How to Walk Worthily
Ephesians 4: One Body, One Christ, One Hope • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Outline of Ephesians & its place in Scripture
A letter written by the Apostle Paul, to the church in Ephesus, on the western coast of modern Turkey.
EPHESUS: Paul first arrives @ Ephesus in Acts 18 and returns again in ch 19.
Ppl repenting & trusting Christ, turning away from false idols & magic.
PROBLEM: Ephesus was also a CENTER for religious pilgrimages. At the heart of the city, a great temple dedicated to the Roman goddess ARTEMIS. The temple was legendary. One of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. 4x size of the Parthenon in Athens.
She was worshiped as having power over every day human affairs, and Ephesians carried pouches and amulets with what we might think of as potions in them, herbs and scraps of animal parts and secret words stuffed in there because they believed it would ensure Artemis helped them prosper or kept them safe from spirits.
This religion permeated every aspect of Ephesian life.
And it was a booming tourist economy. The local artisans made serious bank selling those magic amulets, and little replicas of Artemis and her temple. So when people started burning their magic books & abandoning the temples, a man named Demetrius the Silversmith started a massive riot that led to Paul departing the city. Every time someone tried to speak rationally to the crowds, they would shout them down with cries of “GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS!”
In spite of all this chaos and opposition, a thriving community of Christians from every walk of life developed there.
Paul loved this church. They were well-discipled, deeply-taught, growing in the face of trial.
The Letter to the Ephesians is an absolute treasure for every church in every age, but it speaks specifically to us, to Bethel Baptist Church in 2020.
We are a church in a divided culture and a divided nation, in a time when it almost seems like the whole world is ready to shut down people who have the wrong opinion.
Bethel Baptist Church, we are called to be heralds of a different story, a different way of being citizens. To live as lights in a dark world, to call all people back to the only high priest who can save, the only prophet who truly reveals righteousness, the only Messiah and King who can save.
Today, Demetrius the Silversmith is in every groupthink-oriented, slogan-shouting culture warrior who tries to shut down the kind of careful thought that God calls us to as His image bearers.
The life-permeating Artemis religion of Ephesus is much like today’s sacred obedience to that most American of virtues, simplifying every problem and every solution to single thoughts that can be expressed in 120 characters. Like those who shout “GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS,” you and I are tempted to think that we can stave off judgment or destruction by saying the right words, that systems and structures and powers and authorities can be fixed through mere human means - the right Supreme Court judges, the right personal protective equipment, the right handgun, the right vaccine, the right president.
In almost every case, we simplify it all down to this: If everyone just thought like me, we’d all be okay.
And that is why our world is so divided. That is why our cities are devouring themselves. The world’s way deifies its favorite sinners and demonizes those who disagree.
Here in the letter to the Ephesians, Paul directly confronts the false Ephesian worldview - where men and women are subject to powers and authorities and systems they cannot hope to overcome or control - when he says in chapter 1 that his prayer is that the Ephesians would know what is the hope to which God the Father has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
Jesus Christ is above every human and spiritual rule that tries to own you, above every power, every -ism, every dominion. He is above all of them. It’s not that they don’t exist; it’s that they cannot win, because He has already overcome them all in His death and resurrection.
So Paul writes this letter to his beloved church in Ephesus, to remind them of the incredible and glorious riches that God has lavished on them in Christ; to encourage them with the surprising truth - what Paul calls the “mystery of the Gospel” - that God chose before He created anything to redeem people from every nation in ONE Body, Jew and Gentile united in Christ alone. He calls it a “mystery” in chapter 2 and 3, a truth that God Himself hid until the right time.
The root of all human hostility, all human division and hate - is our rebellion against God. And the answer is not education, and it’s not economic growth. What the world calls “peace” in one generation will always be called “oppression” eventually.
The answer to human division is reconciliation to God.
In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul says,
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Children of wrath has never seemed such an apt description of lost people. But Paul goes on:
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Lost people become Kingdom People by grace. God’s undeserved favor, His unmerited love. Dead people become saved people by the gift of God, lavished on us. Repeatedly, Paul talks about the riches of God’s grace poured out on us in the Gospel -
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
And again in verse 18, here in 2:4, 7; again and again in chapter 3. And chapter 2 says that this is the result - that we are created anew - born again - in Christ Jesus - so that we would walk in the good works that God prepared beforehand.
And those children of wrath - those divided, desperate, hopeless, godless, alienated people we once were - become one. Reconciled in Christ. The chief fruit of peace with God is peace with one another. Paul says to his Gentile brothers,
12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
This is the reason why the Gospel is the message for this moment, the proclamation for this generation. It will not win you friends among those who continue as children of wrath. It will not satisfy the shouts of the mob. But it is the key to true peace.
Chapters 1-3 of Ephesians really contain some of the richest Gospel MEAT. As Joy read earlier, “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.”
But in chapter 4, Paul turns from the richest Gospel MEAT to the highest Christian CALLING. Because we have been saved and joined together in ONE Body, we have a new way of life to live. He begins chapter 4 with “therefore” because the Gospel is the reason for everything that follows.
Here in verses 1-3, Paul gives a charge that he will spend the rest of the chapter, and indeed the rest of the letter, spelling out for us. That charge includes the highest calling, the lowliest attitude, and the mightiest power imaginable.
I. The Highest Calling (v1)
I. The Highest Calling (v1)
The charge here - “I urge you” - is the heart of Paul’s letter. He uses the same word in Romans 12:1, another place where Paul turns from Gospel MEAT to Christian CALLING.
That our way of life - our walk - should match the glorious truths of the Gospel in chapters 1-3.
You were chosen before creation, chapter 1:4, to be holy & blameless. You were called to an inheritance, to share in Christ’s Kingdom.
He has redeemed you by the blood of Christ and called you by name out of your former life, to be fellow citizens of His Kingdom with all who belong to Christ, and members of God’s very household
The calling to which we have been called is the demonstration of God’s immeasurable grace in Christ.
7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
The Church exists on earth for no other reason than to bring glory to God by the demonstration of His power, and might, and goodness, and mercy, and justice, and righteousness, and holiness, and love in Christ.
14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
The triumphal procession was the parade through the city after a victorious battle, the triumphant king at the head, with all his captives in a long train behind him. But instead of leading living prisoners to the executioner’s block, He leads dead men out of death, parades them from the cross and the tomb to new life. We are the trophies of His victory.
And verses 2-3 summarize how we are to walk in a manner worthy of that highest calling.
II. The Lowliest Attitude (v2)
II. The Lowliest Attitude (v2)
Verse 2 says <<READ>>
Humility was not prized by Paul’s contemporaries. The Romans cherished the the dominant soul, the he-man. Humility was weakness. The archetypal hero of Roman legend was Ulysses, otherwise known as the Greek Odysseus, from Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey. Ulysses distinguished himself in the Trojan War, and then spent 10 years making his way back to Ithaca, waylaid by sea monsters, and sirens, and cyclopses, overcoming them all by his own power and wit, and finally outmatching all his wife’s suitors.
True humility is rejected by the world because it places the needs of others above our own. It’s not merely altruistic leadership, but self-denial.
42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Humility is lowliness - the attitude that I belong to another. Not that I am worthless, but that my worth is best expressed in giving, in sacrifice, because that’s what I was made for. And contrary to the world’s opinion, the humility of Jesus proves that humility is glorious.
Gentleness is related to humility, and Jesus puts these two ideas together in
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Gentleness here is the same word Jesus uses in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Gentleness is the word used to describe an ox, a great powerful beast completely under the control of its owner. For the Christian, meekness is self-control because we trust in God’s timing & plan.
And the final element of the lowliest attitude is “patience.” If my worth is best expressed in giving, in sacrifice like Christ, and if I can trust in God’s timing & plan, then I can bear with others in love.
Note that I said “IF.” Patience is never more difficult than when I doubt God’s timing, or doubt God’s estimation of my worth.
But the highest calling requires the lowliest attitude.
We’ve seen that Jesus described himself as humble and gentle. The Gospel itself is proof that God is humble, gentle, patient. His glory - His worth - is demonstrated in the sacrifice of the cross. As the LORD passed before Moses in Exodus 34:6-7, we see that patience is at the heart of His very nature:
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
These are divine attitudes. The highest calling, and the lowliest attitude, require:
In verse 3, Paul says these things are animated by the very Spirit of God.
III. The Mightiest Power (v3)
III. The Mightiest Power (v3)
<<READ v3>>
This is a unity that we have, and must diligently seek to maintain. Not a unity that we must manufacture.
Listen again to Ephesians 2:17-18 and pay attention to words related to peace, unity, and the Spirit:
17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
This unity is a gift, belonging to and given by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit made you alive in Christ Jesus by faith, you were joined to Jesus Christ in an indestructible bond. You are forever at peace with God.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And you know what? I was joined to Him, too. We are one body, because there is one Christ. But Paul says that we are to walk like Christ in order to maintain that unity.
The unity of the Church is both a gift and a goal. Here’s what I mean.
ILLUSTRATION: Putting together my own bicycle for Christmas
The bicycle was mine. But I had to grab the wrenches & screwdrivers necessary to put it together
You might say it’s not much of a gift if we have to assemble it, but that’s actually part of the gift.
Joy in maintaining unity - joy in fellowshipping w/ other Christians - growth in Christ through serving one another - growth in knowledge of Jesus through humility, gentleness, patience.
My dad knew I would get joy out of putting it together. But he also gave me the tools.
The mightiest tool - the mightiest power by which we are able to be united:
The bond of peace.
Note “bond” — “prisoner” (4:1 and 3:1). This one means “bound together.” The Holy Spirit takes Jews & Gentiles & glues them together in Christ. Takes slaves & free, men & women and binds them together with peace.
The chains that bind us in peace are what set us free from hostility and war.
For the rest of the summer, we’re going to examine that unity that Jesus has won for us, and the call to maintain it together.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
APPLY:
Ephesians faced immense pressure to “conform” to the world, and so do we. But we are bound together to walk a different way, to follow Jesus in unity.
Not uniformity. Not every church needs to look the same. Not every Christian needs to have the same preferences. Don’t have to like the same music style.
All born-again Christians share this unity. Do you belong to Jesus? Then we are members of the same body.
A unity that must be tested against Scripture. Does NOT mean we are united with everyone who claims to be Christians. Those whose faith is not in the Triune God of Scripture - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are not our brothers & sisters. Those who attend a Christian church but are not born again by the Holy Spirit are not united to us. Attendance does not indicate salvation; repentance and faith do.
This is one reason we practice Believers’ Baptism - Baptism is a declaration that I have died with Christ, and that I have been raised to new life with Him by faith. The starting point for walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called.
Because we have been called to walk in a way that demonstrates the glory of God in salvation, when we are eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, the world will take notice. Those who are perishing will think our humility is weak. They’ll think our gentleness is useless. Our patience is patronizing. But those the Holy Spirit calls will see the peace that they long for.
When Covid-19 is no longer in the news, when the election is done and everyone’s mad about something new, when godless visions of social justice fail to usher in utopia,
The Body of Christ, made up of the unlikeliest of brothers and sisters, will still be preaching peace through the blood of Christ. And that is why, right now, more than anything else, your friends, your neighbors, your kids, your parents, your Facebook friends, your enemies, your clients, strangers
NEED to see the peace of God in you. That’s what they need.
The world, so desperate to find a solution to injustice, instead needs to see the steadfast love of the LORD. So let’s demonstrate it for them.
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. 8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly. 9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. 10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.