MESSAGE TEXT
Ephesians 4:4-6
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INTRODUCTION
Apostle Paul shows you how to assess not only your own spiritual vital signs (do I believe the truth?), but also to determine if you’re partnered up with the right people to help you on your "worthy walk" (do I belong to Christ’s body?). We are called to believe and belong! The “I love Jesus, but I don’t need other Christians” is foreign to the NT. In the words of Sarah Bessey: "We all need a somewhere” – a place to belong, a group of people we can church with and hold hands with to steady us on our worthy walk. However, bear this in mind: Unity and peace are fantastic, but not at the expense of truth.
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PROPOSITION
To repeat: What you believe affects how you behave. Paul shows you how to assess not only your own spiritual vital signs (do I believe the truth?), but also to determine if you’re partnered up with the right people to help you on your worthy walk (do I belong to Christ’s body?). It’s Paul’s way of saying unity and peace are fantastic, but not at the expense of truth.
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OUTLINE
To Accomplish this Worthy Walk - Remember Who You Are (1).
In other words, live in a way that is a proper response to who God says you are and what God has done for and in you. When it comes to Greek grammar, there are 41 commands or imperatives in Ephesians. Paul used only one imperative in chapters 1–3 (2:11), whereas forty imperatives appear in chapters 4–6.In the first three chapters (56 verses), there’s only 1 command. In other words, Paul isn’t asking them to do anything; just receive this new work of God in your behalf. The other 40 imperatives are found in Ephesians 4-6. Would you like to know what that one imperative was? “remember” in 2:11. Remember who you were and who you are now. So, volume one of our life: “alienated” and outside of Christ. Volume two: “in Christ” and reconciled. "Remember what you were and who I said you are now."
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To Accomplish this Worthy Walk - Watch Where You Step (2-3).
There are some important steppingstones that we don’t want to miss on our “worthy walk”. I see at least five. Paul begins in Ephesians 4:2 by laying down five stepping-stones for a worthy walk. Where do these stepping-stones lead? Ephesians 4:3 shows the destination: “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” That’s the goal of these deliberate steps in the Christian walk. To avoid any missteps in a worthy walk, we’ll touch on each step.
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To Accomplish this Worthy Walk - Hold the Right Hands (4-6).
You’re not to be a Lone Ranger Christian living in isolation. Walking worthily means holding the hands of those who are grounded in the faith; those who bring a biblical worldview to life - for this is your common ground.
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Paul gives seven identifiers that will help you find your people; seven items preceded by the word “one” to help you assess your own spiritual vital signs. All seven express the reality that there is only one gospel and that to believe that gospel is to enter into the unity it creates. Each one of these seven things show up in multiple places in Ephesians!
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Verses 4-6 comprise an early baptism creed. The baptismal service emphasized “confession,” as is evident in so many of the credal confessions in the NT (e.g., Rom 10:9, 10; 1 Tm 6:12, 13; possibly Phil 2:6–11; Eph 4:4–6; Col 1:13–20). These are seven brief talking points or waypoints in your worthy walk. There are seven “ones” – the number of completion. Rabbi’s were always embedding secret messages or coded meanings into their works. Notice who Paul puts in the position of primacy in the list of sevens.
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CONCLUSION
The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel that unites. That’s because it’s a message of salvation, peace, and hope—for all who believe. It’s a gospel that lifts us from the depths to the heights. It tells us that we’re all sinners, under God’s wrath, in need of salvation. Then it tells us the incredible news that through believing in Jesus, we are forgiven. In fact, more than forgiven: raised, lifted up, given strength and security in God’s love, made his children, and given a glorious hope. That gospel is for all who believe.
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I am the person whom Jesus has saved through his cross and empty tomb. I am the guilty sinner who has been declared righteous. I am the orphan who has been adopted. I am the unholy person who has been set apart. I am the fractured image who is turning into the likeness of Jesus. I am the person who is learning to love God and all the things He loves.
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All of these “ones” are Paul’s loves. Do you love these truths as well. Give me your hand and I’ll give you my heart. We’ll walk worthily together. And we’ll have the stable footing we need to hold each other up.