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When Godās Son is magnified; Choice Number 2: Godās People are Consecrated: When Paul originally began spreading the gospel in Ephesus, he was not talking to commendable, God-honoring saints. They āwalked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air.ā Paul says, āWe all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.ā
These were Diana-worshipping, sex-addicted, materialism-controlled, occult-practicing sinners weāre talking about here. This is who God saved. But He doesnāt just leave them there. Paul began to teach about what pleases God and what doesnāt please God, and all of a sudden, these recently-dead, made-alive-in-Christ saints heard Godās rebuke. This is where chastening comes in. Their eyes were opened and they saw all the things in their lives that didnāt glorify God, and they started cleaning house.
Acts 19:18-19 says, āAnd many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.ā
This is what consecrated living looks like. They had been living in the lusts of their flesh, so when they felt the rebuke of the Lord, they went through their homes and found everything that promoted sensuality, that promoted the lusts of the flesh, and they cleaned it out. They used to walk according to the course of the world, according to the materialistic pursuits so big in Ephesus, so they cleaned out everything that promoted materialism. If it made them want to indulge in the desires of the mind, in their own pride, they got rid of it. This is what they were saved from, and they chose not to live in it anymore. Everything Godās enemies, the evil one and his angels, were promoting in Ephesus, the saints at Ephesus decided they wouldnāt be ruled by those things anymore.