Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

here we are jumping into the middle of Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians in order to see what he says to them about dealing with the flesh.

We have looked in and seen what is meant by the flesh and how he informs them to deal with the flesh.

Now we are to see what Paul said to the Ephesians.

The letter can easily be divided into two parts: Who we are in Christ or Our Position in Christ, chapters 1-3 and How that is to be lived out in our present lives or what that means to us now or How to live out what it means to be in Christ, chapters 4-6.

The first three chapters are indicative, the last three imperative.

As we flesh the first three chapters out in order for us to understand out context in chapter four, we come to understand that we have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, 1:3-14, then based on that election he prays that having our eyes opened to the truth we would know our calling in Christ (past) our rich inheritance (future) and the resurrection power to live now (present), 1:15-23.

In chapter 2 we are reminded that before Christ we were dead spiritually, but having been saved we were made alive for a purpose, 2:10.

Now we are unified as one in Christ, Jew and Gentile, we are at peace with God, we have access to Him and we are being built by the Spirit into a dwelling of God, 2:11-22.

Chapter three starts off with “for this reason” which is again stated in v.14 dividing this chapter into two parts.

Actually, what he began to explain he finishes from v.14 after a brief explanation in vss.

1-13 of his understanding of the mystery of Christ - which is basically that the gospel is rooted in Jesus Christ and how that was made known to him.

He then offers another prayer for the believers that given our life is rooted in faith in Christ he prays that That Christ would dwell in our hearts by faith, through the Spirit (16,17), that we would know and understand the love of Christ (18, 19) and ends the section with a brief doxology exalting Christ (20,21).

Then in chapter 4 he calls for unity among the believers based on our position in Christ, the gifts of Christ, and illustrates it with the growing body metaphor, (1-16).

Now we come to our text in vss.

17-32.

This basically breaks down into a stop living the way you used to and start living the way you are supposed to (which is in keeping with your position in Christ).

IN the middle of it he bridges or explains how to go from living according to your former way of life to living according to your new way of life.

He said that it entails a completer paradigm shift in your thinking.

In short, we used to life according to the desires of the flesh, we now must live according to the desires of the Spirit and how to make that transition that has already been made.

Another way of putting is, how to go from living for your self to living for Christ.

It is a transition that has already been made when you came to Christ.

It was made before the foundation of the World, because He chose you before the foundation of the world.

But you hadn’t realized it yet.

And though the transition was made in the past, you still haven’t learned to acquire that way of living yet.

It is a lifelong process we call Progressive Sanctification.

Let me illustrate it this way.

When someone enlists in the military, they belong to the military.

They are no longer their own.

They are not free to come or go or do as they please.

When I enlisted in the Marines, I had long hair, wore bell bottoms and t-shirts.

When I got to boot camp they treated me as though I was in the marines, but I hadn’t learned how to dress and act like a marine.

That was what boot camp was for.

But that was just the initial phase, the indoctrination phase.

It wasn’t until I graduated boot camp that I was officially called a Marine.

I only had the rudimentary tools that would enable me to operate in the FMF.

I still had to go through my training school that would prepare me to do my job as a marine.

And even after that training was a daily occurence.

As I progressed I went to more schools in order to make me more efficient in my life as a Marine.

In a similar manner, our life in Christ is played out.

We are in Christ, but we don’t know how to act like that.

Our thinking about self has to change, our thinking about others needs transforming.

Our relationship to our flesh needs to be addressed.

So here it is in a package we can understand.