Ruth in the Fields of Boaz (Ruth): The Bible, from cover to cover, is a redemption story. Sometimes, the people of the Bible reflect the redemptive love that God ultimately gives through Jesus. How Boaz treated Ruth, a poor Moabite widow working in his fields, is a wonderful picture of the steadfast loving-kindness (hesed) of God. Recorded on Aug 11, 2024, on Ruth 2:1-23 by Justun Hart.
This sermon is part of the series Ruth: The Love of a Redeemer. In the Bible, the book of Ruth tells the story of a family that experienced a series of bitter tragedies. But through loyalty, integrity, and faithful love (hesed), they find unexpected redemption, restoration, and hope. Our God is a redeemer.
Ruth and Naomi (Ruth): When dealing with the tragedies of this broken world, it’s hard not to let those bitter experiences define you. Due to a famine in Judah, Naomi’s family moved to the foreign country of Moab. However, when Naomi’s husband and both her sons died there, she decided to return home to Bethlehem. Unexpectedly, Ruth, one of Naomi’s daughters-in-law, made the beautifully brave decision to commit her life to love and care for Naomi, even in her bitterness. In the end, the faithful, sacrificial love of Ruth points to the greater love of Jesus. Recorded on Aug 4, 2024, on Ruth 1:1-22 by Pastor David Parks.
This sermon is part of the series Ruth: The Love of a Redeemer. In the Bible, the book of Ruth tells the story of a family that experienced a series of bitter tragedies. But through loyalty, integrity, and faithful love (hesed), they find unexpected redemption, restoration, and hope. Our God is a redeemer.
Sermon Transcript
For the next month, we’ll be working through a series on the OT book of Ruth called The Love of a Redeemer. In the Bible, the book of Ruth tells the story of a family that experienced a series of bitter tragedies. But through loyalty, integrity, and faithful love, they find unexpected redemption, restoration, and hope. Now, this is an ancient story, well over 3,000 years old, and is an absolute masterwork of ancient literature. But because it’s so well-told, this ancient story is just as powerful for us today. Because how can we face the tragedies of this broken world? How can we remain faithful, find healing, and avoid becoming embittered or resentful when we experience a great loss? Can we ever recover our joy and peace after enduring real pain and suffering? The answer in the book of Ruth is found in the difficult-to-translate Hebrew word: hesed. But for now, if you have your Bible/app, please open it to Ruth 1:1. This is Act 1, scene 1 of our story.
Ruth 1:1–2 (NIV), “1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.” V. 1 places us in a certain period of history for ancient Israel. “…the days when the judges ruled” took place after the Exodus but before the time of the ancient kings of Israel — probably about 3,200 years ago. The book of Judges takes place during the same time as Ruth but paints a very bleak picture. However, Ruth reveals that not everyone was corrupt or faithless during this dark time. There were good men and women who were faithful to God and his word despite their difficult circumstances. But here, in the opening scene of our story, we’re introduced to a family from Bethlehem in Judah. There was a man named Elimelek, his wife, Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, but there was a problem. There was a famine in the land. Now, ironically, Bethlehem means “house of food” or “house of bread” in the Hebrew language. Because of the famine, the house of bread was empty. So the man decided to move his family to live for a while (sojourn) in Moab. If we look at a map, we can see that Bethlehem was a small town about five miles south of the city of Jerusalem in the southern region of Canaan, known as Judah. Moab was the country to the east of the Dead Sea and had a violent history with Israel. They were not historically friendly. Now, if there was some disaster that happened in Wisconsin, we wouldn’t think anything of moving to another state to escape it, right? There would be no moral question about that move. But for ancient Israel, it was not necessarily a good thing for this family to move to Moab. According to the Mosaic Law, a famine in the Promised Land was God’s judgment against his people. Now, there is a whole lot more to say about the Law and what God was doing during this time, but we’re about to go through the Exodus story as our main sermon series starting this fall, so I won’t say anything more here. But a famine ought to cause Israel to repent. Instead, Elimelek decides to leave — to leave his friends and family members there in Bethlehem, to leave the Promised Land. The narrator doesn’t tell us that Elimelek had lost faith in Yahweh God, but we’re certainly left to wonder. How would it go there for them in this foreign land outside the Promised Land? How would it go for them with people who worshipped all sorts of other gods, including Chemosh, the ruler of the other gods of the Moabite people, a detestable god of war? Let’s continue and see.
Ruth 1:3-5 (NIV), “3 Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.” So we have the worst-case scenario. It isn’t just culturally or religiously hard for the family in Moab, Elimelek, the father, dies somehow, and Naomi is left as a single mom of two sons far from home. Her sons, Mahlon and Kilion, eventually marry two Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. But after ten years, Naomi’s sons died too. Now, we’re not explicitly told whether this was a form of God’s judgment against them. However, not only did this family leave (abandon?) the Promised Land, but they intermarried with the Moabites, which they were specifically commanded not to do in the Torah. The fact that no children come from these marriages is probably another mark against this family. We’re left to wonder if this family had lost faith in the God of their ancestors and were experiencing the just judgment for their actions or if they actually had remained faithful but were simply experiencing the sad reality of this broken world — that sometimes there’s a famine, sometimes people struggle with infertility, and sometimes husbands and sons die. The narrator doesn’t say. But whether or not this was divine judgment or simply a reminder that this world is not our home, it’s hard to overstate the impact of the death of a husband. Some of you have experienced this. Of course, it’s still an incredibly difficult thing to deal with today. But maybe 3,200 years ago, becoming a widow was a very scary prospect — especially in a foreign land away from all your friends and other relatives! Not only was losing your husband a loss of companionship, love, and affection, which is daunting by itself, but the widow would need to figure out how to financially support herself. Even if she were already working, her income would likely be cut in half (or more) by his death, and she’d still need to figure out how to make it work. There was no life insurance. A widow would be more vulnerable to being taken advantage of physically or in some other way, and there were no police. If the couple had young kids, then the widow would need to figure out how to care for and provide for them, as well. If they didn’t have kids, then she may worry if anyone would be able to care for her when she wasn’t able to work, either because she was ill or in her old age, and there were no Roth IRAs, social security payments, or 401k’s back then. There were no nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or health insurance back then. A husband meant security. Sons meant you had a future. No family, no security, no future, no hope. Naomi was in real trouble. What would she do? How would she feel? How might she respond?
Ruth 1:6-18 (NIV), “6 When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. 8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons—13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!” 14 At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. 15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” 16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.” So all the way over in Moab, Naomi finally gets some good news. “…the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them.” So, after all this loss, after losing her husband and her sons, Naomi decides to return home. The word repentance means to turn back. The idea is that a change in your mind leads to a change in the direction of your life. You realize that your path is wrong, and you turn/repent. The Hebrew for turn or return is repeated nine times in this first chapter. Since it doesn’t explicitly say that Naomi repented of the sin of her people/family/self, we are left to wonder, again, if it’s maybe just the narrator who believes that repentance was needed here. But whatever her motives, Naomi decides to return home. Her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, initially come with her. But Naomi knows life will be much more difficult for them in Judah than in their homeland near their families and friends, their people, and their gods, as she says. But Naomi gives them a double blessing in the name of the Yahweh God, not by Chemosh or even just a generic “god.” This is a good thing. Naomi has not lost complete faith in the one true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the maker of the heavens and the earth. She says, “May the Lord (Yahweh) show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me.” And here is the first instance of the word hesed in our story. Hesed, here, is translated as kindness, but commentator Daniel Block writes that hesed “…cannot be translated with one English word. It is a covenant term, wrapping up in itself all the positive attributes of God: love, covenant faithfulness, mercy, grace, kindness, loyalty. In short, it refers to acts of devotion and lovingkindness that go beyond the requirements of duty. Divine acts of ḥesed would bring the opposite of the pain and grief these women have all been experiencing for more than a decade.” (Block, TNAC, p. 633–634). These women would absolutely be blessed by God’s hesed. But, interestingly, Naomi desires for God to show the hesed/kindness to Orpah and Ruth that they, Moabite women, have shown to them, an Israelite family. Isn’t that strange? “Oh, Lord, I pray that you would act like these Moabite women.” What?!? This is like Jesus making the hero of the parable of the Good Samaritan someone the people of his day really hated: a Samaritan. This double blessing probably would’ve shocked/scandalized the Israelites, who were the first audience for our story. Nevertheless, Naomi says, “May the Lord (Yahweh) grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Would God bless someone from Moab? Would God bless someone like Orpah or Ruth? We’ll have to see as our story unfolds. But for now, through many tears and with real affection, “Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.” This is interesting because it echoes the language of Genesis 2:24 (NIV), which says, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united [clung v. 14] to his wife, and they become one flesh.” And then Ruth, a Moabite, makes probably the most beautiful statement of commitment/devotion from one person to another in the Bible. “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.” This isn’t a marriage, of course, but every marriage ought to be like this: a voluntary, unconditional and life-long commitment — for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, til death us do part. This would require great a sacrifice from Ruth. She must be willing to give up everything, every comfort and familiarity of home, to go to Bethlehem with Naomi to be with her and to help take care of her. Her people would become Ruth’s people. And her God would become Ruth’s God. It might seem crazy/unwise, but Ruth’s commitment to Naomi is a beautifully brave act of steadfast loving-kindness. This is what hesed is all about.
Ruth 1:19-22 (NIV), “19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” 20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” 22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.” This is God’s word. So, Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem, and the whole town was buzzing. Those of you who grew up in a small town know how quickly news like this would spread. Everyone was talking about the tragedy that befell Naomi, and the unusual love her daughter-in-law had shown her. But it’s clear that Naomi, even though she hadn’t lost faith in God, had become bitter from her experiences in Moab. In fact, in her bitterness, Naomi doesn’t quite remember the story accurately. She says, “I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.” But she didn’t go away from Bethlehem full. Her family fled their homeland, friends, and extended family because of the famine. She left starving, not full. But because she had lost her husband and sons, she remembers leaving full. This is common for people who have been through great difficulty or pain. Even their memories might be distorted by what they’ve been through. Now, it’s very understandable, but Naomi has been profoundly changed by her suffering and loss. The name Naomi means “pleasant,” but after Moab she says, “Don’t call me Naomi…Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.” Mara here means bitter. For us today, this would be like someone named Joy changing her name to Sadness. It seems as though Naomi does still have faith in Yahweh God, but she’s bitter because she believes she’s been mistreated by him. Act 1 ends with a transition to Act 2. Mentioning the barley harvest sets up our passage next week where Ruth works in the fields of Boaz during the harvest.
But before we get to him, what do we do with Act 1? How might we apply this part of the story to our lives today? Well, I’ll leave you with three thoughts. First, if you’re like Naomi (or Orpah and Ruth, for that matter), and you’re facing the tragedies of this broken world, you’re enduring or have endured real pain and suffering, try not to let your tragedies define you. Don’t let your traumas become your identity. You are vastly more valuable and more complex than the sum total of the bad things that have happened to you. Pain and suffering will leave an impact for sure. That’s unavoidable. Jacob wrestled with God and didn’t die, but he did walk with a limp for the rest of his life. But even the weakest among us has strengths. Even one who has suffered greatly still can have good days. You will sometimes feel the bitter sting of this broken world — but don’t become bitter. If you’re Naomi, don’t become Mara. This is a caution for us all. But what can help us resist this? Who or what can protect us from falling into this common trap? First, try not to let your tragedies define you. But second, as we’ll see as the story plays out, it would be the steadfast loving-kindness of Ruth, it would be the hesed of Ruth, that God would use to bring redemption into Naomi’s life. The real love of a godly friend or family member can help prevent us from falling into all sorts of traps in life. We’ve seen Ruth’s incredible commitment to Naomi. As we move forward in the weeks to come, we’ll see how God uses this beautifully brave act of love. Third, and finally, Ruth’s love for Naomi points us to a greater love. Ruth’s commitment to someone she easily could’ve abandoned points us to a greater faithfulness — that is, the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for us. Ruth’s love/hesed compelled her to leave her country, family, and home to love and care for Naomi. But in the gospel, we see that it was the hesed of God that compelled the Father to send his one and only Son from the riches/glory/comfort of heaven to come down into the brokenness of this world on a rescue mission to seek and to save the lost. And it was the hesed of the Son that compelled him to move behind enemy lines. Why? Not just to care for us — but to save us. And like Ruth, this would require great sacrifice on the part of Jesus. But Jesus wouldn’t just give up the comfort and familiarity of his own place/culture; he was willing to give up his very life through his death on the cross for the sins of the world. But it was through this beautiful act of bravery of the cross of Christ and his resurrection from the dead that God was able to bring redemption and restoration not just to one woman or one family but to the whole world — to every tribe/tongue/nation/people. So today, how can we face the tragedies of this broken world? How can we remain faithful, find healing, and avoid becoming embittered or resentful when we experience a great loss? Can we ever recover our joy and peace after enduring real pain and suffering? The answer is through hesed. We can endure and flourish even because of the love of God that is found by faith in Jesus Christ and in our relationships with the brave people who reflect his love into our lives. May we people of hesed. Let us pray.
The Armor of God (Ephesians): Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. How can we stand firm and fight our spiritual battles? By putting on the full armor of God: truth, righteousness, the gospel, salvation, faith, God’s word, and prayer. Recorded on Jul 28, 2024, on Ephesians 6:10-24 by Pastor David Parks.
Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.
Sermon Transcript
This summer, we’ve been working through the book of Ephesians in a sermon series called The Gospel in Life. We’ve seen that Ephesians is a powerful little letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus in modern Turkey that is all about how the gospel and our union with Christ changes everything — our identity, direction in life, relationships…everything. I hope this series has been helpful to you and to your faith and your understanding of what it looks like to apply the gospel to every area of life. Next week, we’ll start a new sermon series on the OT book of Ruth, which is all about finding the faithful love of a redeemer in a world full of bitterness and tragedy. But first, today, as we bring this series to a close, Paul ends his letter by considering the spiritual battles that we face and how we might stand strong in the armor of God. 25 years ago, there was a huge sci-fi movie that came out called The Matrix. The basic idea of the plot was that this computer hacker discovers the secret reality behind what everyone else thought was real life. Neo took the red pill, and his eyes were opened, and he came to see the dark forces keeping humanity in this virtual reality simulation called the Matrix. Neo joins the rebels who are fighting back against the machines using kung fu (obviously), which made a lot more sense back in the 1900s. But, try as I might to find a less conspiratorial reference for our text today; I kept coming back to The Matrix. Because for all who have the eyes to see, the Apostle Paul pulls back the curtain today on the hidden reality behind what everyone thinks is real life. At the end of his letter, Paul reveals that there are dark spiritual powers at work in the world. It’s not just that people can choose good or evil and sometimes choose evil (although, that is true). And it’s not just that sometimes bad things happen because our world is broken (which is also true). But also, there are spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms in opposition to God and enemies of God’s people. If we ignore this, it won’t change this reality. It only makes us more vulnerable to their manipulation. But as alarming as this might sound, we don’t have anything to fear. In Christ, and because of the armor of God, even the weakest one of us can be strong and stand firm against these powers — even when the day of evil comes. If you have your Bible/app, open it to Eph 6:10. We’ll unpack this as we go.
Ephesians 6:10–13 (NIV), “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” For the last three weeks, we’ve been considering how the gospel changes our relationships. Now, here, and through the end of the letter, Paul shifts his focus from relationships to the spiritual battle of life. Now, it might seem like this teaching is coming out of nowhere since we were talking about relationships, but Paul already warned (back in Chapter 4) that if the church fails in its charge to make disciples — not only helping people come to faith in Jesus, but growing/maturing in their faith, their knowledge of the truth, and their unity with other believers — then they would be vulnerable to “…the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” (Eph 4:14). Now, here, Paul explains that there is a greater power behind the dark power of human cunning and deception. There are schemes of the devil, the personal spiritual power in opposition to the Lord and his people, and his work in the world. Led by Satan, which means Adversary, there are rulers, authorities, and powers — there are spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. And these spiritual forces are not uninvolved in the affairs of this world. They are engaged in a battle, seeking to manipulate, mislead, confuse, and corrupt that which is good, noble, beautiful, and true so that there might be division, discouragement, destruction, and death. They work to generate fear, guilt, shame, hopelessness, condemnation, confusion, hatred, and murderous rage. They traffic in lies. Paul mentions the devil, our great adversary, but he also mentions the rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world, which he describes as spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. I think we’d probably all want more information about these creatures than Paul gives us here. But he simply presents this as the hidden reality behind what everyone thinks is real life. So, in light of this reality, Paul exhorts the Ephesians to be strong. But how? How might we have the strength to win these spiritual battles? Paul says, “…be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” I wonder how often Christians try to fight their battles according to our strength or by worldly means of power. He doesn’t say, “Be strong in your wealth and in your mighty net worth.” Money doesn’t protect you from the spiritual forces of evil. He doesn’t say, “Be strong in your fitness and in the power of your beauty.” or “Be strong in your education and in your mighty intellect.” or “Be strong in your politics and in your candidate or party.” What does he say? “…be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power [lit. the strength of his power].” Why? The answer is so critical to understanding the world we live in — “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” In other words, the true battle (the battle under the battle) is not against other people. It’s not against ourselves, either. When we get caught up in a struggle with people we’re not fighting at the right level. Paul tells his friends in Ephesus, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” He repeats this in v. 13., saying, “…so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” But what is the armor of God? And how do we put it on so that we might stand?
Ephesians 6:14-17 (NIV), “14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The Apostle Paul was a Jewish man who was a scholar in the Hebrew Bible, but he was also a Roman citizen. As such, he pulls the imagery of the armor of God from both the Hebrew Bible and the Roman culture he lived in. Most of the elements of the armor of God can be found in the book of Isaiah in the OT of our Bibles. Sadly, we don’t have time this morning for a deep dive into that, but that would be fun. But Paul adapts these Biblical elements of armor into the pattern of the armor of the Roman soldier, which the Ephesians would’ve understood immediately. The Roman army was the elite fighting force on the planet at this time. And Paul was intimately familiar with Roman soldiers as he was guarded by them for the last years of his life as he was kept under guard while awaiting his trial in Rome. But for us who are maybe a little removed from this historically/culturally, let’s look at a picture of the armor of a Roman soldier of this time. We can see the helmet, breastplate, belt, and sandals or leather boots that the soldier wore would provide protection for their vital organs. The shield, too, was mostly a defensive tool. Roman soldiers had a formation they called the tortoise, which was when they would lock their shields together to be protected from spear and sword attack from the front and from arrows above. It was highly effective. Soldiers might have a short sword in their belt. This is the only offensive weapon that Paul mentions here. Turning from the armor of the Roman soldier to the armor of God, we find that the belt is a belt of truth. Jesus said when you know the truth, the truth will set you free. Paul says the truth serves to protect you, as well. Knowing what is true helps protect you from being deceived or led astray. The breastplate is the breastplate of righteousness. This is about conducting yourself according to what is right — about being committed to thinking, saying, and doing what is right as defined by God. Our good works are not the way of salvation. We are saved by the grace of God and through faith in Jesus. But when we are saved, we are saved into a new way of life of following Jesus. When we actually follow him (and we don’t simply claim to follow him), it leads to a life of righteousness. And the way of Jesus helps protect you from evil. Humbly but faithfully following Jesus guards your heart, from which every other thing flows in life. Standing firm, by the way, requires already having the belt of truth buckled around your waist and the breastplate of righteousness already in place. You aren’t going to be able to stand firm very well if, on the day of testing, it’s the first time you’ve ever thought about what’s true or you’ve never thought about trying to do or say what is right. In other words, the Christian must put on the armor of God before the battle. Be a person who seeks the truth and is committed to the truth, who tries hard to say/do what is right, who knows/remembers the gospel, and a person of faith who knows they are saved because of the word of God. If this is who you are and this is how you live your life, you will stand firm in the day of temptation, in the day of evil, no matter what demonic force is working against you. V. 15 says our feet must be “…fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” I say it all the time, but Christians need the gospel just as much as anyone. Pastors need the gospel. Everyone needs to hear and believe and then be reminded again and again of the incredible truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We never graduate from our need for the gospel. For it is the “…power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” The gospel not only liberates us from bondage to sin and death, but it protects us from spiritual attack as well. v. 16 mentions the shield of faith: “…with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Faith is a protection. But the protection comes from the object of our faith, not the strength of our faith. If the gospel is true, then we believe in the creator of the heavens and the earth. We trust our lives to the one who died to save us. Even a little faith in him is enough. But the more we grow in our faith, the better. The more faith, the less fear. The more faith, the more hope, joy, peace. The more we actually believe that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1Jn 4:4). V. 17 mentions the helmet of salvation. Just as a commitment to do what’s right protects your heart, the knowledge of your salvation protects your head. When you might be tempted to become discouraged or fall into despair, remembering how and why you are saved can restore peace and joy. Finally, Paul mentions “ the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The Bible is the verbally inspired word of God. God has spoken through human authors to reveal himself and his will to the world. Everything else is defensive, protecting us from attack, but the Bible is our only offensive weapon. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Heb 4:12). This is the full armor of God: knowing the truth, living according to righteousness, believing the gospel, having assurance of salvation and faith, and standing on the word of God. The Christian, properly armed, can stand firm against anything in heaven or earth or under the earth. But just as a Roman soldier by themselves would be more vulnerable than a whole battalion marching in formation, so a Christian by themselves is more vulnerable than a Christian in the community of the church. But how might we help one another fight these spiritual battles? How can we lock our shields together and stand strong together when the day of evil comes?
Ephesians 6:18-20 (NIV), “18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” How can we help one another fight our battles? Through faithful, persistent prayer. Pray all kinds of prayers in the Spirit and keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. I love what Dr. Cohick says about this. “We might think of prayer as the army supply line that brings bullets and butter to the soldiers on the front line. Without ammunition and food, the soldier has no strength or defense.” (Cohick, NICONT, p. 428). Even the mighty Apostle Paul needed his friends in Ephesus to be praying for him. Even after many years of training as a pharisee, which brought incredible depth to his biblical knowledge, and after many years of ministry as the apostle to the Gentiles after becoming a Christian, Paul still needed prayer to declare the mystery of the gospel without fear. A Christian on their own is an emergency. Everyone needs help sometimes. Everyone gets tangled up in fear at times. So, everyone needs prayer — including your friends, family members, church leaders, and more. Be alert. You never know when a flaming arrow might strike. But the armor of God and the prayers and other ministry of our brothers and sisters in Christ and the Spirit of God himself will sustain us so that even the weakest among us is able to be strong and stand firm. There are many examples of this, both positively and negatively, in the Bible. I think of the demonic attack in the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve are tempted to question God’s word and are deceived by a lie. They lost the battle that day. Or I think of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Three times, Satan tempted him, and three times, he responded with the Sword of the Spirit, quoting the word of God. He won the battle that day. But nowhere in history was there a greater defeat of the rulers, authorities, principalities, and powers of darkness than the cross of Christ. “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Col 2:15). On the cross, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, used the tool of the devil, a tool of death, as a means of defeating death. Jesus died and was buried, but on the third day, he rose again from the dead, winning the war by conquering the power of sin, death, and hell. So today, the war is won, though the battle continues to rage. But one day, Christ will return, the dead will come to life, and all will stand before their Maker. And he will judge the living and the dead. He will judge the physical and the spiritual realm. And he will make all things new.
Ephesians 6:21-24 (NIV), “21 Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. 23 Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.” This is God’s word. Now, as we wrap up this letter, I think we’ve talked at length about our union with Christ and how the gospel changes everything. So in application for today, I’d like to come back to this theme of spiritual battle. In talking with many people over the years, I’ve noticed that some Christians tend to either over-spiritualize their lives and the world around them or they tend to under-spiritualize their lives and the world around them. When they over-spiritualize their lives, they tend to look for and see spiritual influence/manipulation behind every rock and tree, behind every victory or difficulty, behind everything. While other Christians tend to under-spiritualize their lives or the events of the world around them. Basically, only things that they can see, hear, and feel are real. Even if they believe that God exists who is Spirit, so therefore, there must be something beyond this materialistic world; functionally, they live as if there is no spiritual realm. Our passage today doesn’t allow us to under-spiritualize our lives or the world around us. According to the whole Bible, there is a spiritual realm that God has made, and in some ways, it is more real than the physical realm we can observe with our senses. If we ignore this fact, we will be vulnerable to spiritual attack because we won’t be paying attention — we won’t be ready when the day of evil/temptation comes. But for those who might tend to over-spiritualize their lives, notice what the armor consists of, notice what your weapons are by which we might fight: these are just the normal elements of a regular-old Christian life. Some of us pray for and long for (and I don’t think this is wrong) a unique, special manifestation of spiritual power. But there is real spiritual power in the basic Christian life. Learn what is true, do what is right, believe the gospel, have the assurance of your salvation and of faith, share the gospel, defend yourself against attacks, and use the word of God. You will be able to stand. Let us pray.
A New Relationship to Power (Ephesians): Slavery in Ephesus in the first century AD was different than most people think of when they think of slavery today. Still, the imbalance of power meant the slave/master relationship was often the context for exploitation and abuse. This is the default way of this broken world. But how do power and injustice work in the kingdom where Jesus is King? The gospel changes everything. Recorded on Jul 21, 2024, on Ephesians 6:5-9 by Pastor David Parks.
Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.
Sermon Transcript
This summer, we’ve been working through the book of Ephesians in a sermon series called The Gospel in Life. Throughout this powerful little letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus in modern Turkey, we’ve seen that the good news of the person and work of Jesus Christ — and our union with Christ by grace and through faith — changes everything. First, we saw that the gospel changes our identity — from death to life and from without hope/God in the world to becoming a beloved child of God. Then we saw that the gospel changes our direction in life — from living for ourselves according to the way/values of this broken world to learning to follow the way of Jesus in true righteousness and holiness. For the last few weeks, we’ve considered how the gospel changes our relationships in life — including the relationship between the husband and wife, parent and child, and today, the relationship between the bondservant/slave and their master. If you missed any of the sermons in this series so far, you can always go back and watch or listen to the audio podcast if you’d like. But today, our text is a hard text, which would be tempting to skip over. But when you work through a book of the Bible, you need to deal with everything, whether it’s easy or difficult. But let’s deal with the elephant in the room right away: In addressing what was a typical household relationship in the first-century Roman Empire — the relationship between servants/slaves and their masters — many people today wonder if Paul (or, more broadly, if the Bible) teaches that slavery is ok. And that’s an important question. Could this passage be used to support the transatlantic slave trade that exploited millions of Africans from the 1500s to the 1800s? Could this passage be used to justify the human trafficking that exploits countless millions of people today, including many children, for forced labor or sexual slavery? I’ll say at the outset that the short answer is no; this text cannot be used to justify the brutality and exploitation of those practices. But what is Paul saying here? Well, not only does Paul show the Ephesians how the gospel transforms every relationship, including relationships with different levels or imbalances of power (such as the first-century relationship of slave and master), but the principles in this text would spread as Christianity spread and would eventually help bring an end to the whole institution of slavery. But we have some work to do here. So, grab your Bible/app and open it to Eph 6:5.
Ephesians 6:5 (NIV), “5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.” Now, you might wonder why Paul would address slaves and masters at all. Thankfully, this isn’t an issue we have to deal with in our church, right? But this would certainly have been a common issue for the first-century Ephesians. According to Dr. Lynn Cohick and other sources, about 10% of the Roman Empire and up to a third of the city of Rome would’ve been slaves at this time. Ephesus was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the Empire, so they likely had tens of thousands of slaves working in farming, in the mines, for wealthy households, and elsewhere in their society. Now, slavery was not necessarily a lifetime arrangement; many people were able to work to purchase their freedom. Slavery was also not necessarily based on the color of your skin or your ethnicity but generally had more to do with your income level, as slavery was maybe the only way to escape dire poverty. This is quite different than what most of us think of when we think of slavery today. However, that doesn’t mean that slavery in the Roman Empire was a good and noble institution. It led to all sorts of exploitation and abuse, as it has in every culture at every point in human history. But Paul’s message to slaves and masters is the third of three examples of how the way of Jesus transforms common household relationships. Remember, this section started with the radically different guiding principle of Eph 5:21, which says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” And then Paul applied this countercultural principle first in the context of marriage and then parenting, both of which often have imbalances of power. Now here, he applies this principle to the relationship between slaves and masters. Interestingly, in all three examples, Paul addresses the person with less worldly power first. He addresses the wife first, not the husband, the children first, not the parents, and now here, the slave first. This, I think, is a hint of how the gospel changes our understanding of power and authority — the first becomes last, and the last becomes first. There’s a great reversal in the kingdom where Jesus is King. But we’ll see more of that as we go. But what does Paul actually say? Well, the first half of v. 5 is what anyone would’ve expected to hear in Paul’s day. Slaves are to obey their masters. Of course! Why? Because they’re slaves! Obedience to their authority is what defines them. Now, some people in Paul’s day thought this was the case because there was something about the slaves that made them inherently inferior. And as such, certain people or people groups deserved to be enslaved. Sadly, this was the thinking behind the transatlantic slave trade — that certain races or ethnic groups are inherently inferior. But that’s not true, and that’s not what Paul says. What Paul actually says is unexpected for three reasons. First, in addition to addressing the slaves before the masters, which I’ve already mentioned (which was certainly intentional), it must be noted that it’s unexpected that Paul addressed slaves at all. He assumed bondservants/slaves would be members of the church in Ephesus and that they deserved to be discipled just like everyone else. This means Paul believed that they had agency, the ability to choose to follow this instruction voluntarily, and that they should not be forced or coerced to behave this way. This would’ve been very empowering, but this certainly fits with the broader Biblical teaching that every human being — male/female, Jew/Gentile, slave/free — is made in the image of God and, therefore, has inherent dignity and worth. They deserved to be discipled, too. But first, it’s unexpected that he would address people with so little power, status, or rights. Second, it’s unexpected that Paul qualifies the masters as earthly masters or literally masters according to the flesh. This language places the master/slave relationship within the system/age of this broken world. Throughout the NT, the flesh represents the ways of a world influenced by sin and death as opposed to the ways of the Spirit and the Kingdom of God. Meaning that the master/slave relationship will not last forever. One day, they will come to an end, and all will be free. This would’ve been encouraging, especially if a slave’s situation was not good. Don’t forget, my brother or sister, one day this age will come to an end, and “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21:4). Paul addresses the slave, he places their situation as part of the system that God is working to redeem, and third, maybe it shouldn’t be unexpected given the rest of Ephesians, but it certainly would’ve been unexpected that Paul says slaves are to obey their earthly masters with fear and trembling and with sincerity of heart. This isn’t just about acting obediently; it’s also about their attitude/heart. God cares about our behavior, but he cares more about our hearts. And people who have been united with Christ and are imitators of God are to be people of integrity — people who are the same inside and out, whether slave or free. This, too, would’ve been empowering because it expected slaves to be free in their hearts to make moral judgments and be able to choose to act in upright and godly ways. But what could this look like? What would it look like to obey your earthly masters, “just as you would obey Christ?” Paul gives several examples starting in v. 6.
Ephesians 6:6-8 (NIV), “6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.” So, what would it look like to obey “just as you would obey Christ?” At the heart level, it would look very similar to working for someone as a free person today. It would look like doing what’s right whether or not anyone is watching you. A common principle for any organization is that what you measure improves. Why? Because when you pay attention to a process/team/person, it usually means the people involved know they need to do their best. But Paul says that followers of Jesus should work hard whether or not anyone is paying attention because you’re working for Christ. It would mean working hard and doing what’s right, not just to win the favor of others — not as people-pleasers — but simply doing the will of God from your heart. Again, this is about personal integrity. Whether you work in the home or outside the home, whether you get paid or you’re unpaid, serve wholeheartedly, not deceitfully or for selfish gain. Why? Paul says because you know that the Lord will reward (or repay) each person for whatever good they do, whether slave or free. This, too, would’ve been empowering for the slaves in Ephesus because they were on the same level as anyone else standing before their creator. And the Lord is a perfect judge. He knows what you’ve been through. He knows the situations that were especially difficult that you had to face in life. And certainly, Christian slaves were not always in a great situation. Perhaps their master was an unbeliever. Or perhaps their master was a believer but one who followed worldly ways of treating them as property and not as their brother or sister in Christ. I’m sure sometimes it would’ve been very difficult or even costly to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love their neighbor as themselves without their freedom. Some of the members of the church in Ephesus may have been exploited or abused. Of course, this isn’t what Paul was encouraging. This would violate the principle of neighbor love that was to define the Christian community. In 1 Co 7, he says that if slaves can gain their freedom, they should! The whole letter to Philemon is about a runaway slave who Paul said was to be welcomed back as a brother in Christ and not as a slave. But if a slave in Ephesus was abused by their master, they could take comfort that the Lord would know. And he is able to set every wrong to right. He is able to bring redemption out of every injustice. He is able to repay what is stolen or lost, including wages/time/dignity/anything else. But according to the Bible, this is true for anyone. Everyone, slave or free, will stand before their maker and give an account of their lives to him. But if this is true for everyone, then this would also be true for the masters, which is where Paul ends with v. 9.
Ephesians 6:9 (NIV), “9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.” This is God’s word. This last verse is truly revolutionary. As far as I’m aware, no one in the ancient world wrote anything like this. That masters were to treat their slaves in the same way. In the same way as what? As if serving the Lord and not people, doing the will of God from their heart, being a person of integrity, and so on. So, masters are not even to threaten their slaves. Why? Paul says, “…you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven.” Every master has a greater master. It doesn’t matter how much wealth/power/status you had there in Ephesus 2000 years ago or here in Appleton today. A Christian cannot act however you want towards others. You cannot use your power to abuse or exploit others in any relationship. And this is true whether anyone sees or cares or not — whether it’s legal or not. The Lord is not just your Master but is the Master of every human being. So if you mistreat another person, male/female, adult/child, slave/free, you will have to give an account of your actions to your maker. And Paul reminds us that there is no favoritism with him. The Lord of all will not look kindly on the exploitation or abuse of any man, woman, or child. He will not look the other way. Jesus said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Mt 18:6). You can’t read the Bible and miss God’s heart for the most vulnerable among us, including the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the poor. This would certainly include the slave. In fact, the first person to name God in the Bible is the Egyptian slave woman, Hagar. And the Lord saw her, spoke to her, and provided for her. The Lord took what was intended for evil and used it for good through Joseph when he was a slave in Egypt. The Mosaic Law gave rights and protections to slaves in ancient Israel found nowhere else on the planet. Here, Paul’s application of the gospel upends the power dynamics of the slave/master relationship. But nothing has the power to change our view of slavery, like the person and work of Jesus himself. Did you know that Jesus was willing to become a slave? In Philippians 2, the Apostle Paul was writing about relationships in the church again. And he wrote that, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” And what was the mindset of Christ? Well, Jesus was “…in [his] very nature God, [but he] did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant [slave], being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Php 2:5-11). At the heart of the gospel is the story of a God who was willing to become a slave because of his great love for us to free us when we were slaves to sin and death. He traded his freedom for our chains when he exchanged his life for ours. Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for the sins of the world for every image-bearer of God, slave or free. And he rose again from the dead, so that when you believe in him, when you trust/follow him in life — no matter how easy/hard/just/unjust your situation is, no matter how much power/status you have — you realize that “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” (Gal 5:1a). As I said, the principles in this text would spread as Christianity spread and would eventually help bring an end to the whole institution of slavery not once, but twice in history. However, the ways of the world run in the opposite direction — using power to exploit and abuse others for selfish gain. But today, let us follow a different way, the way of Jesus — and be people of integrity who work hard in everything we do, working for the Lord who became a slave so that we might be free. May we be people who use our power, like Jesus, for the good of others. And may we be people who work to bring true freedom to all people so that this church might be a place where chains are broken, captives are set free, and the name of Jesus is exalted in/through every time, place, and relationship. Let us pray.
A New Kind of Home (Ephesians): Kids are great! But parenting is hard. What happens when you apply the gospel to the relationship between parents and children? How can parents shepherd their kids? How can adult children honor their parents when carrying wounds from their upbringing? There are many lessons here for everyone. Recorded on Jul 14, 2024, on Ephesians 6:1-4 by Ted Selker.
Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.
A New Kind of Marriage (Ephesians): Do you want a better marriage? Or do you want to be better prepared for marriage in the future? God’s word provides power and wisdom for two to become one. Is this easy? No! But it can be beautiful as two people grow together in unity, love, and maturity over time. Plus, marriage can be a picture of the gospel for a world that needs to see the faithful love of Jesus. Recorded on Jul 7, 2024, on Ephesians 5:21-33 by Pastor David Parks.
Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.
Sermon Transcript
Including today, we only have four more weeks in Ephesians before moving on to a new sermon series on the OT book of Ruth. But today, as we approach the end of The Gospel in Life series, we’re considering how our union with Christ transforms even the most basic household relationships — from the relationship between a husband and wife to the relationship between parents and children to the relationship between a household servant/slave and their master, which was a common work relationship in the first century AD. Now, we’ve already seen in Ephesians that when you become a Christian, you go from death to life — from without hope and without God in the world to becoming a dearly loved child of God. So, the gospel changes our identity in Christ. We’ve already heard the call to follow God’s example, putting off the old self and putting on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. So, the gospel changes the direction of our lives. So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that the way of Jesus might change our relationships, too. A few weeks ago, I stumbled across one of my old high school yearbooks. I read a few comments my friends wrote all those years ago, and one caught my eye. It said something like, “I’m so excited for you and Holly! Even though some people think you’re crazy, if anyone could figure out marriage, it would be you two!” Thanks? It was kind of a compliment, I guess. But, you see, Holly and I knew each other from the age of ten on. And once we started dating in high school, we knew we were supposed to be together. So, we got engaged just before the end of high school and got married the next year. But that comment in my yearbook probably represented what a lot of people thought at the time: that we were crazy! That we didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into! That it would never work! Now, from my vantage point today, I know that marriage is always risky — whether you’re 19 years old or 30 or 50 or 75. Just because loving people is the highest calling and the greatest commandment for human beings doesn’t mean it’s easy! In fact, really loving another person with all their sins and struggles, with all their blindspots and weaknesses — along with all of yours! — is one of the hardest things you could do in life. So how did we survive? How did we navigate the ups and downs of marriage in a broken world together? It wasn’t easy. And we’re still learning how to love each other better. But over the years, we’ve seen the wisdom/power of God’s way again and again in our marriage. So, do you want a better marriage? Or do you want to be better prepared for being married one day? Then grab your Bible/app and open it to Eph 5:21. We’ll read through this text and unpack it as we go.
Ephesians 5:21 (NIV), “21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Well, we didn’t get very far, did we? I had to stop here because this verse is special for two reasons. First, grammatically, this verse is really the end of the list of actions associated with being filled with the Spirit from v. 18 (speaking to one another, singing and making music to the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father, and (v. 18), submitting to one another). But in the NIV translation, v. 18 is grouped with our text on marriage. Now, I think the NIV got it right because the Apostle Paul goes on to list these three household relationships as a three-part case study of what it looks like to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” You might say v.18 serves as a transitional verse for what the Spirit-filled life looks like at home. Second, this verse is special because, in Paul’s day, household codes were common in Greek/Roman culture. Plato, Aristotle, and others wrote about how these relationships were supposed to work. But here, the Apostle Paul gives a uniquely Christian vision for the household. He applies the gospel to the most common household relationships, bringing transformation and renewal to them as it does to every part of life. The first difference in Paul’s Christian vision for marriage and family is that we are to submit to one another. It’s not the strong ruling the weak. That’s the way of the world. This reminds me of Paul’s instruction to the Galatians: “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Gal 5:13). Ok! But what does this mutual submission look like in marriage?
Ephesians 5:22-24 (NIV), “22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” Now, notice what Paul is not saying. He’s not saying that all women must submit to all men. That would be unwise at best! We know not every man has the best interest of every woman in mind. And he’s not saying that wives must submit themselves to their own husbands because they’re more susceptible to temptation or they’re inherently inferior to men. That was Aristotle’s argument and was the common view of their culture, just as it is in many places today. But look at what Paul actually says (I’m going to point out two things): First, wives are to submit themselves to their own husbands. In other words, this ought to be voluntary, not forced. Paul assumes wives have the agency/ability to choose to do this. This would have been totally counter-cultural, as women had limited rights in the Roman Empire. However, this fits with the Biblical view that women are equal to men in their value and dignity as image-bearers of God. Jesus taught women as his disciples and was supported financially in his ministry by a number of women. Men and women are coheirs with Christ and are equally saved, filled with the Spirit, sanctified, and sent out on the mission of God. This teaching elevated women in many ways, even if the language of submission sounds foreign to us today. Second, Paul says the reason wives are to do this is because the marriage relationship is to be a reflection of the relationship between Christ and the church. “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” Now, we must not press this analogy too far. The wife is to be like the church, and the husband is to be like Christ. However, the husband does not replace Christ. Christ is still the savior and the head of both the husband and the wife. But, the idea that the relationship between a husband and wife is supposed to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church is totally new to Paul. No one else ever envisioned marriage in this way. Let’s continue on to the husbands and come back to what this looks like for wives.
Ephesians 5:25-27 (NIV), “25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Now, earlier in Chapter 5, men and women were already called to “…walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Eph 5:2). So Christian husbands and wives are to follow the pattern of Jesus and love one another just as Christ loved us first. But here, husbands are specifically called to “love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Well, how did Christ love the church? He humbly came from the riches and glory of heaven down into this broken world. He became a human being with all our limitations, temptations, and struggles. Then he willingly suffered and died on the cross to save us from sin/death/judgment, giving his life for us so that we might receive life and love forever and ever. So, how should husbands love their wives? Like Jesus! By being willing to give up everything for them, even your very life. Why? Not to get the glory, honor, or praise, and not to make her owe you something, but simply to serve her needs — to help her flourish. Christ did this for us in order “…to make her [the church] holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Jesus saw what we were but had a much bigger vision for what we could be. So, Jesus didn’t stop working in our lives when he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. He continues to work through the power of his word and Spirit to wash/sanctify us and to transform us into the men and women that God intended us to be from before the creation of the world. So, husbands, do you have a vision for what your wife could be? Are you, like Jesus, working to help her grow in the beauty of her inner character, in her holiness and godliness? Are you, like Jesus, looking to serve her needs because of your faithful love for her? One of the reasons why the teaching on wives submitting to their own husbands is so hard for modern Western people to accept is because they don’t understand that power and authority work differently in the kingdom where Jesus is King. Wives aren’t called to submit to husbands who are selfishly looking only to meet their own needs. This would, of course, set up the marriage relationship to be oppressive and abusive. Instead, think about how Jesus used his power and authority. He didn’t act in this way because he wasn’t deserving of glory or he wasn’t as capable/valuable as others. He did this to faithfully love us and serve our greatest needs, even when we were unfaithful to him. In Mark 10, Jesus taught his disciples, saying, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:42-45). This is what power/authority looks like in the kingdom where Jesus is King. We must never apply worldly ways of power and authority to the way of Jesus. And we must never think worldly ways of power/authority are appropriate for how we treat our spouse in marriage. But this mutual love and submission is only natural when we understand our union with Christ. By faith in Jesus, we are united with Christ and with every other person in Christ. We already saw how this impacted the division between Jews and Gentiles back in Chapter 2. Here, we see how this impacts and transforms the marriage relationship as well. But it was always God’s vision for marriage — that two would become one in every way.
Ephesians 5:28-31 (NIV), “28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” Now, Paul isn’t denying the reality that some people have a distorted or even destructive attitude about their own bodies or body image. He’s just saying that husbands and wives are to be one flesh. So, for husbands to love their wives ought to be as natural as wanting to feed and care for their own body. This is rooted in the creation account of marriage from Genesis Chapter 2. Paul quotes Moses in saying “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” When Jesus taught on marriage, he referred to Genesis 2 as well. From Ge 2, we discover that marriage was a gift from God, not a social construct. Therefore, as its creator, God can define it and govern it by his word. This means we’re not free to redefine marriage any way we want, though our culture or our laws might say otherwise. And from the beginning, God’s vision for marriage was that a man would leave his father and mother, as important as that family relationship is, and be united to his wife. This was to be a covenant relationship between one man and one woman for life. The covenantal aspect meant that they were to commit to faithful and exclusive love no matter what might happen in the future — for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health. But within the safety of this unconditional commitment, then the husband and wife were to experience a whole-life oneness. This is what one flesh means: to be one physically in sexuality but also emotionally, financially, legally, and in every other way. This was God’s design for marriage. But this is so different than what most people think of when they think about marriage today. Most people, especially in our consumeristic culture, think of marriage as a relationship that is only valid so long as it continues to meet your needs or expectations. But if it ever stops meeting your needs, maybe your relationship is really hard, or maybe someone gets sick, then you’re free to get divorced and maybe find someone else who you like more. Now, in the Scriptures, there are several sad situations that break the marriage covenant, including adultery and abandonment. But aside from these conditions, the marriage relationship was to be until death do we part. This might seem risky because of how high the expectations are for commitment, but in a broken world, this is actually the safest kind of relationship. You are committing your life to be with someone who has also committed, upfront, to love you no matter what. This is the best environment for sexual oneness, for having kids, for navigating the ups and downs of life, and more. But again, this kind of exclusive and faithful relationship of love is a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5:32–33 (NIV), “32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” This is God’s word. So, how did our marriage survive our decision to get married so young? How have we been able to navigate life and kids and career changes and moves together? How were we able to recover when we sinned against each other? By the grace of God, and the example of Christ, and the power and wisdom of God’s word and Spirit, and a commitment to follow Jesus in our marriage. Have we done this perfectly? Absolutely not. But over the years, we’ve had the joy and the honor of having a front-row seat to watch what God has done in redeeming and transforming each other to greater and greater degrees into the likeness of Christ. Do you want a better marriage? Or do you want to be better prepared for being married one day? Look to Jesus. Listen to Jesus. And submit to one another, loving and serving one another out of reverence for Christ. But if you do, if you commit yourself to this path, not only will you have a better marriage, but your marriage will also be a picture of the gospel out into a world that desperately needs to see and experience the faithful love of Jesus. Let us pray.
Following a New Way: How can we learn to navigate the rough terrain of life? Not by following the ways of this world. Becoming a Christian puts you on a new path — the way of Jesus — where we learn to walk in the way of love, goodness, righteousness, truth, and wisdom. This is the way. Recorded on Jun 30, 2024, on Ephesians 5:1-20 by Pastor David Parks.
Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.
Sermon Transcript
Today, and through the end of July, we’ll continue to work through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in a sermon series called The Gospel in Life. And today, as we start Chapter 5, we’re going to consider how our identity in Christ — our union with Christ — impacts and transforms the direction of our lives. I don’t know about you, but I love to go backpacking. The first time I went backpacking, I was in high school, and our youth group went to Colorado for a 5-day, 4-night hike over a 12,000+ foot mountain pass. Now, backpacking is so much work. You carry everything you need for life on your back the whole time. If you forgot something, you just don’t have that thing. If it rains, you put on your rain gear and keep going. And there are certainly no showers, beds, or bathrooms on the trail. But as some of you might’ve guessed, I love that kind of challenge, and I love being out in the woods or the mountains. However, we didn’t know what we needed to bring or what to do, or how to get from where they dropped us off at the trailhead to the end of the trail (on the other side of the mountain). But everything was ok because we had a guide, and our guide knew where we needed to go and what we needed to do to make it across some very rough and potentially dangerous terrain. Our guide made sure we stayed on the right path. He showed us how to hike through the woods, above the tree line, and finally across the snow at the top of the pass. Well, in our passage for today, the Apostle Paul acts like a trail guide, helping us know how to navigate the rough terrain — how to walk through life. Every one of us will reach different points in our path where the trail seems to lead in different directions. How will we know which way to go? How can we make sure we’re on the right path? the path that leads to life/love/joy/peace? the path that honors God and is worthy of the calling we have received in Christ? If you have your Bible/app, please take it and open it to Eph 5:1. We’ll read through this text and unpack it as we go.
Ephesians 5:1–2 (NIV), “1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Last week, we considered the call “to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” That in Christ, we’re being transformed day by day into the likeness of Christ. Here, Paul uses the idea of walking as a metaphor for how we live our lives. Three times in this passage, he refers to how we might walk through life, the first of which is here in v. 2 (“…walk in the way of love”). He says, “Follow God’s example (lit. “be imitators of God”), therefore, as dearly loved children.” Have you ever seen a little kid imitating their parents? Not just in their appearance but in how they speak, dress, or act? This can be really cute or scary, depending on the example of the parents. But, Paul says, no matter what example our parents were for us (good or bad), “as dearly loved children,” of our Father in heaven, we’re to follow God’s example and imitate him. But please notice the order. Paul does not say to follow God’s example so that he might love us. He says because you are dearly loved children, because you’ve gone from death to life in Christ, because of your union with Christ, therefore, follow God’s example. Obedience to follow the way of Jesus is not the way of salvation. As we’ve seen, we’re saved by grace alone through faith alone. But obedience to follow the way of Jesus then is what the Christian life is all about. And the first thing about this new way of Jesus is that it’s the way of love. Why? Because of the gospel. Walk in the way of love, “just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Christians are to be people of love because we know how much we have first been loved through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to rescue and redeem us from the power of sin and death. Jesus is the way. He is our guide. So where he has gone, we must follow. But what does this way of love look like? It might mean we must give our lives to save others, as it did for Jesus on the cross. But what else might it mean?
Ephesians 5:3-4 (NIV), “3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” If we are a people who are learning the way of Jesus, a way of love in light of the gospel, then first, there “must not be even a hint of sexual immorality.” The term translated as sexual immorality is porneia, which is where we get the word pornography today. In Paul’s day, this meant any sexual relationship outside a life-long covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. Basically, this means sleeping with anyone other than your spouse. This kind of thing, as common as it is and has always been in the world, should not be common among God’s holy people. It’s not that human sexuality is sinful or shameful, but that God has a very particular context for such a powerful thing according to his wisdom and how he created human beings to work. It’s a beautiful and helpful thing in the right context, but it is destructive and dehumanizing in the wrong context. So, we should be careful to honor God with our bodies and our faithfulness in marriage. Impurity is a more general term that implies anything that isn’t clean or holy. Perhaps Paul had the descriptions of v. 4 in mind. Obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking — all of these ways of speaking to others would be considered impure. Again, these things are common in the world, but they should not be common for followers of Jesus. Finally, he mentions greed. To always want more and more, to be driven by money or possessions, and to measure your worth as a person by your income or your savings, yet again, is the normal way of this world. The rich are important, while the poor are ignored/disposable. This is especially true in our materialistic/consumeristic culture. But this cannot be the way for followers of Jesus. All these practices should be totally out of place among us. There shouldn’t even be a hint of these things here. Instead, Paul says, we should be thankful, not entitled or selfish or worldly. We should be people who know we’ve received more from God in creation, more from Christ in salvation, and more from the Spirit in life than we could ever repay. We should be people who know how much we’ve been blessed, that God has lavished his grace on us, and as a result are thankful from the moment we wake up to the moment we lay our heads back down at night to sleep. Why? Because we are dearly loved children. That’s our identity; that’s who we are. And that changes everything.
Ephesians 5:5-7 (NIV), “5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.” Again, Paul doesn’t argue that we must act a certain way — to follow God’s example — to earn our way into the kingdom of Christ and of God. By faith in Jesus, we are already dearly loved children of our Father in heaven. But if that is who we are, then we must act accordingly. An immoral, impure, or greedy person, such person is an idolater because they are serving money in the place of God, remains separated from God, dead in their transgressions and sins, and will have to give an account for their life on the day of judgment. That doesn’t mean there is no hope for them. All people, regardless of their past, are invited to trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and a new relationship with God that will never end. Now, some people always want to cut out the bad news of the gospel to make it more appealing or less offensive, but this is not right. “Let no one deceive you with empty words…” Everyone needs a savior. Everyone needs Jesus. If we didn’t, he would never have had to come into this dark world. We would never have needed the cross. But we were dead. We were lost apart from the person and work of Jesus. And in him, we are being made new. So, let us learn joyful obedience to Jesus. But what does it mean not to be partners with them, with people who are not followers of Jesus? Some take this to mean Christians shouldn’t marry non-Christians or be business partners with non-Christians, but is that the kind of partnership Paul has in mind? Jesus was known as a friend of sinners. He was invited to dinner with tax collectors; he healed and taught and spent time with all kinds of people, some of whom with very questionable morals. So, Paul can’t mean that Christians can’t be friends with or minister to non-Christians. I believe Paul, as a scholar in the Hebrew Bible, is thinking more along the lines of Psalm 1, which says, “1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.” As dearly loved children of our heavenly Father, we must love people but not participate with them in their way of life that is opposed to the way of Jesus. Let’s move to the second section, which talks about how we walk through life with v. 8.
Ephesians 5:8-14 (NIV), “8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” It’s harder to see the walking analogy here, but v. 8 says, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” Paul mixes his metaphors here by introducing the theme of light and darkness, a theme which was common in John’s gospel. It’s interesting that he doesn’t say that you were once in the dark and now you are in the light, but that you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Again, this points to our identity — to who we are in Christ. So, we ought to live (walk) in a manner fitting to who we are as children of light. Paul says the fruit of the light (a third metaphor if you’re keeping track) consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth. We are to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. In fact, Paul calls us to expose them, that is, the deeds of darkness. Last week, we saw that the desires of our hearts are unreliable and sometimes are downright harmful to ourselves or to others. Our desire to expose what is shameful or wrong is not to heap condemnation on people but to show them the path that leads to life. It is so often the case that when behavior that has been hidden in darkness comes out into the light, so much of the power of that behavior and the hold that it has over us starts to diminish. In using this analogy of light and darkness, I wonder if Paul was thinking about his conversion to Christianity. In Acts 26, Paul recounts the story of Jesus appearing to him on the road to Damascus, saying that Jesus told him, “I am sending you to them [Gentiles] 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” (Ac 26:17-18). The mission of God in the world is to bring the good news of Jesus to people who are walking in darkness. So that they might hear and believe and go from darkness to light. This is why, Paul says, it is said, “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Many scholars believe Paul is quoting from an early Christian hymn based on several passages from Isaiah. But he includes this saying to point to the fact that this new path, this unique way of life, is open to all. Even enemies of Jesus, like the Apostle Paul was before he became a Christian, are welcome. But if we do this, if we live/walk as children of light and follow the path of goodness, righteousness, and truth, what will that look like?
Ephesians 5:15-20 (NIV), “15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is God’s word. And this is the third section which talks about how we walk through life. Verse 15 says, “Be very careful, then, how you live [lit. walk!]—not as unwise but as wise,” The first section invited us to walk in the way of love and thanksgiving. The second section invited us to walk in the light of goodness, righteousness, and truth. Here, we’re called to walk in the way of wisdom, “making the most of every opportunity (lit. redeeming the time), because the days are evil.” Wisdom means knowing how to live out God’s word in any and every situation. Now, not one of us is as wise as we could be. But wisdom comes when, having filled our hearts and minds with the truth of God’s word through the power of the Holy Spirit, we reflect on our experiences and learn “what the Lord’s will is.” This can be complicated. What is God’s will for your work/money/marriage/kids/future? There are a lot of things to take into consideration. But this is why drunkenness isn’t helpful. It takes us out of reality. It numbs us to what we should be thinking about and to the influence of the Spirit and rarely leads to a life of love, joy, and peace. More often, it leads to debauchery. Proverbs 20:1 says, ”Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” Along with sexual immorality, impurity, and greed, drunkenness (or any practice or substance that numbs you to life) have been common temptations in this broken world. And it can be very understandable why someone would want to find some sort of escape in this life, but this is not the way. There’s a better way in Christ. “Instead,” we are to “be filled with the Spirit.” And what does that look like? It looks like “speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.” It looks like singing and making “music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It looks like a life of joyful worship, of music, of thanksgiving, and so much more. This is the life I want to live! This is the kind of life I want for my kids and my grandkids! Wouldn’t this be the absolute best thing for your friends or family members? All those years ago, when we set out on our backpacking trip, we need a guide to show us the way, to keep us safe, to help us fully enjoy the beauty and power of God’s creation, and to make sure we ended up at the right destination. Here, Paul is both reminding us of our identity in Christ and that the way that we walk through life must be based on his way. He is the way. He is our guide. But if we learn to follow him, if we as dearly loved children follow his way of love/thanksgiving/goodness/righteousness/truth, then we too will be safe, we’ll be able to fully enjoy the beauty and goodness of life, even in a broken world, and we too will end up at the right destination: in the kingdom where Jesus is King, no longer condemned and in darkness, but forgiven and freed and infinitely loved forever and ever. Amen. Let us pray.
To Be Made New: What does it mean to “put off your old self” and “put on the new self?” This hopeful calling is about experiencing the whole-life transformation God envisions for you. No longer having to follow our emotions and desires alone, anyone can learn this new way of life according to the truth that is in Jesus. Recorded on Jun 23, 2024, on Ephesians 4:17-32 by Pastor David Parks.
Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.
Sermon Transcript
We’ve been working through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in a sermon series called The Gospel in Life. And today, as we finish Chapter 4, we’re going to consider the call of the Christian life to put off the old self and “to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” I remember when our kids were little. Some of you have little ones here today. Two out of our three kids are adults now. But when they were little, I could never really picture how they would be when they were all grown up. I could only ever picture the next phase of their life. When they were in preschool, I could picture them in second or third grade but not high school. As a parent, I had certain things I hoped they’d have in their future, but I just couldn’t really envision them in that future. But then they’d go from preschool to second or third grade, and by then, I could start to picture them in fifth or sixth grade…or even in middle school. But here’s the thing: my kids were going to learn/grow/change; they were going to be transformed as they grew up, whether I could picture it or not. And it turned out to be more than ok. I love the young adults they are today and am excited about their future, whatever it’ll look like. In our passage today, I hope you’ll see that you have a Father in heaven who has a vision for your future. But unlike me, he can see the end from the beginning. And his vision for your life is a vision of transformation for every part of your life. If you have your Bible/app, please take it and open it to Eph 4:17. We’ll read through this text and unpack it as we go.
Ephesians 4:17–19 (NIV), “17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.” The first half of Ephesians is more on what the gospel is. The second half focuses more on what the gospel does or (to use his language) what it looks like to walk in a manner worthy of the calling they’ve received in Christ. Here, Paul starts by looking back at where his mostly Gentile friends in Ephesus came from before they became Christians. He says, “…you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.” Now, remember that most people in his audience are Gentiles. But Paul isn’t cutting them down here. He’s been clear that everyone, Jews and Gentiles, were on the same sinking ship, and both groups needed a savior in Jesus. What he is saying is that apart from Christ and the power of his Spirit, the life of unbelieving Gentiles flowed out of a futility or an emptiness in their ways of thinking. Again, this isn’t meant as an insult. He says they were darkened in their understanding of reality because they were separated from God. He’s not saying they’re not smart, he’s saying their hearts were hardened toward God. They weren’t looking to learn about who God is or how he might want them to live. They weren’t concerned about him at all. But, and this is so insightful of Paul, if you reject a belief in a transcendent God who provides a transcendent/objective definition of good/evil, right/wrong, you still need to come up with some way of determining how to walk through life — how to make decisions, how to establish/live out your values, and how to deal with people who may or may not share your values or ethics in life. So the worldly way loses God, along with the wisdom and direction of his word and his way, but still needs some sort of compass to direct their life. So, what’s their compass? Paul says, “Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity…” without any limit to their desires. Apart from God, the only way to determine how to walk through life would be according to the desires of your heart. What do you want/desire? Who/what are you attracted to? What do you think will make you happy? However you answer those questions will determine your values/aim/ethics. But here’s the problem: the desires/attractions of our hearts, including even the things we think will make us happy, are unreliable for at least three reasons. First of all, we’re limited in knowledge and maturity, so what are the chances we’ll be able to navigate the difficult terrain of this broken world well, based only on how we feel? Probably not good. But, second (sadly), sometimes what we desire is not just unwise, but is extremely destructive to ourselves or others. Remember the Fall in Genesis 3? “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Ge 3:6). Listening to Satan and eating the forbidden fruit seemed like a good idea. It seemed like it would be helpful and good — but it ruined everything. So some of our desires are destructive, but the problem is it’s not always obvious to us which desires are helpful and which are harmful. As if this wasn’t complicated enough, third, Paul mentions that sin is blinding — or, to use the language from this passage, sin is desensitizing. Apart from God, not only can people not clearly see where to walk or what dangers they should avoid in life, but they’ve lost sensitivity — they can’t accurately feel right from wrong. Now, this is almost a 2,000-year-old letter. But doesn’t this describe our world/culture today? How many people today are chasing all sorts of things based on their feelings/desires/attractions, things they think will make them happy, only to find that they fall far short of a life of love, joy, and peace? All of this agrees with what the Prophet Jeremiah wrote some 2,700 years ago, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9). But if this is true, then we need something/someone outside ourselves to be our compass and help us know how to walk through life. We need a savior. We need Jesus!
Ephesians 4:20-24 (NIV), “20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” So Paul compares the ways of the world to the way of Jesus. He compares their life BC (before Christ) with the life they learned when they “heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.” And remember, we’re not Christians because we’re better/smarter/more deserving than other people. We’re Christians by the grace of God and through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Our life BC was just as darkened as any unbeliever. It was only when we accepted the light of the world, when we saw/believed that Jesus is the only way and the truth and the life, that we’re now able to see what is real/true, that we’re no longer separated from God, that we’re able to grow in the sensitivity/discernment of our hearts, and we can learn to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. Paul uses an analogy of clothing to describe this change. “…to put off your old self,” like you’d take off a dirty old smelly coat with holes worn in the elbows and seems coming apart, “which,” he says, “is being corrupted [spoiled/ruined] by its deceitful desires.” And “to put on the new self,” like you’d put on a brand-new coat, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” This is who you were created to be: righteous and holy. Of course, it’s true that God loves us just how we are today. But God loves us too much to leave us as we are today. So many of us (maybe all of us) have far too small a vision for our own lives. We hope to be made a little better or we hope things will be a little easier for us in the future. But our Father in heaven has a vision for us and for our lives that is as high as the courts of heaven. His original vision for humanity is that we would be made in the image and likeness of God. This, of course, has been corrupted by sin, but he still has this vision for his children, not just that we or our lives might be a bit better. But that we would become fully righteous as he is righteous and perfectly holy as he is holy. But…how? How does this whole-life transformation happen? Look back at v. 23. “…to be made new in the attitude of your minds.” This is how we put on the new self. This is the same thought as Romans 12:2 (NIV), “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” The transformation that is possible in the Christian life comes first from the outside in and then from the inside out. It comes first from the outside in by hearing and believing the truth of the gospel — of who God is, what he has done and is doing through his Son and Spirit, and everything God has promised for our future in Christ. It comes from the outside in by being “taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.” He becomes our compass and our way. But then, it comes from the inside out as our minds are renewed (made new). As more and more of our thoughts no longer conform to the pattern of this broken world but are transformed by God’s word and his way, then more and more of our decisions, values, ethics, and the aim of our lives come into alignment with the truth. As this happens, we not only grow in our ability to test/approve, to understand/discern what God’s will is in every part of life, but to be able to live out God’s will in every part of life. This inner renewal of the gospel leads to a dramatically new direction in life. But what does this actually look like? What would it look like to put off the old self and put on the new self? What would it look like for this cosmic gospel and the grace of God and our union with Christ to shape/transform everything? I’m glad you asked. This is really what Paul spends the rest of his letter explaining.
Ephesians 4:25-28 (NIV), “25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.” The gospel changes how we treat other people. Jesus changes how we treat other people. How? Paul gives five examples with the first three here. Let’s briefly consider these examples. First, we must be honest and truthful with other people. “…each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor.” It’s so tempting to twist/exaggerate the truth so that it makes ourselves, our work, or our kids look better. But this is not right. It can even be tempting to hold on to thoughts we know are false. But this never helps anyone. As we saw last week, the truth must always be tempered with love. But we must never think we’re loving people by withholding the truth from our neighbor. The way of Jesus is the way of truth. Second, Paul quotes Psalm 4, saying, “In your anger do not sin.” Our God is slow to anger, but he does get angry. So it’s possible to be angry and not sin. But given the old self, given our flesh, and given this broken world we live in, it’s incredibly difficult to be angry and keep from sinning. When we’re hungry, tired, discouraged, and yes, when we’re angry, we’re more vulnerable to temptation to sin. So, we must not let anger, even righteous anger, go unaddressed or ignored for long. This is what “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” means. If we let anger linger or if we let it spiral with no self-control, it gives the devil a foothold; it can give the devil space in our lives to tempt us to resolve our anger through worldly means. Paul comes back to the theme of spiritual warfare in Chapter 6, so for now, we’ll keep moving. The way of Jesus is the way of finding healthy ways of dealing with all our negative emotions, including our anger. Third, Paul writes, “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.” Passages like this make me wonder if Paul had anyone in particular in mind when he wrote this. Anyone who has been stealing (Karl) must steal no longer. I guess he doesn’t call anyone out here. But this speaks not only to the kind of people God is transforming us to be: hardworking so as not to be reliant on others if possible (of course this is not always possible). To be generous people willing to share with people in need. But also, to the kind of people who are in the church — former thieves/criminals. Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t that a hopeful vision for change? There’s hope for anyone in Jesus! The way of Jesus is the way of being productive and generous. Let’s continue.
Ephesians 4:29-30 (NIV), “29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” So, first, tell the truth; second, be careful with your anger; third, work hard and be willing to share with those in need. Fourth (I love this one), watch your mouth. As a preacher, I’ve been preaching this one to myself all week. We should only share “what is helpful for building others up according to their needs.” Unwholesome talk, including gossip, slander, and swearing, might make you popular, but it’s not beneficial/helpful for anyone. Jesus said, “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” (Mt 12:36). The way of Jesus is the way of building others up in how we speak to them. Finally, fifth, “…do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Christians have been filled with the Holy Spirit, the personal power, and the presence of God. God will not withdraw his Spirit from his children. But we should be careful not to grieve the Spirit within us through thoughtlessly or carelessly running after the things of this world or rejecting God’s word over our lives. I know there were times in my life when I just wanted to do what I wanted to do, regardless of what I knew to be true in God’s word. I think I was still a Christian during those times, but I also think I caused the Spirit much grief. Of course, it’s not like my life was awesome when I lived in that foolish and selfish way. But the way of Jesus is the way of being sensitive to the Spirit and being willing to follow his leading in our lives.
Ephesians 4:31–32 (NIV), “31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” This is God’s word. Paul ends with a great summary of old self and the new self. But this calling to renewal, to transformation, is really what the vision for our church is all about — that the gospel of Jesus Christ will transform the people of the city in every way. This is the vision that your Father in heaven has for you and for your future. This is the work that he is doing in your life. But also, we are graciously invited to join him in his work. To put off the old self and put on the new self day by day. The self that is slowly but surely being transformed into the likeness of Christ. May we be people who never lose sight of what he is doing or where he is leading. And may we be a church that never tires of helping people find and follow the way of Jesus for his glory and for our joy.
So That The Body Of Christ May Be Built Up: Did you know you’re needed for the ministry of the church? Even if you aren’t on staff or are a leader? You are! The whole church, equipped by leaders through the ministry of the word, is called to do the works of ministry. By speaking the truth in love, the whole body grows in unity, maturity, and love until it reaches the whole measure of the fullness of Christ! Recorded on Jun 16, 2024, on Ephesians 4:7-16 by Pastor David Parks.
Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.
Sermon Transcript
We’ve been working through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in a sermon series called The Gospel in Life. And today, as we continue in Chapter 4, we’re going to consider the work of ministry that every member of the body of Christ has been called to do. This teaching touches on the very purpose of the church and of Christian ministry. This is something I’m so passionate about because this teaching must impact our very identity as Christians and everything we do as a church. Have you ever wondered what you’re doing here? Like what role do you play as a member of this church? I think most Christians think that if they show up for worship on a regular basis, and maybe serve or give, that’s all that they’re expected to do. But is that true? If so, then you might get the impression that you’re not really necessary, that you’re not really needed here. But that’s dead wrong. You’re vital. We need you as much as you need us. But if we fail to understand what ministry is or what it does, then we, as individuals and as a church, are headed for danger. If you have your Bible/app, please take it and open it to Eph 4:7. We’ll read through this and unpack it together.
Ephesians 4:7–10 (NIV), “7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” 9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)” Last week, we saw how, because of our union with Christ in the church, we have already been made one. However, with so many forces threatening to pull us apart, it can be incredibly difficult to stay one. It takes humility, gentleness, patience, and so much more. And we saw that Paul shifted from a temple metaphor for the church to the body metaphor — that we in the church are members of the body of Christ. Here, starting in v. 7, Paul starts describing why the body needs to grow and mature and how that process works. He says that “to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” Now, of course, it’s true to say that every Christian has received the grace of God in their salvation. We are saved by grace through faith, right? So you can’t be a Christian and not receive the grace of God. But here, Paul uses the language of grace to describe more gifts after salvation — grace on top of grace already given. This is why Paul quotes Psalm 68. Now, if you go read Psalm 68, you’ll notice that Paul changes the language of v. 18 from people giving gifts to an exalted and victorious God to an exalted and victorious Christ giving gifts to his people. There are several theories about why he changes the meaning of this verse, but I don’t believe Paul was simply making the Psalm to say what he wanted it to say. If you read through the whole Psalm, it ends with God giving gifts to his people — gifts of power and strength. So, by changing the language of one verse, he points back to the whole Psalm. That the gracious gifts of God flow down from an exalted and victorious savior. Paul is saying that we now know that this savior’s name is Jesus. For it was Jesus who descended from heaven by his incarnation but later ascended through his resurrection and ascension back into heaven, where he is currently seated at the right hand of God and is exalted, having won the victory over Satan, sin, death, and hell. But, from this high and lifted-up state, above every power and authority in heaven and earth, Jesus continues to love and serve his body by graciously giving gifts to each one of us according to his own wisdom and measure. But what are these gifts, and what are they for?
Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV), “11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…” So first, what are the gifts, and second, what are they for? Well, in this passage, Paul says the gifts that Christ gives come in the form of certain people. And he either lists four or five kinds of people as we’ll see. First, “Christ himself gave the apostles.” What is an apostle? The word apostle means “one who is sent,” which, of course, could apply to anyone sent for any purpose. An Uber driver is a type of apostle. But in the NT, the apostles were unique in that they were chosen by Christ himself to be eyewitnesses to his life/ministry/death/resurrection. These twelve men were sent out by Jesus to bear witness to what they saw and heard from him, starting in Jerusalem and Judea, then to Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth (Ac 1:8). From the original twelve, after losing Judas they added Matthias (twelve apostles to match the twelve tribes of Israel), but then later Jesus added Paul of Tarsus, his apostle to the Gentiles. The early church was devoted to the apostles’ teaching, which, as Paul said back in Chapter 2, became the foundation (with the prophets) for the church, with Christ himself serving as the chief cornerstone. As the church, we are built on Jesus and the message about Jesus from his apostles. Now, in those early days, you could hear this message from an apostle in person. (Wouldn’t it be cool to have Peter or John visit our church?) But within that first generation, you could also hear the message of the apostles from their writings, which is what we have in the NT of our Bibles today. So, unfortunately, you can’t sign up to be an apostle on a ministry team here today. However, you can be devoted to reading, studying, and working to share the message of the apostles any day of the week. In fact, the more, the better. Second, “Christ himself gave…the prophets.” OT prophets such as Moses, Isaiah, and Daniel spoke on behalf of God. Like the apostles of the NT, they spoke or wrote down God’s word for God’s people, saying things like, “This is what the Lord says…” However, the prophetic ministry didn’t stop with the coming of Jesus, who, of course, is our great high prophet. Paul writes about prophets and the gift of prophecy in his letters. The book of Acts writes of prophets like Agabus or the prophets and teachers who led the church at Antioch. Of course, it also describes false prophets, as there were false prophets during the OT. For this reason, Paul writes to the Thessalonians, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” (1Th 5:19-22). When I think of prophecy, I tend to think more about someone who receives insight concerning something that will happen in the future. And this is often the case. But also, a prophet is one who reveals God’s word to his people. This is why “…the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.” (1Co 14:3). Third, “Christ himself gave…the evangelists.” What is an evangelist? The root word for evangelist, evangelical, and evangelism all comes from the Greek word for good news. Now, you could be an evangelist who bears any kind of good news. I don’t know if they still use this lingo, but Apple used to have product evangelists for their Mac computers and iPhones and such — spreading the good news about their expensive gadgets. But, an evangelist who is a gracious gift for the body of Christ is one who preaches/proclaims/shares the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The work of an evangelist isn’t done until they’ve both proclaimed the gospel and invited people to respond through repentance and faith. “The time has come [as Jesus said]…The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mk 1:15). To switch back to the temple metaphor, if apostles and prophets lay the foundation, then evangelists invite people to come in the building. Finally, “Christ himself gave…” the Pastor-teachers or possibly the pastors and teachers. The Greek suggests that these last two gifts should probably be taken together, although they might be separate kinds of people. Whether these last two should be taken as one or not, the truth is that while not every teacher is a pastor (I think of parents teaching their kids or a community group leader or small group kids leader at Midweek when i think of this), but every pastor is also a teacher. The word for pastor lit. means shepherd, so pastors shepherd the flock of God (yet another metaphor for the church). But what do shepherds do? They lead, feed, and protect the flock that Jesus, our Chief Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, has entrusted to their care. How do pastors do this work? Pastors lead, feed, and protect the flock according to the ministry of the word and prayer. And what do teachers do? Teachers teach! They help people learn, understand, and apply God’s word to every part of their lives. Of course, all of these people are involved in the ministry of the word. Apostles and prophets lay the foundation of God’s word, evangelists invite people to hear and believe the word, and pastor-teachers lead by the word, seeking to explain and apply the word. These are the people that Christ graciously gives his body. But for what purpose? What are these gifts for? (v. 12) “…to equip his people.” For what? “…for works of service [ministry].” But why? “…so that the body of Christ may be built up.” This means that ministry isn’t just the calling for a select few, such as the elders or church staff members. The leadership of the church has been given not to be an impressive show to sit back and watch but to equip you, the people of the church, for ministry. Now, there are several lists in the NT of spiritual gifts, including our passage here, 1Co 12, Ro 12, and other places. But, one of the interesting aspects of these various lists is that none of them are the same. There’s some overlap, but each one is different. I think that means that none of them are meant to be exhaustive. So, we can trust that Christ will give gifts of all kinds to equip his people and build up his body. But if this happens, if those who are called to the ministry of the word are faithful and hardworking so that the people of the church are equipped to do the good works that God has prepared in advance for you to do, and if the body of Christ is built up, what does that look like?
Ephesians 4:13 (NIV), “13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” What does it look like to build up the body of Christ? Paul says the goal of ministry is to build up the body of Christ in three ways. First, built up in unity. But unity in what exactly? Well, this is certainly related to the unity we focused on last week. But here, Paul says that good leadership and fruitful ministry equipping will result in unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. We’ll never be built up; we’ll never become mature unless we first have unity in our faith, believing/trusting in the same core doctrines to be true about the person and work of Jesus. But then, second, good leadership and fruitful ministry equipping will result in maturity — of growing up and gaining wisdom, love, self-control, and all the fruit of the Spirit. But if this happens, then we might attain “to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” And this is no small matter. No matter what you do for work, whether you’re in healthcare, finance, education, or in business, whether you’re paid or unpaid, this, this work of discipleship is the most important work in all the world! But what happens if we, as leaders, fail to lead in this way? Or if we, as the body of Christ, fail to do this ministry and fail to grow in our unity and maturity and fail to attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ? Well, there is a great danger here. Look at v. 14.
Ephesians 4:14 (NIV), “14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” Sadly, this is where many Christians are today. They’ve heard the gospel and trusted in Christ for their salvation, but they were never discipled, never expected to grow and mature, never led, fed, or protected by the word. They were never called to do the work of the ministry. In other words, they received the first half of the Great Commission but not the second. They believed and were baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, but they were never taught to obey everything Christ has commanded for us or expected to help anyone else do the same. This is just as much an emergency as it would be to have a baby in the open ocean. An infant, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind, is not cute. It’s terribly dangerous. Why? Because a Christian who remains spiritually immature is vulnerable to being influenced or led astray by any and every wind of teaching, good/bad/ugly. They might be saved, but they’re vulnerable to the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. There are false pastors and teachers today, just as there were false apostles and prophets during the time of the early church. There are some today who preach the gospel for selfish gain, perhaps for wealth/fame/power or some other worldly benefit, and not to build up the body of Christ. Jesus warned that this would be the case. Paul warned the elders in Ephesus that this would be the case, that wolves would come seeking to devour and destroy the flock of God, and they should guard against it. If you remain immature in your faith, in your knowledge of the Son of God, you will not be able to discern whether someone in a position of spiritual authority is truly representing Christ or not. But with the ministry of the word, and with every believer doing their part, the body of Christ is far stronger than any false teacher or false teaching, no matter how powerful they are or how many people are led astray. But if we see the fruit of good leadership and we are able to grow in our unity and maturity, what will that look like?
Ephesians 4:15–16 (NIV), “15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” This is God’s word. So instead of remaining immature and being tossed about by every wind and wave, instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow and be built up in love, as each part does its work (each part includes you, too!). So here, we find as good a job description as any in the Scriptures for what it means to be part of a local church. It means that because of our union with Christ, by grace and through faith, that we are joined to his body, of which he is the head. And that as members of his body, we are called to speak the truth to one another. But truth tempered in love for one another. Why? So that our unity and our maturity grow together and are expressed by ever greater love for one another. This kind of Christian is a Christian who is unshakable. This kind of church is a church that is unshakable, against which the gates of hell will never prevail. And this is God’s grand desire, his incredible plan is, for your life. So today, are you needed? Are you necessary to the ministry of this church? Absolutely, yes. You are vital. May we grow and continue to grow, speaking the truth in love to one another until we all attain the measure of the fullness of Christ! May he be glorified both now and forever more! Amen. Let us pray.
Keeping the Unity: Unity in the church (or any close relationship) doesn’t just happen. It takes work…and lots of it! In the church, our union with Christ means we ought to have unity with each other. But staying united takes loads of humility, gentleness, and patience. This is not easy; is it worth it? Absolutely. Recorded on Jun 9, 2024, on Ephesians 4:1-6 by Pastor David Parks.
Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.
Sermon Transcript
We’ve been working through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in a sermon series called The Gospel in Life. And today, as we start Chapter 4, we’re going to consider the unity we have as a church, that because of our union with Christ — which, we’ve seen is one of the main themes of Ephesians — but because of our union with Christ, we also have unity with everyone else who has this same union with Christ. This past week, Holly and I went back through a hard drive with all our old pictures, and I came across our old, grainy wedding video. Some of you know that Holly and I met when we were ten years old. So, even though we got married when we were young, it still felt like we knew everything about each other. Of course, that was far from true, but, you know, young love! But what that video captured was that on our wedding day, Holly and I were two who became one. And Holly and I were blessed not to have much conflict early on in our marriage. But do you know how hard we’ve had to work over the last hundred and fifty years of our marriage to stay one? Even in the best of circumstances, it takes a lot of work to keep a marriage healthy. But this is just a picture of the work needed to keep the relationships healthy that we have here in the church. There are many things that might be different about us or threaten to divide us, but we have been made one in Christ. But how can we keep our unity here in the church when there are so many forces that seek to pull us apart? If you have your Bible/app, please take it and open it to Eph 4:1. We’ll read through this and unpack it together.
Ephesians 4:1 (NIV), “1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” In Chapter 1, Paul made it clear that every believer is called in Christ — called into a relationship with God, called from death to life, called into hope, called into the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, called by the power of the Spirit, and so much more. In Chapter 2, we saw that this calling was a result of God’s gracious gift and because of God’s eternal love — not because of anything we had done or ever could do. Remember? “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” We’re not saved by works, but saving faith is faith that produces good works. Remember? “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” So, the way of salvation is not by works. But the Christian life is full of good works done because we’ve been saved. Now, it’s always important to make sure we get the order right. Otherwise, we can become confused and think that salvation depends on us. This is why Paul and other NT authors usually start with what the gospel is, but then they pivot to talking about what the gospel does in life. In Ephesians, Chapters 1-3 are mostly about what the gospel is. But here, at the start of Chapter 4 and through the end of the letter, Paul turns his focus more to what the gospel does. And Paul urges his friends in Ephesus to…what? To “live a life worthy of the calling” they had received. To live a life (lit., to walk in a manner) worthy of the cross of Christ, worthy of the gospel of God’s grace. Of course, here in Chapter 4, we don’t move away from faith; we don’t leave the grace of God as we learn to follow Jesus and obey all that he has commanded of us. We come to Christ by faith, and we continue in Christ by faith. “We live [walk] by faith, not by sight.” (2Co 5:7). But in Christ (and by faith in Christ), we are responsible for the way that we walk through life. A Christian who thinks that faith in Jesus is where their responsibilities end doesn’t understand what they’ve been called into. But what does Paul have in mind for a life worthy of our calling? How is he urging us to live?
Ephesians 4:2 (NIV), “2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” The life that Paul has in mind is guided/shaped by a particularly Christ-like set of virtues. He gives us three to think about. First, let’s consider humility. What is humility? Well, humility is the opposite of pride. Being humble doesn’t mean you’re a doormat and let people walk all over you. It means you have nothing to prove, and you don’t need the attention or credit from others; you’re secure in who you are. You don’t always need to get your way. Being humble means you know you’re not perfect, so you’re open to feedback, correction, learning, and growth. And that’s ok; you know that’s life. It doesn’t devalue/demean you or mean that other people are better than you. It means you’re comfortable with the fact that you’re human. It means you can apologize when you’re wrong. It means you can laugh at yourself; you don’t have to take everything about yourself so seriously. In fact, humility really means you don’t have to think about yourself that much at all. Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians, “…in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Php 2:3-4). Humility is more concerned about others than about yourself. So first, Paul says, be completely humble. And you know what? It takes humility to admit we’re not yet completely humble. Second, let’s consider being gentle. Being gentle is the opposite of being harsh, rough, or aggressive. Being gentle means you aren’t explosive; people don’t have to walk on eggshells around you. Now, being gentle doesn’t mean you’re weak or that you’re not passionate about anything. It just means you have self-control — you’re in control of your anger, frustration, and irritation. These things don’t rule you. As a result, you can choose to be kind, considerate, and respectful of others. If strength is needed, you can apply strength, but you don’t need to constantly flex on everyone. If authority is needed, you can apply authority, but you don’t leave a wake of bodies behind you. Gentleness means you can forgive others when they sin against you. You don’t have to punish people or hold a grudge. Gentleness means you understand there are better ways to influence others beyond using fear, guilt, or shame to manipulate people into getting your way. Now, from the outside, a gentle person might seem like they have less power or influence than someone who is more of a bully. But think about the difference between a little stream and a mighty river. The river will look calm on the surface; it doesn’t appear that much is happening, while the little stream will splash and roar. But which one has more power? Which one has more influence? Obviously, the river. Be completely humble, gentle, and, third, “be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Patience means being calm, being ok, it means having peace when we’re unable to get immediate gratification. As far as I can tell, the only time we need to be patient is when we need to wait, when we can’t get what we want when we want it, or we can’t get where we want to when we want to. Now, if there were no other people on the planet, if God made all this creation just for you, then maybe you wouldn’t have to be patient as often. But I still think you’d have to be patient! You’d still have to wait for the weather, you’d still have to wait for the seasons to change, you’d still have to wait to grow up, and so forth. But it’s not just you, is it? There are literally billions of us here! So, it’s inevitable that we’ll have to wait at times. It’s inevitable that we’ll get in each other’s way or step on each other’s toes or someone will want to drive 2 MPH slower in front of us on the highway, or misunderstand something we’ve said, or commit some other terrible offense. In this context, then, in the real world, humility, gentleness, and patience are what love looks like. This is what Christ looks like. This is all part of learning to live a life worthy of our calling in Christ. But these virtues are so different than the ways of the world, right? How many people do you work with or go to school with who could be described as humble, gentle, and patient? How many interactions on social media are guided by humility, gentleness, and patience? Not many. But, the truth is, what Paul is urging us toward was counter-cultural in his day, as well. Greek and Roman philosophers had lists of virtues — of positive values for life/society, such as justice, courage, wisdom, and self-control. But no one included humility, for example, as a positive virtue. That is, not until Jesus. Not until the Son of God came from heaven, not to be served (as he deserved) but to serve and give his life as a ransom for sinners (see Mk 10:45). Only after Jesus did people start to see humility as a noble thing, as something to aspire to. But if we actually lived like this, if we actually followed the way of Jesus in our attitudes and actions toward others, as counter-cultural as it always is, what do you think would happen?
Ephesians 4:3 (NIV), “3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” What would happen if were completely humble, gentle, and patient, here, in our church? We would be one. We’d enjoy the unity of the Spirit. We’d have peace. If everyone was putting everyone else’s needs ahead of their own, and keeping their anger under control, and staying calm when having to wait for something/someone, then everyone would be cared for and honored and loved and no one would be lacking in any way. Now, “Make every effort” means to be zealous, to try, to care…about what? To keep/guard the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. This is something that will take work/effort. But we’re not expected to do this work without any help. The truth is, the hard work has already been done. Back in Chapter 2, Paul said that Jesus is our peace — that through his death on the cross for the sins of the world and his resurrection from the dead, Jesus broke down the barriers between people and God. “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” And now, through hearing and believing the gospel, we’re united with him and with everyone else who is united with him. Paul isn’t saying we need to manufacture this unity. In Christ, we are already one. However, we must make every effort to keep/guard the unity, to keep the peace between one another. As Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Mt 5:9). But why does Paul have to urge us to live like this? Why does this take so much energy? Why does this take so much effort? Well, the reason is…have you ever met people before? Are people easy to get along with? Are people easy to love? Or are people incredibly hard to love? I say it all the time, but really loving other actual people is the hardest thing in all the world to do. Of course, it’s the best thing. It’s what we were created for. But in a broken world, to expect sinful/foolish people to love other sinful/foolish people so that we’re truly one might seem impossible. Now, it’s not impossible. But it’s worth pointing out that it did take the death of the Son of God and the gift of the personal presence and power of God in the person of the Holy Spirit indwelling/empowering us in order to unite us with one another in Christ. In other words, it took a whole lot to make this possible, so it shouldn’t be that surprising that it might take some effort to keep the unity/peace. But this commitment, this work, would be helpful in every part of your life: home, work, society. But remember, Paul’s focus here is in the church. He’s writing to the Christians there in Ephesus. And a church of Jesus Christ ought to be a whole community of peacemakers. Paul ends this passage focusing on all that we have in common in the church.
Ephesians 4:4–6 (NIV), “4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” This is God’s word. So, in Chapter 4, Paul switches from the temple metaphor for the church to the body metaphor. And no matter how many local churches or denominations there might be in the world, there is still only one body of Christ. There is still only one Holy Spirit who fills and guides, and gives life to this one body. Paul will continue to develop this body analogy in our passage next week. But for now, it’s worth pointing out that our unity doesn’t delete all the beautiful differences from one Christian to another or one local church congregation to another. Unity doesn’t mean uniformity. But that’s where the body metaphor is brilliant. There’s one body, though there are many different members, gifts, personalities, and so forth. But because of all that we share through faith in Christ, that we have one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father over all, we have a common bond and one that crosses space and time. This means you have more in common with a Christian who lives in China/Zambia/Argentina/Alabama today than with your non-Christian next-door neighbor. This means you have more in common with the Apostle Paul, King David, Mary/Hannah/John/Isaiah/Ruth, or any other of the faithful men and women in the Bible than with your non-Christian coworker, family member, or friend. Of course, this lack of spiritual unity doesn’t give anyone permission to mistreat their non-Christian neighbor/coworker/whoever. You must love your neighbor as yourself, regardless of what they believe about Jesus. But when you think about what really matters for eternity, we have way more in common with other believers than we have that divides us. If you’ve been saved by the grace of God, then none of us earned our way into this family; we’re all on the same footing before God. If you’ve put your faith and trust in Jesus, then our lives are all built on the same chief cornerstone, and we’re all rooted and established in the same love — the love of Christ! Isn’t that incredible? Isn’t that so unlike the ways of the world? The world says the only people you should love are people who like you or are like you. But if the gospel is true, then it’s not just true that you can be united and have real love and peace with anyone in Christ — but that you do, and you must guard this unity!
Now, normally, at the end of our sermons, we try to make the connection from the text to apply to our lives today. I’d like to close with an encouragement and an invitation for you today. First, the encouragement. I don’t believe our church is struggling with this. I believe our leadership and our church as a whole is very healthy and unified. Do you remember several weeks ago how Paul said that he had heard a good report about the church in Ephesus? That he’d heard in Rome about their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all God’s people? This is how I feel about you. Every week, I see examples or hear stories about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for one another here, and it brings me great joy as your pastor. This church is awesome. So my encouragement is to keep going. Keep working at this. Even the best garden needs to be weeded to continue to flourish. And there are way too many forces in this broken world that seek to divide us for us to grow complacent about the unity/peace we enjoy with one another. Finally, an invitation. If you aren’t a Christian here today, I want to invite you to come to Jesus. Or, if you are a Christian but are struggling with any of the virtues that Paul mentioned that will guard our unity with one another, I want to invite you to come back to Jesus. Don’t forget it was Jesus who opened his arms wide to all people, saying, “28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” May we be people who, by the grace of God and the power of his Spirit, are growing in humility, gentleness, patience, and all the other virtues of Christ. And may this church enjoy the unity and reflect the peace of Christ out into the community and the world around us. Let us pray.
