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“A United Front” • 8.25.13 • Calvary
Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- The book of Ephesians thus far has focused
upon the heavenly blessings of God toward His elect people, granting them forgiveness
in Christ and the enduring work of His Holy Spirit.
- The rest of the epistle focuses on the
behavior of God's people. Our behavior in the world is a loving response toward
the Lord who has blessed us. The two cannot be divorced from each other.
- In this opening section, Paul lays out the
principle need for the body of Christ to carry out it's function in the world,
that need being "unity."
- In order to help us along, I've divided this
section into three parts.
I. The Character Of The United (v.1-3)
II. The Core Beliefs Of The United (v.4-10)
III. The Chief Concern Of The United (v.11-16)
Text
I. The Character Of The United (v.1-3)
• Ephesians
4:1 : "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk
worthy of the calling with which you were called," : Because of every spiritual blessing that the church has in
Jesus Christ, Paul, the Lord's prisoner, urges, implores them to walk worthy.
- He presently, repeatedly calls them to
consider their walk, an apt metaphor for our conduct and way of life. God calls
us to walk, not run with Him in a steady progression torward holiness.
- Walk worthy of the calling with which you
were called. "Worthy" comes from the Greek word "axios"
from which we get our English word "axiom."
- This word was used in the market place when
the scales were evenly, equally weighed.
- When we are invited into relationship with
Him and take on the name of Christ, certain things cannot coexist alongside
that name. By naming the name of Christ, one assumes a certain lifestyle.
- When a person is exposed for a behavior that
everyone knows is wrong, the first words out of the world's mouth is, "I
thought they were supposed to be a Christian!?" This is Paul's point.
- Act like you are "supposed" to act
given the name that you name! What does that look like?
• Ephesians
4:2,3 : "with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing
with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace." : A Christian is one with a modest
conception of themselves. Lowliness is a compound word: "taipanos"
speaking of a proximity to the ground, "phren" speaking of
perception.
- You have been granted access to God and have
all spiritual blessing, but here on Earth, you are not exalted above another.
See yourself as being low to the ground.
- Humility leads to "gentleness,"
that familiar word that is also translated meekness.
- You are tamed, even though you possess the
strength to overpower. Your strength is not having to employ your strength!
This leads to "longsuffering." Patience. Self-restraint!
- You can control your mouth when you most want
to speak out. It's paired next to "bearing with one another in love"
which is also translated, "to endure" or "put up with!"
- Oh, why would Paul say this!? Imagine the
tension that the two cultures had to overcome!
- Centuries of prejudice, cultural differences
and a complete litany of angry stories of injustices could easily carry them
away. "Endure one another! Put up with each other in love!"
- Don't just tolerate each other. Understand
that God is doing a work in them and in you! While you are waiting for Him to
change you and them, love each other! Work on keeping things together!
- Endeavoring. Sounds like work doesn't it!?
Guess what? It is! "Endeavoring" means to exert yourself, to be
diligent in keeping the unity of the Spirit.
- Notice, you are not MAKING the unity. Jesus
has done that. You are to keep the unity that He has worked to accomplish. Guard
it! Watch over it!
- Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond, the
word refers to "ligaments," of peace. As much as it depends upon you,
live in peace with each other!
II. The Core Beliefs Of The United (v.4-10)
• Ephesians
4:4-6 : "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one
hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is
above all, and through all, and in you all." : This is our unity: There is one body and one Spirit. The body
that all believers are unified in is the body of Christ.
- When a person confesses Christ, they are
entered into the body of Christ universal, despite their church affliation. God
accounts for all who are His.
- There are not separate bodies of Christ,
though as we all know, there are several expressions of the same body of
Christ, all of which have to do with emphasis.
- But we are one body because there is one
Spirit. He is the breath, the life of the body of Christ, given to all
believers. Without the Spirit of God, you cannot be a Christian.
- The Holy Spirit is preparing us for the
realization of what is our expectation, our one hope.
- You were invited into a relationship that
will be consummated. We all know that we are waiting for heaven and our
marriage to Christ, who is the groom.
- If you expect something other than that, then
heaven would be hell to you!
- Heaven is not the best day on earth
multiplied by a billion. It's possessing the capacity to respond properly to
the very presence of the One who saved us, forever!
- It's the perfect ability to receive love from
Him and the perfect ability to give love to Him, without it's being tainted
with sin and mixed motives. That is what heaven is.
- There is One Lord over heaven, the name above
every other name, Jesus Christ. Our one faith, our sole trust for salvation is
rooted in Him, His eternal worthiness.
- There is one baptism. This is not referring
to the baptism that happens in water. This refers to the baptism of the Holy
Spirit which is the initiatory rite into Christ's life.
- All who are baptized in water are baptized as
an external witness to the baptism that has already taken place in their lives,
the vitalizing life of God's Spirit!
- Finally, there is one God and Father over
all. This is His Kingdom, set up with Jesus as the centerpiece. He is above all
members of the church in authority.
- He works through all believers individually
and corporately. He is in all to work dynamically! What is Paul talking about?
Take a look at verse 7.
•
Ephesians 4:7,8 : "But to each one of us grace was
given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.'" : God is
authoritatively working through and in all of us, but our perspective is that
He has given each one of us grace referring to our gifting.
-
You may not have discovered it yet, but you are gifted by God to serve His
body!
-
God gave us our gifting according to the measure of Christ's gift. I like the
NLT rendering which reads that God has given each a gift according to the
generosity of Christ's gift!
-
Whatever measure that the Father gave out to Him, He in turn has lavished that
measure upon us! Paul shows us that this has biblical precedence as he quotes
from Psalm 68:18.
-
David is writing about the history of the people of Israel as they came into
possession of Bashan, a city with a giant for a king. It was a legendary
victory.
-
God ascended on high for them, a way of saying that He rose up to defeat the
people of Bashan, leading the captivity, the defeated ones captive, giving
gifts or receiving gifts of men.
-
In our versions, the latter is what you'll find. Paul is likely quoting from a
targum, which was the captured spoken paraphrase that the Jewish people also
read as scripture.
-
Paul is describing what Jesus has done! He rose up to defeat an enemy bigger
than us and He led us out of captivity, having been captives, giving us gifts
that we might serve Him!
•
Ephesians 4:9,10 : "(Now this, 'He ascended'—what does it mean but that He also
first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One
who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)" : In order to ascend, one first has to descend. No argument there
and this was what Jesus did, descending into the lower parts of the earth!
-
Some believe that this refers to the realm of the Hades, the abode of the dead,
prior to Christ's resurrection. Hades was where the righteous and wicked were
held.
-
Jesus tells us in Luke 16 that there
was a separation between the two places and that the righteous dead were
comforted in Abraham's Bosom, while the unrighteous were in torment.
-
Jesus told the thief on the cross that confessed Christ, that He would be with
him in Paradise.
-
When Jesus died, therefore, some scholars believe that this was what Paul
meant. Others hold to the interpretation that the lower parts of the earth
refer simply to the grave.
-
From there, when He rose, so also did the souls in Abraham's Bosom rise and
Jesus then would fill or be Lord over all things, from that which is below the
earth to the Heaven of heavens!
-
Paul's point is that the resurrection, a core belief of the united, is the
basis for our being gifted to serve one another. That is what His victory
provides for you and I!
III. The Chief Concern Of The United (v.11-16)
•
Ephesians 4:11 : "And He Himself gave some to be
apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers," : Here are gifts that God has given to the church which help to
facilitate the church's unified life. Notice, He Himself has given them!
-
These people have not appointed themselves to these offices! God has appointed,
selected, called and sent them to serve His body.
-
Some are apostles, referring to ones who are sent with a duty to discharge or a
message to convey. This includes the original Apostles, as well as people with
an apostolic ministry.
-
These are people with the authority from God to begin things, to set up
leadership and to set a church in order, all of which we have observed Paul
doing through his letters.
-
After apostles, there are prophets, men and women with the gift of speaking
forth God's Word, bringing out it's intention for the group, especially calling
God's people to Holy living.
˚
"In the religious assemblies of the
Christians, they (Prophets) were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak, having
power to instruct, comfort, encourage, rebuke, convict, and stimulate, their
hearers" BLB on "prophetes"
-
After prophets, Paul lists evangelists, messengers who deliver the good news of
Christ.
-
These take the church's message to the world that they serve. Next, Paul lists
pastors, taken from the word for a shepherd.
-
They are pastoral, given to a life that is related to sheep and pasture or
feeding land.
˚ "A
shepherd in the Near East was responsible for watching out for enemies trying
to attack the sheep, defending the sheep from attackers, healing the wounded
and sick sheep, finding and saving lost or trapped sheep, loving them, and
sharing their lives and to earn their trust." BLB on "poimen"
-
Sadly, many define their Pastorate by their CEO saavy or their celebrity
twitter following!
-
A shepherd will be judged based on the health and successful godliness of his
people. All of this stems from teaching, which is integrally connected to the
Pastor's heart.
-
A Pastor protects his people from enemies by teaching them to look to Jesus and
trust His Word. He helps to heal them with God's Word. He finds them and brings
them back with God's Word!
-
Teaching is such an essential part of pastoring that many have taught that
these two are actually to be understood as a "Pastor Teacher."
-
There is an actual grammatical rule that bears this out but understand this: No
Pastor can be one without a love for teaching, but there can be teachers who
don't want to Pastor!
-
There is a place for instruction in the body of Christ without being a Pastor.
Now, THAT being said, anyone who has a passion to teach presupposes a concern
for those that they teach!
-
The two are very connected and often are only really separated by a unique
calling that the elders of a church affirm on a person's life, setting them
apart to be a Pastor teacher.
-
Before we move on, understand that you are mentioned here even though you may
not hold an official title. With each description, you might have said
"hey, that's me!" Well, get to it!
-
But why do these offices exist in the church? What is their purpose? Take a
look at verse 12.
•
Ephesians 4:12-15 : "for the equipping of the saints for
the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of
the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be
children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by
the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love,
may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—" : These officers in the church are given in order that they might
equip the saints to minister.
-
They are not given to be celebrities. They are not given to be the center of
ministries. They are servants given by God to the church to give ministry away!
-
They are called to equip, to fully furnish, the KJV has the word
"perfect," the believer with what they need for the work of service.
The good work that God prepared for you? It's ministry!
-
You are being equipped every time you hear God's Word, every time a person
encourages you to follow God's Word over your own feelings.
-
The second function is the result of equipped believers: edifying of the body
of Christ.
-
The word "edifying" refers to a building being built up. This refers
to any activity that promotes a believer's growth into Christ. This is why
these offices exist and what the church is concerned with!
-
How long shall we do this? Until we all come or arrive to be unified or agreed
in our faith and the precise and correct knowledge of the Son of God!
-
That person is a perfect, a complete man. What is a complete man in the sight
of God? A person who is fully grown, matured in the things of Christ!
-
A minister of the gospel within a church has the privilege of watching you
mature into a fully grown spiritual adult. Some think that this is concurrent
with age.
-
Yet, I have seen some 50 year olds who act like babies and 18 year old who are
as wise as an old man or woman! Spiritual maturity is different for all, but
that is where we are headed together!
-
What does spiritual maturity look like? Paul anticipates your question and
answers it. He answers it first by citing negative examples, characteristics
that we must "outgrow!"
-
First, this person is no longer childish, the word referring to unskilled,
unarmed, ill-equipped to answer the questions that inevitably come their way.
-
A childish Christian knows they're right because they "feel it," not
because they "know it" from scripture! Much of the time, what they
know is based on experience, not exposition!
-
A maturing believer is leaving behind childish ways and moving toward a stable
position.
-
The mature believer is no longer tossed to and fro, a word which comes from a
sailing ship caught in a storm, referring to agitation at every wind of
doctrine.
-
This is a key element to a young believer, who believes everything everyone
claiming to be a believer says! One minute they are over here, the next over
there, back and forth, endlessly!
-
They are no longer childish, brought to a stable position and given the power
to discern.
-
There are doctrines of men that are to be avoided and trickery that is to be
watched for. This word refers to a person who is cheating at dice, dishonestly
hustling the trusting soul.
-
There is trickery and cunning craftiness, the "special" one of a kind
wisdom of men designed in order to deceive someone.
•
Ephesians 4:14 (NLT) : " Then we will no longer be immature
like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new
teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so
clever they sound like the truth." : Folks, I
cannot be more serious in saying that there are people out there mascarading as
Christians who are looking to exploit your innocence!
-
The Christian church is not to be a place where the doctrine changes with the
season or where the emphasis is on manipulative or deceitful measures. We are
to speak the truth!
-
The church is the pillar and ground of the truth about Jesus Christ, God and
heaven! But that truth has to be combined with love. Why? So that all may grow
up toward Christ, the Head!
-
Jesus Christ is the Head of the church. He is it's supreme authority. As we
grow, we are functioning as an expression of His headship, authority.
•
Ephesians 4:16 : "from whom the whole body, joined
and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective
working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the
edifying of itself in love." : It's
from Christ that the whole body is joined closely and knit tightly together by
every bond.
-
How is that bond strengthened? As every part does it's share! The KJV says,
"maketh increase!" The NLT says "special work." This body
grows when each part works!
-
Eventually, it is edified, built up as a structure of love! It's a place where
Jesus is loved and where people are loved in Jesus, whether they love Jesus or
not!
Conclusion
- The character of the united is one of lowliness, gentleness, patience and endurance, all for the sake of keeping the unity that Christ made possible.
- The character of the united is one of lowliness, gentleness, patience and endurance, all for the sake of keeping the unity that Christ made possible.
-
The core beliefs of the united are that there are more things worth loving than
there are things worth hating!
-
The chief concern of the united is that our unity leads us to conform ourselves
to Christ and to be a great expression of Himself in the Earth!
-
Much has been said and studied. What is for you? Does your character require
some prayer? Are your core beliefs in step with what is written here?
-
Is your chief concern growth in Christ and health for His body? I pray these
questions stir your heart as you continue to meditate on this section of
scripture.