Inside Out

Introduction

Some things are better inside out ...

Good food has flavour infused within it.

A genuine love is received better than a feigned or obligatory expression of love … in fact, we would question if it is even love.

We all have things we are naturally good at; other things we have to work hard to learn.

What naturally comes out of us? Is there someone or something we are pretending to be?

Again this week I had a conversation with someone struggling with the hypocrisy of Christians in the Church.

Too many of us put up facades … lacking honesty about who we really are … we pretend Christian character instead of allowing it to form within us.

Too often we actually forget who we are in Christ … being motivated selfishly … failing to treat one another in godly ways.

While our faith may be genuine, we often try to put holiness on the outside rather than allowing it to form from the inside out.

As being ONE With Christ takes root in us, we are changed from the inside out.

To truly be ONE With Each Other, our character and holiness / how we interact with one another comes from deep within us (it cannot be pretended).

Turn with me to our text, … read .

Remembering Our Old Life (17-19)

To appreciate what we have, we are reminded of what we used to have / who we formerly were.

I would think most of us drive a better car now than we first drove; when I complain about my current vehicles, I need only to think of previous ones I’ve had.

In business we see the progression of our work and appreciate the tools and resources we have now in comparison to what we used to have.

When I think of marriage and family life, I am glad to no longer be single.

We also evaluate ourselves and expect to see a growth in our faith / to see a great maturity than we used to have.

If we cannot see our former darkness and battle without Christ as worse than what we have in Christ, we are not truly experiencing Christ.

Paul here describes who we are in Christ and how that plays out with one another ...

… but he reminds us of our past to keep us focused and sure of who we are in Christ.

There is a sense of changing identity given here … such as when a woman gets married and takes on her husband’s name or when a person immigrates to a new country … you still are who you were but now you are who you are (the same but different).

Paul is writing to Gentile believers but does not consider them “Gentiles” any longer as he uses this picture to represent the old life.

An identity change causes us to reflect on the former / to remember the past … valuing what we have by remembering what we had.

For us to fully understand our current life in Christ, it is important we understand who we were without Christ.

Vv. 17-19 given four descriptions of our former life.

Darkened Understanding

Without Christ we have a darkened understanding.

There is a lack of mental clarity / an inability to think clearly about God.

Paul’s words describe a void of useful goal or aim … kind of life when I am trying to score in hockey! :)

It is an inability to receive and understand God’s teaching on living.

says - “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (, ESV)

Light reveals … so this is like a darkness that keeps us from seeing.

It keeps us closed to Christ.

It is a veiling that keeps us from seeing the full picture … such as when we make negative choices because we cannot foresee the repercussions (much like our new laws on cannabis and gun registry … do they really solve the problems they are trying to address?)

How has our understanding been enlightened? How is Christ correcting our understanding of life and our world?

How have we gained wisdom and discernment?

Alienated From God

Without Christ we are also alienated from God.

When Juanita and I dated, we did some time long-distance; we wrote letters because long-distance phone plans and email were just coming in; separation creates a lack of connection.

If we go back to chapter two, we read … read … a foreigner is excluded, without hope and without God.

How different now being in Christ?! There is belonging and closeness available to us.

Hardened Hearts

Without Christ we were also “hardened”.

Some things have a hard outer shell that needs to be broken in order to get what is inside … such as eggs or nuts.

If we darken our thinking and pull away from God, we become hardened.

Closing ourselves off from Him and others.

It becomes more and more difficult to touch the personal and inner parts of a person.

It is the softening that happens as we first open ourselves to Him and remain open; a continual softening takes place … openness to and love for God and others.

Given Over / De-sensitized

And, without Christ, we are de-sensitized - before Christ or in rejecting Christ we give ourselves over to the values and practices of our world.

Scripture pictures this for us ...

- “(There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited.” (, ESV)

- “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonouring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (, ESV)

We justify our practices instead of releasing them; we determine our ways instead of submitting to the Lord’s.

This is the life without Christ.

How do we see these within those who do not yet know Christ?

How do these creep back into our lives?

says, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (, ESV)

We too often judge unbelievers or other believers instead of ourselves.

Let us live with examination and repentance close at hand so we do not slide back into our old life.

Testifying to Our New Life (20-24)

When I think back to childhood, I have good memories.

Playing sports, youth group, friends, activities … but I am now an adult and it does not work to live in the past.

We must live as who we are now.

Verse one tells us to “walk in a manner worthy” of who we are in Christ.

Verse 17 tells us to no longer walk as we were before Christ.

We are expected to actively live as who we are.

Our past will always be part of us, but it no longer defines us.

We are defined by Christ … and Paul is calling us to live by it.

How we live demonstrates who we are.

Our attitudes and actions are to reflect our identity.

Our words testify to who we are.

In a few weeks, we will have a baptism.

A baptism is an outward demonstration of who we are in Christ … publicly declaring our faith.

Analia and Cindy will both stand in front of us to verbalize their journey with God.

Baptism testifies to our identity in Christ.

Do our lives testify of Christ?

Actively Putting Off the Old

We are called to “put off” our old self.

comes to mind as Paul uses the same language.

It is like taking off our dirty clothes in order to put on clean ones.

We are to put to death the sinful tendencies (the temptations and sins) which continue to nag at us.

We put them off because they are no longer descriptive of who we are.

We battle temptation so we are like Christ.

We repent so we not only name our sin but deliberately choose holy action that reflects ho we are.

Being Renewed

As verse 23 says, we are in a pattern / a process of renewal.

“be renewed”

Again … an action we are called to.

We are renewed in Christ but must also choose to live our renewed life.

This renewal takes place in both our mind and spirit.

says - “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (, ESV)

As we meditate on the word of God, we walk down a road of thinking in new and righteous ways.

While we are made new when we come to Christ, we must also lean in to renewal.

God makes it all possible but we must choose it.

He justifies us but He requires us to work at sanctification.

Putting On The Real

Part of this is then putting on our new self.

It is like putting a fresh paint job on a car … it requires sand-blasting and priming … but then the paint must actually be applied.

God has sand-blasted and primed our heart, but we must work to apply the paint so our newness shines through and provides long-term life.

The old is replaced with the new.

It demonstrates who we truly are in Christ.

When others look in on NCC, how do they see us reflecting our new life?

How do we see these within those who do not yet know Christ?

Do our words speak it?

How do these creep back into our lives when we are not careful?

Do our actions demonstrate it?

Are we seen as being who we say we are?

What about personally or as families?

says - “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (, ESV)

What steps are we taking to live the new life?

How are we working at this?

We too often judge unbelievers or other believers instead of ourselves.

Do we truly testify of our life in Christ?

Let us live with examination and repentance close at hand so we do not slide back into our former life.

Called to an Edifying Life (25-32)

Where this really turns is here … showing how this applies to our relationships.

We too quickly apply principles only for our own good and only when it is fairly easy to do so.

But Christianity is not about you or me, it is about us.

We are saved individually … but we live it out corporately.

Ephesians lays out who we are in Christ and then explains how we live that out corporately in our church, work, and family.

Our salvation makes a difference in our relationships.

We are called to a life that builds others up.

After today we are going to step away from Ephesians until January.

The Baerg’s from Mongolia will be with us next week (which I strongly encourage you to take in through the service and the adult Sunday School class) … and then we will celebrate Advent and Christmas.

We will then pick it back up in January and February.

We will see them how chapter 5 addresses some very specific areas of life in which these principles apply.

As we live alongside one another, how do we live from the inside out? How does our new life play out?

Our new life is an edifying life.

There is no room for selfishness or only building up ourself.

We put on our new life in order to support and strengthen one another.

All of scripture displays this principle.

Adam and Eve were first to serve one another and the Garden of Eden.

In the Old Testament, Israel lived as a nation / as God’s people / as the Church.

Jesus and His disciples very much lived in community.

The early church immediately formed, meeting regularly and meeting each other’s needs.

Paul planted churches which were established to “make disciples” of each other, to “encourage” one another, to use personal gifts and resources to build up the other.

Speak Truth (25)

We are to speak truth.

Lies and half truths have no place among God’s people.

But this call to honesty is not one of bluntness and casualness.

It is within a context of submissiveness and humility.

It is not offensive but serving, building others up.

Earlier, in verse 15, we are called to “speak truth in love”.

Truth brings clarity in God’s way, enlightening our minds and spirits.

Truth builds one another up.

Face Anger (26-27)

An edifying life also faces anger.

It does not say to never be angry, as even Jesus demonstrated righteous anger in the temple of God.

But, scripture calls us to face anger without sin.

Do not hang onto it.

Maintain control.

Apply anger only towards unrighteous ways … at sin, not at people.

Anger can quickly give the Devil a handle on our lives.

If allowed to fester, it will tear down others instead of building them up.

Keep all anger focused on sin and not each other.

Work Well (28)

One of the ways our world has gone wrong is making everything self-oriented.

We work to get … to provide our own needs and to gain for ourselves.

When one works with a communal mindset, we work to provide for ourselves but we also work to serve and help others.

Part of the call here is to work hard; work honestly and diligently.

Work in order to be able to share … to provide and help.

We serve not only our own family but also meeting the needs of our church family and those God puts across our path.

Do we work so we have means by which to serve others?

Are we willing to help others?

Is this part of living out our faith / part of living in community with God’s people?

Build Up (29)

The whole point here is to build one another up - to encourage and serve, to demonstrate faith but to also encourage faith in others.

Our speech (our expressions, mannerisms, and words) are to build up.

Our actions are to be for the good of one another.

Graciousness is to be infused into each interaction we have with others … focusing on serving rather than receiving.

Be Kind & Forgiving (32)

Be kind and be forgiving.

How do we do this?

How do we lay aside all bitterness, anger, and malice?

How do we build up even those we struggle deeply with?

There is nothing easy about these verses.

These are simple words and yet super difficult to do.

It is so much easier to allow anger and bitterness to grow, to slander instead of apologize or encourage.

How do we do this?

To be kind and tenderhearted requires humility and service and mercy.

To be forgiving means being willing to let go of hurts, releasing them, extending mercy instead of retaliation.

We are called to live an edifying life … each of us and corporately as a church.

The more we experience who we are in Christ, the more we build others up.

The more we realize how we are served by Christ, the more we will serve.

Are we living into unity?

Do we actively encourage and strengthen one another?

Do we express our appreciation?

Is edification part of who we are?

Conclusion

Conclusion

Who we are on the inside works its way out of us.

Is Christ in us?

How is He revealed through our lives?

In what way are our lives intersected and built up because of who we are in Christ?

Being one with Christ means we can be (and should be) one with each other.