Sermon on Ephesians 4vv1-16 Southwood 14 October 2007
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 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. 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 led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." 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.) 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 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 fulness of Christ. 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 men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into 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. [NIV]
Introduction:
The NIV Bible heads up this section “Unity in the Body of Christ”, which is a fair header, but really is a call to live lives as Christians which reflect the truth which Paul has previously explained: that those who believe in Jesus have the Holy Spirit of Jesus in them: So, remember chapter 1 verse 13:
Ephesians 1:13-14 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession
And that, as we learnt in chapters 2 and 3, that a Christian is a newly created person in Jesus: neither a ‘Jew’ nor a ‘gentile’, but that in Jesus (chapter 2 verses 14-16):
Ephesians 2:14-16 14 ...he has made the two [Jew and gentile] one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ...to create in himself one new man out of the two, ...to reconcile both of them to God through the cross....
Chapters 1-3 have given us a very thorough theology of who and what we are as Christians and why we can be assured of our salvation: saved by Christ’s blood, raised with Christ with the power of his own resurrection, having access to the Father, sealed by the Holy Spirit! The question is then surely, which Paul now answers in the rest of Ephesians, ‘how then should we live as Christians –what difference should it make to our daily existence?’
BEING A CHRISTIAN IS...
But let’s first think about what a Christian is :
Not a club!
Being a Christian is not like belonging to a club. If I decide to join the football club, the expected effect on the rest of my life is limited. Contrary to popular opinion, it is unlike to result in a drastic change to the rest of my life: there may be some changes, but they are not fundamental to one’s membership of the club.
Not a job!
Being a Christian is also not like getting a new job. Most jobs begin and end at certain times: 9-5, the night shift, a Saturday job, etc. But being a Christian is about being completely recreated, morally, spiritually, eternally. A job will end –either in retirement, resigning, redundancy or being fired. But being worshipper of the LORD God extends into eternity.
Not a pension plan!
Being a Christian is not like investing in a pension plan either: it is not an insurance policy for the afterlife. It is as much about the life now as the life to come.
And so, what does Paul say in chapter 4 verse 1?:
A CALL TO LIVE WORTHY LIVES:
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Now, that ‘worthy life’ is not something we have to make up on our own: in fact, that would be quite dangerous. I am quite sure that Saddam Hussein went to the gallows in the firm belief that he had lived a worth life.
But was it a ‘life worthy of the calling you have received’? Even we, left to our own devices would live a life we might consider 'worthy' in our own eyes, but is it worthy in the eyes of Jesus who died for us? When you stand before God when Christ comes again, what seriously do you think he will commend you for?
What does that ‘worthy life’ look like?:
What would that look like? Well, Paul tells us. Again, we should be challenged by the priorities that God sets for us in a life pleasing to Him. See verses 2 and 3.
2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
To live a life worthy of your calling to Christ Jesus, you are to be a person full of humility; gentleness; patience; love; a person of unity, not division, and full of peace!
Are these your top priorities, far above acquisition of possessions; social status; letters after your name. If not, you have some re-thinking to do!
BUT WHY THESE THINGS THE MEASURE OF A WORTHY LIFE?
But why are these things the measure of a worthy life? Quite simply because they are Jesus’ qualities! We are created, were created, to be like Him! These qualities of humility, gentleness, patience, love and peace are the qualities of Jesus! If we are in Christ, if we have His Spirit in us, if we are to enjoy access to our Heavenly Father (and what son does not love the joyful approval of his father) and please Him, then this is what we must strive for: we have a Father who has told us what pleases him.
There are sons and daughters all over the world who are engaged in activities to win the approval of the flawed will of their parents, often in activities they hate -how much more should we live to please the perfect will of our Father in heaven! But our Father has told us what pleases Him –and it is only things which are good for you.
Humility
Humility is so important –no coincidence that it is at the top of the list. I hope and pray the new Team Rector is a humble leader. Christ was a servant –he served us and His Father by living and dying for us: without humility, how can you reflect Jesus?
Love and unity
Jesus loves His church –without love, how can you demonstrate that Jesus is in your life? The Father sent the Son to make a united people for Himself (Chapter 1, verse 22-23 “And God placed all things under Jesus’ feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body”.) –if you are a person who enjoys division, breaking the body of Christ, how will you enjoy being in the Father’s presence? You wouldn’t go to someone’s house, smash the place up and then be welcomed with open arms as a dinner guest –would you?! No, we are called by God to exhibit these good things in our lives in order to please God and to be the people God wants us to be.
For to be like Jesus is to be released from everything in the world and within you that corrupts and breaks and damages you and the church: freedom from anxiety, that sense of failure which dogs person after person I meet –from the poorest to the richest. Freedom from the insecurities that lead us to abuse others and hate ourselves.
Every addiction is simply a corruption by the devil of the person God made you to be:
o Pornography –yes, we are sexual beings, but not in this way
o Drugs and alcohol –we are made to enjoy peace and the Sabbath Rest of God: but not in this way
o Violence: we are to be warriors for Christ with the armour of God: but not in this way
o Gluttony: when God gave us every good thing to eat, He didn’t mean we had to literally eat ‘every’ good thing!
o The occult: we are called to be people who know the certainty of our future –but not through horoscopes and the tarot (much less to celebrate the things of darkness at Hallowe’en!)
All these addictions are the devil’s corruptions of what we should be. That means God is perfectly well fixed to address these things (often by also giving you the help of Christian brothers and sisters).
Jesus was so free of all these things. This is a guy who is seriously ‘together’ –and God wants you, wills you, will in eternity make you, to be like Him so that you too can enjoy the incomparable riches of God forever. This is why living a life to please God is the best ‘therapy’ there is!
AND IS THIS AN INDIVIDUAL OR CHURCH LIFESTYLE?
But is this just for ‘me’, for us as individuals, each living our ‘holy’ lives in a hermetically sealed moral vacuum? Or is it a communal thing? Do we live these worthy lives alone? Well, absolutely not! The humility, the gentleness, the patience, the love, the spirit of peace and unity, are all about the church –look even I can manage to be united with myself: God just wants us to try it with other people!
Look at verse 4, which makes this plain:
4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—
UNITY IN THE CHURCH IS BASED ON UNITY IN THE GODHEAD!
And what is this unity based on? A good idea? ‘Strength in numbers’ –are we just some religious herd of wildebeest, following some Darwinian imperative that if we all stick together we’ll be alright? What is it that underpins and requires this ‘unity’ in the church family? If we look at verses 5 and 6,
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
...we see that our unity as a church is based on the unity within God Himself: Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Is God divided? No! (Paul said that in 1 Corinthians –but I thought I’d borrow it!).
CONCLUSION
A flawed view of God leads to a flawed worshipping community and a flawed society. If we do not know God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit we cannot imitate Christ, and therefore simply cannot becoem the perosn God made us to be -no matter how we try or what good deeds we do! But God helps us in this:
And so in this next part of Ephesians 4, Paul shows some of the roles, servant ministries, which God –through Christ- has given to the church to achieve this unity, with the church living lives worthy their calling:
The purpose of our gifts is to bless ‘the body’, the Church. This is pretty simple stuff: so that we can live worthy lives, pleasing to God, He gives us, verse 11:
11 ... apostles, ... prophets, ... evangelists, ...pastors and teachers,
And the reason for these ministries is, verse 12:
to prepare God's people for works of service...
You see that my job as a ‘pastor-teacher’ is not simply to do the ‘jobs’ –the ‘services’ etc, but rather it has a goal: to prepare us all, ‘God’s people’ for ‘works of service’! Good works start with ‘the body’, the Church: only for us as individuals? No, see verses 12 and 13:
12...so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature
The goal is for us to be like Christ: to be what God predestined us to be. To become ‘mature’ is to be more like Christ: maturing: growing into what we were created to be! Then our lifestyle and union with God is steadfast. And there is great and profound security in this. See verse 14, when we are mature, with fullness of Christ Jesus in us:
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 men in their deceitful scheming.
That phrase in verse 15 “speaking the truth in love” is like a summary of all this: speak the truth of the Gospel to one another, receive it, and live it out! And then what happens? Verse 15 again
15 ...we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
And finally verse 16 shows this process in beautiful clarity. Remember this and the wonderful things ahead when we begin or continue to live a life pleasing to God, that reflects Jesus and frees us from all that led to the death of our old self. The work of Jesus achieves this:
From him –it starts with God: we are His workmanship!
the whole body, -not about lone believers doing their own thing, but the church: this is where your worthy life starts
joined and held together by every supporting ligament, -again, we work together as the family of God, and we all need one another.
grows and builds itself up in love, -and unless we are together, we stifle growth, leaving ourselves and others immature and grieving God
as each part does its work. –are you doing your part?
Let's pray...
*Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton, a member of the Hodder Headline Group. All rights reserved. "NIV" is a trade mark of International Bible Society. UK trademark number 1448790.