Friday, July 25, 2008

Letter to the Ephesians -- Chapter 4

Having prayed for the Ephesians to be strengthened and upheld in their faith Paul continues on to urge and admonish them in living lives of love for Christ: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1). Being that he is in prison for Christ Jesus Paul wants the Ephesians to see that he is no “lip-service” apostle of Christ but that he has been transformed so deeply by Christ that he is willing to suffer all things for Him. False apostles fall away when the “going gets tough” but those who understand the truth of Christ’s work on our behalf will willingly go to the gallows a thousand times over for the sake of the Gospel message. In light of this Paul desires the Ephesians to take his urgings and admonishments very seriously, as coming from one who is a true, called servant of Christ.

Paul begins his admonishments: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2). Paul begins with the marquee fruit of the Christian faith: humility, gentleness, patience, bearing, and love. These qualities mark the transformed and reborn life of the Christian. “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:12-14). No true Christian exists apart from these qualities which are bestowed upon us thru the gift of faith given by God’s Spirit. We do not rely on these fruit (we rely on Christ!) yet we daily strive to exude these qualities of Christ, knowing that His Spirit desires to work these in us and has called us to a life of good works in response to God’s immeasurable grace. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-25).

Within this humility and love Paul urges us to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). This unity that Paul speaks of is not a false unity but is the true unity that is within the one truth of Jesus of Nazareth as proclaimed by the Scriptures. “Of the Spirit” are the key words for us to reflect on; if a unity is “of the Spirit” then it is “of the truth” for the Spirit always brings the unadulterated truth and testimony of Jesus Christ crucified. “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me” (John 15:26). “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17). In fact God the Spirit (along with God the Father and God the Son) is the truth: “It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth” (1 John 5:6). The Spirit’s entire purpose is to witness to and guide us into the truth of Jesus Christ; Christ sent Him to us for that very reason: “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). This is also the very same Spirit of God who spoke to the prophets and forefathers of old. “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers” (Acts 28:25). Therefore Paul urges us into the unity of the Spirit, into the unity of the truth. This unity is founded on the pure doctrine and testimony of the Scriptures about Jesus Christ as the Spirit has spoken. “No prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21). If our unity is founded on anything but this testimony of truth by the one Spirit then our unity is nothing but an empty, meaningless charade, a false, worldly, and sinful union of lies. This is not a “subjective” truth that changes or can change or is relative to “perspective”, but it is the absolute truth of the Scriptural proclamation. This truth is what encapsulates and umbrellas the unity that exists in Christ Jesus: “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:5-6). Here Paul once and for all clears up the lies of plurality that creep up within the church and into our false conceptions about the truth. There are not multiple Christianities, there is one Body of Christ (one Church). There are not multiple spirits of God, there is one Spirit. There are not multiple lords, there is one Lord Jesus Christ. There are not multiple true faiths, there is one Faith. There are not multiple baptisms, there is one Baptism. There are not multiple gods, there is one Triune God. Therefore Christianity is not just one possibility out of many truths. The proclamation of Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures is the one truth that unites us into the singularity and unity of the one true God who has made Himself known thru the humble means of the Cross.

Though we are united in this one truth of Jesus Christ we are still called as individuals and have been individually given gifts of grace as He sees fit: “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it” (Ephesians 4:7). Despite our unity there is still a diverse uniqueness for the individuals in Jesus Christ. He has chosen us to have different abilities, gifts, and talents in order to serve the Church and our fellow man in a variety of ways. To illustrate this Paul quotes the psalmist: “This is why it says: ‘When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.’ (What does ‘he ascended’ mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)” (Ephesians 4:8-10). Thru these words of the psalmist Paul looks to show us that Christ humbled Himself as a man in order to lead us captives out of the depths of our sin into the heavenly realms of the forgiveness of the Cross. The verse that follows Paul’s quote is very telling: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God who is our salvation” (Psalm 68:19). God decided to bear our burdens in Jesus Christ and therefore He descended to us before He ascended back to the heavens as our very salvation. In this and thru this He has also given us His gifts so that thru them we might serve the Church He has established thru His blood. “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, 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, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13). All gifts and talents given to men have been given in order that they may serve the Body of Christ. We look to help each other with our talents so that the true unity of the faith may be found in the truth and knowledge of the Son of God.

Thru this work of the Spirit in our lives we will then mature in the faith and no longer be susceptible to the false teachings, doctrines, and lies of the world which look to pull us away from Jesus Christ at every turn: “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” (Ephesians 4:14). Without the unity of the Spirit and abiding in the truth of the Scriptures we will never be able to withstand the onslaught of the world, the devil, and our sinful flesh. These forces are strong waves that we ourselves can never withstand on our own; we require the strengthening of Jesus Christ, the work of His Spirit, and the service of our fellow believers in order to stand firm. Thru this truth, which is spoken in love, we will then be sustained in the one true faith until life everlasting: “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). It is only in this truth which is spoken and proclaimed in the love of Christ that men are grown in the real Spirit of God. Apart from this truth and apart from this love there is no “Christianity” and no real discipleship, but only the “cultural phenomenon” which plagues the world’s view of the Church today. Christ is the centerpiece and truth of our discipleship and He must continue to remain so or we are hopelessly lost. “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” (Ephesians 4:16). Apart from Jesus Christ of Nazareth the Church ceases to be the Church at all, and it cannot survive. Christ is our Head and we must remain attached to Him so that we may receive the constant flow of life-giving truth, salvation, forgiveness, and love that comes thru His accomplished work of the Cross. Let us pray that we daily strive to remain steadfast in the Spirit’s work in our life, staying united in His truth and relying completely and totally on what Christ has accomplished for us. “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished” (Romans 15:18).

Having urged the Ephesians to the unity of the Spirit Paul continues on to urge them to leave their lives of sin. “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. 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” (Ephesians 4:17-18). Due to the hardening of their hearts, heathen Gentiles live entrenched in their sins and completely separated from the living God. They do not know or understand the true God and therefore they continue in rebellion against Him. As Christians we simply must not live as we once did or how the Gentiles do (that is, to live in the desires of our sinful flesh, fulfilling their cravings). Therefore Paul is absolutely insistent that in the Lord we need to turn from our lives of sin. Christ came to justify us sinners, not to justify our sin! “If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!” (Galatians 2:17). God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ is never, ever a promotion and justification of sin itself. God utterly despises sin and this does not change in Jesus Christ. What changes in Jesus Christ is that God punishes all our sin on the Cross so that we sinners might be saved from our sin and pulled out of its slavery! Consequently a hardened continuing in our sin, rebelling against God’s revealed will, is what Paul wants us to stay away from, since to do so is to despise the victory of Jesus Christ: “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion’” (Hebrews 3:12-15). It is the unbelieving heart that is hardened in its sinfulness. This heart does not believe in the true God and especially dismisses the reality of the Cross. When our hearts are hardened like this to God’s Law and will (in unbelief) then we will give ourselves over to the lusts of the flesh. “Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more” (Ephesians 4:19). In the blindness of their hardened hearts men either forsake God altogether or use His Gospel as a lie and excuse to live deep in their lusts. Being insensitive to the wrath and Law of God, and thereby dead to His Gospel, men devote their entire lives to fulfilling the every craving of their flesh in food, drink, sex, money, pleasures, and worldly indulgences.

As Christians however we know that the true message of the Gospel is not an excuse for sin and is not compatible with those who look to continue in their fleshly desires. “You, however, did not come to know Christ that way” (Ephesians 4:20). The message of Christ has not come to us as a license to sin, but as a saving and rescuing message. “Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21). Once again Paul appeals to the truth, to the one message of Jesus Christ. This message never justifies sin or allows us to remain in our lusts but it always calls us away from our slavery to sin and into the freedom of living for God’s will in Jesus Christ. “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; 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” (Ephesians 4:22-24). This new life is not a command that brings death (like the Law) but it is the gracious call of the Gospel which fulfills the Law in Jesus Christ and transforms our hearts and wills to live for God alone. The perfect and holy commandment of God brings death to us sinners as it shows us the utter depravity of our sinful hearts, “Sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death” (Romans 7:11), but this does not mean that the commandment itself is the cause and source of death (that is sin!). The commandment simply brings to light the utter sinfulness of our sin that has enshrouded us in death: “In order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful” (Romans 7:13). Therefore Paul urges us to be transformed not by the commandment of God, but by the Gospel message of Jesus Christ; He alone can renew us and make us into a new creation in the redemption of His Cross.

Seeing that we have been born again in Jesus Christ thru our Baptism and have put on our new self in Him, “all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27), Paul urges us to be done with the lies, falsehoods, and deceptions of the world: “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body” (Ephesians 4:25). Being the very members of Christ’s Body we need to realize that if we sin, we sin against Christ Himself, along with every other member in Him. In light of this reality Paul especially targets untruth and the lies that break down God’s Word and also our fellow man. These untruths that attack God’s Word are especially dangerous because they undermine the Word of God which has brought us to faith and which sustains us in that faith. Even the most subtle sin, deception, and lie is a true danger to us and the Body of Christ. “‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:26-27). To succumb to any sin willingly is to give Satan a foothold in our life where he can begin his assault on our life. Our failure to understand the true nature and depravity of all sin causes us to think that some “pet sins” are ok for us to live in. If we give into them we allow Satan (the devil himself!) a place in our life where he sets up shop and tries to destroy our faith. This danger must be communicated to us Christians. We have indeed won the victory over sin in Jesus Christ, but that does not mean that we can continue to allow Satan a secure place in our life; if we do so we put ourselves and our faith into great peril. “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:7-8).

In light of this Paul urges us to put our “pet sins” behind us and rid ourselves of our selfish and lustful living. “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Ephesians 4:28). Not only should we cease our sin, we need to be encouraged to service and love for our fellow man. The goal of Jesus Christ isn’t to get us to just “stop sinning”, God desires us to start living in harmony with His will, doing all things from the new heart and self we have been graciously given in the Cross. “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19). Thru this new heart God looks to transform not only our deeds but also our words: “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” (Ephesians 4:29). It is a great lie of Satan which tries to keep us uncontrolled with our words. Many times we look solely to change our outward actions and we forget the power that the tongue holds. “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:6). The uncontrolled tongue is a very deadly agent that is capable of tearing our fellow man down with a single word. Therefore it is absolutely essential that as Christians we are urged to control our talk, so that we might only speak what is good and beneficial to our fellow man. And finally, our hearts (which are the source of all that flows from us) need to be changed so that our inner being ceases to grieve the Holy Spirit in our thoughts, urges, and desires: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). If we are given a new will in Jesus Christ then He will give us the strength to resist the deep and depraved desires which drive us away from the Spirit of God. Paul’s point therefore is that we need to see that our entire being is transformed in Jesus Christ. Our actions, words, and inner thoughts should all flow from the redemption and grace we have been given in Jesus Christ crucified. His love empowers us to turn away from all our sinful living and towards the compassion and forgiveness of our merciful God. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32). Let us pray that by His working in our lives thru His Word that our inner transformation is not a façade and charade of the devil, but that thru the accomplished salvation of Jesus Christ we might be inwardly renewed, walking, running, and soaring in the path, will, and salvation of our God. “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:30-31).

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