Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 1
The speaker contrasts a “moralist view” (Bible as a list of do’s and don’ts) with a “covenantal view” (Israel “trashed the covenant” God made to bless the world); when you read Paul’s commands in Ephesians 4:31–5:2, what covenant purpose do those commands serve beyond “staying out of trouble”?
Another way to ask: When you read Paul’s commands in Ephesians 4:31–5:2, how do they help God keep His promise to bless the world, not just help you “stay out of trouble”?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, Paul’s commands serve God’s covenant purpose of restoring a people who actually live as God’s family—“imitators of God”—so the world can again be filled with His likeness and goodness, not just people avoiding punishment.
- The speaker says the deeper Old Testament problem wasn’t merely rule-breaking, but that Israel “trashed the covenant” God made with them to “show His goodness to the world and to bring redemption to the world.”
- He connects Ephesians 4:31–5:2 to that bigger purpose: God wants “loving children who were obedient and chose to be like Him” and to “fill the world up with a family of people who were like God.”
- He links “be kind… forgiving one another” to “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children,” showing the commands are about becoming God’s kind of people.
- He argues Jesus came “to restore that state here,” not to “scrap this whole project,” tying daily forgiveness to God’s ongoing plan.
- He frames Christian obedience as participation in building something larger (temple/landscape/forest), not merely “stay out of trouble and get to heaven when you die.”