We Exist For Others

Where We’ve Been

Hey church, it’s so good to be seen by you. I’m really excited to share some thoughts as we continue to journey through Ephesians.

We’ve come to the point in Ephesians where Paul is going to begin talking about how we live. If we’re not careful, we could easily make this passage all about living morally and being a good Christian and perhaps we’ll even make Christianity centred around behaviour modification. But Paul is giving us a vision which is far grander and more beautiful than that. He is giving us a vision for what it means to be truly human.

However, in order to understand where we are, we need to understand where we’ve been. In order to understand what Paul is doing here in this passage, we need to remind ourselves of what he’s been doing earlier in the letter.

The Design of Ephesians

This entire letter is designed in a really beautiful and really intentional way. I’m not going to unpack all of this but I do want to point out a few things.

Our passage today is filled with echos from chapter 2. In chapter 2 Paul tells the story of the rescue. That we have been brought from death into life, from alienation into unity. Paul also says that now we have been created in the Messiah Jesus, we are new creations.

The end of chapter 2 is the centrepiece of the first half of this letter. There Paul is celebrating our unity as the new humanity, as new kinds of humans. Paul says that as we are joined together, we become the long-awaited new temple which the OT Prophets and Jesus himself have been anticipating. Our unity creates an environment where God dwells by his Spirit.

So the two central themes that I want to highlight are unity and new creation (we are new kinds of humans). These are huge statements and in our passage today, Paul is going to get into what that actually means for our day-to-day lives.

Which is why chapter 4 begins with a huge, massive, significant word: THEREFORE. This is a word that we should underline, highlight and circle in our Bibles. Whenever we see a “therefore”, we need to ask what it’s there for. This one is really important. Paul is saying, “In light of everything we just talked about, walk in a manner worthy of your calling...”. Our passage today is going to explore what that actually looks like.

As you can see there are three sections which are covered by our passage where Paul contrasts the Old Humanity with the New Humanity, living in the dark with living in the light and living foolishly with living the spirit-influenced life. There is so much to explore here so, to get the most out of it, we are going to just focus on the first section. However, I encourage you to meditate on and wrestle with the other sections too.

Our Passage

Paul begins this passage by saying “you should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk”. Gentiles are the non-Jewish people – basically everyone else, in the OT these are the nations. The confusing thing is that a large portion of Paul’s audience are Gentiles (Eph 2:11). So Paul is saying that by trusting in the Messiah Jesus we have had an identity change and as a result our lives should look different.

So how do the Gentiles walk? Paul’s description is pretty grim and it reminds us of what he was saying in chapter 2 where we used to follow the prince of the power of the air. There he is talking about Satan but using the imagery of the air. Satan’s influence is in the air and if you’re ignorant, you’ll just be carried along by the wind. So Paul is saying our walk is not a walk of ignorance or hardness of heart which is why these small church groups are so important because they’re an opportunity to raise our awareness and soften our hearts.

Some people say that you should dress for the job you want. Paul is saying a similar thing but he is saying dress for the job you already have or dress as the kind of human you already are. The ESV has the word “self” here, some of your translations might say the word “man”. It is the Greek word “Anthropos” and it means human or humanity, it is where we get our English word “Anthropology” which is the study of humans.

So Paul is calling us to take off our old humanity and to clothe ourselves in the new humanity. He says that this new humanity is created after the likeness of God. Paul is drawing on the language of Genesis 1. According to Genesis 1:27, what it means to be human, is to be the image of God. To be the image of God is to represent God in the way we live, the way we interact with on another and our world. Yet we know that all of us, to one degree or another, misrepresent God in the way we live our lives. When this happens, it’s not just about being a bad Christian, it’s not just that we made bad moral decisions, it’s like we become less than human or a warped version of humanity. Yet according to Ephesians 2, when we place our trust in the Messiah Jesus, we receive grace (God’s empowering presence) to be rescued from this old, warped version of humanity. Salvation is a restoration of our humanity.

So when Paul says “clothe yourself in the new humanity”, he is saying “live out of who you really are”.

Now what Paul goes onto do is describe, in a really practical way, what it looks like to remove our Old Humanity and clothe ourselves in the New Humanity. With every example, Paul will do three things: 1) what we need to take off, 2) what we need to put on and 3) he’ll give a further reason or explanation.

Falsehood vs Truth

Therefore,

having put away falsehood,

let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor,

for we are members of one another.

Notice how Paul doesn’t simply focus on what we are not to do, he gives us an activity or behaviour to replace it. This will carry on throughout the rest of what Paul says. So here we are replace falsehood with truth-telling. The reason he gives is because we are members of one another, we are in such unity that lying to one another is an act of self-deception, it is an act of insanity.

In what ways can it be difficult to put away falsehood? In what ways could it be beneficial to speak the truth?

Anger

Be angry and do not sin;

do not let the sun go down on your anger,

and give no opportunity to the devil.

Notice here that the command we are given is to be angry. Your anger is not actually sinful. It’s a part of being human. Both the Old Humanity and the New Humanity experience anger but it’s what we do with that anger that matters. Pop Quiz: When was the first time we are told that God gets angry in the Bible? It’s not when Adam and Eve sinned, it’s not the flood, it’s not Sodom and Gomorrah, it’s not until Exodus 4. God had revealed his name to Moses and called him to confront Pharaoh but 5 times Moses objects making excuses and saying his not good enough even after God shows him miraculous signs. Then in verse 14 it says that the Lord’s anger burned against Moses. So we’re left wondering what is going to happen, what is God going to do now that he’s angry, and God says, “How about you take your brother Aaron, I know he can speak well.” God gets angry but he does not allow his anger to contradict his character.

Paul says “do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil”. So we are to acknowledge that we are angry but we are not to let that anger fester. Sometimes as Christians, in the pursuit of holiness, we can pretend that we don’t get angry, we can even fool ourselves into believing this. But unaddressed anger gives an opportunity to the devil.

What does it look like for us to be angry but not let the sun go down on our anger?

Lack vs Generosity

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.

This verse shows us that the Old Humanity is marked by a scarcity mentality – a belief that there will never be enough. Paul challenges this way of thinking head on but not only calling us to stop stealing but also to replace that with generosity. In this New Humanity, there will always be enough to be generous, although, it might require that you put in a bit of effort and do some honest work with your own hands.

What does it look like for us to change our thinking from scarcity to generousity?

Speaking Life vs Death

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.

The phrase “corrupting talk” is more literally “rotten word”. Let no rotten word come out of your mouth. Paul is referring to the kind of talk which brings death and decay into the lives of those who hear them. Death and decay is the mark of the Old Humanity. The kinds of words the New Humanity are to use are good for building people up and they become a gift for those who hear. I think it’s important that Paul says that we are not to let this come out of our mouths. You are the gatekeeper of your mouth and you are responsible for what you allow to come out of it.

What are some things we can do to ensure we speak life and not death?

Summing Up

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

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.

This final section is framed with reasons for why we are to behave this way, beginning with a consequence and ending with an example both are from God. I think it’s important to see that God is so emotionally invested in us as the New Humanity that it greives his Spirit when we live out of the Old Humanity. This section serves as a kind of summary, covering everything that Paul has been trying to say and it is all centred around our relationships with one another. All the things that Paul is calling us to take off are the things that keep us in bondage and all the things we are to be clothed in are the things that set us free. Yet the good news of Ephesians 2 is that we have been rescued from the Old Humanity and from the powers which once enslaved us.

Ephesians 5:1–2 ESV

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Paul’s logic is interesting. His reason for walking in love is that the Messiah gave himself up for us. Gift giving in the 1st century was not like gift giving today. When you give a gift today, ideally, there are no strings attached – it’s altruistic. However, when you gave a gift in the 1st century, there were strings attached – that person was now, on a social level, in your debt. Normally you would do this to benefit yourself and rise the social ladder but not for the Messiah, not for Jesus. He gave himself up for us so that we in turn would give ourselves up for others.

So love requires that we give ourselves up for the sake of others, that we take our eyes of ourselves and our desires and put our eyes on the needs of others.