Live A Clean And Holy Life (Ephesians 4:17-24) Series

Over the last three weeks, we worked our way through Ephesians 4:1-16.

If we don't understand, or remember, these verses, we're not going to be able to really hear today's passage right.

So I want to start by reminding us of the overall flow of Paul's argument.

Paul had one main point in 4:1-6. How should we walk, given what we know about God's plan for the entire world and for us? Verse 1:

Therefore , I exhort you, I, the prisoner of the Lord, worthily to walk of the calling with which you were called,

If we know how much God loves us, and what he did for us by sending Jesus... If we know that God's plan was to make one people for himself, living in peace with him and with each other. What should we do? What is our response?

We walk worthily of our calling.

Paul then explains what this means in verses 2-6:

with all humility and meekness,

with patience,

putting up with one another in love,

hurrying to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,

one body and one spirit,

just as also you were called in one hope of your calling,

one Lord,

one faith,

one baptism,

one God and Father of all,

who (is) over all and through all and in all.

Most of us tend to think about what it means to be a Christian in an individualistic way. And what I mean is, most us say something like, "God saved me from my sins, so I can have a personal relationship with God." If this is right, we'd assume that walking worthily of our calling means living obediently vertically, in my relationship with God. I obey him (pointing up).

But God's plan for the world was not to save you as an individual. God is creating a people for himself, a single family, to live in peace with him and with each other. And we, as a church, are supposed to live in peace with each other. We walk (1) with patience, (2) putting up with one another in love, (3) hurrying to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There are going to be times when we don't want to do this. Every family has its fights. But when families fight, they usually understand that at the end of the day, we are brothers and sisters, and we have to forgive each other, and show grace to each other. I know a guy whose sister did a terrible thing to him, and he refused to forgive her. She felt terrible about what she'd done. Truly terrible. And he wouldn't forgive her. I tried telling him, "But she's your little sister. At the end of the day, no matter what she did, she's your little sister." I thought for sure that'd work. I felt dirty saying it, like I was using a cheap shot. It's cheating, saying that, right? My sister will forever by my little sister, no matter what she could possibly do to me. We are family, and we will make it work.

The people of this congregation are your brothers and sisters. They are your family. Walking worthily of your calling means living in peace with God, and with them.

This brought us to Ephesians 4:7-16.

God has a plan for the church. He's creating a family that is holy-- set apart-- to live together with him in peace. But look at us. What a mess, at times, right? What a disaster we are, at times. And so we read:

Now to each one of us was given this grace/ministry according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Therefore , it says,

"Rising into the height, he captured captives,

he gave gifts to people."

Now, the "he rose"-- what/who is (it) except that he also descended to the lower part of the earth?

The one descending-- he is also the one ascending above all the heavens,

in order that he might fill/fulfill all things.

And he gave, on the one hand, apostles,

on the other hand prophets,

on the other hand evangelists,

on the other hand pastors and teachers

for the fixing/equipping of the holy ones,

(1) for the work of service/ministry,

(2) for the building of Christ's body

until we all reach

for the unity of faith and the knowledge of the son of God,

for a perfect/mature man,

for the measure of the maturity of the fullness of Christ,

in order that no longer we may be infants,

being tossed by waves and being carried by every wind of teaching

in the trickery of people,

in cunning for the scheming of error/deceit.

Now speaking the truth in love, we must grow into him into/for him with reference to all,