Here's the outline of the "Theme Sermon" of this series, originally preached back in January 2009)
"But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head--Christ" Ephesians 4:15
When this sermon was first preached, we were in the dead of winter...but seed catalogs had begun to arrive, announcing, "Spring will be here soon!" It's great to put seeds and seedlings in the ground and watch them grow...if they grow!
Ever have someone say to you, "Oh, grow up!"? Paul must have felt that way about the church in Ephesus! In fact, a lot of the New Testament was written to take care of problems in churches.
In the 4th chapter of Ephesians, Paul says, "I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received..."
Why did he emphasize that he was a prisoner? He wants to remind this young church that, although Rome considers Paul its prisoner, Paul knows better! It is only because it's within God's permissive will that Paul is a prisoner. God has work for him to do there--not least of which is writing to churches like Ephesus to help them comprehend the Christian faith more fully.
How are the Ephesians (and us) supposed to "walk worthy of the calling...received'? Paul spells it out:
*with all humility (not getting the 'big head')
*and gentleness (a gentled horse is not weak, but its strength is under control)
*with patience (We ususally pray, "Lord, give me patience...right NOW!" That's a dangerous prayer, since one way the Lord teaches us patience is to allow us into situations that try and test our patience...so be careful what you ask for!)
*accepting one another in love (you won't like everyone you meet, at church or anywhere else. But we are called to be one body in Christ, so we must make the conscious decision to love people, even if we don't particularly like them. Love is an action of the will, not just an emotion.)
*diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit (Do you realize that when you gossip about or criticize another Christian, you're denigrating a vessel of God's Holy Spirit?)
*with the peace that binds [us]. (This is Christ's peace, the one that 'passes all understanding')
In Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul continues his exposition about the meaning of Christian Unity:
*One body and one Spirit
*Called to one hope at your calling,
*One Lord
*One faith
*One baptism
*One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
On this foundation of unity, Paul now begins to emphasize the diversity that makes up every local congregation and the body of Christ overall: (Ephesians 4:7-10)
*There is a diversity of gifts, but all gifts come from Christ--"Grace to EACH-the measure of the Messiah's gift"
*Spiritual gifts are evidence of Christ's triumph over death, hell, and Satan. Paul pictures Christ in a triumphal procession, showering gifts on us.
*Christ is in all
Ephesians 4:11-16 talks about the ministry assignments for us, Jesus' co-workers:
*Apostles = those sent as special representatives of Christ to be His representatives. Closest modern-day equivalent is a missionary strategist/church planter
*Prophets = in the Bible, the work of a Prophet is not so much to foretell the future (though they often do) but to proclaim with truth, "This is what God says..."
*Evangelists = those with a special gift for effectively sharing the gospel. ALL Christians are called to be witnesses to the truth, but evangelists have a special grace of the Spirit to effectively reach people with the gospel
*Pastors (literally 'shepherds') and Teachers = This could be a pastor of a local church, or someone like a Sunday School teacher with the gift of discipling and shepherding others in their faith
BUT...what is the purpose of these co-workers?
1) "for the training of the saints in the work of ministry..." That is, spiritual gifts are to build up the entire body of believers, who together do the work of ministry. Paul would never understand the "let the pastor do it" mentality of some so-called Christians today.
2) "to build up the body of Christ UNTIL..."
*We all reach unity in the faith
*and in the knowledge of God's Son
*growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ's fullness (How often do we measure ourselves by others, not by Christ?)
Then after we come to maturity...
*We're 'no longer little children, tossed by the waves (i.e., the problems of life), blown around by every wind of teaching (e.g. 'pop' preaching/theology 'lite') by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit (that is, Satan's tools for fools!)
*Instead, "speaking the truth in love"
*let us GROW in every way into Him who is the head--Christ.
*From Him, the whole body, fitted (by 'sanding down'?--after all, Jesus was a carpenter!) and knit together (by love and God's Spirit) by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part."
Bro. Steve Dusek, a church planter for The Orchard church near Ellijay, wrote: "Believers are saved to serve. The problem is that many believers get into a pattern of sitting and soaking without serving, so their faith sours and their walk suffers. God has gifted each person with skills and abilities to build the Kingdom in unique ways. We will seek to provide opportunities for each member to serve others within the body, within the community, and around the world."
Ephesians 4:17-19 gives a negative example of what happens in human society when we don't do things God's way...
"Therefore" (whenever you see this word in Paul's writings, take note! He's about to draw a practical application out of what has gone before)
"I say this and testify in the Lord" (What does it mean, 'testify in the Lord'? Probably that this is an express command that Paul has received from Jesus for the Ephesians.)
--"No longer walk as the Gentiles walk..."
[Walk = your whole life and lifestyle]
"...in the futility of their thoughts..."
...darkened in their understanding
...excluded from the life of God
...Because of the ignorance in them AND because of the hardness of their hearts
...callous, promiscuous, wildly impure, insatiably greedy for sin (sound like any society you know?)
The conclusion of this 4th chapter of Ephesians (verses 20-32) talks about the 'better hope' that Paul has for believers...in other words, he's given a negative example, now he's laying out what the ideal is...
*That is NOT how you learned about the Messiah!
*Paul uses the illustration of getting out of old, worn-out clothes and putting on brand-new ones to show how we should put off the ways of the world and put on the emulation of Christ.
*And since you've put on the new...
*verses 29-31 might be compared to weeding out your garden...getting rid of all the weeds and pests in your life that prevent healthy growth and spiritual fruit.
*Verse 32 compares to fertilizing your garden, so that you can fully grow up into Christ.
"But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head--Christ" Ephesians 4:15
When this sermon was first preached, we were in the dead of winter...but seed catalogs had begun to arrive, announcing, "Spring will be here soon!" It's great to put seeds and seedlings in the ground and watch them grow...if they grow!
Ever have someone say to you, "Oh, grow up!"? Paul must have felt that way about the church in Ephesus! In fact, a lot of the New Testament was written to take care of problems in churches.
In the 4th chapter of Ephesians, Paul says, "I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received..."
Why did he emphasize that he was a prisoner? He wants to remind this young church that, although Rome considers Paul its prisoner, Paul knows better! It is only because it's within God's permissive will that Paul is a prisoner. God has work for him to do there--not least of which is writing to churches like Ephesus to help them comprehend the Christian faith more fully.
How are the Ephesians (and us) supposed to "walk worthy of the calling...received'? Paul spells it out:
*with all humility (not getting the 'big head')
*and gentleness (a gentled horse is not weak, but its strength is under control)
*with patience (We ususally pray, "Lord, give me patience...right NOW!" That's a dangerous prayer, since one way the Lord teaches us patience is to allow us into situations that try and test our patience...so be careful what you ask for!)
*accepting one another in love (you won't like everyone you meet, at church or anywhere else. But we are called to be one body in Christ, so we must make the conscious decision to love people, even if we don't particularly like them. Love is an action of the will, not just an emotion.)
*diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit (Do you realize that when you gossip about or criticize another Christian, you're denigrating a vessel of God's Holy Spirit?)
*with the peace that binds [us]. (This is Christ's peace, the one that 'passes all understanding')
In Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul continues his exposition about the meaning of Christian Unity:
*One body and one Spirit
*Called to one hope at your calling,
*One Lord
*One faith
*One baptism
*One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
On this foundation of unity, Paul now begins to emphasize the diversity that makes up every local congregation and the body of Christ overall: (Ephesians 4:7-10)
*There is a diversity of gifts, but all gifts come from Christ--"Grace to EACH-the measure of the Messiah's gift"
*Spiritual gifts are evidence of Christ's triumph over death, hell, and Satan. Paul pictures Christ in a triumphal procession, showering gifts on us.
*Christ is in all
Ephesians 4:11-16 talks about the ministry assignments for us, Jesus' co-workers:
*Apostles = those sent as special representatives of Christ to be His representatives. Closest modern-day equivalent is a missionary strategist/church planter
*Prophets = in the Bible, the work of a Prophet is not so much to foretell the future (though they often do) but to proclaim with truth, "This is what God says..."
*Evangelists = those with a special gift for effectively sharing the gospel. ALL Christians are called to be witnesses to the truth, but evangelists have a special grace of the Spirit to effectively reach people with the gospel
*Pastors (literally 'shepherds') and Teachers = This could be a pastor of a local church, or someone like a Sunday School teacher with the gift of discipling and shepherding others in their faith
BUT...what is the purpose of these co-workers?
1) "for the training of the saints in the work of ministry..." That is, spiritual gifts are to build up the entire body of believers, who together do the work of ministry. Paul would never understand the "let the pastor do it" mentality of some so-called Christians today.
2) "to build up the body of Christ UNTIL..."
*We all reach unity in the faith
*and in the knowledge of God's Son
*growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ's fullness (How often do we measure ourselves by others, not by Christ?)
Then after we come to maturity...
*We're 'no longer little children, tossed by the waves (i.e., the problems of life), blown around by every wind of teaching (e.g. 'pop' preaching/theology 'lite') by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit (that is, Satan's tools for fools!)
*Instead, "speaking the truth in love"
*let us GROW in every way into Him who is the head--Christ.
*From Him, the whole body, fitted (by 'sanding down'?--after all, Jesus was a carpenter!) and knit together (by love and God's Spirit) by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part."
Bro. Steve Dusek, a church planter for The Orchard church near Ellijay, wrote: "Believers are saved to serve. The problem is that many believers get into a pattern of sitting and soaking without serving, so their faith sours and their walk suffers. God has gifted each person with skills and abilities to build the Kingdom in unique ways. We will seek to provide opportunities for each member to serve others within the body, within the community, and around the world."
Ephesians 4:17-19 gives a negative example of what happens in human society when we don't do things God's way...
"Therefore" (whenever you see this word in Paul's writings, take note! He's about to draw a practical application out of what has gone before)
"I say this and testify in the Lord" (What does it mean, 'testify in the Lord'? Probably that this is an express command that Paul has received from Jesus for the Ephesians.)
--"No longer walk as the Gentiles walk..."
[Walk = your whole life and lifestyle]
"...in the futility of their thoughts..."
...darkened in their understanding
...excluded from the life of God
...Because of the ignorance in them AND because of the hardness of their hearts
...callous, promiscuous, wildly impure, insatiably greedy for sin (sound like any society you know?)
The conclusion of this 4th chapter of Ephesians (verses 20-32) talks about the 'better hope' that Paul has for believers...in other words, he's given a negative example, now he's laying out what the ideal is...
*That is NOT how you learned about the Messiah!
*Paul uses the illustration of getting out of old, worn-out clothes and putting on brand-new ones to show how we should put off the ways of the world and put on the emulation of Christ.
*And since you've put on the new...
*verses 29-31 might be compared to weeding out your garden...getting rid of all the weeds and pests in your life that prevent healthy growth and spiritual fruit.
*Verse 32 compares to fertilizing your garden, so that you can fully grow up into Christ.
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