God used the Apostle Paul to write a letter to reveal His plan. We had noted previously that the letter was not only for those Christians in Ephesus 2000 years ago but it is also for us today!
From the first three chapters of Ephesians, we learned much important truths about God and His relationship with people.
And because of God’s love for Christians, God provides specific instructions for living. For any Christian wondering how to live or what God’s will is, Ephesians 4-6 provides specific answers!
Eph. 4:1-6……..
What is God’s will for all Christians?
All Christians are to live a life worthy of God’s calling! Christians are to live a life worthy of the calling received from God!
What is the calling of Christians received from God?
The answer is simply stated in Ephesians 1:4 - For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.
Because of belief in Jesus Christ, Christians are bound to the perfect image of Christ! The change to perfection will be complete when a Christian goes to heaven, but God calls Christians to the change even while living on earth.
Salvation is a process. When you believed and received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and God, you were justified (God forgave you of all your sins; past, present , and future). Remember what God said in Ephesians 2? A Christian may be living hardships here on earth, but in the spiritual world and in God’s eyes, Christians are reigning with Jesus Christ!
Believers of Christ are in a heavenly position with Jesus not because they worked for it but because God simply put them there! Positionally, a Believer of Christ already belongs in heaven even though that Christian occasionally sins or have hardships here on earth.
In the future, when God completely changes the Christian for heaven, the Believer will be glorified to perfection! And in heaven, everything will be right with God, there will no longer be sins or hardships! Amen?
Between Justification (Christians are saved) and Glorification (Christians will be completely saved), there is Sanctification (Christians are being saved)!
As a Christian, you are saved because of your faith in Jesus Christ. As a Christian, you will be completely saved because of your faith in God the Father. As a Christian, you are being saved right now (being sanctified) as you have faith in God the Holy Spirit!
Christians are to live a life worthy of God’s calling. In other words, Christians are to live by faith, complete trust in the fullness of God.
Have you trusted God the Father, the Creator of everything? Good! Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord? Awesome!
Let us then continue to trust God the Holy Spirit, as He lives in us while we are still on earth.
Christians are to live on earth by faith by saying yes to God the Holy Spirit and saying no to sin. God gives specific instructions for Christians, but they are actually results of our faith in God.
Look again at verses 2-3 of Ephesians 4……….
As we trust God the Holy Spirit we will be humble, gentle, patient and loving other Christians, and making every effort to keep the unity with God and the church. If we do the opposite of these things, we are not really trusting God!
The message today is summed up with that great hymn:
But we never can prove the delights of His Love
Until all on the altar we lay
For the Favor He shows and the Joy He bestows
Are for them who will Trust and obey
Then in fellowship sweet, we will sit at His Feet
Or we’ll walk by His Side, In the way
What He says we will do. Where He sends we will go!
Never fear only Trust and Obey
Trust and Obey for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!
So, according to Ephesians 4, how do we trust and obey?
1. As Christians, we are to trust God the Holy Spirit by being completely humble.
Let me share a story which gives us a picture of humility; maybe you will see yourself in this story:
When Charles Evans Hughes was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, he moved to Washington and transferred his membership to a church there. His father had been a minister, and Hughes had been a lifelong witness to his own faith in Christ.
It was the custom in that church to have all new members come forward during the morning service and be introduced to the congregation. On this particular day, the first to be called was a Chinese laundryman, Mr. Sing, who had moved to Washington from San Francisco and kept a laundry near the church. He stood at the far side of the pulpit. As others were called, they took positions at the extreme opposite side. When a dozen people had gathered, Mr. Sing still stood alone. Then Chief Justice Hughes was called, and he significantly stood next to the laundryman.
How many Christians stood at the front of that Washington church that morning humble before God? Don’t you think God only counted 2? A simple Chinese Laundryman and a well educated powerful leader of America stood side by side, equal at the foot of the cross!
Christian humility says, “I am equal to everyone at the foot of the cross!” Humility is the opposite of selfish pride! Selfish pride builds up self to show off and look down at others.
Be humble! Show off Jesus Christ not self!
2. As Christians, we are to trust God the Holy Spirit by being gentle to others.
A gentle person can be described as calm, soothing, healing. What is the opposite of being gentle??
How quickly do we get harsh, frustrated, upset, irritated with someone? Being gentle to others is not as simple as it sounds. The first thing Christians must do is realize that God desires for us to be gentle! Yield to God and you will be gentle.
3. As Christians, we are to trust God the Holy Spirit by being patient, bearing one another in love.
It’s hard to be patient isn’t it? It seems today, we are always in a hurry! What happens to our relationship with God and others when we are always in a hurry??
When we’re in a hurry, it is easy to neglect God and others.
And so the answer and God’s desire for us in being patient is to agape love. Agape love says “I will pause and understand the needs of others.”
How quickly do we interrupt people before understanding their situation?
Let’s live as James 1:19 tells us, “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry!”
Let us close with one more thing that God desires for Christians.
4. As Christians, we are to trust God the Holy Spirit by making every effort to keep the unity of the Body of Christ.
How are we to do this? Look again at v3-6….
We maintain unity by the bond of peace.
If peace is what is going to bond us, and this bond unites us, we must have peace and maintain peace within us! Who is the Prince of Peace?? – Jesus Christ! We will have peace and maintain peace in our hearts when we allow Jesus Christ take control of our hearts! Who is seating on the throne of your heart when dealing with issues, especially at church and at home?
And, we maintain unity by affirming 3 truths:
1. There is only One God who is over everything.
If we allow anything else over us, we will cause disunity in the church and in our families!
2. Jesus Christ is the only way to be with God.
3. The Holy Spirit empowers and maintains God’s Kingdom.
Next time, as we continue our study of Ephesians, we will learn how God builds the church on earth.
Let me summarize today’s message with these thoughts.
Are you a Believer of Jesus Christ?
Awesome! You are alive to God.
Have you claimed what God has done for you as a Christian? As a Christian, you are positioned next to Christ!
And so, are we living our lives on earth worthy of God’s calling? Let’s take a moment to quietly pray about these things and review in our minds God’s instructions from Ephesians 4:1-6.
