Ephesians 4:17-32 (2)

Premise:

Paul commands the Church to no longer walk like Gentiles and then explains how to do this in several lists of commands.

Opening:

Introduction of the Text:

Reading of the Text:

Ephesians 4:17-32.

Therefore this I say, and testify in the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,18 being darkened in their mind, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.19 And they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.20 But you did not learn Christ in this way—21 if indeed you heard Him and were taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus—22 to lay aside, in reference to your former conduct, the old man, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind,24 and to put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.28 He who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for building up what is needed, so that it will give grace to those who hear.30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.31 Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and shouting and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.32 Instead, be kind to one another, tender-hearted, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has graciously forgiven you.

Behold the Word of God. Let’s Pray.

Transition:

Remember, Paul spent the first three chapters diving into deep theology. He detailed the work of the Trinity in salvation, revealing the mystery of Salvation. He also laid out the mystery of the the Jews and Gentiles becoming one true Israel, the One True Church. Now Paul is laying out the application of rich theology. In these last three chapters, Paul will give the application of the rich truth of salvation and unity in Christ. Calvin explains these next sections like this, “He next inquires what fruits the doctrine of the gospel ought to yield in the lives of Christians; or, if you prefer it, he begins to explain minutely the nature of that edification by which doctrine ought to be followed.”

What is the natural outflow in the life of a Christian? Paul is explaining just that.

I encourage you, as we go through this passage to ask the question, “Am I living like this in light of my salvation.” This passage is to be a challenge to all of us. If we are saved, do we live like it? If we do not, we ought to change that. We ought to live like Christians. Those who worship God, ought to obey Him. God has saved you, do you live like it?

Paul’s Overarching Command. v. 17-24.

Therefore this I say, and testify in the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,18 being darkened in their mind, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.19 And they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.20 But you did not learn Christ in this way—21 if indeed you heard Him and were taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus—22 to lay aside, in reference to your former conduct, the old man, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind,24 and to put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Walk No Longer Like Gentiles. v. 17-19

Therefore this I say, and testify in the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,18 being darkened in their mind, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.19 And they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

Argumentation:

Not Physical Gentiles, but Spiritual Gentiles.

Gentiles were understood to be those outside of the covenant of redemption.

Transition:

How Do Gentiles Walk?

In the Futility of their minds.

R.C. Sproul, “The pagan mind is never theocentric (God-centered); the Christian mind must be theocentric.”

Darkened in their understanding.

Excluded from the life of God because of...

The ignorance within them.

Their hardness of heart.

They are callous.

Giving themselves over to sensuality and the practice of every impurity with greediness.

19 And they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

Argumentation:

An Apt Description of our day.

Our culture is greedily practicing every form of impurity, even doing some things history has never heard of.

Transition:

But This is Not How You Learned Christ. v. 20-24.

20 But you did not learn Christ in this way—21 if indeed you heard Him and were taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus—22 to lay aside, in reference to your former conduct, the old man, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind,24 and to put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

If indeed you have heard Him and been taught in Him.

21 if indeed you heard Him and were taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus

Truth is in Jesus.

Lay Aside the Old Self, Gentilism.

22 to lay aside, in reference to your former conduct, the old man, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,

It is being corrupted by the lust of deceit.

Renew Your Mind.

23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

Romans 12:2, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Put on the New Self, the likeness of God, created in Righteousness and Holiness of the Truth.

24 and to put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Genesis 1:26-27, Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Man made in the image of God, so the New Man is Made New in the Image of God.

Transition:

Overarching Command, No longer walk like the Gentiles, Walk like the Saved.

Paul’s Explanation Commands.

What Does it Look Like to No Longer Walk Like Gentiles? 4:25-6:9.

The First Section of Commands. 4:25-32.

25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.28 He who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for building up what is needed, so that it will give grace to those who hear.30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.31 Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and shouting and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.32 Instead, be kind to one another, tender-hearted, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has graciously forgiven you.

Therefore...

1. Laying Aside Falsehood, Speak the Truth.

25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.

Zechariah 8:6, These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.

Argumentation:

What happens when we lie?

There are few things that taint our souls like wilfully speaking something we know is un-truth.

When we lie, we are denying the truth. This fundamentally corrupts. It is a denial of reality itself. To speak something you know to be untrue is to deny the fundamental reality of life that is the truth. It is literally soul crushing. This is why evil regimes in history have always compelled lies. They may seem small, but they force the people they are enslaving or dominating to willfully speak untruths. It crushes the souls of the people and makes them enslavable.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Russian Author who survived the soviet communism.

“Our way must be: Never knowingly support lies!”

“And thus, overcoming our temerity, let each man choose: Will he remain a witting servant of the lies, or has the time come for him to stand straight as an honest man, worthy of the respect of his children and contemporaries? And from that day onward he:

· Will not write, sign, nor publish in any way, a single line distorting, so far as he can see, the truth;

· Will not utter such a line in private or in public conversation, nor read it from a crib sheet, nor speak it in the role of educator, canvasser, teacher, actor;

· Will not in painting, sculpture, photograph, technology, or music depict, support, or broadcast a single false thought, a single distortion of the truth as he discerns it;

· Will not be forced to a demonstration or a rally if it runs counter to his desire and his will; will not take up and raise a banner or slogan in which he does not fully believe;

· Will at once walk out from a session, meeting, lecture, play, or film as soon as he hears the speaker utter a lie, ideological drivel, or shameless propaganda;

· Will not subscribe to, nor buy in retail, a newspaper or journal that distorts or hides the underlying facts.”

This is from his final address to his soviet brothers before being exiled entitled, “Live Not By Lies.”

Transition:

2. Be Angry and Do Not Sin.

26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,27 and do not give the devil an opportunity

Psalm 4:4, Tremble, and do not sin; Ponder in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

Spurgeon: “If you must be angry, (and you must, sometimes,) take care that you do not sin when you are angry.”

Spurgeon: “It is rather a difficult thing to be angry, and not to sin; yet, if a man were to see sin, and not to be angry with it, he would sin through not being angry.”

2 a. Let Not The Sun Go Down On Your Anger.

2 b. Do Not Give the Devil an Opportunity.

3. Thieves must get jobs and earn honest money.

28 He who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.

Argumentation:

Augustine stole because he desired to sin.

“Theft is punished by Thy law, O Lord, and the law written in the hearts of men, which iniquity itself effaces not. For what thief will abide a thief? not even a rich thief, one stealing through want. Yet I lusted to thieve, and did it, compelled by no hunger, nor poverty, but through a closedness of well-doing, and a pamperedness of iniquity. For I stole that, of which I had enough, and much better. Nor cared I to enjoy what I stole, but joyed in the theft and sin itself.” From Confessions, book 2, Chapter 4.

Note the Phrases:

For what thief will abide a thief?

Yet I lusted to thieve,

For I stole that, of which I had enough, and much better. Nor cared I to enjoy what I stole, but joyed in the theft and sin itself.”

Setting:

The teaching of the day was that theft was viewed as a misaligned love. One stole because he loved the item more than his brother.

We have this idea today. We believe, in our culture that sin comes from some noble desire. We soften sin and reject reality. We look at fringe cases of someone forced to do something evil for “noble” reasons.

Reality:

Augustine realized theft, like any other sin comes primarily from a love of the sin. We must murder our sin. Kill the wicked worm. Mortify it, and be productive. Sin tears down, but righteousness builds.

So that they can give to those in need.

Argumentation:

We are not to enable poor behavior but to raise our brothers up to be providers and men with chests.

Spurgeon: “What a rise there is here,-from a thief up to a giver to him that needeth! This is what the grace of God does. Here is a man, who used to take his neighbor’s goods if he could; but, when grace transforms him, he actually gives a share of his own goods to his poor neighbor; that is a marvelous change.”

The church should be a force for teaching men to do what is right and noble. We ought to champion the good. We ought to teach righteousness in hard times and difficult situations. We are not merely an organization that gives handouts but one that must truly lift people up an teach them to do what is honorable and noble and good.

It is not enough to say, “Stop stealing!” It is not enough to say, “Come, I will give you a pear to eat if you are hungry, you need not steal.” We must do those, certainly, but we must do more. We must say, “Stop stealing! If you are hungry let me feed you. But now let me teach you the value of work, and help you to labor well and honorably so that you may help others!”

4. Let No Unwholesome Talk Come Out of Your Mouth.

29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for building up what is needed, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

Only what Builds up.

Some versions say, “good for edification according to the need of the moment”

Gives Grace to Those Who Hear.

Argumentation:

This does not mean “Nice” or “Sweet.”

This means our talk is to be wholesome (full and real) appropriate for the moment, honest, and true.

This can and ought to include a harsh rebuke, for few things give grace like those.

Transition:

5. Let all bitterness, wrath, clamor, slander, and malice be put away from you.

31 Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and shouting and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

6. Be kind, tender hearted, forgiving to one another.

32 Instead, be kind to one another, tender-hearted, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has graciously forgiven you.

Because Christ has forgiven you.

Application:

Do not Walk like Gentiles!

Walk Like the Redeemed!

How do the redeemed walk?

1. Lay Aside Falsehood, Speak the Truth.

2. Be Angry and Do Not Sin.

Be angry about what God is angry about and nothing else.

3. If You’re a Thief, Get a job and earn honest money.

4. Let No Unwholesome Talk Come Out of Your Mouth.

5. Put Away All bitterness, wrath, clamor, slander, and malice.

6. Be kind, tender hearted, forgiving to one another.

In Short, Live Not By Lies, Love One Another, Work Hard, and Speak Full and Real Words; Don’t Be Bitter, but Be Forgiving. Such is to be the life of the Christian. Amen.

Prayer:

Communion:

1 Corinthians 10:14-17, 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.15 I speak as to prudent people. You judge what I say.16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?17 Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

If I could speak from the heart for a moment; One of my fears in modern church is that we miss the beauty of the sacred. This is a sacred moment. We are going to take of this sacred meal together. It is a real communion with Christ. This is not physically the body and blood of Christ, but it is Spiritually the body and blood of Christ. He is in a real way, here with us. This is in a real way the body and blood of Christ. I fear too often modern worship feels like a car sales pitch. Beloved, I am not trying to sell you anything. My heartfelt desire for you is that you would come to this place to have a real encounter with the divine. I know how hard life is. I know how many of you must be going through the struggles of life in pain and loneliness. I know how much difficulty there is in this life.

As your pastor, I love you. I care for you. I open the word every week, begging God to feed you through a week and broken instrument like me. I do not want you to merely come to church to hear my words. I long for you to come here in worship of God, and to leave having met with Him. I long for your to leave having heard from Him in His Word. I long for you to have gathered to worship Him in the midst of a crazy world and leave having been with Christ. My heart felt desire as your pastor is that you would not feel like this is merely a social club, or something of the like, but a place of true worship and healing. This is personified in the act of communion. Here, we gather and drink of the cup of blessing, as Paul calls it. I long for you to be blessed in this cup. We share in this and for a moment, we have reprieve from the struggles of this life. We are reminded of the grace which is ours in the blood of Christ. We are not working to earn the love and grace of Christ, it is freely ours. Salvation is not of our works. It is given to us freely in the body of blood of Christ. And this act is a reminder of that. I pray that when you leave this place, you are reminded of this, encouraged by this, sustained by this, uplifted by this, and strengthened by this. The grace of Christ is ours. We are free, washed clean, and unified together as one body in Him. What a joyful reminder!

This is why this act is reserved for Christians. Therefore, If it is your confession that Christ is Lord, and that you are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, I invite you come as unified believers in Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26, For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was being betrayed took bread,24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes.

Closing Doxology:

Closing Benediction:

Ephesians 4:32 “32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”