What does it mean to be "chosen" by God? Where is the line between rightful self-sacrifice and harmful self-erasure? In this final episode of our Ephesians series, we tackle these profound spiritual questions sent in by our listeners.

After 58 conversations unpacking the treasures of this extraordinary letter, we're moved by the thoughtful engagement of our global community. It has been truly moving to read from listeners how this exploration of Paul’s letter has transformed their understanding of scripture and enriched their lives. In this episode, we take up a few questions and review the journey together.

The first question we take up concerns the true nature of sacrifice and leads us to challenge the false dichotomy between standing for truth and sacrificial love. Drawing from our own painful experiences of burnout, we distinguish between genuine Christ-like sacrifice and misguided martyrdom. True sacrifice never abandons truth but risks everything for it—not from weakness or acquiescence but from spiritual strength. Sometimes the most loving action might be caring for your body and soul so you can serve sustainably rather than dramatically burning out.

We then dive into another question concerning the mystery of being "chosen" from Ephesians 1:4. Rather than an exclusive club of the predestined, we explore how all humans are "pre-purposed" in Christ from before creation. The Father has drawn all humanity to Christ, though not everyone recognizes this presence in their consciousness. This understanding honors both divine initiative and human freedom, respecting the unique spiritual journey each soul undertakes.

Some of the most powerful moments come when we acknowledge how Christ works through people of different faiths or no faith at all—whenever forgiveness, compassion, or self-sacrifice manifests in human life. The divine choosing includes our freedom to choose in return, a necessary component of spiritual maturity and authentic relationship with God.

Join us for this rich conversation that brings our Ephesians journey to a meaningful close, complete with a musical surprise from one of our listeners!

Support the show

The Light in Every Thing is a podcast of The Seminary of The Christian Community in North America. Learn more about the Seminary and its offerings at our website. This podcast is supported by our growing Patreon community. To learn more, go to www.patreon.com/ccseminary.

Thanks to Elliott Chamberlin who composed our theme music, “Seeking Together,” and the legacy of our original show-notes and patreon producer, Camilla Lake.

Christ's light seeks to shine in the most unexpected places—even in the complex, often uncomfortable power imbalances in human relationships. As Jonah and Patrick conclude their study of Ephesians, they explore how Paul's wisdom reaches its culmination in addressing “masters” and “bond-servants,” revealing a revolutionary approach to transforming unjust systems from within.

This conversation doesn't shy away from difficult truths. They acknowledge how these passages in the Bible have been misused throughout history to justify slavery and oppression—a painful example of how scripture itself can become weaponized by evil forces. Just as the devil quoted scripture to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, those seeking to maintain power have twisted these words to serve their ends.

Yet within these same verses lies an extraordinary subversion. Paul instructs servants to obey earthly masters, but then radically reframes their identity as "bondservants of Christ." The Greek word "doulos" represents not degradation but the highest calling—to be in service to God. This establishes a dignity no earthly circumstance can diminish. Meanwhile, masters are reminded they too serve the same Lord, creating a spiritual equality that undermines the very system of inequality they inhabit.

This "surrendered sabotage" mirrors transformative movements like the American Civil Rights movement, where dignity and nonviolent resistance revealed injustice without adopting the destructive methods of the oppressors. Like yeast working through dough, this approach changes systems from within by living according to a higher order while still working and living within the current one.

The episode concludes where the whole series began: with Paul's armor of God—spiritual weapons for this different kind of battle. Join us in discovering how Christ's light transforms the world, not through destruction, but by cultivating a new kingdom within it, one heart at a time.

Support the show

The Light in Every Thing is a podcast of The Seminary of The Christian Community in North America. Learn more about the Seminary and its offerings at our website. This podcast is supported by our growing Patreon community. To learn more, go to www.patreon.com/ccseminary.

Thanks to Elliott Chamberlin who composed our theme music, “Seeking Together,” and the legacy of our original show-notes and patreon producer, Camilla Lake.

In this deep and lively conversation, Patrick and Jonah continue their journey through Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, entering chapter 6 — the passage addressing children, parents, and the challenge of obedience. Together they explore the profound tension and mystery in Paul’s words about submission, obedience, and how they can easily be misused or distorted into oppressive tools. At the same time, they consider how obedience can be transformed and transfigured through Christ into a liberating path of love, discernment, and freedom.

Drawing on personal experiences as fathers and priests, Patrick and Jonah reflect on moments of healthy authority, rightful correction, and also times when children (and all of us) must discern when voices are not “in the Lord.” The discussion expands into themes of generational inheritance, the role of parents in blessing the earth, and the deeper spiritual call to hear and follow the true voice of God — which may come through others but ultimately lives in the listening heart.

Themes Discussed

• Introduction to Ephesians 6: The closing exhortations before the “armor of God” passage.
• The continuity of the theme of submission and ordering oneself rightly — in families, communities, and before Christ.
• The radical equality in Paul’s new vision: children, wives, and bondservants are all addressed directly as fellow members of Christ’s body.
• The nuanced meaning of obedience “in the Lord” — not blind rule-following, but discerning and heeding true words of life.
• Parenting experiences: moments of both failure and grace in bringing up children in the “instruction of the Lord.”
• The danger of obedience distorted into tyranny and the church’s historical complicity in oppression.
• The role of listening (shema) in Jewish and Christian traditions — as deeply connected to the will and the path of freedom.
• Children (and all of us) learning to test the spirits and to recognize what is truly good and true.
• Reflections on generational burdens and blessings — breaking patterns to offer freedom to the next generation.
• The Prodigal Son as a lens for parenting adult children and trusting the Lord of destiny.

Key Scripture

• Ephesians 6:1-4 — Children, obey your parents in the Lord…
• John 8:12 — I am the light of the world…
• The Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) — Hear, O Israel…
• Luke 15: The Prodigal Son — referenced as a parable of trust and freedom.

Closing Thoughts

Patrick and Jonah close with wonder at the figure of Christ Jesus as the one who listens and obeys the Father perfectly — revealing true obedience as something rooted in love, freedom, and the pursuit of the good and true. This vision offers a path beyond oppressive systems into the joyful responsibility of becoming listeners and doers of the Word.

Next episode will continue into the more challenging and provocative passage regarding bondservants and masters, exploring the radical implications of Paul’s message for unjust systems and relationships.

Support the show

The Light in Every Thing is a podcast of The Seminary of The Christian Community in North America. Learn more about the Seminary and its offerings at our website. This podcast is supported by our growing Patreon community. To learn more, go to www.patreon.com/ccseminary.

Thanks to Elliott Chamberlin who composed our theme music, “Seeking Together,” and the legacy of our original show-notes and patreon producer, Camilla Lake.

After a remarkable more than year-long journey exploring Paul's letter to the Ephesians, we're pausing to create space for your voice. This brief but important episode invites our listening community to reflect on the extensive series we've created together and share questions that remain as we prepare to conclude our study.

Our exploration of Ephesians has traversed complex theological terrain, particularly when we encountered Chapter 5's challenging passages. These sections contain some of the most frequently misinterpreted verses in Christian history—texts that should nurture community but have often been weaponized instead. Throughout our series, we've sought to uncover the authentic Christ-centered message behind these words while acknowledging the harmful ways they've sometimes been understood.

What questions linger for you? Which insights transformed your understanding? How has this journey through Ephesians resonated with your spiritual life? Whether you're a longtime listener or recently discovered our podcast, we welcome your voice.

Visit patreon.com/ccseminary to submit an audio question or written comment by May 17, 2025.

Selected questions will be addressed in upcoming episodes as we prepare to wrap up this profound journey through one of Christianity's most impactful letters. Your perspective matters to us—we can't wait to hear how Ephesians has spoken to you.

Support the show

The Light in Every Thing is a podcast of The Seminary of The Christian Community in North America. Learn more about the Seminary and its offerings at our website. This podcast is supported by our growing Patreon community. To learn more, go to www.patreon.com/ccseminary.

Thanks to Elliott Chamberlin who composed our theme music, “Seeking Together,” and the legacy of our original show-notes and patreon producer, Camilla Lake.

Patrick and Jonah venture into the spiritual territory of the body as they explore the mysteries of marriage through a Christological lens. Beginning with Paul's words to the Ephesians, they uncover how these ancient instructions offer not a rulebook but a transformative imagination for our most intimate relationships.

The conversation takes an unexpected turn when they reframe the traditional understanding of marriage roles. Rather than imposing abstract structures, they suggest that Paul is inviting us to "christen" our existing relationships—to infuse them with a consciousness permeated by Christ within the organic realities we already inhabit. This approach honors each person as an individuality first, recognizing the inherent dignity that precedes any gendered considerations.

Their most radical insight emerges when discussing physical intimacy. "I actually don't have a right ever to the body of another," Patrick reflects, suggesting that Christ models a complete absence of entitlement even within marriage. Just as Christ stands at the door and knocks but never invades our dignity, they propose that husbands are called to relinquish any sense of rights to their wives' bodies. This represents a profound shift from self-centered longing to Christ-like desire that seeks the wholeness and blessing of the other.

Perhaps most moving is their reflection on being understood and accepted despite our shadows. When our partner, who knows our darkest aspects, still chooses to bear us — to accept and even honor us — we experience a profound form of grace. "I feel consecrated through that," Jonah shares, pointing to how this mirrors Christ's unconditional love.

This conversation offers a tender, deeply thoughtful and rare approach to marriage that transcends rigid gender roles while honoring the unique challenges of embodiment. It invites listeners to reimagine their relationships through the lens of Christ's patient understanding and complete self-offering, creating space for a love that truly sanctifies.

Support the show

The Light in Every Thing is a podcast of The Seminary of The Christian Community in North America. Learn more about the Seminary and its offerings at our website. This podcast is supported by our growing Patreon community. To learn more, go to www.patreon.com/ccseminary.

Thanks to Elliott Chamberlin who composed our theme music, “Seeking Together,” and the legacy of our original show-notes and patreon producer, Camilla Lake.

In this next conversation, we journey through St. Paul's challenging words in Ephesians 5, discovering a spiritual anthropology that reveals why humanity exists as male and female, and how marriage serves as a healing sacrament for our divided nature.

Beginning with Genesis, we explore how humanity was fashioned to embody the divine image—yet this image requires both masculine and feminine qualities to be complete. Our physical one-sidedness as either male or female points to a cosmic division that Christ's redemptive work aims to heal. This understanding transforms Paul's words about wives submitting to husbands from patriarchal control into a revolutionary model of mutual self-giving.

Through vulnerable personal stories, we examine what it means for husbands to "love as Christ loved the church"—completely surrendering ego, overcoming the default modes of dominance or disengagement, and discovering true authority that emerges not from power but from selfless love. When Paul calls husbands "the head," he's not establishing hierarchy but challenging men to overcome their natural selfishness through Christ's example.

We venture into territory rarely discussed in mainstream Christianity: how our eternal spirits transcend our physical embodiment, perhaps explaining humanity's growing awareness that our true identity isn't limited to our biological form. This spiritual anthropology helps us understand contemporary questions around gender and identity as expressions of our longing for wholeness.

What emerges is a vision of marriage not as rigid roles but as a healing mystery where two one-sided beings collaborate, each submitting to Christ as their true authority, to create a complete image of the divine. Join us in this profound exploration that honors ancient wisdom while speaking to today's deepest questions about human identity and relationship.

Support the show

The Light in Every Thing is a podcast of The Seminary of The Christian Community in North America. Learn more about the Seminary and its offerings at our website. This podcast is supported by our growing Patreon community. To learn more, go to www.patreon.com/ccseminary.

Thanks to Elliott Chamberlin who composed our theme music, “Seeking Together,” and the legacy of our original show-notes and patreon producer, Camilla Lake.

Support the show

The Light in Every Thing is a podcast of The Seminary of The Christian Community in North America. Learn more about the Seminary and its offerings at our website. This podcast is supported by our growing Patreon community. To learn more, go to www.patreon.com/ccseminary.

Thanks to Elliott Chamberlin who composed our theme music, “Seeking Together,” and the legacy of our original show-notes and patreon producer, Camilla Lake.

Our journey through Ephesians brings us to chapter five's controversial teaching on submission—a passage that has caused immense pain when wielded as a weapon for oppression.

We begin by examining our culture's understanding of protection: whoever has the most power, money, and control supposedly lives in safety. Yet Christ reveals a radically different path. By submitting to authorities, Jewish leaders, and ultimately death itself, Jesus transformed reality through selfless love rather than domination. This paradox challenges our core assumptions about how to live safely in an uncertain world.

Diving into Genesis, we uncover spiritual archetypes that illuminate Paul's teaching. The creation narrative reveals God's nature containing both masculine and feminine qualities—the hovering, receptive Spirit and the active, illuminating Word working in harmony to generate life. When humans are created in this divine image, they too contain this complementary wholeness.

The garden story takes an unexpected turn when examined closely. The woman emerges as the principal actor—drawn to wisdom, making independent judgments, and taking initiative. This drive toward godlike knowledge represents humanity's necessary advancement toward consciousness and freedom. Yet this independence brings consequences, including God's confronting pronouncement that "he shall rule over you"—suggesting the break in equality, the submitting to another, could be seen as something medicinal rather than original to creation.

Marriage becomes a powerful metaphor for healing this division. As Paul quotes Genesis—"the two shall become one flesh"—he reveals this points to the profound mystery of Christ and church. Through voluntary submission and sacrificial love, what has been separated can be reunited in transformative wholeness.

Whether examining your own relationships or wrestling with difficult Scripture passages, this episode offers fresh insight into submission not as oppression but as medicine for our self-willing spirits. Join us next week as we explore what God says to the man and how this reshapes our understanding of who exactly is submitting to whom.

Support the show

The Light in Every Thing is a podcast of The Seminary of The Christian Community in North America. Learn more about the Seminary and its offerings at our website. This podcast is supported by our growing Patreon community. To learn more, go to www.patreon.com/ccseminary.

Thanks to Elliott Chamberlin who composed our theme music, “Seeking Together,” and the legacy of our original show-notes and patreon producer, Camilla Lake.