images: 1. The apostle Paul writing a letter while chained to a Roman soldier. 2. Photo of a very old copy of the letter that the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians. The loving advice that Paul wrote to the Ephesians is very useful for us today. (See paragraph 7).
LET'S AVOID THE DARKNESS
8. According to Ephesians 5:3-5, what did the Ephesians have to avoid?
Well, they had to avoid practices that displeased Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
To stay away from moral darkness, the Christians of Ephesus had to avoid sexual immorality and obscene words. Paul reminded them that they must reject these practices in order to inherit the Kingdom of Christ and God.
So, the fight against immorality includes both actions and words. For this reason, it is crucial to stay away from any form of behavior or language that displeases God to be worthy of his Kingdom.
They had to avoid all those things if they wanted to inherit the kingdom of Christ and God.
And that the Christians of Ephesus had to continue rejecting practices that displeased Jehovah and this not only included in any way sexual immorality but also obscene words that still exist and we also hear them quite a lot.
And the text that has been read clearly because it talks about obscene joking, says foolish words, things that are not appropriate, I mean, here it gives us a warning that not only is immorality itself, but anything that involves immorality and also obscene or obscene things. disgraceful behavior.
Well, it says that he had to continue rejecting the practices that displeased Jehovah and it is interesting what it says there in verse 5, you know, but even though they knew it, Paul saw the need to remind them of the importance of staying in the light.
And in verse 5 Paul says that you know and understand very well, we know because we are in the light that Jehovah does not like this type of thing and rejects it, but the people who are in the dark, as was the case with the Ephesians, thought that To carry out this type of immorality, they were not doing anything bad to anyone and that type of jokes do not hurt them.
And in that line of reasoning that's why the paragraph says that they had to stay as far away as possible because they couldn't leave that city.
9. Why should we avoid any contact with immoral things?
We must avoid any contact with immoral things, because continuous exposure to them can lead us to commit sin, seeing, hearing or talking about immoral things can cause us to lose sensitivity in our conscience and increase the temptation to act incorrectly.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
A real example illustrates how a group of Witnesses who initially talked about spiritual topics on a network, ended up deviating into immoral conversations, which led some to fall into sexual immorality.
The lesson is that protection from sin requires constant vigilance, we must be careful about what we allow into our minds and conversations, and avoid anything that could lead us away from Biblical principles.
Santiago mentions that in the end we are going to be seduced by that immorality, we are going to see it as something natural and the most likely thing, as the sister mentioned, is that we will end up committing a sin.
And in Genesis 3:6 the example of Eve is also shown. She kept looking at the tree, she saw it as something desirable and instead of looking away she continued to dwell on it and that was what led her to sin.
Yes, there is an example of something that has happened about a group of Witnesses who sent each other messages on a social network. At first they talked about spiritual things but then they started talking about sex, and one thinks how they could have gotten to that, well, it happens and Then because of those conversations, many fell into that.
Well, what it says is that they were not very careful, we find ourselves in a situation just like Ephesus, the world finds itself with an immorality that nothing seems wrong to them in the same way if we are not vigilant and like the brothers of Ephesus we do not even talk about it. They didn't take that care if they had nipped it in the bud when someone talked about it because it wouldn't have had worse consequences.
In order not to end up committing a sin since it is more than proven that whoever continues watching, listening, talking or having any type of contact with dirty and immoral things will most likely lead them to fall into sexual immorality.
Yes, it speaks here of a group that got together to explain spiritual things to each other but little by little they began to leave the Bible, the word of God, aside and began to speak other things to the point that they reached immorality.
It does not mean that forming a group of brothers is bad, but simply be careful with the topic that is discussed because if what is said in James 1:14-15 is not applied, that when one desires something, in the end he ends up committing it and there is to avoid that.
That was the case of the first woman Eve, she continued looking at the fruit because Jehovah had told her not to touch it and she knew that she could not touch it and she continued looking at it and of course then she gave in to the pressure of that evil being that was behind her. She said that it was good that it was pretty and it was good because she started eating his and not only did she fall into that but also when Adam was with her, well, it really confirms that really when one looks at it, the desire becomes fruitful and In the end he commits sin and what we have is death.
10. What is Satan trying to achieve? (Ephesians 5:6).
Satan tries to confuse people into distinguishing between right and wrong by using media such as movies, television shows, and websites to make immoral behavior seem acceptable and fun by deviating from Jehovah's righteous standards.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
And what Satan ultimately wants is to deceive people and how he does it is because Isaiah 5:20 says it very clearly, painting the good as bad and the bad as good and that is what ultimately happens today. It promotes ideas that go against Jehovah's standards and on top of that it not only paints it to be acceptable and good but also makes it fun and harmless to people.
And in reality, as we have read before in Ephesians 5:6, it is really a deception because, as Peter wrote in his second letter, although they are promised freedom, they are actually slaves to corruption.
So as Christians we must be aware of the influences of the world that seek to confuse us and distance us from biblical principles. Being alert and well informed about Satan's tactics will help us stand firm in the truth.
Yes, and that is seen a lot in the people who set the trend today, influencers or famous people. Satan makes it appear that this immoral life gives them happiness and they are authentically free, but it is only a showcase when one knows life a little. From these people he realizes that they are slaves to vices and lead an unworthy and empty life.
And not only does he want to deceive us, he wants to make us deceive ourselves and as Ephesians 5:6 says, his purpose is for us to disobey God.
The same idea found in Second Peter 2:19 is very interesting because it says that they promise freedom but in reality they become slaves to corruption because whoever is defeated by someone becomes their slave, it is actually a false one. freedom, they want to invert the meanings and it is not like that for Jehovah one thing is clean and another thing is dirty.
11. As we see in Angela's experience, why is it so important to follow the counsel of Ephesians 5:7? (See also images).
It is crucial to follow the advice of Ephesians 5:7 and avoid being complicit with those who practice evil things. A sister from Asia noticed that social media can gradually cloud the mind, leading it to accept friendships and behaviors that do not respect biblical principles. With the loving help of the elders Angela was able to make the necessary changes and now fills her mind with spiritual things.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
So we must be selective who we associate with, both in person and online. Maintaining relationships that strengthen us spiritually and help us obey Jehovah is vital to our spiritual health.
Yes, and here is the experience of this Sister Angela who got into social networks and that they were clouding her mind little by little, that is to say, she did not realize it and when she realized it, she clearly saw where she had gotten herself, but she says that she arrived to think that it was not so bad to have friends who did not respect biblical principles and that it was not so bad to lead a life that would displease Jehovah but all this did not happen overnight, it was little by little that it reached this point so dangerous for her.
And we must be even more careful than the Ephesians because today there is not only the possibility of spending time with other people with the brothers but also because there are social networks and here is an experience of a sister who explains how she discovered what How dangerous social networks can be because they can cloud your mind little by little without you realizing it.
Yes, the expression being an accomplice would be collaborating in some way or another, on social networks on issues that have nothing to do with spirituality and in the long run, as we are observing, the only thing they do is harm us.
In the world, there are colleagues who are co-workers from school in the neighborhood but who are not really friends. A true friend is the one who helps you so that your relationship with Jehovah is better than the others who are colleagues in circumstances but not They are friends of those who really help us in life.
ILLUSTRATION
Image of the sister that is on the mobile phone that what it can do is push her away and go into spiritual darkness, however the other image is different, the whole contrast is that doing spiritual things helps her stay in the light.
And as the words in the photographs say, not all friendships help us obey Jehovah, so we must be discerning and as the last words of this sister Angela's experience said in the paragraph she said, now I no longer fill my head with the social networks but with spiritual things, we must look for friends in the congregation who are truly good friends to be able to occupy ourselves with these things to obey Jehovah.
And here is the image where we see a sister who is very attentive to receiving messages on social networks and on the other hand, since she is preaching, she has friends in the world and she has friends in the congregation, then comes the epigraph asking which one is, we will choose what type of Friendships are the ones that will really do us good because without a doubt that is where we have to exercise great care to avoid those who do not respect biblical principles.
And what Angela says is interesting because in the end she says, now I fill my head with spiritual things, that is, in social networks, how can someone think that they are writing with people who seem to be their friends because you have liked them or accepted their friendship? But what they do is fill your head with things that are not spiritual, which also makes you waste a lot of time.
Series of images: 1. A young sister looking at messages from a social network on her phone. 2. The same young woman is preaching with a sister, both are smiling and talking. Not all friendships help us obey Jehovah. Which ones will we choose? (See paragraph 11).
12. What should we do if we want to obey Jehovah's standards?
To obey Jehovah's standards, we must avoid unnecessary contact with people who do not respect his standards, including in school and work environments. We must also be courageous to stand up for biblical principles, no matter how others label us. It is important to carefully select our friends within the congregation, since not all of them will help us be faithful.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
So loyalty to Jehovah's standards requires conscious decisions about our relationships and friendships, avoiding negative influences and seeking the company of those who share our spiritual values will help us remain firm in the truth.
Well, one is to avoid all unnecessary contact with people because they really see as something good, because what Jehovah sees as bad, because we have to have contact, we cannot go away, isolate ourselves from the world, we have to work with people from this world, study with them, but talk about the unnecessary contact.
Another idea is also if we are brave and defend biblical principles despite the pressure and that people are not intolerant, then we must remember that being faithful to Jehovah is much more important than being accepted by the world.
Without what Paul was commenting on, he has helped me think about what Second Timothy 2 says from 20 to 22, specifically 22 says flee from the desires of youth, seek justice, faith, love and peace together with those who call on the Lord. with a pure heart and this has made me think about what I can do to be one of these people and what qualities I can work on to be a good friend within the congregation faith love peace and a pure heart.
Yes, in reality, as he says at the beginning of the paragraph, we should not stop being deceived by the apostle Paul in Ephesians. In the same letter he is addressing there, he tells us that there are some who would indulge in shameless behavior. There are times when perhaps such acts are not practiced, but for Attitudes and comments can defend what the attitude of the world is.
As the text of Second Timothy 2:20 to 22 says, we should be utensils for honorable use, not dishonorable utensils, sanctified utensils prepared for every kind of good work.
There will be friendships that will help us be closer to Jehovah and there will be others that will not, which is why it tells us that not all of them will help us to be faithful to Jehovah.
LET US CONTINUE “WALKING AS CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT”
13. What does it mean to continue “walking as children of light”? (Ephesians 5:7-9).
In short, behave at all times like a true Christian.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Behaving at all times like a true Christian and for this we must do, well, what we are doing now, read the Bible, study the publications, come to meetings, etc.
Yes, because while you are in a period of darkness you cannot help another person. On the contrary, as has been seen, you are an accomplice because you are preventing that person from getting to know Jehovah. Therefore, what you have to do is walk in the light. and help others to get it to be with us too.
And for this it is also very important to follow the example and teachings of Jesus because in John 8:12 he said that if you are in the light you will never walk in the darkness again.
And the mere fact of reading or studying the Bible or coming to meetings does not make us spiritual people, we have to allow ourselves to be corrected by it, just as proverbs say, the corrections of discipline are the path that life takes, so the point is Of course, none of us want to deviate to this point, but as soon as we see something that fails in us, we quickly allow ourselves to be disciplined by Jehovah and corrected to continue serving him.
Continuing to walk as a child of the light means always behaving as true Christians, this includes reading and studying the Bible and our publications regularly, paying special attention to the example and teaching of Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world.
Well, if the fruit is goodness, justice and truth, then in order to have this fruit it is necessary to read and study the Bible regularly, also our publications and of course follow the example of Jesus who is the light of the world.
John 8:12, yes there it mentions that Jesus is the light of the world so whoever follows Jesus will not walk in darkness.
So maintaining a constant lesson with the word of God and emulating Jesus Christ allows us to live as children of light reflecting the values and principles of the Kingdom of God in our daily lives.
14. How can the holy spirit help us?
It is truly not easy at all at this time in the system, but the holy spirit will help us confront ideas and philosophies of this world and philosophies that go against Jehovah's points of view.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
As Ephesians 5:9 says, goodness, justice, truth and also to confront the negative ideas that come from the world of Satan.
The holy spirit helps us stay clean in a world full of immorality. It gives us the strength to confront ideas and philosophies contrary to God's principles, and enables us to act with kindness, justice and truth.
Yes, our model is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ said, for example, make your light shine in the sight of the people and so that through our works they give glory to the Father, and then also in Daniel he says that if you practiced them, they would shine as bright as the sky, that is, it is something that we must do it.
As Thessalonians 7:8 says first, accepting it, not rejecting it, just as Paul writes to the congregations to advise them, we do the same with the Bible. Jehovah advises us through the Bible, so when we accept that holy spirit, when we have to study and meditate, we make a prayer to Jehovah asking That Holy Spirit is when we are letting it mold us and we can continue on that path of light.
Because on the one hand we had to fight against the philosophies of this world but we also have to do active things and that is why it says that what we have in Ephesians will help us to have that fruit of light that will be acts of kindness, we will also act. with justice as Jehovah sees it and also according to the truth that is in his word and this will be a great helper as was also mentioned in the speech.
15. What can we do to receive holy spirit? (Ephesians 5:19, 20).
What we can do is what Luke 11:13 advises us to ask for that holy spirit if we ask Jehovah in prayer he will give it to us. Good is the good influence that the holy spirit has on us and that will help us lead a life that pleases Jehovah.
In the end what we need is the holy spirit and as has already been mentioned through prayer Jehovah gives it to us but also here in the meetings when we praise Jehovah and sing songs we study the Bible together with our brothers the spirit flows and has a good influence In us.
Not only when we sing but when we can make a comment that is positive and edifying to others are we praising Jehovah.
To receive holy spirit, Jesus teaches us that we must ask Jehovah in prayer. Since he is willing to give it to those who ask for it. We can also receive holy spirit by praising Him in meetings with our brothers. These actions strengthen our connection with God and allow the holy spirit to exert its positive influence on our lives, helping us to live in a way that pleases Him.
An important lesson is that prayer and praise at the Kingdom Hall are essential to receiving the Holy Spirit. These practices bring us closer to God and allow his spirit to guide and strengthen us in our Christian life.
Yes, another way is by singing and also commenting at meetings.
16. What will help us make good decisions? (Ephesians 5:10, 17).
To make good decisions, we must seek to know what Jehovah's will is and then act accordingly. This involves studying the Bible to find the principles that apply to our circumstances and striving to understand how Jehovah views each issue.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Well, what is going to lead us to make our decisions is to find out what Jehovah's will is and then we must act or do them.
By applying these principles in our lives, we can make good decisions that reflect their wisdom and Justice. So knowing and applying Jehovah's will is essential to making wise decisions. This requires study in the scriptures and a continuous effort to align ourselves with divine principles.
Yes, we also find biblical principles that apply to our situation and put them into practice and with these principles we can make good decisions.
The verse read on 17 is very interesting because it says that we do not have to be foolish but rather understand what Jehovah's will is. What we do, as has been mentioned, we look for biblical principles when we have to make a decision and these help us to always know how he wants. Jehovah that we act and do his will.
We make decisions based on ourselves, trusting in ourselves, we are being foolish as Ephesians says, so what we have to do is find biblical principles that help us make the best decision and if we do so we are trying to find out what Jehovah thinks about the matter and it is just as we are going to make good decisions.
And from this comes the idea that it is not worth living on income because sometimes what we study at a given moment in our life is not applicable at that moment but when the situation arrives and we are going through them when we need to know what Jehovah thinks about that particular matter, so that requires us to always be meditating and studying.
17. How can we make good use of our time? (Ephesians 5:15, 16; see also image.)
To make good use of our time, we must focus on the things that really matter, such as serving Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Instead of getting carried away by the worries of this world, Satan wants us to be distracted by things like money, education or work, but we must keep these things in their place, in their proper place and prioritize our relationship with God.
Yes, in this system there are so many things that can please us and waste our time, so we want to take advantage of it in the best way. What we have to do is focus on the things that are most important so as not to waste time on those things that we should not. They are so important.
And one way in which Christians could take advantage of the time was by preaching. In fact, the image shows a scene in which there is a Christian who is preaching and it is interesting that in the background you can see the amphitheater of Ephesus, meaning that the contrast could have been thinking maybe going to the theater but instead he is preaching to someone else.
The paragraph warns us that these things that the world, for example, looking for a good job, that is not bad in itself, the problem is that they occupied the first place in our lives that we were so eager to get all these things that we forgot the advice of the word of God. God and without realizing it we were entering spiritual darkness.
Furthermore, to attach ourselves to things or, in other words, to try to combine the things of the world with the things of Jehovah, that is a gross error, it is that we are going to make a complete mistake because, as it says in first John 5:19, Satan's world is sentenced to destruction because it is also from Satan, then we cannot think that both things can go together. We have to put Jehovah's kingdom first and focus on the best way to serve Jehovah.
ILLUSTRATION
Well, the lesson is precisely to make the best use of time. In that cosmopolitan commercial city with so many things to do, there were many possible distractions for Christians, but no, they concentrated on preaching and attending meetings and studying the Bible.
That's why you have to be very, very perceptive and think not that it can't happen to you, not think about it because it can happen to you. We have said that from darkness, that is, from light to darkness, it doesn't go away suddenly, it goes away in one way. gradually, then it is very easy for it to happen to us
First century Christians preaching on a crowded Ephesus street. The Christians of Ephesus received advice to make good use of their time. (See paragraph 17).
18. What steps did Donald take to make good use of his time?
Well, the first thing he did was analyze his circumstances to see if it was possible and then he prayed to Jehovah that he would help him do more for the ministry. He would help him find a job that could do more in preaching and with Jehovah's help he found it. and so now the two married couple have undertaken full-time service.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Donald, our brother from South Africa, analyzed his circumstances and prayed to Jehovah for a job that would allow him to dedicate more time to the ministry. With Jehovah's help he found that job and together with his wife began full-time service.
He asked Jehovah to help him find a job but he did not stay at home waiting for him to give it to him, he went out to look for it and found it and saw Jehovah's help.
The lesson we can draw from this beautiful experience is that we should look for opportunities to increase our service to Jehovah, including by making adjustments in our work life. They demonstrate our priorities in serving God and our confidence in His provision.
19. What should we do to continue “walking as children of light”?
To continue walking as children of light, we must do several things: Choose our entertainment and friendships well, be leaders by studying the Bible, and let the light of truth guide our actions, and help us depend on the Holy Spirit to cultivate good qualities. . By following these tips, we can make decisions and stay away from the darkness of the world.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Well we have to follow the example of the apostle Paul where we can make our own decisions and thus be happy to Jehovah and we can also be able to avoid the darkness of this world and stay in the spiritual light.
The lesson here is that living as a child of light requires a combination of good personal choices, constant Bible study, and continued dependence on the Holy Spirit. These practices help us live in a way that honors God and reflects his light on us. our life.
As we have seen, Ephesians helps or encourages us to choose well our entertainment and our friendships.
And it also motivates us to be good students of the Bible and thus let the light of truth guide us.
Yes, we have also seen that it helps us to ask the Holy Spirit to help us cultivate good qualities.
If we follow the advice of the apostle Paul, then we can make good decisions that Jehovah will make us happy because if we continue doing all the things that Jehovah pleases, we will avoid the darkness of this world so at least we are in the darkness.
WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?
What do the “light” and “darkness” mentioned in Ephesians 5:8 represent?
The light according to the standard of Jehovah but the darkness according to the standard of this world that are from Satan.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
The spiritual or religious and moral darkness to which we were subjected before knowing Jehovah and found the light of truth that we have now and that guides us to make good decisions.
In Ephesians 5:8 the light represents living according to Jehovah, following his righteous principles and standards and leading a life that pleases him. This includes behaviors and attitudes that reflect goodness, justice and truth.
On the other hand, darkness represents living in sin and immorality far from biblical principles. This involves engaging in false religious practices and immoral behavior that separate people from the life God wants for them.
Understanding this metaphor so to speak helps us discern between behavior and decisions that bring us closer to Jehovah, and those that distance us from him. Choosing the light means striving to live according to Divine guidance and rejecting what Jehovah disapproves of.
What should we do to avoid “darkness”?
We must reject immoral practices and stay away from everything that displeases Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
To avoid darkness, we must actively reject practices that displease Jehovah such as sexual immorality and obscene words. We must also be careful with whom we associate, both in person and on social media, so as not to be negatively influenced. It is also by staying away from entertainment and activities that promote immoral ideas and behavior, and always seeking the company of those who respect Biblical principles.
And we have also seen many details, also being careful with conversations, Paul also warned the Ephesians, also friendships, entertainment, we have even talked about social networks, also friendships within the congregation are things to take into account.
Avoid any contact with immoral things. We have also seen that we have to be careful with friendships, including social networks, because these are not going to help us obey Jehovah, but on the contrary, they will help us disobey it.
And specifically we must be very careful and I want to read it verbatim from the paragraph because I find it very interesting to be careful when choosing our friends within the congregation. Let us remember that not all of them will help us to be faithful to Jehovah.
What should we do to continue “walking as children of light”?
To continue walking as children of light we must always behave as true Christians which includes reading and studying the Bible regularly paying attention to the teachings. And following the example of Jesus Christ we must also pray and ask for holy spirit to guide us and strengthen us and our fight. against the negative influences of the world.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Yes, we have seen seeking the Holy Spirit of Jehovah in prayer and in meetings guiding our lives by the principles of the Bible and taking advantage of our time trying to increase our service to Jehovah.
And we can make decisions that make Jehovah happy. By doing all this, we will avoid entering the darkness of this world and remain in the light.
The paragraph encouraged us to behave as true Christians at all times and this also involved regularly reading, studying the Bible, the publications and also attending meetings.
Take the example of Jesus' teachings since he is the light of the world and if we walk with him we will not be in the darkness.
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