Grace OPC Sewickley PA

Sermon Book: Ephesians

  • Once Strangers, Now Fellow Citizens

    Once Strangers, Now Fellow Citizens

    About this sermon

    Paul reminds the Gentile believers that they were once strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God. Now in Christ they are no longer strangers and aliens but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, with access by faith into the grace in which they stand. God builds the church on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone; there is no hint of a papacy. In him the whole structure grows into a holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

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    Sermon transcript

    Reading of God’s Word. My sermon text this morning is Ephesians 2:11–22, though I will be focusing especially on verse 19. I will begin reading at verse 4 to provide context. So, Ephesians chapter two, beginning at verse 4. You will find the sermon text on page 1,160 in your Pew Bibles. Dear friends, this is the inerrant word of God. Hear it with reverence and awe.

    But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

    For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

    Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands, were separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

    Dear friends, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Let us pray for the Lord to bless the preaching of His word. Our Lord and Father in heaven, we are so thankful that You have not left us in this world without a clear word. We thank You that You have given us Your word. We thank You that it is indeed a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path, and a guide to our way. We ask, Heavenly Father, that as we consider this portion of Your word this morning, Your Holy Spirit would illuminate Your word to our hearts and souls. We pray that Your word would find a dwelling place in our hearts, and we pray, Lord, that You would set a guard over my lips, that I might speak only that which is faithful to Your word, edifying to Your people, and glorifying to Your holy name. We ask, Lord Jesus, to be present by Your Spirit in the proclamation of Your word this day.

    In Jesus’ name we pray, and all of God’s people said. Amen. You may be seated. The title of my sermon this morning is Once Strangers, Now Fellow Citizens, and I would like to encourage the children to listen for four key words. These words are citizens, kingdom, household, and temple. Citizens, kingdom, household, and temple.

    Do I really belong? Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you have asked yourself that question? I mean, do I really belong here? Dear ones, one of our greatest needs as human beings is the need to feel that we belong to something greater than ourselves. We all have a natural, God-implanted need to feel connected to one another in community and connected to a reality that transcends our own isolated individual lives. We all long to be part of a story, with a capital S, that transcends our own personal story, with a lowercase s. Now, of course, things such as institutions and organizations, such as community groups, clubs, sports teams, political parties, and yes, of course, families, meet this need in different ways and to different degrees.

    However, friends, as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we should realize that we, brothers and sisters, are privileged to belong to a reality that is far greater and far more lasting than all of these temporal, common grace, earthly realities. By the sovereign saving grace of God, we are citizens of God’s kingdom. We are members of God’s household.

    Through Jesus Christ, we belong to God in a unique way, in a way that the unbelieving world does not belong to God. We are connected in the ultimate sense. We belong to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. And in belonging to Him, we belong to His universal church, His Catholic church, in the good sense of that term, His universal church. And the Holy Spirit dwells in us and among us. What a tremendous privilege. Dear ones, nothing less than this spiritual reality of our union with Christ and with the body of Christ can fully satisfy this human craving to belong and to be connected with others in some higher purpose. Through faith in the gospel, we are connected. In Christ, we belong.

    Our passage for this Lord’s Day morning underscores and explains all of this by stressing the fact that we who are believers in Christ are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, as we are told in verse 19. It is to this powerful and instructive passage of God’s word that I would now like to direct our attention. And it is important to understand the context of this passage. You see, Paul is addressing a group of mostly Gentile believers in Ephesus.

    And before they had been converted to Christ, the Ephesian Christians to whom Paul wrote had not belonged to God’s covenant people. In fact, the opposite. They were outsiders. They did not belong. They had been pagan, idol-worshipping Gentiles, living outside of the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to God’s covenants of promise, living in this world without hope and without God.

    Notice how Paul describes and reminds them of their condition prior to the coming of Christ as Gentiles, prior to their own personal coming to Christ in their conversion. He has already spoken of the fact that we are saved by the grace of God in terms of our individual salvation. He says, therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles as a whole, you Gentiles in the flesh, were called the uncircumcision by those who are called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. What is the condition of those who have never heard the gospel?

    Do they have hope of coming to God through general revelation? No, they do not. The Bible makes it clear that God’s revelation in creation and in conscience is sufficient to remove our excuses. It leaves us without excuse, but it does not reveal the way of salvation.

    And there can be no greater, no worse condition than the condition of being an outsider, having no hope and without God in this world. That was the reality for these Ephesians before they heard the glad tidings of great joy. In terms of their covenantal status, they, along with the rest of the unbelieving Gentile world, were outsiders to God’s covenant community, God’s household, and more significantly, outsiders to the grace of salvation. They had lived their lives separated from Christ and from God’s covenant people.

    But then in verse 13, Paul proclaims, we read these wonderful words: “But now, but now, something has changed. But now, in this moment of redemptive history, after the incarnation and advent of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and after the ushering in of the New Covenant era, now that they had heard this gospel and, by sovereign grace, had come to trust in Christ as their Savior, now, as verse 19 says, they are no longer strangers and aliens. But they are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Now they belonged. And dear ones, what was true then for these first-century believers in Ephesus is true for us today, if we have trusted in Christ as our Lord and Savior. So let us consider what our privileges and our identity are as those who are now in Christ. As we turn our attention in particular to verse 19, we learn first of all, beloved, that we are citizens of God’s kingdom. We are citizens of God’s kingdom. Verse 19.

    So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Citizenship can involve many privileges, especially citizenship in a free and sovereign nation. That citizenship implies certain rights and certain privileges, as well as certain duties and responsibilities. But God’s word indicates that while we are citizens of an earthly, temporal, civil reality, our ultimate citizenship is in heaven. As Paul writes elsewhere in Philippians 3:20–21, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” In other words, beloved, in this life, we are dual citizens. With a citizenship in the earthly civil realm, yes, but ultimately, beloved, with an eternal citizenship in the heavenly realm.

    In our passage for today, Paul reminds his Gentile readers that they share equal heavenly citizenship and standing with their believing Jewish brothers and sisters in the kingdom of God. What does this mean for the church today? What can the church today learn from this passage? Beloved, this means that we—each of us, regardless of our background, whether we come from a church or non-church upbringing, whether we are of Jewish or Gentile ethnic origin—are no longer outsiders or temporary residents. In Christ, we are full citizens who enjoy all the privileges of God’s kingdom. This is emphasized by the two words Paul uses to describe their condition before their conversion to Christ. He says in verse 19, you are no longer what? Strangers and aliens. Strangers and aliens. Let us focus on these two words for a moment. We know that immigration is a significant issue today. What does Paul mean when he refers to strangers and aliens? In Paul’s time, to be a stranger meant to be a complete foreigner, entirely without the rights and privileges of citizenship. On the other hand, in that ancient context, an alien was a non-citizen who lived in a city and thus was granted certain customary rights as a resident, but still did not have the full rights and privileges of citizenship in that city.

    And this kind of depiction is a true representation of the Gentile condition before the coming of Christ. You see, before the coming of Christ, Gentiles on the whole were excluded from full citizenship in God’s visible covenant community. Unless, of course, they converted and came to faith in the true God, the God of Israel, and became circumcised, becoming full members of the Israelite theocracy. But they were not fully included until they were fully initiated into the theocratic community. Likewise, before Paul’s Gentile readers came to faith in Christ, they were strangers and aliens in a spiritual sense, for they were unsaved, and therefore separated from the privileges of belonging to God’s people, God’s kingdom. And what was true for them was also true for us before Christ graciously saved us.

    Some of you I know were raised in the church and you can never remember a time when you did not know and love and trust and serve the Lord Jesus Christ, where you were not repentant for your sin and trusting in Christ as your Savior. But some of you, I know, can remember a time before you came to Christ. Maybe you were raised in a non-Christian family. You can remember a definite before and after, a definite B.C. and A.D. in your own personal spiritual journey. Now that you are in Christ, you are no longer a stranger. You are no longer an outsider. You belong to God’s people, God’s kingdom.

    And that is a privilege. Now Paul focuses on some of these privileges of citizenship in God’s kingdom. What are those privileges? We could spend a lot of time talking about the privileges of belonging to God’s kingdom. There are many passages in Scripture that we could turn to, but let’s focus on two privileges in particular that Paul emphasizes in our passage for today. The first privilege that he mentions is access or introduction in Christ to the very throne room presence of God.

    Look at verse 18. He says in verse 18, “For through him, that is through Christ, Christ being the mediator between God and man, through him, we both—Jew and Gentile who believe in Jesus—through him, through Christ, we both have what? We both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” Every word in this verse is rich with meaning and significance. Notice, by the way, the Trinitarian nature of this passage. Paul’s writings are saturated with a Trinitarian consciousness, and we see this clearly in verse 18. Through Christ, we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

    Access to what? We have access to the very presence of God. The word “access” here in the Greek is the same word found in Romans 5. Let us turn to Romans 5 and look at verses 1 and 2, which also address this matter. Paul, having explained the universality of human sin and the wonderful doctrine of justification by grace through faith apart from works, says this in Chapter 5, verses 1 and 2: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise God. God is no longer our enemy. He no longer regards us as His enemies. We are no longer under His wrath. We are objectively in a state of peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

    Then verse 2: “Through Him we have also obtained what? We have obtained access by faith into the grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” We have access and a standing in grace. And this access, I would contend, ultimately points to access to the throne room presence of God. We do not see this with the eyes of flesh, but it is a reality, brothers and sisters. In fact, what we are doing this morning is we are gathered together as God’s covenant community in the name of Christ. We are gathered to worship our great and sovereign and triune God.

    Christ is present by His Spirit. Angels are present. If the Lord would remove our blindness and grant us spiritual sight, we would see this room filled with supernatural realities, because we have access through Christ to the throne of grace.

    In Christ, both Jews and Gentiles fully and equally enjoy peace with God and thus have equal access to God’s presence and grace. This was an astounding revelation in the first century among God’s people. It is a central theme in this section of Ephesians. The unity of Jew and Gentile in the one body of Christ is a central and driving theme in this passage.

    Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have access, an introduction in Christ, to the presence of God. The veil has been torn in two from top to bottom. The way into the heavenly holy of holies has been opened to us, and we enter by grace through faith. We commune with our Father in prayer.

    What a tremendous privilege this is. Paul also speaks of the privilege of peace and reconciliation with God and with fellow believers. He emphasizes this, especially earlier in this passage in verses 14 through 17. There is much here, and we do not have time to explore all the details of this passage, but let me read these verses again.

    Speaking of Christ, Paul writes, “For he himself is our peace, our peace. Through Christ, we are at peace with God, but we are unable to be at peace with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.” He is speaking here of peace between believing Jews and believing Gentiles who share faith in Jesus, forming one body in Christ. “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh—the wall of hostility—by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”

    Notice that Christ’s saving work tears down what Paul calls the dividing wall of hostility between believing Jews and believing Gentiles. He accomplishes this through his work on the cross. He brings together into one body people from all kinds of different backgrounds.

    Many scholars believe that this reference to the dividing wall of hostility refers to the wall that separated the court of the Gentiles in the Jerusalem temple from the inner parts of the temple. If you were a Gentile in the first century and wished to worship at the Jerusalem temple, you were limited to the court of the Gentiles. There were warnings posted on that wall stating that if a Gentile entered beyond this point into the area reserved for Jews or Jewish priests, he would be responsible for his own death. The warning essentially said, “You have only yourself to blame if you lose your life.”

    This division between Jew and Gentile was a reality in the ancient world. There was great hostility between Jews and Gentiles. This separation was enforced by the ceremonial law of the Old Covenant. The ceremonial law served to keep Jews and Gentiles apart in many ways.

    That law, of course, pointed forward to Christ, and Christ has abolished that law. Even as he has fulfilled the moral law, he has rendered preceptive and penal obedience to the law on our behalf, so he has also fulfilled the ceremonial law. Therefore, by his cross work, he has torn down the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile. Now, there are many implications that we can draw from these truths, from this passage, but let me mention just a few applications from this text.

    First of all, beloved, we learn here that under the new covenant, the visible Church of God is no longer a national theocratic entity as it was under the old covenant. Instead, now the Church of God is an international body. It is an international, universal Catholic reality. We confessed in the Nicene Creed earlier in the service, “I believe in one holy Catholic Church.” We are not referring to the Roman Catholic Church. We are referring to the spiritual unity of all true believers in Christ, the spiritual unity of all the elect throughout the world, from every part of the world, across all ages of human history. This is the kingdom of God. This is the body of Christ.

    It is an international reality. And I believe this is especially significant today, when we hear so much about so-called Christian nationalism. Friends, do not worry. I will not enter into politics. We will not discuss the details of this particular issue. I understand that there are different definitions of what this term means, and various nuances are offered. But if someone were to ask me, Pastor Jeff, are you a Christian nationalist? I would answer by saying, actually, I am a Christian internationalist. I am a Christian internationalist because the gospel of Jesus Christ is for all the nations.

    Christ redeemed people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. In Matthew 28, in the Great Commission, what did Jesus say? He said, go and make disciples of whom? The United States of America? Go and make disciples of all the nations. I am reminded of the scene of heavenly worship recorded in Revelation 5, where the elders and the living creatures praise the Lamb of God. And it says in Revelation 5, verses 9 and 10, and they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you, they are praising Jesus, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Christ has redeemed people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

    Whatever you think about the issue of Christian nationalism, in the church, our primary focus should be on Christian internationalism—spreading the gospel to all nations and all people groups throughout the world. This passage, and also many others like it, makes it clear that there is only one people of God.

    Passages like this one clearly refute the serious error of dispensational theology, a theology that many of you know is so pervasive in contemporary evangelicalism. I know many of our esteemed guests today are familiar with dispensationalism and its errors, but some of you here today may be wondering, what is that? What is dispensationalism? In brief, dispensational theology essentially teaches that God has two peoples.

    He has an earthly people to whom He has given temporal earthly promises, namely the Jews, and then He has His spiritual people, the church, those who trust Christ as their Savior. But passages like this clearly refute that kind of distorted theology and that distorted approach to biblical interpretation. There are many other passages as well, but notice the emphasis that Paul makes in this passage.

    There is one body. There is one body of Christ. Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus are full and equal members of that one body. There is one trunk. We as Gentiles were grafted into this one covenantal trunk, but if there is only one trunk and we are part of that, then we are united in Christ.

    Another lesson, I think, that we can learn from this passage is that Jewish and Gentile Christians are united in one body. That is, again, very closely connected.

    Therefore, I would suggest to you, beloved, that any denomination or any worshiping community that is intentionally structured to exclude one or the other group, or is designed to minister to only one group, is behaving in a manner that is contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, at least in terms of its practical and communal implications.

    I am reminded of what Paul did to the Apostle Peter in Galatians Chapter 2. What was Peter doing that was so rebuke-worthy? As many of you know, Peter had withdrawn from table fellowship with Gentiles and was eating only with his Jewish brethren. And Paul publicly upbraided him and rebuked him for that.

    You may ask, how does this kind of error show up today? Just to give a few examples, I think of Messianic Judaism. Now, it is a wonderful thing, is it not, brothers and sisters, when a Jewish person hears the gospel and comes to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah and comes to embrace the Lord Jesus as their very own Messiah, Savior, and Lord. That is a wonderful thing.

    But then, for Jewish converts to separate themselves from their Gentile brothers and sisters and worship in communities centered on Judaism rather than on the unity we have in Christ would be an example of illegitimately dividing. Let Jewish converts come and join their Gentile brothers and sisters in the church, the one body of Christ. We could also consider white-only or black-only churches that exclude people of other races from membership or ministry positions. But we need to be careful, brothers and sisters.

    The Lord has redeemed people from every nation, and he intends for us to worship together as one body. The worship of heaven will be an international celebration of the glory and grace of God. So we are citizens of God’s kingdom, and next, very briefly, we are God’s household and are growing into a holy temple in the Lord. We are God’s household and are growing into a holy temple in the Lord. We read in verses 19 through 22: Paul writes, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. In him the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Again, this passage is so rich we could spend many weeks unpacking all of it, but let me just give you a brief overview.

    Let us first focus on the fact that we have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone. What does Paul mean by the term “foundation”? Is he referring to the persons of the apostles and prophets, or to particular church officers? No. As John Calvin observes, in this passage the term “foundation” undoubtedly refers to doctrine. No mention is made of patriarchs or pious kings, but only of those who held the office of teachers, whom God had appointed to oversee the building up of his church. One important point, brothers and sisters, is that Paul says the church is built on the foundation of the apostles, meaning the apostolic teaching, and the prophets. This could refer to Christian prophets—those inspired to write the scriptures, though not apostles—or it could refer to the Old Testament prophets. There is debate about the exact meaning, but the key point is that the church is built on the apostles, in the plural, and on the prophets. There is no suggestion, nor is it even within Paul’s consideration, that Peter was the first pope of the early church. This idea is entirely foreign to the apostolic way of thinking.

    Yes, Peter was the rock. Christ says, “I will build my church.” I believe this refers to Peter’s confession of Christ as the Son of God and Savior. Of course, Peter was the first to preach the gospel on the day of Pentecost. That initial gathering on the day of Pentecost was foundational to the new covenant expression of the church. Nevertheless, the church is built on the teaching of the apostles and on the prophets. And Christ is the cornerstone of the church.

    Now, what is the significance of the term cornerstone? William Hendrickson explains it as follows. He says, the cornerstone of a building, in addition to being part of the foundation and therefore supporting the superstructure, determines the alignment of the walls at the corner formed by the junction of two primary walls. It establishes the position of all other stones in the structure. In the same way, in addition to resting in Christ, the spiritual house is shaped by him. To add Calvin’s comments, he says that Paul means that Jews and Gentiles were originally separate, but are now joined together into one spiritual building. Christ is placed at the center of this corner to unite both groups, and this is the meaning of the metaphor. A few takeaways from this. Christ is the cornerstone; the apostles and prophets are the foundation. What do we learn from this? Let us consider some of the implications of Christ as the cornerstone. Here I will present points of application.

    First of all, friends, Christ as the cornerstone is the foundation of the church’s stability. In this unstable age in which we live, how does the church remain stable? The church is stable only when it builds its life, doctrine, worship, and governance upon the Lord Jesus Christ and upon God’s inspired, inerrant, infallible, and authoritative Word. Thus, Christ as the cornerstone is the foundation of the church’s stability. Christ as the cornerstone is also the foundation of the church’s direction.

    Our Lord directs His church by His Word and Holy Spirit, not by mere human tradition or experience, and especially not by the ever-changing trends of our culture. Christ is also revealed as the principle of the church’s growth. As we are told in verse 21, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into what? This is biblical church growth. What does the church grow into? A holy temple in the Lord. Godly biblical church growth will only come about as the gospel is faithfully preached and as we live lives of faithful discipleship and grateful obedience.

    Let me ask you, dear friend, is Christ the source of stability, direction, and growth in your life? Is He your Savior? Have you trusted Him as your Savior from sin, repenting of sin and fleeing to Christ as your only hope of salvation? Receive and rest upon Christ as He is offered to you in the gospel. And the Word of God says that you will be saved. But what about us as a church? Is Christ the source of our stability, direction, and growth as the church?

    May God, in His grace, cause us to reflect seriously on this question and to always return to Christ and to the Word. Friends, we are a living temple of God, who dwells among us by the Spirit, as we are told in verse 22. In Him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. What a tremendous privilege. In Old Testament times, God’s special presence dwelt in the temple and earlier in the tabernacle. But the temple and tabernacle pointed forward to Christ, the incarnate Lord. Christ is now the living temple, the divine incarnate Son of God, in whom the Holy Spirit dwells above measure, and together we are a living temple in union with Him.

    This passage is very similar to what we read earlier in the service from 1 Peter 2, where Peter writes, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.”

    To do what? To offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And then it goes on to say, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Once you were not a people, once you were strangers and aliens, but now you are God’s people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

    Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Spirit of God dwells in us both individually as believers and corporately as a church. We are citizens of God’s kingdom, members of Christ’s body. We are a fellowship of the Holy Spirit. We belong to our triune God and we belong to one another in the eternal family of God. Let us live according to our Trinitarian identity as God’s covenant people. And let us do our part in gratefully sharing the good news of the gospel, so that those who are far away may be brought near and freed from their idols, and may come to know the grace of the true and living God that is offered to them in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And all of God’s people said, amen.

    Let’s pray. Oh, Heavenly Father, what great and glorious privileges you have granted to us in Christ and by your Spirit. Lord, you have called us as living stones, united with Christ, the living cornerstone, to be a dwelling place for you, O God, by your Spirit, to offer you spiritual sacrifices of praise, worship, and obedience. Lord, we ask that the truths we have considered today would once again transform us, take root in our souls, and by your Spirit, work out the implications of these truths in our lives and in our churches. We pray all these things, Heavenly Father, in the glorious, majestic, and mighty name of Christ our Lord. And all of God’s people said, amen. Let’s respond to what we have heard by rising and singing, as our closing hymn, number 418, “Arise, O God.”

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Preparing for Spiritual Battle

    Preparing for Spiritual Battle

    About this sermon

    Paul calls believers to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might and to put on the whole armor of God, so they can stand against the schemes of the devil. Their struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil. They cannot stand in their own strength, but only in union with Christ, who has already conquered Satan at the cross. The armor is truth, righteousness, readiness from the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God, used with persistent prayer for all the saints.

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    Sermon transcript

    Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and at shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace in all circumstances. Take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.

    And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. And also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God endures forever. Let’s pray for the Lord to bless the proclamation of His Word. Well, Heavenly Father, we pray that by Your Spirit, You would be present in the preaching of Your Word this evening. We pray, Lord, that You would make us open and receptive to that which the Spirit has revealed in this portion of Your infallible Word.

    We would ask, O Lord, once again, that You would be gracious to us. We thank You that You have spoken to us clearly. We ask that You would give me, Your unworthy servant, the grace to speak forth Your Word with clarity, with grace, with the assistance of Your Spirit for the edification of Your saints, the salvation of the lost, and the glory of Your name. In Jesus’ name we pray, and all of God’s people said, Amen. You may be seated. As I mentioned, the title of my sermon this evening is Preparing for Spiritual Battle, and there’s four words you can be listening for tonight, strength, armor, foe, and faith. Well, dear ones, I have some frightening news for you. Somebody is out to get you. In fact, this is someone who would find no greater pleasure than to see your life and indeed to see your very soul utterly destroyed.

    Now, I’m not saying this to emotionally manipulate you or because I’m paranoid or because I’m trying to fill you with irrational fear. Rather, dear friends, I am saying this because it is the objective sober truth based upon the objective reality revealed in God’s Word. You see, whether we realize it or not, we have a sworn enemy, an enemy who is powerful, an enemy who has vast resources at his disposal, an enemy who has a huge network of sympathizers, an enemy who wants you and me dead. Who is this terrifying enemy that I speak of this evening, of whom I speak this evening? I think many of you probably have some idea of what I’m driving at here, but in God’s infallible Word, the Bible, this enemy is identified in passages like 1 Peter 5 verse 8.

    In that passage, we read this about this enemy of our souls, 1 Peter 5 verse 8. It says, be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. So obviously, this enemy of our souls, this arch enemy of our souls is none other than the devil. Now, I know that many today in our skeptical and secular age, many today scoff at the idea of the literal existence of a personal spirit being known as the devil. But friends, as Bible-believing Christians, we know that the Holy Scriptures reveal, clearly reveal him to be a real being. Scripture reveals that his sinister goal is to destroy as many souls as possible, to see as many people as possible end up with him in hell.

    Dear listener, God’s Word teaches that the devil wants to destroy our soul. He wants to see us end up eternally damned. And those Scripture teaches that the devil cannot ultimately destroy your soul if you are a true believer in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And that is the case because of the perfection of your Savior’s work on the cross and because of your security in his everlasting, electing, saving love. Nevertheless, friends, the devil will do everything in his power to harass you. He will do everything in your power, in his power rather, to ruin your Christian testimony and render you useless in the service of King Jesus, the captain of our salvation. Dear listener, have you prepared yourself to meet the assaults of the enemy of your soul? Have you armed yourself for battle against the arch enemy of your soul?

    The purpose of my sermon on this Lord’s Day evening is to help prepare us, brothers and sisters, to fight against the enemy of our souls so that we might be good soldiers of Jesus Christ, as the Scriptures call us to be, and so that we might stand our ground for God’s kingdom against the devil and his minions. Our passage for this evening is a most helpful place for us to turn to if we desire to be well prepared for the spiritual battles that we face against the fallen world system, against our own sinful nature called in Scripture our flesh, and also against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the house, namely the devil and his demons. And as we turn to our text for this evening, the first thing we learn here is that we must find our strength in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the power of his might.

    Brothers and sisters, let us find our strength in the Lord Jesus Christ in the power and in the power of his might, because we have no strength to resist the devil in and of ourselves. We do not have the resources. We do not have the experience. We do not have the intelligence in and of ourselves, no matter how gifted we may be, no matter how spiritually mature we may be, no matter how long we may have been walking in union with the Lord Jesus. Without the strength of the Lord, we cannot stand against this arch enemy of our souls. And so the Apostle Paul says, finally, as he’s wrapping up this marvelous epistle, he says, finally, be strong in what? Or I should say in whom? Be strong in the Lord. The Lord there means the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the strength of his might. One of the most important things for us to realize, brothers and sisters, is that apart from Christ, we can do nothing. We are powerless. We are weak in ourselves. And actually, the scriptures call us to recognize that weakness and even to glory in it. The Apostle Paul himself gloried in his weakness that the power of Christ might be displayed in him. For example, I think of what he says in 2 Corinthians 12, 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 7 through 10. Paul writes this, he is speaking of the revelations of the Lord and of the heavenly realities that he had received. And he says this, so to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations of thorn was given me in the flesh and commentators wrestle and debate over what particular what specifically Paul means when he talks about this thorn in his flesh.

    But whatever that thorn in the flesh might have been, he describes it as a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, notice these words, 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9, he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. This is sort of the paradox and the irony of God’s kingdom and of the power of the gospel in our hearts and lives as believers is that it is when we come to an end in ourselves, that’s when the Lord really gets to work.

    It is in our weakness that his strength and power is displayed through us. And what is this power that Paul refers to in our passage for this evening when he says, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might? We need to understand, brothers and sisters. This is the same power that God the Father worked in Jesus Christ when the Father raised Christ from the dead and when he raised us from spiritual death to spiritual life in the gift of the new birth. It took an omnipotent work of God the Father to raise Jesus from the dead and it took an omnipotent work of God the Holy Spirit to raise us from spiritual death to newness of life in union with Jesus Christ. Conversion is not in our power. It’s not in your power to convert that unbeliever in your life that you’re witnessing to, that you’re trying to share Christ with.

    And certainly God uses means. We should confess Christ before others. We should seek to engage in gospel conversations. We should seek as we have opportunity to sow seeds of the word in the hearts of unbelievers that God in his providence has brought within the sphere of our lives. But we need to realize we can’t convert anyone. And this, by the way, is a great relief. You know, if you’re sharing the gospel, having a gospel conversation with someone and then you look back, as this often has happened to me, I’ve looked back and I said, oh, I should have said this or I should have said that or boy, I really was kind of muddled in this expression. And I think, oh, if they’re lost, it’ll be my fault. No, thank God. God is sovereign and He uses even our stuttering attempts to confess Him.

    He uses even our weaknesses to display His strength. He uses even our deficiencies to display His glorious sufficiency. So let us remember that. Let us be encouraged, my friends. Let us be encouraged. That same resurrection power of Christ is at work in us. And it is available to us, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Resurrection power abides in you because the Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead abides in you and in me. And one day that Spirit will raise us physically from the dead in the final resurrection. And as being those in Christ, we’ve already spiritually been raised from the dead. The reason that you love the Lord, the reason that you hate your sin and are convicted of sin, the reason that you throw yourself upon Christ and Christ alone for your salvation is because the Lord has raised you from spiritual death to newness of life in union with the Lord Jesus Christ.

    You know, Paul speaks of this resurrection power elsewhere in Ephesians. If you go back to chapter one and look at verses 19 and 20, we read these words. He’s speaking of the glory of Christ and the love of Christ. He says, let me start at verse 18, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and what is the, notice this, what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named not only in this age, but also in the one to come.

    And by the way, notice there, not only does does Paul reference God’s great power in raising Jesus from the dead, but we also see the power of the ascension. You know, Christ’s ascension to the right hand of the Father is also part of the gospel. Not only did Jesus live for us, not only did he die for our sins, not only was he raised for our justification, but he ascended for us and he intercedes for us at the Father’s right hand. He ascended for us and we ascended in union with him and we are seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Realizing this can help strengthen you in your weakness and we all in our flesh and our fallenness, we have weakness, but we are more than conquerors through what? Through our great theological giftedness, through our merits, through our religiosity?

    No, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us and gave his life for us and rose from the dead for us. Again, that same resurrection power that was at work in Christ is at work in us and available to us, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. As John Calvin writes in his commentary, if the Lord aids us by his mighty power, we have no reason to shrink from the combat. Dear ones, we cannot again, we cannot stand successfully against the devil unless we are in the Lord, in union with the Lord. It is only through the power and grace of Christ that you and I can defeat the evil one. In fact, he’s already been defeated, already conquered Satan on the cross. And this present age, as we await his return, is sort of a mopping up operation.

    We are more than conquerors through Christ. So if you are in him, then you are a victor over the evil one. You need not fear him. But we must be aware of his wiles and we must be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. How do we do that? Well, this brings us as we continue to move through our passage, or at least a portion of this passage, we learn in this passage that we must put on the complete spiritual armor that God makes available to us. We, brothers and sisters, must put on the complete spiritual armor that God makes available to us. It says in verse 11, put on the whole armor of God, not just part of it, put on the whole armor of God. Why? That you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

    We need to be armed for spiritual warfare so that we may be able to stand our ground against the schemings of the devil. And he is quite a schemer. Now, what is this whole armor of God? The Greek term is panoplyon in the Greek, from which we derive our word panoply. Panoply means, according to one dictionary, the complete arms and armor of the warrior, of a warrior. Paul is using this illustration taken from military usage, panoply, referring to the complete armor of the warrior. And he applies this to the spiritual realm. You see, this enemy of ours is so powerful. He is so formidable that we must be fully armed with the panoply of God if we wish to stand against him successfully in spiritual battle. And life is a spiritual battle, and we are called to be good soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

    But in order to be fully equipped and ready to meet the arch enemy of our souls, ready to stand against him, we need to be aware of Satan’s schemes. Paul references the schemes of the devil here in verse 11. What do those schemes include? Well, you got a couple hours? There’s a lot of schemes. His schemes are multiple. Satan’s very smart. Remember, Satan was created as a holy, glorious spirit being, a holy angel. So were the demons who followed him in his rebellion. But sadly, as the Scriptures indicate, he fell from that glorious estate into sin and damnation, and he is out. He is out for blood. So what are his schemes? Well, many of those schemes he concocts from outside of the church. We see, for example, his schemes to discourage and weaken the church through external pressures from outside, through things like ridicule, social pressure, worldly allurements, persecution, and so forth.

    But he also conducts schemes within the visible, organized church. Satan’s schemes come to light, for example, in sowing the seeds of false doctrine and heresy within the church. He also schemes within the church, trying to create compromise, disunity, schism, the planting of a root of bitterness, slander, gossip, complacency, and the list could go on and on and on. We need to be aware of the schemes of the enemy of our souls. We need to be aware of his schemes, and we need to be resistant to them. And we need to make sure that we’re not unwitting participants in his schemes, that he’s not unwittingly using us to carry out his nasty plans. So we must put on the full panoply, the whole armor of God that he makes available to us in Christ and in the gospel.

    We also need to understand the kind of foe that we face and the nature of the warfare that we fight in the kingdom of God. This is brought out in verses 12 and 13, where Paul writes this. He says, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Let those words sink into your hearts. That unbelieving neighbor who’s hostile to the gospel. At one level, yes, that is your enemy and mine, but that’s a fellow human being created in the image of God. That is a lost soul who needs the gospel. Our job as Christians is not to win arguments with unbelievers, although we should bear testimony to the truth of the gospel with gentleness and kindness. But so often, and I notice this and I hope I don’t get onto too much of a tangent here or onto a soapbox, but I notice the way that so many Christians today conduct themselves on social media and online is really not very Christian.

    So many are vitriolic towards unbelievers. So many express anger, resentment, bitterness. So many want to own, destroy, quote unquote, the arguments of the unbeliever. Are you more concerned to win arguments or to win souls? What is our concern? Do we really love our enemies as Jesus called us to do? And this is something that I have to acknowledge as well. I’m not perfect in this area. I struggle with that too. I get up in arms and I get passionate about things and sometimes I have to back off and say, wait a minute, before I post that thing, before I say this in the comments section, maybe I just need to take a breath, take a deep breath and ask myself, is this really going to honor Christ? Is this really going to be a faithful testimony to the gospel?

    Do I really need to say it? We wrestle not against flesh and blood. Our unbelieving neighbors are not ultimately our enemies. They are lost souls who need Jesus. Let’s seek to show them the love of Christ. Let’s bring them Jesus. Let’s not just try to shame them, embarrass them. Yes, we need to bear testimony to the truth against the lies of the devil. And sometimes that means standing for the truth against those who resist the truth. But let us pray for God to give us a spirit of love even for our enemies, to do what Jesus called us as disciples to do, to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Verse 12 again, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against what? Against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

    Understand, beloved, that this battle is spiritual, not carnal or earthly in nature. Now, hear this language of wrestling. This imagery of wrestling connotes intense hand-to-hand combat. And so obviously, Paul is using imagery and illustrations from military action, violent military action. But this is an analogy. This is not identity. This is not him saying, this is what you’re called to do. You’re called to take up the sword and destroy the infidel. That’s what they were called to do under the Old Covenant. There was holy war. That was an illustration under the Old Covenant of the kind of spiritual warfare that we are to be engaged in. But now, now we’re not called to destroy the enemies of God. We’re called to proclaim the gospel to them that they might become friends, that they might be converted.

    So even though he uses this language of hand-to-hand combat, even so, this combat is said not to be against flesh and blood. In other words, it’s not against human agents, and therefore it’s not to be fought with human means, but rather it is against agents that are spiritual in nature. Described here as the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. There is a spiritual realm, a realm of the demonic. It is a powerful realm. It is an influential realm. We don’t see it with the eyes of flesh, but it’s there, and we need to be aware of it. And we wage war against that, but we don’t wage war with guns or bazookas. This is no jihadist style type of holy war involving physical violence. Nor is it a warfare that is fought by political or cultural activism, though it does indeed, it’s a warfare that does impact the common grace realms of politics and culture, but you can’t spread the kingdom of God through political activism or culture warriorism or what have you.

    Rather, it is a spiritual war against the world, the flesh, and the devil, and it is to be fought by spiritual means. Take to heart the fact, also beloved, that this spiritual warfare is not directed again against human agents, but rather against the evil spiritual forces that work through human agents under their influence. Back in chapter two, verses one and following, Paul describes all of us, but he’s writing to these believers. He reminds them of their condition before they came to Christ, before they were converted. He says, and you were what? Dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world. And then notice, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. That’s the devil.

    He is the prince of the power of the air. He’s working in the sons of disobedience. Just as the Holy Spirit works in us believers, so Satan and his demonic spirits work in the sons of disobedience. Unbelievers are described as sons of disobedience because they are responsible before God for their disobedience, but nevertheless, there is an external influence in their lives that pushes them towards that disobedience. But then he reminds them in verse three, So there’s no reason to boast. There’s no reason to boast. Praise God, brothers and sisters, that the Holy Spirit is at work in us, that we are freed from the power of the prince of the power of the air through the work of Christ. But we need to recognize that those who are still under his influence again, I know I’ve perhaps beaten this horse to death, but we need to be reminded, they’re not ultimately our enemies.

    They are those in need of the love of Christ. William Hendrickson, in his commentary on Galatians and Ephesians, he writes this about this passage. He says, the reason for the urgent character of the admonition is that we are not fighting against, quote, flesh and blood, that is, against mere frail men with all their physical and mental infirmities. On the contrary, it is against an innumerable, super mundane host of evil spirits, the devil himself, and all the demons under his control that we are waging warfare. But all of this stuff that I’ve mentioned, all of this spiritual reality, it might make you feel discouraged. You might be thinking, well, if the devil is so powerful, I mean, he’s had thousands of years to perfect his schemes. If he’s so powerful, so influential, and if the world system, which seeks to squeeze us and conform us into its image, that we might be compromised.

    And how do we fight this? We don’t have the power. And that’s the point. My final point, beloved, is that our Savior, we need to remember when we’re discouraged in this spiritual warfare that is more powerful than the devil and makes available to us the full armor of God so that we might stand. We stand only as we stand in union with him by grace, through faith, apart from works. As it says in verse 13 of our passage, it says, therefore, take up the whole armor of God. The Lord is in his sovereign grace and in union with Christ as the one who enables us to do this. But there is an imperative here. We are to take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, the day of testing, and having done all to stand firm.

    To stand firm. Even though the enemy of our souls is powerful, again, our Savior is even more powerful, and he makes available to us the full armor of God by which we will be able to stand against the devil’s schemings. Yes, beloved, our enemy is formidable. He is highly intelligent, much more intelligent than you or me. He’s had thousands of years to perfect his schemings and his strategies. He’s more powerful than you. He’s more intelligent than you. He has much more experience on the spiritual battlefield than you or I do. How then can we hope to withstand? Through the power and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we can withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand our ground. Why? Because Christ stood for us and we stand in him.

    Remember, dear ones, that he who is in you and me is greater than he who is in the world. And remember, too, that the battle belongs not to you, not to me, the battle belongs to the Lord. It is his battle. And so what are the weapons of our warfare? Paul mentions some of them in this passage. He says, stand therefore having fastened on the belt of truth. Truth. We fight this spiritual war with the truth of God revealed in the Word of God. Having put on the breastplate of righteousness. Yes, Christ’s righteousness. We are clothed in Christ’s righteousness. And by grace, right living out of gratitude for God’s gift of salvation in Jesus. And as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. So we have what?

    We have truth. We have righteousness. We have the gospel. These are our weapons. Not guns or bazookas, not political activism. There is a place for political activism among believers, cultural activism. They have a role in the realm of common grace, but we don’t spread the kingdom of God through those things. It’s very important to understand that. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith. Here’s another. Here’s another weapon in our arsenal. This is, too, is part of the panoply of God. Faith, saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit. What is this sword of the spirit? Is it made of metal? No, it is the sword of the gospel. Praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication.

    Prayer is so important, brothers and sisters. I’ve not always been a great prayer warrior, and I’ve been convicted of that. Sometimes life and ministry gets busy, and I feel like, oh, I’m so behind. I need to just, I don’t have time to spend much time in prayer. I just need to get to work. Then I need to remind myself that I will accomplish, and more will be accomplished for the kingdom of God on our knees than is accomplished through activism. Not saying that we are to be passive and not active in seeking to share the gospel and proclaim the word and minister to the saints and fellowship. All of these things are important, but they need to be fueled by prayer. Communion with God is essential. Prayer is an essential weapon of our warfare. Friends, we need to take up the full panoply of God.

    The word, faith, righteousness, truth, prayer, the means of grace, and so forth. Through the power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we can withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand our ground. Remember, dear ones, that he who is in you and me is greater than he who is in the world. And let us, recognizing that, take up the whole armor of God, the full panoply of God, provided for us in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And all of God’s people said, Amen. Let’s pray. Our Lord and Father in heaven, we are weak. We are prone to compromise. We are prone to sin. We are prone to despair. Lord, we recognize that in our weakness, you have an opportunity to display your glorious strength. Lord, give us the grace not to boast in our strength, not to boast in our knowledge, not to, for knowledge can often puff up, but love builds up.

    Give us the grace, Lord, to boast in our weaknesses that we might know the power of Christ using us to impact this lost and dying world. Bless us as a church. May we be a church that boasts in our weakness that the power of Christ and his gospel may be displayed through us. In Jesus’ name we pray. And all of God’s people said, Amen. Let’s rise and we’ll close our time by singing hymn 544. Lead on, O King eternal, 544. The day of March has come. Henceforth in fields of banquests, thy tent shall be our home. Through days of preparation, thy grace has made us strong. And now, O King eternal, we lift our battle song. Lead on, O King eternal, 544.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Foundations of Faith: The Forgiveness of Sins

    Foundations of Faith: The Forgiveness of Sins

    About this sermon

    1. Good News! In Christ, God forgives our sins!
    2. The complete and comprehensive nature of God’s forgiveness.
    3. O Church, let us take to heart how God’s forgiveness of our sins should lead us to be forgiving toward others.

    More sermons from Ephesians · Browse all sermons

    Sermon transcript

    please remain standing for the scripture reading tonight. This evening we take a little break from our study of 1 Peter to actually continue the morning series just for this evening, the Foundations of Faith series on the doctrine of the forgiveness of sins. Since we are celebrating the Lord’s Supper on this Lord’s Day evening, I thought it would be appropriate for us to consider this important affirmation of our holy Christian faith. I believe in the forgiveness of sins. And this evening we’re going to consider a brief passage, Ephesians 1, verse 7. I’m going to read verses 3-14 to fill out the context. Paul’s opening doxology of praise to our sovereign triune God for his amazing grace to us in Christ. So let us hear God’s holy word, Ephesians 1, verses 3-14, but our focus this evening will especially be on verse 7.

    Hear the word of God. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of His will according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.

    In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him, who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance, until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory. And again, our focus will be verse 7, in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace. Let’s pray together. Our gracious Lord and Father in heaven, We pray that by your spirit, once again, you would give us wisdom and give us insight.

    Illuminate us, Lord, as we seek to understand your word, not just to understand it in its natural sense, but to understand it with spiritual insights that we might know, oh Lord. the riches and glory that are ours in Christ our Savior. We pray that you would bless your word as it goes forth this evening. May it be to the salvation and sanctification of your people and to the glory of your name. We pray these things, Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name and all of God’s people said. Amen. You may be seated. Again, the title of my sermon tonight, Foundations of Faith, the Forgiveness of Sins. And this evening, there are only four key words that you can be listening for, and I encourage the children to keep track of these words. The first word is the most important word with respect to tonight’s sermon, and that is the word forgiveness, as well as redemption, grace, and sin.

    Well, dear friends, One foundational article of the faith that we Christians confess is in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, which we confessed earlier in the service, the words, I believe in the forgiveness of sins. This affirmation of our faith is found in the third credo or I believe section of the creed. We who profess to trust in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten son, as our very own Lord and Savior, we joyfully confess to believe that God mercifully forgives our sins because of Jesus and because of what he did for us on the cross by dying on the cross for our sins. All of us who claim the name Christian would no doubt confess, I believe in the forgiveness of sins. In fact, if you think about it, in the very act of partaking of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, which we’re going to do in just a little while during this worship service, in the very act of taking that bread and drinking from the cup, we proclaim in that very act our belief in the forgiveness of sins, for the Holy Supper declares to us that Christ’s body was broken for us on the cross of Calvary, that His precious lifeblood was poured out for the forgiveness of our sins.

    In other words, He died for our sins as our substitutionary atonement for sin. But sadly, friends, we often live our lives as if we don’t really believe in God’s gracious gift of the forgiveness of our sins. We often live our lives as if we are still on a treadmill of works righteousness and religious performance. We still live our lives as if somehow God loves us less when we mess up. What are some of the evidences that we are not always consistently walking the talk when it comes to our professed belief in the forgiveness of sins? There’s many examples that could be given, but just to name a few, and maybe more would come to your mind. Have you ever had the situation where perhaps you’ve confessed a sin to the Lord, the Holy Spirit has convicted you through the Word of a particular sin, and you’ve confessed that sin, and you’ve claimed the promise of 1 John 1, verse 8, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to purify us from all unrighteousness.

    As time goes on, you continue to be plagued by feelings of guilt over that sin that you’ve already, by the grace of God, repented of and forsaken and confessed before the Lord. At that moment, you are not consistently, at least, believing in the forgiveness of sins. We betray a lack of firmness and consistency in affirming the forgiveness of sins when we fall into a legalistic approach to God, into the idea that, well, hey, God is going to be more pleased with me if I read my Bible more or pray more. And certainly those are practices that we would wholeheartedly encourage. But it is sort of a revivalistic pietism that says, you know, that God’s pleasure in you, dear brother, sister in Christ, is dependent upon your religious performance. Or to put this on the horizontal level, we often betray an inconsistency in our profession of faith and the forgiveness of sins when we betray an unwillingness to be generous and forgiving towards others.

    God has forgiven us wretched sinners that we are. We sang that beautiful hymn, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. God has saved me, a wretch, and yet am I unwilling to extend forgiveness to fellow wretches who confess their sins to me, their sins against me, and so forth. Or we are not consistent in holding to this affirmation of our faith when we tend to believe the worst about others and their motives. Or when we harbor bitterness, strife, and resentment in our hearts toward fellow believers or when we spread gossip or a bad report about others. And the list could go on and on and on. You see, friends, this is not just a mental act when we say, I believe in the forgiveness of sins. It’s not just, okay, I check that off my list of theological notions that I affirm with Orthodox correctness.

    No, this is a doctrine that when it’s carried out to its logical conclusion, and impacts our lives has the potential to transform the way that we treat others. God has been so good to us, and out of gratitude for his amazing grace to us in forgiving our sins through Christ, he calls us to be forgiving toward others. Well friends, all of this leads us to our passage for this Lord’s Day evening. And I would just again remind us of the context of this passage. I know I preached from Ephesians this morning as well, but we’re gonna, in chapter two, but this evening we find ourselves in chapter one. And as I mentioned before I read this passage, this is Paul’s opening doxology Paul opens up this letter to the Ephesians with an explosion of praise to the sovereign triune God of the universe.

    He praises God for all of the spiritual blessings that we believers have received in Christ. Blessings that God has planned for us in eternity past. Blessings that he has secured for us through the redeeming work of Christ. Blessings that he has sealed to us through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. The forgiveness of our trespasses is just one of the many blessings that Paul mentions here in this opening doxology. But friends, for those of us who know ourselves to be hell-deserving sinners, unworthy of the least of his mercies, for those of us who understand our true spiritual condition apart from grace, Oh friends, one of the most precious blessings that we have in Christ is the blessing of the forgiveness of sins. That leads me to my first point here as we consider verse 7 of this passage, again recorded in the midst of this opening outburst of praise from the Apostle Paul’s pen.

    And we read in this passage good news. Brothers and sisters, there is good news. The good news is that in Christ, God forgives our sins. In Christ, God forgives our sins, or as Paul puts it here, our trespasses. And we’ll talk more about that particular term in a moment, but it says again in verse 7, in Him, again, Paul highlights our union with Christ, our spiritual and saving union with Christ, excuse me, in Him, in Christ, we have, not we might have, we may have, we could have, we would have, no, we have what? redemption, how? Through His blood, His substitutionary atonement, and then specifically the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace. Now, it’s important to define our terms. What do we mean when we talk about forgiveness? What does Paul mean when he uses the term forgiveness?

    Well, in the Greek, the term forgiveness, according to Dr. A. Skevington Wood, this term means loosing someone from what binds him. Losing someone from what binds him. Before Christ saves us, before we are brought into saving union with Christ, we are bound, the guilt of our sin is bound to us. But in forgiving us, he loses that which binds us. In this passage, Paul had in mind, of course, particular sins or trespasses. The Greek word is paraptoma, and these trespasses are trespasses in the sense of deviations from the right path. That’s what that term indicates, deviating from the right path. So in particular, he focuses on specific sins, specific deviations from the right path, the path that God has outlined for us in his holy law. But again, it’s always important to remember, and no doubt Paul would affirm this as well, even though he’s focusing on these specific sins.

    These sins or deviations are the fruits of a sinful heart, of a sin nature. We always need to remember that sins are the result of sin. In other words, I know I’ve said this perhaps many times before, but it’s so important for us to get this right, brothers and sisters. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. We have inherited a sin nature from Adam, and apart from the intervention of sovereign grace, we freely choose to act and live in accordance with that sin nature. We are willing slaves to our sin nature until sovereign grace intervenes in our lives. So when God forgives us sinners through Jesus Christ, he forgives us not only for our sinful thoughts, words, and actions, he not only forgives us for our trespasses, are deviations from the right path, but he also forgives us for the sinful condition of our hearts, which give rise to those sinful thoughts, words, and deeds.

    It’s not enough just to repent of sinful actions. More deeply, we need to repent. By the grace of God, we need to repent of that sin nature, which gives us the desire to commit those sinful actions, to engage those sinful thoughts, words, and actions. In other words, what Paul would call the flesh, the sin nature. It is because we in the church today, along with our culture, we tend to have such a superficial externalistic idea or ideas about sin, even pharisaical ideas of sin. It’s because of that that we don’t really appreciate as we ought to the utter wonder of God’s forgiving mercy. The common attitude out there in our culture today is that, hey, nobody’s perfect. Yeah, of course I’m a sinner if you mean that I’m not perfect. Nobody’s perfect. But hey, it’s God’s job to forgive, right?

    So we have this kind of superficial idea out there that, well, I make mistakes, quote unquote. But in the Bible, Sin is not just, sins are not just making mistakes. Sin is committing, and to use, to borrow a phrase from R.C. Sproul, committing cosmic treason against the Lord, shaking our fists at the creator who made us in his image and whom we have rejected. Sin goes to the very core of our being and repentance therefore ought to as well. So God forgives us our trespasses, not only our trespasses, but the sin nature that leads us to trespass in those ways. That is implied at least in this text. And how does he do this? Well, God forgives us on the basis of Christ’s redeeming work on the cross. He says in verse seven, we have redemption.

    How? How can we wretches have redemption? We have redemption through his blood. the forgiveness of our trespasses. Under the old covenant, the blood of the animals that were sacrificed, the blood represented the life. To say that Jesus redeems us by his blood means that he poured out his very lifeblood to spare our lives, to redeem us from the wages of sin and death and hell. We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses. Now, this does not mean that forgiveness, that the forgiveness of sins exhausts the meaning of our redemption in Christ, nor does it mean that our justification before God consists merely in the pardon or remission of sins. It includes as well the imputation of Christ’s perfect everlasting righteousness, which alone serves as our title to heaven, to glory. When you stand before the judgment seat of Christ, the only thing that will matter is do you have Christ’s righteousness credited to you.

    That’s the only thing that matters now in our justification. That’s the only thing that will matter on Judgment Day. Our works are brought up on Judgment Day not to determine whether or not we get in, Our works are brought up as evidences of the true and living faith that God, by His sovereign grace, has worked within us. So we are redeemed by His blood. And again, redemption through the blood of Christ, the forgiveness of sins doesn’t exhaust the gift. that Christ has purchased for us in his redeeming act. But nevertheless, the forgiveness of sins is one of the greatest blessings of the salvation that Christ has won for his people. Dear ones, every spiritual blessing we have received flows to us through the cross of Christ. Christ’s substitutionary atonement on the cross is the ground and basis for our regeneration, our conversion, our justification, our adoption, our sanctification, and ultimately our glorification.

    And that is why we affirm as Reformed Christians, sola gratia. It is by grace and grace alone that we are saved from first to last. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us never take our eyes off of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us never take our eyes off of his cross work for us sinners. Let us never get beyond being awed by the saving grace of God displayed in the cross of Christ. I’m thinking of that old hymn, I love to tell the story, the old, old story of Jesus and his love. Does the old, old story get boring to you? Does it get, oh yeah, I’ve heard this so many times before. I know, I know, Jesus died for my sins. That should never be our attitude. Having tasted the goodness of the Lord, the grace of God in Christ, his forgiving mercy, we should continue to be awed by his amazing grace.

    Let us be warned, beloved, about getting bored with the gospel message of Jesus and his cross and resurrection, or thinking that, you know, we need to spice things up in the church by kind of getting on some hobby horses, and yeah, we’ll still preach Jesus and the cross, but we’ll put front and center some other things. We always need to keep Jesus and His finished work front and center. Not only do we have redemption through the blood of Christ, though, this passage tells us that our redemption and the forgiveness of sins that it secures for us is according to the riches of God’s grace. As it says in verse seven, in Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. I’ve shared this illustration before, but I think it’s a powerful one.

    And I read this in one of my books. It is an account of a man who was converted to Christ on the night of his execution. It says, one night, a condemned conspirator on the life of the premier of Ceylon sat alone in his cell waiting for dawn and his own execution. Suddenly, he roused himself from apparently somber despair to ask that a certain Christian missionary he named be summoned to his cell as quickly as possible. When the astonished missionary arrived, knowing that the condemned man had been a Buddhist monk all his adult life, He was even more surprised to hear the man ask that he might be baptized immediately in the Christian faith. Assured that the man knew and understood the basic implications of his request, the missionary finally asked why he wanted to be baptized at that moment.

    The man replied with patent conviction that since he must die, he, quote, wished to die in a faith by which he could come freely to God, unrestrained by personal unworthiness, and confident that he could entreat forgiveness simply out of love and mercy. Beloved, it is God’s amazing grace that allows us to come freely to God, unrestrained by personal unworthiness, and confident that God forgives us simply out of love and mercy, and based upon the redeeming work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Dear listener, do you believe that you may come to God freely, unrestrained by your personal unworthiness, or do you think that you have to clean yourself, clean your life up first? I used to think that when I was a teenager before my conversion. I knew I was a sinner. I knew I was doing things I wasn’t supposed to do and not living right with God.

    But I thought to myself, you know, I’m going to try real hard. I’m going to make myself better and show God I’m serious. And the more I tried to make myself better, of course, the more I failed. And that’s the point. The point, by the grace of God, I finally understood. It’s not because of what I’ve done. I’ll never be good enough in myself. But what I lack, Christ provides by his amazing grace and mercy. Do you believe, dear listener, that you may come to God freely, unrestrained by your personal unworthiness? Jesus welcomes sinners, repentant sinners. Come to him tonight. Rest in him. and you will be forgiven. And that brings me to my next point, and this is an important point. The forgiveness of our sins, as revealed in the scriptures, is complete and comprehensive.

    This is the second point on your sermon outline. Consider next the complete and comprehensive nature of God’s forgiveness. This complete and comprehensive forgiveness of God is expressed through many different images in the scriptures. And let me just read a few passages that highlight it. Let’s turn to Psalm 103 and look at verse 12. Psalm 103, verse 12. Psalm 103, verse 12, a wonderful psalm of forgiveness. It says this, as a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. Actually, I meant to start reading in verse 11. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. And notice verse 12. As far as the East is from the West, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.

    Children, how far is the East from the West? Five miles? 10 miles? 200 miles? 2,000 miles? 20 million miles? As far as the East is from the West, God’s saying, He’s totally removed your sin from you as far as the East is from the West. In other words, it’s dealt with. It’s no longer brought up again to be used against you if God forgives you in Christ. Or think of Isaiah 38, verse 17, Isaiah chapter 38. And as you’re turning there, I will mention, and I’m looking forward to this and excited about this, after the Foundations of Faith series is completed for the morning services, I’m hoping to begin soon a series in the book of Isaiah, Gleanings from the Prophet Isaiah. There’s so much wonderful stuff in the book of Isaiah. But look at Isaiah chapter 38. verse 17.

    We read these words, What an image! God, our Heavenly Father, casts our sins behind His back. In other words, they’re not in front of His face anymore. He’s dealt with them. He’s put it behind Him. It’s no longer an issue anymore. Or consider Jeremiah 31, verse 34. Jeremiah 31, verse 34. We read these words. And no longer, in the promise of a new covenant, and no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. That doesn’t mean that God suffers from cosmic amnesia. That it means that God, He knows about our past sins, but He chooses not to bring them to remembrance and use them against us.

    And then finally, Micah 7, verse 19. Micah 7, verse 19. We read these words. He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities underfoot. He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Here we have some powerful images, God trampling or treading our iniquities underfoot and casting our sins into the depths of the sea to be forgotten, in other words. In the words of one commentator, When He forgives, when God forgives, men’s sins are dealt with thoroughly. God sees them no more. O believer, rejoice in the fact that God, your gracious heavenly Father, has totally, completely, thoroughly forgiven you your sins. You have His promise offered to you in the Word and offered to you as well in His visible pledge given to you in the Holy Supper. Trust in his promise and in his pledge, for it is sealed to you in the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ.

    And as you receive the bread and the fruit of the vine in the cup tonight, receive it as Jesus saying to you, my body was broken for you. Not just for us, praise God, he did die for us, but for you, believer. My blood was shed for you. It is His promise. It is His pledge. It is sealed unto you by the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ. And may this precious truth motivate you to greater obedience and holiness out of gratitude for your heavenly Father’s love for you in Christ. Well, what should we do with all of this? Well, oh church, this leads me to my final point. Oh church, let us take to heart how God’s forgiveness of our sins should lead us to be forgiving toward others. C.S. Lewis is reported to have said, and I quote, everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.

    Amen. But how often scripture calls us to forgive. We see this, and I read from this passage later on in Ephesians, in Ephesians 4, 1-6, earlier in the morning service. But if you turn to Ephesians 4, look at the end of this chapter, verses 30-32. In chapter 4, Paul is exhorting the believers in Ephesus to Be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And one of the ways that we do that is by forgiving each other. It says this in verses 30 to 32, and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. By the way, he’s addressing the church corporate here. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice.

    Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, how? As God in Christ forgave you. That’s a tall order, only by the grace of God can we do this. As we pray in the Lord’s Prayer each and every week, forgive us our debts as we what? As we forgive our debtors. Dear ones, we affirm together as a foundational article of our faith the confession, I believe in the forgiveness of sins. Through faith in Christ, we are forgiven. As God’s forgiven people, by the grace of God, let us seek to be a forgiving people out of gratitude for God’s amazing grace to us in Christ, amen. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you. for the full, complete, comprehensive forgiveness that you have granted to us and to all penitent believers who rest in Christ and Christ alone for their salvation.

    We would pray, Heavenly Father, that we would treasure this gift of forgiveness and we pray that you would grant us the grace to manifest that forgiveness toward others We pray that by your grace you would bear the fruit of your spirit in and through us, that we might manifest that fruit to others in forgiving their sins, even as you have forgiven us our sins. In Jesus’ name we pray and all of God’s people said, amen. Dear friends, let’s respond to what we’ve heard proclaimed by rising and we’ll sing hymn number 454, 4-5-4, I Lay My Sins on Jesus, 454.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Foundations of Faith: The Communion of Saints

    Foundations of Faith: The Communion of Saints

    About this sermon

    1. We are citizens of God’s kingdom (v. 19).
    2. We are God’s household, and are growing into a holy temple in the Lord (vv. 19b-21).
    3. We are a living temple of God, who dwells among us by the Spirit (v. 22).

    More sermons from Ephesians · Browse all sermons

    Sermon transcript

    standing for the reading of God’s Word as we continue our Foundations of Faith sermon series which is based on the, is being guided by the Apostles’ Creed. We consider this morning the communion of saints and for my sermon text today I would have us turn to Ephesians chapter 2. I’ll read verses 11 through 22. You’ll find that on page 1160 in your Pew Bible. letter of the Apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus, Ephesians 2, beginning at verse 11. Dear friends, here, with reverence and awe, the Word of our God. Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

    But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who are far off, and peace to those who were near. For through him, we both have access in one spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

    In Him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Dear ones, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God endures forever. Let’s pray for the Lord to bless the preaching of His Word. Oh Lord and Father in heaven, how amazing it is to consider that you, the great, the awesome, the infinite creator of the universe, would stoop to speak to us. We thank you that you have given us a sure and certain word in the Holy Scriptures, which are indeed a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path. We thank you, O Lord, for your God-breathed, inerrant, infallible, authoritative word. We would pray, Heavenly Father, that we would sit as it were at the feet of Jesus as we learn by your spirit through the word this day.

    We pray that you would open our minds and our hearts to behold wondrous things from your word and we ask that you would set a guard over my lips that I, your unworthy servant, might speak forth your word with clarity and power for the salvation of the lost, the edification of your people, and the glory of Jesus our Lord. In his name we pray and all of God’s people said. Amen. You may be seated. The title of my sermon this morning is Foundations of Faith, the Communion of Saints, and there’s quite a number of key words that you can be listening for if that helps you to follow along in the sermon. If you’ve got your sermon outline, the words are holy, saints, communion, kingdom, household, temple, and spirit. Well, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this morning we continue our consideration of the foundational biblical truths of our holy Christian faith as those truths are summarized and affirmed in that classic Bible-based creed of the church known as the Apostles’ Creed.

    The Apostles’ Creed is not, of course, itself inspired, but it is a summary of inspired biblical truth. We find ourselves today in the third and final credo or I believe section of the creed and today we reflect upon an important but much neglected and sometimes misunderstood affirmation of our faith, namely the affirmation I believe in the communion of saints. But that affirmation, if you think about it, think about those words, think about what you are affirming when you say, I believe in the communion of saints. Right away, some questions should arise in your minds. What is the communion of saints? Indeed, what is a saint? And are you and I saints? Are we part of the communion of saints? So friends, right away, right out of the gate, this affirmation of our faith has the potential of being misunderstood.

    After all, what do many folks think of today when they think of a saint? I would suggest to you that due to the ongoing cultural influences of certain Roman Catholic ideas about sainthood, that many today imagine a saint to be a super spiritual Christian. If you’re a saint, then you are a super spiritual Christian. Or perhaps many think of saints as referring exclusively to faithful believers who have died and who now reside in heaven. You might overhear a conversation, you might hear a coworker or a friend talking about maybe one of their neighbors and they might say something like, oh yeah, my neighbor Joe, he’s a nice guy, he’s a decent guy, but he’s no saint. In other words, he’s a really likable fellow, but he’s got some character flaws. You might hear people say, hey look, I’m no saint, but I try my best, right?

    This kind of popular usage of the term saint reflects a misunderstanding of what the Bible teaches about the saints and about sainthood. You see, friends, in the Bible, the term saint is not referring to a class of super holy or ultra pious or exceptionally godly Christians. You know, believers who live their lives on a higher plane of spirituality than the rest of us schleps, the rest of us ordinary Christians. Nor does the term only refer to Christians who have died and gone home to be with the Lord in heaven. No friends, in the Bible, a saint is a holy one, a set apart one. one who is set apart by and indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. And brothers and sisters in Christ, that includes each and every one of us. According to God’s Word, this would include all genuine believers, all who through sovereign grace have come to trust in Christ and Christ alone for their salvation.

    For the Bible teaches that all true believers have been born again and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. And the fact that saints include all true believers, well, this is reflected even here in Ephesians. If you go back to the beginning of Ephesians, in Ephesians 1, verses 1 and 2, notice how Paul addresses these Christians here in Ephesus. He says this. as was customary in the letter writing customs of the time, he starts off by identifying himself. Nowadays, when you write a letter, you sign your name at the end, but back then, they signed their name at the beginning, and so he identifies himself, the author. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, so he’s identified himself as the author of this letter, and who’s he writing to? To the what?

    To the saints who are in Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus. To the saints He is writing, and then he says, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, is Paul only writing to a certain segment of the church at Ephesus, to certain mature or super spiritual believers? Well, no. Is Paul writing to dead people, Christians who have died and gone home to be with the Lord? No. He’s writing to the Christians, to all of the Christians in Ephesus, and he calls them all saints. So friend, whether you are a brand new convert to Christ or have been a follower of Jesus for decades, whether your faith in Christ is weak or strong or perhaps somewhere in between, whether you’re young or immature or unstable or perhaps even somewhat backslidden in your faith, or whether you are the most seasoned, mature, godly, stable, consistent follower of Christ on the face of planet Earth, If Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, then you are a saint by the biblical definition of that term.

    And because, believer, because you are a saint, you are part of the communion of saints. That means that you belong. You are connected. Indeed, brothers and sisters, we are connected. We are connected first and foremost to our faithful Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are connected to Christ, and in union with Him, we are connected to one another in the communion of saints. By the grace of God, we are citizens of God’s kingdom, Jesus is our messianic king, we’re part of his kingdom, God’s reign of grace and salvation that has drawn near to us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And not only are we citizens of God’s kingdom, we are members of God’s household. So God is not only our king, he is our father. and we are part of his household.

    Through Christ, we belong to God in a unique way, in the way that the unbelieving world does not belong to God. We are connected in the ultimate spiritual saving sense. We belong to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. And friends, in belonging to him, We belong to his universal church. We belong to the body of Christ. We belong to the communion of saints. For the Holy Spirit dwells in us and among us and has set us apart, consecrated us to belong to our Father in heaven, both now and forever. Well, friends, our passage for this Lord’s Day morning underscores and explains all of this by stressing the fact that we who are believers in Christ, we are, as it says in verse 19, we are what? We are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

    It is to this powerful and instructive passage of God’s Word that I would now like to direct our attention. And as always, it’s important to understand the context of our passage if we’re going to get its full impact. In writing this letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul is writing to a congregation of mostly Gentile believers. Before they had been converted to Christ, the Ephesian Christians, to whom Paul wrote, had not belonged to God’s covenant people. They had been pagan, idol-worshipping Gentiles. They had lived outside of the commonwealth of Israel. They had been strangers from God’s covenant of promise, living in this world without hope and without God, and that is a bad place to be. as Paul writes in verses 11 through 13 as Paul is reminding them of their situation as Gentiles before the coming of Christ and before the coming of the gospel into their lives.

    He says, therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, the circumcision referring to the Jews, the uncircumcision referring to the Gentiles or how the Jews referred to the Gentiles. He says in verse 12, remember that you were at that time, either meaning at that point in redemptive history before the coming of Christ or at that point in time before your conversion to Christ, at that time, You were what? Separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. By the way, I want to briefly draw your attention to what Paul says here at the end of verse 12. What is the condition of those, the spiritual condition of those who have not heard the gospel of Jesus Christ? those who do not have access to the word of God.

    What is their spiritual condition? Can they find Christ through their own religion, through their own efforts at seeking the God that is revealed in natural revelation? No, they have no hope and they are without God in the world. That’s why the church must take the gospel. That’s one of the major impetuses, one of the major motivations that we have for taking the gospel to the lost because without the gospel, they have no hope. They have no hope of salvation. And then he goes on to say that something has changed. Verse 13, but now, now that Christ has come in redemptive history, now that the gospel has gone out to the Gentiles, now that they’ve heard the gospel, now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off, Far off from God, far off from the possibility or hope of salvation.

    You were once far off, but have now been brought near. How? By the blood of Christ, by his substitutionary atonement. So in terms of their covenantal status, they, along with the rest of the unbelieving Gentile world, they were outsiders to God’s covenant community, outsiders to God’s household. They had lived their lives separated from Christ, separated from God’s covenant people, as verse 12 makes so clear. At that point in time, they did not belong to the communion of saints. But now, now that they had heard the gospel and by sovereign grace had come to trust in Christ, now they are again, as verse 19 says, no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Now they belonged, and for those of you, for some of you who maybe were not raised in the church or did not, or you came to Christ later in life, you can remember a time in your life when you were separated, when you were an outsider, but God had mercy upon you.

    God in his sovereign grace caused you to hear the gospel, and the Spirit effectually called you to faith in Christ and repentance unto life. Now you are no longer an outsider. Now you are in Christ. Now you belong. Dear ones, what was true back then of these first century believers, it’s true of us today if we have trusted Christ as our Lord and Savior. So let us consider what we learn in this passage about our privileges and our identity as those who are now in Christ and members of the communion of saints. What do we learn? Let’s focus especially on verses 19 through 22. Right now, our focus is especially on verse 19. We are, first of all, citizens of God’s kingdom. This is the first point on your sermon outline, the first point of application.

    Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are citizens of God’s kingdom. As Paul writes in verse 19, so you are no longer strangers and aliens. You’re no longer outsiders. but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Recently, in one of my sermons, I talked about the fact that the Bible says that we are actually dual citizens. We all have an earthly citizenship. Most of us gathered here today are citizens of the United States of America, and with that earthly citizenship comes certain privileges, rights, as outlined, for example, in the United States Constitution, but it also implies certain responsibilities. But not only are we citizens of an earthly realm, or an earthly kingdom, or an earthly nation state, We are also more significantly, as believers in Christ, we are citizens of God’s kingdom. we have a heavenly citizenship.

    And there are privileges as well as responsibilities that come with being citizens of God’s kingdom. In this particular passage, Paul focuses on our privileges as citizens of the heavenly kingdom. And what are those privileges? Well, as already mentioned, we have the privilege of being no longer outsiders. We are no longer outsiders or mere temporary residents but we are full citizens who enjoy all of the privileges of God’s kingdom. What a contrast to the Old Testament situation. If you were a Gentile living in Old Testament times, You might come to hear about the God of Israel. You might even come to believe in the God of Israel. And the Old Testament law has provisions for temporary residents, for aliens and foreigners, sojourners, Gentiles who lived amongst the Israelites and so forth. But if you wanted to be a fully initiated member of God’s covenant people under the Old Covenant, you would actually not only have to personally convert and trust in God, but you would have to actually become an Israelite citizen.

    Because under the old covenant, the church was a theocracy. Now under the new covenant, the church is not a national theocracy. Now the church is international. And Jesus says, take the gospel to all the nations. The kingdom of God is not bound by a particular nation state. It’s not nationalistic in its character. It’s international. So we’re no longer temporary residents. There were occasional Gentiles who came to faith in the true and living God in Old Testament times, and no doubt, if they shared Abraham’s faith, they would no doubt share in the salvation that Abraham enjoyed. But they were not, with respect to the visible church at that time, fully initiated members unless they became full, circumcised members of the nation of Israel. But now that has changed. We’re no longer outsiders or temporary residents, but full citizens who enjoy all of the privileges of God’s kingdom.

    And Paul mentions some of these privileges. For example, one privilege is that we have access, free access and introduction in Christ to the very throne room presence of God. Look at verse 18. It says in verse 18, for through him, that’s Jesus, through Jesus, We both, we both meaning we Gentiles and Jews who believe in Jesus, through Jesus, we both, whether we be Gentile or Jew, through Jesus, what? We have access in one spirit to the Father. And by the way, did you notice how this passage is saturated with the doctrine of the Trinity? Our salvation is a Trinitarian salvation. The Father has chosen us in Christ, the Son has accomplished our redemption, and the Spirit applies to us the redeeming work of Christ. And so, our access to God is a Trinitarian access. And praise God, when we come to Christ, we are introduced and have access to the very throne room presence of God.

    That’s what’s going on in worship, brothers and sisters. See, when you come to church, you don’t just come to hang out with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Although it’s wonderful to reconnect with one another and fellowship with one another, one of the things that I really appreciate about a grace church, even if I preach long, which I usually do, I confess, But still, even if the service goes a little long, a lot of you folks decide to hang around and just visit with one another after the service, and I praise God for that. Now, I know some of you need to run out the door and get home, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But praise God, we do get to hang out with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We do get to connect with one another.

    But the most important and significant aspect of worship is that when we gather in the name of Jesus, we are actually entering by the Spirit and through faith. we are entering into the very throne room presence of God. And if the Lord were to take the scales off of our eyes, we would see this room filled with angels. God is here. Christ promises to be present in a special way where his people are gathered in his name. We have access. Of course, as individual believers, when you go to the Lord in your prayer closet, you are entering into the throne room presence of God as well. But when we come to church, we do that together. And if you realize that, if you realize spiritually what’s going on in worship. It’ll transform your view of worship and it’ll actually make you more eager for worship because you’re not just coming here to fulfill a social duty or to, you know, check off something on your to-do list.

    You’re here, brother or sister, you are here to enter into the very throne room presence of God. the heavenly realm through faith in Christ and by His Spirit. That, I believe, is the implication of what we read here in verse 18. For through Him, we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. We have access in one Spirit to the Father. Another privilege that we have in Christ is peace and reconciliation, both with God and in principle, at least, with our fellow believers. And this is made clear in verses 14 through 17. Paul, one of the big issues in the early Christian church was, remember Jesus was a Jew, the earliest Christians were Jewish believers, the earliest apostolic church made up of Jews, the apostles were Jews. But when the Gentiles started to come into the church, The Jews were like, the Jewish Christians were like, well, what do we do with all these Gentiles who are coming to believe in Jesus?

    Do they need to get circumcised? Do they need to keep the Mosaic law in order to be fully initiated or fully saved Christians? No, no. Paul and the rest of the apostles, at least eventually, stood up and said, no, we are all one in Christ. As he says in verse 14, For he himself, speaking of Christ, Christ himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. Under the old covenant, there was a dividing wall between Jew and Gentile. There were ritual laws and food laws and even laws about how you were to clothe yourself that set you apart from and separated you from your Gentile neighbors. But now in Christ, those ceremonial laws, those food laws, those ritual laws were fulfilled. And now that dividing wall has been broken down.

    And by the way, having said this, You need to reject any kind of theology or approach to Bible interpretation that suggests that someday that dividing wall’s gonna be built back up and there’s gonna be a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem with sacrifices taking place again. That’s to set up again the dividing wall of hostility that God in Christ has torn down. In Christ, Jew and Gentile are on equal footing as the covenant people of God. And this was an amazing revelation in the first century, and it has so many implications for our lives today. And those dividing walls, that dividing wall of hostility, he explains what he means in verse 15. He says, Christ has done this by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, I believe he’s referring there to the ceremonial laws of the old covenant that separated Gentiles from Jews, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body, how?

    Through the cross. thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off. The far off ones, those are the Gentiles who had been before the coming of Christ, they had been far off. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. That’s to the Jews as well who came to believe in Jesus. For through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. Note again how Christ’s saving work tears down the dividing wall of hostility between believing Jews and believing Gentiles. Through his cross work, Christ brings together into one body people from all kinds of different backgrounds. Notice, by the way, that there is only one true people of God. There’s not, as our dispensational friends would say, there’s not an earthly people of God, namely the Jews, and a spiritual people, the church.

    Israel and the church, two separate things. No, the church is the Israel of God, and this is not replacement theology. This is fulfillment theology. This is expansion theology, because now the gospel goes to the world. and all peoples through faith in Christ are welcomed in to the communion of saints. There is only one true Israel of God, the church of Jesus Christ. But as I mentioned before, these privileges also imply responsibilities. There are duties that attend our heavenly citizenship. And Paul does not focus on the duties here in this particular passage, but later on in this epistle, Paul does speak about some of our spiritual duties as heavenly citizens. One of those duties is that we should seek to maintain our spiritual unity. Look, for example, if you’d skip ahead to Ephesians chapter four, let me just read the first six verses of Ephesians chapter four.

    Paul writes, I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you’ve been called. You’ve been called by the Messianic King, Jesus Christ, to be part of his kingdom. What a high privilege. Live your life as one in a way that is worthy of that calling. And how is that to be done? Verse two, with all humility and gentleness, with patience. bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Let us, brothers and sisters, as the communion of saints, seek to maintain that unity in Christ that God has blessed us with.

    But not only are we citizens of God’s kingdom, as we move on and consider verses 19 through 21, we are God’s household and are growing into a holy temple in the Lord. We are God’s household and we are growing into a holy temple in the Lord. We are a temple that has been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone. Look at verse 20. It says in the end of verse 19, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God built on the foundation of what? The foundation of the apostle Peter as the first Pope. Is that what it says? No. built on the foundation of plural, the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. John Calvin, in picking up on this language of the foundation, Calvin writes, foundation in this passage unquestionably means doctrine.

    For no mention is made of patriarchs or pious kings, but only of those who held the office of teachers and whom God had appointed to superintend the edification of his church. So he’s not talking about, again, about the Pope. Again, notice the church is built on the apostles and prophets, plural, not upon any one particular apostle or church leader like the Apostle Peter as the supposed first Pope. But notice the focus on Christ. Yes, God builds His Church, Christ builds His Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, meaning the apostolic and prophetic teaching, the doctrine of the apostles and prophets. But what is the cornerstone of the Church? Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone. Dr. William Hendrickson in his commentary explains the significance of this language. He says, the cornerstone of a building, in addition to being part of the foundation and therefore supporting the superstructure, finalizes its shape for being placed at the corner formed by the junction of two primary walls.

    It determines the lay of the walls and cross walls throughout. all the other stones must adjust themselves to this cornerstone. So also, in addition to resting in Christ, the spiritual house is determined as to its character by Him. And John Calvin explains it further. He says that he, that Paul, means that Jews and Gentiles are two separate walls, but are formed into one spiritual building. Christ is placed in the middle of the corner for the purpose of uniting both, and this is the force of the metaphor. Now, what do we learn from all of this? We learn many things, but I think, again, to credit Dr. William Hendrickson, he makes some good applications here. First of all, Christ as the cornerstone is the principle of the church’s stability. Christ as the cornerstone, he is the principle of the church’s stability.

    That is to say, the church is only stable as it builds its life and doctrine and worship on the solid rock foundation of Jesus Christ and his word, his gospel message. If a church wanders from the rock of Christ and begins emphasizing and focusing on other things, hobby horses or what have you, and loses Christ or waters down the gospel, the church that does that loses its stability and is headed in a bad way. Christ is the cornerstone and he as the cornerstone is the principle of the church’s stability. But Christ is also the cornerstone in the sense that he is the principle of the church’s direction. Christ, as the cornerstone, is the principle of the church’s direction, just as a cornerstone of a building determines the direction of its walls. Christ directs his church by his word and through the Holy Spirit, not by human tradition, nor by experience, nor new revelations, or signs and wonders, or things like that.

    By his word and spirit. And Christ is revealed as the principle of the church’s growth as well. We see that in verse 21, where it says, in whom, in Christ, the cornerstone, the whole structure being joined together grows into a what? A holy temple in the Lord. Godly biblical church growth will only come about as the gospel is faithfully preached and as we live lives of faithful discipleship and grateful obedience. Dear listener, is Christ the source of stability, direction, and growth in your life? Is he the source of stability, direction, and growth at Grace Church? Finally, beloved, as we wrap up our time in the Word this morning, or right now this afternoon. We are a living temple of God who dwells among us by His Spirit. As Paul kind of brings this language to a climax here, and he says in verse 22, in Him, in Christ, you, whether you be Jew or Gentile, you are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

    In Old Testament times, God’s special presence, his kingly, covenantal, saving presence dwelt in the temple. And it’s interesting that the old covenant saints were directed to pray toward the temple because that was the intersection of heaven and earth. That was the meeting place between heaven and earth. But now under the new covenant, how are we to pray? Are we to face any particular direction? We’re Orthodox Presbyterians, do we face Geneva when we pray? You can if you want to. We certainly don’t face Mecca, I hope not, or Rome. Where do we face? It’s not a matter of where you face. We don’t have to pray toward an earthly temple, because Christ is the living temple. So we pray in Christ’s name. And we are a living temple in Him. In Old Testament times, God’s special presence dwelt in the temple.

    The Shekinah glory was there in the Holy of Holies. But Christ is now the living temple, the divine Son of God in whom the Holy Spirit dwells above measure. And together, we are a living temple in union with Him. As Paul writes in verse 22, in him, you are being built together into a dwelling place, that would be a temple for God, by the Spirit, or this could be translated as in or by the spirit. It could technically, the term spirit there could refer to either the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but I think given the Trinitarianism of this passage and given the context here, Paul is probably referring here to God’s spirit rather than to the human spirit. Basically, what Paul is doing here in this passage, what he’s discussing in this passage is similar to what the Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 2, 4-10.

    Let me just quickly read that as we wrap up our time in the Word today. 1 Peter 2. Verses 4 through 10, Peter writes, as you come to him, that’s to Jesus, as you come to him, a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God chosen and precious. You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture, behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

    They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race. This is Old Testament language, by the way, that Peter’s using here. You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. What is the end of this? What do we learn in all of this? Well, I think I will leave us and close our time by asking you to turn on the back of your Psalter hymnal to the Confession of Faith, Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 26, section one.

    You’ll find that on page 935 in the back of your Psalter hymnal, 935. We have a whole chapter in our confession about the communion of saints. And section 1 says this. All saints that are united to Jesus Christ their head by his spirit and by faith have fellowship with him in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory. And being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other’s gifts and graces and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man. brothers and sisters in Christ. God’s spirit dwells in us both individually as believers and corporately as Christ’s body. And we are a fellowship of God’s spirit. In Christ and by his spirit, we are the communion of saints.

    So let us live in love as the communion of saints. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we praise you and thank you, Lord God. that you have redeemed us, and not only have you redeemed us as individuals, but you’ve brought us into the body of Christ. We thank you that in Christ we are citizens of your kingdom, members of your household, and part of the communion of saints. Grant us grace, Lord, as individuals and as a church to live our lives together as the communion of saints for your glory. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. As we respond to what we’ve heard from the word, let’s rise and we’ll sing as our closing hymn, number 406. We’ll sing the first four stanzas as well as stanzas six and nine. Stanzas one, two, three, four, six, and nine.

    Jesus with thy church abide. Let’s rise and sing 406.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins

    I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins

    About this sermon

    In Christ, believers have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of their trespasses, according to the riches of God’s grace. Every spiritual blessing, from regeneration and justification to adoption, sanctification, and glory, flows to them through Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice on the cross. Christians need the gospel as much as unbelievers do, and the Lord’s Supper keeps it before them. God forgave every sin of his people in Christ, so they must extend that same forgiveness to those who sin against them.

    More sermons from Ephesians · Browse all sermons

    Sermon transcript

    This evening, my sermon text is Ephesians 1, verse 7. That’ll be the special focus of my sermon this evening, but I’m going to kind of give the fuller context as verse 7 is in the midst of a divinely inspired run-on sentence. Paul was famous for those. So I’m gonna read verses 1 through 14, but again, our main focus will be on verse 7. So friends, let us hear God’s holy word. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him.

    In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us in all wisdom and insight, He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his kind intention which he purposed in him, with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to his purpose, who works all things after the counsel of his will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of his glory.

    In him you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. And again, verse 7, my sermon text, in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. Would you join me in prayer? Our Lord and Father in heaven, we pray that by your spirit you would open our minds and our hearts to behold wondrous things from your word, and we ask that you would grant me, your unworthy servant, the grace to declare your word with clarity and power, with the assistance of your spirit, to the edification of your people and the salvation of the lost.

    We ask these things in Jesus’ name, amen. Congregation, you may be seated. titled my sermon this evening is, I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins. And there’s four key words you can be listening for this evening, forgiveness, redemption, grace, and sin. Well, dear ones, this evening we recited, as we often do when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we recited the Apostles’ Creed. And in the Apostles’ Creed, one of the articles of the faith that we Christians confess is, I believe in the forgiveness of sins. I believe in the forgiveness of sins. If you profess to trust in Jesus Christ as your very own Lord and Savior, then no doubt you also would heartily confess to believe that God mercifully forgives your sins because of Jesus and what he did for you on the cross of Calvary.

    All of us who claim the name Christian would no doubt confess, I believe in the forgiveness of sins. But friends, sadly, we often live our lives as if we don’t really believe in God’s gracious gift of the forgiveness of our sins. We often live our lives as if we were still on a treadmill of works righteousness or religious performance. We tend to live our lives, even as Christians, as if we were still, in a sense, under the covenant of works rather than the covenant of grace. And you say, well, Pastor, what are you talking about? What’s the evidence of that? Well, let me ask you this. Let me give a few examples of how we often as Christians even fall short of walking the talk when it comes to our confession to believe in the forgiveness of sins.

    Have you ever had a situation where you continue to feel plagued by guilt over past sins, sins that you’ve already repented of, sins that you’ve already forsaken? That’s an example of not walking the talk when it comes to believing in the forgiveness of your sins in Christ. Do you ever find yourself falling into a legalistic approach to God, saying, yes, I believe I’m justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, but I’m really worried that if I mess up, God is just gonna squash me? Do you ever find yourself on the horizontal plane, unwilling to be generous and forgiving towards others as God has been generous and forgiving towards you? Do you ever find yourself tending to believe the worst about others and their motivations? instead of following what it says in 1 Corinthians, that love believes all things.

    Love believes the best until there’s good reason to believe less than the best of others. You ever find yourself harboring bitterness, strife, and resentment in your heart toward fellow believers? You ever find yourself spreading gossip and a bad report about others? And the list could go on and on and on. Friends, yes, we believe in the forgiveness of sins and thank God that even when we are inconsistent in living out the implications of our belief that our sins are forgiven in Christ, thank God that God is still merciful to us and willing to continue forgiving us for His grace to us in Christ is super abounding, super abundant. But friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us realize that believing in and professing faith in the article of the truth that we believe in the forgiveness of sins carries many practical implications, both in terms of our relationship vertically with our Heavenly Father and also our relationship horizontally with others.

    And so let’s dive into our text for this Lord’s Day evening and consider what we have to learn here as Paul writes in this opening doxology. And in terms of the context of our passage for this evening, the context is Paul’s opening doxology where he praises God for all of the spiritual blessings that we believers have received in Christ. In this letter, this epistle to the Ephesians, and this epistle was very likely meant to be a circular letter, read not only to the Ephesian church, but read to various churches in that region. And as Paul, in this opening doxology, he gives us the big picture, and he praises God for all of the many, many spiritual blessings that we have received in Christ. And one of those wonderful blessings is the forgiveness of our trespasses.

    In fact, the forgiveness of our trespasses is just one of the many, many blessings that are mentioned here in this opening doxology. But for those of us who know ourselves to be hell-deserving sinners, it is one of the most precious blessings that we have in Christ, the blessing of the forgiveness of our sins. And so again, Our text for this evening is verse seven. In him, in union with Christ, we, we believers, we have what? Redemption through his blood. That’s talking about the substitutionary atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace. There’s so much to unpack even in this brief verse. But as we seek to unpack this passage, first of all, beloved, let us consider what we learn in this passage about the forgiveness of sins.

    It always helps when we’re considering or studying any subject, it always helps to define our terms. So let’s talk about forgiveness. What is the definition of forgiveness? Well, the Greek term for forgiveness is a term that indicates, as Dr. Skevington Wood puts it, a loosing someone from what binds him. Forgiveness indicates loosing someone from what binds him. In this passage, Paul has in mind particular sins or trespasses, plural, peroptima in the Greek, in the sense of deviations from the right path. God, in forgiving us for our trespasses, for our deviations, He looses us from them. He forgives us. He does not hold them against us anymore. But these various sins, plural, or deviations, are simply the fruits of a sinful heart. They are the fruits of a sin nature. Though Paul in verse 7 here is focusing in particular on our trespasses, plural, our sins of thought, word, and deed. the things that we do in breaking God’s holy commandments, the things that we neglect to do in not following his laws and so forth.

    These trespasses that we are guilty of every day are rooted and grounded in a heart of sin. And the implication, and while Paul is not focusing on that in particular, we could look to many other passages of scripture, including in Paul’s writings, where he recognizes that our sins arise out of a heart of sin, a sinful nature. So the implication, friends, is that when God forgives us sinners through Christ, he forgives us not only for our sinful acts, he not only forgives us for our trespasses, plural, praise God he forgives us for those, but he also forgives us for the sinful condition of our hearts, that condition which gives rise to those sinful acts. Another way, and perhaps you’ve heard this saying before, but I think it’s helpful to chew on this, As the saying goes, we’re not sinners because we sin, we sin because we’re sinners.

    We’re not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. We have a sin nature. And in forgiving our trespasses, by implication, God also forgives the sin nature that those trespasses arise from. Well, how can God do this? How can God, the infinitely holy, righteous, just God, forgive us As the late Dr. R.C. Sproul liked to point out, every sin that we commit is an act of cosmic treason. Even our so-called, quote, little sins are acts of committing treason against the creator of the cosmos, the Lord God omnipotent. How could the infinitely holy and just God forgive us wretched rebel sinners? Well, we learn in this verse that God is able to forgive us because of the blood of Jesus. God forgives us on the basis of Christ’s redeeming work on the cross. And so it says in verse seven, in Him, in union with Christ, in spiritual and saving union with the Lord Jesus Christ, we have, not we might have, but we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.

    By the way, this statement here in verse 7 does not mean that the forgiveness of our sins exhausts the meaning of our redemption in Christ, or that our justification before God consists only in the pardon of our sins. If you read the This is why I read the passage in its larger context, because there are many other spiritual blessings that we have received in Christ that Paul focuses on. The Father has chosen us in him from before the foundation of the world. We’ve been predestined unto adoption as sons. His grace has been lavished upon us. We have been sealed by the Spirit unto the day of redemption and so forth. All of these are wonderful blessings. that come from our redemption in Christ. But the focus here, friends, is on the fact that Christ has redeemed us.

    And that is the ground for the forgiveness of our sins. Friends, every spiritual blessing that we receive flows to us through the cross of Calvary. Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, his substitutionary penal sacrifice on the cross is the ground and basis for our regeneration, for our conversion, that is our faith and repentance, for our justification, for our adoption, our sanctification, and ultimately our glorification. And so believer, never ever take your eyes off of the Lord Jesus Christ and his cross work for us sinners. That is where our forgiveness comes from. That is where our hope is fixed. Never get beyond being awed by the saving grace of God displayed at the cross of Christ. Be warned about getting bored with the gospel message of Jesus and his cross and resurrection. Now certainly, as the author of Hebrews tells us, we need to move on to maturity.

    We need to not lay again the foundation, the elemental teachings, and so forth. But that doesn’t mean that we get beyond the gospel. The gospel’s for Christians too. I know I like to say that. But I think we need to remind ourselves of this. The Gospel isn’t just for unbelievers, that they might be saved. Certainly, God wants us to get, as the Church, to get the Gospel to unbelievers so that they might hear the glad tidings of great joy and that the Spirit might effectually call them to faith and repentance. Certainly, we believe that. But as Christians, we need the gospel too. That’s why Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper. What is the Lord’s Supper? But a reminder of the gospel and a communion with Christ, a living communion with the living Christ in the gospel.

    We are reminded in the Lord’s Supper as believers that Jesus loves us. As Jesus says to us through the words of institution, this is my body given for you. This is my blood shed for you. Not in a corporal or carnal way, of course. We don’t adhere to transubstantiation or anything like that. But Jesus is present. This isn’t just us doing a mental exercise, remembering, oh yeah, Jesus died for my sins. No. That’s part of what it is, but we, but Jesus comes to us by his word, and he comes to us through the words of institution. He reminds us, my child, this is my body. My body was broken for you. My blood was shed for you. Trust in me. That’s the implication of what is being communicated to us in the holy sacrament. of the Lord’s Supper.

    And let us never get bored with the glad tidings of great joy. The old, old story of Jesus and his love will be a story, the true story, the real story that we will be celebrating throughout all eternity in our worship of our great and sovereign God. So God forgives us on the basis of Christ’s redeeming work on the cross. We learn also that our redemption and the forgiveness of sins that it secures for us is according to the riches of God’s grace. As it says in verse seven, according to the riches of his grace. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of God’s grace. Hone in on that word riches. God’s grace is rich. It is a treasure. It is so precious. It’s well illustrated by the following story that I’d like to share with you.

    And I quote, one night a condemned conspirator on the life of the premier of Ceylon sat alone in his cell waiting for dawn and his own execution. Suddenly he roused himself from apparently somber despair to ask that a certain Christian missionary he named be summoned to his cell as quickly as possible. When the astonished missionary arrived, knowing that the condemned man had been a Buddhist monk all his adult life, he was even more surprised to hear the man ask that he might be baptized immediately in the Christian faith. Assured that the man knew and understood the basic implications of his request, the missionary finally asked why he wanted to be baptized at that moment. The man replied with patent conviction that since he must die, he, quote, wished to die in a faith by which he could come freely to God, unrestrained by personal unworthiness and confident that he could entreat forgiveness simply out of love and mercy.

    Beloved, it is God’s amazing grace that allows us to come freely unto God as a loving Heavenly Father, unrestrained by personal unworthiness and confident that God forgives us simply out of His love and mercy and grounded upon and based upon the redeeming work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Dear listener, do you believe that you may come to God freely, unrestrained by your personal unworthiness? Before my conversion, I was converted, and so far as I understand the Lord’s working in my own heart, I was converted as a teenager. I was 15 years old, but I grew up in a religious family, so I knew God’s law. I knew I was a lawbreaker, and I had heard the gospel, but I thought, you know, I need to make myself better. God’s not gonna accept me the way I am.

    I have to improve myself, and I would often set myself out on a program of moral improvement. even punishing myself in a sense. I remember one time I did something bad and I felt so bad about it that I went out into the front yard and I was running back and forth to the point of exhaustion as a way of doing penance, basically. I did not realize that, no, that’s not the way it works. You don’t clean yourself up and make yourself presentable to God, you come to Him with all your filth and sin, and you come trusting that He, by His grace, will not only forgive you, but will begin to transform you and change you. He’s the one who cleans us up, away with this preparationism, this idea, well, you can’t come to God until you are fully ready and fully able, no.

    Now we come to God as we are. God justifies the ungodly. He doesn’t keep us ungodly. Once we come to Him, He changes us. He sanctifies us. He works in us. But He forgives us freely. By grace alone, through faith alone, apart from works of the law. So come to him, he will receive you. Trust in Jesus and Jesus alone and he will forgive all of your sins by his grace and his grace alone. And so we’ve seen the teaching of our passage for this evening, but I kind of want to step back for a few minutes, and I want us to consider scripture as a whole. And don’t worry, this isn’t going to be long. We’re just going to look at some select passages. But next, I want us to consider what the scriptures teach about the complete and comprehensive nature of God’s forgiveness.

    It isn’t just that God forgives us in dribs and drabs. God’s forgiveness of our sins is complete, it’s comprehensive, and it is secure. For example, let’s turn, I know I started our service this evening with Psalm 103, and I want to read Psalm 103, verse 12. It says in that verse, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. How far is the East from the West? Can’t get farther, can you? The point is, He has removed our transgressions from us. He’s removed them completely as far as the East is from the West. That is complete and comprehensive forgiveness. Or consider what the prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah chapter 38, verse 17. Isaiah 38. Verse 17, we read these words. Let’s make sure I have the right passage.

    Isaiah 38, 17. Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness. It was you who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. Here we have a picture that God takes our sin and He casts it behind His back. In other words, it’s behind. It’s water under the bridge. It’s no longer an issue with your loving Heavenly Father. As you confess and forsake your sin, resting in God’s forgiving mercy in Christ, He forgives you and He casts it behind His back. Or consider Jeremiah 31, verse 34. Jeremiah 31, verse 34. We read these words. This is in the passage about the promise of the new covenant. They will not teach again each man his neighbor, and each man his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they will all know me.

    From the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord. For I will do what? I will forgive their iniquity and their sin. I will remember no more. Now, when God says, I will remember their sin no more, that doesn’t mean that God suffers from a self-inflicted cosmic amnesia. It means that God chooses not to dredge up the sins of our past and use it against us. When he forgives us, he knows all our past sins. He doesn’t forget it in the sense that he’s not aware of it, but he doesn’t use it against us because Jesus dealt with our sin on the cross once and for all and forever. The final passage from the Old Testament that illustrates God’s amazing forgiving grace to us, Micah 7 verse 19, Micah chapter 7 verse 19. says this, he will again have compassion on us.

    He will tread our iniquities underfoot. Yes, you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Notice the imagery that the scripture uses of God’s forgiving grace to us. He removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west. He casts our sins behind his back. And He tramples our sin underfoot. He casts our sin into the depths of the sea. As the article on forgiveness in the New Bible Dictionary puts it, when He forgives, men’s sins are dealt with thoroughly. God sees them no more. So believer, rejoice in the fact that God has totally, completely, thoroughly forgiven you your sins. This is not a sin-free card. This is not an excuse for you to go and say, oh, God’s forgiven me. Well, I can just go on sinning.

    No. Read Romans chapter 6. How can we who’ve died to sin in union with Christ still live in them? But knowing that our sins are forgiven, that is the chief motivator to holiness in our lives. We are not motivated, brothers and sisters, by a terror of God’s wrath and judgment, for we are no longer under the covenant of works. But we are motivated by gratitude for God’s gift of forgiveness and salvation to us in Christ. May this precious truth motivate you to greater obedience and holiness out of gratitude for your heavenly Father’s love for you in the Lord Jesus Christ. And finally, O church, let us as a church take to heart how God’s forgiveness of our sins should lead us to be forgiving toward others who sin against us. C.S. Lewis once said, everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive, right?

    We can talk the good talk when it comes to forgiveness. But if someone has sinned against you, and we’ve all sinned against others and have been sinned against by others in one way or another, we need to remember that God’s forgiveness of us in Christ ought to motivate us to be forgiving towards others. And I leave our time this evening with some considerations, again, from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In Ephesians 4, verses 1 through 6, we read these words. Paul writes, therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you’ve been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace, There is one body and one spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

    And then skip down to verses 30 through 32. Paul writes, do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. He’s speaking to the church corporate here in particular. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you. Again, remember what we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. May the God who graciously forgave us all of our sins and in our justification, that includes past, present, and future sins. All of our sins have been legally forgiven in Christ, who died for all of them. But we experience his daily fatherly forgiveness as we continue to forgive our sins, as the Spirit continues to convict us and we continue to repent of and forsake our sins.

    We experience his tender mercies every day. His mercies are new. Every morning, his covenant faithfulness to us is great. Having experienced the forgiving, amazing forgiving grace of God, let us extend that forgiveness to others who have sinned against us. Amen. Let us pray. Our Lord and Father in heaven, sovereign and eternal God, we do again thank you for how merciful and forgiving you have been toward us. For we are a wayward people. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. But you, O gracious Lord and Father, have laid on Christ, the suffering servant, the iniquity of us all. And so, Lord, as you have so graciously forgiven us, grant unto us a forgiving spirit towards others. For love covers a multitude of sin, and give us grace, O Lord, to extend to others the forgiveness that we ourselves have received.

    And now, Lord, as we prepare to partake of the Holy Supper this evening, we pray that your spirit would deepen our faith and strengthen our hope as we partake together. We ask these things in Jesus’ name, amen.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Building Together God’s Way

    Building Together God’s Way

    About this sermon

    The ascended Christ gives his church apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Every believer is gifted for service, beginning at home, so that the body is built up in unity of the faith and grows from spiritual infancy to maturity. As a new year begins, the church seeks to serve Christ more faithfully so that his kingdom advances and he receives the glory.

    More sermons from Ephesians · Browse all sermons

    Sermon transcript

    Ephesians chapter 4, we’re going to be focusing on verses 11 to 16 in particular this morning, but I’d like to begin at the beginning of the chapter to put the passage in context. Ephesians chapter 4, hear God’s word. I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you’ve been called. with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in a bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

    But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. In saying he ascended, what does it mean but that he also descended into the lower regions of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and to the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we will no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes.

    Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way unto him who is ahead, into Christ, 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. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever.

    If I were to ask you, what is the ideal church? Many of you probably would have some image in your mind. Perhaps it was a fellowship that you were part of in the past. Perhaps it was a local church that you’ve read about or visited and thought, oh, if only I could be part of that church. Or perhaps it’s a group that you long to be part of based on a real need in your life. Whatever it is, we’ve had some experience with the church and we’ve had some longing, if you will, of what is the ideal church. In fact, in a gathering of this size, it would not be uncommon for there to be multiple visions of what a church ought to be, perhaps competing ones as well.

    And this need not be a problem if we all remember whose church is it anyway. It is Christ’s church. It is the church that is given by God the Father to His Son as His bride. It belongs to Jesus Christ. And so Christ gives some instructions through his word about what his church is to be.

    As we think about the love of God the Father to his son to give him this bride, think of us as fathers and mothers. How many of us have ever held a newborn baby in our arms and wondered to ourselves, I wonder what this child will grow up to be? Of course, as our children get older, sometimes that’s part of where we have those conversations with the Lord and many prayers in terms of what we think is best for this child and what the Lord thinks is best for that child. And for them, of course, those times where perhaps some of you had the privilege of walking your daughter down an aisle or seeing your son get married. and think, okay, what is life gonna be like for them? And the vision of what you would long for it to be, and children and grandchildren as well, and it’s natural for, as we’re connected with people, and longing to see God at work in their lives, to have some vision of what it is that they are to become, and how they’re to live life, and what it is that we would want for them.

    And my friends, that’s no different the same way that God the Father has a vision for his church, who we are to become as his people, the church of his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Some of you perhaps have been around long enough in this church that you still remember, or maybe you heard the stories in terms of the birthing of this church. And every church goes through that experience of there’s time when it’s called into being by the work of the Spirit, its ministry begins, And it travels along a predictable, projected life cycle. And so as there are transitions in the life of the church, new pastors, new officers, those sorts of things, inevitably it raises those expectations.

    But what’s our vision? What are we to become? This morning I’d like to suggest that The same grace that is needed by a church to be birthed is the same grace that a church needs to be sustained and continued and renewed by the work of the Spirit. And so our sermon this morning is entitled, Building Together God’s Way, because God’s word reveals a pattern, that He has provided a means and a motivation for His children to grow up in every way. not to be those who rest in the past, not to be those who are seeking to be sustained by yesterday’s manna, which we cannot be, but indeed to lay hold of the things of God, to trust the Spirit, and to receive the grace that He promises to give us as we seek to walk by faith.

    In Ephesians chapter 4, which we just read, Apostle Paul begins and says, he urges us to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. He stresses the unity that we have in Christ, a unity of confession, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. And then he reminds us of the grace that we’ve received. In fact, he says very specifically that Christ ascended on high and he gave gifts to men. that by His grace, all the graces have been given to us by Christ. And so we want to look at this passage, particularly verses 11 to 16, to see what are the gifts that God gives to His church, to His people, in all times and all places, but particularly at this, the first Sunday of a new year. One of those things that we need to be reminded that Christ has given to us, that we might be all that He intends us to be. You begin there, look there at verses 11 and 12, we see that we are gifted for ministry.

    It speaks specifically about offices. There’s some debate about those things, but when someone first comes to faith in Christ, receives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, part of that is that they also receive a gift. Cherished the grace of spiritual gift. God’s pattern for his church is a model of ministry based upon God’s gifting of his people with spiritual gifts. Each and every one of us is called and gifted for ministry.”

    Now, it talks about first leaders, that there were those apostles and prophets. We believe that those offices are no longer in play since the completion of the canon. But then it also says evangelists and then shepherds and teachers, or pastors and teachers, as the NIV puts it. It’s not two separate offices, but one office of pastors and teachers.

    And what is their role? Their role is to prepare God’s people for works of service, or to equip the saints for the work of ministry. The responsibility of leaders of the church is not to do all the ministry, but to train you as members of the church to minister as Christ calls and enables you and gifts you to do. God’s model for ministry is for each of us as members of his body to be involved in ministry. How are the elders to enable us or how are the elders to equip us and enable us to be more effective ministers of the gospel? is primarily through the teaching ministry of the Church, as well as by prayer for you, to intercede for you.

    God says this, all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking, and training in righteousness. And we all know that part because we hold the scripture in very high regard, as we ought. But the purpose of that scripture, doing all these things is so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. The reason to sit on the preaching of the word, the reason to study God’s word in small groups and Bible studies and those sorts of things is so that you might be equipped for the work that God has called you to do in his kingdom.

    The Apostle Paul commends Epaphras, a leader in the Colossian church, and he says this about him, he says, he is always wrestling in prayer for you that you may stand firm in all the will of God. As the elders here get to know you, and they pray for you, and they intercede for you, they’re wrestling in prayer that you might stand firm, that you might stand strong, that you might be all that God wants you to be. in the places that He’s called you.

    So my friends, let me ask you this morning this question. It’s not a question to be asked just of pastor teachers. What is your ministry? What is your ministry? It is what God has called you to do in all the places He’s called you to be. If you’re a husband, you are first to minister to your wife. If you’re a father, you have a spiritual ministry to your children. whatever your occupation, God has also called you to be there and to minister to those around you, not just by witnessing to others, although certainly we have those opportunities, but even by the way that we do the work that we do, that we do it for the glory of God, that too bears witness to him.

    And so that’s part of our calling, those callings that God has for each and every one of us. And in addition to that, The scriptures tell us that God has given each of us at least one spiritual gift, usually a collection of gifts, and they’re not all the same.

    They’re different. Don’t have time this morning to talk about all of that, of Paul’s analogy of the body and the different parts and all those other sorts of things, but different gifts given to different parts of the body so that together we might become the body that God wants us to be.

    The vast majority of ministry, my friends, the vast majority of ministry that Christ is calling you as a congregation to do this coming year will not happen within these walls because you spend so little time, by God’s appointment, within these walls. The vast majority of the ministry of this church, of this body and its members, is outside of these walls.

    It’s in the places that God calls you to live and to work and to move. as a minister of Jesus Christ. And for our life together, then God calls and gifts, and I notice in the bulletin there’s an announcement of things on the bulletin board where you can sign up for various things to serve one another. So that the body here as we gather for worship and other functions can minister to each other for the common good. We must remember that you and I as individuals, we are not the church, but collectively we are the church, the body of Christ. What is the ministry of grace, Orthodox Presbyterian Church?

    Part of our thinking has to be is, well, where has God called each of us to be during the week? Sometimes 40 hours of it, if it’s work. That’s part of the ministry of this church because we are members of this body and Christ’s ministry extends through us into this community and into the world.

    And my friends, that’s a radical thought. It really is. It’s not the way we normally think. It’s not the way we normally function. And in fact, it’s not the way even our culture would like us to think about ourselves, that we were sent people. They would rather that we would think ourselves that your faith is a personal, private thing.

    It’s compartmentalized. It’s something that just, oh, wait, it’s where you go on Sunday mornings. That’s the church. No, the church is the people. We gather in a building for worship, and we’re not forsaken the assembling of ourselves together. But the ministry of a church is where God’s people are by his appointment. And so, my friends, do you understand that?

    Can you say, I’m a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ? in all the places and all the relationships that God calls me to have. I’m a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. I represent Him because my life is not my own. And that as we understand that, and that we’re to be this collection of ministers, ministers of God’s grace, then each member of this body has a vital function to perform. What’s your ministry? Are you equipped for that ministry?

    Are there things you say, well, I wish I knew more? I wish I, you know, maybe I need some people to encourage me. I really think God’s calling me to do this, but I don’t know how to begin. Those are things to talk with your elders about. And if you’ve never, ever gone through the process of some inquiries of, well, what are my spiritual gifts? What is it that God’s uniquely given to me that as I lean into that, God’s spirit works through me to bring glory to Christ and to bless people around me? because we’re not just saved to sit and soak, we’re saved from our sin in order to serve Christ and to advance his kingdom.

    You know, there’s this pattern that we see in the New Testament over and over and over again, wherever churches were planted, the apostolic pattern, all of Paul’s teaching in terms of that. It’s a model for ministry. It’s quite different than what we see in most churches in America today. And I cannot emphasize enough that the biblical concept of the church is that of a body, a vital body, or if you will, a team. Let me illustrate. Many of us have been influenced, unfortunately, by unbiblical models of ministry that permeated the American landscape, particularly in the 80s and 90s.

    How many of us remember being told the church is like a hospital? You know, a place where weary people come to have their spiritual needs met, much like we go to a hospital, we expect the doctors and the experts to do it all, and we’re there just to be put back together in those sorts of things. And so we rely on the professionals to minister to us. And if we think that way about the church, which that’s not, there’s some truth there, but it’s not a biblical image. is then all we will do is that we come to a physical building to have our needs met by the professionals, the pastor who’s called and paid to do the work of ministry.

    How unbiblical an idea. The church is not a hospital, my friends. If anything, it’s a mass unit. moving about and helping people who are wounded and scarred and patching them up and sending them back out onto the front lines because that’s where the Christian life is to be lived.

    Or how many of us have been unwittingly influenced by the megachurch movement with its emphasis that bigger is always better. So we just begin to look around and we count noses and budgets and all those other sorts of things. In America in particular, we love our buildings and they get bigger and bigger and all those sorts of things. And so our pastors are expected to be celebrity preachers, CEOs of a spiritual business that focuses on numbers and programs and facilities.

    How unbiblical. Church does not exist to build its own empire. Church exists that Christ’s kingdom might be advanced. To further the kingdom of God, the church is the agent of the kingdom. And that involves, my friends, ministry, hands-on ministry to all kinds of people. We could go on and say there are other models, you know, of a bus where you all get on the bus and sort of we expect, you know, the pastor, he’s going to be the bus driver, he’s going to tell us where we need to go. Or worse than that is the cruise ship. You know, where the pastor serves like the activities director, trying to just go around and make sure everyone’s happy with everything that’s going on.

    My friends, maybe in this church you’ve never had these things, these issues. But the church in America, and even in our circles, Reformed and Presbyterian circles, we are struggling with some of these things that have come into our understanding of what the church is called to be. The job of the pastor is not to make everyone comfortable. That’s not the calling of the New Testament church. New Testament does not envision a single pastor and a docile flock. It envisions in terms of a plurality of elders, of disciples who have a heart and a vision to see others reached and disciples made for the glory of King Jesus.

    Ray Steadman over 30 years ago wrote a landmark book called Body Life. And he traces the deviations from the biblical model And historically, he says, he makes a good point, that the responsibility for ministry was transferred from the people to professional clergy. And he comments this way, when ministry was left to the professionals, there was nothing left for the people to do other than to come to church and listen. They were told it was their responsibility to bring the world into the church building to hear the pastor preach the gospel.

    Soon, Christianity became little more than a Sunday morning spectator sport, much like the definition of professional football. 22 men down on the field, desperately in need of rest, and 22,000 people in the grandstands, desperately in need of exercise. Biblical Christianity is not a spectator sport. The local church is a body, a team, in which every person is called by God to have a distinctive ministry.

    And what’s the result when we understand who we are and whose we are and the gifts we’ve received for the ministry to which God’s called us? God’s word says that when that is in play, the church is built up. That’s the biblical measure of church growth. or church health, not how many people attend the worship services, but how many members are equipped to minister as Christ’s disciples, bringing his presence and his power, the power of the gospel, into contact with people all around us. Christians ministering in Christ’s name cause Christ’s church to be built up in every way, spiritually, numerically, organizationally, maximum impact. for the Kingdom of God. And how many people just already want an established church where they can just come and do certain things and stuff?

    No, it’s the work to which is spread over many shoulders to trust God to do. And I would suggest that one of the joys of church planting, there are many struggles, one of the joys is that people find their place. in the body, where they can make their contribution, where they can serve Christ and serve others and to see that it matters because every person matters when you’re a church plant. Somehow as we get established in churches, once we have our buildings and things get a little bit more comfortable, somehow we lose that, maybe that initial momentum that’s there in the early years of the planting of a church.

    But nonetheless, it’s what we must understand our identity. That yes, we are people that gather for worship, but then we scatter to serve. We are sent people, sent by Christ on His mission in the world. Not only are we gifted for ministry, Apostle Paul says we’re gifted for the purpose of maturity. Look there at verses 13 and 14. That’s the goal. Why does Christ pour out all these gifts? Why does the Spirit do all this work? It’s so that we might become mature. And he lists four aspects, and we want to just look at those briefly, at each one.

    The first aspect is a unity in the faith. True Christians have a unity of confession. The faith is the body of doctrine that’s given to us by the apostles. The faith is the content of the gospel in its most complete form. the summary of the apostolic preaching and teaching. We read in Jude verse three, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith once for all entrusted to the saints.

    There’s much we have to discover and learn from the scriptures, but there’s nothing new there. The scriptures are sufficient, have always been, and will always be sufficient for the church in every age to be faithful to her Lord. Disunity in the church oftentimes comes from spiritual immaturity, where we want what we want rather than thinking of the body as a whole, and also doctrinal ignorance. Somehow we just think, hmm, we thought this new idea. And any new idea, quite frankly, if it’s not tested by the word of God, ought to be very suspect. Because the scriptures are sufficient.

    And so we have a unity that has to be maintained. A true oneness of fellowship cannot be reached apart from community and commonly believed truth. And being able to remind ourselves of that and encourage each other. someone has written, only a biblically equipped, faithfully serving, and spiritually maturing church can attain to unity in the faith. And that is absolutely true.

    You are a church that has a common confession for which you ought to praise God. But it’s not just something to say, oh, OK, well, we read that once in a while, we put it on the shelf, but to understand the depth of the truth of God there. Because not only is there a unity of confession, but there is a unity then that will lead us to a knowledge, as the scripture says here, of the Son of God.

    And it’s not talking about an intellectual knowledge. It’s not intellectual cognition. It’s not knowing about God. In fact, it’s a relational understanding. It’s knowing in the way that the Bible speaks of knowing, relationally. And it’s developed. This knowledge, this relational knowledge of God is developed by prayer. and by obedience to the word of God. Praise God, you have set apart in terms of a Bible reading plan whereby you might have a systematic way of reading through the scriptures to understand the whole counsel of God.

    The apostle Paul, toward the end of his life, wrote this. He said, but whatever was to my profit, I now consider lost for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to greatness of knowing Christ my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, not having already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead. I press on toward the goal. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. We’ve not arrived.

    While God still gives us breath on this side of heaven, there are ways that we are to continue to grow to be like Christ because we know Him in deeper ways. And as we do that, we will attain not only individually, but corporately. to the fullness of Christ, the whole measure of Christ who fills things in all ways.

    It’s Christ-likeness. It’s not enough just a personal relationship with God through Christ, but that’s the foundation. But then that Christ begins to live his life out through us before watching the world. It’s Christ-likeness. When people see us, they say, that’s a Christian. That’s a Christian. Christians were called to follow the example of Christ in every situation, that we are his representative. We are men and women on a mission from God. For the sake of Christ, what would Jesus think? What would Jesus say? What would Jesus do in those circumstances? And then to be guided by his spirit and word to respond appropriately.

    Paul said that the goal of his ministry to believers was their maturity in Christ, Colossians 1. We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ to this and thy labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me.” My friends, is it your goal? Is it your goal in life? to develop and have the character of Christ. Because that is what God is calling you to. That is what God is calling us to. And so we have a unity of confession. We have a unity of purpose in our drawing deeper into a personal relationship, a knowledge of Christ the Son, so that we might become mature, that we might become more and more like Christ.

    And that then is undergirded by sound doctrine. Doctrine doesn’t produce those things, but it guards those things and provides a foundation. It’s the good soil which all these things grow out of. Look again at verse 14. where Paul says, 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 and deceitful scheming. The Bible speaks of us in developmental terms. It’s not to insult any of us, but it’s how the Bible speaks.

    When we first come to faith in Christ, we are considered infants. We are needing a lot of care and a lot of attention. And as we get older, we still need lots of care and lots of attention. It just changes in the form in which God gives it to us. But nonetheless, we’re called to grow up. We’re called to grow beyond a childlike trust in Christ. We’re called to put childish things behind, where it’s all about me and everything centered on me. We’re to grow up spiritually.

    Some Christians, unfortunately, even some churches, seem to prefer to live spiritual lives like that of Peter Pan. You never want to really grow up. You just want everything to be easy. God’s word rebukes, actually, such a simple attitude. In the book of Hebrews, we read this. We have much to say about this, but it’s hard to explain because you are slow to learn.

    In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food. Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not equated with a teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

    And then here’s the point he makes. Therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity. We’ve just hit these four aspects briefly. Most of the epistles are written to address these very things. But if we’re gifted for ministry, we’re also gifted so that we might move towards maturity. And the last thing that Ephesians 4 the Apostle Paul is telling us here, by the inspiration of the Spirit, is that we are gifted for growth. If spiritual gifts are the means and spiritual maturity is the goal of the body being built up, growth is the result. Paul describes the process of spiritual growth as learning to speak the truth in love and growing up into Christ. learning to speak the truth in love. You know, Barbara and I spent part of our lives, even part of my seminary training was in the deep south in Mississippi. And there’s a tendency of Christians to be like cultural southerners.

    Do you know what I mean by that? They prefer to tell you something nice rather than telling you the truth. We make jokes about that in terms of Southern culture. All the nice, they could spend half an hour, have the nicest conversation with you. And yet, turn away and they’re regretting all the time that was spent to be nice to you. You never got to any things of substance. In my limited experience, not having been born and raised in Western Pennsylvania, but my limited experience of ministering here in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio, is that we so value relationships that we often, we feel very uncomfortable if someone that’s near to us or dear to us is made to feel uncomfortable. And so we will hedge. Now I’m not saying we ought to be obnoxious. I’m not saying any of those things.

    The gospel calls us to be gracious in how we speak, but we are called to speak the truth in love. And when we do so, then people are built up. That’s what the scripture tells us here. The purpose of speaking the truth to each other and to be good truth tellers even to ourselves is so that we might be built up, we might be restored, we might be pulled away from those things that are idols or temptations or those sorts of things that we might focus on Christ. The book of Proverbs says this, wounds from a friend can be trusted. but an enemy multiplies kisses. Are we growing in our desire and the ability to speak the truth in love to each other? As we do that, we will grow up into Christ.

    Think of it this way, just as the physical body needs adequate food and exercise and rest in order to grow, so too does the spiritual body. They’re things that we need. We need the nourishment of God’s Word. We need the exercise of spiritual gifts. We need the refreshment and rest of public and private worship in order to grow as God intends us to grow. But there’s one other thing that we need.

    And that is the body must be washed from time to time. to remove germs and be free from diseases. And as believers we too need to be daily cleansed from sin and its effect. And so the scripture gives to us then a responsibility, a biblical responsibility to each other to confront, confess, and repent of our sin. The elders share a special responsibility for the removal of sin, or unconfessed sin, in the life of the body. But we are called to be our brother’s keeper. The word of God is quite clear. It also tells us how we are to do that.

    And as we do those things, those ordinary things of feeding on God’s word, of exercising with a dependence upon the Spirit, the gifts that He’s given to us. As we pray for one another, as we speak the truth to one another, we will grow because we’re united to Christ and to His purposes. Spiritual growth in the lives of individual members, as you grow spiritually in your own walk with the Lord, will produce numerical growth in the life of the local assembly. In addition, as church members are committed and grow in their ability to serve one another and to serve those that God has put across their path, the church grows organically.

    Its ability to function as a body, and its ability to reproduce disciples of Jesus Christ. A spiritually healthy church will be growing as a biblical church. Again, to quote pastor teacher Ray Stedman, A healthy body is necessary to perform effective work. To attempt evangelism while the body of Christ is sick and afflicted is worse than useless.

    It is not difficult to keep a body of Christians healthy and vital if the members of that body are diligent to bear one another’s burdens, confess their faults to one another, instruct one another, and admonish one another in love by means of the word of God. And as together, as members of this body, you work to maintain the health and the unity of this body, you will grow.

    You will become what God intends. You will be partners with God and the work of his spirit to build a church together God’s way. My friends, it’s a new year. It’s a new opportunity to trust God for greater things. Jesus said to his disciples before he went to the cross and then on to glory, greater works than you have seen me do, you will do by the working of your spirit. What is the work that God has called this church to do in this coming year? in this community, in these environments, among the people that God has already, by his sovereign hand, placed around you, who desperately need to see and to hear the gospel in action. May God give you a renewed vision. And now with leadership in place, to be the body that he calls you to be.

    And there’ll be adjustments. And there’ll be things that aren’t always ideal, but rest assured in this, that our God is a covenant-making and a covenant-keeping God. And God is committed to presenting His Church to His Son, perfect, spotless, blameless, full, and reflective of the glory of Christ. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word We thank you for that in which it reminds us, which is just so countercultural for us. But Lord, as we have experienced in the past and perhaps even in the present, Lord, the working of your spirit in our lives and the life of this body and being part of it, Lord, we pray for the coming year that all that you intend for this church to be, she will become. Because as individuals and as a body, We are open. We are listening. We’re willing to be led by your spirit and led by officers. We’re willing to serve and use the gifts that you’ve given to us.

    We’ve made it our goal and our ambition to pursue Christ and to move on to maturity. and to allow you to determine the steps and the process along the way to bring glory to yourself. So Lord, we pray that as we come before you even now, that you might reveal to us as individuals even today what it is that you would have us do in this coming year to serve you more faithfully, that your kingdom might advance, that your church might grow, that all glory might go to Christ. And so it’s in His name we pray, amen. I invite you to turn in your hymnal, a way of response. Hymn number four, 16, Your Hand, O God, Has Guided. And let’s stand together as we sing. you.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Always Thankful

    Always Thankful

    About this sermon

    Paul urges believers to walk carefully, as wise and not unwise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Instead of getting drunk with wine, they are to be filled with the Spirit, which means letting the word of Christ dwell in them richly. The Spirit-filled church sings psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, gives thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and submits to one another.

    More sermons from Ephesians · Browse all sermons

    Sermon transcript

    of the Lord Jesus Christ, we approach that time of the worship service where we hear God’s Word read and proclaimed, and actually hearing the reading and preaching of God’s Word is also an act of worship. Worship is not just when we pray and think praises to God. Worship is also hearing with reverence God’s Word as it is read and proclaimed.

    So, I’d invite you all to rise for our Scripture reading this morning. The sermon text today is taken from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 5, and as you’re turning there in your Bibles, just to give you a little preview of what’s coming ahead, starting on the next Lord’s Day, the first Sunday of December, I’ll begin a four-week mini-series for Advent on the prologue of John’s Gospel, and we continue this evening The three-part mini-series in The Marks of a True Church tonight will consider the Mark of the Sacraments. But today, our focus is on Ephesians 5, 15-21. I’m going to begin reading at verse 1, and read through verse 21 to give us the full context. So, let us hear God’s holy word, beginning at verse 1 in Ephesians chapter 5, Therefore, the imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

    But sexual immorality, all impurity, or covetousness, must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving, for you may be sure of this. that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous, that is, an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them.

    For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unproofful works of darkness, but instead expose them, for it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully, then, how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

    And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father.

    In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Dear friends, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God endures forever. Just for a moment, please join me in prayer as we ask God’s blessing upon the preaching of His Word this day. Lord and Father in Heaven, once again we ask that You would open our minds and our hearts to behold wondrous things from Your Word, and we ask that You would set a guard over my lips that I might speak only that which is faithful to your word, edifying to your saints, and glorifying to your holy name. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. Congregation, you may be seated. The title of my sermon this morning is, Always Thankful, Always Thankful.

    Well, dear ones, the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is truly a majestic epistle. In this epistle of God’s Word, the Apostle Paul traces the origin of the Church to the very eternal counsel and predestinating purpose of God. In this epistle, Paul gives us the big picture, if you will. He gives us a big-picture perspective on what God is doing in history through the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

    I would encourage you, if you have the opportunity to sometime, perhaps this afternoon, to sit down and read through the entirety of this epistle. Approach this epistle prayerfully, and read from chapter one through chapter six. It should only take you, if you’re an average reader, a half hour or so at most. But, this is indeed a glorious, majestic epistle.

    Now, many of Paul’s letters, many of his epistles, are what the Bible scholars call occasional letters, or occasional letters. Meaning that, in those letters, Paul is addressing particular occasions or issues in the particular churches to which he’s writing. A perfect example of occasional epistles would be 1 and 2 Corinthians. The Corinthian church, as you might recall, had all kinds of issues and problems, and so, in those two Corinthian epistles, Paul deals with the occasions, the local circumstances in those letters that were going on.

    And, of course, we glean many, many important truths from those occasional epistles. But, in Ephesians, Ephesians was very possibly written as a circular letter, meant to be read not only in the church at Ephesus, but other churches in that region. And so, in Ephesians, Paul is not addressing specific issues at local congregations, but he’s giving us the big picture. Other epistles may deal with the trees, but here in Ephesians, Paul is giving us a view of the forest, if you will.

    Now, in the first three chapters of this glorious epistle, Paul grounds us in the doctrinal truths that relate to and flow out of his major themes. And, in the last three chapters, Paul works out the practical implications of these doctrines, and he applies them to our lives, both as individual Christians but especially he applies them to the life of the Church, after all, the Church and the unity of that Church.

    The unity of that Church in union with Christ is one of the central themes of this glorious epistle. We find our text for this Lord’s Day morning in the midst of this lengthy section of exhortations and commands. So, for my sermon today, I’ll attempt to take us through this text, verse by verse, focusing especially on verses 18 And as we do, I will seek to focus our attention on two major lessons that we can glean from this portion of God’s Holy Word. If you’re taking notes, these are the two main points that I want to have us take away from this passage of God’s Word today.

    First of all, friends, we will consider the source of our Christian joy. We learn in this passage the source of our Christian joy. And then we will also consider some of the results and expressions of Christian joy. So, what is the source of our joy as Christians? What is the source of that which ought to make us always thankful to our God? Well, we learn in this passage, beloved, that the source of Christian joy is the filling of the Spirit. Look at verse 18.

    Paul writes, and do not get drunk with wine, that is to say, do not seek your source of joy and exhilaration in wine, in a state of drunkenness, do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, some of your versions may say that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.

    Here, Paul tells us not to be drunk with wine, but instead to be filled with the Spirit.” Now, that’s a rather interesting contrast, isn’t it, when you think about it? Why does Paul make this contrast? Why does he contrast the filling of the Spirit, on the one hand, with drunkenness, with wine, on the other hand? Well, consider the context.

    Paul has just finished telling his readers to walk—that is to say, to live out your life wisely in this present world. We believers are to be wise and careful in the way that we live out our lives in the midst of this present evil world, and we are to seek to understand what the will of the Lord is. Look with me, if you would. Let’s go back to verse 15, after Paul has called upon us to be imitators of God, including walking in love as Christ loved us. He gave himself up for us, a sacrifice to God, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God, as it says in verses 1 and 2, and after he exhorts us to walk in love to one another and to avoid impurity and so forth, to walk as children of light, he then says in verse 15, look carefully, then, how you walk.

    Now, when Paul and other New Testament writers use this imagery of the Christian life as That makes sense, doesn’t it? The Christian life is a journey, and it is a journey on the narrow way, and what is that narrow way? That narrow way is Jesus. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father except by me.

    So, when Paul says, look carefully how you walk, he’s not telling you to watch your feet and look at your He’s talking about, look carefully, consider carefully how you live out your Christian life. Reflect upon how you are living out your Christian life. Paul has already talked about our salvation in Christ, how we’ve been raised to newness of life in Christ, how we are in union with Christ, and as I said earlier, in this section of his epistle, He’s speaking of how to live out the implications of our identity in Christ in our day-to-day lives, and one thing that is required of us is that we consider carefully how we are living, not as unwise, but as wise. God’s Word calls us, as those who have been redeemed by Christ through sovereign grace, God’s Word calls upon us, beloved, to walk with wisdom. divine wisdom, and that wisdom comes through the Word of God, and as our minds are renewed through and transformed through the Word of the Living God. Look carefully, then, how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise.

    Verse 16, making the best use of the time. Boy, that is convicting to me. I don’t know about for you, but I don’t always make the best use of my time. Time is a gift of God. Let us use our time wisely for the glory of God. Let us, in the way that we schedule our time, the way that we spend our days, let us make sure that we order our days for the glory of God, out of gratitude for His wonderful gift of salvation in Jesus.

    So, we are to make the best use of the time. Why? Because the days are evil. The days are evil. We live in this present evil age. This period of time between our Lord’s First Advent and His future, glorious Second Advent, this present age is characterized in many ways by evil.

    God is restraining the evil, and the Gospel is going forth, and sinners are being saved, but nonetheless, it requires of us in the age that we live in, beloved, to walk carefully, to seek to live with wisdom, divine wisdom. As he says in verse 17, as he reinforces what he’s been saying already, he says, therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Where do we find the will of the Lord revealed? We find it in this book, The Infallible Inerrant Word of God, this book which is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. And so here we see this call to walk, to live carefully with wisdom in this present age. Now, that brings us back to the setting that Paul is addressing here.

    In the first century, in the Roman Empire, and especially here in the city of Ephesus, one common source of folly in that particular environment was the sin of drunkenness. Now, that’s been true of many cultures, many societies. have been afflicted with the vice of widespread drunkenness, but that was a very common vice in the first century Roman Empire and in the city of Ephesus. Many in that environment had turned to excessive indulgence in wine as a source of exhilaration, a source of joy.

    Now, it is possible, by the way, that when Paul tells his readers not to get drunk with wine, he might have had more in mind than mere drunkenness. The Scriptures in many places, numerous places, tell us to avoid the sin of drunkenness. The Bible does not condemn, of course, the moderate, self-controlled enjoyment of alcoholic beverages, but the Bible certainly does condemn drunkenness. And yet, again, as I said, Paul may not be simply prohibiting drunkenness as such, although that is prohibited by the Word of God. As a study note in one of my study Bibles, a Bible that used to be called the New Geneva Study Bible, today I think it’s called the Reformation Study Bible, the study note in that Bible says this about this passage.

    It says, this is more than a prohibition of simple drunkenness. Paul probably refers to an orgiastic form of worship such as was practiced by the cult of Dionysus or Bacchus, the god of wine. Worship of Dionysus involves drunken states in which the god was thought to enter the bodies of worshippers, inspiring prophecy and frenzied dancing and music. Such worship is, quote, dissipation.”

    So, when Paul says, do not get drunk with wine, again, he might be saying more than just avoid drunkenness. Don’t drink too much. He also might be saying, avoid the idolatry to which the drunkenness is often connected And what is the alternative to this idolatrous dissipation, this drunkenness? Again, verse 18, “…do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”

    What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? In this present time in Christian history, when the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements a powerful impact upon world Christianity, it’s important for us to understand what Paul is getting at here, because I would suggest that there are perhaps many misconceptions about what it means to be filled with the Spirit. Now, the Greek is pleruste ennumati, pleruste ennumati. It could be translated, as it is here in the English Standard Version, be filled in or with the Spirit, capital S meaning the Holy Spirit. but it also technically could be translated, be filled in spirit, lowercase s, meaning your human spirit.

    So, what is Paul saying? Is he saying, be filled with the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, or is he saying, be filled in your spirit? Well, in order to answer that question, we need to look at the context, and given the context, since It would seem more reasonable that Paul is, indeed, talking about the Holy Spirit, not the human spirit. After all, if Paul intended to refer to the human spirit, then he hasn’t told us what we are to fill our human spirits with. See, notice the contrast again. If Paul meant human spirit, he was saying, then, do not be drunk with wine, but be filled in your spirit.

    What question does that raise? That raises the question, well, Paul, what am I to fill my spirit with? So, it makes more sense that he is speaking of the Holy Spirit. It also makes more sense that he’s speaking of the Holy Spirit, because in the broader context of this passage, he mentions the First and Second Person of the Trinity, as well.

    In verse 20, he says, “…giving thanks always and for everything to whom? To God the Father.” That’s the First Person of the Trinity. “…in the name of whom? Of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.” So, it would make sense that, earlier on, he refers to the third person of the Trinity.

    Paul’s writings and his thinking under the guidance of the Spirit, indeed, is imbued with this Trinitarianism throughout, and we see that especially in Ephesians. So, these are some of the reasons why most translators and commentators agree that Paul is speaking about being filled with the Holy Spirit, not merely being filled in your human and that’s reflected in your translations. I imagine that most of your translations, the word spirit, as is capitalized, indicating the Holy Spirit. Now, notice again that being filled with the Holy Spirit is here contrasted with being drunk with wine.

    Now, let’s think for a moment about what is involved in drunkenness. Have you ever encountered a drunk person? Have you ever, perhaps you’ve, and you don’t have to You don’t have to confess, but perhaps there’s been a time in your life when you might have been guilty of drunkenness. What is a drunk person characterized by? Well, to be drunk with wine or with any other alcoholic substance involves being under the influence and control of that alcohol. We sometimes refer to those who are drunk as those who are under the influence. Are we Christians to be under the influence of alcohol? No. By contrast, instead of being drunk with wine, instead of being under the control and the influence of a substance like alcohol, we are to be filled with the Spirit. We are to be influenced and controlled by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God.

    So, what does it mean, then, to be filled with the Holy Spirit? How do you think many Folks today would answer that question. How do you think many Christians would answer that question today? My suspicion is that many, many believers today might answer that question by saying, well, if you’re filled with the Spirit, you’re going to have this powerful emotional religious experience that causes you to, you know, jump over the pews, use the pews as hurdles in a track contest, or run up and down the aisles, or roll in the aisles, or speak in tongues, or something like that.

    Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with showing excitement, with being emotionally impacted in worship. We ought to be emotionally involved in worship, and there’s nothing wrong. The scriptures speak of various postures of worship that are expressive of the joy in the Lord that we experience. And, in some cultures, some cultures are much more expressive than we tend to be in our Western culture. So, raising hands, for example, lift up your hands to the Lord, the scriptures present that as one posture of prayer. The same thing with falling down on your face, bowing before the Lord, and so forth. There’s nothing inherently wrong with those things unless they’re done to draw attention to yourself.

    But being filled with the Holy Spirit, beloved, when Paul talks about being filled with the Spirit, he isn’t referring to some powerful post-conversion religious experience. Instead, to be filled with the Spirit means to be under the influence and control of the Holy Spirit. And what does that mean? That means that your thoughts, Your words, your beliefs, your behavior, your attitudes will reflect the Spirit’s gracious influence in your life.

    The command here is to be filled with the Spirit. And, by the way, this isn’t just a one-time filling. The Greek is continuous. It indicates continually be filled with the Spirit. This means to allow the Spirit of God to have His way in your heart and life.

    As those who are believers in Christ, if you are trusting Christ and Christ alone as your Lord and Savior, the reason you have that faith is because you’ve been born again. During our Christian education class this morning, we watched a video where Reverend Steve Lawton gave a lesson on the new birth. I’d encourage you folks to come out and join in on that series. It’s a wonderful series. Jesus said to Nicodemus, you must be born again.

    If you are born again by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit has shown you your need, your sin, and shown you your need for the Savior, and so you’ve come to trust Jesus as your Savior. You have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. You, believer, are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, so the imperative here is to go on being filled with that Spirit who has regenerated and who is indwelling you.

    But how does the Spirit do this? How do we go on being filled with the Spirit? Is it something we’ve worked up in ourselves? What does Paul mean, what does it mean when he says be filled with the Spirit, and what means does God use to bring us under the Spirit’s gracious influence and control?

    Well, in order to answer that question, I think we would be well advised to keep our fingers in Ephesians chapter 5, and I want you to turn to a parallel text. in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, where Paul uses similar language to what we see here in Ephesians 5.19.

    Turn to Colossians 3.16. Actually, let me start reading at verse 14. I’ll read through verse 17. Colossians chapter 3, and notice the similarity between this passage and the passage in Ephesians that we’re considering today.

    Paul writes this, Colossians 3, 14 and following, And above all these, put on love, which finds everything together in perfect harmony, and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing songs and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God, and whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

    In Ephesians 5.19, Paul says—I’m sorry, 5.18—Paul says, “…be filled with the Spirit.”

    In Colossians 3.16, Paul says, Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.

    The point here, beloved, is that to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit, is to be filled with the Word of Christ. You are filled with the Spirit as the Gospel of Jesus Christ so captures your soul that you are brought under its influence. the Spirit of God and the Word of God go together. To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with the Word. So, how are you filled with the Spirit? You are in the Word, and you meditate on and reflect upon the Word, the message of the Gospel, especially the good news of your salvation through the obedient life, atoning death, glorious resurrection, and ascension of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And that good news front and center of your life, as you seek to live out your life in light of who you are in Christ, in light of the fact that you are a redeemed, blood-bought, justified, adopted child of God, and that you are headed for glory, and that you are secure in God’s everlasting saving love. As you live out your life in light of that Word of Christ, that will impact—the Spirit uses that to impact the way that you relate to others, the way that you behave in the body.

    The point here, beloved, is that the Spirit uses the Word. We cannot divorce or separate that which God has brought together, and God has chosen to bring together Word and Spirit in His working in our souls. And this, by the way, is why the common Pentecostal de-emphasis and even denigration of sound Bible doctrine in favor of having experiences of the Holy Spirit, this is a false dichotomy. The spirit uses the word. This does not limit the spirit. The spirit has chosen to limit himself to using the word, but it shows the power of the spirit in using the so-called weakness of the gospel to display his power.

    The point in all of this, beloved dear ones, is that the source of our Christian joy is none less than the blessed spirit of the living God. the third person of the Holy Spirit, that Spirit who has caused us to be born again, that Spirit who has regenerated us, who indwells us, who is in the process of sanctifying us, making us more and more willing to die unto sin and live unto righteousness. As we are continuously filled with the Spirit, which means being filled with the Word of God and allowing the Word to influence our lives, we allow ourselves to be controlled and influenced by the Word and Spirit of God. And the result of this, beloved, is indeed a joy, a joy and an exhilaration and an inner satisfaction that far exceeds the false joy and destructive exhilaration that is produced by the sin of drunkenness.

    Why do people turn to alcohol? Often because their lives are empty. They feel their lives are empty. They’re looking for solace. happiness and joy. And drunkenness can give you a temporary delusional sense of these things, but then there’s the hangover the next day. There’s not a hangover with the fullness of the Spirit. There is. He is present with us at all times.

    And as we are in the Word and meditate on the Word and live in light of the Word, Our lives will be filled with a joy that is from above, as the scriptures say, a joy which is inexpressible and full of glory. Dear listener, let me ask you this. Do you know the joy of the Lord that comes from believing the gospel and trusting in Jesus Christ as your very own Savior and Lord? Do you know that joy? God’s people have different personalities. Some are a little more Gregarious than others, some are a little more somber and solemn than others, and that’s okay.

    But there is a joy, whatever your personality type, if you know Christ as your Savior, if you know that though you are a wretched sinner, apart from grace, dead in your trespasses and sins, deserving of God’s everlasting wrath and help, but you’ve come to know that Jesus Christ, the God-man, the Word made flesh, came to this earth, lived a perfect life, as the second Adam on behalf of all of God’s people, died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, and rose from the dead. And if you know that trusting in Him, you are forgiven all of your sins, past, present, and future, have been nailed to the cross, buried in His tomb, cast into a sea of forgetfulness. If you know that your sins are forgiving you for Jesus’ sake, that you are justified once and for all and forever, you can’t lose your justification. There’s therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

    If you know that you are a spiritually well child of God, that spirit of adoption within you cries out, I’m a father. If you know these things, then you know the joy of the Lord. And you can know that joy even in the midst of sorrow, even in the midst of tragedy. Do you know that joy, dear listener? That joy is offered to you through Jesus Christ.

    It is freely offered to you in the gospel. And Jesus says, O weary sinner, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Come to Jesus for salvation rest today. Rest in Him, in the perfection of His merit, the perfection of His sacrifice. And then, by the grace of God, the joy of the Lord will be your strength.

    So, we’ve considered the source of our Christian joy, and that is the fullness of the Spirit. Next, from verses 19-21, let us briefly consider some of the results and expressions of Christian joy. Paul mentions being filled, continuously filled with the Spirit, and as we are filled with the Spirit, what are we to do? Look at verse 19 and following.

    Addressing one another in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. One of the results and expressions of Christian joy is the singing of praise. We make a big deal of praise in this congregation, and I love our newspaper Himmel, because we get to sing all of the psalms, we get to sing the great hymns of the church as well. We are called upon in this passage to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. But who are we singing those psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to? To whom are we singing those psalms?

    Paul makes it clear in verse 19 that there is, in a sense, there’s a horizontal trajectory to our praise as well as a vertical trajectory. When we sing praise, what does it say? Verse 19, addressing one another. This is one of those one-anothering passages.

    When you come to church on the Lord’s Day, and you hear the congregation of God’s people singing together in praise to God, That’s an edifying thing, isn’t it? Yes, we sing to praise God, as it says at the end of this verse, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. The Lord meaning the Lord Jesus, most likely. That’s how we sing praise to the Lord Jesus Christ, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

    But, there is a sense in which when we sing together as a congregation, we are addressing one another, we’re teaching one another through the Psalms and the great hymns of the faith, we’re encouraging one another. As we sing praise to God, I’m very encouraged when I come to grace and I hear your wonderful singing. This encourages my heart. This is encouragement to one another. This is why the ordinance of praise is such an important worship ordinance. So there is a horizontal direction of our praise as well as a vertical direction.

    The late William Barclay in his commentary on Ephesians says, quote, the early church was a singing church. Its characteristic was songs and hymns and spiritual songs. It had a happiness which made men sing. That happiness that comes from the fullness of the spirit.

    Now, given the context in which we live here in western PA, I think it would be good to briefly go a little bit, do a little bit of off-roading this morning, and talk about briefly—this is not a sermon on exclusive psalmody, but I do want to mention that our exclusive psalmody brothers and sisters, they look at this passage, verse 19, and they look at these three terms, psalmos, humnos, and hode, psalms, hymns, and songs, spiritual songs, and they say, well, these are just different titles for the hymns.

    These three terms are used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, to refer to various psalm titles. So, they’re just saying, they would argue that this is a pleonasm, this is a way for Paul to express that we are to sing all kinds of psalms from the biblical Psalter. The problem I have with that perspective, beloved, is that all three of these terms can refer to compositions other than the canonical psalms. Even the term psalmas could refer to sacred, right, sacred compositions that are non-canonical, not of the canonical psalms. If Paul had wanted to restrict our singing of praise to the biblical psalms, he would think he would have made that clearer.

    For example, he could have used a definite article. There’s no definite article here. He could have said, speak to one another in the Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Psalms, namely, the well-known Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Psalms, but he doesn’t say that. And, look at that term, spiritual.

    Some, like the great theologian, Dr. John Murray, who was an advocate of exclusive psalmody in our own denomination, a great theologian of the Church, argued that this term, spiritual, means spirit-inspired. But, contextually, that doesn’t make sense. In the context, Paul is not speaking of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual songs are songs that are composed out of the fullness of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church, not out of the inspiration of the Spirit. He does not use the term God-breathed, or theopneustos. He uses the term pneumatikos here, spiritual, not inspired or God-breathed.

    And so, beloved, While we love our Covenanter brothers and sisters, our Reformed Presbyterian brothers and sisters, and we respect their reverence for the Psalms, and we ourselves love the inspired Psalms, we sing the Psalms, we ought to sing the Psalms, I believe that verse 19 certainly does not restrict us to singing only the Biblical Psalms.

    But that issue aside, again, we can flesh that out sometime in the future, in a future study. But getting back to our point here, beloved, as we are filled with the Spirit of God, one of the expressions of the fullness of the Spirit is the singing of praise. Beloved, do we know the joy of the Spirit’s fullness? Then let us sing about it. Brothers and sisters, God not only wants us to proclaim and confess our faith, He wants us to sing out our faith as well. Let us continue to strive to be a church. that displays the glory of God through our singing of praise from the heart. But not only are we to sing praise, notice next there is the giving of thanks to God always and for everything.

    Verse 20, giving thanks when times are good? Giving thanks when times are comfortable? No. Giving thanks always and for everything. And to whom are we to give thanks? To God the Father In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we approach the Father through the mediation of the Son, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

    Here, Paul focuses on thanksgiving, and we are to give thanks always and for everything, not just in good times, but even in those other times as well. And here’s the thing, when you give thanks to God, even during a time of adversity, you bear powerful testimony to the fact of your faith, that God is sovereign, that he’s working all things together for your good, and that can be a powerful witness for the gospel.

    Many years ago, in the mid-90s, I was an intern in New Jersey, at an OPC church in New Jersey, and during the year of my internship, there was a tragedy that occurred in the church that I was privileged to serve as an intern. There was a young family in the church, they had numerous children, But their youngest infant son tragically died. There was a tragic accident and their little boy passed away. It was a crushing, crushing loss for this family. And yet, their faith in Christ and their joy in the Lord sustained them through that tragic loss. And it was such a powerful testimony amongst those in their circle.

    And it’s my understanding, if I’m remembering correctly, that a number of folks that knew this couple, knew this family, saw their faith and how their faith sustained them in that time of tragedy, and their testimony to Christ in the midst of that tragedy brought some of their friends to faith in Christ. God can bring good even out of tragedies. And this is why we can be thankful at all times and in everything.

    No matter what happens in our lives, we have the promise that Romans 8.28, God is causing all things to work together for our good. And God will use even the tragedies and struggles and trials in our lives to glorify his name and for our own ultimate spiritual good.

    And so, the expressions and the fruits of the fullness of the Spirit, singing praise to God, a thankful heart in all circumstances, and also, and there’s many other things that Paul, I believe, could mention. He’s giving us just a limited expression of some of these things that are the result of the fullness of the Spirit, but the final thing that he mentions here in this particular passage that we’re considering today is mutual submission in the Church. Verse 21, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. submitting to one another. As we are filled with the Word and Spirit of Christ, and as we express the Christian joy we experience through singing and thanksgiving, we will also get evidence of the fullness of the Spirit by mutual submission to one another in the Church and out of holy reverence for Christ.

    What this means, among other things, is that any attitude in the Church that seeks to lord it over others, that seeks to dominate others, that basically says, hey, it’s my way or the highway, is totally out of line with this passage and totally incompatible with being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that the works of the flesh are evident, and one of those evident works of the flesh is trying to get your own way on those things where there can be Christian liberty. Now, certainly, I’m not suggesting that we ought to compromise on sound doctrine or anything like that. When it comes to the essentials, when it comes to sound doctrine and the truth of the Word, we need to hold our ground.

    But when it comes to things where Christians may have different views and where there’s allowances for latitude, we need to be willing to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. As we in the Church seek to submit in love to the Lordship of Jesus Christ our Savior, let us also seek to have an attitude of self-giving loving concern for one another. an attitude that shows itself by the action of submitting to one another, of considering others better than ourselves, of seeking others ahead of ourselves. Among other things, that means we must not insist on getting our own way, and we must seek to honor others above ourselves.

    In conclusion, dear ones, we have so much for which to be thankful, especially for God’s sovereign grace which has chosen us for Christ’s redeeming love on the cross which has redeemed us and saved us, and the Holy Spirit’s gift of the new birth. As we’ve already received the gift of the Holy Spirit, let us go on being filled with the Holy Spirit, and as we are, may God give to each and every one of us the grace always to keep in step with the Spirit.

    Amen. Let us pray. Our Lord and Father in Heaven, Sovereign and Eternal God, We do thank you and praise you, God, for your amazing grace to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank you, God, that your Spirit dwells in us and among us as the body of Christ. We ask, O Lord, that in your grace we may be continually filled with the Spirit and experience by your grace that joy which is inexpressible and filled with glory. May the Word and Spirit of Christ dwell richly in us and influence our behavior and our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Who Builds the Kingdom of God?

    Who Builds the Kingdom of God?

    About this sermon

    In Zechariah’s first night vision the angel of the Lord asks how long God will withhold mercy from Jerusalem, and the Lord answers with comforting words: he has returned with mercy, his house will be rebuilt, and the measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem. Ephesians 2 shows the fulfillment, as Gentiles once far off are brought near by the blood of Christ and built together with Jews into a holy temple in the Lord. God himself builds his kingdom by grace, so his people rest their confidence in him and not in their own strength.

    More sermons from Ephesians · Browse all sermons

    Sermon transcript

    My voice is a little weak at the moment, so please bear with me. I did okay in the previous hour, but I seem to have lost a bit since then. So let us pay then due heed to the Word of God as it comes to us from two texts. From the Old Testament, the prophecy of Zechariah. chapter 1, verses 7-17, and then from the New Testament, Ephesians chapter 2, verses 11-22. If you’ve been paying attention to the main themes of the hymns, you’ll know that we’re in the theme of the Kingdom of God. And a sermon titled, Who Builds the Kingdom of God? Already in the Church’s One Foundation, we sing of that glorious gift that God has given among us to be part of the people of God, a people whose kingdom is not yet consummated.

    So we have that prayer. Okay, how long? How long, O Lord? We sang that in the third stanza of that great hymn. We’ve sung now from Psalm 22 all into the earth, a psalm that concludes with the victory of God’s kingdom. Let’s then pay close attention to the reading then of the Holy Scriptures about the building of that kingdom. On the 24th day of the 11th month, the month of Shabbat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, son of Barakai, the son of Edo.

    During the night I had a vision and there before me was a man riding a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown, and white horses. I asked, What are these, my Lord? The angel who was speaking with me answered, I will show you what they are. Then the man standing on horseback among the myrtle trees explained, They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.

    They reported to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, we have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and at peace. Then the angel of the Lord said, Lord of the heavenly armies, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the cities of Judah, which you’ve been angry with these 70 years? So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who spoke with me. Then the angel who was speaking to me said, Proclaim this word. This is what the Lord of the heavenly army says.

    I am exceedingly zealous for Jerusalem and Zion. But I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity. Therefore, this is what the Lord says. I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt, and the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem, declares the Lord of the heavenly armies. Proclaim further. This is what the Lord of the heavenly armies says. My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.

    So far the reading of the prophetic word from the book of Zechariah, and now the reading of the apostolic word, likewise the word of the Lord, again about the theme of building God’s kingdom in this mortal world, Ephesians chapter 1 verses 11 through 22. Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called uncircumcised by those who call themselves the circumcision, that done in the body, by the hands of mere men, remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ, I’m sorry, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

    For he himself is our peace. who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing it as flesh. The law with his commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace. And in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross. by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

    For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people, members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple of the Lord. And in him, you too are being built together. to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.

    So far, the reading of God’s own Word. Thanks be to God. The main text today will be from the passage in Zechariah. Zechariah 1.7-17. So please keep that portion of your Bibles open, and I should notice a couple of things in the text just by way of survey, because this is a weird passage, isn’t it? Okay, angels talking to angels, right? And the prophet talking to angels, and angels talking back to the prophet, and visions, and okay, weird stuff going on in that cleft in the valley near Jerusalem. And what we find is that we have a cast of characters. Let’s see, Zechariah the prophet, Probably at this time he’s about 20. We give or take five years or so, and we know this with reasonable certainty because his grandfather is named in the text.

    He’s Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Edo, and Edo is one of the chief priests listed in that generation, that very generation of the new return to Jerusalem, 520s or so BC. the New Jerusalem in which we have Jerusalem being rebuilt, Temple being re-established, and 12 chief priests listed in Nehemiah 12 for that generation. Who is on that list of chief priests? Edo, the grandfather. Later in that very chapter of Nehemiah, there is the next generation of chief priests, and who is on that list in the very slot where Edo’s name had been?

    Zechariah. And it seems then that our prophet is also a priest, who will become a chief priest. And so often in their texts he’s known not as Zechariah son of Berekiah son of Edo, but sometimes simply Zechariah the son of Edo. Maybe Berekiah died young? Maybe Zechariah raised by his grandfather? A plausible scenario, we do not know for sure.

    But it seems beyond reasonable dispute that Ido is the chief priest in that text, in Nehemiah, and the very next generation’s list, also Nehemiah 12, lists Zechariah in that slot. That seems to be a fairly secure statement, then, that this is that Zechariah who will become a chief priest in later time.

    And so who else is in our cast of characters? There is the angel who speaks with me. We have no introduction for this character. Rather, he just is there and suddenly speaking, and the prophet is interrogated by him, and he interrogates the angel, and they converse with one another about what the prophet is seeing.

    In Latin, this angel is known as the angelus interprus, that is, the interpreting angel. And it so happens that in a vast number of the vision reports of the Bible, there is a heavenly figure who goes alongside the seer to explain what the weird things are that are being seen. In the book of Revelation, an angel accompanies John through the various heavenly sights that begin with chapter 4 of the book of Revelation. In the book of Daniel, often the very strange visions are explained by an angelic figure. And here we have the same Circumstance, an angel who explains what the prophet is perplexed as he sees. And so the interpreting angel, the angel who speaks with me.

    Then there are those strange horsemen in the deep dell, a deep valley outside Jerusalem. I think I know what valley it is, but I don’t know for sure. But the word here for the valley is the idea of a deep, deep cleft, a metzulah. That Hebrew word is also the word for the deep chasms of the ocean. And so I’m thinking of the deepest chasm near Jerusalem. It happens to be just south of the pool of Siloam and the deepest location in the immediate city area outside the wall. I think that might be the spot. I do not know.

    Regardless, the prophet sees among the myrtle trees four horsemen. and four colors of horses. And the one on the lead horse, translated in the NIV and other versions as the red horse, is the angel of the Lord. He’s identified as on the horseback among the myrtle trees, and later on the angel of the Lord simply among the myrtle trees. It seems that the fellow on the red horse is the angel of the Lord. that will prove important later in the text.

    And so we have the angel of the Lord, that’s the theophanic angel, that’s the angel of Christ, that is the Christ angel of the Old Testament, who speaks as the Lord, say from the burning bush. The angel of the Lord, who speaks as the Lord himself. I’ll call it the Christ angel. I’ll call him the Christ angel, pardon me. And then we have the voice of the Lord himself. speaking through the Christ Angel, the Lord of Hosts, who speaks three Oracles, that is three divine speeches, in answer to an anguished question. What’s the date? The 24th of Shabbat. And we all know what that is. Well, it happens to be February. All right, so here we are in February. It’s February 15th in our text, and the year is the second year of King Darius. Who in the world is that?

    Not Darius the Bede of the Book of Daniel, but Darius the Persian of the Book of Ezra and the Book of Nehemiah. Darius the Persian has become king in 522 BC, Immediately, nine revolts break out against him throughout the range of the empire, and Darius spends a year and a half, or nearly two, putting down nine revolts to solidify his reign.

    Why so many revolts all at once? Because he was not the son, or even the brother, of the previous king, Cambyses. All right, so a question of legitimacy. And revolts even in Babylon. One fellow calling himself Nebuchadnezzar III, Rebelling in Babylon? Okay, put down, executed. Another fellow later in Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar IV, he calls himself. Maybe they really were descendants of that more famous Nebuchadnezzar, we do not know. But two revolts in Babylon, and a year and a half later or so, the empire at last, secure.

    Now why is that relevant? If you build a temple in the midst of imperial revolts, well, the architecture of temples, when you begin to build them at least, is not really any different than the architecture of fortresses. And so are you building a fortress to rebel. They would be accused of that a lot, of building to rebel.

    So the peace of the empire then becomes vastly important in our story. And the angels report then, the angels on their horseback, report to their lead angel, the angel of the Lord, the angel on the red horse, that all the world is at peace and at rest. That is, the world of revolts, no longer. It’s the world of the peace of the empire. And if the empire is at peace, Can rebuilding Jerusalem and its temple be risky business?

    Answer, no. No. It’s hard to interpret the building of a temple as building a fortress when the empire is secure and Darius well ensconced upon his throne and armies already well organized and having put down revolts nine times. That’s not the time to rebel, is it? not the time to rebel.

    In fact, the Judeans look pretty happy under the Persians. And Cyrus, the Persian founder, is adored by a great many Jews because he sent them home. Persia in the Bible is often the friend of God’s people rather than the foe. That was not true for any other empire. not true for any other empire.

    And so we have the story unfolding, Zechariah there in vision, in the deep cleft by Jerusalem, the angel of the Lord upon the red horse, other horses there as well, their report that we’ve gone through all the world and found the world at rest and at peace, and so the anguished question becomes the agenda of the text. It is the angel of the Lord himself who asks the question. That is, the Christ angel asks the question. Lord Almighty, Lord of the heavenly armies, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah with which you’ve been angry these 70 years? That’s the lead issue in the text.

    Why 70 years? Well, if you know your Bible history, you know that in the book of Jeremiah and elsewhere, 70 years were given for Babylonian rule. That rule begins in 605 BC. When Nebuchadnezzar, a young king, newly victorious over all foes, has at last arrived in the western fringes of the traditional realm of Mesopotamian empires, he’s come to Judah, he’s come almost to the border of Egypt, which is their traditional limit, and he’s been taking cities right and left, and Jerusalem itself falls to Nebuchadnezzar, 605 BC.

    Jerusalem will not sit happily under Nebuchadnezzar’s rule. It will rebel twice. Once around 599, and they’ll surrender two years later or so. And once again in the 580s, and they will be destroyed in 587. And so, 70 years given for Babylon, says the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah. Those 70 years are up. But they were up in the 530s when Cyrus conquered Babylon and sent the exiles home. But there’s another sense of the 70 years as well. And that’s the sense here. The temple was destroyed in the second revolt. 587, maybe 586. It’s now 519. 68 years have gone by, nearly, And the temple is being rebuilt.

    And what is the sense of the 70 years of divine wrath in verse 12? Lord of the heavenly armies, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, which you’ve been angry with these 70 years? Now, wait a minute. They’ve been back in the land for almost 20. Babylon has been under Persia’s thumb for almost 20 years, when this sentence is said. What then is the sense of the 70 years? Here it is. 70 years without a temple. 70 years without a temple. The temple, of course, the focus of the worship of God for the people of God. 70 years without a temple means 70 years of divine wrath.

    And it’s the Christ angel who speaks the question. Lord of the heavenly armies, King James says, Lord of hosts. but we forget that host means armies. Lord of hosts, Lord of the heavenly armies, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the towns of Judah with which you have been angry these seven years? Now when Christ speaks to the Father, does the Father answer? Yes. And heaven then speaks. The Lord Himself speaks.

    We don’t have the actual quotation, but we have a description of it. The Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who spoke with me. Kind and comforting words. Words of mercy. In other words, wrath is ended. Wrath is done. And a time of comfort and the perception of divine love is beginning. And so in that declaration of divine comfort, we remind ourselves of the opening words of Isaiah 40.

    If you know the music of Handel’s Messiah, they’re on the lips of John the Baptist singing tenor. And how’s the opening aria go in Handel’s Messiah? Comfort ye my people. Do you know that music? Do you hear it in your head? Some of you do. Comfort me, my people. It’s the same word here. Good and comforting words spoken by the Lord to the angel of the Lord, the Christ angel, the theophanic angel, the angel of God’s own presence. There he is among the myrtle trees on that red horse. And his fellow horsemen report to him that all the earth is now at rest So what time is it then in the text?

    All right, it’s February 15th, 519 BC. It’s the 24th of Shabbat, the 11th month, okay, the second year of Darius. More importantly, it’s the time of the end of divine wrath. And what shall happen within a very short time? The temple, the people will finish the temple. And God already announces that He is moving in.

    And so we have three great oracles, divine speeches. Verse 14 is the first, verse 16 is the second, verse 17 the third. Three sermons preached by God in miniature form, and the angel proclaims these by the word of the Lord to the prophet as if the angel himself is a prophet. The angel speaks with me. And what are the Three sermons, here they are.

    I am very zealous for Jerusalem and Zion. The King James Version uses the word jealous, but we forget that that meant, in older English, intense passion. Our word zealous and our word jealous are kissin’ cousins in the history of English, and zealous is the right sense. Passionate devotion. God himself, the Lord Almighty, the Lord of the heavenly armies, has passionate devotion for Jerusalem and for Zion, and anger for the pagan nations.

    The people of God, there they are elect, and chided for a while, but in the principle of election, election can never be lost. Calvinists know that. Okay. Election can never be lost. The gifts and calling of God, as St. Paul says to the Roman Christians, the gifts and calling of God cannot be revoked. Romans 11, 29, one of the greatest sentences from the pen of the apostle. That’s the sentence that convinced me to be a Calvinist. Pardon me speaking with those terrible historical terms. Okay. That’s the sentence that convinced me that election was forever. I was 18 and foolish. when at last understood that sentence. 18 and foolish. Second floor Memorial Hall, room 204. Around midnight. December 4th, 1972. The gifts and calling of God cannot be revoked. May I never forget the lesson. And so God may chide his people and chasten them, yes, but he will never abandon them.

    And so we have now the Lord asserting his zeal for Jerusalem and Zion, the chosen city, the chosen mountain, the mountain of the city of God, the city of the people of God, the elect, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God has tried it and chastened them, even taken away their temple and their city and their place. And they lost it all, they thought. But they never lost God. because the gifts and calling of God cannot be revoked. And so God brings them back by means of a Persian empire that oddly in all of human history becomes their friend and patron. And God brings them back to the city and the ruined city begins to rise from its ashes and broken stone and the blackened timbers of the past.

    And yes, even a new temple begins to rise. Haggai had preached it already in the streets of Jerusalem just three months before the ministry of Zechariah begins. We see the opening lines of the book of Zechariah that take us to the eighth month of the second year of Darius, that is three months earlier. So in December of 520, Zechariah begins preaching. Haggai had already been preaching for three months, rebuild the temple, rebuild the temple. And the people have begun to obey. And now the younger prophet Zechariah, maybe he’s 20 or so, joins the message. And so verse 13. Verse 14.

    Proclaim this word, the Lord of heavenly armies, I am very zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. Now we would be quite mistaken if we were to restrict this promise, this description of divine zeal, God’s passionate devotion to merely a piece of brick and mortar in a certain slot of geography over there in the Middle East, 8,000 miles away. That would be a mistake. Because of the total teaching of the Bible, in light especially the teaching of Jesus and his apostles, Zion is the prefiguring, the early form of the whole people of God that we read about in the book of Ephesians, and how God has taken away the barrier between Jew and Gentile, and how election is a principle that goes into all the world, Jew and Gentile alike, and how God is forming both Jew and Gentile alike into one new man in Christ with no division. And so we remember the Abraham promises, the promises in which election was first spoken.

    What are those promises? I will bless you. Genesis 12 verse two, you will be a blessing. Those who bless you, I will bless the one who curses you. I will curse. And in you, all the families of the nations will find blessing. The seventh of the great Abrahamic promises, Genesis 12, two and three. in you all the families of the nations.

    That as Abrahamic election, the election of Israel, the ethnicity of all that, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, their descendants, the ethnicity is only the first step in the outworking of the plan of the salvation of vast numbers of people, Jew and Gentile alike.

    If we restrict in this text God’s zeal for Zion simply to a mountaintop in the Middle East, we do not honor God well enough. That choosing of holy land and holy people is simply the first episode. It’s as if God has planted his footprint on that 150 mile strip of land like a great immense shoe print, a footprint, a boot print upon the soil of the earth. We’ll call it Israel. Why does God put His boot print there? So that He might stride over all the earth, claiming it for His own.

    It’s not that the holiness of the Holy Land has perished. Rather, it’s that the boundary of holiness of the Holy Land has perished. And all the earth is being sanctified. As the Gospel of God goes forth to all the elect, Jew and Gentile alike, so that people from every tribe and tongue and language and people should be gathered into the Holy Kingdom of God, redeemed by the Christ of God, and sanctified within the ministry of the Church of God, which must be worldwide.” And so, verse 13, the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who spoke with And so we then find verse 16, the second of our divine speeches. This is what the Lord says.

    Now here we have a chaos in the translations. And if you were tracking translation as I read, you might have been perplexed for a moment because I gave a verb form which is not printed in some of your versions. Your versions will often say, will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt.” In what I read from the pulpit, I read, I have returned to Jerusalem in mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. If my Hebrew students are tracking a Hebrew text, I don’t know that they are today, but go back and check.

    The Hebrew verb there is in the perfect form, that is the affixed form, which typically in narrative denotes past tense action. Past tense action is the usual translation of that verb form. I have returned is what I think the translations ought to read. Why do so many translations, including ESV, I think, and certainly NIV, and I think also King James, why do so many of them put them in the future? Because they read the text messianically, which is of course a right strategy for reading the whole Bible, and Christ has not yet come into that world.

    And so the text becomes a promise of the coming of Christ, which of course is true abundantly in the Hebrew Bible, in the Old Testament. But here I’m thinking of that line, that passage from the book of Ezekiel. In chapter 11, when the Lord envisioned the prophet Ezekiel rises from the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem’s temple, on the wings of Glory Cloud, a kind of portable chariot-thrown temple palace, and the wheels within the wheels, and the eyes upon the eyes, upon the wheels upon the wheels, and the whole Glory Cloud chariot-thrown palace rises from the Holy of Holies, perches on the rim of the temple building, and then flies off over the Mount of Olives. into exile to join the people of God in Babylon, where Ezekiel actually is embodied. Ezekiel sees the vision while in Babylon, but it’s about a Jerusalem that is about to be destroyed. God abandons the city to its idolatry and its criminality, the unjust bloodshed of the city and its rulers. God abandons the place in vision to the prophet Ezekiel.

    My conviction about this particular verse is that God has announced that He has returned invisibly to the city. I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. And because He has returned, that is returning in blessing, the end of wrath, I have returned to Jerusalem in mercy. Therefore, my house will The rabbis mourned the fact that when the second temple was built, no visible glory cloud moved in. Maybe you remember the story at the end of Exodus 40, when Moses finishes building Tabernacle. What happens in the last paragraph?

    God moves into the Tabernacle, invisible glory cloud, and Israel then is camped around the holy tent with theophany, that is, divine appearance, 24-7. Cloud by day, fire by night, God’s presence visibly manifested. Imagine doing your laundry with God’s glory cloud just 200 yards away.

    That was Israelite life in that year at the foot of the mountain with the tabernacle newly inhabited. The Israelites couldn’t stand it. Too much intimacy with God. Finally, they pled for Moses. Pitch the tabernacle a little bit further away. Can’t handle this stuff. Who can live with that? That was their sense. They were not yet perfected in holiness. They were far from it. They could not do the divine presence.

    We will. We will. In 1 Kings 8, when King Solomon dedicates the brand new temple, okay, not tepernacle anymore, portable shrine and tent, Solomon builds the architecture of wood and stone and cedar beam and polished gold and God moves in visible glory cloud and the priests have to abandon the building. Everyone flees because God has moved in visibly. In Ezekiel, in vision, God abandons it in wrath. But let us not forget that the principle of election is never abandoned. God abandoned Jerusalem in wrath, but this was a chastisement of the people of God, a chiding. It did not cancel the choosing. The chiding does not cancel the choosing.

    In fact, God chides those whom He has chosen. And He chides them so that they might become sanctified and more fully reflect the glory and grace and the virtues of God. That’s why He chastens His people more than anyone else in all the world. Because the people of God are to reflect the image of God, the virtues of God. the mercy, the kindness, the justice, the truth of God.

    And so, verse 16, I have returned to Jerusalem. Not visible glory cloud. That does not happen. But I have returned to Jerusalem and there my house will be rebuilt and the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem. What does that mean? The measuring line is one of the first steps of architecture in building a building or in rebuilding a ruined building. And so you’ve got the ruins of the city. There they are, jagged and burnt, broken stones blackened by Babylonian fire, charred timbers. And you reclaim what you can, and then you level the site, and then you measure it with the measuring line and stake out where the walls will be. The measuring line over Jerusalem is the statement that it shall be rebuilt.

    Why? Because I have returned to Jerusalem in mercy. Chastening is not abandonment. Chastening is because they were chosen. God may chasten us, yes indeed he does, but the Lord chastens those who belong. and everyone he receives as his own child, those are the ones who get disciplined by the Father more than anyone else. Verse 17, the third of the great sermons by the Lord Almighty, proclaim further, this is what the Lord of the heavenly army says, my towns will again overflow with prosperity and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem. In other words, the election is forever. And so the people of God will come again to a time of blessing and bounty. They had lost their land.

    Now that’s probably not true of anyone in this room. Well, maybe you had a house for a clue. I don’t know. Okay. Maybe something like that happened. Okay. But as Americans, we’ve not lost our land. When I moved to Mississippi, I was told by some of my friends in seminary in Jackson at RTS that the South, the American South, is the only part of the United States that was ever conquered by a foreign country. And I said, what? And of course, they referred to 1865. They were conquered by a foreign country. All right, well, people did lose a lot, didn’t they?

    But imagine now being the Cherokee in 1830-something. in North Carolina and the trail of tears, the thousand-mile journey that took you to Oklahoma, the land of the red man, in what was called Indian removal by the merciless policies of President Andrew Jackson, one of the cruelest men in the American presidency. Tens of thousands of Cherokee removed from their native lands in the Eastern Woodlands where they had hunted and lived for untold generations. And the Trail of Tears took her to the Great Plains in that flat treeless world called Oklahoma. And what in the world was that to Eastern Woodland Indians? It was bewilderment. Imagine being a Cherokee in 1840 in Oklahoma.

    What do you yearn for? You yearn for your land, the land that makes sense of your life. Judeans in Babylonia yearned for their land, and God sent them back in mercy. Christians yearn for the fulfillment of the promise of the renewal of all of heaven and earth, where righteousness will at last be at home. as Peter tells us in that second letter.

    Here we are, pilgrims and strangers in the world, exiles, as Peter will tell us in the opening lines of his first letter. James will say the same thing in the opening lines of his letter, strangers, exiles. Here we are, the people of God in the world, Christians, foreigners within our own land.

    Abraham’s model then from Hebrews 11 is ours. He was looking for a city with foundations whose builder and architect is God. We are not quite at home here, are we? And the world is not quite at home with us. And so there is resistance. And we ourselves are mixed in our loyalty.

    So what does God promise to do? I will again comfort Zion. And I will again choose Jerusalem. And the destiny of the people of God will be fulfilled. And the destiny is a good one. That every knee shall bow. Every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Some will confess it in the midst of their revolt. and will do so with no love. Others will confess it with the deepest, deepest love.

    Let us be then among that blessed number who confess the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior here and now and receive the good and comforting words of God. and enter into that blessed kingdom, a kingdom that is available to all manner of people everywhere, regardless of birth, regardless of ethnicity, regardless of class or consciousness, regardless of all this. People of every tribe and tongue and language and people, comforted by God, who has chosen the people of God, His own Zion, and who has come to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Three principles of our text, then, to sum it all up. First, the grace of election.

    A grace that never fails. God choosing us. And because we’re not yet fully in line with such things, okay, sometimes God chiding us, just as Jerusalem severely chastened by God. But that chiding is never abandoned. God will never leave us. Second point, the times and seasons. Jesus tells us, of course, that it is not for us to know the times and seasons which the Father has set by His own authority. Okay, don’t set dates. What folly. What folly. So many of these Christians. Okay, what folly ourselves. Okay, setting times and seasons. Setting dates. The Father’s dates are unknown and unknowable.

    The prophet declares something about the times by the word of the Lord, by the angel speech, the 70 years are up. They should have already believed Jeremiah who said it 70 years before God had declared it. But what God retains as unknowable to us is always in light of a known duty. And what is the duty of the people of God?

    It is the third big idea in the text. The key issue in Jerusalem in those days is the loyalty to the Lord God who has commanded a temple in Jerusalem so that the worship of God as instituted by Moses can flourish once again among the people of God and God be rightly worshipped in that Old Testament time. We know that nothing is more important than that God might be rightly worshipped So writes John Calvin. And that is true. Nothing is more important than that God should be rightly worshipped. And so the worship of God is the big, big issue behind all of this.

    Why is there election? So that God might be rightly worshipped. Why has God set the times and seasons by His own authority? So that the worship of God might be fulfilled. in all of heaven and earth, and why has God established the institutions of Moses and later of Christ, so that we may fulfill our duty, the blessed duty, that is nothing less than the love of God with all of our hearts, all of our soul, all of our mind, all of our strength. Can God fail? No. If we are in Christ, will we ultimately fail?

    Answer. No. No. Because grace rules. Let us pray. Father, You are good and You are great and Your love is over all Your works and You are electing love. is over all those who confess Jesus Christ from the heart. In fact, that electing grace is the reason we confess it. We’ve been drawn. We have been persuaded by an overwhelming power. We have been drawn by the love of heaven and the love will not let us go.

    So bless us then this day and this hour with a strong, strong sense of confidence, not in ourselves because we are weak, but in you and your grace, because it cannot be defeated. Help us to embrace that great truth, that you are indeed building a kingdom that will never be shaken. So grant us an unfaltering faith, a faith that perseveres, a faith that reaches for the promises and attains them, an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, Reserved for us who through faith are protected by the power of God

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Your Circus Your Monkeys

    Your Circus Your Monkeys

    About this sermon

    The ascended Christ gives gifts to his church in apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers. These officers equip the saints for the work of service, so that the body grows in unity and maturity and is no longer tossed about by every wind of doctrine. Every member has a part in the church Christ builds, speaking the truth in love and serving others as Christ has served them.

    More sermons from Ephesians · Browse all sermons

    Sermon transcript

    And turn with me this morning to Ephesians chapter 4. Our focus this morning will be on verses 11-16 as we pick up from where we left off last week as we concerned ourselves with the ascension of Jesus Christ and how important that is to our salvation. And how in His exaltation rising from the dead and ascending to be with the Father he in turn gives gifts to the church and we come now to consider those this week and so we will though begin reading in verse one just to remind ourselves of the ground we’ve covered so far but first let’s pray and ask for the Lord’s help.

    Our Father, we, as your people, do beseech you to be with us, Lord Jesus, to abide with your church, because we know, apart from your presence and apart from your person and work. There is no church. There is no building of it as we come this morning to consider this. We know how vital Holy Spirit you are to what has gone on with this building and what goes on right now in our midst and this worship service.

    We would know the truth. We would hear it. We would walk in it. We would be pointed to the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. So we pray that you do not leave us to ourselves. Open our eyes that we may see wonderful things. We pray this in the name of Christ Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

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

    Therefore it says, when he ascended on high he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. in saying He ascended. What does it mean? But that He had also descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

    For building up the body of Christ 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. 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. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, 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. This is the word of God.

    There’s a lady I work with who was also a family friend and I think this was a couple years ago now, I was talking to her about a certain task that needed to be completed and she used a phrase I had never heard before at that point, not my circus, not my monkeys, Maybe you’ve never heard that.

    Maybe you have. Well, I laughed. I thought it was pretty funny. Basically, the way she was using it was, hey, listen, that’s not my problem. That’s not my responsibility. Well, when I hear these types of things, I like to do some background and look them up and see how did they originate that type of thing. I’m interested in that. Well, it turns out this is a Polish proverb. And we tend to use it in the sense, not my circus, not my monkeys, as that’s not my problem, that’s not my responsibility. Well, actually, it was originally used a little bit differently as if somebody was coming to you for advice about some business endeavor. So if somebody came to Ian and said, Ian, I want to talk to you about this endeavor I want to start.

    And he listens and he goes on to give this recommendation. I really don’t think you should do this. I don’t think this is very wise. Ian says, I recommend that you don’t pursue this. And his friend says, well, I’m going to do it anyway. And at that point, he says, after he’s now given this good advice, hey, not my circus, not my monkeys.

    If you’re going to make a mess, it’s on you. And then that person may come back after the mess is made and say, hey, I need help. Can you advise me now? I got into this big mess. And he basically says, hey, you made the mess. You clean it up. Not my circus. Not my monkeys. Well, that’s the original way it was used. Sort of similar, but not exactly the same. Not my problem. Not my responsibility.

    And there is a tendency in the church, and please hear me well, I’m not calling the church a circus, and I’m not calling you monkeys. But there’s a principle here I want us to hold on to. There’s a tendency within the church among the people of God to basically look at what’s going on in the church and the challenges it faces and the tasks that it’s called to and say, not my problem, not my responsibility. Now, keep in mind there’s some truth to having to make that statement, not my responsibility, because not everybody has the same function in the church, not everybody has the same responsibilities, not everybody is an officer in the church, for example, with some kind of an authority within the context of the church.

    But we all have responsibilities. I think we can all agree on that. Now, as I open up this passage here, I know in our own denomination, there’s not complete agreement on what this passage is saying. There are some difficulties here to work through. But this much I can say, There is a certain responsibility that we all have in the Church of Jesus Christ.

    For the building up of that church. While the master builder is the one completing the work, and that’s Jesus Christ, according to the promise of Matthew 1618. And so my encouragement this this morning is that we all. Take up. our responsibility, our part in the building up of Christ’s Church. So let’s look at this passage, beginning in verse 11.

    And keep in mind what we were discussing last week, and I know some of you were unable to be here then, we were talking about the fact that We focus rightfully so on the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ as it relates to humiliation and exaltation and how important that is to our salvation. There’s a tendency though not to speak a whole lot about the ascension of Christ.

    Whereas our catechism, when it talks about the exaltation of Christ, as it summarizes the teaching of scripture, makes it very clear that the ascension is a vital part of that, and then Jesus sitting at the right hand of God the Father, as all of his former glory and authority is returned to him. Those that He laid aside voluntarily in coming to this earth, the exercise of them. Not that He was no longer God and He was just a man and that type of thing. But that He is now restored to His former place of glory. that that has a vital part in our salvation as Jesus ascends to the Father with Himself as a sacrifice and the High Priest who offers it that we could be reconciled to God and He there intercedes for us and how vital that is to the practical Christian life that Jesus is performing that ministry in His exalted state. How crucial that is to us that we have access to God through Him.

    And we said in this vivid picture that as Paul looks back to Psalm 68, We said, here He is in this triumphal procession. He ascended on high, led a host of captives. We’re the captives. Exodus language, where those who were captives in Egypt are released and are going to the promised land, which is a pointer to what we have in glory in Christ in our eternal life. that Jesus has led in his ascension a triumphal procession of captives, us included. We didn’t go there physically, but we see in this very letter that we are now in Christ with him at the right hand of God. We’re seated with him.

    One day that will be fully realized in our resurrection. But as a result of him going forth with this host of captives, he is able to give gifts to men, to the church. And now we start to see those gifts. He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers. Now we could spend a whole message on just these. We don’t have the time to do that, but I want to call attention to something here that we make a distinction in the OPC and the PCA does as well, for example, between the offices of the church that are extraordinary and temporary and those that are ordinary and perpetual.

    And in this letter, if you’ll just look back real quickly with me to Ephesians chapter 2, you see an image of the church as the church is being called the household of God, like a house being built. built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Ephesians 2.20. So there’s this foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, and when you’re building a house, once the foundation is laid, it’s static. It’s no longer growing. It’s there. It’s holding up the building. It’s essential for the building to take place, but it’s not growing. And once that foundation is laid, we don’t need to add anything to it. It’s there though. And that is the ministry of the apostles and prophets, which we believe, without getting into a big discussion here this morning, we believe has come to an end.

    Once God has delivered to us in his revealed word, what we know is the canon or the rule of the scriptures. And so with the finalization of the New Testament came an end for the need for the apostles and prophets. They were extraordinary and temporary. And now there is this ordinary and perpetual need for the gospel ministry that we have in the church. And that’s where we come now with the evangelists, the pastors and teachers. Evangelists, those who preach the gospel, here likely referring to those laying the foundation of churches, or as we know them in our own denomination as church planters. And then the pastors and teachers.

    Well, here’s one of those one of those phrases where there isn’t total agreement. And without getting into the details, basically the argument is, or the difference is, is this referring to one person or one group of people in the church, the pastor, pastors and teachers as the pastor teacher? or is it referring to two distinct offices within the church, the pastors and those who exercise oversight over the flock and those who are teachers? Or some argue, well, it’s not necessarily referring to a particular office. There can be pastors in the church as officers and those who are teachers in an unofficial way. What’s the answer? Well, I’ve always tended towards this idea that it’s referring to one group of people within the church who may differ somewhat in terms of function, but it’s speaking about the ordained ministry.

    At least we can argue for that. These are gifts to the church. God gave them to the church. He gave them to you, and so you can say of your pastor, Dan Knox, he is a gift to the church. Now we sometimes speak about that, we tend to use those types of words sarcastically. That guy thinks he’s God’s gift to the world.

    Well the truth of the matter is, pastors You’re elders. And, you know, that’s another thing that enters into this question. Are they being mentioned here? The elders in the church. They’re gifts for the church. Now comes even some phrases that are even more controversial. The ascended Jesus Christ returned to his former place of glory, has given these gifts to the church. For what? To equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood. On and on.

    Okay, here’s the dilemma. are all the phrases referring to the gifts of the evangelists, pastors, and teachers. So in other words, He gave them to equip the saints to build up the body of Christ and these evangelists, pastors, and teachers. They do all these things. They equip the saints, they do the work of the ministry, they build up the body of Christ.

    Or, is there this idea that these evangelists and pastors and teachers are called to equip the saints? And then the prepositional phrases are dependent upon that one. to equip the saints who do the work of the ministry, and with the evangelists and pastors and teachers, are all involved in the building up of the body of Christ. Do you understand what I’m saying? There’s a difference between, is it the evangelists and pastors and teachers who are responsible for all these things? Equipping the saints? building up the body, doing the work of the ministry? Or is it the pastors and teachers and evangelists who do the work, who equip the saints, who then do the work of the ministry and build up the body of Christ?

    There are differences among good men in our denomination and other Reformed denominations. It’s not an easy answer here, but I believe the context actually makes it favorable for us to say that the pastors and teachers and evangelists equip the church to do the work of the ministry. And together the ministers, capital M ministers, and the lowercase m ministers, the people in the church, together are used for the building up of the body of Jesus Christ.

    And just real briefly, I say this because of what we read in verse 7, for example, that grace was given to each one of us, Paul says, everybody in the church, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. There’s a sense in which all of you were involved in the giving of gifts to the church. Now, there are different places that have different lists of gifts, like 1 Peter 4, which tends to be sort of a general. There are those who speak in the church and those who serve. and other lists like in Romans 12 and 1st Corinthians 12, here the gifts tend to focus primarily upon the men given.

    But yet everybody’s involved in that. And then even further as you read, if it is the case that the ministers equip you or prepare you, the people, to do the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. There’s support for this towards the end of the passage that we read, where we read, as there is reference to Jesus Christ, from whom Christ, the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped The body from Christ is being built up. But listen to what Paul says. Every joint is being prepared, equipped. And then he says this, as he’s referring to all of us. Here’s that body imagery that he uses in 1 Corinthians. We’re all part of the body.

    And if the part that you perform your function. If it is working properly, when each part is working properly, all of you together, here’s where this idea of unity, being joined together, oneness of purpose and heart together as the body of Jesus Christ, which is so key. It makes, when each part is working properly, it makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Very simply, each part has a role in the building up or the growth of the body. And so you have that final prepositional phrase in verse 12, for building up the body of Christ. And the implication to me is clear. We’re all a part of that. So, the pastors prepare you to do a work and all of you together are involved in the building up of the body and making it grow. And that’s a wonderful thing.

    And that doesn’t take away from the idea that there are officers with authority in the church. Granted, it’s ministerial, we say, and declarative, given from Christ. Your pastor and elders have no right to tell you what to do, but they have every right and every obligation to tell you what Christ wants you to do. We’re not somehow erasing that distinction by saying, hey, listen, you’re called to the work of the ministry.

    But to emphasize, we all have a role. We all have a responsibility. Maybe you’ve seen that little story about Everybody, somebody, anybody and nobody. There was this important job to do and everybody was told to do it. Everybody thought somebody would do it. Anybody could do it. But nobody did. Somebody got angry about that because it was everybody’s job. Everybody thought anybody can do this job. Anybody at all. But nobody realized that everybody wouldn’t do it. In the end, everybody blamed somebody for a job nobody did and anybody could have.

    That’s a tough one to follow all at one time, but if you read it, you see what’s going on here. Now in sharing that, I’m not saying everybody is called to everything in the church, but I’ve seen this tendency on two different levels. On one level, as it refers, or as it relates to the ministry, there’s a tendency, and I’m not trying to somehow release myself from responsibility. Hey, listen, Westminster, OPC, and Wimber ended up having to dissolve because our numbers got so low and our finances got so low that we couldn’t continue. I’m not trying to release myself from responsibility.

    But there was a tendency among some to say the reason the church is not succeeding is because the pastor failed to evangelize the way he should, or whatever it is. As if the responsibility for sharing the gospel and for the growth of the church was solely upon the officers of the church. And they didn’t have that responsibility, which makes the people sort of mere spectators.

    Now granted, not everybody has the same gifts. For example, to share the good news of Jesus Christ. And there’s another difference. Not everybody believes it’s the responsibility of everyone in the church to evangelize. That the Great Commission only applies to officers. I don’t agree with that. And I believe the New Testament bears that position out.

    For example, in Acts 8, when persecution occurs in the church, and people are spread everywhere, they all went about gospelling. Not gossiping. Gospelling. Evangelizing. The men and the women. Everybody was sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. But it also occurs on another level, this idea of taking away responsibility for myself, the tasks that I’m called to do and thinking somebody else is going to do. Just among the people, sometimes among the mundane tasks that we’re called to do in the church of Jesus Christ.

    Somebody else will do it. Anybody can. But I’m not. Somebody else will do it. Yeah, it could be a simple task. You know, in our church we had a schedule. We were a small church. I’m not sure if you do this here. We had a schedule for cleaning the church.

    It’s a rather thankless, mundane task. If you do it, nobody notices. If you miss it, they do notice, type of a thing. But in those tasks, it’s often the case that people just assume somebody else will do it. Or somebody’s ill, and the people are asked to make a meal if they can. And many people just assume somebody else will do it. We don’t take our responsibility.

    As it refers to the work of the ministry here, you know, what’s Paul talking about? What is the work of the ministry? It has to do with anything. that in some way, even in some small way, contributes to the building up of the body of Jesus Christ. His primary focus is upon the faith or the essential doctrines of the church.

    When he says, speaking the truth in love, we tend to look at this phrase as we’re called upon one another not to lie to each other and speak the truth. or to come to somebody and speak the truth about them and love. Brother, you’ve got an issue you need to deal with. Those things are true, but that’s not how Paul is using this here. He’s talking about avoiding false doctrine and being carried away by it. He’s talking about all of us being called to speak this truth. to further it in the congregation.

    Maybe that’s through a Sunday school teacher instructing young children. Maybe that’s through the older ladies or the older men in the church giving counsel to the younger men in the church. Or maybe that’s through this idea that we’re a covenant community and we have responsibilities to one another, to each other’s children. Maybe that’s through encouraging somebody who’s going through a very difficult time. We’re emphasizing the truth of Christian doctrine to them constantly, as we’re called to come alongside one another. And that’s supported by the lives we live and the way we treat each other and the concern we show for each other.

    You all have different pains and struggles. I’m aware of some of them, but not all of them. But everybody has their challenges. struggles with sin. There are physical health problems that different people have. There are relational issues in marriages and with children.

    And when you serve others simply by coming alongside and asking how they’re doing and you pray for one another, you are involved in the work of the ministry in building up the body of Jesus Christ. Jesus promised to build His church in Matthew 16. And that’s taking place through the Spirit. Who, as you see in the book of Acts, is very active, but He uses us. Broken sinners, but redeemed in Jesus Christ. He uses us for this work. He wants to use you. I know this church has faced different struggles. I know, and I’m encouraged by this idea that there is discussion going on about revitalization. How does that work? And what does that look like?

    And being able to deliberate among yourselves now, what should we do? What are we called to do? And as you look at the possibility of calling somebody here soon in connection with the work that’s already going on here. I leave you with this question that I encourage you to ask yourselves and truly sit and deliberate about it for yourself. How can I be involved in this revitalization, this work? For this church, by God’s grace, who has brought it here in the first place, for our Savior who builds this church, how can I be involved? In what way can I be involved? so that this work will sustain, be sustained, and will succeed. Ask yourself that.

    Let’s pray. Father, we thank you for the church of Jesus Christ. There’s so much that could so much more that can be said in this passage, but we we pray that we will take to heart that which is truth from what we’ve just discussed. That what I’ve said today, Lord Jesus will be involved.

    In preparing these people for the work of the ministry, May they take that up. May they see the role they have in the building up of the body of Christ. And may they be used for such here. And beyond this congregation in our denomination, and even beyond the greater body of Christ, as they look to their Savior, who serve them. As they have been served, may they in turn serve others. We pray all of this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Turn with me please to number 282 in your hymnals. fountain of good to own thy love number 282 please as we stand together 282 I’ll tell a flute to hold my love unthankful.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Praying for God’s Servants

    Praying for God’s Servants

    About this sermon

    At the close of Ephesians, Paul asks the church to pray that he would proclaim the mystery of the gospel boldly, even as an ambassador in chains. He sends Tychicus to encourage the believers and ends with peace, love, and grace for all who love the Lord Jesus. Even in hard circumstances Paul cared for the local churches, and the church still prays for God’s servants and for grace in adversity.

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    Sermon transcript

    It is a delight to be with you this morning. And just by a little bit of a background, my wife Barbara and I have been married this year, 25 years. And the reason that may be important for you to know is that the pastor who married us was Ted Georgian. now has gone home to be with the Lord, a pastor of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, who was planting a church in retirement in my wife’s hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. And so I’m very grateful to the Lord, to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, to the Georgians in particular, for their discipling of Barbara into the Reformed faith and for helping us to celebrate our marriage 25 years ago. It’s a small world. in God’s economy of things.

    So it’s a delight to be with you here today and I invite you to turn with me to the book of Ephesians chapter 6 and we’re going to be looking at the end of that particular chapter. I’d like to give just a little bit of introduction before we actually read God’s word this morning.

    In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul describes God’s vision for his church, the bride that’s been given to his son, Jesus Christ. And if you’ve ever read or studied this important book of the Bible and of the New Testament, you know that in the first three chapters, the Apostle presents sound doctrine. that is important truth that every Christian ought to know and understand. And in the last three chapters of the book of Ephesians, he applies that truth particularly to relationships. Relationships within the church, family, within believers, and also between believers and the world.

    Now if you were writing this grand treatise about God’s vision for his church, how might you end your letter? True to form, the Apostle Paul ends this chain letter that was sent to Ephesus and then to the other churches there in that region with a personal note.

    Paul requests prayer. Paul requests prayer. And let me suggest that as we look at this passage this morning, it’s instructive to us on how we ought to pray for missionaries and for all true servants of Christ and even for one another. And so I invite you to look with me there in Ephesians chapter six, Verse 19 will begin actually with the last part of verse 18, where Paul writes this, To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak.

    So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychius, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts.

    Peace be to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be to those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. As we look at this particular passage this morning, let’s first pray and ask the Holy Spirit that he might come and teach us. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that it is not only your truth for all of time, but Lord, it is your truth by your spirit applied to our hearts in every circumstance, in every situation. And so Lord, we pray that you now, by the working of your spirit within us, that we might not only hear this word, but we might allow it to sink deep into our hearts. that it might encourage us, that it might instruct us, that it might convict us, that it might conform us to the image of your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, in whose name we humbly pray. Amen.

    As you look at this particular passage, let me suggest that Paul gives us three things to pray for. The first is boldness in proclamation. The second is encouragement in ministry. And the third is grace and adversity. And I’ve chosen those things very particularly because if you can remember them, the boldness, the encouragement, and the grace spoken up here, the acronym is BEGGING. Paul is begging for prayer. Begin first there in verses 19 and 20 for boldness and proclamation. Why is it that there needs to be boldness in proclaiming the gospel, bearing witness to the truth of who Jesus is and what he’s done?

    Well, Paul reminds us in this very chapter, Ephesians chapter six, most people would know that it’s that great chapter about spiritual warfare, putting on the armor of God. And so Paul reminds us that as believers, we are on the front lines of spiritual warfare. between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And he urges us to take on the full armor of God, which is our defensive weapons, and then to take up our offensive weapons, which are the word of God and prayer.

    Unless we think that prayer is merely for the protection of the wounded and the weary, Paul personally applies this to his brothers and sisters in Christ. And he says to them, pray also for me. It’s a very personal, heartfelt prayer. Now why would the Apostle Paul need prayer? Apostle Paul needs prayer because he needs strength to discern and withstand Satan’s attacks, the temptations and the wiles of the devil that are directed particularly at leaders in Christ’s church. But Paul also needs strength. for his God-given ministry, to deliver by the proclamation of the gospel to the unchurched, to the Gentiles, to deliver those people from the kingdom of darkness, that they might be brought by the sovereign work of God to the kingdom of light, to the gospel of Jesus Christ, that they might become those who were enemies of Christ and the gospel, to become those who are his sons and daughters through adoption and faith in Jesus Christ. Notice, if you will, Paul’s repetition of the adverb, boldly, is in the ESV, which I read, or fearlessly, as the NIV says it, or J.B. Phillips just said, speak freely. Paul prays for boldness in proclaiming the mystery of the gospel. Now what is that mystery? What is that precious thing that we hold so dear as Christians?

    It is that Christ, by God’s grace, dwells in the hearts of believers through faith. The gospel tells us that God has reconciled us to himself. That we’re put back into a right relationship with God. And that God’s also reconciled us to one another. And he’s placed us into a new relationship with one another called the body of Christ.

    Through the gospel, we’ve been made alive. We’ve been made part of a new humanity, the body of Christ. We are no longer strangers and aliens, as Peter says. But we are fellow citizens. We are adopted members of God’s family. We are the temple in which God’s Spirit lives. We are a spiritual army. We are Christ’s community of faith. We are one in Jesus Christ. My friends, all of those things being true, yet that’s a very radical message. It’s totally at odds with many of the ideas of the world and particularly even the culture we live in here in the United States of America.

    Paul asked for boldness in proclaiming the gospel. He asked for clarity and courage. Clarity, he says, that words may be given to me so you know what to speak and to speak it clearly, but also courage that I may declare it boldly as I ought. John Stott, the world-renowned preacher, wrote this, he says, clarity and courage remain two of the most crucial aspects of authentic Christian preaching. For they relate to the content of the message preached and also to the style of its presentation. Let me illustrate.

    Clarity in preaching, but without courage, is like sunshine in the desert. There’s plenty of light, but nothing worth looking at. But the opposite of courage, lots of zeal, but without clarity is like a beautiful landscape at night. There’s plenty to see, but no light to which to enjoy it.

    And so Paul prays for both clarity and courage to preach the gospel for which he is an ambassador in James. And that’s a remarkable thing that he says. It’s an interesting way that Paul would use to describe himself and his circumstances. Because he is a prisoner there in Rome, as this letter is being written. He’s a prisoner because of the gospel. He’s a prisoner for the sake of the Gentiles. Because the message that he’s taken has brought hostility upon him from the Jews who sought, in every way possible, to bring his life to an end.

    But he considers himself also, in Ephesians 4.1, he says, as a prisoner of the Lord. And in Paul’s mind and his experience, they’re all fused together. Paul is captivated by Christ. and Christ calling on his life.

    He’s been entrusted with the gospel. He’s been sent as a missionary to those who are unchurched, to the Gentiles. He’s literally in chains. They’re under house arrest, unable to complete the missionary journey that he wanted. And yet, he says he is free to preach. preached to the Roman guard that’s chained right there to him. When Paul wrote this letter, he was under house arrest. He doesn’t consider himself to be a victim.

    He was perhaps even, as later letters that he wrote while there in Rome, recognized that he was not going to leave that place. He ultimately would pay with his life. But the Apostle Paul’s perspective in all of that was that he was God’s man sent by the hand of God to whatever circumstances to be God’s representative and to bear witness to what he himself had experienced there on that road to Damascus where God brought with great light upon him to bring him out of darkness and to show him the person of Jesus Christ. The author Luke in the book of Acts records at the very end of the book, the circumstances of the apostle Paul. He says, he lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to them, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

    So Paul is saying and asking them to pray, pray that I will have boldness in proclaiming this gospel, even that gospel which has brought me to Rome under arrest to the emperor. Second thing that Paul asked prayer for is for encouragement in ministry. Look with me there at verses 21 and 22. The Apostle Paul sends Tychius to encourage the Ephesians.

    Now, Tychius was probably the stenographer of the letter. He’s probably the one who wrote these things down. Perhaps to failing eyesight, Paul dictated most of his letters, adding his own handwriting at the end. No, we don’t know exactly what Paul’s infirmity was. There are those who believe that it was something with his eyesight. He had been stoned twice, left for dead. Other things that he endured. And so he bore in his body. He bore in his body the cost of following Jesus Christ. And so he’s praying for encouragement in the ministry.

    And so he’s, he’s sending Tichius. And why is he sending Tichius of all people? Why, why this guy Tichius? Well, if you put the pieces together, you trace the, his name and the occasions of surrounding Tichius, he’s sending Tichius to the Ephesians because the Ephesians know this man. He’s one of them.

    In Acts chapter 20, following the riot in Ephesus, talk about a way to plant a church through a riot in town, but that’s how the church in Ephesus was planted. Paul’s missionary preaching was cut short, but nonetheless, uh, Paul then was set out from Macedonia and we read in the book of Acts. He was accompanied by a cyber of virus from Maria Aristarchus and second is from Thessalonica. Gaius from Derby, Timothy also, and Ticcius and Trimotheus from the province of Asia.

    So Ticcius have been one of his companions. one of the ones who had gone with him on this missionary journey there through the first century Roman world. And if you look at and you listen to those names, you’ll recognize their names are different nationalities, different cultures. The church as God’s multicultural family, a people of every tribe, nation, and tongue, as the book of Revelation points out to us.

    It was more than just a theological concept to the Apostle Paul. It was something that he put into practice, and so He sends Ticius from Rome back to Ephesus with this letter so that Ticius might personally encourage them how the Apostle is doing and that Paul himself might receive word in terms of how they are doing. Even in difficult circumstances Paul was concerned for local churches and notice well their concern for him.

    You know as Christians we all need encouragement. We all need encouragement, and particularly for those who are serving by the hand of God as sent to different places around the world. Prayer, correspondence, and visits are still the major ways that Christians and churches can encourage one another and contribute to the building up of the body of Christ.

    As was mentioned, at the beginning of service, I have the privilege of serving with the MTW Japan partnership. And that’s essentially is a group of churches in the U.S. who have made a commitment over at least some 20 to 25 years to support what God is doing in church planting and gospel proclamation in the great nation of Japan. I wanna encourage you, it’s spring in Japan. And there’s more I can say about that, but to say that in the work that I do, and I consider it a privilege, within our denomination by the hand of God, by no other strategy or anything else, we now have 80 career missionaries either serving or on their way in six teams in the major cities of Japan and the surrounding areas. And the reason that’s so important to us and why the Japan partnership existed to help what individual teams, even individual missionaries cannot do, is we recognize that the commitment necessary of the church here in the States to support them for 20 or 25 years. Because the average church in Japan, as you probably know, is no larger than this body right here. 25 or 30 people. is the size of the average church in Japan.

    And so there’s a great opportunity for us to link arms, to pray for our brothers and sisters, to pray for Japanese pastors that are being raised up, for churches that are seeking to be faithful in a place where it is just culturally unacceptable to be Christian.

    By way of just sharing one thing, and perhaps you particularly appreciate this, The hardest decision that a Japanese person makes in becoming a Christian is to be baptized. Because they understand what baptism is. It’s an allegiance, it’s an identity to someone else. We are baptized into Jesus Christ. And in Japan, the cultural background of Shintoism and other things around the worship of the emperor, is to recognize that when you are baptized into Jesus Christ, you no longer, your identity, is that you are Japanese, and you think that your lot is about a piece of an island in the Pacific, or an emperor, or a people, but it’s something that transcends that. And so when a Japanese person is baptized into the Christian church, that is a huge commitment.

    And it’s one that they take very seriously. The church in Japan, God by his grace, is growing. And we, with eyes of faith, belief, you know, in terms of those efforts and that fruit will pay the eternal reward that God intends and all the sacrifices necessary that the gospel might go to that place. But I had the privilege of helping to raise awareness in our churches in the PCA. of the great need just to encourage those young missionary families. Some of them with three or four children, some with more than that, but three or four in Japan, most families are lucky to have one child. So even Americans there with three or four children, much less six or seven in some cases, that’s an anomaly.

    And you sense that even though you’re there and you build relationships, nonetheless, that you’re not part of there. And so there’s great encouragement needed in ministry because there are great challenges. I don’t know about you, but their challenge is here to be faithful to Christ in the United States as well. Have we only to witness the quick change of cultural trends in our own nation has raised up a generation who knows not Christ, who does not fear God, and consequently, there are great pressures brought to bear among God’s people in all places. Your pastor and your elders, or your pastor to be and your elders, your current pastor, They need encouragement too. You need to pray for them as they seek to strengthen the ministry of this church and the connections with each other. To strengthen, build up the saints here that you might have an impact here in this region, in Zwicky, for the sake of Christ. We all need encouragement.

    As we think about that, as we look at the sports world, if I were to mention the sport of basketball and said who is the greatest player, there might be some argument of that, but most people would quickly identify that perhaps one person has particularly had a profound impact in terms of basketball.

    His name is Michael Jordan. How many people inspired by the pro-athlete Michael Jordan to play the game of basketball, not to mention to buy things with his logo and all those other sorts of things. But is there any pro-athlete that has had more fans than Michael Jordan? Probably not. Even so, when the great Michael Jordan was playing basketball, he was once asked something about his need for emotional support. And the columnist, Bob Green, asked Jordan why he wanted his father to be in the stands during a game. And Michael answered, when he is there, I know I have at least one fan. Even the great Michael Jordan needs loyal support. How much more do the rest of us need regular reminders from fellow believers that others are with us, they’re behind us, they’re lending us their support and encouragement no matter what?

    We all need encouragement in the Christian life and particularly in ministry. boldness in proclamation, encouragement in ministry, the last thing the Apostle Paul asked for is for grace in adversity, verses 23 and 24. Paul’s final exhortation focuses on peace, love with faith, and grace.

    Paul ends his letter in the book of Ephesians much the same way he began. The book begins Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And here he ends with peace be to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul taught that Through faith in Christ, we have peace with God. Christ is our peace. He’s broken down the dividing wall. Christ himself has made peace in his own body, reconciling us to God and also to one another.

    And Christ came and created this thing called the body of Christ, this one new humanity, this spiritual family that is united by his blood. You know, in the ghetto, they often say, okay, we’re blood. Even gangs would say, well, we’re blood, even though they may not be physically related to one another. But the Church of Jesus Christ is truly, we are blood. And the blood that we possess in common is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from our sin. It’s the blood that was spilled on our behalf on the cross that we might be brought together to be right with God and also to be made into God’s family.

    Christ came and preached peace, not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God in the midst of adversity. In this world Jesus said you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I’ve overcome the world. We must remember that the church is not a peacetime organization to be managed, but a spiritual army to be equipped for battle. Let me repeat that because in many ways the church in America, we’re asleep. The church is not a peacetime organization to be managed, but rather it’s a spiritual army to be equipped for battle. Battle rages all around us. There are those who are certainly its casualties, and yet we can have peace in the midst of that.

    And Paul prayed that we would have that peace, and he prayed to ask others to pray for him, that that peace would be experienced. And he says that it’s not just peace, but it’s love with faith. You know, love is the source of that peace. That because we are loved by God, God has set his love on us, we can have peace with God. And as God’s love flows through us and to us, then it flows through us and we then have peace with others. Christ’s love and work within us builds up our faith. the words of Romans chapter eight.

    And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him and who’ve been called according to his purpose. If God before us, who can stand against us? No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors to him who loved us. For I’m convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels or demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Peace, love with faith, all grounded upon the grace of God. That God has been merciful and gracious to us. Sinners that we are.

    Paul begins his letter by emphasizing the grace of God. God’s calling on the Ephesians. God’s uniting them by faith to himself. God making them part of a body. All of that by grace. The grace has been lavished on us. And that grace produces a love relationship with not only with God but also with others. And Paul ends his letter emphasizing that same grace as well. The Christian life is all about grace. It’s all of grace.

    A Christian is saved by grace. We know those verses in Ephesians chapter 2. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. A Christian is sanctified or made holy by grace.

    The scripture says, As you have received Christ Jesus your Lord, so continue to walk in him. As Christians, you and I, not just the Apostle Paul, but even you and I, daily need God’s grace. As we come to him, acknowledging our need of forgiveness, our cleansing from sin, confessing our pride, and calling out for his mercy, God pours his grace out upon us. James reminds us of these words, he says, but he gives more grace. That’s why it says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

    And so my friend this morning, let me ask you, are you weighed down by anything this morning in your life? Perhaps you carry a burden of guilt over sin. Or maybe you’re burdened by the state of affairs of your family. Or maybe you’re just physically and emotionally weary from the circumstances of life. medical issues, a difficult boss, neighbors that you find it very challenging to be neighborly to. Whatever those things might be, those are the things that you face daily. And in those things, you and I, too, are daily in need of God’s grace.

    Paul was instructed by God, where Paul himself had these things he prayed for and says, Lord, what do I need to do? Will you take these things from me? And God says, no. but I’m not going to take them from you, but my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul recognized his weakness there in that prison cell in Rome. And yet that was not where he stayed. He asked his brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for him, and particularly to pray that God would grant him much grace, which God was pleased, through the prayers of the saints, to do.

    Living the Christian life is all about grace, whether you’re a missionary or a servant of Christ in your everyday calling. Because we gather for worship and we are sent to serve in the places that God by his appointment has us. And wherever those places are, we are to go there by the grace of God and with the grace of God. And we’re encouraged that through those circumstances actually that we grow. in our understanding of the grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so let me ask you, my friend, today, are you growing in grace? The church is God’s multicultural, multiethnic family of people who’ve been transformed inside and out. The thing that they have in common is they’ve all experienced the grace of God. In conclusion, the Apostle Paul begs for prayer. Will we hear and obey this word from God? Will we follow his example? And will we love and serve by praying and beg prayers for each other?

    For boldness in bearing witness to the gospel in our own relationships and those that God puts across our path. For encouragement in the ministry that God’s given to each of us, to bear witness to him and to live for him. by praying for each other for grace in the midst of adversity and challenges.

    Let’s pray together. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that it not only informs and inspires, but Lord, by the working of your spirit, it transforms and prepares us for that which you have before us. And so Lord, we do pray that even today, even in this coming week within this body, Lord that we might pray for one another for boldness in bearing witness to you. proclaiming by our words, as well as by our life, the reality of the gospel. Lord, we pray for that we might be those who encourage others, even as we need to be encouraged. And that we would seek that from the only place that they can come from, which is from you and from each other.

    And Lord, as well, that you might grant to us much grace for the challenges of this day, and for the challenges that even by your grace you’ve not yet revealed to us, but that will come our way this week. Lord, we pray that we might humbly follow you, that we might seek the grace that we need, that we might be pleasantly surprised and rejoice with the grace that we receive from your almighty hand, that we might live as your people in this time and this place, bearing witness to the saving reality of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we humbly pray, amen. I invite you to stand in response. In number 374, Jesus shall reign.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.