Ephesians 4:25-32
Notes
Transcript
Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,” Ephesians 4:27 “and give no opportunity to the devil.” Ephesians 4:28 “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:31 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
We’ve been redemmed, saved, reborn but we still have some bad habits. Some of which we don’t even know are bad.
Jesus has grabbed us, now what. Actions! Chapters 4-6 action!
Contrast of old vs new.
But does it all come at once? Are we perfect in our ways, now that Christ as redeemed us?
No, just like little children we grow bit by bit, little by little.
What do I mean by that?
Mechanical mind…and my weirdness.
1986 Chevy 4x4 diesel. Square body truck as people call them today.
But for me it was just a generation or look of truck that I was raised in and me being a truck/mechanical type guy, it stuck with me.
I like them trucks and it reminds me of my dad and my youth of camping, wood gathering, deer hunting, pulling down fence posts, tree’s..just what I thought was cool and fun stuff as a kid…whom I kidding, it’s still fun.
I found one of these trucks by my horrible habit of surfing KSL classifieds. A truck that had been sitting close to 20 years. Price was right and everything was there. Let’s go look!
But why do you think it was parked for twenty years? It was broke, it didn’t run.
The fuel system was bad.
So, here’s a used 38 year old truck, that hasn’t had the best life, and has been sitting broke for roughly 20 years.
I can’t just go throw a battery in it, start it up and call it good.
I walk around it, see the tires hold air but have a lot of weather cracking going on. I’m nervous just to be around it.
I find a broke shock, a broke leaf spring, some bumps, bruises, but it’s all there and I say oh yea, I’ll take it. As the wife rolls her eyes and says whatever.
I get it home and it’s time to bring life back to this old girl.
But again, I just don’t go buy a battery and all is good.
First the engine. How’s the oil? How’s the coolant? Will it crank over?
I get the fluids all in order, throw a battery in it and it’s time to see will it crank over...
It cranks! Yes! But of course it doesn’t start.
Here’s the process.
Get the fuel system in order.
It starts and runs…but leaks.
Fix leaks.
How’s the transmission? Clutch works, it shifts…it moves! Yes,
Does it stop? Yes…kind of. They need some work but I’m stopping decently in the driveway.
What else? How’s the steering, how’s the 4wd? Heater, radio...
The list goes on and on. Little by little it’s coming around to be a good truck.
Is it perfect? Not by a long shot but it’s getting better with each and every change of the old broke part with the new and perfect part.
This is a loose anology of us and our brokeness.
We’ve been brought back to life and we are fully alive in Christ. But we’re still dealing with some broken stuff in our lives.
In some area’s we’ve been broken for so long we don’t even know what not broken is.
So, today’s study in the book of Ephesian’s is this walk through our broken ways vs the truth of who we are in Christ, made a new.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
First, this old broken part that has been replaced?
Falsehood, the ways we used to live is false. As unbeilvers. Being tossed to and fro by the ways of this world.
It has been replaced with…Truth.
Truth in the Creator of all and over all.
Truth in Jesus!
Truth…without it we are lost.
What is truth? “that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality”
What is true? “TRUE meaning: 1. (especially of facts or statements) right and not wrong; correct”
bring (an object, wheel, or other construction) into the exact shape, alignment, or position required. Is true!
I always think of Pontus Pilate and his phase of “what is truth” when the subject of truth arrives. Let’s read Jesus’ account of truth to Pilate.
John 18:33-38
So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”
Are you really wanting to know or just I’ve got a duty to do here, let’s get this over and done with.
Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
We have the motive of Pilate, I’m not calling you that, they are. I just want this over.
I am a King but King like no other. This is who I am.
Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.
This is why I’m here! Truth. Listen to it.
What is truth? Right in front of you and you don’t even see it.
Man can’t we all be that way?
To the repercations of our actions and why we are where we are to the truth of creation yelling out all over the order of all things put together wasn’t by chance and a billion years.
We can all be blind!
But we’ve been given truth!
Truth in the Creator of all and over all.
Truth in Jesus!
Truth…without it we are lost.
Ironnically he just spoke The Truth!
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Share in this truth!
We are all members of one another. Not just as in we are all human beings but we are all sinners needing saved by the grace of God!
We no longer look at ourselves as greater than, better than, smarter than, but equal to.
Equal in the falsehood we once walked, equal in sin against a Holy God, equal in needing God’s grace & mercy.
We should have a humble heart, not a prideful arogant heart!
Therefore being shown this truth and given this new part in life, we speak Truth with others!
We are members of one another in two senses.
as sinners, broken, needing the hand of God to intervene, human beings.
and as brothers and sisters in Christ, saved by His works and not ours, so no one may boast!
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Anger, it’s an emotion we share with God.
What God get’s angry? Yes, you bet he does.
Sodom & Gamorah
Flooding the earth.
The Cross.
But Jesus doesn’t, are you sure?
Money changers, business, taking advantage of people in His Fathers house.
Making what is wrong look holy by who and where it is being done!
Mark 3:1-6
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.
And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.
And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
We obvosily in Scripture the God gets angry.
But His anger isn’t like ours, His is in His perfect, holiness and rightousness.
Perfect in love, perfect in goodness.
It’s always rightous. Always!
What do I mean?
What is unrightous anger? Simplist terms, your mad that you have to clean your room, you have to do something you don’t want to, you’re mad because someone said something that challenged you.
Simply, unrightous anger is about you, it’s a form of hate towards something or someone that pokes at your pride.
Rightous anger. Is about others… Mama bear and cub anology, Moose and baby moose anology, God and rightous ways vs unrightous/wrong ways.
Why are you mad honestly? Is it for their well being our yours?
Like mentioned before, Right and wrong, good and bad, light and dark. These are dividing points. Not our skin, not our race. God’s rightous ways and everything else.
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.
Be angry at wrong and speak! Don’t coward away from rightousness but first make sure it is not about your pride!
Be angry at the situation more than the person, so to speak.
It’s so easy to get to a point of hate towards someone and lose that they are a created being in the image of God as you are. And we can forget about the countless mercy & grace we’ve been given.
Pride can so easily creep in. That we’re somebody that knows more.
We can make it personal to us instead of really caring for them.
In the end it’s super simple…we are not perfect in this by any stretch! From our loved ones to our co-workers. Unfortunelty unrightous anger is going to happen.
But when your laying down in quietness, hopefully reflecting back on the day that God has given you, and praying to Him, this phase comes in and protects you.
“do not let the sin go down on your anger”
You let go and remember who God is and he has this.
From co-workers that embarraed you in front to the boss to a loved one who hurt you deeply.
Trust in God and His ways.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Ecclesiastes 7:14 NIV
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Nothing get’s by God, He is in control!
“and give no opportunity to the devil”
You hold on to it, he’ll be there to whisper hate!
Let it go as God as done with you.
And in contrast to the old self verse the new self in Christ...
You pray, you pray for them, you pray for yourself.
Pray for them, pray for yourself!
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Forgive as you have been forgiven…what an example!
God has all!
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
In contrast of old vs new.
The world teaches climb the corperate ladder at any expense. From the sacrifice of family time, cheating others by discrediting them, to dishonest gain, you name and the world shows it if not teaches it.
Dishonest gain in the form of dishonesty with sickness or ailment. Cheating the system so to speak. Sticking it to the man, whatever that means.
Workman’s comp, insurance fraud, the list goes on and on.
Not so with the new. We’re thankful to work, yes, I said that correct. We are thankful to work! To have abilities to provide for one another and ourselves is a blessing.
To stand at the end of the day and feel tired is not always a bad thing.
God works and He calls it good, look in Genesis. We should to. He put us in the garden to work it!
An example…people fighting death, cancer, age, etc. They’d trade you places in a heartbeat to be able to get up and to to work.
My little bit with my leg, I felt that. Be thankful!
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
When this truth really starts to sink in, tomorrow’s worries start to dissappaer!
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Oh, our mouths!
James 3:3-12
If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
We know this, we truly do.
With words we can tear down or build up. We can share truth or share falsehood.
We can talk with profanity and filth that would make a sailor blush and the very next sentence tell our children we love them.
Do we see how wrong this is?
We know this!
How many of us talk differently around our Grandmother?
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
This is that contrast of old vs new.
The newness in us is being convicted of these talks of tearing down others and belittling them. To instead loving them and building them up.
This conviction of talking with filth about the gift of sex as it were just a goal of self pleasure instead of the oneness of two that it’s supposed to be.
Little be little, bit by bit our heart of stone is being replaced by a heart of flesh.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
We close today’s message with a summary in these two verses.
Because of Truth, because of being made new in Christ, because of His works (not ours)
We have this...
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Because of this we can do these actions described today.
We can let all “reread verse”.. these things go.
And instead replace them with “reread verses”
We do all we do as Christians because of Him and through the power of the given Holy Spirit.
Why do we love?
We love because he first loved us.
That’s it in a nutshell...
Our eyes have been opened to rightousness and in that rightousness we’ve seen the depravity of our sinful self.
Knowing we have nothing, nothing at all to offer, he loved. Not because of anything we have or can do. But just because of who He is.
In that we have been transformed.
Praise you Jesus!