Ephesians 4:17-5:2 Walking with Christ
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Introduction
Introduction
If you are not walking you are dead!
Example of Mountain Biking. When i ride I sometimes go really fast and the trails many times have technical sections where you need to chose a good line or you could be knocked off your bike and crash. A few years back I was riding at NorthStar Bike Park in Truckee and I was on a trail i had been on many times. I was going really fast through a technical section and a miscalculation sent me over the bars flying 10 ft off the ground and landing on my hands. In result i instantly broke my right wrist and was taken to the ER. I was tired, distracted, and in a rush to get down the mountain.
Again I say, If you’re not walking you are dead.
I say this because walking with Christ is like riding on a trail with many technical sections. If you get distracted you’re going to crash and potentially die. Life will bring to you many distractions. You might get tired along the way and you might want to rush things, but this path we walk is one that we must continue moving forward. We can’t stop. Stopping makes you lose progress. Many people in life are just stationary and not moving. They are literally dead in sin. Spiritually incapable of even seeing right in front of their feet. Many are headed towards a cliff to certain death.
When Christ saves us we are not removed from the distractions or even sins of this world completely, but we are called to walk in the light and walk in the path of righteousness. The first thing we must note is that in order to walk in this path of righteousness we can’t be dead, we must be alive in Christ to walk. There are only dead people and living people spiritually speaking. When we are alive we know we are alive because our lives change. We no longer like to sin. We no longer like to do the things we did and we strive to please God by being holy.
This path is constantly testing your heart. Testing to see if you love sin more than you love Christ. Whether you'll follow Christ or follow your sinful desires.
If when you sin it is not a battle, then you are probably dead. If you struggle with sin and actually grieve over it and it leads you to God for forgiveness and repentance then you are alive. The first thing we must recognize is that we are not dead in our trespasses.
The Characteristics of a Dead person
The Characteristics of a Dead person
A dead person has a futile mind. A futile mind is one that’s world view is distorted and sees everything wrong. If God sees everything is color blue a futile mind is incapable of seeing what God sees they only see red.
17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
A dead person has a darkened understanding. And that darkness alienates them from God, Their ignorance comes from a hard heart. Unable to receive anything from God. ignorance is knowing the truth but not applying it. Its like jumping into an ocean knowing its shark infested.
18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
A dead person is callous and numb to sin. They don’t care if they do it and they actually enjoy it and indulge in it. If you are a pig you love to dwell in the mud and sleep in it, but if you’re not any stain of mud will make you feel dirty. If sin doesn’t make you feel dirty you might be a pig. A dead person loves to do impurity.
19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
A dead person is corrupt due to their deceitful desires. As a cop I know for a fact there were corrupt police officers. Who accepted bribes from the cartels and we see this all throughout the world. A person who is supposed to uplift the laws of man, has become corrupt because of their desire for money. In the same way humanity has become corrupt by choosing sinful desires as opposed to God.
20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,
Paul here is saying that we learned Christ. We saw how he walked. He is truth. Because of Christ our hearts and minds are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to Christ. In Christ we have put off our old self and now have put on Christ. We are no longer corrupt, but have been restored to God through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
The Characteristics of a Living Person
The Characteristics of a Living Person
Because we have been saved our minds have been freed from sin, our souls have been purchased by the blood of Christ. Christ has renewed our minds so that we can see blue, so that we don’t feel good in the mud like a pig. So that we can now move forward in the trail and navigate by the light he shines on us. This is the new life in Christ. We are a new creation in Him. We are now like God. We are righteous and holy before him.
We don’t have a futile mind now we have a sober mind.
We don’t have a darkened understanding, we have clear understanding and we are in the light because Christ is the light.
We are no longer callous or numb. We are no longer corrupt, instead we can feel, we can grieve over our sin, and we can be restored to Christ with his forgiveness.
We no longer walk in impurity but instead walk in righteousness and holiness. We are set apart for Christ and his calling and his work.
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Put Away and Put On
Put Away and Put On
Walking with Christ means we don’t lie anymore. We must put away falsehood and put on the truth of Christ. Anything that is dishonest we must put away. And we must put on truthfulness because God is truth and he wants us to be truthful.
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Walking with Christ means we don’t kill people. We put away anger and put on love. Jesus said that if we say to our brother RAKA we have already committed murder in our heart. When we desire evil and hatred towards others we are committing murder in the eyes of God. We must not be angry people. There is a righteous anger that Christ had where he removes the market from the temple. This anger was not sinful because his anger was fueled by righteousness and holiness and love for the temple of God. This kind of anger we can have. An anger that is fueled by holiness and love for God. When we sin against God I can be angry with myself because I have let God down.
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
Not letting the sun go down on your anger is referring to a person who is constantly having angry thoughts. Due to un-forgiveness or bitterness. God doesn’t call us to hold grudges and hold on to people’s sins. He calls us to forgive and put things in his hands so that we don’t remain angry. When we remain in un-forgiveness and anger we give space for the devil to keep us in chains.
Walking with Christ means Putting away dishonesty and theft and putting on a hardworking /hospitable and a giving spirit. If a dead person stole before, now he must work hard for what he has and not only keep it for himself but be a cheerful giver.
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.
Walking with Christ means we put away corrupt talk from our mouth, and put on a mouth with a worshipping, praising, encouraging, and godly spirit. We don’t cuss. We don’t gossip, we don’t speak falsely about others to make ourselves feel good. We don’t break people with our words. When we walk with Christ we preach truth and we lift people up. We encourage, we bless and we speak good about others behind their back.
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.
Remember You were Sealed by the Holy Spirit
Remember You were Sealed by the Holy Spirit
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 wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
People today use different bands. For girls they like the Louis Vuitton because when they carry that purse people know it carries value.
Many people wear Jordans and or other brands. There’s always a reason behind why they put a value behind that brand. Michael Jordan was known for his exceptional basketball skills. For the most part marketers try to associate a brand to a person. When you wear that brand you are yourself associating and representing that brand.
Wearing a brand makes you feel like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself.
Paul here says we were sealed for the day of redemption. God has branded us with Christ. We are wearing Christ. We have his clothing of righteousness. We represent Christ in our day to day life. When people look at us they should see Christ, not dead person we used to be. When we go back to the grave we grieve the Holy Spirit. When we chose sin over Christ this grieves God. Remember we are branded with the best brand there could be. This brand was made with the precious blood of Jesus on the cross. His hands were pierced to make this brand, he suffered for us in our place to give us this brand. He gave up his riches to give us this brand. So just like we wouldn’t muddy up our Louis Vuitton or Jordans, lets not muddy up Christ.
Finally:
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.