Ephesians 4:1-16

Honor someone

Who did soap?

We are going to start today by reading then we’ll get into the juicy stuff

Talk about thank you letters to radiance

Ephesians 4:1–16 ESV

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. 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.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Intro

Paul spent years laboring and preaching the gospel to them. In Acts 20, we see that Paul tells the Ephesians elders that he did not hold back from proclaiming to them the whole counsel of God, yet, 5-6 years later, we see him writing again the basic principles of salvation.

I cant help but ask myself, why did he do that?

He knew that in repetition and pondering that there was a great spiritual truth to be grasped.

EPHESUS IS LA. It resembles LA in so many ways.

In the midst of THIS. to THESE PEOPLE. Paul writes the book of Ephesians

In acts, Paul was visiting the Ephesians. Now, he was writing to them about how to CONTINUE

We need to have a heart for Radiance:

We are going to get insight from this chapter on how we should continue. For those who are staying in LA, please pay attention.

What does he do? He admonished them with tears!

We must care for those we are laboring alongside

As a leader of this ministry, my pulse must be beating at the same beat as pauls. For those of you on our core team, YOUR pulse must be beating at the same beat as pauls. For those of you in any form of leadership, whether its with another church, with another ministry, YOUR pulse must be beating at the same beat as pauls

GODS PLAN WITH A PURPOSE

his purpose is that through the local church, the gospel would be made known to the world

I want to show us how important our works are.

Peter Louis says the Gospel is God’s plan with a purpose

We are not and are never meant to sit around as indifferent and lifeless members of the body.

Ecclesiastes 3:12–13 “I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.”

2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

Revelation 20:12 “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.”

James 2:24 “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

AS CHRISTIANS, WE WERE MEANT TO WALK WITH DEEP DILIGENCE OVER WHAT WE DO.

Overview

Chapters 1-3: Talks all about who we are in christ

Chapters 4-6 is all about what to do in light of that

PAUL WAS ESSENTIALLY SAYING, I am going to give you DEEP theology, SO that when fierce wolves come, you may know EXACTLY what is the gospel. SO THAT YOU MAY LIVE OUT THE GOSPEL

The last 4 weeks, we have gone into what the gospel is, That we are predestined to be sons through adoption, that we have been saved by grace through faith, we know that a huge role of our involvement of the Gospel as gentiles, is to usher in the salvation of the jews. We know we have a spiritual inheritance in christ, that in the coming ages God will show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. That in him we are being built together (along with the jews) into a dwelling place for God by the spirit.

HOW MUST WE LIVE

Now, we are going into HOW WE MUST LIVE

Here in verses 1-16, he gives us the first practical. Thats what we are going to get into today. UNITY

in verses 17-32 it gives us the 2nd practical. This is purity. And throughout chapter 4 we get incredible insight on how to walk in both unity and purity, and i believe the two are connected.

Christian living (v.1-6)

Ephesians 4:1–6 “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.”

Verse 1-3: the qualities that produce unity

Verse 4-6: the origin of christian unity

Worthy of the calling. We are not worthy, but we can walk worthy.

How can we walk worthy?

You think of walking worthy as walking as if you are worth something. With a pompous head held high and your chest out, Paul is saying, the way to walk worthy is to do it with all humility, gentleness, and patience.

So opposite to what would have been common in the roman empire.

Bearing with one another. What does it mean to bear with one another? The greek is the word anechomai. It means to endure with one another. to put up with one another.

To endure with one another in love. Endurance requires tension. Its not saying that there is tension on the inside. Its saying that there is outer tension. And the love that you have increases your ability to endure.

Eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

maintaining is different than being all accepting

300 Sermon Illustrations from Charles Spurgeon The Church Healthier after Trial (Hebrews 12:27)

That old oak in the forest is one of the noblest works of God. Look at it bursting into full leaf, bearing well its verdant honors, and making a picture worthy of the artist’s rarest skill. What are these dry pieces of wood that strew the ground beneath it? What are these large branches that rot under its shade? It is needless to ask, for we all know that they fell from the tree during winter’s storms. Is it a cause of regret for the sake of the tree that those rotten branches were broken off? It may be a lamentation as far as concerns the broken boughs, but the tree itself would have never been so healthy, and never looked so complete if the rotten branches had been suffered to abide. When the hurricane came howling through the woods, the old tree shivered in the gale, and mourned as it heard the cracking of its boughs. Yet now it is thankful because the sound healthy branches with sap and life in them are all there, and the withered ones no longer encumber the trunk.

I do not think times of storm to a church are in the long run to be regretted; a calm is much more dangerous

How do you maintain unity of the spirit? BY THE BOND OF PEACE. You can still have the bond of peace in the midst of war. Amongst soldiers, there is a bond of peace, they truth each other, but their environment is an environment of war. Righteousness flourishes in peace.

Explain peace and righteousness.

One body, one spirit, one hope, one lord, one faith, one baptism. one God and father of all. who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one according to the measure of CHRISTS gift.

We can be so different from other believers. But still connect with them on such a deep level.

There was a girl i met a couple days ago at a coffee shop who saw me reading my bible. She approached me and she was honestly kinda awkard and weird, and if i werent a christian i would have no care to talk with her, but she was. and I felt this sense of family in my heart.

Why is that? Because we are baptized into one body, one spirit, with one hope, one lord, one faith. one father

One baptism, some use this verse to try to argue against the baptism of the holy spirit. But in the context of the verse, we see paul is talking about unity, showing that he is referring to the baptism of water in which we are all baptized into one body

one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Now this is not referring to God being the God of all the believers. HE is that, but it is speaking of something greater here. Something more grand. He is saying that God is over ALL the world!

Why is this significant? because if he was just over the believers, its like: cool. Theres a short little human, with no power and no authority, cool to see they are walking in unity. but they are weak, there are a small little ant. the body of an ant can be in unity and still be powerless. BUT WHEN you see that we are in unity, in the body of ALMIGHTY GOD. you realize, this isnt just any body you get to be united to, you get to be united to the most powerful, capable, authoritative, impressive, body in ALL creation. It produces this sense of awe. You are no longer just a body part of (a) body. An obscure, uninfluential body. BUT YOU ARE APART OF CHRISTS BODY

The implications of our unity being ROOTED IN HIM is that it is ETERNAL AND UNBREAKABLE. Our unity remains even as we change, we get old, we get gray hair, we transition careers, but unity remains, because HE REMAINS IN US

Ephesians 4:8–10 “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.)”

He is quoting Psalm 68:18 “You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.”

Christ came and humbled himself, if we do not also humble ourselves we bear no resemblance to Him

Christian Roles v. 7,11-16

Ephesians 4:7 “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”

Ephesians 4:11–16 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

Maturity is unity and dependancy. Its not defined by how much we know, but by how dependent we are on Him. AND our dependency will be expressed through unity. The manifestation of dependency is unity.

LOVE IS THE MEANS FOR THAT UNITY

1 John 1:6–7 “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Fellowship is the greek word Koinōnia . A term that conveys a sense of commonality, solidarity, and shared responsibility among households or individuals.

Lexham Theological Wordbook κοινωνία

Those who choose to willing engage in mutual responsibility are described as having “partnership” (koinōnia) with the body of Christ (1 Cor 10:16), the gospel (Phil 1:5), the Spirit (Phil 2:1), the sufferings of the Messiah (Phil 3:10), or, negatively, unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14). The NT also teaches that believers enjoy “fellowship” (koinōnia) with Jesus (e.g., 1 Cor 1:9; 1 John 1:3, 6).

boat analogy:

Think of it this way.

There are hundreds of pieces on a sailboat Bow, Casting deck, Mast, Berth, Cleat, Rudder, Bilge, Flybridge, Helm, Keel. All of these parts can be made of aluminum, steel, wood, and fiberglass. If you take one of those parts, lets say the Rudder, and you put it into the ocean, it will sink, but its only when the rudder is connected to the hull with bolts and screws that it stays afloat.

We as christians will sink if we are alone, we must be connected to each other. we must be in koinonia together.

LETS ZOOM OUT. REMEMBER THIS PASSAGE WAS ALL ABOUT HOW TO WALK THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.

The main precursor for walking in the christian life is UNITY, CONNECTION, FELLOWSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER.

God gives us gifts to foster unity, not division

TO EQUIP THE BODY:

what for? FOR UNITY

the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the son of God. to mature manhood and the measure of the stature of the fullness of CHRIST.

So that we are not tossed to and fro

The church is often known for our division rather than our unity”

“It is a sad state for the church to continue in such a poverty stricken condition in light of what God has done, stands ready to do, has the resources to accomplish, and has defined as our calling in Christ.” - Rc Sproul

We can value movement over growth. the two are very different. Many are all about starting the next movement.

Luke 8:24 “And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.”

Jesus rebuked the movement, so that they could grow into HIM WHO IS THE HEAD.

Hebrews 2:1 “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

James 1:6 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”

Think of taking a kid to an ice cream store with 40 different flavors. They are ecstatic. They get to choose between 40 flavors. But once they leave they want their little sisters ice cream. They are unstable. they dont know what they want. But mature believers know what they want. They are stable, steadfast, they are focused.

Maturity is stability.

SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE

IT CONTRASTS ALL OF THIS (V.12-14) WITH RATHER, SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE.

HOW DO WE GROW UP IN EVERY WAY? NOT BY LAYING ON OF HANDS, NOT BY PRAYING FOR THE SICK, NOT BY CASTING OUT DEMONS, BUT BY SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE

THOSE THINGS AREN’T BAD, BUT I WANT US TO MAKE THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING.

Growing up into Him. We are not just acquainted with Jesus as our head, we are connected to Him. OUR LIFE IS HIDDEN IN HIM.

At the same time, this doesnt mean we are in union with His essence. We are in Union with Him in Spirit, not in essence. To be in union with Him in essence would diefy us. It would make us God, we are not God, there is a distinction. We are righteous. Not God.

UNION WITH GOD

John 17:21 “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

1 John 4:15 “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”

1 Thessalonians 1:1 “Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.”

2 Timothy 1:14 “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

We are only one with everyone else as far as we are one with Christ.

1 John 1:3 “that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

There is no unity with God that does not involve unity amongst fellow believers.

God designed for us to be connected to Him as a body. He designed it that way. He designed us to connect to Him with others. The secret place is necessary, but so is the gathering of ourselves together.

Many come to church for good community, but if they are looking for good community apart from christ, they will never be apart. The only way to get into good community is to get under a good GOD

IF YOU ARE NOT SPEAKING THE TRUTH YOU ARE NOT SPEAKING IN LOVE.

“Yes, if truth is not undergirded by love, it makes the possessor of that truth obnoxious and the truth repulsive.” - Ravi Zacharias

“Unless I understand the Cross, I cannot understand why my commitment to what is right must be precedence over what I prefer.” Ravi Zacharias

“ A mood can be a dangerous state of mind, because it can crush reason under the weight of feeling.” - Ravi Zacharias

THE FORMULA FOR PRODUCING MATURE CHRISTIANS

Ephesians 4:15–16 “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

This is a huge contrast to what was going on in ephesus. They were spreading lies and rumors for selfish gain. They were speaking godly sounding things for their own selfish gain. I look at so many online posting christian content and I just really hope that we are not using the name of christ for our own selfish gain.

BE SO CAUTIOUS. THATS EXACTLY WHAT MANY IN EPHESUS DID.

In contrast, SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE.

How do you know you aren’t using christ for your own selfish gain? Speaking the truth in love.

“To pursue union at the expense of truth is treason to the lord Jesus” - Charles spurgeon

Union comes as a product of truth to stand on.

Think of Truth as a foundation. We cannot hold hands if we are standing on different levels

TRUTH AND LOVE MUST BE THE GREATEST TWO QUALITIES OF THE CHURCH. Dont go past this point so fast. THIS IS HUGE.

LIVING BY TRUTH WALKING IN LOVE IS THE KEY TO A HEALTHY AND THRIVING CHURCH.

If we do not have truth, I have no grounds for love. TRUTH IS THE GROUND THAT THE SEED OF LOVE FLOURISHES IN. If the seed of love is planted in any other soil, it will die and not be loving in the slightest.

We are called to understand the truth, believe the truth, communicate the truth, pray the truth, live the truth. Truth must be the basis of all we do.

“apart from jesus you have will never be truly happy” (straight face)

“oh you do whatever makes you happy” (in a loving tone)

I know that was a lot, so here are some key takeaways

Unity comes as we submit to Him who is the head

Maturity comes as we speak the truth in love.

Humility, gentleness, and patience are all characteristics of unity

Our role is to equip, not push down

I want our body to grow, so we are going to speak the truth in love. I want us all to take out our bibles, and read a verse to each other. This is the foundation of our love. TRUTH.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

Psalm 25:5 “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”

John 8:31–32 “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””

Next week, we are going to talk about purity