Ephesians 4D. After all no one in the body of Christ is perfect. No one is above correction. Polite company overlooks flaws and avoids sharp words

Transcription

1 Ephesians 4D There cmes a time in every church family when tugh wrds must be spken Times when ur leaders give us direct cunsel, admnishing us t live up t ur calling in Christ After all n ne in the bdy f Christ is perfect N ne is abve crrectin Yet in plite sciety, we usually shy away frm cnfrntatins and difficult cnversatins We wrry abut perceptins, hurt feelings, lsing friendships Plite cmpany verlks flaws and avids sharp wrds And there is n sciety mre plite than church sciety Nw, it s a gd thing that we be cncerned with preserving relatinships And it s an act f lve t verlk smene s flaws r idisyncratic behavirs But when thse flaws stand in the way f ur crprate pursuit f gdliness r the missin f the church, then we must respnd Our leaders must cnfrnt issues And the bdy must rally arund the weaker members and supprt them But if things dn t imprve, the leadership ultimately has a respnsibility t the larger bdy t take actin We must rebuke, expel r therwise discipline the ffending member r members In the New Testament, we have a number f letters fcused n misbehaving r spiritually immature churches Typically, ur thughts turn t the letters t Crinth This church had a reputatin fr carnality 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Ephesians 4D 2 f 13 And Paul s letters recrd the many shrtcmings in the way that church perated, including their misuse f spiritual gifts S Paul wrte t crrect the church, and as read thse letters yu find Paul mving between encuragement and admnishment But Crinth did crner the market n carnality and immaturity There was anther church in the first century that struggled with rising abve their pagan culture And that church has nt tw but three letters written t it Of curse, I m speaking f the church f Ephesus Besides the letter f Ephesians, we have tw letters Paul wrte t the pastr f that church, Timthy And add t thse Jesus shrt letter t Ephesus in Revelatin and we begin t see hw imprtant this early church is in scripture By the midpint f chapter 4, Paul has explained the purpse f spiritual gifts in the bdy t this church He tld us that the Lrd has gifted the bdy f Christ with a diversity f special abilities And He intended that we put ur spiritual ability t use in service t Him by strengthening the bdy f Christ As we serve thers in ur spiritual gift, we make thers spiritually strnger, s they, in turn, can serve better And s the cycle cntinues But this prcess nly wrks if we all participate in such a way that we preserve the intended purpse and usefulness f ur gift Gifts must be develped befre they reach their full ptential I may have the gift f teaching, but I can t teach effectively until I ve applied myself t develping my knwledge and skills This prcess desn t deny the supernatural rigins f my gift It merely reflects Gd s purpse in equipping me He wants me t spend time wrking in me by His Spirit s I will develp int a mature man in Christ even as I help thers 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Ephesians 4D 3 f 13 Secndly, these gifts must be regulated in the bdy s they wrk tgether in harmny We can t have everyne ding everything simultaneusly We have times and places and even seasns when particular individuals serve the bdy If we regulate gifts prperly, everyne has a place and rle, everyne is grwing, everyne is maturing tgether in unity But when we sme are left behind r everyne is left t d things their wn way, the gathering f the bdy deterirates rapidly int anarchy and cnfusin In the letters Paul wrte t Crinth we can see that utcme, which is why Paul cmmands them t grw up spiritually He calls them t stp thinking and acting like children but t begin t mature in their understanding and behavirs Child-like behavir in the church means thinking and acting like the unbelieving wrld Hlding t the same bad thinking and false teaching Cnceding t the same temptatins Embriled in the same disputes, exhibiting the same pride, cntempt and jealusies And these same prblems existed in Ephesus S nw in chapter 4, Paul s letter takes n a decidedly negative tne, at least fr a mment Having explained spiritual gifts as tls t strengthen and mature the bdy, he nw admnishes the church fr failing t use their gifts t this appinted utcme Eph. 4:14 As a result, we are n lnger t be children, tssed here and there by waves and carried abut by every wind f dctrine, by the trickery f men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; Eph. 4:15 but speaking the truth in lve, we are t grw up in all aspects int Him wh is the head, even Christ, Eph. 4:16 frm whm the whle bdy, being fitted and held tgether by what every jint supplies, accrding t the prper wrking f each individual part, causes the grwth f the bdy fr the building up f itself in lve Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Ephesians 4D 4 f 13 Paul beings v.14 with the Greek wrd hina, which means in rder that r as a result as my Bible said The church s spiritual gifts were given t the church t drive ur spiritual maturity And Gd accmmdated ur spiritual grwth as Christians thrugh this gift in rder that we we wuld stp acting like children Simply pint, spiritual maturity is suppsed t result frm the prper peratin f spiritual gifts And prper behavir is suppsed t results frm spiritual maturity At the end f the day, it matters little hw much spiritual maturity smene gains thrugh study r serving if in the end they dn t act the part If we can talk the thelgical talk but aren t walking the walk, it s nthing mre than vanity Ntice Paul defines being children in the bdy f Christ as being tssed in waves and carry abut by the wind Paul s metaphrs emphasize tw aspects r qualities t child-like living First, the immature Christian has a spiritual life that s ut f cntrl When I say ut f cntrl I dn t mean crazy r bizarre I mean it the way Paul des...smene wh has nt gained cntrl ver their wn spiritual grwth They are tssed and carried by thers They dn t determine their spiritual curse in life They haven t determined their strengths and put thse t wrk in service t Christ And they have n insight int their spiritual weaknesses and they aren t seeking the help f ther gifts in the bdy t grw They are flating alng, jumping frm ne thing t anther 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Ephesians 4D 5 f 13 Paul says they becme victims f the trickery f men scheming deceitfully t entrap the ignrant believer Such was the case in Ephesus, where false teachers were cntending with the leaders like Timthy And they were gaining a fthld by recruiting the spiritually immature within the church These spiritual children weren t aren t grunded by a firm appreciatin f biblical truth, s they were cnstantly tssed The Greek wrd translated tssed here and there by waves is a euphemism fr cnfusin S when a new, false teaching cmes alng t tickle their ears, these children fllw after it in ignrance They are s cnfused in their understanding f their wn faith, they have n hpe t stay n curse Or if a new spiritual bk (like The Shack ) r sme prgram (like 40 Days f Purpse ) captures their attentin, they quickly flck t it Paul says they are carried away by every wind f dctrine Wind suggests smething fleeting, lacking substance, smething that s here ne mment and gne the next Lacking maturity, these children f the faith chase after the latest spiritual fad like a child chases leaves blwn by the wind And these fads cme and g because they make n meaningful impact n the spiritual maturity f the bdy f Christ Even wrse, these winds f dctrine distract the bdy frm a prper study f Gd s wrd which prduces lasting change in ur hearts The rt prblem fr every spiritual child is they have n plan fr where they re ging in their spiritual life They dn t understand the big picture f what Gd is ding in their life S they dn t knw where they re trying t g 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Ephesians 4D 6 f 13 They vlunteer spradically t serve in the church and ften in places where they have n spiritual gifting At the same time, they pass by the very pprtunities t serve r learn that Gd prepared fr them and they desperately need They participate in their faith like a smene rting fr a sprts team Yu may have heard that ftball is a game played by 22 men wh desperate need rest And it s watched by 50,000 peple wh desperately need exercise Similarly, the spiritually immature children watch thers at wrk in their spiritual gifts when they desperately need t get in the game themselves Obviusly, Paul wuldn t have said these things t the church in Ephesus if nt fr the fact that they weren t taking advantage f spiritual gifts in the bdy S in v.15 he calls fr the church t speak the truth in lve What truth needed t be spken in lve? By the cntext, we can nly assume Paul is talking abut crrecting, admnishing and exhrting thse wh needed it Thse in the bdy wh aren t participating at all Or aren t ding the right things, r are simply wrking in the wrng ways r in the wrng places...need t knw Smene needs t speak this truth t them, thugh in lve We encurage thse wh have self-dubt We teach thse wh are acting in ignrance We exhrt thse wh are lazy r hesitant We admnish thse wh are acting sinfully The nly thing we can t d is remain silent r speak absent a sincere lve fr the persn If we lve ne anther, we want each ther t grw up int a mature reflectin f Christ, as Paul says at the end f v Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Ephesians 4D 7 f 13 We want t be like the ne Wh leads His church Or at least that shuld be ur gal And s we serve ne anther in ur gift, we receive service frm thers and we speak up in lve when necessary t ensure this bdy is wrking as Gd intended If yu want a preview f hw this prcess is suppsed t wrk, cnsider Paul s analgy in v.16 When everything is wrking in the right way, yu have first a whle bdy We use the term bdy f Christ cmmnly, but smetimes I think we think f the wrk merely as a synnym fr cllectin Like I might say Mzart had a large bdy f wrk But in the Bible, the term bdy pints in a different cllectin We re nt merely a cllectin f Christians...ideally we ll wrk tgether as if we were a single rganism A single, like-minded bdy mving in the same directin with a cmmn purpse Like the human bdy, each part plays an essential rle and tgether Paul says we will be fitted and held tgether These tw Greek wrds are reminiscent f a descriptin f a stne masn s handiwrk Fitting stnes means selecting the right ne fr a particular use Sizing it up and then shaping it gently until it s perfectly suited t serve a place in the building Then it s put in place and held tgether The stne wuld be held in place nt by mrtar but by the supprt f the surrunding stnes It was held tgether by the ther stnes that were equally wellfitted t their places That s the gal fr this bdy f Christ 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Ephesians 4D 8 f 13 Our spiritual gifts are tls in the Hand f the Master Carpenter, Jesus He knws where we are best suited t serve Him in this bdy And He uses the gifts f thers arund us in the bdy t gently knck ff ur rugh edges, spiritually speaking S that we fit int place perfectly And then He hlds us there by surrunding us by ther believers wh are fitted t their respective places as well They teach us t strengthen us fr the walk ahead They encurage us thrugh trials They pray fr us cntinually They perfrm music t help us wrship They ck and clean, mw and paint t nurture and cmfrt us And they call us when we re absent and crrect us when we re in errr And yet these things must be regulated, accrding t the prper wrking f each part, Paul says That phrase is s beautifully wrded in the Greek The Greek wrds translated prper means literally petic meter And the wrd wrking can mean energy r actin S Paul is cmparing the functining f everyne tgether as like petry in mtin Like all the instruments in a symphny playing in harmny I see glimpses f that ideal at times here at OHBC When we wrk tgether in service t a family in need Or when we cme tgether fr a wrk day at the church Or when we rally t supprt a missinary in need It s petry in mtin 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Ephesians 4D 9 f 13 But every church knws times when things aren t quite in sync When sme parts are mving, but sme are still Sme instruments are in tune, sme nt s much Sme f ur wrks rhyme while thers are prly chsen When everything is in sync, Paul says it causes the bdy t grw I believe he is speaking primarily abut the individual spiritual grwth f each individual Each f us mve further away frm child-like spirituality and tward a mature perspective Mre imprtantly, we adpt mature behavirs and becme strnger fllwers f Christ But I think Paul is als speaking implying numerical grwth Because the wrld is naturally attracted t symphnies and petry Because the immature believer will take nte f a mature, stable Christian wh isn t tssed abut by the fads in ther churches Because mature Christians will flck t thse cmmunities that reflect their values and grwth And because mature, strng Christians naturally multiply by witnessing t the wrld arund them In ther wrds, the very things we want s badly, t grw and reach a wider audience, are best accmplished by hw we grw ne anther here As Paul says at the end f v.16, we need t build each ur bdy up in lve t get where we want Speaking truth in lve abut what needs t change, abut hw each f us may becme a mre mature member f this bdy Friends, that s what it lks like when every jint in ur bdy is supplying what we were designed t cntribute It s a beautiful thing, but it nly wrks in a culture where we re willing t rll up ur sleeves and get t wrk 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Ephesians 4D 10 f 13 We need t drp the pretense f ur perfect lives which is nly pssible when we maintain superficial relatinships We need t lk and speak hnestly abut where we g as a bdy We need t speak in humility and listen with patience And the biggest threat t this unity is sin within the members f ur bdy By sin, I dn t mean the ccasinal persnal sins that everyne battles daily I mean lifestyles f sin, adpted patterns f ungdliness that are cndned and even encuraged in the bdy Often these sins fly belw ur radar, because they are cmmn in wrldly life Paul addresses this enemy in rest f chapter 4, which we ll just step a little way int tday Eph. 4:17 S this I say, and affirm tgether with the Lrd, that yu walk n lnger just as the Gentiles als walk, in the futility f their mind, Eph. 4:18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded frm the life f Gd because f the ignrance that is in them, because f the hardness f their heart; Eph. 4:19 and they, having becme callus, have given themselves ver t sensuality fr the practice f every kind f impurity with greediness. After teaching n the purpse f spiritual gifts and exhrting the church t seek t live as mature Christians, he then calls them ut fr failing in this regard Here s an example f Paul speaking the truth t the church in lve He says the church must n lnger walk as Gentile walk In this cntext Gentiles is a euphemism fr unbelievers, thse Gentiles f Ephesus wh are nt a part f the bdy f Christ These Gentiles represent the past fr thse in the church Once befre, the believers in the church in Ephesus lived like the rest f the city They walked as thse Gentiles walked, Paul says 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Ephesians 4D 11 f 13 They live in the futility f their mind The Greek wrd fr futility means emptiness r vanity Unbelievers live vain, empty lives, n matter hw they may try t fill it with meaning r jy They climb scial and ecnmic ladders that lead nwhere They cntend with ne anther in jealusy, anger and greed They indulge their flesh in varius ways and reap the fruit f their sins Paul says they becme callus t sin and its cnsequences, s they give themselves ver t sensuality Sensuality is pursuit f any stimulatin f ur flesh It s nt merely sexual, thugh it includes sexual sin It s hednism in all frms Prmpted by an emptiness in the spirit, they cmpensate by verstimulating the flesh, which is sin S they practice every kind f impurity with a greediness that can t be satisfied A little drink isn t enugh, s they need mre A little shpping isn t enugh, s they max ut the credit card A little prngraphy isn t enugh after a while, s they seek fr smething even mre ffensive A little mney r pwer r recgnitin isn t enugh, s they d anything t get mre When it all falls apart, they shake their fists at Gd Paul says unbelievers are darkened in their understanding and excluded frm the life f Gd because f this pattern They think they understand the wrld and themselves but they have n clue They dn t understand hw far they are frm Gd 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Ephesians 4D 12 f 13 They dn t realize their putting their faith in a wrld that is ging t be destryed And they dn t have a hpe t avid the eternal punish awaiting them at death The unbeliever s sin, which is present frm birth, hardens their heart t the lve f Gd S they ignre the Gspel message even when it finds its way t them Only if and when the Lrd chses t penetrates their heart with His wrd can they be wken frm this spiritual slumber Praise the Lrd that His grace wrked in this way fr ur sake! Which is why Paul demands that the church in Ephesus stp living as if that wake up call had never cme t them We dn t knw exactly what sins were predminant in this church But whatever they were, it s clear they weren t mature and they weren t maturing They seemed t have a prblem with hnesty and with cveting and greed, as yu ll see later in this letter All in all, they hadn t made the transitin yet frm merely a persn wh knws Christ t a persn wh fllws after Christ Their misuse r lack f use f spiritual gifts was rbbing them f that pprtunity And their cntinuing pursuit f the wrld was sapping their energy D Paul s wrds sund like they were written t yu? D yu feel the tug-f-war Paul is describing? Are yu still searching fr that place Gd wants t fit yu int the bdy f Christ? Or maybe yu re serving but it hasn t lit a fire under yur walk with Christ? 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Ephesians 4D 13 f 13 Or maybe that life yu had befre Christ is still the life yu re leading nw If that s yu, then dn t keep ding the same thing ver and ver again while expecting a different result Rethink yur pririties Rewrk yur schedule Refcus n participating in the grwth f this bdy s that yu may serve the purpse Gd has fr yu in His bdy If smene speaks truth t yu in lve, hear them and ask if the Lrd is speaking t yu thrugh them befre reacting And let s all grw tgether in the grace and knwledge f ur Lrd Jesus Christ 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.