Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Ephesians 5:1-7

My wife was telling me a story the other day about a zoo that was attempting to rehabilitate a set of parrots. Not sure if this is true or not. But the parrots had been pets in homes where the language and environment of the home were less than desirable. Eventually, the parrots were captured or taken into custody by officials because of raids on the home; I don’t know. So, they were trying to rehabilitate these birds and clean up their mouths so that they could be allowed in the general public of the zoo or sold to customers. To do this, they decided to mix the foul-mouthed parrots in with other properly trained parrots. Their expectation was that the good parrots would rub off on the bad parrots. Unfortunately, they found their experiment to have the opposite impact. The foul-mouthed parrots rubbed off on the properly trained parrots and they ALL had to be removed from public view.

Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “Lay down with dogs you wake up with fleas.” There’s a lot of truth to that. We become products of our environment. Whichever environment we subject ourselves to, we will become a picture of that exact thing.

I had a good friend growing up, he’s still a good friend, but when Annabelle was very little, I had to correct him on his mouth on multiple occasions. He didn’t have children yet and didn’t understand that children would repeat everything they heard. I didn’t want my children running around with his mouth. He now has two children of his own and has found himself having to watch his mouth. Children are products of their environment. We don’t ever truly grow out of this; it probably just has the tendency to get worse.

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Tonight, beginning chapter five of Ephesians, Paul addresses this topic.

Paul ended chapter four, which as you all know, means nothing. The chapters and verses were added much later. The Geneva Bible of 1555 was the first Bible to use both chapter and verse divisions. So, Paul’s thoughts from chapter four flow perfectly over to chapter five. But chapter four ended:

Ephesians 4:29-32 - Holman Christian Standard Bible

29 No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by Him for the day of redemption. 31 All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

Paul ends chapter four by saying strip off all these things from your life and put on kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. He continues this thought into chapter five.

Ephesians 5:1-7

5 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

3 But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

6 See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them;

Instead of walking in the ways of the world, we are called to be imitators of God. Just as a poor environment rubs off on people, so too does a positive environment. To imitate God, we must understand His character, His nature, and His will. We must be in His Word daily. We must surround ourselves with Godly people who likewise choose to imitate the Heavenly Father.

What does it mean to imitate God? Paul gives us six ways to do this.

I. To Imitate God – Become a follower of God (v 1).

(Matthew 5:48, Leviticus 19:2, 1 Peter 1:15-16)

Ephesians 5:1 (NASB)

5 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

This may seem trivial, but the word translated here as “BE,” as in,

- “BE imitators of God,” means to become, or to “come into existence.”

The idea is that before one can imitate God, one must be committed to, devoted to, or have allegiance to God. We must surrender ourselves to the Heavenly Father before we can become an imitator of Him.

- Before we become LIKE Him, He must dwell within us.

Once we are a follower and believers, only then can we imitate Him. We cannot imitate a life we know nothing of. If you asked me to imitate your home life, your everyday functioning and pattern, I couldn’t do that because I am not in your home regularly. I cannot imitate that which is not represented in my life. That’s why it is foolish of us to get upset when unbelievers act like unbelievers. We should not expect unbelievers to act like believers, but likewise, we should not expect believers to act like unbelievers.

Once we become a believer, we must follow God. To be an imitator is to follow. But Paul is specific about how we are to do so. We are to follow, “As beloved children.”

- As children imitate their parents, so too should we imitate the Father.

I remember as a child “helping” my dad plow up the garden. I remember walking in his footprints. My little legs had to try hard to get from one footprint to the other. Sometimes I would fall as I jumped to follow him, but he would pick me up, and I would be back on the trial imitating him.

The idea of being a follower of God, and

- Imitating the Father is a bold idea.

Matthew 5:48 NASB

48 [Christ said] Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Leviticus 19:2 NASB

2 [God demanded it] You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

1 Peter 1:15-16 NASB

15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

II. To Imitate God – Love as Christ loved (v 2).

Ephesians 5:2 NASB

2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

We are to walk in love, imitating Christ. The word walk, as we have mentioned before, means an active participation in. To walk in love means that we LIVE our lives in love.

- Two things to note concerning the death of Christ

as mentioned here.

1. Christ “Gave Himself up for us.” (John 10:11)

If we ignore the depth of this statement, we find ourselves clinging to the idea that Christ was merely a good example for us to follow in life. He was much more than that.

- Jesus died in our place to pay the price for our punishment.

The perfect Son of God, who was guilty of no sin became sin itself on our behalf so that we could receive His righteousness. The punishment of death was and still is the just reward for the sinner. Our unrighteousness cannot stand before the Holy throne of God. Therefore, death and eternal separation from the Father are the rulings of the judge. Yet, to redeem mankind, the judge stepped out of the judgment seat and took the judgment upon Himself. He was both the judge and the justifier. By His surrender, by giving of Himself, we are rescued from the punishment of sin.

The idea in the mind of the Jew of the day, even the pagans, was the idea of the payment of a life for a life. Sin was put on the sacrifice, and the sacrifice was given in place of the sinner.

- Christ was not a mere example to imitate in the actions of life, but also in the sacrifice of love.

John 10:11 NASB

11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

2. Christ “Gave Himself…as a fragrant aroma.”

(John 14:31, John 13:35, John 15:12)

Ephesians 5:2 NASB

2 walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

This gives a greater meaning and higher purpose to the death of Christ than only Him meeting our needs as sinners.

The word offering here is referring to the burnt offering of the Old Testament. There were many different types of offerings mentioned in the Old Testament, not all just because of sin.

- The burnt offering was for someone who wished to glorify and honor God.

They choose to show their love and adoration to the Heavenly Father. This is often an overlooked aspect of the offerings.

- In giving Himself as a burnt offering, Jesus was choosing as His primary purpose to glorify God.

Yes, He redeemed and saved mankind by His sacrifice. But its primary and chief purpose was for the Glory of God.

John 14:31 NASB

31 so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me

For the believer to walk in love as Christ has loved us, by giving Himself an offering and a sacrifice, is to in love sacrifice our lives to God and man; not only for their good, but for the Glory of the Father.

John 13:35 NASB

35 By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.”

John 15:12 NASB

12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

III. To Imitate God – Be clean-bodied (v 3). (Matthew 5:8)

Ephesians 5:3 NASB

3 But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints;

- To imitate God, we must be morally pure.

- We must be clean from sexual immorality, impurity, and greed.

We touched on this last week, so I won’t rehash that. But Paul says there shouldn’t even be a mention of these things among you. Not only are we not to engage in sexual immorality, impurity, or greed, but they are not to be part of our conversations.

But, just like children, we are products of our environment. If we take in such; if we store up such in our hearts; it will flow into our conversations.

Paul says these things are improper for the saints.

Matthew 5:8 NASB

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

IV. To Imitate God – Be clean-mouthed (v 4). (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 4:6)

Paul continues this thought from actions to words.

Ephesians 5:4 NASB

4 there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

Like our actions, if we are to imitate God, we are to do so with a clean mouth. How do we keep our mouths clean; we keep our hearts clean by filtering every thought and image.

1. There should be no filthiness. (James 1:21)

The word could also be translated as “Obscenity.” This can mean foul, polluted, or immoral conduct or conversation.

- The filthiness or obscenities are not limited to speech but also refer to actions.

How polluted has our world become when even filth is accepted from the mouths of believers? I’ve seen shirts that say, “I’m a Christian but I cuss a little.”

James 1:21 NIV

21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

2. Not a hint of foolish talk (Job 15:2-3, Proverbs 10:19, Proverbs 29:11)

- Foolish talk is empty, unthoughtful, or purposeless.

Strongs defines it as silly talk or buffoonery. This is talk that just wastes time and has no purpose.

- This is talk that is sinful, foolish, or corrupt.

Job 15:2-3 NASB

2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind? 3 Should he argue with useless talk, Or with words which do not benefit?

Proverbs 10:19 HCSB

19 When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, but the one who controls his lips is wise.

Proverbs 29:11 HCSB

11 A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man holds it in check.

3. Not a hint of coarse (vulgar) joking (Proverbs 26:18-19)

The final one is coarse joking. This can also be foolish talking, but is poking fun or acting or speaking without thought; to be suggestive in conversation or make wisecracks.

- It carries the idea of being cunning, clever, or off-colored joking using it to attract attention.

Proverbs 26:18-19 HCSB

18 Like a madman who throws flaming darts and deadly arrows, 19 so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”

Paul says there must not be any of this filthiness, foolish talk, or vulgar joking. These are not fitting for followers of Christ. Rather than these,

- Our speech should give thanks and be uplifting to others.

Ephesians 5:19 NASB

19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord;

Colossians 4:6 NASB

6 Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

V. To Imitate God – Know God’s Warning (v 5-6).

Ephesians 5:5-6 NASB

5 For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

6 See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Three things concerning God’s warning:

1. Uncleanness has no part with God

Even if a person professes to be a Christian, the fruit of their life will indicate the truth. Paul says the unclean have no inheritance in the kingdom. This life has become so much a part of who they are,

- This warning is not a future warning, but a present one. They do not possess the kingdom.

Once again, we see the same list. The sexually immoral, the impure, the greedy, and the idolater.

2. Deceivers are walking all around us (Romans 16:18, Ephesians 4:14)

People will attempt to deceive you. They will say things like, “it’s ok, everyone is doing it.” The deceiver will downplay the effect of a sexually immoral lifestyle. They will downplay the effects of greed. We find this even in the church today. “Do what you want.” “Do what feels good.”

Romans 16:18 NASB

18 For such people are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

This is why our spiritual growth and maturity are of great importance. We must know the truth.

Ephesians 4:14 NASB

14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

3. Two main deceptions about Christianity (Romans 1:18)

A) People who feel they can say or do anything and still consider themselves acceptable before God.

The spirit and the body are unrelated; therefore, it doesn’t matter what you do. (Gnosticism)

B) People who feel sin is irrelevant.

God is love and He forgives and forgives no matter how much wrong we do as professing Christians. Some argue the more we sin, the greater the opportunity for God’s mercy.

Romans 1:18 NASB

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

VI. To Imitate God – Separate yourself from the unclean (v 7). (Acts 2:40, Romans 12:2)

Ephesians 5:7 NASB

7 Therefore do not become partners with them;

This is pretty clear text. Do not partner with those who are filthy or those who seek to deceive you into the same.

Acts 2:40 NASB

40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on urging them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”