WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.140 page 977. We are looking at Ephesians 4, 1 through 6 tonight. And I think this is an 00:00:10.140 --> 00:00:16.199 appropriate passage for the new year. The new year is a time of looking back and looking forward, 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:22.879 sort of a good time to think about the past year, to think about the sorrows and trials that we've 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:30.219 endured, the joys and triumphs that we can celebrate, and think about God's faithfulness 00:00:30.219 --> 00:00:37.019 through it all. And it's also a time to look forward to what is ahead, perhaps to make resolutions to be 00:00:37.019 --> 00:00:43.079 different in some way or another, or simply to consider who God has called us to be as we look 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:48.859 into the future. And this passage comes right at the middle of Ephesians, and it's really looking 00:00:48.859 --> 00:00:53.579 back on the first half of Ephesians and looking forward to the second half. And the first half 00:00:53.579 --> 00:00:58.140 of Ephesians, as we'll look at in a minute, is all about what God's done for us in the past, 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:04.180 and how he's been faithful to us in the past. And the second half is all about who we're called to be 00:01:04.180 --> 00:01:13.640 as we walk into the future. So I think this passage is entirely appropriate for that sort of new year's 00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:22.640 theme. So let's read the passage. We're reading chapter 4, verses 1 through 6. This is Paul 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:31.159 writing to the Ephesians, and the Holy Spirit. We'll pray that the Holy Spirit uses this passage 00:01:31.159 --> 00:01:33.099 to speak to us as well. So Paul writes this, 00:01:33.159 --> 00:01:40.140 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:48.920 to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:58.280 another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:04.920 and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:11.620 one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. 00:02:12.420 --> 00:02:18.979 Let's pray. Holy Spirit, we thank you for inspiring the Apostle Paul to write these words 00:02:18.979 --> 00:02:24.699 to the Ephesian church so long ago, and we pray that you would speak through these words to us tonight 00:02:24.699 --> 00:02:30.520 and apply them to our lives for your glory. Amen. 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:37.100 So three things we're going to see in our passage tonight. Number one, we have a calling. 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:46.380 Second, we need to walk in a manner worthy of that calling. And third, we'll see where we get the 00:02:46.380 --> 00:02:54.660 power to do so, where we get the strength and power and the basis of walking worthy of our calling. 00:02:54.659 --> 00:03:02.900 So first, we have a calling. Notice how often Paul uses the language of calling here. Verse one, 00:03:03.479 --> 00:03:10.460 he says, the calling to which you have been called. Verse four, you were called to the one hope that 00:03:10.460 --> 00:03:16.419 belongs to your call. It almost sounds redundant, right? He's using the word twice in each sentence. 00:03:16.539 --> 00:03:22.879 But the point is, he's emphasizing this theme of a calling. Now, what is the call that he's talking 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:27.719 about? Well, he's pointing back to what he's already talked about in chapters one through three. 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:35.299 Okay, so we're going to sort of just do a skim overview of chapters one through three. 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:40.879 If you look at chapters one through three, they begin and end with praise and prayer. 00:03:41.900 --> 00:03:49.039 So chapter one, three to 14 is just praising God for all the spiritual blessings that we have in Jesus 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:57.340 Christ. The rest of chapter one is a prayer that we would come to know God more. Chapter three, 00:03:58.060 --> 00:04:05.319 verse 14 to 19 is a prayer that I just used as the basis for a prayer earlier in the service, 00:04:05.719 --> 00:04:10.599 that we would know the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the love of Christ deep in our hearts. And then 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:18.039 chapter three, 20 to 21 ends with praise. So it's like praise, prayer, middle, prayer, praise. 00:04:18.040 --> 00:04:25.200 So it's even symmetrical. So the point is, it begins and ends with praise and prayer. And then in the 00:04:25.200 --> 00:04:32.600 middle, it tells us what we have to praise God for. And who is this God that we're praying to? 00:04:33.080 --> 00:04:39.860 And what he's done for us? Chapter two, which is really the middle section, Paul says, remember what 00:04:39.860 --> 00:04:49.000 God has done for you. Beginning of chapter two, he says, you were dead in your trespasses and sins. 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:56.660 In other words, you were in bondage to the world, the flesh and the devil. But he says, now God made 00:04:56.660 --> 00:05:04.780 you alive with Christ. He saved you by his grace and he's made you a new creation in Christ Jesus so 00:05:04.779 --> 00:05:11.099 that you can carry out the works that he's called you to do. Second half of chapter two, he begins, 00:05:11.179 --> 00:05:18.000 he says, remember you were separated from Christ. This is verse 11 and 12, alienated from God's people, 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:24.799 having no hope and without God in the world. And he says, but now through Jesus Christ, 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:32.139 you've been brought near to God. You've been reconciled to God and to one another, included in 00:05:32.139 --> 00:05:39.180 God's family. And you're now building blocks in the temple that God is building and dwelling in by his 00:05:39.180 --> 00:05:49.240 Holy Spirit. And in, uh, and that's, this is the call that Paul is talking about. Chapter one, 00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:56.159 verse 18, he actually uses that word. He says, he prays that our hearts would be in the eyes of our 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:03.680 hearts would be enlightened that we would know the hope to which he has called you. So the call here 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:10.900 is the call to belong to Jesus Christ. And, and Paul's speaking about this as an accomplished fact. 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:17.240 God has called us and brought us in to his family and given us all these spiritual blessings. 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:26.120 Um, that we've been called out of bondage to sin and death and the devil to belong to Jesus Christ 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:32.259 called out of envy and strife and anxiety and restlessness to be at peace with God. He says, 00:06:32.340 --> 00:06:41.000 Christ is our peace. And we're called out of a self-centered way of life to be in harmony with 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:49.759 God's plans for his whole creation. So this is the calling that we have. Paul says, remember this 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:55.939 calling. And Paul speaks of this calling as an accomplished fact. He doesn't, it's not like he's 00:06:55.939 --> 00:07:06.220 saying God has put out a call for job applications. And now you have to prove that you're worthy to be 00:07:06.220 --> 00:07:16.300 accepted in his kingdom. No, it's more like a father speaking to his child and saying, I have called 00:07:16.300 --> 00:07:24.400 you. I have chosen you. I have adopted you. I have included you in my family and I will never leave 00:07:24.400 --> 00:07:32.380 you or forsake you. In fact, he uses that idea of adoption in chapter one to describe what God has 00:07:32.379 --> 00:07:39.399 done for us through Christ. And so now he's saying, now you need to live like you're part of this new 00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:48.860 family of God's family where you belong forever and I will never disown you. And so it's both an 00:07:48.860 --> 00:07:54.519 undeserved privilege, this calling that we have, as well as it's also an ongoing responsibility. 00:07:55.620 --> 00:08:00.540 And so chapters one through three remind us this is an undeserved privilege, this calling that we have. 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:09.540 It's never something that we will merit or pay God back for or deserve more. It's an undeserved 00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:15.660 privilege, completely undeserved, but it's also an ongoing responsibility. Paul says we need to live 00:08:15.660 --> 00:08:23.620 as representatives of God's family now. So that brings us to our second point. We need to walk 00:08:23.620 --> 00:08:33.240 in a manner worthy of that calling or appropriate to that calling. Verse one, Paul says, I therefore, 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:39.519 now that word therefore means it's important what comes before it, right? It's based on chapters one 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:44.480 through three. We've just talked about that. So therefore, on the basis of all that, what God has done for 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:51.100 us in Christ, I therefore a prisoner for the Lord. That's a bit like Paul saying, you know, I'm really 00:08:51.100 --> 00:08:58.279 serious about this. I'm not joking here. I'm in prison because I actually believe this. So I'm not just 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:04.560 sort of throwing out an interesting theory and thinking, you know, see what do you think about this? 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:12.899 Right? It's not like just trying to get published in an academic journal, right? Which doesn't necessarily 00:09:12.899 --> 00:09:23.619 mean you believe any of it. Just means it'll get published. Sorry, it doesn't, no slight against PhD 00:09:23.619 --> 00:09:30.399 students. I respect PhD students. I've never wanted to do a PhD, but I respect you all. Keep persevering 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:36.659 and glorify the Lord through your work. All right. But Paul's saying, I'm a prisoner for the sake of 00:09:36.659 --> 00:09:45.059 Jesus Christ. He's saying, I'm serious about this. Okay, listen, listen up. And he says, I urge you. 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:54.759 Notice the earnestness of this language. He says, I urge you with all, verse two, with all humility and 00:09:54.759 --> 00:10:00.980 gentleness. Verse three, eager, be eager to maintain unity. Do you see the sincerity and, 00:10:00.980 --> 00:10:07.319 and urgency of these earnestness of these words? It's like Paul is saying, work at this with all 00:10:07.319 --> 00:10:16.220 your might. Don't be half-hearted. Be all in. Don't sort of step back, wait and see what other people 00:10:16.220 --> 00:10:21.939 seem to be doing around you, and then sort of follow their lead or don't, you know, try to mostly fit in and 00:10:21.940 --> 00:10:28.940 not rock the boat. Don't try to live with one foot, trying to be, follow the ways of this world 00:10:28.940 --> 00:10:35.680 and be approved by this world and one foot seeking to follow God, because that's like having one foot 00:10:35.680 --> 00:10:39.700 on the up escalator and one foot on the down escalator. And you're just going to get twisted 00:10:39.700 --> 00:10:47.460 around. Paul says, no, be all in. I urge you, do this with all you have. 00:10:47.460 --> 00:10:57.639 Now notice Paul doesn't just say, I command you. He could say, I'm an apostle. God's given me 00:10:57.639 --> 00:11:04.820 authority as apostle. I'm commanding you. Or he could say, probably what many of us would be 00:11:05.540 --> 00:11:12.660 inclined to say, hey, I'm your buddy. You know, here's an idea. You can take it or leave it. Of 00:11:12.659 --> 00:11:17.500 course, it's ultimately up to you. You know, you can do, you can, you can do what you want. 00:11:18.319 --> 00:11:24.620 I'll love you either way. But Paul, Paul doesn't go either of those ways. He doesn't overemphasize 00:11:24.620 --> 00:11:29.059 his authority and he doesn't simply emphasize his commonality with them. He says, no, I urge you. 00:11:29.480 --> 00:11:36.980 He's saying there's a purpose that God has called us together for. He uses the same phrase 00:11:36.980 --> 00:11:44.560 in Romans 12 verse one and first Thessalonians four verse one. Therefore, I urge you. And both of 00:11:44.560 --> 00:11:50.680 those are sort of the transition from praise and prayer and what God has done in the past to practical 00:11:50.680 --> 00:11:56.820 Christian living now and in the future. So at least three of Paul's letters have this very similar 00:11:56.820 --> 00:12:06.460 structure as Ephesians, but that's a side point. All right. I urge you walk in a manner worthy of 00:12:06.460 --> 00:12:17.340 your calling. Now, what does that mean? I think what it means is he's saying you're calling from God 00:12:17.340 --> 00:12:24.620 is something that is precious. And so live in a way that reflects how precious that is. 00:12:26.040 --> 00:12:32.759 You've received an undeserved and costly and eternally significant gift. 00:12:32.759 --> 00:12:50.039 Don't live as if that costly gift is only sort of important. Live as if that is so important 00:12:50.039 --> 00:12:56.759 and so valuable and so beautiful. Walk in a manner appropriate to or worthy of your calling. 00:12:56.759 --> 00:13:04.639 Live in a way that reflects the supreme worth of Christ. Live in a way that's an appropriate 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:09.879 response to what God has done in Christ. Live in a way that's an appropriate accompaniment to praise 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:20.120 and prayer. You know, it's interesting that Paul begins chapters one through three. It's not just telling 00:13:20.120 --> 00:13:25.840 us what God has done for us. It's praising God and it's praying. And it's sort of like Paul is saying, 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:33.860 you've come here tonight, right? We just sang all these songs about God's majesty and crown him with 00:13:33.860 --> 00:13:43.220 many crowns and you are good. And he is the, the, the wondrous mystery that he has become flesh and dwelt 00:13:43.220 --> 00:13:49.800 among us and died and risen again to save us. It's like Paul is saying, live the rest of your life 00:13:49.800 --> 00:13:59.580 dancing to that music. Like you've heard the music of the gospel, let it resonate and live in your heart 00:13:59.580 --> 00:14:06.840 and live in a way that's, that reflects the music of the gospel of grace. 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:16.780 Now, before we focus on verse one through six tonight, let me just give you a little preview of where we're going 00:14:16.780 --> 00:14:22.300 in chapter four through six, the rest of the book, because it's all about what Paul says in verse one, 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:30.300 walking in a manner worthy of God's calling. And so Paul begins the first half of chapter four, Paul begins 00:14:30.300 --> 00:14:36.660 by focusing on our relationships with each other within the church, in the body of Christ. 00:14:37.820 --> 00:14:42.259 And tonight we're looking at unity in the body of Christ. Next week we're looking at diversity and maturity 00:14:42.259 --> 00:14:45.259 in the body of Christ. Now all those three things fit together. 00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:52.899 Then he goes on to our personal lives and talks about putting off the old and putting on the new. 00:14:54.740 --> 00:15:00.379 Then in chapter five, he goes on to our interactions, not just with each other in the church, not just in our 00:15:00.379 --> 00:15:06.100 personal lives, but our interactions with the outside world, with people who are outside the church, people who are not 00:15:06.100 --> 00:15:13.200 Christian believers. And so he talks about walking in love, walking in the light, and walking in wisdom. 00:15:14.540 --> 00:15:20.440 That's beginning of chapter five, verse one to 21. And then Paul goes on to talk about our living for 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:26.460 Christ in our families and workplaces. So he talks about husbands and wives, parents and children, 00:15:26.460 --> 00:15:32.660 bond servants and bond servants and masters, sort of employee relationships. And then the conclusion, 00:15:33.460 --> 00:15:41.019 Paul talks about how all of this is spiritual warfare. And so we need to be praying that we're in the 00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:47.120 middle of a spiritual battle. And all of these areas, our relationships with each other in the church, 00:15:47.199 --> 00:15:51.439 our personal lives, our relationships with other people outside the church, our family and work 00:15:51.439 --> 00:15:57.480 lives, they are all places that where we will face spiritual battles and where we need to be praying 00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:03.600 for one another so that we can walk in a manner worthy of our calling in all these different 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:11.040 aspects of our lives. So that's where we're going in the next few months. We're going to do Ephesians, 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:20.519 I think until Easter. So it's a, we're going to look at each of these areas. And so before we go there, 00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:29.000 let me just make this, make this sort of broader point. God wants to work on every part of our lives. 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:33.480 That's what you see in the second half of Ephesians. I mean, there's a lot of parts of 00:16:33.480 --> 00:16:42.620 our lives that Paul looks at. Church, individually, outside the church, work, family, prayer. That covers 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:48.379 pretty, I mean, I don't know, what's, what, what's part of your life that's not covered in one of those 00:16:48.379 --> 00:16:57.120 areas, right? And the reality is we all need change and growth in all of those areas. 00:16:57.120 --> 00:17:05.059 But practically speaking, most of us can't change, can't focus on all of those areas all of the time, 00:17:05.099 --> 00:17:12.019 every single day. And so what we're, what Paul's doing, and I think this is what God often does in 00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:18.440 our individual lives as well, is he's going one by one. And he's saying, I'm going to work on this. 00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:23.779 Let's think about our relationships in the church. Okay, let's think about your personal life. 00:17:23.779 --> 00:17:32.160 And there's some specific issues there. Anger, lust, dishonesty, right? Different things he 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:40.359 deals with there. And then he talks about relating to the outside world, being loving, being pure and 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:49.759 holy, being wise. Then he talks about family relationships, right? So one by one, God sort of 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:56.400 puts, he's, God sort of shined the spotlight on some area of our life that he wants to work on. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:01.660 And then sometimes he moves on to another area. And I think this is often how God works in our lives. 00:18:04.420 --> 00:18:09.680 So let me just encourage you with a couple of things from that bigger picture. Number one, 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:20.960 by God's grace, you don't have to fix everything all at once because you can't. Okay. And so, 00:18:21.940 --> 00:18:27.940 and I think it's interesting that Paul starts with our relationships with each other in the church 00:18:27.940 --> 00:18:30.860 before he goes on to our personal lives. 00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:39.599 Um, I think some of us, maybe you can relate to this. If you have fallen into sinful habits 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:45.899 in your personal life, you are tempted to stay away from church and you're tempted to withdraw 00:18:45.899 --> 00:18:53.179 from other Christian believers because you know that some things in your personal life are not right. 00:18:53.180 --> 00:19:04.840 And so you feel shame and you feel not worthy. And so maybe you stop coming to church. Maybe you 00:19:04.840 --> 00:19:12.640 stop talking with other Christians. But when you do that, you're cutting off one of the main ways that 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:19.620 God wants to help you in your personal life and in every other part of your life. You know, 00:19:19.619 --> 00:19:24.739 the church is like a hospital. It's a place where you come because you're sick and you need to get 00:19:24.739 --> 00:19:31.019 better. It's not a place where you come because you've got everything all together and you have 00:19:31.019 --> 00:19:40.259 no issues and you come to show that off. So let me encourage you, um, don't stay away from the church 00:19:40.259 --> 00:19:47.679 because you haven't cleaned up all your personal habits. You need your brothers and sisters in Christ 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:56.860 to help you live worthy of your calling. And God's going to work on your life often one issue at a 00:19:56.860 --> 00:20:04.420 time or one area at a time. But he's, he's, you know, C.S. Lewis uses this example of, it's like, um, 00:20:04.700 --> 00:20:10.320 buying a house, buying a rat infested house that's boarded up in a bad neighborhood. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:16.619 That's what Christ did when he died on the cross and purchased us for himself, right? We're a mess 00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:24.019 infested with all kinds of spiritual nastiness. And God says, I'm going to clean up this house 00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:30.279 and I'm not going to become a slumlord and rent it out to people. I'm going to come and live in this 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:37.339 house. That's what it's the Holy Spirit coming to live within us. But when he does that, he, he's going 00:20:37.339 --> 00:20:43.019 to renovate every room of the house and he's going to add some things onto the house and he's going to 00:20:43.019 --> 00:20:50.139 change it. So it's not the same as it was before. And that's really what God is doing in making us new 00:20:50.139 --> 00:20:58.659 is he's working on one room in our house at a time and saying, I am going to make this a place where I 00:20:58.660 --> 00:21:09.840 am delight to dwell in you. And I've already bought you. I've already called you. It's an undeserved 00:21:09.840 --> 00:21:15.980 privilege. I've, I've, I've paid the price. You're mine. You belong to me. I love you with an everlasting 00:21:15.980 --> 00:21:21.120 love. You can be secure in that, but I'm going to work on changing you a little bit at a time 00:21:21.120 --> 00:21:28.080 until you become like Christ. So that's a big picture. That's what we're looking at the next 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:35.319 few months in Ephesians. Now let's just focus for the last few minutes on what Paul lays out in 00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:42.779 these verses, verse two and three. Um, Paul talks about three areas of the calling that we have in 00:21:42.779 --> 00:21:49.899 Christ. He says, live with all humility and gentleness. That's number one, uh, with patience 00:21:49.899 --> 00:21:56.179 and for, and loving forbearance. That's number two and third, eager to maintain the unity of the 00:21:56.180 --> 00:21:59.960 spirit and the bond of peace. That's sort of the big idea, but that's what I'll call the third one. 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:10.840 Um, and really all of these three areas are reflections of the character of Christ. 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:16.900 Paul saying, I want you to display the character of Christ that he has displayed toward you. 00:22:16.900 --> 00:22:24.400 I want you to display that character toward each other. So humility and gentleness. Jesus said, 00:22:25.120 --> 00:22:32.220 Matthew 11, learn from me. I am gentle and humble in heart. Philippians two says, Jesus humbled himself 00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:40.560 to death on the cross. And so Paul says, remember the humility and gentleness that Christ has displayed 00:22:40.560 --> 00:22:45.820 toward you and display that toward one another. What does that look like? 00:22:45.819 --> 00:22:53.059 Humility. Humility. Humility is the opposite of pride or arrogance or overconfidence or thinking 00:22:53.059 --> 00:23:01.500 too highly of yourself, but it's also not humility is not self-hatred or self-condemnation. 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:07.859 Christ saves us from those things too. Um, but it's seeing ourselves rightly before God. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:14.119 Someone said, humility is not thinking less of yourself, but it is thinking of yourself less. 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:21.259 So you can actually love your neighbors around you because you're not totally absorbed in yourself. 00:23:22.199 --> 00:23:24.699 And Christ gives us the freedom to do that more and more. 00:23:25.699 --> 00:23:32.459 That's humility. Gentleness, uh, is the opposite of rudeness or roughness or harshness. 00:23:33.319 --> 00:23:36.219 Instead, gentleness would be a consideration for others, 00:23:36.220 --> 00:23:44.220 a willingness to give up one's own rights. It's not a manifestation of weakness, but actually of inner 00:23:44.220 --> 00:23:52.380 strength. So Paul calls us to humility and gentleness toward one another. That's the first thing 00:23:52.380 --> 00:23:58.100 as Christ displayed humility and gentleness toward us. Second, uh, patience, bearing with one another in 00:23:58.100 --> 00:24:05.700 love. What does that mean? Forbearance. Forbearance means dealing with people as they are. 00:24:06.220 --> 00:24:13.440 Not as you want them to be. And think about it. God does that every single day 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:21.860 with every single one of us. He deals with you as you are right now. And he loves you in Christ. 00:24:21.859 --> 00:24:29.859 Even as he has a plan for what he wants you to be. And there's all these areas that he wants to change. 00:24:31.859 --> 00:24:39.639 But he is forbearing toward us. That means he, um, and so forbearance for us means dealing with people 00:24:39.639 --> 00:24:44.619 as they are, including their faults, weaknesses, and failures, even as we seek to help each other 00:24:44.619 --> 00:24:50.839 become who God wants us to be. It would be the opposite of being short-tempered and easily angered 00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:57.699 or writing people off saying, I'm never going to deal with them again, enduring wrong rather than 00:24:57.699 --> 00:25:05.639 flying into a rage or seeking vengeance. So Paul says in other places, consider the patience and 00:25:05.640 --> 00:25:11.259 forbearance of God. As the old Testament says, he's slow to anger and abounding in love. Consider the 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:16.560 patience and forbearance of Christ with his disciples. Now think about when Jesus looked at 00:25:16.560 --> 00:25:23.500 his disciples and you had James and John who said, we want to sit at your right and at your left in 00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:29.040 your glory. And Jesus says, you do not know what in the world you were talking about and what in the 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:34.460 world you were asking for. And of course the other disciples were annoyed and jealous. 00:25:37.039 --> 00:25:43.759 And then there's Peter, right? Peter's like, I'll die for you, Jesus. And then later that night, 00:25:43.799 --> 00:25:54.480 he denies that he even knows him. And then there's Thomas, right? Doubting. Jesus is, Jesus sees all 00:25:54.480 --> 00:26:00.079 their weaknesses and yet he deals with them. He loves them. He doesn't write them off. 00:26:01.500 --> 00:26:08.259 He forbears and perseveres and persists with them. He sticks with us. 00:26:10.339 --> 00:26:15.779 And so Paul says, as Christ has forbeard with you, forbear with one another. 00:26:15.779 --> 00:26:33.940 Now, note, forbearance is not the same thing as enabling. Enabling is promoting someone's 00:26:33.940 --> 00:26:43.859 continued sin or self-destructive behavior and not resisting that. That's not forbearance. It's not 00:26:43.859 --> 00:26:48.000 the same thing. Forbearance is not enabling. Sometimes we need to confront one another. 00:26:49.159 --> 00:26:54.279 Sometimes we need to set appropriate boundaries in relationships so that they can be healthy 00:26:54.279 --> 00:27:02.359 in the long term. Forbearance doesn't always mean saying yes to other people's demands of us. It does 00:27:02.359 --> 00:27:08.799 mean seeking to bear with them and ultimately to do them good because we love them through Christ. 00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:16.119 Sometimes we need to pray for wisdom. Sometimes we need to seek wise counsel about how to do that. 00:27:17.720 --> 00:27:23.919 That's the second area. Humility first, humility and gentleness. Second, patient forbearance. Third, 00:27:24.639 --> 00:27:31.039 eager to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. Notice that word maintain. 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:39.359 We don't create the unity of the spirit. There's already the unity that Christ has created in us 00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:47.420 and for us and among us. Christ is our peace. Chapter two, verse 14. He died to make us one. He 00:27:47.420 --> 00:27:51.720 sealed us with the promised Holy Spirit. He's building us together in his house. It's sort of like God has 00:27:51.720 --> 00:27:58.519 planted the seeds of unity and peace in our garden and we're responsible to cultivate them 00:27:58.519 --> 00:28:05.299 and to take out the weeds that want to, and those vines that want to wrap themselves around 00:28:05.299 --> 00:28:12.480 that unity and peace and suck the life out of them. So sometimes we need to resist those weeds 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:19.200 that want to poison the unity and peace of God's church and God's and brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:30.700 Christ. And again, Christ was eager to maintain the unity of the spirit. Christ prayed on the night 00:28:30.700 --> 00:28:36.000 before he died. Christ prayed that we would be one as he and the father are one. So in all these ways, 00:28:36.059 --> 00:28:40.740 these are the characteristics that Christ has displayed toward us. Humility and gentleness, 00:28:41.160 --> 00:28:46.019 patient forbearance, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit, promoting that in all the ways 00:28:46.019 --> 00:28:53.859 that we can. And finally, verse four to six, briefly, we see where we get the power to walk 00:28:53.859 --> 00:28:58.660 worthy of the calling. So I've talked about how this is what Christ has done for us. But in these 00:28:58.660 --> 00:29:02.920 verses, it actually points that it's not just Christ, it's also the father and the Holy Spirit. 00:29:03.720 --> 00:29:10.379 There's sort of seven pillars of unity, but really there are sort of three clusters, one body and one 00:29:10.379 --> 00:29:15.879 spirit. He reminds us we're one body in Christ and we're filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:29:15.880 --> 00:29:21.740 The Holy Spirit lives in us and the Holy Spirit is working through us and the Holy Spirit empowers us. 00:29:22.140 --> 00:29:27.260 And so we have power from the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. And then he goes on to talk about one Lord, 00:29:27.360 --> 00:29:33.400 one faith, one baptism. He's sort of reminding us, this is where you start. Where do you start the 00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:38.480 Christian life? You start the Christian life by believing in Jesus Christ and being baptized as an 00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:45.779 expression of faith in Jesus Christ. So he reminds us that's where we all started. 00:29:46.779 --> 00:29:55.259 And then he talks about where Christ leads us to the one God and father of all who is over all and 00:29:55.259 --> 00:30:02.920 through all and in all. Christ leads us into the presence of the father. And so we can know the 00:30:02.920 --> 00:30:12.880 one whose rule and presence fills all things. So it's really, um, this, this call to, to promote 00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:20.880 unity in the church is, is really, uh, a reminder that God in, in Christ, we've been brought into 00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:26.940 the unity of the father and son and Holy Spirit, which has existed from all eternity. 00:30:26.940 --> 00:30:35.120 Um, meditate on the Trinity. Sometimes it's, it's mind boggling, like father, the son, the Holy Spirit, 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:39.000 how they all work together. Notice how they all work together. Ephesians has a lot of it. Um, 00:30:39.460 --> 00:30:46.539 just feel free to feel free to do that in one of your quiet times this week, but, um, that can be a 00:30:46.539 --> 00:30:53.320 worthwhile thing to ponder and praise God for. Um, so ultimately I think Paul's saying, 00:30:53.319 --> 00:30:59.379 think about all that you have in common with fellow believers, right? And let, think about 00:30:59.379 --> 00:31:04.079 what the father has done for you and how he sent your, his son, Jesus Christ. Now he's filled you 00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:09.359 with his spirit. And so make every effort to pursue the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. 00:31:10.179 --> 00:31:20.779 Um, so last question I'll end with is who in the church do you need to be treat with all humility 00:31:20.779 --> 00:31:26.740 and gentleness with patient forbearance and be eager to maintain the unity of the spirit and peace? 00:31:27.859 --> 00:31:31.099 Is there someone that comes to mind when you think about those things? And maybe there's someone 00:31:31.099 --> 00:31:35.759 that you struggle to do that towards. Maybe there's someone that you're like, I don't, I just don't 00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:41.000 know if I can deal with that other Christian anymore. And I just don't want to deal with them. 00:31:42.099 --> 00:31:47.440 And so maybe we need, and so maybe that's an encouragement is we need to pray, pray for that 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:52.360 person. Even if you don't do anything else for them, just pray for them because that's a start 00:31:52.360 --> 00:32:01.160 and that will allow the Holy spirit to work in you and in them. Um, so, so start there. Um, I think 00:32:01.160 --> 00:32:07.059 that's a very practical application is let's treat each other in these ways and we can have the power 00:32:07.059 --> 00:32:12.680 to do that because of what God has done for us, the father, son, and Holy spirit. Let's pray. 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:12.740 Amen. 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:12.799 Amen. 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:24.860 And God, we thank you for this book of Ephesians. We thank you for the greatness of what you've 00:32:24.860 --> 00:32:33.420 done for us of the calling that we have received through Christ. Uh, we pray Lord that we would 00:32:33.420 --> 00:32:41.720 just grasp more of how wide and long and high and deep is your love for us. And we pray that you would 00:32:41.720 --> 00:32:48.559 fill us with your spirit so that we can love one another. Well, Lord, it's not easy to be humble 00:32:48.559 --> 00:32:59.960 and gentle and patient and forbearing. Sometimes we are difficult to deal with. Sometimes we don't 00:32:59.960 --> 00:33:04.900 even realize that we're difficult to deal with and that's even worse for the people around us, 00:33:04.900 --> 00:33:11.019 but we thank you for your humility and gentleness and patience and forbearance with us. Lord, 00:33:11.060 --> 00:33:16.840 we pray that we would meditate on just how you have been all these things toward us and Lord, 00:33:16.900 --> 00:33:24.280 that you would empower us, uh, to pursue these things, to pursue, um, these kinds of relationships 00:33:24.280 --> 00:33:30.000 with each other in the body of Christ, the unity that you died on the cross that we might know and 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:36.380 experience and live in. Uh, we thank you Lord. I, I want to thank you for this church and the ways 00:33:36.380 --> 00:33:42.819 that you have worked in it, uh, to promote unity and, and just the sweet unity that we do have. 00:33:42.819 --> 00:33:49.440 Uh, Lord, um, Paul's encouraging us to pursue this, but we also just want to thank you for the ways that 00:33:49.440 --> 00:33:58.359 you have, have preserved, uh, this church, uh, from, from many, um, you have preserved us and you have 00:33:58.359 --> 00:34:04.179 kept us and you've, you've kept us united, um, in, and in so many ways. And we just thank you for the 00:34:04.179 --> 00:34:10.400 ways that we can just enjoy and experience that together, um, already. And we pray that we'd 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:12.880 experience that more and more in Christ's name. Amen. 00:34:15.880 --> 00:34:22.859 The closing song is a song called the church is one foundation. It's an old hymn of the church. Um, 00:34:23.299 --> 00:34:28.179 and the words are really great. So if you're familiar with it, sing it out. If you're not familiar 00:34:28.179 --> 00:34:33.739 with it, uh, just meditate on the words as we sing them. Uh, and it's all about the unity that we have 00:34:33.739 --> 00:34:40.639 with one another and with all other believers, um, throughout time and space, uh, who are those 00:34:40.639 --> 00:34:45.779 who are alive now and those who have gone on to glory, uh, to be with Jesus. And it's a reminder 00:34:45.779 --> 00:34:49.639 of the unity that we have in Christ and by his spirit. So let's stand and sing. 00:34:49.639 --> 00:34:53.679 One, two, three. 00:34:53.679 --> 00:34:55.559 One, two, three. 00:34:55.559 --> 00:34:57.239 One, two, three.