July 28, 2024|United in Purpose|Ephesians 4
JD Cutler
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This morning we continue our study in the book of Ephesians. If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open to Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1. This is a pivotal moment in Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus.
As we said in the first week of our study, Ephesians can be broken down into two parts, chapters 1-3 Paul describes what these gentiles have in Christ, primarily the unity they have with Christ, with Jews, and with one another, and in chapters 4-6 Paul describes what they gentiles should do in light of that unity. I have heard it said this way, in chapters 1-3 Paul deals with doctrines and 4-6 Paul deals with deeds. Doctrine and deeds.
One thing we can forget in our modern study is that this was a letter meant to be read to the church at Ephesus and probably circulated to other churches in the surrounding areas. They may have done as we do and spent time on particular parts of the letter, but at least most likely when they heard these words for the first time, they heard them as one cohesive letter from the Apostle Paul. Why is that important? Because it reminds us that Paul had an intention in writing this letter the way he did. He wanted all of what he had said so far to be fresh in their minds, still ringing in their ears when he got to what they should be doing. We don’t want to ever divorce our deeds from the doctrine that informs them, amen?
To that end, we want to remind ourselves of what Paul has said so far, not forgetting the radical nature of what he has told us we have now that we have been united in Christ.
Paul says he is writing to the saints (the set apart ones, the holy ones) who are in Ephesus.
That these saints have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing. That these saints had been chosen before the foundation of the world, predestined to be adopted as sons through Jesus. That in Christ they have forgiveness of their trespasses according to the riches of grace lavished on us in Christ. That they now have an inheritance kept for them in heaven and that it is secure because they are secure, having been sealed with the Holy Spirit, the guarantee of our inheritance.
All of this is because of God’s great mercy, because of his great love, not because of us. In fact, he says, you were dead, disobedient, and distant. But God, God made you alive, forgave your trespasses, and brought you close because of Jesus Christ, making you God’s workmanship, created for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
For the gentile, listen to the encouragement from Paul.
So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens and members of the household of God. You are being built together into a living temple, a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. God is at work in you and is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. Therefore.
This is who you are, now, here’s what you do.
R.C. Sproul says it this way.
In a sense, he’s saying to the Christian community, “Be who you now are.” One of my favorite anecdotes from the ancient world …(is) the story of Alexander the Great, whose armies of course conquered the whole ancient world. And on one occasion for battle, a young soldier became so paralyzed with fear that he fled the battle scene in a cowardly act of retreat. And when the battle was over, he was more or less arrested by what the MPs would be in Alexander’s army. And this young soldier was brought to the tent of Alexander the Great himself. And you can imagine the terror and the embarrassment and the shame of this young fellow, when he was escorted into the tent of Alexander the Great. And Alexander looked at the soldier and said to the young man, “Son, what's your name?” And the boy replied, “My name is Alexander.” Alexander the Great said, “Well son, you either change your conduct or change your name.” So, it’s kind of like what Paul is saying to those of us who call ourselves Christians. That if we’re not going to display the name of Christ in our lives, then we better change our names.
Paul’s language only gets more intense from there.
(ESV) 1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you…
Therefore, because of who you are in the Lord, I beg you. This is the literal meaning of urge. I am coming alongside you and begging you. This is powerful, Paul doesn’t merely command, although he could, he doesn’t merely list what is reasonable in light of everything he has said, although he could, he says, listen, this is so important to me and so vital to you, I beg you to listen to what I am about to say.
What does he go on to say? If we had to summarize it in a word, he goes on to tell them their purpose, which every believer from every time and in every place shares. We will look at the rest of what Paul says this morning under the heading, United in Purpose. United in Purpose slide
That is, if you are a believer here today, if everything Paul has said about believers so far is true in your life, you have the same purpose in your life.
Wouldn’t you agree that people struggle with the purpose of their life whether they are Christian or not? It is one of the fundamental questions of human existence. It drives everything from philosophy and science, to engineering and art. It is on the mind of the young and the old, the rich and the poor, men and women. Why am I here? What is my purpose?
Here is the good news. If you are a Christian, the Scriptures answer that question for you. Will we still have questions? Sure. But they are questions like how do I best fulfill my purpose, where do I best fulfill my purpose, but if we rightly understand what the Bible says, the question, what is my purpose is answered. Which is why Paul goes on in these scriptures not to belabor what their purpose is, but rather what they can do to work towards that purpose.
In light of what seems to be the Apostle Paul’s purpose, let me share with you this morning three actions that describe a life lived in the purpose of God.
The first is we must…
Strive for unity in the body.
This becomes immediately apparent as we read Paul’s opening words in chapter 4.
Ephesians 4:1-3 (ESV) 1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
I urge you to walk- to walk is the Hebrew way of saying, how you live your life. How you conduct yourself in this life or how you regulate your life.
Just a few examples could be helpful. When Paul comes to Jerusalem, the Jews are worried about his reputation. They say.
Acts 21:20-21 (ESV) 20 And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, 21 and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.
This was perhaps the Apostle Paul’s favorite word when it came to describing how we live.
Romans 6:4 (ESV) 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Roman 14:15 (ESV) 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love.
In Ephesians from chapter 4 to 6 he uses the word 6 times. But not just the Apostle Paul, John uses the word frequently as well, like in 1 John.
1 John 1:6-7 (ESV) 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Paul is urging his readers here in Ephesians 4 to live their lives differently in light of their calling.
What calling is Paul referencing here? The sovereign call of God that brought them from death to life, disobedience to forgiveness, distant to disciples. He says, I beg you to live your lives worthy of the calling, or in a way that fits your new reality in Christ.
For three chapters Paul has described their position and possessions in Christ, now he tells them what their posture in Christ ought to be.
We know this because Paul uses similar language in a number of his letters.
Philippians 1:27 (ESV) 27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ,
Colossians 1:10 (ESV) 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 (ESV) 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
Live consistent with the gospel of Christ, pleasing to the Lord, worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom.
Again and again Paul calls Christians to realize that their lives should be different because they are different.
On a related note, how can the church then preach or teach a gospel message that doesn’t call people to live radically different lives than before their salvation? How can we look over men and women who confess to be one thing but whose lives communicate another?
If you are a believer and even casually read the New Testament, I don’t know how you can come away without a sense of desire to be transformed yourself and to see those around you transformed by the power of the Spirit? Paul was so worried about the sanctification of the believer, that their life would be conformed to their calling, that he begged these believers to see that their lives should be different.
Furthermore, Paul reminds us with his language that this doesn’t happen in isolation but in community.
He gives us three modifiers that describe what walking in a manner worthy of our calling looks like. Or we might say, our lives will be marked by these three things if we are walking in a manner worthy of our calling. He says walk worthy with all humility, with all gentleness, and with patience.
All of these marks deal with other people.
Think humbly of yourself. Literally, think lowly of yourself. By the way, Christians coined this word, the Greeks and Romans did not have a word for humility because they did not consider thinking lowly of themselves as a virtue or a thing to consider doing. Much like our world, we are told to be proud of ourselves, to be proud of our accomplishments. But Paul comes along and reminds us that we ought to be humble in our estimation of ourselves.
Hold your place in Ephesians and turn over to Philippians 2 and let’s read what Paul writes there.
Philippians 2:1-4 (ESV) 1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
C.S. Lewis famously said, humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.
In reality, it is a little bit of both. Paul has already told us that we have nothing to boast in concerning our salvation. That we were dead and disobedient. Having been made alive in Christ we don’t now think highly of ourselves, but also, as Paul lays out in Philippians, we ought to reckon others more significant than ourselves. This is a laying aside of ourselves for the good of others, modeled for us by our Lord. Paul goes on in verse 5 of Philippians 2 to say.
Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV) . 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Christ laid aside what was rightfully his to take the form of a servant so that he might reconcile mankind through his death.
The unity Paul has been telling us that we have in Christ is threatened greatest when pride is present within the church.
When we have to have our way, when we have to get what we want, when we care about looking out for number 1 over the body around us, we threaten the very unity God has given us. So Paul says, walk with all humility.
And with all gentleness. Again, this means nothing apart from community.
Paul says we are to be gentle with one another. He applies this in various ways in the New Testament. When we are correcting a sinning brother or sister, we are to do so with gentleness. When we are correcting error, he says to do so with gentleness so that they might be led to repentance. The Apostle Peter says that when someone asks about the hope in you, we answer with gentleness and respect.
What is gentleness?
It’s more than a soft tone. Someone can be malicious and damaging and never raise their voice.
It’s more than apathy. Someone can seem gentle because they just don’t care enough to engage.
At its root, it is a deep concern to not unnecessarily hurt an individual. We can correct and be gentle, we can confront and be gentle. We can feel strongly about something and be gentle towards one another.
How different would the Christian community be if we just got these two characteristics active in our life? Humility and gentleness.
And yet, Paul goes on. The third modifier that describes what walking worthy of our calling looks like is patience.
Patience here means constancy, steadfastness, perseverance.
It is communicating by our lives, actions, and choices that we are here. We are a part of this body, we love this body, and especially when it would be easier to walk away from a person we are going to lean into that relationship.
There is a 100% chance that whatever church body you are a part of, there will be people who rub you the wrong way, that you disagree with, that there is opportunity for division. But we are called to endure, be slow to avenge perceived wrongs, to persevere with one another.
Paul now moves from what it looks like to walk worthy to what it includes. He gives us two actions that are consistent with walking worthy of our calling. Bearing with one another in love.
Literally, this could be translated as holding up one another in love. In some translations it is translated showing tolerance.
No matter how you say it, Paul is calling us to love one another in ways that hold us together not tear us apart.
This might make some of our less touchy feely people uncomfortable, but the root word is literally to hold yourself against, to embrace those around you. While not a command to physically hug those believers directly around you, it is a command to spiritually embrace them. Why?
Why are we to be humble, gentle, patient, embracing one another in love?
Because Paul says we should be eager to maintain the unity.
Striving to guard and uphold the unity. God has given us unity in the Spirit, Paul now begs us to exert all our energy to cultivate and protect it. We are bound together in peace by the Spirit, so we should live like it.
When you sense division in the church is your first instinct to report it or help reconcile it? To take sides or to take it to God in prayer? When you have potential problems with a brother or sister do you defend or do you defuse?
It is clear what we are called to, we are called to strive for unity in the body.
But… Paul doesn’t want us to misunderstand. The kind of unity we are talking about is not unity at the price of faithfulness, which is why the next action that describes a life lived in the purpose of God is we must…
Safeguard the faith of the body.
Turn back to Ephesians 4 and let’s pick up in verse 4.
Ephesians 4:4-7 (ESV) 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 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 grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Here Paul reminds us that the unity we are striving for is not a unity we create, but one that exists because of what God has done.
7 times in verse 4-6 Paul uses the word one. He wants us to understand our unity and where it comes from.
We all belong to the same body, the body of Christ. He is the head of the church. We express our connection to this body by being connected to a local body of believers. If we belong to Christ we are in one Spirit.
This is a reminder that there is one universal church of Christ, and while we can disagree on secondary or tertiary matters, we are one with all believers, everywhere, and in all times. You were called to the one hope. Who is the one hope? Jesus Christ.
Don’t miss this. Even if you come to a place where you and someone else disagree so strongly that you separate and join two different local churches, you are still unified in one body, one Spirit. You are still called to love, cherish, and pursue unity between the two of you, even if you relate to one another differently than members of your own local body. Amen?
We are not in competition with other Bible believing, Christ exalting churches. This is what Paul has been saying throughout his epistle.
Ephesians 2:14-16 (ESV) 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
Ephesians 2:18 (ESV) 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
If there are no distinctions between Jew and Gentile when it comes to salvation, then we certainly shouldn’t make one between Baptist and Presbyterian. Methodist or Lutherans.
But we also cannot stand in unity with churches that deny the inspiration of scripture, the deity of Christ, or the necessity of salvation by Christ alone. There is a time when protecting the body calls for disunity.
Where is the limit of our unity? When does protecting the body call for disunity?
In verse 5, Paul lays it out for us. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
If a group of people who name the name of Christ but do not recognize that there is one Lord, then we cannot either affirm their church or be unified with them. The Bible teaches that there is only one name under heaven by which we must be saved. That there is only one Lord of Lords and King of Kings and all things have been put under his feet. To deny the singular and unique claim that Jesus is the only Lord is to reject biblical Christianity.
This is why we do not claim unity with followers of Islam, or Mormons, or Jehovah Witnesses.
If a group of people who name the name of Christ but reject the faith delivered to us in scripture, then we cannot either affirm their church or be unified with them. These are the tenants of faith that are included in what we believe. There are many ways to talk about them, but one way is thinking about the song we sang earlier today. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, as revealed by Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.
This we must guard and contend for. Listen to what Jude writes in the opening verses of his letter.
Jude 1:3-4 (ESV) 3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
And in his closing verses.
Jude 1:20-23 (ESV) 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
You may say, "Pastor, those are easy enough to understand, one Lord, one faith, but what does Paul mean by one baptism?
Is he talking about water baptism? No and yes.
He is talking about the baptism of the Spirit by which we are immersed into the death, burial, and life of Christ.
Listen to these two scripture references that show us this truth.
Galatians 3:27-29 (ESV) 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
Romans 6:3-4 (ESV) 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
There is only one immersion that matters in salvation. However, that doesn’t mean that water baptism is unimportant.
It is the outward sign that Christ commanded us to participate in to signify the internal work of the Holy Spirit in us. This is why we do it and this is why we hold that it is important, and we believe that immersion is the biblical model commanded, but while we make those distinctions for membership in our local body, we remain unified with churches even if their modes are different.
But again we cannot claim unity with a church that holds to regenerative baptism, that is that the act of water baptism is salvific or adds to our salvation in any way.
Do you see the guardrails that the Apostle is giving us for our unity?
We recognize and honor the unity that God creates within the body of Christ, we do not divide what has been created, but neither do we seek unity with people that have not been joined together in the body of Christ. We protect our unity by ensuring that we safeguard the faith of our churches.
After all of that about striving for unity and protecting the unity of the faith, Paul says,7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Here, for one of the first times in this letter, Paul directly addresses the individuals that make up the church body. He says that although we are united in calling, in Spirit, and in faith, we remain individuals joined together in one body, as he says elsewhere, members one of another.
And with that he introduces the final action that must describe a life lived in the purpose of God is that we must…
Seek the health of the body.
Let’s pick up in verse 11 and read through verse 16 together.
Ephesians 4:11-16 (ESV) 1 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Within the one body God has created of the many, he has gifted each one according to his will and because of his grace.
Rather than individual gifts here, as he highlights in other letters, he focuses on the leadership offices given the church.
Apostles were those men who were given a particular calling and gifting by Jesus during his earthly ministry in the case of the twelve apostles, and then Paul after his ascension. He appears to Paul, commissions him, and equips him as an apostle to the gentiles.
Prophets, were first century men and women moved by the spirit of God to instruct, comfort, encourage, rebuke, convict, and stimulate their hearers. Paul has said previously in Ephesians 2:20, upon these two offices the foundation of the church is built, with Christ being the cornerstone.
With the church established and the original apostles and prophets dying off, with the collection of divinely inspired scriptures, these are two offices that did not continue in the church. Contrary to what some organizations claim, there are no apostles or prophets today.
Which leaves us with evangelists and shepherd teachers. Evangelists are those that go out to places where the message of Christ has not been preached and proclaim the truth of Christ.
Paul then lists two different things but with one definite article in the Greek, leading most scholars, although there is some debate, to take these as one office, a shepherding teacher. Elsewhere Paul calls these men elders, he exhorts them to shepherd the flock among them, or he calls them overseers, that is they provide oversight over the congregations they have been called to. Here, rather than use any of those titles, he emphasizes their roles as those that both shepherd and teach.
But more importantly than what Paul calls them is the reason that he says God has given them to the church.
Vs 12- to equip the saints for the work of ministry.
God gives leaders to the church so that they can equip, or furnish, the saints with what they need to carry out their work of ministry. Who are the saints? Everyone in the church. What is the work of ministry? Literally the business of serving.
God has called and gifted every Christian with a particular way they can be of service to the body. He then gave leadership to the church that helps equip and encourage them for that ministry.
How do we know that it is to be used in service to the body? Paul immediately follows up with ‘for building up the body of Christ.’
What are the implications of Paul’s words here? When a church calls a Pastor they are not outsourcing the ministry of the church. They are calling someone who is to equip them for the business of serving with the intention of building up the body.
We all have different gifts according to the grace given to us, but they all share a commonality in that we are to use them to pursue the health of the body of which we are a part of. This is one of the reasons why the picture of a body works so well to describe the church.
Paul uses it a number of times in scripture, one of my favorites is in 1 Corinthians 12.
1 Corinthians 12:14-21 (ESV) 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
The foot does not function like the hand, the ear does not function as an eye, and likewise the hand does not function like an ear. It takes all of the various parts fulfilling their role in order for the body to be healthy.
Why is this important? Because although we are spiritually unified in Christ, we are not where we should be yet. As long as we are on this earth we will not experience the fullness of the unity secured for us in Christ. But until he returns for us and we are glorified, we seek to be as healthy as possible. Growing toward maturity, growing towards Christ likeness, growing in stability, growing up, into Christ.
Why is it that so many churches seem to be carried away by bad doctrine, deceived by human cunning, led astray through craftiness? Because they lack spiritual maturity. Many of them are content with being consumers over contributors and spectators over participants.
But this is not what God designed his church to be and not what we should be okay with. Paul calls us higher.
He calls us to serve one another and to speak the truth in love, so that we can grow up in every way into Christ, who is the head of the body.
When that is happening, when each part is working properly, Paul says that the body will grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Conclusion:
Which brings us full circle this morning. This is the purpose of every Christian.
To be a functioning and actively helpful part of the body of Christ so that it matures and grows in Christlikeness until he returns.
Apart from this, you are not fulfilling your purpose or walking in the calling God has given you.
Seems simple, doesn’t it? And it is, but it is far from easy.
It takes all of these actions that we have looked at this morning to live in light of the purpose of God.
We must strive for unity within the body.
With all humility, gentleness, and patience.
Embracing one another in love.
Striving to guard and uphold the unity of the body.
Safeguarding the faith of the body, watching your life and doctrine as well as your church’s life and doctrine.
Seeking the health of the body. Using your life, your gifts, to serve one another for their good and for God’s glory.
All of us, working together towards maturity and health, until Christ returns and we all attain the fullness of unity in faith, in knowledge, in experience, and in Christ.
Let us pray.
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