Continuing in this series through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Andy Evans looks at how the gospel call is a call to live and a call to act.

Continuing in this series through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Andy Evans continues to look at how Paul exhorts us to live and walk like Jesus.

Continuing in this series through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Andy Evans examines the practical ways we can put on the new self, outlined by Paul.

Continuing in this series through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Andy Evans looks at how we should respond to the Lord’s command to delight in Him.

These are the notes of a sermon preached by Andy Evans on the morning of the 25 September 2011 at Firwood Church. Click here to stream or download the sermon audio.

EPHESIANS 4:17-24 – PUT ON THE NEW SELF

Ephesians 4:17–32

¹⁷Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. ¹⁹They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ²¹assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²²to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. ²⁶Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷and give no opportunity to the devil. ²⁸Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. ²⁹Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. ³²Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

1. PUT OF THE OLD SELF

a. The Call to Die

The call to Christ is a call to die.

We find affirmation of this truth everywhere in the New Testament,

Galatians 5:24

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Galatians 6:14

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

And,

Romans 6:3

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

Indeed, Jesus, himself, makes this call to death explicit,

Mark 8:34

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

This is precisely where the Apostle Paul took us last week with his exhortation to ‘put off the old self’,

Ephesians 4:22

…put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires

The gospel calls those who would trust in Christ to ‘put off’ the old way of living, the ‘former manner of life’. We are called to renounce sensuality and ‘every kind of impurity’ (Ephesians 4:19). The gospel call requires sacrifice: we are called to abandon the way we once lived. We are called to relinquish the people we once were. We are called to depart from the path we once walked,

Ephesians 4:17

…you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do…

The Christian walk requires sacrifice, self-denial and death. We are called to crucify the passions of the flesh. We  are called to crucify the priorities and futile mindset of this present fleshy and rebellious world. We are called to embrace the death of Christ. We are called to take up the cross of Christ each day.

In this sense, the Christian walk is both violent and bloody. As we have been considering during the sermon series running during the evening services, Make War, the crucified Christ demands that we make war on sin in our lives. We are called to kill our old way of living, our old loves and our old priorities; we are called to kill sin stone dead. This is what it means to put off our old self.

The Christian walk is, in fact, a bloody battle against me, I and mine.

b. Half-a-Gospel

But this is not the totality of the gospel. Indeed, this half-a-gospel distorts and falls appallingly short of the true gospel. The true gospel goes so much further. Consider again the passages we have just surveyed above,

Galatians 5:24–25

²⁴And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Yes, the call to crucify the flesh is very real, but Paul goes further. The Christian walk is a call to die, but it is also a call to walk in accordance with, and empowered by, the Spirit of God. We turn our back on sin and instead received the Spirit of God as our Counsellor, Comforter, Encourager and Advocate. We kill sin dead and we embrace a Spirit-filled life.

Or, again,

Galatians 6:14–15

¹⁴But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ¹⁵For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

We crucify the delights, demands and distortions of this present world. We abandon the old way of living and thinking and feeling. But that is not all. The gospel is more than this. We exchange the fleeting, vain and futile promises of this world for the reality of new life in Christ Jesus. We kill our worldly, fleshy ways confident in the truth that, in Christ Jesus, we are a new creation (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17). Moreover, we persevere in the promise that, on that day, he will make all things new. As such, we are, in fact, the first fruits of his new creation (Romans 8:18-25).

Consider,

Romans 6:3–4

³Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

The gospel demands that we join with Christ Jesus in his death. The gospel demands that we die and baptism is the picture of this reality.

But this is not all.

We die that we might live. We join in his death that we might join with him in his resurrection.

We die that we might walk in newness of life.

We take up our cross that we might live fully, completely, eternally and in such a way that Christ Jesus might be magnified in us,

Mark 8:34–35

³⁴And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.

We take up our cross and die for his sake and he saves us.

c. We Trade Up

And we find this same death-to-life dynamic in Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. Paul exhorts believers in Ephesus (and, by extension, believers at Firwood Church this morning),

Ephesians 4:22-24

²²to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

We are to put off our old self and instead put on the new self. This is the exchange to which all believers are called, no, required, to participate in.

We are commanded to take off the old self which is corrupt, characterised by futility, blindness, hardness of heart and impurity. We are instead called to put on the new self, ‘created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.’ (Ephesians 4:24).

Believers, know this, when we put off the old self and put on the new self, we trade up. Unbelievers, equally know this, the call to die to self is a call to live a Christ-empowered, Christ-like, Christ-exalting and Christ-enjoying life.

We trade up.

2. PUT ON THE NEW SELF

a. Learn Christ!

i. Taught in him

The question we must then ask is how do we put on the new self?

Paul warns believers of the dangers of walking like unbelievers and then reminds the church in Ephesus, and believers everywhere, precisely how the gospel of Christ Jesus took hold,

Ephesians 4:20

But that is not the way you learned Christ!

Paul instructs the church that the walk of the believer must not be characterised by futile thinking, blindness, ignorance, sensuality , corruption and impurity, for this is not the way we learned Christ. Paul then proceeds to remind these believers that they,

Ephesians 4:21

…were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus

Firstly, Paul is referring to a historical event. In the Autumn of 53AD, the Apostle Paul arrived in Ephesus for the second time and began to preach the gospel.[1]

We read in Acts, that Paul began in the Synagogue and, when the Jews tired of the gospel of the crucified and risen Son of God, he moved next door to a school hall. As a result of Paul’s persistence, the gospel spread to such a degree that Luke concludes,

Acts 19:10

…that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Paul explicitly references this work missionary work in Ephesus in this passage,

Ephesians 4:20-21

²⁰But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ²¹assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus

The gospel took hold in Ephesus because the gospel-truth was taught and men and women learnt about Christ.

This is possible because the gospel is grounded upon fixed presuppositions and objective historical events and, as such, the gospel can be taught and facts about Christ can be learnt. The gospel begins with a God who acts in human history. Indeed, historical events, the incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection of the God-man Christ Jesus, stand at the very centre of the gospel proclamation.

Elsewhere, Paul describes these historical events as the most important thing,

1 Corinthians 15:3–4

³For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures

The incarnation, death and resurrection of the Son of God are the most important things in the universe and this is what Paul taught and this is what the believers in Ephesus learnt.

It is vitally important that we remember this truth in our day. Programmes, activities and events will avail us none without a clear presentation of gospel truth. Relationships, social action and acts of charity are, alone, incapable of saving the souls of unbelievers without a clear explanation of Jesus, his crucifixion and resurrection. Paul makes this very point elsewhere,

Romans 10:14–15

¹⁴How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

The proclamation of the gospel is necessary to the advance of the gospel. Your unbelieving relatives, neighbours, friends and work colleagues need you to tell them about the gospel. The Gospel of Jesus must be taught and the Gospel of Jesus must be learnt.

But Paul goes further,

Ephesians 4:20

But that is not the way you learned Christ!

The implication is clear. These believers learnt Christ in a particular way and are now exhorted to persevere in their obedience to Christ with this same attitude of heart and posture of humble obedience.

It is important that we remember this. We never outgrow the gospel of truth. The gospel continues to be relevant, helpful, vital and necessary.

We need to continue to be reminded of the gospel, continue to learn Christ and continue to cling to truth.

ii. Know Christ

Moreover, Paul envisages that this ‘learning Christ’ extends beyond mere intellectual comprehension.

Paul asserts that these believers ‘learned Christ’, an unusual phrase apparently unique in both the New Testament and pre-biblical Greek literature. [2]

These believers did not simply learn about Christ, they learnt Christ. To learn Christ is to move beyond learning about him. To learn Christ is to enter into relationship with Jesus. To learn Christ is to embrace him as King, Lord and God. To learn Christ is to receive him as Saviour. To learn Christ is to accept him in such a way that the knowledge of him penetrates our hearts and minds to a point where his heart becomes our heart, his desires become our desires and his will becomes our will.

To put on Christ is to learn Christ and, yes, this necessitates that we learn about him, but, to learn Christ requires so much more than mere information.

The putting on of the new self begins with learning, knowing and accepting Christ Jesus. The putting on of the new self begins with relationship.

iii. Know the Truth

And the implications of learning Christ are profound,

Ephesians 4:20-21

²⁰But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ²¹assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus

This is why the counterpoint to Christ-like living is futile ignorance, blindness and deceit. Truth is found in the person of Christ Jesus, consequently, the rejection of him is the rejection of truth.

Moreover, consider that Paul here, for the first and only time in this letter, refers to the Son of God as ‘Jesus’. These believers learnt Christ and received the truth which is in Jesus. In so doing, Paul reminds us that the cosmic Christ who has ‘ascend[ed] on high’ and ‘fill[s] all things’ (Ephesians 4:8, 10) and the historical Jesus who ministered throughout Judea are, in fact, one and the same. The implications of this truth is profound. As we read, meditate and reflect upon the incarnation, person, work, death and resurrection of the Galilean peasant, Jesus of Nazareth, we see God. The incarnate and cosmic Christ are one and the same. In Jesus of Nazareth we see, meet and come to know God.

And because Jesus is the God-man, the Son of God made flesh, in him we find the truth of God displayed and revealed. Jesus is the personification of truth.

b. Put off the Old Self

Consider, now, Paul’s flow of thought,

Ephesians 4:20-24

²⁰But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ²¹assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²²to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Paul writes, ‘But that is not the way you learned Christ… to put off your old self…’ [3]

The heart of the gospel is the historical/cosmic Christ who is truth personified. The application of the gospel, or, in Paul’s terminology, the learning Christ, necessitates the putting off of the old self.

As we considered last week, the killing of sin and the putting off of the old self are fundamental gospel responses. All believers think this way. All believers respond this way.

c. Be Renewed

There is, therefore, a similar connection between the reception of the gospel and the renewing of the mind,

Ephesians 4:20, 23

But that is not the way you learned Christ… to be renewed in the spirit of your minds

Here is a glorious truth and somber exhortation: the gospel must effect us at the level of our inmost being. Paul has already shown us the necessity of this change. The depth of our depravity apart from Christ is such that it effects the way that we think, feel and act. Only a supernatural intervention at the level of the spirit could possible effect the necessary changed.

Renewal of the mind is necessary.

However, Paul is exhorting us to act. It is we who are urged to ‘be renewed in the spirit of [our] minds’.

It matters how we think. Our imaginings and fantasies matter. Paul is urging us to address the activity of our minds. Moreover, Paul is urging that we pursue mind-renewal. But, again, this activity cannot be separated from (and is only possible because) of the teaching of Christ.

Believers, mind-renewal is only possible when we feed our minds and hearts with the glorious truth of Christ as revealing the gospel. As we expose ourselves to glorious, wondrous and marvellous truths, the Spirit of God moves and we are transformed in our inner being.

d. Put on the New Self

Again, there is an intrinsic connection between the reception of the gospel, learning Christ, and the putting on of the new self,

Ephesians 4:20, 24

But that is not the way you learned Christ… and to put on the new self , created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

In this exhortation we see the summation of the gospel at work in the lives of believers. We put on the new self which means that we pursue righteousness and holiness, the very qualities which characterise God.

Practically speaking, this means that, as we receive the gospel truth, we are astonished and captivated by the glory of Jesus to such a degree that we seek to be like him. We put on those qualities which he displayed. We do the things that he did and does. We shun the things that he would not do. We put on the likeness of God.

This is biblical Christianity.

Those who are Christ’s seek to be imitators of Christ.

This, then, elevates the teaching and receiving of the gospel beyond mere listening and learning. The listening should produce admiration, affection and action. These three cannot be separated. Christ demands our worship, love and obedience. These three cannot be separated.

And all of this comes with the teaching and reception of the gospel.

3. GOSPEL CONFIDENCE

a. New Creation

All of this begins with the glorious intervention and activity of God. Now, consider carefully Paul’s thinking,

Ephesians 4:20, 24

But that is not the way you learned Christ… and to put on the new self , created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

We are urged to put on the new self, but from where does this new self originate? Paul tells us that the new self has been created. We see, then, that Paul is returning to the language of new creation. We are taught and receive the gospel and, in the reception, we act by putting of sin and fleshy things and instead embrace the new self which is characterised by holiness and righteousness. But in this God is supreme and at work. It is he who creates the new man and we are simply called to respond.

He acts. He saves. He creates. We respond. We wear the clothes which he has made.

God acts. We respond and, even in the responding, God is initiating, empowering and acting.

b. Confident

This, then, explains the peculiar exclamation we find in verses 20 and 21,

Ephesians 4:20, 21

²⁰But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ²¹assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him

Paul writes, ‘assuming that you have heard about him’. There are two ways this could be understood.
It could be that Paul is questioning the authenticity of the faith of those in the church in Ephesus. It could be that Paul has heard of their troubles, tribulations and backsliding and, as such, concludes that their faith is insubstantial and, perhaps even, insincere.

Although Paul is certainly implying the necessity of self-examination, there is altogether more to this statement than mere skepticism. Consider the way in which the NIV translates this passage,

Ephesians 4:20–21 (NIV)

²⁰You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. ²¹Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.

Where the ESV seems to question, the NIV appears to affirm the authenticity of the faith of the believers in Ephesus. The question, then, is which translation most accurately captures Paul’s intention?

Harold Hoehner argues that both meanings are present in the text. [4] Certainly Paul challenges believers to reflect upon the authenticity and solidity of their faith. However, Paul places an emphasis upon affirmation. Paul is confident that these believers have learned Christ and, as such, are putting off the old man and are engaged in putting on the new man. [5]

The application, then, is clear. On the one hand, we who believe must constantly test ourselves. We must reflect on our walk in Christ thus far. We must ask whether the gospel has truly taken hold. We must examine ourselves for evidence of spiritual fruit.

Believers, we must test ourselves.

However, there is a danger that this self-reflection might lead to doubt, uncertainty and weak Christian living. Therefore, the challenge to reflect is also an affirmation in the confidence that is found in the gospel.

Paul wants us to reflect, to respond and to act. He wants us to examine ourselves that we might hunt out any hidden and begetting sin that would seek to cripple and hinder us. Paul wants us to reflect and kill sin in our lives.

But, as we put off sin and fleshy worldly ways and clothe ourselves in the new self he wants us to have absolute confidence in the triumph of King Jesus and his Gospel.

c. The Infinitive Clause is not and Imperative Clause 

And the grounding of this confidence is found in the three infinitive clauses which we considered earlier, specifically,

Ephesians 4:20, 22

²⁰But that is not the way you learned Christ!— [...] ²²to put off your old self…

Ephesians 4:20, 23

But that is not the way you learned Christ… to be renewed in the spirit of your minds

And,

Ephesians 4:20, 24

But that is not the way you learned Christ… and to put on the new self , created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

The infinitive clauses are not imperative clauses. What I mean by this is that these clauses are not, primarily, imperatives: Paul is not, directly at least, calling us to action. Rather, Paul is outlining who we are in Christ. He is setting out the nature of those who have learned Christ. We are the ones who have put off the old nature, we are the ones who have been renewed in the spirit of our minds and we are those who have put on the new nature.

Paul reminds us who we are made to be in Christ Jesus.

However, contrariwise, this entire passage (running, in truth, through towards the end of Chapter 6) is one great imperative. Paul has and is still exhorting us thus,

Ephesians 4:1

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called

And, later,

Ephesians 4:17

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.

Paul is exhorting us to walk like this and not walk like that. What like a believer do not walk like an unbeliever. This is the great exhortation which now runs throughout the remainder of this letter.

However, Paul is confident. He is confident in the gospel at work among believers. He is confident that, as we received Christ transformation began. Putting off the old way of living, thinking and feeling differently and putting on a new nature, a new way of living.

If you are a believer, God has already acted decisively.

However, these are infinitive clauses which means there is an implied imperative.

And so, were we to ask the question, how should I walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which I have been called, Paul would perhaps answer that we should continue to put off the old self, pursue mind-renewal and put on the new self. Paul would certainly exhort us to continue to learn Christ and to continue in our pursuit of Christ, righteousness and holiness.

This then makes the application incredibly clear for believers and unbelievers alike.

Unbelievers, learn, receive, accept and embrace Christ as King, Lord and Saviour knowing, as you do so, that you will be radically transformed and changed.

Believers, continue to learn Christ Jesus and, as you see him as he truly is, this will deepen the intensity and purity of your walk. As we see his glory afresh, we are increasingly awakened to the glory of our calling. This must have an effect.

But in all of this comes a great confidence. This is why Paul is confident, and this is why we must be confident. The triumph of Christ is displayed and made available through the triumph of the gospel. God is at work in Christ. God changes us. God transforms us. God renews us. God brings life from death. God brings about new creation.

And we are the beneficiaries of this most glorious grace.

[1] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2002, 2007), p. 90-91.

[2] Peter Thomas O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999), p. 324.

[3] This is the first of three infinitives which should read, ‘But that is not the way you learned Christ… [you] were taught in him [that you should] put off the old self’ and then, later, ‘be renewed in the spirit of your mind’ and’ put on the new self’. See Hoehner, p. 599.

[4] Indeed, Hoehner’s translation reads, ‘inasmuch as you heard about him’. See Hoehner, p. 594-595.

[5] O’Brien, p. 325.

These are the notes of a sermon preached by Andy Evans on the morning of the 18 September 2011 at Firwood Church. Click here to stream or download the sermon audio.

Ephesians 4:17–24

¹⁷Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. ¹⁹They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ²¹assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²²to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

1. RIGHT THINKING, RIGHT LIVING

Chapter 4 marks a transition point in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. As we considered in week 26 of this series, the first three chapters of this letter presents a profound theological explanation and exploration of the glorious grace of God at work in and through Christ towards those who are his. In the latter three chapters, as we will see throughout the remainder of this series, Paul presents a series of exhortations towards godly living.

This division between chapters 1 through to 3 and chapters 4 through to 6 is, in some senses, illustrative of that division within modern evangelicalism in which one side tends to incline sharply towards doctrine whereas the other side tends towards praxis. As a consequence, we find ministries, churches and believers polarising towards those who do and those who think.

This dichotomy is utterly at odds with New Testament thinking where doctrine and praxis walk hand-in-hand. Indeed, our relationship with Christ depends on our both aspects of Christian living. It is not possible to love and serve Christ if we fail to recognize, understand and know him. It is not possible to know and love Christ and yet fail to honour him in obedient service. Indeed, this interaction between doctrine and praxis is illustrated in every human relationship.

Consider marriage.

Imagine, in love and devotion to my wife, I begin to work hard and save money so that I am able to buy her the perfect Birthday gift. Then imagine that, on the 10 October, I stay up late and spend time wrapping this perfect gift with the perfect paper and appropriately placed ribbons.

Imagine then the confusion and disappointment when I present this gift on the morning of the 11 October, only to be informed by my wife that her Birthday is actually in November. Imagine that I then respond that I am not interested and do not need to know facts and retain information about my wife because my love for her is of a purer nature.

The truth is that such a comment would be nonsensical. The unwillingness to listen, to learn and to come to know is, in fact, an indication that the so called, purer love is, in actuality, no kind of love whatsoever.

This is why Paul treasure knowing so incredibly highly. Early in this letter, Paul prays for believers everywhere, that we might,

Ephesians 3:19

…know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Knowing is fundamental to Christian living. If we want to be Christ saturated, Christ motivated and Christ glorifying we must know his love. And, for Paul, this knowledge is rooted in the dense theology of Chapters 1 through to 3, supernaturally illuminated by the Holy Spirit.

Paul wants us to see, to feel and to respond.

2. HOW WE ONCE WALKED

a. Walk

And the remainder of this great epistle is a call to action. We are called to live in the light of all that we have seen and to know of the heart, purposes and calling of God as revealed in and through Christ Jesus. The call to act begins in verse 1 of chapter 4,

Ephesians 4:1

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called

Believers, we are called to walk in the light of the great truth of the gospel.

b. The Weight of the Warning

This call to obedience requires that we walk in a very particular way,

Ephesians 4:17-19

¹⁷Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. ¹⁹They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

Paul warns believers that we must no longer walk like Gentiles. It is important that we take this exhortation seriously as the Apostle Paul prefaces his instruction with a solemn charge, ‘Now this I say and testify in the Lord…’ (Ephesians 4:17).

This is a necessary and important reminder. As we read and reflect upon the words written in the Scriptures, we must recognize and remember that these words are issued from the very mouth of God. Paul reminds us of this important fact. He writes and testifies on behalf of God. We would do well to remember this. There is an incredible weight in this exhortation.

c. How We Once Walked

The Christian life requires a decisive break with the past. Paul will go on to instruct us to put of our ‘old self’ and, instead, put on our ‘new self’. Despite the decisiveness of this break, it is important to remember who we were before Christ rescued us and brought us from death to life. And so, even in the exhortation to break with the past, we ‘must no longer walk as the Gentiles do’, there is a reminder of who we once were. Indeed, Paul, here, uses the same imagery he earlier employed in order to describe the gloriousness of Christ’s intervention,

Ephesians 2:1–3

¹And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ²in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

The danger of them and us language, in which the walk of the believers is contrasted against the walk of the Gentile, can lead to pride and arrogance. We would, therefore, do well to remember that their walk was once our walk. That we were once lost, enslaved and under the right and just condemnation of a holy God.

i. Futile thinking[1]

Consider the characteristics of this Gentile-walk and note, once again, that we are reminded that thinking matters,

Ephesians 4:17

… you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.

This way of walking is characterized by a mind-set is distorted and marked by futility. Why would this be? Why does Paul assert that the mind of the unbeliever is characterised by futility?

Consider a mind which is set upon the pursuit of money and material belonging when, given a long enough timeline, everything is destined to rot and return back to the earth. Consider a mind fixated upon the pursuit of sexual pleasure, when beauty is so fleeting and pleasure so intangible. Consider a mind fixed upon family, when all human relationship (however intimate) is ultimately  severed by the grave.

This is why the unbelieving mind-set is characterised by futility.

Moreover, Paul’s use of the word, ‘futility’ is, in and of itself, illuminating. Elsewhere, in the Old and New Testament futility is associated with idolatry. Consider, for example, the stinging rebuke delivered by the Prophet, Jeremiah,

Jeremiah 2:5

Thus says the Lord:

“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

Here idolatry is described in decidedly Pauline terms. The pursuit of idolatry is a pursuit of worthlessness which leaves us with nothing but a handful of worthlessness. The elevation, the preferring, or, in Biblical language, the worship of other things in the place of God is both wrong and futile. It is a pursuit of worthlessness which provides us with nothing but worthlessness. Such living is, ultimately, characterised by futility. Such living is fueled and motivated by a mind set upon and deceived by futile things.

In essence, the pursuit of any other thing or person in preference to God is idolatry and, when we exchange stuff for God, we always trade down.

ii. Darkened Understanding

Paul continues,

Ephesians 4:18

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

Again, we see that the rejection of Christ has a mental and rational component. This is, in a sense, ironic. The New Atheist and the liberal scholar would argue that the road to enlightenment begins with the rejection of God and superstition. Paul, however, argues contrariwise. Paul warns that the rejection of God leads to ignorance and diminished understanding.

This conclusion is, of course, a logical progression from chapters 1 through to 3. Paul has just presented a glorious presentation of a God who rules over and fills all things. Moreover, Paul has shown us the centrality of Christ in all things. He is the beginning, the centre and the end of all life, all existence and reality itself. In the gospel, God makes known to us,

Ephesians 1:9–10

…the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

This is why the mind of the unbeliever is darkened. The failure to acknowledge God is to deny the very beginning, purpose and end of the universe. To deny the existence of God is to stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the very source and sustainer of life, our life.

And, as such, there is an element of willfulness in all of this. Paul observes that the unbeliever is full of ignorance, their alienation from God is a result of ‘the ignorance that is in them’. This ‘ignorance’ is the counterpoint to the knowledge of Christ Jesus for which Paul elsewhere prays. As such, this ‘ignorance’ is not a mere failure of intellectual reasoning (that we are somehow intellectually ignorant to the existence of God). This ‘ignorance’ is the refusal to acknowledge, yield to and obey the Living God. One commentator observes, ‘Not to know the Lord is to ignore him, to say ‘no’ to his demands. Such ignorance is culpable.’^[2]

iii. A Lesser Life

This alienation from God has a profound impact upon our quality of life. Paul warns that unbelievers are,

Ephesians 4:18

…alienated from the life of God…

To be alienated from God is, in a very real sense, to be alienated from life; yes, life everlasting, but also life now. Consider the expansiveness of the promise of Christ Jesus,

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

If Christ is the centre of everything, if we are, indeed, created by him and for him and, if our purpose is to glorify him and enjoy him forever, what then does a life apart from him look like? Paul warns that a life apart from God results in alienation from the life that only he brings. We are left, in our ignorance, to enjoy a lesser life now, and judgment and condemnation in the life to come.

iv. Calloused hearts

This rational and mental dysfunction has devastating  moral and ethical consequences,

Ephesians 4:18-19

¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. ¹⁹They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

Once again, thinking matters. A life lived in denial and rejection of the gospel has both moral and ethical consequences. The way we think effects the way we feel (our heart) and the way we act. The unbelievers walk is, therefore, characterised by hardness of heart and callousness. This hardness of heart and callousness is a result of sin and leads to further and increasingly outrageous degrees of sinning (indeed, the NIV translators emphasise this callousness as a loss of sensitivity to right, wrong and the dictates of conscience and decency).[3] Indeed, Paul asserts that such unbelievers have, in fact, given themselves up ‘to practice every kind of impurity’, an expansive category which encompasses, ‘riotous and excessive living, can refer to unrestrained sexual behaviour’.^[4]

Habitual sin deadens the conscience. Sometimes we find ourselves repulsed by the most heinous of crimes trying to imagine how anyone could do such things. Often times the answer is that such a descent occurs step-by-step.

Nurtured bitterness leads to unrestrained anger. Unrestrained anger leads to murder.

An obsession with material things leads to ravenous greed. Ravenous greed leads to fraud and theft.

The untamed pursuit of sexual pleasure leads to all consuming lust. All consuming lust leads to rape and sexual violence.

This is precisely Paul’s point, the rejection of Christ leads to hardness of heart which, in turn, results in a life given up to ‘sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity’ (Ephesians 4:19).

The human conscience, given persistent and determined effort, can be killed stone-dead. Given time and circumstance, all of us are just about capable of anything. This kind of living, the unbelieving, Gentile-walk, is the entry point into a self-fuelling circle of ever increasing sin. Sin begets sin which, in turn, begets further sin. This kind of walking, this kind of living, results in a life in which we are ‘greedy to practice every kind of impurity’.

All of which begins with a willful and obstinate rejection of the truth. The hardening described by Paul is akin to the kind of stubbornness condemned elsewhere. One commentator makes the observation that, ‘pagan immorality is… wilful and culpable…, the result of their deliberate refusal of the moral light available to them in their own thought and conscience’^[5]

3. PUT OFF THE OLD SELF

a. Believers Beware!

And this is so shocking because Paul addresses this exhortation to the church. Paul is addressing the church in Ephesus and Paul is addressing the church in Westwood. It is important that we reflect on this. Paul warns us,

Christians, do not walk like unbelievers.

Christians, do not become futile in your thinking. Do not become obsessed with the pursuits and promises of this world. Be single minded, focus upon the glory of the gospel of Christ.

Christians, do not become darkened in your understanding. Do not exchange the counterfeit life offered by this world for the abundant, joyful and eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Christians, do not allow your hearts to become calloused and hardened. Christians do not sacrifice your lives in pursuit of sensuality and impurity.

b. Put of the Old Self

This is so shocking because Paul calls those who profess to be believers to so examine ourselves. Moreover, Paul calls us to action,

Ephesians 4:20-24

²⁰But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ²¹assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²²to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

We will return to this passage next week, but for now, consider Paul’s exhortation,

Christians, put off your old self.

As we have been considering during the evening services, the gospel call is, yes, a call to life, but it is also a command to die. The Puritan, John Owen, spoke in terms which are incredibly unfamiliar to our modern ears, but resounds deeply with the exhortations of the New Testament,

Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin, or it will be killing you.[6]

Paul exhorts believers to put off the old self. As we come to Christ, we receive life, but we must relinquish the old self. We must put to death (or, in the words of Owen, we must mortify) the old way of thinking. We must put to death the old way of feeling. Old attitudes. Old priorities. Old idols.

And the promise of the gospel is this: he is worth it.

Ephesians 4:22-24

…put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

We exchange the old self which was characterised by corruption and deceitful desires and, instead, we receive a new self created by and for and in the likeness of Christ.

The call of the gospel is to leave the old things, the sinful ways, behind and, as we do so, we pursue Christ, we draw close to Christ, we enjoy Christ and, in all of this, his glorious grace is at work making us more like him.

We trade up. We exchange who we were for all he calls us to be.

We trade up.

Continuing in this series through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Andy Evans looks at the call to learn Christ and be taught in him.

The notes which accompany this message are available here.

Continuing in this series through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Andy Evans looks at how we should focus our thinking solely on the glory of the gospel of Christ, otherwise our understanding will be darkened by worldly pursuits and promises.

The notes which accompany this sermon are available here.

These are the notes of a sermon preached by Andy Evans on the morning of the 05 June 2011 at Firwood Church. Click here to stream or download the sermon audio.

EPHESIANS 4:1-16, PART 3 – GROW

Ephesians 4:1–16

¹ I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”

⁹ (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) ¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

1. BUILDING THE CHURCH

a. Unite

The Apostle Paul begins with an exhortation towards Christian living. Paul urges believers in Christ to live like believers in Christ,

Ephesians 4:1–4

¹ I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Paul calls Christians to walk in a manner worthy of Christ Jesus and, interestingly, Paul identifies the desire and pursuit of unity as a key characteristic to all that it means to walk in a worthy manner. We understand, therefore, that Christianity is not a solo event. Christianity is not a lone pursuit. We are called to walk constantly and live deeply with other believers together with whom we constitute the church.

We are the body of Christ supernaturally created by Christ Jesus and united by the Spirit of God. We are called to live in the reality of this and to maintain the bond of peace purchased by Christ Jesus and mediated by the Holy Spirit. We are called to pursue and maintain the oneness embodied by the God of the Bible, hence, Paul reminds us,

Ephesians 4:5-6

⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

b. Give

But within this oneness, there is room for difference. We are called to be one people while recognising that the One God has blessed his church with many and varied gifts,[1]

Ephesians 4:7-10

⁷ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”

⁹ (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

The One God lavishes upon his people many gifts, but this giving is in accordance with his grace. Consequently, the extravagance of the gift is evidence of the kindness and generosity of the Giver rather than a testimony to the ability and worth of the recipient. It is important we take hold of this truth. It is human nature to tend to devalue the gift by searching for the ulterior motive. And so, when someone presents us with an outrageously generous gift we either feel uncomfortable or are suspicious of that persons motives.

Such thinking is exceptionally damaging in the context of this God, the God of the Bible who graciously and lavishly blesses us in Christ ‘with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places’ (Ephesians 1:3). To begin to equate his giving with our goodness or ability will either devalue the gift (for grace, when purchased or earned, is not grace) or we will find ourselves looking for affirmation in the gift rather than the Giver.

This kind of wrong thinking devalues grace and decentres the God who gives graciously because he is that kind of God.

He gives because he is grace and kind.

He gives because he is merciful.

He gives because he loves us despite our unloveliness.

c. We Are the Gift

All of which brings us to where we paused last week. The nature of the gift is surprising, sobering and provoking, consider,

Ephesians 4:11-14

¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Notice that the gift is the people, ‘the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and the teachers’. Paul is not talking of spiritual gifts in mere abstract terms; he wants us to understand that God uses you and I. God blesses his church, in and through you and me. We are the means of the blessing. We are the mediators of his rich grace as displayed and poured out in and through Christ Jesus.

We are his hands and feet in this world.

We are the city on a hill.

We are the light shining in the darkness.

This is the great mystery of the gospel. He chooses you and I. He chooses to use you and I.

2. GROW

a. The Call to Stand Up

i. Work

God, in Christ Jesus and through his Spirit, pours out spiritual grace-gifts upon his church for a specific purpose,

Ephesians 4:11-13

¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood…

God equips his saints (that is you and I, if you are a believer in Christ Jesus) for work.

Let me say that again, God equips us for work.

For some of us this may be a surprise, for some of us this may seem shocking and outrageous. The gospel compels us to respond with action. The grace of God abounding towards you and I is intended to equip us for works of service. The Apostles understood this. Paul understood this. Indeed, outrageously, Paul reminds the church in Corinth,

1 Corinthians 15:8–10

⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

Firstly, consider the seeming hubris in this statement. Paul declares that he worked harder than any of the other Apostles. This is, by any accounts, an astonishing statement and would be an example of utter arrogance were it not for the crucial clarification, ‘though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me’.

Paul worked hard. He sweated. He worked two jobs. He stayed up late. He sometimes went without. He wept tears of frustration and tears of sorrow. He suffered for the sake of the gospel. He worked hard.

And yet, Paul understands that it was, in fact, the grace of God compelling, energising and equipping him for works of service.

ii. Teach

And this is the second corrective. God gives that we might be equipped. The work we are to undertake, by his grace, is incredibly purposeful,

Ephesians 4:11

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers

It is interesting that Paul focuses in on gifts and office which primarily involve revealing, declaring and teaching the gospel. Moreover, Paul understands that this proclamatory roles, ‘the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers’, work hard in order to equip the saints. This, then, is the purpose of my preaching to you this morning. It is the purpose of bible studies. It is the purpose of the youth work. We preach, teach and proclaim the gospel, yes, to build up the church, but also to equip others for works of service.[2]

In this we are reminded that there is an indivisible connection between right doctrine and right living. The preaching, teaching and proclamation roles matter because it is through them that God equips the church. The rebuttal and correction of error, the setting forth of right doctrine matters because right thinking results in right living. The truth rightly understood and rightly received motivates us to live, to serve and to work for the glory of King Jesus and the good of the people of God. All of which leads me to Paul’s next point.

iii. Serve

This is both a motivation to work and a sobering reminder of the weighty calling upon our lives,

Ephesians 4:11-13

¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood…

Ministry gifts are neither intended nor designed to terminate with you and I. God gives and equips that we might minister to one another and build up the church of Christ. He equips us that we might work for the good of his people and the glory of his name. Paul’s expectation, therefore, is that the equipping of the saints should result in work and that this work should result in the church of Christ being built up.

And this building up has two dimensions (as we shall see).

Paul expects that the equipping of the saints will result in church growth (this is why he specifically references the gift of apostles and evangelists to the church), but also in an increase depth and rootedness in our walk together.[3]

But consider how this looks in practice. It may be that God has blessed you with a critical mind and a solid education. It may be that you have the capacity to grasp and apply difficult theological concepts.

Paul would challenge you to consider whether you are exercising your gifts in such a way as to encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ and to build up his church.

Or perhaps God has blessed you with the kind of personality where people are instinctively drawn to trust, confide and seek counsel from you.

Or perhaps you have been gift with exceptional organisational abilities.

Perhaps you are skilled in understanding finance.

Or maybe you have an unusual passion for prayer.

Or perhaps you play an instrument and are enthusiastic about leading people in corporate worship.

Maybe you are a web designer, a gifted artist, an expert communicator. A builder, a doctor, an engineer.

Perhaps you engage and connect easily with young people.

Maybe you have a particular and exceptionally compassionate heart for the poor.

If you are a believer, God has gifted you, in Christ Jesus, in any one of a thousand ways. The question Paul challenges us to ask is: are we using the gifts which God has given us to minister to others and build up his church. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers, Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, Bible study leaders and administrators together: God equips us for action.

God equips us so that the church of Christ might be built up and attain ‘mature manhood’.

b. The Call to Minister the Gospel

And consider now how Paul defines this ‘mature manhood’ to which we are called and to which end we minister and strive. Paul reminds us that God equips,

Ephesians 4:12-14

…the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Paul envisages two very specific outcomes of the ministry of the gifts of the Spirit in the life of the church, Paul desires that we would ‘all attain to the unity of the faith’ and that we would all attain to the ‘knowledge of the Son of God’ (v. 13).

i. Unity of the faith

Paul has already exhorted believers to maintain and pursue a unity grounded upon the reality of the God who is and the truth of the gospel. We are, after all, called,

Ephesians 4:4–5

…to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism…

Earlier, Paul exhorted us to,

Ephesians 4:3

…maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

In so doing, Paul recognised that it is the Spirit of God who brings true unity and peace. Our call, therefore, is to cooperate and work in accordance with this Spirit-given oneness. Here, however, Paul encourages, in even stronger terms, to work for the building up of the church of Christ. Paul is clear, this unity is something which we must both maintain, but also seek to attain to ‘the unity of the faith’ (Ephesians 4:13).

Paul is again reminding us of the importance of holding fast to the objective content of the gospel, not only as individuals, but, collectively, as the church of Christ. God graciously pours out ministry gifts, particularly proclamation, preaching and teaching gifts, in order that his church might grow in to ‘the unity of the faith’ and that we might all believe and hold to true things about God and the truth of the gospel.

It is important that we see that maturity is measured in gospel and doctrinal faithfulness. It matters what you and I believe. It matters what churches believe.

And this must change the way in which we minister.

Consider,

There is a way of preaching which poses difficult and troubling question which seek to undermine rather than understand the truth of the gospel. And there is a way of teaching which encourages division and disagreement over peripheral controversies.

Or small groups which should encourage oneness, but instead become forums for gossip and criticism.

Or corporate worship which becomes exclusive and self-indulgent.

A test of our gospel faithfulness in the exercising of our gifts is whether our ministry builds and encourages a oneness focused and grounded upon gospel faithfulness.

Do we treasure gospel truth and do we minister this same gospel truth to others? This is the first outcome of godly ministry, to urge the church towards ‘the unity of the faith’.

ii. The knowledge of the Son of God

The second envisaged outcome of faithful gospel ministry is intrinsically bound up with the first. Paul exhorts us to minister in such a way that men and women might grow in the knowledge of the Son of God. In so doing, Paul is exhorting us to work in accordance with his earlier prayer that we would,

Ephesians 3:19

…know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

This then becomes a test of our faithfulness in ministry:

Is the glory of King Jesus our highest ministry goal? Is the glory of King Jesus at the centre of our gospel message? Do we minister in such a way as to encourage people to seek after and energetically pursue King Jesus?  Do we help others to read and understand the gospel that they might grow in their knowledge of King Jesus?

Paul envisages believers mindful of the grace God in our lives ministering together that the church might be built up and that the church might grow up. Paul understands that such maturity comes from standing together and holding fast to gospel truth and springs from a deep and ever deepening knowledge of the Son of God.

And Paul also challenges us to ask deep, challenging questions which test our own Christian maturity and that of our churches, questions like,

Do we desire to know Jesus more deeply?

Do we hunger to learn new things about Jesus?

Do we cling to deep truths about Jesus?

Do we love Jesus? Do we search the Scriptures desiring to see him more clearly and know him more deeply?

This is what it means to strive after maturity.

c. The Call to Grow Up

i. Mature Manhood

The end of all of this is that we, the church of Christ, would grow up,

Ephesians 4:13

…all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood…

This phrase, ‘mature manhood’, is unusual, but Paul is, in effect, calling the church of Christ to act like a real man.

And this emphasis is important. Paul exhorts believers to minister and to work that the church might attain full maturity. While it is absolutely true that the gospel requires an individual response, too often we focus exclusively and singularly on our own spiritual wellbeing to the neglect of the health of the wider church. In this we see a peculiar form of Christianised consumerism which is hugely damaging to both the soul and the Church of Christ. Instead of working for the good of the body, such thinking causes us to focus exclusively on our own needs: am I being fed, are my spiritual needs being met and am I happy here? Such thinking leads us to drop ministries, switch churches and chase spiritual experiences from one conference to another in some ill-informed pursuit of what we believe to be true maturity.

Paul provides the corrective to this. We are called to minister,

Ephesians 4:13

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood…

All. Paul is interested in the ‘all’.

True Christian maturity is worked out together in service of one another. True Christian maturity is seen as we lay down our priorities and privileges for the good of our brothers and sisters. True Christian maturity is seen as we forgive when we are wronged and repent openly when we wrong others. True Christian maturity is seen as we love like Jesus loved and as we lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Paul reminds us that God equips us and calls us to work and minister for the good of each other.

The end of this grace is that the church would grow up and act like a man.

ii. Gospel Immaturity (does this need to move up top)

Paul proceeds to present the antithesis of this gospel maturity. Paul reminds the church that God equips that we might grow up so that, in our new found maturity,

Ephesians 4:14

… we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Once again we are reminded that right thinking and right doctrine matters.

It matters that we move towards attaining the unity of the faith. It matters that we care about and progress in our knowledge of the Son of God. It matters that the church of Christ grows up because the alternative is so devastating.

Right thinking and right doctrine matters because the alternative is incredibly destructive. Paul wants us to see that, where there is no unity of the faith and no deep knowledge of the Son of God, gospel immaturity prevails. And gospel immaturity is dangerous because it results in a gullibility in which we see Christians falling for every scheme and scam which infiltrates the church.

Ultimately, gospel immaturity will result in disintegrating churches, divided families, wrecked marriages and the tragic falling away from the gospel truth.

c. The Call to Speak Up

As we have already considered earlier in this series, this church was on the cusp of experiencing severe spiritual attack. Elsewhere Paul addresses the Pastors of this church and warns them that,

Acts 20:29–30

…fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

Because right thinking and right doctrine matters, believers are called to be on our guard against enemies of the gospel infiltrating the church. Moreover, we are called to stand up and stand against false teaching and false doctrine,

Ephesians 4:15–16

¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

We are called to speak up and speak out.

When we see people who profess to be Christians diminishing the effectiveness of the cross of Christ, the exclusive claims of the gospel, the gospel call to holiness and any one of a thousand gospel-perversions, we must stand up and speak up. This is a distinctive of the mature believer and the mature church.

When we see error, we speak up.

When we see the gospel being perverted, we speak up.

When we see the truth, the glory and the triumph of King Jesus being undermined, we stand up and speak up.

But we are called to speak out this truth in love.

Consider the nature of the gospel ,

John 1:14

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Or, as Paul earlier states,

Ephesians 2:17

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

Consider the awesome truth of this, God becomes flesh and enters into a world of darkness-loving, God-belittling rebels and how does he respond? Jesus came and he preached a message of peace: be reconciled to God.

And so to, we are called to speak up and to preach and proclaim the gospel faithfully, but in a spirit of grace and love. We are called to correct error in such a way that we might win the souls of those in error. We are called to oppose false teachers and false doctrine in such a way that our lives might authenticate the truth of our position.

3. A CHRIST-CENTRED CHURCH

a. Grow into Christ Jesus

It has been said of our generation, that intolerance is the one remaining intolerable sin. We live in a generation where pluralism, postmodernism and relativism reign. It is a spirit encapsulated by the title of a recent Manic Street Preacher’s album, This is My Truth, Tell Me Yours.

Tragically, the spirit of this age has permeated the church.

And so we have churches tolerating false teaching, distorted doctrine and the open embracing of what Bible presents as sin in the mistaken believe that unity must be maintained, whatever the cost. We find churches lowering the bar in terms of the moral conduct expected of those who profess to be Christians in the mistaken believe that this wide open door will result in church growth.

It is interesting that Paul draws a directly line between gospel faithfulness and profoundly genuine church growth,

Ephesians 4:15–16

¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Note that it is as we speak up and speak out in love, we, the church, grow up.

But consider how we grow up: the church is to grow into Christ Jesus who is the head.

There is an issue of authority here, he is the Head of his Church and he sets the rules and the standard. But there is more here. The Apostle Paul wants us to see that it is because of our connection with the Head (Christ Jesus) and our submission to him that we find true, soul-deep cohesion in the church.

He is the source of unity. He is the one who holds this church together. He is the sole common ground upon which we stand. He is the object of our worship. His fellowship is the objective of our meeting together. His glory is outcome of our ministry. His Name is the thing that gives us identity.

We are called to minister (with the grace-gifts he has given), we are called to stand up, speak up and grow up. And, as we do so, we grow into him.

This is what it means to be the body of Christ, that he ministers in and through us. We are made to be his hands and feet in this world.[4]

This is what it means to be the body of Christ.

b. Show the Fullness of Christ Jesus

Which leads us to our final point, an astonishing truth which we overlooked earlier in this passage. Again consider,

Ephesians 4:11-13

¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

We are called to minister, to stand up, to speak up and to grow up. We are called to work towards and strive for the building up of the church of Christ so that the body of Christ might attain ‘mature manhood’. The question remains, what does this mature manhood look like? Paul instructs us that we are to minister until we grow up into,

Ephesians 4:13

…the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

Paul envisages that the church would increasingly come to resemble Christ Jesus.

That we would minister in all the fullness of Christ Jesus.

That we would serve with the humility of Christ Jesus.

That we speak with the faithfulness of Christ Jesus

And that we would love with the costly, sacrificial love displayed by King Jesus on the cross.

And this is why the ‘until’ of verse 13 is so important. We continue to minister and work until we attain ‘the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’. We continue to minister and work until he returns to perfect his church. We continue to minister and work until that day when we will know him full even as we are fully know.[5]

Continuing in this series through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Andy Evans explores how we are equipped through Christ Jesus to do God’s work and to grow in knowledge and maturity.

The notes which accompany this message are available here.