Mosaic Mansfield

Read Ephesians 4:11-32
I want you to notice how belonging to one another, of having a certain amount of being connected in an inseparable way, is woven in through the entirety of the text. This idea is what the scriptures and theologians are referring to when they speak of the singular “Bride of Christ.” That you and I are not individuals brides of Christ - though we do have an individual relationship with him in many ways - but that we, together, form the single Bride of Christ. That the full, global and historical Church body from the beginning of time until now, together, forms the Bride. This idea, that we are united as one Bride is either explicitly cited as one of the primary reasons for putting on Christ-like behavior, or is the implied reason behind the call to do so. So as we read together, pay special attention to the weaving of this idea throughout.

“So Christ himself gave...to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (vs 11-13)

People with these gifts, of teaching, establishing churches, sharing the gospel in winsome and helpful ways, and folks with shepherding hearts exists NOT to do the bulk of the ministry, but to minister to the sole body of Christ, so that through their works of service, we might reach the unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God and become mature and attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Paul draws out this language in the next passage.

“Then…” (vs. 14)
Then when? When the whole body, with each member performs their works of service which are necessary for all of our growth - my or Tony’s labor in writing sermons, in praying for these services, in working with you through things pastoral is not enough for our growth as a body into the fullness of Christ. It takes your gifts, your experience, your person working with the Spirit of God in faithfulness with the work of corporate worship that draws us all into maturity and the fullness of Christ. I need you just as much as you need me. It is in light of this functioning that Paul goes on.

“Then we will no longer be infants… Instead speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the (singular) mature body (singular) of Him who is the head, that is Christ. From Him the whole body (singular) joined and held together by EVERY SUPPORTING LIGAMENT, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part (every part!) does its work." (vs 14-16)

Here we see it again -- the one body of Christ - we are tied together inseparably -this one body is only able to grow and be built up when each support ligament works to hold everything together. Often people will say, “Well I don’t really have anything to bring to the church… I am not an eloquent speaker or brilliant philosopher or theologian… I am not a top brass biblical scholar…” and that’s fine - because what you are, is a necessary supporting ligament who, thank God, is very different from me, with a different gift or gifts. You might have gifts of mercy or hospitality, and you're able to love and welcome all sorts of people into your life and home in a way some of us could never imagine, maybe you have the gift of discernment or wisdom and you’re able to provide wise counsel of truth in love in a way some of us could only hope to. Maybe you’re incredibly gifted at organizing things and getting things done - praise God! If I wasn’t married to a woman who was both merciful and organized, I’d be more of a mess than I am today.

You see, each of us are gifted in some ways and deficient in others - not in a sinful way, Peter tells us that we have everything we need to live a life of Godliness, that is a life that is submissive to Christ. That’s not what Paul is talking about here - he’s trying to express that in our belonging together as one body, each of us need to function in different ways so that we can grow into the fullness of Christ

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.” (vs 17-19)
Let’s look at how Paul describes the life of a person who is living in the ways of the “old self.” He describes their understanding, their way of thinking about life as darkened. Darkened contrasts with what? Enlightened. Rather than thinking on things which bring hope, life and fullness to the body, they think in ways which are darkened - not focused on those things, but only focused on the immediate - that which is right in front of them. When it is dark your field of vision is reduced dramatically. If you wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, there’s a certain level of anxiety which comes over you as you must fight both the physical darkness as well as the mental darkness. When you’re groggy, in the middle of the night, your brain doesn’t function like it does after a full night’s rest. Inevitably during the year you end up stepping on the dog, stubbing your toe, or tripping over something on your short journey to the bathroom. Your mind and your home is darkened. This is the way Paul describes the way the Gentiles live. They have a very short, narrow field of view. They can only see what’s right in front of them, so they live a very self and immediate lifestyle. That’s described as indulgence in every kind of impurity and as a life full of greed. They don’t see the light on the horizon, they don’t see the light of grace in the midst of everyday life, all they can see and sense is themselves - they are focused inwardly.

The darkened mind, results in a selfish, inward-bent lifestyle.
2 Peter 1:9 says something similar about folks who are not increasing in Godliness - he says that when we cease to grow into the character of Christ, we have become blind. In our blindness we are groping about that which is immediate, that which is most accessible to us - we are utterly unaware of the beauty that surrounds us, so we stumble and grasp onto anything which gives us a sense of fleeting joy. When we live this way, we are unable to embrace that which is beautiful, hopeful or good. This is a pretty stark picture - but this isn’t the life God has called us to - his is a life of newness, righteousness and holiness.

“That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (vs 20-24)
Through Christ God has welcomed us into His Kingdom - he has removed the scales from our eyes and has given us the ability to live in the light. The glory and beauty of His creation, his bride and himself has shone through the darkness of our hearts and it calls us out of the stumbling, selfish darkness into his wonderful light. Created to walk with him together in paradise, we’ve bent everything inwardly and chosen to stumble in the darkness, but in his grace our Father sent Christ to restore our vision and we now possess the Spirit who intercedes for us, convicts us, and calls us deeper into fellowship with God, teaching us the goodness of being the sons and daughters of of Father. So Paul is calling us to set aside what is lesser, what is darkness, what is inward and self focused and to put on that which is like Christ, in this newness of life. Literally, to be transformed from one degree of glory to the next as we become more and more like Christ. People often make the mistake in thinking that God is a killjoy, that he somehow wants to rob you of something good when he asks you to give up some sin. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Sin always breeds death, but through Christ who conquers death, we can live lives of never ending fullness, goodness and joy. When God calls something a sin and calls you to repent, to turn away from that sin, he’s not calling you to a boring life of drudgery, but rather is calling you to unfathomable depths of joy and fullness in Eternity with Him and his bride.

C.S. Lewis has a wonderful and jarring image he uses to describe this division:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”


― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses

So then, what does this fuller life in Christ look like, this holiday at the sea?

“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.“In your anger do not sin” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.(vs 25-32)
Notice that each of the example Paul gives us of setting aside the old self and putting on the new self is an example of inwardness being set aside for an other’s embracing lifestyle. It’s trading a selfish lifestyle for a loving, selfless lifestyle.

Put Off Falsehood and Speak Truthfully
○ Why?
■ “We are all members of one body.”
■ Because we belong to one another, we must not lie. Well why do we lie?
To keep others from knowing us fully - we want folks to see us in a specific way, in a carefully curated way that benefits us. We don’t want to be known as we really are. Remember what Paul said earlier? In our old-self we hid in the darkness and focused on ourselves, but in Christ we’ve been exposed to the healing light of our Father and are called to live openly focused on our God and our neighbor. We are called out of isolation into the messy world of knowing and being known as we really are.

In Your Anger Do Not Sin - Don’t Let the Sun Set on Your Anger
○ What does Paul mean here when he encourages us to not let our anger burn within us.
■ Anger usually comes about when there is some kind of conflict - emotional, physical or ideological. This anger might be righteous - there are things worthy of being angered over (Matt.21:12, John 2:13-17.)
■ Paul does not say to not become angry - but to not that anger grow and fester. As the conflict continues, distance is given in our relationships and Paul says that as that distance forms, we give space for the Devil to work in.
■ Instead, in love, Paul suggests we do everything we can to live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18). In striving to love one another amidst the conflict we actually deepen our connection and move closer to one another. It’s easier on us as individuals to let the anger we feel separate us - that’s what we would do in the old way of life, but as we put on the new self, we mimic God who, through Christ, made the first step of reconciliation towards us even though he was the only party involved who had done nothing wrong - his anger was 100% justified, and yet we are told, in love he sent his Son to reconcile our relationship.

Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
○ Stealing is often utterly self-focused. It considers only our immediate needs, it does not think of those who we steal from, nor does it consider those who, like us, are in need or want.
■ So, those who are stealing are to stop stealing (put off the old self) and to start working in a useful capacity with their own hands not just for their own sake, but also for the sake of others. Why for the sake of others? Because we belong to one body - we care for one another, we have ownership in the needs of other members of our body. If any part of the body is sick or in need, the whole body suffers - physically as well as spiritually. The ethic here is to work in such a way as to not only provide for self, but to be of benefit to the body. Just as each of us have been given spiritual gifts for the spiritual growth of the body, so each of us are given a lot in the physical care of God’s children.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Often we see people cite this verse in defence of their position that Christians ought to never use any profane language. But that is not the heart of this verse - rather, this verse calls us to something much more profound. It asks us to use our mouths in such a way as to only speak in a manner and with words that are useful for building other up and more specifically according to their needs, in a way that will benefit those who listen.This is so much more than not saying certain words or phrases - this is a call to speak like Christ. This is much richer than simply ignoring some vocabulary - God always calls us out of something shallow and dark into something fuller and radiant. So yes, maybe you ought not say those certain phrases, but you and I both know we don’t need those phrases to tear someone down. Tone, intention, mannerism, history (theirs and ours) all inform how someone receives how we speak. So we must be diligent to love them first and then speak only after we know how and what to say to offer them life and to build them up.

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” (vs 30-31)
○ Paul, inspired by the Spirit, knowing the human heart and condition, knowing that someone out there might look at this list and say “Well what about this self-focused thing? Or that shallow, empty, darkened thing? I can still do that, right?” often leaves these “junk drawer lists” so as to say - “Oh and everything else you can possibly imagine that fits this way of thinking - don’t do that either.” Remember he’s the guy who had to write a letter telling a church that it actually wasn’t okay to celebrate the sexual union of a mother and her son (or step-son as the case may have been.) It’s not about this specific list, but about embracing the fullness of our new life in Christ.

The Final Exhortation of the Chapter: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (vs 32)
○ When we live lives which are like those God calls us to, things are going to get messy. When you step into the light and become known, and begin to know others, the likelihood of pain increases. The deeper you are known and the deeper you know, the more painful it can be. We don’t always live in the fullness of Christ - though hopefully we are growing in Christ-likeness in increasing measure - we still may miss the mark and when we do, because we belong to one another, there will be pain caused to members of the body. So what does Paul tell us? He asks us to look to the way in which God loves us - while we were still sinner, at the right time, while we were still week, God sent Christ in love to reconcile us back to Him. Likewise, as we begin to put off the old self and embrace the new self, as we begin to live and move in Christ amongst his Body as members of one another, let us look to the way in which God through Christ loved us. Meditate on his goodness toward you, remember his faithfulness in the midst of your least faithful moments, consider his graciousness in calling and adopting you as his “beloved child” and then live out of that reality!
○ May we be kind and compassionate to one another just as God has been and continues to be kind and compassionate to us, Amen?