September 28
Ephesians 5:3: But fornication, and all
uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh
saints;
Every saint is exhorted to never once be guilty
of fornication, uncleanness or covetousness because it is unbecoming a saint.
The key to seeing Christ in this verse is in seeing why the Holy Spirit moved
the apostle to say fornication is unbecoming to a saint. There is the obvious. These sexual sins are unlawful and
unholy. Anything unholy is unbecoming a
holy saint. But there is more to it than
that.
These sins produce children of
fornication. But every child of God is a firstborn child, a saint, sanctified,
set apart, made holy, consecrated for God’s use. We are made so by divine
election (Ju 1), blood redemption (Heb 10: 10) and the new birth. (2 Th 2: 13)
All three were included to make a person a firstborn son. (Nu 3: 13)
Spiritually speaking, a saint and a firstborn son are almost synonyms. (Nu 3:
13) Every saint is a firstborn son in Christ the Firstborn.
So the fact we are sanctified firstborn
sons is why the Holy Spirit moved Paul to connect these sexual sins with being
unbecoming to us as saints. These
unlawful sexual sins produce children of fornication but they do not produce
sanctified firstborn children. In Hebrews 12: 16, God connects fornication with
forfeiting the right of the firstborn, using Esau as the example. He says,
“Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel
of meat sold his birthright.” (Heb 12: 16) Esau committed fornication,
uncleanness and covetousness by choosing a bowl of beans over his birthright.
He idolized and worshipped himself rather than God for the temporary, gratification
of feeding his flesh—doing so he ceased being the firstborn and became a
profane child of fornication. He is a picture of Adam and how we all became
children of fornication in Adam. By birth we are the child cast into the open
field who God calls a child of fornication. (Eze 16: 3)
Still, this was according to God’s purpose
and grace toward his people. In eternity, God determined the elder, Adam, would
serve the younger, Christ. (Rom 9: 12-13) “For whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate to be conformed to
the image of his Son, that [Christ] might be the FIRSTBORN among many
brethren.” (Rom 8: 29) “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the
beginning, the FIRSTBORN from the dead; that in all things he might have the
preeminence.” (Col 1: 18; Heb 1:2-6) In Christ the Firstborn, every saint is a
firstborn child, “the church of the firstborn.” (Heb 12: 23)
Yet, we are children born of a lawful union
between Christ and his bride, not children of fornication. It is because our first husband, the law,
died when Christ fulfilled the law on our behalf. Now, our first husband, the
law, is dead, that we may be lawfully married to Christ, that we might bring
forth fruit, which includes children unto God. (Rom 7: 1-6) By this lawful union
between Christ our Husband and his faithful bride, the church, his bride is
faithful to Christ by preaching his word. The word we preach is the
incorruptible seed whereby Christ births his children. (1 Pet 1: 23-24) So we were not born-again of fornication,
uncleanness or covetousness; we are born lawfully of Christ our Everlasting
Father, our Sanctifier and our Sanctification, made one with Christ the
Firstborn, by the new birth, whereby we escaped being children of fornication.
(2 Pet 1: 4)
Therefore, fornication, uncleanness and
covetousness is not becoming a firstborn saint because we received all the
honor of Christ our Father as firstborn sons: we are kings and priests unto God
in Christ the Firstborn who is the King and High Priest (Nu 3: 12, 13; 8: 18;
Rev 5: 10; 2 Ch 21: 3; Rev 5: 10; 1 Co 6: 2); we are heirs of God and
joint-heirs with Christ the Firstborn (Deut 21: 15-17; Rom 8: 17) So no sin,
especially these sexual sins which produce children of fornication, are
becoming unto saints. (1 Co 6: 16-20; Eph 5: 5-7; 1 Th 4: 1-8)