A Christlike Walk
Notes
Transcript
The Pattern Of Ephesians
The Pattern Of Ephesians
So here we are. The half way point of the Letter to the Ephesians that Paul has written. Over the last month and a half we’ve broken down the first 3 chapters. Our prayer is that you’ve studied this and have became more familiar with these passages of scripture. Here at this halfway point we are going to see a shift in what he is writing to the church.
He is going to shift from the theological truth of God’s promises to his people to instruction on how they should live in response to those promises.
It reminds me of the same process we use raising our children.
When a child is born we love on them as they develop.
We begin by sharing the truth of who they are. Momma or daddies little boy. Baby brother, little sister or whatever their addition to our family may be.
We love in the truth of our family love, we love them as their identity takes shape as part of our family but at a certain point in their development instruction on how to behave is needed.
We start to teach them on how to behave I think not only for their safety but because they will mature into representatives of our family. They will carry our names out into school, the work place and the world and we want our names to be honorable. To have a certain legacy and set of values behind it.
This is the shift we are seeing now in Ephesians. Paul is calling them to be worthy of their walk. The bible uses this idea of a Christians walk often.
For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.
But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
It is used 6 times here in the letter to the Ephesians.
We see this same concept in
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
And this manner of addressing the early Christians is used at least 11 more times from Colossians through the end of 2 John.
So if you remember or are kind of joining us at this halfway point Paul used the first three chapters to point out the wealth of the believer in Christ. That tern in Christ is used 27 times in the first part of the book.
He point out that we are in Christ and what it means to be in Christ and then explains the Spiritual wealth we have because we are in Christ.
And then in great Pauline fashion he turns the corner with the word therefore.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
So in other words he is saying you were called and because of that here is how you should conduct yourselves.
I love you my sweet child. Don’t touch that it will burn you. You’re such a sweet blessing to this family daddies little boy. Hey don’t hit your brother.
See what I mean?
Ephesians 4: Our Call to Unity and Holiness
In chapter 4, Paul advises the Ephesian Christians: I want to encourage you to live the way God’s people should live. Two particularly important things should characterize your lives. First, since you are spiritually united in Christ with all other Christians, live in unity with one another. Minister to others, and let others minister to you. In that way, you will all grow to spiritual maturity. Second, live holy lives. Put behind you the sins of the past, and live a moral and ethical lifestyle that reflects the values of Christ.
So he said here’s who you are now act like it.
Identity and actions inseparably go together. From the earliest days of our childhood, our actions are linked to our identity:
1. Four-year-old Izaac falls down as he is running to greet me as I have just pulled into the driveway. Izaac is tired and hungry. To top it off Oakley just took his favorite monster truck away from him. Because of all that, he cries harder than is really warranted. I pick him up and say, “There, there, you’re okay, you’re a big boy. Act like it.”
Who he is (a big boy) should affect how he acts (he doesn’t need to cry needlessly).
2. 12 year old Kharma has been raised in the church and raised to be a positive influence on those around her. She’s with some kids at school who make a bad choice and get in trouble and she decides to follow along. We tell her you’re a strong, smart child of God let others see that in you.
Who she is (a child of God) should affect how she makes choices (with dignity).
Throughout our life, from beginning to end, our identity is linked to our actions. Who we are affects how we should act. This is the basic principle of life to which Paul appeals in our opening sentence of chapter 4. In the first three chapters he said, “You are a child of God.” Now in the fourth chapter, he is saying, “Act like one.” Throughout the rest of the book, he spells out for us in specific detail how we are to act.
So the main idea here is: You should live like the person you have become. Live in unity and mutual ministry with others and in holiness before God.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
4:1. Then refers back to the entire first three chapters of the book. Because of all that God has done for us in providing salvation and making us into a spiritual dwelling place of God in the spirit, a dwelling place in which Jew and Gentile are united as one, we should live like the people we have become.
The fact that Paul is a prisoner for the Lord lends weight to the fact that we should also become prisoners of the Lord. Paul actually was in prison when he wrote Ephesians, and we are not in prison. Paul’s physical presence in prison bore a double meaning. He would have considered himself a prisoner of the Lord even if he had been living in freedom. The point is, he had given up his freedom to follow Christ, and he was calling on us to do the same.
4:2. After calling us to walk (live) worthy of our calling in Christ, Paul describes the character qualities of the person who lives as a prisoner of Christ.
Humility- I think at the root and if not the actual root then definitely one of the main ingredients of every sinful act against God of every sinful behavior is pride. Pride is warned about at least 11 times just in Psalms and proverbs and mentioned more than 40 times in a negative fashion in the bible.
So to me it makes perfect sense that the root characteristic needed to walk in a manner worthy to the Lord would be humility.
Humility does not mean to see yourself as some pitiful excuse for humanity, some low life above whom all other human beings exist, some piece of trash at the bottom of the human pile. A quote I read once said humility is not thinking less of yourself it’s thinking of yourself less.
Rather, humility means to see yourself as God sees you: with infinite and inherent value but with no more value than anyone else. It means being willing to accept God as the authority over your life rather than insisting on being your own supreme authority. It means you are willing to order your life in such a way as to serve God by serving others. When all Christians do that, everyone’s needs are met by others in a context of harmony and love.
When we fail to lower ourselves to others, we then just focus on meeting our own needs. This way we may accumulate to ourselves those things which we want, but we become lonely or isolated. Christians cannot be satisfied in a context of individualism and isolation. It is not good for us to be alone. Only humility creates a desire to be in the company of others and leads away from loneliness.
Only humility leads us away from a self centered mindset where we make our needs and desires the focus of all we do.
Only humility opens our eyes to the needs of others and the bigger picture of what is best for the body of Christ because only humility gets us from staring in the mirror at ourselves and gets us out looking at others.
Gentleness or Meekness - Gentleness or meekness often get’s misconstrued as weakness. But being meek does not mean being weak. It literally means “power under control.” Being meek for a week will make you realize it takes strength to be meek. War horses in the ancient world went into battle trained to protect their master. They were under the total and instantaneous control of their rider. The war horses were described as being meek. Their strength was under total control.
Moses was described as the meekest man who ever lived. Yet he was a great, dynamic, charismatic leader who challenged the power of the throne of Egypt. His strength stood under God’s control.
Patience is believing God’s timetable is good, no matter what it is. “O Lord, give me patience, and hurry!” is the prayer of most of us. Patience does not always come quickly. Patience is a characteristic of mature people. When we have a proper expectation, it actually helps us be patient.
One of my favorite quotes is Patience isn’t just the ability to wait. It’s how we conduct ourselves while we wait.
Take Abraham for example, Abraham received God’s promises that he would have a land, many descendants, and a blessing, but he had to wait many years to see those promises fulfilled. “After waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised”.
And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.
God told Noah to build an ark, far from any body of water. For a hundred years he worked on it, in faithfulness. Finally when it rained, Noah received the promise and the fruit of his obedience.
Moses waited forty years between the time he gained his burden to deliver the children of Israel and the time his burden was fulfilled. Patience.
Throughout the Scriptures patience means patience. It doesn’t mean that if I am patient now, maybe the Lord will see I have learned my lesson and will give me what I want sooner. Patience is waiting for God to act when, where, and how God chooses.
Forbearance in love is the willingness to put up with something or someone in a spirit of love—agape love, which is the commitment of my will to benefit another.
4:3. These characteristics yield unity! Preserving the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace implies that we do have spiritual unity. Unity exists in Christ! Unity is maintained by the Spirit. Unity is preserved as believers make peace with one another their major priority instead of acting selfishly for personal gain and honor. Our call is not to create spiritual unity but rather to manifest spiritual unity by relational unity. Paul calls for unity in the third verse and spends the next thirteen verses elaborating on it.
4:4. Paul appeals for corporate unity in the body of Christ on the basis of the elements of spiritual unity. Each element is an isolated whole, but each element functions as a uniting factor within the larger church.
The church is one body. Believers may meet in many places, speak different languages, and live in different cultures. None of this separates us. We remain united as Christ’s one body. The church obeys one Spirit.
Many people may claim to bring God’s message or teach God’s truth. Such teachers and teachings may threaten to divide the people of God into theological camps and this is nothing new to the church.
What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”
God’s Spirit speaks the one truth and guides the church to unity in theology and practice. Different parts of the body have different views on different things but we should still be united in spite of those difference as long as they are some of the non essential things.
Along the lines of what pastor Tony spoke about last week there will be division but it should only occur when someone is attempting to compromise the truth of essential doctrine. Things like one God in three distinct beings. Jesus fully God fully man, that he died again and rose again on the third day. Things of that nature. Not on things like speaking in tongues, what outreach or evangelism should look like or hymns verses contemporary worship music.
The church lives in the light of its one hope. Christ’s resurrection has ensured the believers’ resurrection to eternal life. That common goal encourages the church to act in unity now.
4:5. The church receives salvation and marching orders from one Lord. Christ Jesus died and rose again. He alone has the right to the church’s allegiance. All other lords are false guides and promise salvation they cannot deliver. Following Christ, the church will never be divided.
The church proclaims one faith. The crucified, resurrected Lord is the object of that faith. To confess Jesus as Lord is to express the faith of the church and to unify oneself with all members of that church. Membership in the church comes through one baptism. Each member enters the baptismal waters once to confess the one faith and become a part of the one body. This baptism identifies the person as belonging to Christ and distinguishes the person from all who do not confess Christ. Thus baptism is the unifying mark of believers not the saving work for their salvation.
4:6. The final element of spiritual unity is one God. This tied the church to its Jewish heritage. The worship of one and only one God united the church. The major elements of the church’s theology and practice come in ones. This calls the church to practical unity. As Christians live together and witness together, we must show unity our to the world.
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”
(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?
He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
God has spiritually gifted each of us, so we should minister to others and let them minister to us. Then we will all grow to spiritual maturity.
4:7. Verse 7 introduces the subject of our spiritual giftedness. In so doing the emphasis turns slightly from the church’s unity to individual diversity. Each of us received a spiritual gift by the grace of God. That grace has not been apportioned equally. Rather Christ has chosen how to divide grace to each member. Each is distinct and different.
Some of us are teachers, some organizers, some evangelists, we all have individual gifts and it’s not a sin to be different it is a sin to hoard our giftedness and not use it for the edifying of the body.
(Depending on time)
4:8. In verses 8–10, Paul digresses from his direct argument to provide scriptural proof. Instead of giving a direct quote of Psalm 68:18, he apparently gave a general summary of the entire psalm. Psalm 68 is a victory hymn composed by David to celebrate the conquest of a Jebusite city. It describes a victory parade up Mount Zion, going beyond the literal, historical victory parade to attribute the victory to God. Thus it talks about a figurative victory parade with God ascending, not up to Mount Zion, but up to heaven.
Historically, it was typical, after a king won a significant military victory, to bring back the spoils of war, including enemy prisoners, to display to his people. In addition, however, if there were any of his own soldiers whom the enemy had previously captured, the victorious king would bring them back and parade them before the home crowd. These were often referred to as recaptured captives—prisoners who had been taken prisoner again by their own king and then given freedom. It was a great honor to release these captives. David pictures God ascending to heaven after having been victorious against his earthly enemies and freeing those who had been captive to the forces of evil.
When he ascended on high depicts a triumphant God returning from battle on earth back into the glory of heaven. He led captives in his train perhaps refers to those who have been delivered from captivity to evil.
4:9–10. Jewish rabbis interpreted Psalm 68 in light of Moses’ ascent of Mount Sinai. Paul interpreted it in light of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Ascended refers to Jesus’ ascension from earth to heaven (Acts 1:9–11). He ascended from earth to heaven to reign forever with his Father. Paul then explains that if God ascended he first descended. If, as seems clear, ascended refers to the Lord’s being taken up to heaven, then descended seems to refer to his coming down from heaven to earth previously. The lower, earthly regions complicates the interpretation. This passage has historically been understood as Jesus’ having descended into hell and preached a proclamation of freedom to someone there. Recently, that interpretation has fallen into disfavor. The weight of evidence and the preponderance of modern commentaries now lean toward saying that the intent of the phrase is not to point to a specific place, such as the inner core of the earth, or to “hell,” but simply to refer to the incarnation.
John MacArthur writes:
To understand the phrase “the lower parts of the earth” we need only to examine its use elsewhere in Scripture. In Psalm 63:9, it has to do with death, being related to falling by the sword. In Matthew 12:40, a similar phrase “the heart of the earth” refers to the belly of a great fish where the prophet Jonah was kept. In Isaiah 44:23 the phrase refers to the created earth. Psalm 139:15 uses it in reference to the womb of a woman where God is forming a child. The sum of these uses indicates that the phrase relates to the created earth as a place of life and death. In the majority of the uses it appears in contrast to the highest heavens (Ephesians, Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, 139).
Therefore “descending into hell” is certainly a possible explanation, but not a necessary explanation. The contrast is between an ascent to heaven and a descent from heaven. The descent would then be to earth, from earth to hell. The descent from heaven to earth could refer either to Christ’s incarnation or to the coming of the Spirit as Christ’s representative. The problems which arise from trying to interpret it as descending into hell are so formidable that MacArthur’s is the generally preferred interpretation. The emphasis of the passage is on the ascent, not the descent. Christ ascended above the heavens to take his place beside the Father ruling the universe.
But I don’t want to close on just that information. I want us to think back to the big picture that Paul is forming here in order to address a lot of different behaviors in a lot of different areas in our lives over the next 3 chapters.
He sets the tone with this idea that we need to be humble, meek and patient. I believe those thing are the prerequisite because it’s not going to be any easy walk.
We are flawed, sinful beings but that is right where Christ met us and He has no intent on leaving us there. Not now that we are in Him. And if you are not in Christ yet, if your still on the fence this message on unity and forbearance should bring some peace because hopefully you see we are here to walk this walk alongside you. Not ahead of you looking back.
I want to also point out this is not a message of perfection. This is not a call to perfection it’s a call progression in producing Godly fruit our lives.
So one thing I want to point out that is vitally important for this growth that Paul is leading us into in this book that is outside of the things pointed out in these passages is the word of God. The study of your bible. Yes we must be humble, yes we must be meek and patient but if we are not in the word we are just those things in the world not in Christ.
I want to share with you guys an awesome example of the transformative power of the word of God.
So there’s this awesome lady that goes to church here and for this story we’ll just call her Whitney. Well that’s because that’s her name.
Whitney started coming here a little while after her husband had been attending. Early on I saw some emotional reactions to certain messages, to praising God during worship. You could just see God had grabbed her by the heart strings. Now I’m not 100% sure how her study of scripture went early on in her walk but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it played second maybe even third or fourth fiddle to a lot of other things in her life.
Whitney showed such an admirable desire for the Lord by her consistent attendance, by her willingness to get involved and things like that.
But like myself she had lived a hardcore life that deeply ingrained some ugliness so deep that it was just considered this is who I am take it or leave it.
Whitney was rough, raw, vulgar, brutally honest beyond consideration of others feelings and let’s not even talk about her social media posts lol. That’s who she was and we all loved her. She is our sister, our family.
A while back her and my wife started doing a biblical study together and just from conversation I could tell she was diving deeper into the bible. Especially over the last few months.
She is so engaged with Jen’s yearly reading plan, with community groups and Sunday School and the transformation I’ve seen in her life recently has blown me away.
It I was to strip away all the picture and identifying thing from her Facebook and show you a year ago and not there is not a chance you would think it is the same person.
It’s saturated with scripture and posts sharing the love of Christ with the world verses sharing more of the broken world with the broken world.
She has stopped some things she considered as not God honoring things in her life. Her main concern is reflecting Jesus to those around her especially her children.
Is she perfect? No, but none of us are only Christ was perfect. But He is willing to me us right where we are and he loves us to much to leave us there.
So if your stuck in a rut of sin that you just can’t seem to shake ask yourself a few questions.
Am I coming at this humbly?
Am I approaching this with meekness, with power under control?
Am I being patient with God’s timing? Don’t mix up patience with giving up either.
And most importantly am I staying connected to God through his written word?
Because I’ve said it before with we’re not working to get closer to God the world is surely pulling us further away.
Let’s Pray