Ephesians 4 v 1 thru 3

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Ephesians really is one of the most beautifully structured books in Scripture. The first three chapters we talked about are devoted to primarily to doctrine. Paul unfolds the eternal purposes of God in those chapters as far as salvation goes. And he takes us into the counsels of eternity past and shows us the Father's love in his electing his children and the Son's redeeming work on the cross and then the power of the Holy Spirit to seal us in our salvation. In chap the first three chapters, really, we discovered that we were chosen before the foundation of the world, chapter 1, verse 4. That we were predestined for adoption in the very next verse, chapter 1, verse 5. Verse 7 of chapter 1, that we were redeemed by Christ's blood. In the second chapter, we were dead in trespasses and sins, in chapter 2, verse 1. Then verse 5, we were made alive together with Christ. Verses 8 and 9, that we are saved by grace through faith. Verses 14 through 16, that we were reconciled to God and one another through the cross. And then in chapter 3, verse 10, that we are now part of God's eternal purpose of being the means through which he displays his glory here on earth. And then chapter 4, we have this dramatic shift in the direction of the book. Paul moves really from doctrine to duty. He moves from our belief to our behavior because of that belief. He moves from our position in Christ to what our practice should be as believers in Christ, and from the theology, the teaching about God and Christ and salvation, to the practical application of that as to how that should then work out in our lives. And the bridge between these two sections is one word. And it's a word we've talked about before. It's the word therefore. Everything that follows really grows out of what Paul has already been teaching in the first half of this book. Because we have to understand our Christian life is never rooted in our human effort. And Paul has made that very clear through the first three chapters that our salvation is a gift of God. It is by grace through faith. It is something that is given to us. You know, way back in chapter 1, verse 3, that he says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who's blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So every spiritual blessing we have is a gift of God that He has blessed us with. John Calvin wrote that Paul first lays down doctrine and then draws exhortations from it. For until men have learned what they owe God, they can never render him true obedience. Until we understand what our position was, dead in trespasses and sins. But God made us alive together with him in Christ Jesus. Until we come to that point, we will not be driven to live in obedience to God. And this passage really teaches us one central truth, and that is that those who have been called by God's sovereign grace must walk worthy of that calling by displaying Christ-like character and by preserving the unity of the Spirit. Let's look at chapter 4. This morning we're going to be looking at verses 1 through 3. He says, I, therefore, a prisoner of 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. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word today again. God, I pray that you would speak to our hearts, that you would convey the message you have for us today, that you would draw us closer to you, and that you would cause us to grow to be more like Christ every day. In his name we pray. Amen. So he talks about this worthy walk that flows out of the sovereign calling of God. In verse 1, I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called. The significance of therefore is that the Christian life begins with grace. Paul does not begin with commands. He doesn't start the letter to the church in Ephesus by saying, live this way. He starts with God's saving work. The gospel always comes before obedience. By grace are you saved through faith. That is not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, not of work, so that no one may boast. Salvation. For we are his workmanship, creating Christ Jesus for good works, which he prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. That's the flow of chapter 2, verses 8, 9, and 10. We have to be saved before we can walk in obedience. And so this is the pattern of not just Ephesians, it's the pattern of Scripture. Israel was redeemed before they received the law. The disciples were called by Christ before they were sent out to share the message of the gospel. Believers are justified before they are sanctified. Justified simply means to be declared righteous by God. The only way that happens is through Christ's righteousness. True Christian faith has always emphasized this order. We do not obey in order that we might earn God's favor. Obedience is a fruit of salvation. And we obey because we have already received God's favor in Christ Jesus. Romans 12, 1 follows that pattern. I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice. Well, how does that say that? I appeal to you, therefore, who? Brothers. He's speaking to believers. They're already saved. And by the mercies of God, then, present your bodies as a living sacrifice because of who you are in Christ. Because of your position, let your practice begin to measure up to your position. The Christian life really is gratitude that is expressed to God through obedience. And then he says, I therefore a prisoner of the Lord. Paul reminds his readers that he is in prison. And notice though that he doesn't say, I therefore a prisoner of Rome. He's in a Roman prison. But he doesn't say, I'm a prisoner of Rome. He says, I am a prisoner of Christ. Meaning, it is for my faith, my proclaiming of the gospel, that I have been imprisoned. Paul understood that God's sovereignty even governed the suffering that he was going through, the time he was spending in prison. His chains were not ultimately imposed by Caesar, they were ordained by Christ. Man can't do anything to us that God doesn't permit. And that's a hard pill for some people to swallow. I mean, Paul's whole ministry, his whole life, Acts 9, 15, and 16 gives us a picture of Paul's suffering that was to come. It says, But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. This is Saul becoming Paul. Been struck blind on the way there when Christ spoke to him from this blinding light and said, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? He was out giving the Jewish religious leaders mark of approval on murdering Christians. And Christ stops him on the road and says, Why are you persecuting me? So God says, Go, because he is my chosen instrument. He's the one I'm going to use. That's why Paul describes himself as the chief among sinners. He gives us an out. He tells us, no matter how bad you think you are, or what you think you've done, I've done worse, and God saved me. So it's not about what we've done, it's about what Christ accomplished. We just sang a song. It was finished upon that cross. That's the reality of our salvation. Philippians talks about the imprisonment that Paul endures, that God put him through to advance the gospel. In Philippians 1, 12-14, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. We don't always understand, but God has a purpose in our suffering. And usually when we see that is after the fact. In the middle of it, we can't see it. But after it's over, we see God's hand leading us through and allowing us to experience those things to make us more like Christ. Nothing in Paul's life happened outside of the providence of God, and Paul understood that truth. Even his chains served Christ's purposes. So he says, I therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, urge you. Urge is a it's the word parakaleo in Greek, and uh the the Holy Spirit, the word that is translated Holy Spirit as uh especially as a helper is often uh the the Greek word paraklet or parakletas. This is parakaleo, and it means to exhort or to appeal to someone, uh to encourage them strongly to do something. I urge you, I'm telling you, this is a vital thing for you as believers in Christ. It's not a suggestion, this is an apostolic command. Paul is saying this is a necessity in your life. Why? It's the fruit. It's the fruit of your salvation. And so what does he say? I urge you to walk petipateo. And it literally means to walk around, but metaphorically, it means the manner of your entire life. It's Paul uses this term this way frequently in this book. He said in chapter 2, verse 2 that you formerly walked in sin. You walked according to the prince of the power of the air. Chapter 2, verse 10, he tells us that we, because of salvation, then walk in good works. Later on in chapter 5, he's going to tell us that we should walk in love. And a few verses after that, that we are to walk as children of light. So Christianity is not merely what we believe, but it is a belief that affects the way we then live our lives. It is how we live. The Christian life isn't, well, I believe this, I believe this, I believe this. Use the example before. If you were diagnosed with cancer and the doctor said, I have this pill, and if you take this pill, your cancer will be gone. And you take that pill and you hold it in your hand and you say, I really believe this pill can heal me. I believe this pill can heal me, but you never stick it in your mouth and swallow it. You don't believe that pill can heal you. You're trying to convince yourself of that. Same concept. We have to realize that when we have faith in Christ and we are trusting in him, then we are trusting in him. We all go through things in life. Here we have Paul. I am a prisoner for the Lord. He's in prison, and he's writing a letter to instruct and encourage the church in Ephesus. And if you know anything about the history of Ephesus as a city, idolatrous and pagan as could be. Or her, I suppose. But the reality is that he says, we are to walk in a manner, conduct your daily life, let your practice of your life be what? Worthy. Worthy of the man the calling. This word is axios in the in the Greek, and it originally referred to balancing a set of scales. Let how you behave match who you are in Christ. And the idea is it should correspond to that. We've talked about the words according to in this letter. That God loved us according to. In a proper relation to what he has to give us, what is there in his storehouse. And it's the same concept here. Let our life correspond to the calling to which we have been called. Let the practice of our life be such that people would look at us and go, John's different. Carl's different. I mean, I love the King James, it says that we should be a peculiar people. I know some people think that really means that we should be odd. But in the world we live in, we should be odd. We should be the exception. Why? Walk out the door and take a look around at the world in which we live. We should not look anything like that. In our character, in our actions, in the things we say, and how we behave, and all of it. We should walk in a way that matches the calling to which we've been called. And that word, well, let me say first, I love this quote by Charles Spurgeon. He said, A prince should live like a prince, a child of God should live like a child of God. I know that's really simplistic, but that's what Paul is saying. You've been called to be a child of God. Act like it. Carry yourself in that manner. And then calling, it's the word cleisis, and it refers to God's effectual call to salvation. Romans 8 30 says that those whom he predestined, he also called. Before that, it says those whom he foreknew, he predestined. And it's not just an invitation, it is God's sovereign summons that brings spiritual life into a person who is spiritually dead. When Christ called Lazarus from the grave, Lazarus didn't lay in the grave going, eh, maybe. When God calls sinners through the gospel, they come. I can call you to repentance. You can call other people to repentance all day long. But until the Holy Spirit draws them to repentance and faith in Christ, nothing's gonna happen. Now they might have an emotional experience, they might walk down an aisle and pray a prayer and sign a card and get dunked in the water and woo! And they walk out the door and they're no different than when they walked in. That's not salvation, that's following a program. The reality is that we can't draw people to the Holy Spirit or to Christ through the Holy Spirit. All we can do is present the gospel. We present the truth of the gospel, the Holy Spirit draws them to faith in Christ, and they come. And they come. God isn't seated on the throne, and Christ is not seated at his right hand, wringing their hands, going, Boy, I sure hope somebody gets saved today. As I heard Bodie Baccom say one time, he said, The modern church has created this sisyfied Jesus, is the term that he used, that is weak and impotent and has no power to do anything because we have free will. We don't have free will when it comes to salvation. Because if we did, none of us would ever come to faith in Christ. If it was based on our decision alone, with no drawing of the Holy Spirit, none of us would come to faith in Christ. I referenced this verse in Sunday school this morning. First John says, We love him because he first loved us. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that who that all the believing should not perish but have everlasting life. But God takes the first step. And God even takes the second step, because the first step was sending Christ to die for our sins. And then by his Holy Spirit, he draws us to faith in Christ through the proclamation of the gospel. So we have this calling, and God does this, and the Holy Spirit commands holiness, and he is the God who gives grace for holiness. We're not called to live a life that honors Christ in our own strength because we would fail every single time. Don't believe me? Give it a shot. I'm not gonna do this anymore. I'm not gonna think these thoughts, I'm not gonna do this thing, I'm not gonna commit this sin, whatever it is, I'm just not gonna do it anymore. Talk to me next week. Let me know how that went. We need the Holy Spirit to take our next breath. We can't do That on our own. We can't live, we can't fight temptation, we can't overcome temptation on our own. We need the Holy Spirit to make that happen. And then verse 2, we see that a worthy walk is marked by Christ-like behavior. He says, walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. So what is that talking about? Well, Paul really identifies four virtues here that should characterize every believer in Christ. These are not natural qualities. They are supernatural fruits that are produced by the Spirit of God within the life of believers. He starts with humility. This word means a lowliness of mind. A lowliness of mind. In the ancient world, humility was often despised. It was seen as weakness. The Greeks certainly viewed humility as weakness. They were very proud, arrogant people who relied an awful lot on knowledge. The more you knew, the more impressive you were. But Christianity transformed the moral landscape because Christ himself embodied humility. Philippians 2, 5 through 8. It's just a few pages over. It says, Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. Being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. That's humility. That's the example Christ puts forth for us to follow. He laid aside his glory, came to earth, traveled through the birth canal, grew up like any other kid, except he never sinned. He didn't back talk his parents. He didn't do any of those things. And then he went to the cross after performing a lot of miracles and teaching a lot of things. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. And he endured death, and it says there, even death on a cross. Why? Because the Old Testament says, cursed is the one who hangs on a tree. Cursed in what way? Cursed by taking our sin. Cursed by paying the penalty for our sin. The reality is that humility is the foundational Christian character. Because it says, I'm going to set self aside and I'm going to be obedient to Christ. I'm going to be obedient to his word. Augustine was once asked to name the three greatest Christian virtues, and his answer was first, humility. Second, humility. And third, humility. Why? Because everything flows out of that. When we understand we are not in charge, even of our own lives. It changes our perspective because humility recognizes that every blessing is God's grace and that it is undeserved. Every accomplishment that we have in life is dependent upon God. Chrysostom wrote that humility is the root, mother, nurse, foundation, and bond of all virtue. Without humility, there can be no unity. Because pride always divides, but humility unites. I've seen, even in local churches, where somebody wants to be the person in charge, or somebody wants to, you know, force their agenda ahead, and it divides the body. I've seen it countless times in my life. And when there's unity, I mean that's that's he says there, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. That's unity. And the root of that is humility. Then he says, gentleness. Meekness is not weakness. It is strength under control. I'll give you an example. Guy walks up, sticks his finger in your face, calls you everything but a reasonable human being. Meekness is knowing I could snap this guy's neck. Or I could punch him in the face. But you don't do it. That's meekness. That is not weakness. Weakness is you do that and he whips you anyway. That's being weak. Being meek is I have the ability, if all else fails, I have the ability to end this situation. But I restrain myself. That's meekness. It is, Jesus describes himself in this way. He says, I am gentle and lowly in heart in Matthew 11, 29. That's meekness. It flows out of compassion, really. A gentle person possesses strength but refuses to use it selfishly. That's meekness. Calvin described gentleness as the moderation of spirit which submits itself quietly to God and deals mildly with men. This is one I can't kid you, I struggle with. Because when I see things that I think are wrong, it's hard for me not to want to make sure people know that it's wrong. And it's hard for me not to want to apply the foot of my knowledge to the seat of their understanding, so to speak. That's how my dad used to always put it. I'm going to apply the hand of my knowledge to the seat of your understanding. And it was effective. Um but it's gentleness or meekness refuses to retaliate. It refuses to be striving and warring. It seeks peace. It reflects Christ. And then he says, patience. So humility, gentleness, with patience. This word literally means long-tempered or long-suffering. We see, I mean, it's the opposite of short-tempered. To be long-tempered. It reflects God's own character. There are many times in Scripture where we read that God is long-suffering. That means he puts up with us far beyond what should be expected. And how do we know that? We're all still here and breathing. He doesn't kill us the second we sin. That's how we know God is long-suffering. He continually demonstrates patience towards sinners and draws them to Christ. Romans 2.4 speaks of his patience that leads us to repentance. 2 Peter 3.9 says he's patient towards his people, not willing that they should perish. And when we show patience, we imitate God. Augustine said patience is the companion of wisdom. Because patience remembers how much grace we have received. I mean, I've said before, to paraphrase a quote by Charles Spurgeon, he said, if someone says that, you know, the most evil, awful things about them, about you, just not in agreement because they don't know the half of it. I mean, that's reality. You may see someone go, man, that person, wow, what an awful, terrible person. If we only knew the whole story. If we only knew deep down the reality of that, we would think even worse. How do we know? Because we know ourselves. We know who we are. We know the thoughts we struggle with. We know the actions we have done, particularly hopefully before we came to faith in Christ. Then he says that we are bearing with one another in love. And it means that we endure each other's weaknesses and imperfections. Why? Because we are one in Christ. We're part of the same body. We are all part of the same body. Every church contains sinners in various stages of sanctification. It always cracks me up when I hear people. There's a song that I think Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote called A Sinner Saved by Grace. And the chorus is, I'm just a sinner saved by grace. And when I hear people say, Oh, how could you call yourself a sinner? You're a child of God. Who still sins and struggles with it? I'm a sinner saved by grace. In spite of myself, God saved me. And so we have to understand that that's all of us, each and every individual in this room. We are sinners, hopefully saved by grace. And so when we see someone do something and it just ticks us off or doesn't sit quite right with us, remember what we've been forgiven of. Remember what maybe we've said or done in the past. And understand maybe they're not quite as far down that road to sanctification as we are. Or maybe they do something we go, wow, that's amazing. Maybe they're a little further down the road of sanctification than we are. But that, I mean, that that quote is spot on. Every church contains sinners in various stages of sanctification. That's what we are. There is no perfect congregation. If you find it, don't go there. Because you're going to mess it up. There's no perfect elder or pastor. Don't believe me? Ask my wife. She sees the worst of me. She sees me when I'm tired and grumpy and I snap at her for no reason. And I have to come back and say, sorry, I'm an idiot. There is no perfect church member. I hope I didn't just burst your bubble. So then, believers have to learn to bear with one another. Because we don't know what happened to that person this morning, last night, this past week, or what they're looking at tomorrow. Maybe they're a little testier than normal. And maybe that's because tomorrow they have a doctor's appointment to get results from a test that was done a week or two ago to find out if they have some horrible disease. We don't know what people are going through. So we need to extend grace and mercy just as God extends grace and mercy to us. We need to bear with one another, and I love the last word of that verse, in love. Because of the love we have for God's people, we bear with each other. We are long-suffering with one another. We are patient with one another. Colossians 3.13 says that we are bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other. Ever been in a church where that doesn't happen? We don't forgive each other. Instead, we go have little conversations back in the corner and try to spread our agenda and our discontent with someone because of something they said or did or where they sat or what they wore or whatever. If we want to be honest and real with each other before we react to something someone else does or says, walk right back there, that door to the right, just before you walk outside, and make a hard right, turn a 180, and there's a mirror hanging right there on the wall, and look at yourself and go, I've never done that. I would dare say that would be a lie. Remember the grace and mercy we have had extended to us as we deal with one another. Love enables believers to overlook offenses and extend grace. Why? Because that is how we imitate the character of God that we are given at the point of salvation. John MacArthur wrote, Spiritual maturity is reflected not in demanding perfection from others, but in extending grace to them. Let me say that again. Spiritual maturity is reflected not in demanding perfection from others, but in extending grace to them. The church flourishes when we individually remember how much God has forgiven us. Because then we are much more gracious. We are much more merciful to others. And it keeps us humble and helps us not to be judgmental when we remember how much we have been forgiven. And then a worthy walk pursues unity in verse 3, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. This verse reveals to us one of the primary responsibilities of every Christian. Notice that Paul does not say to create unity, he says to maintain it. Well, where did it come from? Unity is God's work. It is God's work. Preserving that unity, that's what we do. We maintain that unity. He says they're eager, meaning that we're making every effort, we're being diligent or striving earnestly to maintain that unity. Unity requires effort. It doesn't happen automatically because we have to actively pursue unity, actively be forgiving and gracious and merciful to each other and to other believers outside of our local congregation. Church conflict often flourishes when Christians become passive. And Paul says that unity demands diligence. We have to make it a priority. And he says there, uses the phrase the unity of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit creates unity in us when we are regenerated, when we are brought from spiritual death to spiritual life. Because every believer shares one Savior, one gospel, one faith, and one spirit. Because we are all one. I love where in Acts it uses the term that the disciples were all in one accord. That's not talking about a Honda. To say they were all in one accord, he's talking about that they were unified in their purpose. And what was their purpose? The gospel. Bringing people to Christ through sharing the gospel. And so the unity Paul describes here is not some organization, it is a spiritual unity, and it is rooted in our common union with Christ. Remember, we talked just a few weeks ago about how we are made one, Jew and Gentile, brought together in Christ. All of us Gentiles are no less one than we are with the Jews. So we have to live in that unity. Jesus prayed for this unity in his high priestly prayer in John 17. He says, I do not ask for these only, talking about the disciples, the apostles who were with him, he says, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and love them even as you loved me. When we are unified in our purpose and in the way we treat one another, bearing with one another, being patient with one another, and loving with one another, we are displaying the character of God. And that is foreign to the world. They do not know that kind of love and peace and patience. The unity of the church is evidence that Christ has truly come from the Father. And then he talks about this bond of peace. That word bond refers to something that binds together. Peace functions like a ligament that holds the body together. Christ himself purchased this peace. In fact, back in chapter 2 and verse 14, Paul says that Christ Himself is our peace. So believers must not undermine what Christ died to establish. Early church Father Tertullian, he described the witness of the early church by saying, quote, see how they love one another. I don't know. I think Jesus said something about they will know you are my disciples in that you have love for one another. The world should be able to say that about Christ's church today.

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R.

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C. Sproul said unity in the church is not achieved by minimizing truth, but by submitting together to the truth. Biblical unity is not achieved through compromise. We don't become unified because we give up on the doctrines that are primary. What do I mean? I mean doctrines that deal with how a person is saved. Is it by grace through faith, or is it by works? Is it by works and faith? Those are things we cannot give up on. Biblical unity is achieved through a common submission to Jesus Christ. So Paul's exhortation here is simple, but it's also profound because God has called us by sovereign grace, he says then you must walk worthy of that calling. That walk is marked by humility instead of pride, by gentleness instead of harshness, by patience rather than irritation, by love instead of selfishness, by unity instead of division. The church's unity is not created by human effort, it is created by the Holy Spirit. And our responsibility is to preserve it through Christ-like character. As we think about the riches of God's grace that have been revealed in the first three chapters, the only fitting response to that is a life that is transformed by the gospel. So let us walk worthy of the calling to which we have been called. Why? For the glory of Christ, first and foremost, but also for the good of his church. That's what Paul begins talking about. These characteristics here are going to bring unity or promote, preserve, continue unity in the body of Christ, also for the witness of the gospel in a world that is watching us. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word.