Ephesians 5:25-30

Last week, we spoke to the women. Today, we speak to the men. Last week, we talked to the wives. Today, we talk to the husbands. 

Last week, we learned that the wife is called to submit to her husband as the church submits to Christ. Submission assumes leadership, which leads to the assumption that a husband is responsible for leading his wife. Well, today, we will learn that Godly leaders are loving leaders. Godly husbands are loving husbands. Today, we will discover that one of the greatest signs of a Godly man is not his ability to benchpress 300lbs; it's his willingness and ability to love as Christ has loved. 

1 Corinthians 16:13 says, "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." The command here by Paul assumes that Godly men will be strong men. This is warlike language. Like a sergeant calling his troops to war, Paul is calling the men of the church to be ready, to be watchful, and to stand firm. So, biblical manhood is directly tied to strength. Men should be strong. But the strength alluded to here is not merely physical; it's primarily spiritual. Some of the physically strongest men in this world are the spiritually weakest. Paul calls the men in the church to be courageous, strong, and willing to stand firm and fight the spiritual battle that is present in this life. And then he calls them to love— "Let all that you do be done in love." 

The strongest and godliest men will be the most loving men. Godly strength is displayed through a man's willingness to walk in love. The weakest men will shout the loudest. A weak man will beat his chest and repay evil for evil. A weak man will punch when he's been punched. A weak man will trample over those around him. But, a strong man will let all he does be done in love. The strongest men will be humble, patient, selfless, kind, and gentle. 

Today, we will find God calling the men in the church who are husbands to lead their wives with loving gentleness. God calls a husband to love his wife like Jesus loves the church.

My hope and prayer for today has been that the husbands in the room will experience a deep, lasting desire to go home and lead their wives with fervent love. My hope and prayer today has been that the wives in the room will experience a deep, lasting desire to go home and respectfully submit to their husbands' loving leadership. My hope and prayer today has been that the single women in the room will experience a deep, lasting desire to wait for a Godly man who will lovingly lead them to Jesus. My hope and prayer for today has been that the single men in the room will experience a deep, lasting desire to wait for a gentle and godly woman that he can lovingly lead toward Jesus.

Let's dive in.  

"[25] Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, [26] that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, [27] so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. [28] In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. [29] For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, [30] because we are members of his body."

In response to the verses we looked at last week, we can safely conclude that submission assumes leadership. If the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, then that means the husband is responsible for leading his wife as Christ leads the church. 

But what type of leader should a husband be? Well, the answer is emphatically "a loving one!" The husband isn't leading an inferior subordinate; he's leading his own body, the precious woman he loves, bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh. Therefore, his leadership should be gentle, kind, patient, caring, and loving. Godly leaders are loving leaders, and Godly husbands are loving husbands. The leadership of a husband should be selfless and sacrificial. A husband is never free to force a wife to submit to his own will, wants, and desires. Instead, he should lovingly and sacrificially lay down his wants and desires in order to lead his wife and family toward life and godliness. 

In the same way Christ took the lead in saving his bride, a husband should take the lead in suffering and dying for his bride. He sacrificially leads in providing for his bride. He sacrificially leads in protecting his bride. He sacrificially leads in discipling his bride. He sacrificially leads in reconciling with his bride. 

The husband should strive to be a thermostat for the home, not a thermometer. What do thermometers do? They reveal to you the temperature of something. What do thermostats do? They establish and set the temperature of something. Thermometers are incapable of impacting the temperature of a room. Thermostats, however, set the pace for the temperature of a room. In the same way, husbands have the responsibility of leading the home toward the cool temperature of Christlikeness. Godly leaders are loving leaders; Godly husbands are loving husbands.

But what is love?

We live in a world that closely ties love to romance. We live in a world that elevates our feelings above all things. If I feel something good, it must be good. If I don't feel something good, it must be bad. So, we often identify love as the racing of our hearts when we lock eyes with someone. We equate love with a thrilling kiss under the moonlight. So, what happens in many marriages is that after years of marriage, we lose that romantic thrill that was once present, which leads us to strongly consider divorce. We no longer feel love toward our spouse; therefore, we believe we've fallen out of love.

But, I want us to notice here that love isn't described as a feeling; it's an action, something the husband does. Christ-like love is a willful action more than it is a mystical feeling. Attraction can be an element of love, but it's not the motivating factor of love. More than a husband is to feel a particular way toward his wife, he is to act a particular way toward his wife. When romantic attraction is a distant memory, the call to love will remain the same. No matter what a husband's heart tells him, he is called by God to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. 

Notice here the standard of a husband's love is God's love. We've said this a lot, but all living is shaped by doctrine. What we believe (particularly about God) impacts how we live. And, here in Ephesians, we've been reminded time after time that gospel doctrine should begin to shape gospel living. When we understand the magnitude of God's love for us that has been demonstrated through the work of the cross, we should begin to strive to love as God has loved us. So, Paul, once again, is pointing to the cross and saying, "This is the standard of the love you're called to. Men, love your wife as Jesus loves you!"

How does Jesus love you? He loves you fully, graciously, and selflessly. So, how do you love your spouse? Fully, graciously, and selflessly. As one commentator puts it, "Christ loved the church not because it was perfectly lovable, but in order to make it such (Westcott)." 

So, love isn't a feeling; it is an action. And it's not a transactional action— something a husband does whenever his wife deserves it. It is an action of selfless grace. 

Men, nothing pushes a husband away from selfless love like keeping score does. When we think, "Well, I've done {this} for her this week, why doesn't she do {that} for me?" our hearts will become hard as clay. Don't look at the scoreboard; look at the cross.

We said this a few weeks ago, but we cannot fully understand the depth of God's love until we first understand the cost of the cross. Our sin has brought death, judgment, and separation. Judgment is coming. But the beauty of the gospel is that Jesus willingly marched to the cross to take upon himself the punishment we deserve. Jesus' work on the cross is the ultimate display of sacrificial love. He died so we wouldn't have to. So, God is calling us to love one another with this same radical and sacrificial love. God is calling all husbands to fix their hearts and eyes upon the cross so that they can begin to truly love like Jesus.

So, what's the limit to which we should love? There is no limit! When should we withhold our love from one another? Never! Christ-like love is humble, sacrificial, uncomfortable, costly, selfless, and eternally minded. A husband loves his wife not because she deserves it but because Christ is worthy. So, look at the cross, not the scoreboard.

Now, let's try to unpack some layers here. What does sacrificial, Christ-like love look like for a husband? Paul tells us that we are to love our wives as Christ gave himself up for the church "that he might sanctify her by the washing of water with the world, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish…" 

We're going to spend some time unpacking this, but if I could summarize these verses down to a central point, it would be this: a loving husband cares about the spiritual health of his bride. And if you care about something, you take care of it. So, if you care about the spiritual health of your bride, you will prioritize the spiritual health of your bride. A loving husband should seek to disciple his wife to become more like Jesus. A husband's primary focus should be his bride's spiritual well-being. A husband longs for his girl to walk with Jesus in joyful communion; therefore, he seeks to lead her to Jesus. Tony Merida summarizes this thought by exhorting the husband to "be concerned for her spiritual well-being. Be in the Word personally. Talk about the Word with her. Know how your wife is doing in theological knowledge, in the practice of spiritual disciplines, in her service in the local church, and in her relationships. Care for her soul. Do you know her fears, hopes, dreams, temptations, and disappointments? Shepherd her faithfully." 

Let's briefly pull back a few layers here and examine how Paul explains this. Paul teaches and reminds the church of central Christian doctrines regarding atonement. Because of the work of the cross, our sins have been washed away. Because of the work of the cross, we who were once stained with sin will one day stand before the Father without spots or blemishes. Because of the work of the cross, we who were stained with guilt and shame will be presented before God as a beautiful bride. Through the cross, the LORD takes away our iniquities and clothes us with pure garments. 

The imagery here of "washing of water with the word" is an interesting one. Some commentators even describe it as controversial. Some believe it's a reference to baptism. Others think it's a reference to a cleansing bath that a bride would receive before being presented before the groom (we see this referenced in Ezekiel 16). Some say it's both. I don't think we need to get caught too deep in the weeds here to understand what Paul is saying. Water has always been the most common element used for washing. So, Christ sacrificially died to wash away the sins of his bride. We were once deceitfully wicked, but we have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 

Paul is drawing attention to the strategic nature of Jesus' march to the cross. It was his love for his bride that led him to the cross. Jesus willingly and sacrificially gave himself up for the church so that she might become holy and without blemish. So, men, we, too, should willingly give ourselves up for our wives, selflessly laying down our wants and desires for the spiritual good of our bride. 

Men, you are not the only instrument God uses to sanctify your wife, but you are an instrument he chooses to use to sanctify your bride. So, in the words of the pastor and theologian Kent Hughes, "Is our wife more like Christ because she's married to us? Or, is she like Christ in spite of us?" 

Now, with that being said, a husband isn't merely called to care about the spiritual health of his bride; he should also care about the physical health of his bride. "In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body." 

This is the balance of the Christian faith, isn't it? We never want to neglect the spiritual as we tend to the physical. But we also don't want to ignore the physical as we seek to care for the spiritual. A loving husband tends to both. A loving husband prioritizes every facet of his bride. A husband should protect his wife physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

As you seek to lead your wife, you do so with the sole intention of taking precious care of her. A loving husband says to his bride, "Because I care about you, I want you to be able to sleep in this Saturday. So let me get up with the kids." A loving husband says to his bride, "Because I care about you, I want you to be able to have the freedom to not work if you want to stay home with the kids." When it comes to work or serving your spouse, you choose your spouse every time. When it comes to fishing or spending time with your bride, you choose your bride every time. When it comes to golf or your girl, you choose your girl every time. The call of the husband is to selflessly love, serve, and lead his wife so that she can become more like Jesus. 

Ephesians 5:22-24

The Bible says, "A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD." So, I'm convinced that God has designed marriage for our good, for our joy, for our pleasure, for our happiness, and for our holiness. But I'm also convinced that if we want to enjoy marriage the way God has intended it to be enjoyed, we need to understand how God has designed marriage to be enjoyed. And what I think we will discover today is the truth that, more than anything else, marriage was created for God's glory.

In Ephesians, we've learned that the ultimate call upon a believer's life is to glorify God (1:3-14, 5:17). God's will for our life is to make us more like Jesus so that we can make much of Jesus. God's glory should rule our every decision as followers of Jesus. And, in our passage today, we will discover that God has designed marriage to be a beautiful portrait of Christ's relationship with his bride, the church. Yes, marriage is a joy. But, more than marriage is for your happiness, it's for God's glory. Yes, marriage is sanctifying. But, more than marriage is for your holiness, it is for God's glory. God created and designed marriage for our good and his glory. 

Marriage was created in God's infinite goodness to be a portrait of the gospel to a lost and dying world. This truth should shape how we view and treat marriage. If marriage was created for God's glory, we should seek to steward the gift of marriage in a way that brings him glory. So, on the days that the butterflies fly away, our call to faithfully love our spouse will remain anchored because God is glorified through selfless love. On the days we're unhappy with the state of our marriage, we should find joy in remaining faithful because God is glorified through our covenantal commitment to the spouse of our youth. 

Today, we will learn that God is most glorified in marriage when a husband and wife interact with one another in a way that reflects the gospel. When we allow God's glory to shape what and why we do what we do, submission and headship no longer seem cruel. They become truly beautiful and necessary when we understand what they portray.

As we unpack the topic of submission today, there are six questions I want us to ask,

• What is submission?

• Is submission offensive?

• Who is a wife called to submit to?

• Why does a wife submit to her husband?

• What does submission mean for a husband? 

• What does this mean for us if we're single?

Let's dive in. 

"[22] Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. [23] For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. [24] Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands."

WHAT IS SUBMISSION?

The first necessary question we must ask here is, "What is submission?"

After our passage last week, Paul called the church to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. This verse exposes the humility that ought to exist within the family of God. There is no position of prominence within the church. We are all members of Christ's body, of which He is the head. So, out of reverence for our king, Jesus, we are to submit to one another, meaning we are to yield ourselves to the good of one another. 

Superiority and pride are the heart postures of the wicked. No one who has the love of Christ written on their heart is too good to submit. It doesn't matter if you are a 75-year-old pastor who has been walking with the Lord for 65 years or if you're a one-day-old convert; the life of a believer is one of humble service, not prideful dominance.

But, here, we find Paul turning to the context of marriage and directing his attention to the wife, saying that she is to "submit herself to her husband, as she does to the Lord." The word for submission is hypotassō. It means to put oneself under the authority and leadership of another willingly. This is a word used often throughout the New Testament. It's the same word used by Luke to describe Jesus as a child when he submitted to his parents (Lk. 2:51). It's the same word used in Ephesians 1 to explain how all things were put under the feet of Jesus (Eph. 1:22-23). It's the same word used in 1 Peter, where believers are called to be subject to every human institution (our governing authorities) for the Lord's sake (1 Pt. 2:13-14). So, as John Piper, in his book This Momentary Marriage, defines submission, "[It is] the divine calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband's leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts."

IS SUBMISSION OFFENSIVE?

Before we further unpack this, I want to answer the anticipated question, "Should submission be offensive?"

What makes the call to submit so challenging to hear today is that submission appears to threaten one's identity and worth. The statement "submit to your husband" is often interpreted as "you are less than your husband." So, before we go any further, I want to clarify that submission doesn't equate to a lack of dignity and worth. Submission shouldn't be offensive; it should be an honor.

In Genesis 1-2, we see that both men and women share the same human nature. They were both made in God's image and commissioned equally to rule the earth. Therefore, they are both equal in essence, deserving to be recognized, honored, valued, and dignified as human beings made in God's image. One is not "more human" or "more valuable" than the other. However, we also see in Genesis 2 that men and women received unique roles that should be expressed differently. Since Adam was created first and Eve was created to be Adam's helper (Gen. 2:18), God gave Adam specific instructions for him and Eve to abide by together (Gen. 2:16-17). Adam was responsible for leading, nourishing, and lovingly cherishing his wife. Eve was to complement and help Adam rule over creation. This indicates that, although a husband and a wife are equal, they've been given unique roles. 

Equality is not the same thing as exactness. One of the many beauties of the Christian faith resides in our oneness and uniqueness. We are united yet different; we are one body but different members. In the same way, one of the beauties of marriage resides in the various roles God has called a husband and wife to. Although we are one, we've been given different roles.

We see this demonstrated for us in the Trinity. There is one God who eternally exists in three persons. In the Trinity, we see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as equal in worth, value, and honor; they are one. But, despite this oneness, each person has a different role. In John 5, for example, we see Jesus tell the religious leaders that he was sent by the Father to do the work of the Father, walking in complete submission to the Father's will. So, although Jesus was one with the Father, he willingly submitted to the will of the Father. But, because the Son submitted to the Father, that doesn't mean he was any less than the Father. He was the Word made flesh, fully divine. Yet, he willfully, intentionally, and joyfully submitted himself to the Father's will. 

So, if submission was offensive, Christ should be offended. But, if Christ willingly submits, we should willingly submit. Submission shouldn't be offensive; it should be an honor. Submission is an opportunity to display the life and character of our Savior and Lord, Jesus. 

WHO IS A WIFE CALLED TO SUBMIT TO?

Next, I want us to quickly note who a wife is called to submit to. Notice here that God calls a wife to submit to her "own husband." On the one hand, we are all called to submit ourselves to one another out of reverence for Christ. But, in a deeper sense, a wife is not called to submit to all men as she does with her own husband. A unique and beautiful relationship of submission and headship should be present between a husband and a wife.

Be careful how you talk about your spouse to others. Be sure you respect and honor your spouse in how you talk about your spouse in public. And be careful how you speak to other people's spouses. Ensure you always respect the marital union between a husband and a wife. We want to push a husband and wife toward one another, not away from one another. 

WHY SUBMIT?

But why does a wife submit to her husband? Well, the answer Paul gives here is deeply theological. We live in a day and age where many want to be able to separate doctrine from living. Sometimes, we want to take a break from theology and live. But that's an impossible task. What we believe shapes how we live. Sometimes this is a good thing; sometimes it's a bad thing. Good doctrine leads to good living; bad doctrine leads to bad living.

In Ephesians, we find yet another example of how gospel doctrine should shape gospel living. How a husband and wife interact with one another is shaped by how we relate to God. So, a wife submits and respects her husband because it's a portrait of the gospel, and a husband leads and loves his wife because it's a portrait of the gospel. "The husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior." So, "as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands." So, a wife submits to her husband, not because he is deserving, but because Christ is worthy of being glorified. God is glorified through a wife's willing submission to her husband in all things. When a wife willingly and joyfully submits to her husband, she is preaching the glory of the gospel to her husband. One of the best ways for a wife to win her lost husband to Christ is to practice what she preaches in the home. God created submission and headship within marriage to portray the gospel.

WHAT DOES SUBMISSION MEAN FOR THE HUSBAND?

But what does submission mean for a husband? Submission implies leadership— "The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church." The term "head" is used within the context of leaders in the Bible (Judges 11:11). John Piper defines headship as "the divine calling of a husband to take primary responsibility for Christlike, servant leadership, protection, and provision in the home." 

We will expound on the husband's role more next week. But Paul says, "The husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior." So, the husband isn't leading an inferior subordinate; he's leading his own body, the precious woman he loves, bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh. Therefore, his leadership should be gentle, kind, patient, and caring. In addition, Paul describes Christ as his bride's Savior. This tells us that the husband's leadership should be selfless and sacrificial. A husband is never free to force a wife to submit to his own will, wants, and desires. Instead, he should lovingly and sacrificially lay down his wants and desires to lead his wife and family toward life and godliness.

In the same way Christ took the lead in saving his bride, a husband should take the lead in suffering and dying for his bride. He leads in providing for his bride. He leads in protecting his bride. He leads in discipling his bride. He leads in reconciliation with his bride. So, circling back to Piper's initial definition of biblical submission, "Submission is the divine calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband's leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts." 

But, here's the beauty of a wife's relationship with her husband. To submit to your husband doesn't mean you'll always agree with your husband. 1 Peter 3:1 says, "Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct." So Peter is saying that a wife should submit to her husband, even if he's not a believer, because in doing so, he may see the beauty of Christ and be won to Christ. 

There will undoubtedly be moments when you disagree with your husband. But, with that, submission shouldn't equal silence. Godly husbands are not dictators. No, Godly leaders value counsel (Prov. 11:13, 15:22; 20:18; 24:6; 27:9). In the same way, the most Godly husbands should value the voice and counsel of their brides. A wise and loving husband should seek to cherish and value the opinions and thoughts of his bride. So, as we submit, we may not always agree with our spouse. But, a healthy marriage should have a healthy amount of communication. Submission also doesn't equal laziness. Marriage is created to be a relationship where the husband and wife work toward the common goal of glorifying Christ together. Think about it like a dance. One person leads, while the other follows. Yet, both are necessary for the dance to happen. 

Now, with that being said, a wife should never submit to her husband's will if it goes against God's will. Think about Shadrach, Meeshack, and Abendego, for example. God's people are clearly commanded to submit to and obey their governing authorities (1 Pt. 2:13). Yet when their governing authorities commanded them to bow down and worship someone other than their God, they had to respectfully disobey. The same is true regarding a wife's relationship with her husband. A wife should submit to her husband in all things until that thing clearly goes against God's will. Then, she has to respectfully disagree.

Now, it's here that I want to say that the church should always be a safe place for the hurt and broken. Wives, if you have an abusive husband who is demanding you to do things that are not of the Lord, please come to us and ask for help, and we will walk through this with you. Asking for help doesn't mean you're weak. In fact, I would argue that asking for help is a sign of strength. Asking for help isn't selfish, nor is it unloving. In fact, I would argue that asking for help is one of the greatest declarations of love. Asking for help doesn't mean you're walking out on your marriage, nor does it mean your marriage is over. It just means you're seeking help to restore your marriage.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US IF WE’RE SINGLE?

As we close today, I want to speak to my single brothers and sisters for a brief moment. Your spouse is the only family member you get to choose, so choose wisely.

The older you get, the more you will likely long for a companion. You long to find a spouse, someone to come home to and walk through life with you. And because of this desire, there's a growing temptation to settle. Your standards of a Godly spouse begin to crumble a bit. So, instead of a godly, Christlike man, you just want a good man. Instead of a follower of Jesus, you just want someone who will bring you flowers and make you laugh. But, may this passage remind you of what you're committing to in marriage. Ladies, you're not just looking for someone to come home to; you're looking for someone to submit to. You're not just looking for someone charming but someone who will lead you closer to Jesus. So, please, I encourage you to choose wisely who you will submit to.

Men, the Bible says that "it is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife (Prov. 21:9)." "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised (Prov. 31:10)." So, you are not just looking for someone pretty; you're looking for a woman who adorns herself with the humble and gentle spirit of Christ. So, please, I encourage you to choose wisely who you will lead.

Ephesians 5:18-21

Ephesians 5:15-17

One thing that is widely recognized worldwide is how fleeting time is. This reality pushes us all to do something with our limited time here on earth. But, what it pushes each of us to is different. For some of us, it pushes us to luxurious vacations. We know we have one life, so we want to go and see as many places as possible. For some of us, it pushes us to parties. We know we have one life, so we want to party and have as many memories as possible. For some of us, it pushes us to work. We know we have one life, so we want to make as much money as possible so our family will be well cared for when we're gone. For some of us, it pushes us to stay home with our families. We know we have one life, so we want to make as many memories as possible with the ones we love the most.

We all know life is short, so we strive to steward the fleeting gift of time the best way we know how. But, one of the beauties of the gospel is that God transforms how we steward the fleeting gift of time. In our short life, we should strive to glorify God by walking in obedience to God's will. A central element of the Christian life is seeking to walk according to God's will every second of every day. As followers of Jesus, we lay down our wants, desires, and plans at the altar of God and say, "Let your will be done in my life."

In our passage today, it's as if Paul is saying, "Remember, before you came to know Christ, you wasted your time on pointless things. But, now that you've come to know Jesus, you can make your time count and spend your days on things that matter most." Put simpler, "You were dead, but Jesus made you alive. So go live like it!"

Let's dive in.

"[15] Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, [16] making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. [17] Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

Growing up, when I was looking for a lost item, my mother would say, "Don't man look." Man-looking would be when I walked into a room and casually looked around for a lost item. No effort would be put into my quest to identify the object I sought. I wouldn't pick anything up; the only thing I would move was my eyes as I searched my room.

Well, the first thing we find Paul saying in verse 15 is, "Look carefully then how you walk." The Greek word for "carefully" means to diligently and accurately search for something. It's the antithesis of man-looking. It's the same word used in Matthew 2:8 when Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem to "go and search diligently for the child (Jesus), and when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him." So, this is a term of calculated and deliberate searching.

I believe the verbiage here teaches us that although we are a new creation in Christ, wisdom doesn't necessarily come naturally to us. We are not naturally wise. In fact, I could make a strong argument from the Scriptures that we are naturally unwise. Put a little more bluntly, we are naturally foolish. Proverbs teaches us that there's a way that seems right to a man, but it ends in death. So, if wisdom came naturally to us, there would be no need to carefully look at how we're living. There would be no need to search for wisdom. There would be no need to ask for wisdom. Wisdom is never portrayed in the Bible as something that we naturally possess. It's a gift given by God that comes through careful searching (through study and counsel) and devout prayer— "If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach (Js. 1:3)."

Wisdom does not come naturally to us. Therefore, we never outgrow the need to evaluate how we're living. To walk in faithful obedience to Jesus, we must carefully consider how to walk in wisdom. It's good to open your Bible and prayerfully think about how you're living your life. It's good to think critically about the decisions you're making. It's good to carefully think about how you're managing your time. If we are going to live as wise followers of Jesus, we must survey how we're living our lives.

Now, what is wisdom?

Wisdom isn't simply intellectually knowing something; it's more of a skill. It's the skill of rightly applying information to action. Wisdom is the skill of understanding and implementing God's word in your life. It's the ability to skillfully and rightly navigate life in a God-honoring way. Wisdom is “skill in the art of Godly living.”

The Hebrew word for wisdom is "hakma," the same word used to describe two men, Bezalel and Oholiab, in Exodus 31. In Exodus 31, God told Moses that he called these two men, filled them with his spirit, and gave them the intelligence and ability (hakma) to be expert craftsmen to build the tabernacle— "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability (hakma) and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft."

So, God filled these men with skill (hakma), the artistic ability to create and build the tabernacle of God. So, wisdom is 'skill in the art of Godly living.' God gives us wisdom to become expert craftsmen on how to glorify God throughout our lives.

So, where the world says, "Live and learn." wisdom says, "Learn and live." Wisdom is available, so the gullible and naive can become crafty and cunning. Wisdom is available so that the young and innocent might find knowledge and discretion. The goal of wisdom is for us to walk through life and see, recognize, and then outfox the temptations that come our way. So, when the deceiver comes to lure us into sin, we can say, "No, thanks. I know where that leads." When your blood is boiling, and you want to lash out with your words, you can hold your tongue because you remember, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." When your heart begins to race at the beauty of someone other than your spouse, you can run because you remember that "their feet go down to death." When you would rather sit at your desk and scroll through social media, you can put your phone down and begin to work because you remember that "an idle person will suffer hunger."

Faithful Christian living resides in a devotion to carefully living and walking in wisdom, not foolishness. As followers of Jesus, we are to be wise, not foolish. And as followers of Jesus, we are to steward our time well. We are to "Look carefully then how we walk not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil." We should make the best use of our time. When it comes to the 24 hours of our day, we should understand that all things may be permissible, but not all things will be beneficial. Therefore, wise believers seek to manage their time as best they can.

Now, there's an interesting wordplay here in verse 16. The phrase "making the best use of the time" is the Greek word "exagorazō." It means to redeem by payment of a price to recover from the power of another. It's the same word used by Paul in Galatians— "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13, 4:5)."

Surprisingly, this word was often used in reference to the slave market. In this case, it was used to describe the purchase price of a slave. At times, you would find a friend or relative who would buy a slave back from captivity to set them free. They would redeem their friend from the possession of another so that they might be set free. So, in Galatians, Paul is saying that we have been liberated, set free from the curse of the law by Jesus. The inescapable condemnation and guilt holding us down by the law no longer own us because of what Jesus has done for us. Jesus has paid our ransom. He has paid the steep price for our sins. Death and damnation no longer own those who reside in Jesus. The one who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.

Well, in Ephesians 5, Paul is saying that those Christ has redeemed should now begin to redeem their time. The days are evil. They are a cruel master full of various labors, pressures, annoyances, and hardships. But now, we are to redeem our time from the captivity of the evil days. The evil days no longer bind us. We have been free from the various pressures this world throws us. We can now walk in wisdom and redeem our time back from the evil one.

But what does this practically look like for each of us?

Well, Paul intentionally leaves it somewhat vague here. How this practically plays out in our day-to-day lives will vary from person to person. But, the common ground for each of us is obedience to the will of God for the glory of God.

Paul says in Ephesians 5:17, "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." The word for "foolish" here In verse 17 differs from "unwise" in verse 15. It's a more offensive term. It's like Paul is saying, "Don't be stupid! Instead, understand what the will of the Lord is."

When we say "Will," we're not talking about the Fresh Prince of Belair. We're talking about God's purpose for our life and history. The will of the Lord is one of the most sought-after things for a young believer. We want to know, "What is God's will for my life?"

When we look at this word, I think it's two-fold. There's God's general will and his particular will.

God's general will is bound up in his purpose of blessing mankind through Christ. We see this word used in Ephesians 1 three different times to describe God's plan of redemption— "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, 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."

So, it was God's will to adopt us as sons through Jesus Christ "to the praise of his glorious grace," his will to unite us to Himself in Christ, and his will to extend to us an inheritance "to the praise of his glory." If I could summarize this for you, it would be this: God's will for your life is for you to be joined to him in a glorious relationship through His Son.

So, what is God's will for your life? For you to intimately and personally know God as your Father.

God's will for your life is to save you. But, it's also to sanctify you. Paul, in Romans 12:2 says, "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." In 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Paul says, "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication." So, put simply, God's will for your life is to make you more like Jesus so that you can make much of Jesus.

But, many of us will lose sleep over what God's particular will is for our lives. Should I go to this school or that school? Should I take this job or that job? Should I date this person or that person? Should I move there or stay here? Should I play on this team or that team?

We're all faced with stressful decisions that must be made in this life, and this is where things get foggy for many of us. And I think this is where this week's passage offers us tremendous counsel and comfort.

For one, these verses remind us that it's ok (and honestly good) to struggle with these decisions. We are to look carefully at how we walk, not as unwise but as wise. The wise doesn't stress about the future, but the fool doesn't plan for the future. God, in his infinite grace, offers us wisdom and guidance. He doesn't leave us to walk through life alone. He invites us to ask for wisdom and promises to give us wisdom. God, in his infinite grace, has given us the Holy Spirit to lead and comfort us. God, in his infinite grace, has given us the Bible, filled with general principles to guide us. In his infinite grace, God has given us the church to walk through life with us, offering us wisdom and counsel that's in accord with God's word.

But, if God's general will is wrapped up in the redeeming work of Christ, then his particular will for your life is wrapped up in the redeeming work of Christ, as well. God's will for your life is for you to know, love, and follow Jesus so that you can glorify Jesus. Understanding the Lord's will for our lives means to pattern our lives after Jesus so that we might make much of Jesus.

So, are you making the best use of your time as a follower of Jesus?

Some of us may be workaholics, putting work above everything else in life. So, perhaps we need to make the best of our time by resting. For others of us, we may be slothful and lazy. So, perhaps we need to make the best of our time by working. Some of us have busy schedules, and we need to dial back. For others, we need to commit to more things. For some of us, making the best use of our time may be saying "no" more. For some of us, making the best use of our time may be saying "yes" more. But, at the end of the day, whatever we commit to, may it be done to the glory of the Lord with the hope of making much of Jesus.

Ephesians 5:7-14

Today, in Ephesians 5, we will again see how Jesus's resurrection impacts how we live as believers. We were once dead, but now we are alive. We were once asleep, but now we are awake. We were once darkness, but now we are light. And now we're learning how to walk as children of the light. 

Tony Merida summarizes this passage by saying, "When awakened Christians, who were once darkness but are now light, shine the light of truth and righteousness in a dark world with their words and deeds, they make visible the shameful and secretive deeds of darkness; they may also be used to help those in darkness come to the light themselves."

Let's dive in. 

"[7] Therefore do not become partners with them; [8] for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light [9] (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), [10] and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. [11] Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. [12] For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. [13] But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, [14] for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 

 "Awake, O sleeper, 

and arise from the dead, 

 and Christ will shine on you." 

The first thing I want us to notice here is the transformation of nature. If you remember, in last week's passage, Paul reminds the church that the sexually immoral, impure, and covetous people "will not inherit the kingdom of Christ and God." The wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience. 

Following this warning, Paul urges the church not to partner with these people. Partner implies being a fellow worker with someone. It's someone carrying out a common task with a common goal. So, the church ought to take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness. We must distance ourselves from the wickedness described here in these verses. We are to be "in the world" but not "of the world."

Why must we avoid partnering with the wicked? Because our identity has changed— "At one time we were darkness, but now we are light in the Lord."

Verses 7-8 highlight a fundamental aspect of the gospel. They teach us that a change of identity leads to a change of living, not the other way around. 

The call of Christ is not to "get your life together so that you might be saved;" it's "come to Christ (empty-handed) so that you might be saved." But the one who comes to Christ for salvation encounters transformation. Something fundamentally changes in you. When you trust in Jesus for your salvation, your identity changes. You were once, by nature, children of wrath, but now you are children of God. You were once by nature children of darkness, but now you are a child of light. To confess Jesus as Savior is to confess him as Lord. 

So, good works are the fruit of salvation, not the root of our salvation. They are an outflow of a new identity in Christ. Now that you are in Christ, the light of the world, you are no longer darkness but light. Our identity has changed, and now that our identity has changed, our actions should also change. We are to learn the new ways of Christ, and we are to walk as children of light. We ought to "let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven (Mt. 5:16)." 

But what does walking in the light look like practically? 

Well, I think this passage shows us it's twofold: there are things we do and things we don't do. 

As we see in verse 9, the fruit of light is found in all that is "good and right and true." So, walking in the light is demonstrated through good, right, and true actions. Together, these three words communicate the idea of maintaining an uprightness of heart and life. It's the act of consistently living with integrity and generosity. It's the act of doing the right thing because it's the right thing whether people are watching or not. It's a devotion to truth, no matter the cost. 

Walking in the light is demonstrated through good, right, and true actions. But, it's also found in taking "no part in the unfruitful works of darkness." Walking in the light resides in an avoidance of darkness. It's avoiding selfish living. It's avoiding corrupt living. It's avoiding falsehood. 

Perhaps this seems a little vague, so Paul then says we should "try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." Discern means to carefully examine, test, or approve. It's putting something under a microscope to determine its worthiness.

This tells us two things regarding the Christian faith. 

1. It tells us that a central element of the Christian life is trying to figure out how to honor God. 

2. It tells us that not everything is black and white in this life. 

As believers, we should desire to please God with how we live, and we should strive to please God with how we live. I'm convinced our lives would be fundamentally different if we let God's pleasure drive our decision-making. Our lives would be a bright light in a dark world if we sought to honor him in everything we did. So, we should go to God in prayer and ask him, "God, is this pleasing to you?" "God, are you pleased with the way I'm working?" "God, are you pleased with how I'm living out my faith?" "God, are you pleased with the way I parent?" "God, are you pleased with how I interact with my spouse?" "God, are you pleased with my relationship with my boyfriend/girlfriend?" 

Paul then says, "Take no part in the unfruitful 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."

By this point, we should understand the first part of verse 11. As children of light, we aim to live fruitful lives for the Lord. So, we should take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness. The way we once lived, we should live no more. 

But, we should not only abstain from the sinful works of darkness but also expose them. The word expose means to reprove or convict. It's the act of drawing light upon the sinful works of darkness. 

I want to take a few minutes to tease this out. How do we practically expose the works of darkness in this life? 

On the one hand, I think that (given the context of this passage) we expose the works of darkness by not participating in them—your attempt to walk as the light will expose the darkness. Your attempt to live out the gospel will expose the sin of those around you. 

Look at verse 11– "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." 

A tangible way we can expose the works of darkness is by taking no part in the works of darkness. We expose the works of darkness by not participating in them. When you're at work, and your co-workers are objectifying women, and you choose to honor and respect women, you're exposing the works of darkness. When you're at practice, and everyone cuts the run short, and you choose to run the full distance, you're exposing the works of darkness. When all your co-workers lie on their time sheets, and you don't, you expose the works of darkness. When all your friends are sleeping with their girlfriends, and you're not sleeping with your girlfriend, you're exposing works of darkness. When you submit your life to Jesus and seek to walk in obedience to Jesus, your life will undoubtedly stand out in a dark world, which will, in return, expose the works of darkness. One of the most convicting things in life is seeing someone walk in the light while you're walking in darkness.

But, another element of exposing the works of darkness is found in a believer's willingness to call out darkness with their words. We can expose the works of darkness by speaking the truth about them. We can expose the works of darkness by boldly, lovingly, and gently saying, "My dear friend, you are living in sin, and the wages of sin is death. There's a better way. There's hope for you. Wake up and come to the light. Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." 

Sometimes, silence is the answer. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes, silence could be the most unloving thing you could do for someone. Sometimes, the most loving thing you can do as a child of light is to speak the truth about the darkness in this world. But, as we expose the works of darkness, we don't do so with rude, snarky, and combative language. Your goal in exposing the light isn't to win an argument, nor is it to humiliate your neighbor. Your goal is to win a brother or sister. Notice the progression in verse 13, "When anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light." So, for someone to come to know Jesus, their sin must first be brought to light. Darkness will remain darkness until the light shines.

So, could a lack of revival stem from our unwillingness to expose darkness? Could our fear of rejection be why we don't see men and women come to know Jesus? I think it's fair to say that if we were bolder in living and proclaiming the gospel, we would certainly see more darkness become light. 

Paul concludes by saying, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." Some commentators believe this is a reference to different verses found in Isaiah. Others think it references a popular hymn or an early church confession used during baptism. Here, in this confession, we find a beautiful summary of the Christian life. We were all asleep, dead in our trespasses and sins, but God has called us to life. Someone shared the gospel with us somewhere along the line, and we heard the call to wake up! And now we've surrendered our lives to Jesus. His light has shined on our hearts and lives, leading to use being a light in the world of darkness. Like Moses' face and skin shining brightly from his encounter with the glory of God when he came down from Mount Sinai, we shine bright because we've encountered a relationship with the risen Lord, Jesus Christ!

Ephesians 5:3-8

Today, we will look at a passage in Ephesians that contrasts the lifestyle of a life outside God's kingdom and the lifestyle of a life inside of God's kingdom. A specific etiquette should be found within the kingdom of God. As God's people, there are things we do and things we don't do.

Today, we will learn that God's people will seek to honor God with their bodies, hearts, minds, and mouths. 

At the start of Ephesians 5, we find Paul calling the church to be imitators of God. We are to do as God has done. We are to live as Christ has lived. We are to serve as Christ has served. We are to love as Christ loves. If we could summarize the way of God's kingdom down to one thing, it would be self-sacrificing love. Those in Christ are called to crucify their selfish hearts so that they can selflessly serve one another in a manner that reflects the cross. 

Here, in Ephesians 5:3, Paul contrasts selfless living with selfish living. No matter how the world tries to package it, sexual immorality is not an expression of love. We will learn today that God expects his people to handle the gift of sex with a selfless, humble, gentle, and thankful heart. In a world that uses sex for selfish gain, God expects his people to view and use sex selflessly. Sex is not a drug that we flippantly use to satisfy our fleshly cravings; it is a gift from the Lord that we seek to use in a selfless manner that brings glory to God.

Let's dive in.

"[3] But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. [4] Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. [5] 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. [6] Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. [7] Therefore do not become partners with them; [8] for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord."

In looking at verse 3, Paul lays out three sins that a believer ought to avoid: sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness. When you read through the New Testament, both sexual immorality and impurity are consistently linked together. I would argue that they're two sides of the same coin. Together, they encompass all sexual sins.

Sexual immorality is the Greek word porneia. It's where we get the word pornography from. It describes forbidden sexual intercourse. Impurity (akatharsia) is to be physically or morally unclean. It's an uncleanness that stems much deeper than the physical; it's an uncleanness of our hearts and motives. Paul here says we are to put away "all impurity." So, together, these two words encompass every type of sexual sin you could imagine. 

To better understand sexual immorality and impurity, it might be helpful first to define sex. To understand what the Bible says we shouldn't do regarding sex, we need to understand what the Bible says we should do regarding sex. 

First and foremost, from a biological standpoint, sex is the act that leads to procreation. God gives us the gift of sex to fill the earth with people. It's the instrument to which children are conceived and born. 

But, you will also find in the Bible that God has a deeper design for sex than just procreation. God has created sex to be pleasurable and enjoyable. God has designed sex to be a selfless act of worship that a husband and a wife get to enjoy throughout their whole life together privately. Sex is a good gift from the LORD that God calls us to enjoy within the confines of marriage.

The book of Proverbs, for example, is explicit in what it calls a husband to do. We find the call to "Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful foe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated in her love." 

So, here we find four foundational pillars regarding sex: 

Sex is for marriage— "rejoice in the wife of your youth." 

This is a call to remain faithful to your spouse and your spouse alone. Do not acquire wandering eyes. 

Sexual immorality is the perversion of this. It's a husband no longer rejoicing in the wife of his youth and pursuing the comfort of another lover. It's a single person awakening love before its appointed time. It's one's attempt to open the gift of sex outside of the confines of marriage.

Sex is selfless— "Let your fountain be blessed."

Sexual immorality and impurity are expressed through an attempt to be blessed. But Godly sex is expressed through an effort to bless the spouse God has given you. God has created sex to be a selfless act of worship where you give yourself totally to your spouse. It's an expression of blessing. It's you saying, "I'm selflessly giving myself to you to bring you pleasure."

Sex is satisfying— "Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight."

In talking about money, Jesus says, "It is better to give than receive." I believe this principle to be true in marriage, as well. Sex is most satisfying when it's expressed through selfless worship.

The selfish heart is always left wanting more and is never satisfied. But, oh, the joy and pleasure that comes from a selfless heart.

Sex is private— "Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you."

The Christian faith is one of generosity. Jesus calls us to a high standard of sharing and giving. However, that type of generosity does not apply to the marriage bed. You are never to share with another what belongs to you and your spouse. You ought to be stingy and protective when it comes to the private and intimate parts of your marriage. Let no one peek behind the curtain of something designed to be so personal and private.

Church, this is one of the many reasons why pornography is so wicked. Pornography wages war against how God designed sex to be. Pornography is the act of making public something designed to be private. It's the act of inviting strangers to drink from a well that was created for one.

It's nobody's business what takes place between you and your spouse. And it's none of your business what happens between someone else and their spouse. Drink from your well. If you're not yet married, resist the temptation to go to someone else's well for a drink. God designed sexual intimacy to be enjoyed privately between a husband and a wife.

Sexual immorality and impurity are the thwarting of this good gift. It's your pursuit of pleasure in someone or something other than your spouse.

Think about it in terms of the garden. 

In the garden, God gave Adam the freedom to eat from any tree he wished, except one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And, in the garden, God warned Adam what would happen if he sought to enjoy the fruit of the forbidden tree— "he would surely die." Yet, over time, the forbidden fruit's beauty and lure became more appealing than the accessible fruit. They eventually ate, and death entered the picture. 

The same is true here with sex. God says, "Hey, enjoy the good gift of sex within the confines I've given you, the confines of marriage." Yet, the enemy tempts us to taste the fruit of a forbidden lover. 

Sexual immorality and all impurity describe the various ways we seek to wage war against God's good design of sex. It's the act of having sex before marriage with your boyfriend or girlfriend. It's the act of a male making love to another male or a female making love to another female. It's the act of viewing pornography. It's the act of reading sexually explicit books or magazines. It's the act of fantasizing about someone other than your spouse. It's you seeking to find satisfaction and pleasure with anyone or anything other than your spouse. It covers what we do with our bodies, what we see with our eyes, what we think in our hearts, and what we say with our words. 

These things are the manipulation of God's good gift of sex. They are, at their very core, selfish and not loving. They will only lead to heartache and pain. Therefore, we should abstain from them. 

Right next to these things, we find the sin of covetousness (pleonexia). Covetousness is the greedy desire to have more. It comes in all different shapes and sizes, but it's primarily the act of looking at someone else's possessions and wanting them for yourself. This can be a car, house, job, or even someone else's spouse.

Paul says these things aren't even worth mentioning among the saints. This implies an extreme distance between a believer and these practices. 1 Thessalonians 4:7 says, "For God has not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness." So, there's no room for these sins within the life and heart of a believer. This may be who you once were, but this should no longer be who you are now. There's a new standard of living within the kingdom of God. When it comes to these sins, it's better to run than to fight. It's better to crucify than to entertain. It's better to be overly cautious than to be careless. God calls us to holiness. So, may we be holy with our body, with our eyes, with our hearts, and with our words. 

Paul then says, "Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving." Interestingly, this is the only time we see these terms used in the Bible. Filthiness (aschrotēs) means obscenity, dishonor, or shamefulness. Foolish talk (morologia) means silly, empty, senseless, frivolous, or buffoonery. Crude joking (eutrapelia) means vulgar, witty, and harmful jesting. 

Given the context of what's being discussed here, we can summarize these three things as referring to a dirty mind expressing itself in dirty conversation. So, not only are we to be pure in our actions, but we are also to be pure in our speech. 

God's not anti-laughter; he is a God of joy and happiness. But God does care about the topic of our humor. There are things we can joke about and things we cannot joke about. There are things we should discuss and things we shouldn't discuss. Crude jokes can be a paintbrush for the imagination. They can be a way of inviting a neighbor into the privacy of your bedroom. So, let these things be far from your lips. Be careful what you're endorsing through laughter.

Instead of crude joking and vulgar talk, we should be people who give thanks. Thanksgiving is critical for the life of a believer. We should always be thankful for the many gifts God has given us. John Stott puts it this way, "All God's gifts, including sex, are subjects for thanksgiving, rather than for joking. To joke about them is bound to degrade them; to thank God for them is the way to preserve their worth as the blessings of a loving Creator." So, thankfulness is a tangible way in which we can hold highly the good gifts God has given us in this life.

Paul then goes on to warn the church, "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."

Here, we find strong language regarding what will happen to those who actively walk in these sins. Notice the parallel between the sins we are to avoid in verse 3 and the people described in verse 6. They're the same. Those who choose to walk in the sins listed above will have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 

This should leave a lump in our throat. Yes, there is an unbelievable amount of grace for the sinner. We see it in the text: for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light. Every one of us is guilty of sin. Each of us has carried out the desires of our body and mind. Each one of us was once sexually immoral, impure, and covetous. But, not anymore! That's who we once were, but it shouldn't be who we are now. We've tasted the grace of Jesus, which has softened our hardened hearts, changing us from the inside out. 

Make no mistake. Those who choose to walk in these sins will have no home in heaven, and they will feel the full weight of God's wrath. 

Church, sometimes I fear that we try to dull down warning passages in the Bible and make them into something they're not. But warning passages are there to warn us. They're there to communicate to us the seriousness of sin. God will not tolerate sin. He hates sin. He's gone to extreme lengths to save us from the punishment of sin. So, as believers who have been saved from these sins, we seek to avoid them at all costs because we understand the seriousness of them.

As I've reflected on my own life and counseled many young men regarding sexual immorality, I've come to realize that two things keep us from walking in these sins: love and fear of God. 

Those who love God want to honor God with their actions, thoughts, and words. And those who fear God will turn away from evil. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; it prolongs life. Those who love and fear God won't want to continue walking in the wickedness they've been delivered from.  

Ephesians 5:1-2

There's a moment that has stuck with me as a father. About a year ago, I took our dog to the bathroom one evening. As I did so, my youngest son came with me. While standing at the edge of our porch, holding my son's hand, I unknowingly spit in the grass. Not even two seconds later, I watched my then two-year-old son lean over and spit in the grass, too.

I chuckled and smiled at the cuteness of my son imitating my actions, and then I grimaced at the thought of my wife finding out that I'd taught my son how to spit.

As parents, we've all been there before. We've all reached the moment when we realize we must be careful with what we say and do because our children are watching. Many of you, parents, have likely heard your child say something, and you've thought, "Where did they get that from?" Then you think, "Oh, shoot. They got that from me..."

You can think back on your own childhood, and you'll realize we imitate who we are around the most. Many of you likely say and do what you say and do because you got it from your parents. Your humor, your mannerisms, your hobbies, your occupation, the way about which you see life... you inherited these things through imitation.

This ought to be true of the Christian life, as well. Imitation is a key part of discipleship. We have a good Heavenly Father who loves us and who is worthy of our imitation.

The longer we walk with God, the more we should begin to live like God. The character of God ought to impact the character of his people. The decisions of God should impact the decisions of his people. How he serves, we should serve. How he loves, we should love. How he walks, we should walk.

The family of God is not a place where we get to seek selfish gain. Instead, it is a place where we humbly serve one another, laying down our lives for the well-being of others.

Let's dive in.

"[1] Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. [2] And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Every time we see the word "therefore," we must remember that the author is seeking to build an argument. He's linking what he's about to say with what he's previously said.

At the end of chapter 4, Paul calls us to "forgive one another, as God in Christ forgave you." So, how God forgives is how we should forgive. If God forgives fully and unconditionally, then we should forgive fully and unconditionally. Now, at the start of chapter 5, Paul continues to build on this concept of doing as God has done.

This one verse could serve as the catalyst for the second half of Ephesians. It's a summary of how we ought to live as Christians. A central element of the Christian faith is doing as God has done. We are to "be imitators of God as beloved children."

There are two things I want to highlight here: (1) the concept of imitation and (2) our family relationship with God.

IMITATORS OF GOD

The word for imitator (mimētēs) means to be a follower of someone. It's the act of copying the behavior of another. So, again, a central element of the Christian faith is copying God, doing as God does. To imitate the Father, we must be close to our Father.

In 2005, Jamie Foxx won an Oscar for portraying Ray Charles in the movie Ray. Ray was a "biographical drama about R&B legend Ray Charles and chronicled his childhood in Florida, during which he became completely blind by age seven, and his rise to fame during the '50s and '60s."

I watched a documentary on this film this week, and what's interesting is the length to which Foxx went to imitate Charles. Foxx would spend countless hours a day watching and studying Ray's mannerisms. He would attend classes at the Braille Institute and wear special eye prosthetics that would render him blind for up to 14 hours a day. He mimicked everything from how Ray talked to how Ray walked to how Ray held his fingers while playing the piano.

I believe Foxx's example here teaches us a fundamental truth about Godly imitation.

First, Godly imitation doesn't happen by chance. Jesus says, "If anyone were to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me." You don't accidentally follow someone. You don't stumble into living a life of godliness; it takes calculated intentionality. It takes devout study. It takes you fixing your eyes on God in His Word and studying His Word closely.

Psalm 119 says, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word." So, do you desire to live a life for God? Do you desire to honor the Lord with your life? Guard your life with God's word. Godly imitation doesn't happen by chance.

Second, along those lines, it also teaches us that you cannot imitate God from afar. Our mannerisms will only begin to resemble those we're closest to. To be able to imitate God, we must walk with him closely. The longer you walk with God, the more you should begin to live like God.

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

So, before we became Christians, we followed the currents of this world, and we submitted to Satan, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. In doing so, we carried out the desires of our body and mind. We did what we wanted to do. We did whatever felt right and sounded good to us. We were children of wrath.

But, when we embraced the gospel, placing our faith in Jesus, our last name changed. Our household changed. We were adopted into the family of God. We are no longer children of wrath; we are now children of God. Therefore, we're no longer following the world. We now follow God. Where we once walked far from God, we now seek to walk close to God. Where we once did what we wanted to do, we now do what God wants us to do.

We imitate those to whom we're closest. So, if you survey your life and conclude that godliness is far from you, could it be that you're far from God?

To walk like God, we must know how God walks. To serve like God, we need to understand how God serves. To forgive as God forgives, we need to know how God forgives. To love as God loves, we need to understand how God loves. God has given us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness. So, to live like Jesus, you must know Jesus. Immerse yourself in the Bible. Meditate on the Scriptures. Write them on your heart. Get to know God deeply and personally by studying the Bible daily. Bible study isn't a moral obligation that you have to do to receive salvation; it's an opportunity to get to know God on a deeper level.

BELOVED CHILDREN

The second thing I want to highlight is our family relationship with God. We are to "be imitators of God, as beloved children."

The word "beloved" is the exact word used by the Father in reference to Jesus in Matthew 3— "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This phrase speaks of divine love, a favorite love, a love of priority and importance. Interestingly, when you look at the gospels, this term is used only in reference to Christ. But, after the gospels, this word is also used in reference to Christians, those in Christ.

I think these words have both vertical and horizontal implications.

Vertically, in the same way that the Father looked at His Divine Son (Jesus), he now looks at you and me. God is a good Father who loves his children deeply. In the same way the Father is pleased with Jesus, he is pleased with you. Because you are now in Christ, through faith in the finished work of the cross, God looks at you with total, divine pleasure. God loves you with a holy love of true delight. There is nothing you can do or say to make God any more pleased with you. If you are in Christ, you are a beloved child of God, and nothing will ever change this.

Horizontally, though, this should impact how we view and treat one another. If you flip through the rest of the New Testament, you will discover Christians referring to other Christians as "beloved brothers." We are not tolerated neighbors; we are beloved siblings. There should, therefore, be a deep love for our brothers and sisters within the family of God. How God loves us should shape how we love one another. We should look to each other with divine, Godly love.

Our love for one another doesn't depend upon superficial things. It doesn't depend upon our social status. It doesn't depend upon race. It doesn't depend upon what we can do for one another.

Our love and affection for one another depend upon our shared last name. We love God's family; we love our family. There should be a unique type of love present within the family of God, the church.

WALK IN LOVE

So, you aren't to imitate God as a distant follower; you are to imitate God as a beloved child. How God loves his children is how we should love one another. He says, "Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

We can't fully understand the depth of God's love until we first understand the cost of the cross. Yes, Jesus was beaten, mocked, and killed. But he suffered much worse than a physical beating on the cross. On the cross, Jesus took upon himself the punishment that we rightfully deserve. On the cross, he drank the full cup of God's wrath so we wouldn't have to. On the cross, Jesus gave himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

God is love; it's fundamental to who he is. But, to understand God's love, we must understand his holiness and justice. God is so holy, righteous, and good that the Bible says he cannot sin. God is so just that he has to and will punish sin. And we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Therefore, we all deserve to pay the debt for our sins. We are all liable for God's punishment, deserving of his wrath.

Our sin has brought death, judgment, and separation. Judgement is coming. But this is where the cross becomes so beautiful and necessary. Jesus willingly marched to the cross to take upon himself the punishment we deserve. 2 Corinthians 5 says, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus took upon himself the condemnation that we rightfully deserve so that we might be forgiven and free. Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. Jesus' work on the cross is the ultimate display of sacrificial love. He died so we wouldn't have to.

God is calling us to love one another with this same radical and sacrificial love. So, what's the limit to which we should love? There is no limit! When should we withhold our love from one another? Never!

Christ-like love is humble, sacrificial, uncomfortable, costly, selfless, and eternally minded.

Ephesians 4:31-32

A world-renowned school counselor here in Mobile, AL, recently did an exercise on the power of our words with her students. In this exercise, she passed out tiny paper hearts to her students. Each heart represented their heart. As she talked, she periodically told the kids to fold their hearts, and each fold represented a hurtful word spoken to them. After about five minutes of folding, she had the students unfold the hearts. As they unfolded their hearts, the students realized their hearts would never be the same due to the creases caused by each fold.

This exercise was intended to represent how powerful our words are. The phrase, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," simply isn't always accurate. Words possess great power. They can be used for good, and they can be used for corruption. They can be medicine, or they can be poison. They can build up, and they can tear down.

So, I would be willing to bet that it's quite likely some of the greatest pain you've experienced in this life stems from words you've had spoken to you. Many of you are walking around with creases on your hearts. Your heart is full of pain and trauma caused by the various hurtful things spoken to you in this life. Your heart has been battered and damaged. It seems you've been on the receiving end of mean and hurtful speech your whole life. Perhaps at home, your father was never proud of you. Perhaps at school, your friends constantly mocked and ridiculed you. Perhaps your spouse makes you feel like garbage. Perhaps you've tried to find a spouse and been met with constant rejection. Because of this, your heart has become hard and calloused.

But, what we're going to be reminded of today is this: when we place our faith in Jesus, God gives us a new heart. Our heart no longer has to have creases. In Christ, our offenses against God are forgiven and washed away. In Christ, we are a new creation. In Christ, we stand before the Father holy, blameless, and above reproach. In Christ, our heart of stone is replaced with a heart of flesh.

So, what that means is this: we no longer have to walk around with creased hearts! The cross offers us forgiveness and healing. It offers us the ability to forgive those who have sinned against us. So you don't have to be bitter and angry anymore. God gives you the ability and the strength to forgive as he has forgiven you. In our passage today, God continues to show us there is a better way of living than how we once lived.

Let's dive in.

"31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

In these two verses, we find Paul doing what he has done for the past six verses. He tells us what we shouldn't do as Christians, followed by what we should do as Christians, followed by a reason.

So, I want us first to define what we are called to put off as Christians. We will ask the simple question, "What should we not do?"

BITTERNESS

The first thing we see that we are to put off is bitterness. Trying to live out the Christian faith with a bitter heart is like playing soccer with no feet. It's like trying to plant a garden on a basketball court. It simply won't work.

Bitterness (pikria) is a sour and yucky spirit. It's a slow simmering of hard feelings toward someone or something. It's the act of dwelling on grievances, nursing our frustrations.

Bitterness is the opposite of friendliness. It's a poison of the heart that pushes us away from community, not toward it. It possesses a unique ability to drive wedges in friendships and can destroy all sorts of relationships. The bitter person often finds themselves alone and in isolation. The bitter person seldom smiles and often frowns. Joy and laughter are far from their hearts.

But what's interesting about bitterness is that it often thwarts our perception of reality, causing us to view things far worse than they actually are. A bitter heart always assumes the worst. There are no accidents to the bitter person, everything is intentional.

The bitter heart never has difficulty justifying its bitter actions. There's always a good reason to be jaded and sour. "You don't understand; that person did me wrong." says the bitter man.

Yet, God calls us to put bitterness down. No amount of pain, heartache, and turmoil in this life is a justifiable means to embrace bitterness. Choosing to hold on to bitterness is like choosing to drink soured milk when you could drink water. It will only lead to your misery and the misery of those around you. So, "put bitterness away from you," Paul says.

I read this week that a bitter root will lead to bitter fruit. This saying is true. Bitter actions follow a bitter heart; sour actions follow a sour spirit. And this is what I believe we find being laid out for the rest of verse 31, the fruit of a hard and soured heart.

WRATH + ANGER

Out of a bitter heart flows wrath. Wrath (thymos) could be understood as a passionate outburst of rage or hostile feelings. It's anger boiling up and then soon subsiding. It's you being short-tempered. It's you being triggered by just the smallest things. It's you lashing out in rage whenever you are inconvenienced or threatened. It's the opposite of patience and peace. It's self-centered and harmful to our neighbors.

Similar to wrath, anger (orge) is the movement or agitation of the soul. It's you shaking with uncontrollable rage, an impulse, and a desire for violent emotion.

Neither wrath nor anger are welcome in the hearts and lives of a believer. These things lead us away from love, not toward it. They lead to us hurting, not healing, those around us.

CLAMOR + SLANDER

Clamor (kraugē) is an outcry of rage. It's the act of crying out or screaming at someone. It's the couple arguing in your apartment next door. It's a father yelling at their kids to eat their dinner or go to bed. It's a friend drunkenly shouting in rage at the party. Nothing damages our reputation as a Christian faster than the act of clamoring.

Slander is the quiet and shy sibling to clamor. If clamor is a loud outcry of rage, slander is a silent whisper of rage. Slander (blasphēmia) is the act of speaking about someone in a demeaning way that harms their reputation. Some of us don't fear confrontation and are content with watching others sulk in pain. Others of us hate confrontation. Therefore, we do most of our work in the shadows.

You'll never see us yelling at a party on Saturday; instead, you'll find us quietly gossiping at the coffee shop on Monday. You'll never hear us yelling with our spouse next door because we're too busy texting about our spouse to our friends. Many of us will turn our noses up at a video on Facebook of people rioting in public. Then, two minutes later, we text our friend, slandering our coworker in private. Slander is the silent work of bulldozing the reputation of others behind their back. But, neither clamoring nor slandering has any place in the hearts and lives of a believer.

MALICE

Malice (Kakia) is ill-will toward another. It's a calculated desire to injure and harm your neighbor. It's a type of wickedness that's not ashamed of breaking laws.

We are to put off all of these things. We are to put them away from us. The phrase "put away" means picking up and removing an item from its original place. So, these things are not welcome within the heart of God's people. We should take them and put them far from us.

But here's the unfortunate reality of life: until the day that we die, the weeds of sin will never stop growing in our hearts. So, putting these things away isn't a one-time event; it's a consistent and daily act of denying oneself. Jesus says, "If anyone were to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow after me." Every day, we must tend to the garden of our hearts. Putting off sin is a daily task.

KINDNESS

As we take these things off, we are to then put on kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness— "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

Kindness (chrēstos) is an action wrapped up in pursuing your neighbor's good. It's the opposite of harshness, bitterness, and quarreling. It's to be mild, manageable, and pleasant. The kind person seeks to be as helpful to others as possible, while the bitter person stands off and holds back helpfulness. Kindness is selfless living; bitterness is selfish living. Kindness leads to generosity; bitterness leads to theft. Kindness looks outward; bitterness looks inward.

NT Wright says this about kindness, "…Kindness is one of the purest forms of the imitation of God. How would it be if God were the kind of god who was always making snide or bitter remarks at us? What would worship and prayer be like if we thought God had been talking about us behind our backs, putting us down to others? How would we feel if we thought we couldn't trust God to tell us the truth, if he was always losing his temper with us? Well: how do people feel about us if that's what we're like? Wouldn't it be better in every way to be like God?" So, walking in kindness with one another is a tangible way to display God's glory to those around us.

TENDER-HEARTED

Not only are we to be kind, but we are also to be tender-hearted (eusplagchnos). This is obvious, but being tender-hearted is the opposite of being hard-hearted. It's to be compassionate and willing to show pity.

One of the greatest dangers of living out the Christian faith is to become hard-hearted.

I've played a lot of baseball throughout my life, and I never wore batting gloves. During the season, I would swing a bat 500+ times a day. But, after the season, I always took a break from hitting. So, I would have to be careful when I would pick back up a bat to start hitting again. The consistent friction and rubbing of the bat on my hands would lead to my hands becoming blistered. But, over time, those blisters would evolve into callouses. My once tender hands would turn into calloused and hard hands. Having calloused hands would prevent me from feeling pain from the rubbing of the bat.

I fear the Christian life can easily become like swinging a baseball bat. As young believers, we will take our best swings at living out the gospel. But, over time, we will encounter friction, and small blisters will pop up in our hearts, making them hard and calloused. There will be moments when we seek to serve, selflessly pouring our life out for the church, and then we're taken advantage of by the church. There will be moments we love fervently, and then that person betrays or abandons us. There will be moments when we seek to be kind to our coworkers, and then we hear them badmouthing us in the break room.

Swing after swing. We strive to live out the gospel. But, in return, we're met with betrayal and rejection. The next thing we know, we've become jaded. We've become bitter. We've become indifferent toward the life and difficulties of those around us. Instead of looking for opportunities to serve, we find excuses not to serve.

A hard heart is a fertile soil to only the weeds of sin. But, a tender heart is a fertile soil to the many fruits of righteous and Godly living. So, we must remain tender-hearted.

How do we remain tender-hearted? We stay close to the cross. We remind ourselves of what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. The cross tenderizes our hearts. As believers, the longer we fix our hearts on the cross, the more we will be willing to live out the cross. The light of the cross will peer into our hearts, and the fog of bitterness will begin to dissipate. Kindness and forgiveness will soon be on our lips.

FORGIVENESS

Paul tells us to forgive because God has forgiven us in Christ Jesus. Forgiveness (charizomai) is a gospel word. It's to give graciously to someone, the act of restoring a relationship from one to another.

Sometimes, forgiveness is really difficult to give. I've talked with many of you, and you've shared with me ways you've been hurt and wronged by others. I never want to come across as insensitive to the pain you've experienced in your life. But I want to remind you that no one knows the pain of rejection better than God. God understands trauma. God understands heartache; his heart has been broken. God understands rejection; he's been rejected. God understands shame; he's been publicly mocked, shamed, and ridiculed. Yet, God in Christ Jesus took extreme measures to forgive those who hurt him. Jesus willingly marched to the cross so that our sins might be forgiven and our relationship with God might be restored. At the cross, Christ says, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Satan wants you to hold on to bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and malice. But God wants you to put these things away. God is inviting his people to a better way of living. He's inviting us to be kind to one another, tender-hearted, and forgiving, as God in Christ has forgiven us.

Forgiveness is always better than resentment. Sometimes, there will be people who have hurt and wronged us and don't care. They don't want to be forgiven. But, if you have a fractured relationship in your life, may it never be because of your unwillingness to extend forgiveness. C.S. Lewis says, "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you."

Ephesians 4:30

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” — Ephesians 4:30

Ephesians 4:29

A proverbial saying has been floating around neighborhood playgrounds for generations. Across the globe, kids will mock their offenders with the quote, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

This saying aims to communicate to our offenders that the offensive words they threw at us have rendered themselves ineffective. Their comments have not succeeded in offending us.

This saying was often on my lips as a kid. And though I may have convinced little Johnny that he didn't hurt my feelings, I could never convince myself.

We are not the little indestructible human beings we led others to believe we are. As much as we try to make it seem like words are powerless, deep down, we know that words possess great power. Depending on how they are used, words can be like medicine, or they can be like poison. They can lead to life, or they can lead to death.

You see, we live in a fallen and broken world that's full of broken and hurt people. So, we shouldn't be surprised when hurt people say hurtful things to us. It comes with the territory. But we're going to learn today that believers are expected to use their words differently than those around them. We no longer use our words to hurt; we use our words to heal. We no longer use our words for death; we use our words for life. We no longer use our words to tear down; we use our words to build up. A relationship with God should impact how we speak to those around us. As recipients of grace, we must use our words to give grace.

Let's dive in.

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

WORDS ARE POWERFUL

The first thing we see here is a contrast between two different ways of talking. There's a corrupt way and a good way. This tells us that our words are a powerful tool that can lead to death or life. They can be poison, or they can be medicine. They can tear down, or they can build up. They can cause pain, or they can bring healing.

The word corrupt is a word in the Bible that represents something of bad quality, something rotten or worthless. It's a term of evil and wickedness. We see Jesus use this word to describe bad fruit from a tree or rotten fish from the sea. So, it's something that's gross and rotten, an instrument of death and sickness.

Good, however, is a word that means useful, pleasant, upright, honorable, and excellent. Jesus uses this term to describe good fruit or good fish. So, it's the opposite of corruption. It's a term of health, holiness, and reasonableness. It's something that leads to life and health, not death and sickness.

Think about it this way. Let's say you're walking down the beach and find a dead fish washed up on shore with flies surrounding it. What would happen if you took that rotten fish home and ate it? You would get really sick. The same is true with our words. Corrupt words are sickening, while good words are nourishing. Corrupt words are like poison, while good words are like medicine. Corrupt words tear down while good words build up.

There are no morally neutral words. There are only two different directions our words can go: to death or life.

This is a principle that has rung true since the beginning of time. Go all the way back to Genesis. In Genesis 1, God uses words to create, bless, and command his creation. From the creation of light to the formation of man, God created through words. He used his words for life, speaking the world into existence. And, following his creation, he spoke a blessing over those he made in his image. God has always used his words for life and blessing. But, if you turn in your Bible two pages to the right to Genesis 3, you will find how words were also used to lead to death. In Genesis 3, we see Satan use his words to deceive Adam and Eve into disobeying God. Satan came questioning God's commands with deceptive words, which led to Adam and Eve eating the fruit that God commanded them not to eat. So, God spoke in creation, and Satan spoke in the fall. God uses his words for life. Satan uses his words for death.

Words are so much more than air flowing past our vocal cords. Our words are powerful instruments that can lead to death or life. Therefore, we ought to pause and carefully think about how we are using our speech on a day-to-day basis.

WORDS REVEAL OUR HEART

Words are powerful tools that can lead to death and life, but they're also powerful instruments capable of revealing the state of our hearts. The words we say directly reflect what's inside of us. Our hearts and tongues are never at odds with one another. They work hand in hand. Our hearts are the source of the words we speak, and the words we speak reveal the state of our hearts.

On multiple occasions throughout Jesus's life, he reiterated that the fruit of our life directly indicates the type of person we are. In Matthew 12, for example, while speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus says, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

So, your words reveal to those around you who you are as a person. The good person speaks good words; the corrupt person speaks corrupt words. And we will be judged by the words we speak.

But do you know what's interesting about this statement here by Jesus? He's speaking to the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the religious elite, those who prided themselves in obeying the law. Yet, in talking to those who prided themselves in the law, he calls them a "brood of vipers," a group of snakes.

This tells me that Jesus is attacking something deeper here. He's not worried about people adopting specific religious phrases because it's possible to use religious words in a non-religious way. It's possible to use positive words in a negative manner.

For example, you could mockingly say to your mom, "Ok, MoM. I'll dO wHaT yOu SaY." Those are good words used in a demeaning manner. Or, at Bible study, you could say, "Bless their hearts," then slander your neighbor. You've disguised corrupt words with a Godly phrase.

Our words can be used to tear down, or they can be used to build up, and our words reveal the state of our hearts. So, what is coming out of your heart?

I'm not asking if you cuss (that's another conversation for another day); I'm asking you to go deeper. It's easy to stop saying the "D-word." It's hard to speak encouraging, life-giving words to those around you. So, what do your words say about who you are as a person? Which kingdom do your words show you belong to: God's kingdom or the kingdom of this world?

Those who belong to God's kingdom will seek to use their words to build up. Those who belong to the kingdom of this world will use their words to tear down.

RIGHT WORDS, RIGHT TIME

There's a phrase in this sentence in Ephesians that might be easy to overlook— "as fits the occasion."

We often dress for the occasion. We don't wear to a wedding what we would wear to a gym. And we don't wear at home what we would wear at work. A tuxedo is nice. But, it's not appropriate to wear to work. It doesn't fit the occasion.

In the same way, we ought to make sure our words fit the occasion. This tells us that there might be a time to be quiet. Sometimes, we need to open our mouths and say something nice; sometimes, we just need to be quiet and listen.

There will be times in our lives when our hearts will be burning with rage, and we want to say something hurtful to the person who has hurt us. We should refrain from such speech. But there will also be times when we want to say something nice and helpful to someone hurting. But, it might just be best for us to quietly put our arm around that person and weep with them.

Every occasion is different. So, before we say something, we should ask, "Is this the right time to say what I want to say?"

Sometimes it's good to be quiet, but sometimes it's good to speak up. Proverbs 15:28 says, "The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things."

To "ponder" means to study, meditate, or give careful thought to something. So, we should give careful thought to the words we speak. The Christian should seek to speak appropriate words. We should contemplate our hearts and motives— "Why do I want to say what I'm about to say?" We should ponder our words— "Are my words correct, true, and seasoned with grace?" We should consider the person we're speaking to— "Will my response here be helpful?"

GRACIOUS WORDS

We should seek to speak fewer words, and we should strive to speak appropriate words. The proper Christian approach to words is to carefully think about how to use our words to "build up" others, not tear them down. We strive to give grace to those who hear.

What is grace? Grace is an undeserved gift.

In Ephesians 2, Paul paints a beautiful picture of grace. He says, "[1] And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—[3] among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. [4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…"

This is rebellious language. This is mockery language. This language depicts us as incapable of living a life honoring God. Yet, God still pursued us. He made us alive with Christ. He saved us by grace. He's seated us in the heavenly places with Christ. He's extended to us riches whenever we deserve poverty. He's extended to us kindness when we deserve wrath.

Grace is an undeserved gift. The Son of God willingly entered a hostile world with grace, love, and kindness. He willingly marched to the cross, laying his life down so that "children of wrath" might become "children of God."

Here's what's really important for us to understand: we cannot speak grace until we've first experienced grace. Our words cannot change our hearts, but our hearts can change our words. And the beauty of the gospel is that, in Christ, God gives us a new heart. When we trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit moves into our hearts, transforms our hearts and minds, and replaces our heart of stone with a heart of flesh. So, speaking life-giving words is a byproduct of experiencing eternal life.

When God's grace seeps into our hearts, we begin to be transformed into the image of Christ. We cannot speak grace until we've first experienced grace.

If grace is an undeserved gift, then there will undoubtedly be moments when our hearers don't deserve kind words. But, those who have received grace will be willing to do as Jesus has done. As recipients of grace, we must be extenders of grace. If our heart has received grace, then our hearts will become filled with grace, and a heart filled with grace will begin to speak graciously. So, may we be men and women willing to interject kind words into a hostile world, just as our Savior has done.

Ephesians 4:28

We can approach this passage with two different lenses today: the lens of the law and the lens of grace. The lens of the law will see this passage as a description of how we become Christians; the lens of grace will see this passage as a description of how we should now live as Christians.

There's a big difference between the two. One operates out of fear and pride, while the other operates out of joy and freedom. One views ethics as a to-do list or a means to an end, while the other views ethics as an expression of worship.

I fear that many of us still approach God's word with our law-tinted glasses on, believing our time here on earth is a tryout for making it onto God's team. We believe that, to make it into heaven, we have to perform well in this life, and if we do more good than bad, then hopefully, he will allow us in.

But I'm here to tell you today that's not remotely close to what the Bible teaches. The Bible invites us to take off our law-tinted glasses and put on a new pair of glasses, the glasses of grace.

If our life were a tryout, we would all be left off God's team. If making it to heaven depended upon our ability to do more good than bad, we would all be left out. But, the Bible isn't a to-do list you must check off to make it to heaven. The Bible is a love story of God's loving pursuit of his bride. The Bible is a story of hope, rescue, grace, and redemption.

Yes, you've blown it. Yes, you've rebelled against God. Yes, you were running in the opposite direction of God. Yes, you deserve death and condemnation. But the beauty of the gospel is that God has pursued you and sent His Son to die on the cross for you. The beauty of the gospel is that through faith in Jesus, you can be adopted into the family of God. The beauty of the gospel is that grace, not works, is how we can become sons and daughters of God. Your salvation rests upon the shoulders of God's grace, not your works.

This is not a tryout. Ephesians 4 is not a list of things you must do to make it onto God's team. No. Ephesians 4 is simply a description of how one should live now that they are on God's team.

The proper approach to Christian ethics is to understand that the vertical shapes the horizontal. If you have encountered God's grace, love, and mercy, your life will never be the same. Grace should transform how we think, feel, and live. Our thoughts, desires, and affections will begin to be transformed, leading to a new way of life. The things we once loved, we will no longer love. The way we once thought, we will no longer think. The things we once did, we will no longer do. No corner of our heart, no shadow of our life, should go untouched by the bright light of God's grace, love, and mercy.

Today, we will look at how God's grace should impact the way we work. Where we once stole, we now give. Where we once lied, we're now honest. Where we were once lazy, we now work hard. As Christians, we seek to honor God with how we work and why we work.

So, let's dive in.

"Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need."

STOP STEALING

Here, we find transformational language being used once again. Someone's life, which was once built around thievery, is to put down stealing and pick up generosity. A believer should no longer take and hoard; they should labor and give.

As we walk through life, we will undoubtedly see things that will grab our attention. We will see things that don't belong to us that we want to belong to us. The thief will let his eyes lead his hands, giving himself to taking what doesn't belong to him. The thief is set on building his kingdom with the possessions of another. He couldn't care less about those around him as long as his wants and desires are being met.

But those whose faith resides in Jesus are called to take off their old way of stealing. Put simply, Christians should never take what doesn't belong to them.

Now, if I'm a betting man, I would bet that when we hear the words "thief" and "stealing," we likely don't lump ourselves into that category. When we hear thief, we think of someone breaking into a bank or a grocery store wearing a mask over their face. Therefore, we believe this is a distant concept for us.

But, I want to gently push back against that mindset for a moment. In Romans 2, while addressing the law-abiding Jews, Paul says, "You then who teach others, do you not teach yourselves? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law."

We must understand that it's possible to be guilty of the very thing we condemn. It's possible to be guilty of the very thing we turn our nose up at on the news. Therefore, we must be slow to disassociate ourselves from the sin described in the Bible.

Robbery isn't limited to holding someone up at gunpoint. A thief comes in various shapes and sizes, and none of us are exempt from fitting the mold of a thief. The thief is someone lying on their timesheet at work. The thief is someone who lies on his or her taxes. The thief is someone who borrows and never returns a company computer. The thief is someone who takes advantage of an ignorant customer, making them pay more than they should. The thief is someone who cheats on their homework.

Just because you've never been in handcuffs doesn't mean you're not guilty of stealing. Just because you don't have a mugshot online doesn't mean you're not a thief. We've all probably got a little more thievery in us than we would like to admit.

WORK HARD

But, once the thief encounters Jesus, something should begin to happen inside their heart and mind. The thief should set down the mask and the gun, and they should roll up their sleeves and get to work. Instead of stealing, they "labor, doing honest work, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need." This tells us that a Christian should work hard.

The word for labor implies one growing weary and tired from their work. In John 4, for example, Jesus is journeying from Judea to Galilee and, weary from the labor of his journey in the hot sun, he stops in Samaria (Jn. 4:6). The word "labor" paints the picture of work being hard and difficult.

Listen, work is good. It was created by God to give mankind fulfillment and joy! We see in Genesis 2:15 that before sin entered the world, God created humans to have and enjoy work! Yet, because of sin, we now have a clouded view of work. Because we now live in a sinful world, work doesn't always feel like a good thing.

After Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, we see God say in Genesis 3, "…cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." So, when sin entered the world, the relationship between God and man was fractured, which affected everything we do and experience on earth. So, although work is still good, it has now become harsh, strenuous, and (at times) unpleasant for humans. Just as the plants of the ground became tarnished with thorns and thistles, so also has work—"by the sweat of our face, we will eat bread." And since work is now difficult, we are tempted to avoid work and become lazy.

But, we see here that Christian workers don't take the easy way out; instead, they embrace the labor of hard work. It honors God when we honor our boss by being diligent workers. It honors God when we show up on time to our job. It honors God when we put down our phones at work. It honors God when we take time to think and carefully plan out how we can be better employees. It honors God when we come home tired from our job.

BE HONEST

God cares about how we work! A strong work ethic is God-honoring. We ought to be workers who work hard for our bosses, and we ought to be workers who work honestly for our bosses. God delights in honest, non-deceptive work. A Christian should be an honest worker— “doing honest work with his hands.”

The word for honest here is to be good, upright, honorable, and beneficial. It's the opposite of stealing. It's a commitment to being above reproach, having nothing to hide from others when it comes to work.

This tells us that God cares about how you make your money. God cares about the type of worker you are, and he cares about the kind of work you do. A full bank account is not a surefire sign of God's blessing. It's possible to be making a lot of money outside of the will of God, and it's possible to be making not a lot of money inside the will of God. Proverbs 16:8 says, "Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice." So, it is better to make less money doing honest work than it is to make a lot of money doing dishonest work.

Honesty may be costly. Doing the right thing may require sacrifice. You might make less money doing the right thing. But, doing the right thing will always be worth it— "Better is a little with righteousness." Honesty may be hard, but honesty is always worth it.

Now, our sinful hearts are programmed to doubt the reliability of honesty. We're all tempted to think, "This company isn't paying me enough. If I don't lie on my paycheck, then my children won't eat," or "If I don't cut this corner, then I'm going to lose my job, and if I lose my job, we will lose our home and my family won't make it."

The enemy wants us to believe the lie that sin is the only way to a better life. He wants honesty to seem like a death wish. But, when you read the Scriptures, God dismantles the lie that so many of us believe! Immediately following the call to do honest work in Proverbs 10, we read, "The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked."

So, yes, doing the right thing may lead to loss. But it will never lead to despair. In your pursuit of righteousness, you will never lose your provider, and you will never lose your protector! The creator and sustainer of all things promises to care for you. Your employees may mock you when you pursue honest work. They may abandon you when you do the right thing. But God will never leave you nor forsake you! God will always take care of you in your pursuit of doing what's right.

Those who do what is right will never go hungry. But, the cravings of the wicked will be thwarted. To "not go hungry" is to be satisfied and content, but "craving" is rooted in hunger. Craving is rooted in a desire to be satisfied. So, in using the language of Ephesians, the thief will never be satisfied.

Some will cut corners to gain more wealth because they think more money will provide more security. Yet, they will find out that there's never enough money in their savings account. Others will cut corners to gain more wealth because they think more money will provide more joy and happiness. Yet, when they cash their checks in, they still feel empty.

Choosing sin over righteousness is like choosing a plate full of air over a steak. After every bite you take, you think you will be satisfied, but you will only find yourself becoming more hungry. Sin never satisfies. Unjust gain will never satisfy the hunger of our soul. So, may we be honest workers who are content with the fruit of righteousness.

SHARE THE FRUIT OF YOUR LABOR

Why do we stop stealing? Why do we work hard? Why do we work honestly? The answer is simply: so that we can honor God by living generously. Paul says, "So that he may have something to share with anyone in need."

"Sharing" is a term of generosity. It's a term of giving. It's the same word used by Jesus in Luke 3 when he says, in regard to bearing good fruit, "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise." So, Christians work hard so that, with the fruit of their labor, they might better care for the needs of those around them.

Notice the transformation of motives here from the start of this verse to the end of this verse. The verse starts with a thief corruptly taking from his neighbor to build his own kingdom, and it ends with the thief emptying his kingdom to give to his neighbor. A fundamental element of the Christian faith is sharing the fruits of our labor. God hasn't blessed you with money and possessions so that you can feel safe and secure by them. He has blessed you with these things so that you can meet the needs of those around you.

Jesus demonstrated the greatest act of generosity in history. Jesus left all riches and became poor so we could become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." So, as recipients of God's rich grace, we should seek to live graciously and generously. Generosity is what we are called to as believers. And when we embrace a generous life, we are choosing to imitate Jesus in the way we live. So, we give generously because God has given generously to us.

Ephesians 4:25-27

TEXT:

"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil."

MANUSCRIPT:

To find a command in Ephesians, you must first journey through 66 verses. For context, there are 155 verses in Ephesians, so you're 42.6% of the way through this book before you come across a command. In a six-chapter book, a command doesn't show itself until the fourth chapter.

I believe this subtle reality teaches us something important regarding the Christian faith. It teaches us that although good works are a fundamental element of the life of a believer, good works are not the foundation of a believer's salvation. Our hope doesn't reside in our good works. The basis of our salvation doesn't rest upon our good works. Our relationship with God doesn't hinge on our good works. The church doesn't stand upon our good works.

Good works are the fruit of salvation, not the root of salvation. Paul tells us this much in chapter 2, "We are saved by grace through faith, which is not a result of works so that no one might boast. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

So, the finished work of the cross is where our hope stands. The basis of our salvation rests securely upon the shoulders of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Our relationship with God hinges upon the fact that he has adopted us into his holy family. The church stands upon the firm foundation of Christ Jesus, our Lord. We have been brought near to God, not by our good works, but by the blood of Christ.

But, now that we've been brought near to God, we ought to begin to live as if we're a part of the family of God. When we place our faith in Jesus, something happens inside of us. Our heart of stone becomes a heart of flesh. The Spirit of God now dwells within us, and he begins to lead us to good works. Our actions, our thoughts, and our desires begin to change.

Well, here in verse 25, Paul begins to give tangible examples of how a believer will begin to live out the gospel daily. So, over the next few weeks, we will discuss the various examples of gospel living given in these eight verses.

There's a lot of application packed into these eight verses. And we have a couple of options for how we could unpack them. We could take a bird's-eye approach, tackling how to live out the gospel in one week. Or we could go a little slower, zooming in on each of these exhortations. We will take the Noah approach for the next few weeks, ushering two of these commands a week into our lives.

Today, we will examine our words and emotions: truth-telling and anger navigation.

• A Christian must be committed to speaking the truth.

• A Christian must know how to navigate the emotion of anger.

So, let's dive in.

"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil."

NEW HEART, NEW WORDS

The word "therefore" is intentionally placed to link what was just said with what is about to be said. In last week's passage, we found a call to take off our old self and put on our new self. And here, we see that a new heart should lead to new words. As a new creation with a new heart and desires, we are to put off falsehood and put on truth-telling.

Jesus, in speaking to the Pharisees in Matthew 12:34, says, "For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." So, the words we say directly reflect the state of our hearts. Our hearts and tongues are never at odds with one another. They work hand in hand. Your heart is the source of the words you speak.

Well, the beauty of the gospel is that whenever we believe and trust in Jesus, God turns our heart of stone into a heart of flesh. We become a new creation. Therefore, we can now begin using our tongues for life, not death, because our hearts have changed. A heart of stone is prone to speak falsehood, but a heart alive in Christ will seek to speak the truth.

LIES, A LACK OF FEAR

At the heart of a lie is a lack of fear of God. If you're content with speaking lies, you're more concerned with the opinion of man than the opinion of God. If you're content with speaking lies, you're more concerned with your kingdom than God's kingdom. If you're content with speaking lies, you're bowing in worship to the idol of greed. The heart of a liar says, "I don't care that God knows the truth as long as my neighbor doesn't."

Can we talk briefly about the exhausting effects of a lie? I'm convinced that some of (not all of) the mental health problems we are facing right now in our society simply stems from our commitment to falsehood. We're living in darkness while telling others we're in the light. We stack lie upon lie, thinking it will offer us freedom, but it only digs us deeper into the pit of darkness and despair. But God invites us to live in the light, free from the bondage of falsehood. He invites us to confess our sins to each other, not so that we might be scolded and condemned, but so that we might be healed.

Telling the truth may be hard, but it's always worth it. Those who have confessed their sins and come to God broken and in need of a Savior have tasted and seen the freedom that comes from truth-telling. This should lead us to tell the truth to each other. Honesty with God should lead to honesty with our neighbor.

Sometimes, we might be tempted to think that a lie may better serve the church than the truth. But a lie can only accomplish what a lie can accomplish. Do not believe the lie that sin can yield the fruit of righteousness. A lie, as John Stott puts it, "is a stab into the very vitals of the Body of Christ. For fellowship is built on trust, and trust is built on truth. So falsehood undermines fellowship, while truth strengthens it."

Paul then says, "Be angry and do not sin…"

Here, in Ephesians 4, we find a complex dichotomy regarding anger. In verse 26, it seems as if Paul is giving the church freedom to be angry, but in verse 31, he tells us to put away anger. One moment, he's telling us to be angry. The next moment, he's telling us not to be angry.

As we unpack the words here, I think we will learn that there will be justifiable moments to feel the emotion of anger, but that anger ought always to be short-lived. Anger isn't always anti-Christian. You're not always wrong when you feel the emotion of anger. There is a right time to be angry. But, when we feel anger, we must be careful to make sure we do not sin in our anger.

Here's what I think we find when we survey the Scriptures regarding anger: we should be slow to become angry and quick to resolve our anger.

SLOW TO ANGER

There's a consistent call in Scripture to be "slow to anger." Think about this call like a firework. Some fireworks have short fuses, while other fireworks have longer fuses. As Christians, our fuse should be longer than others. We shouldn't burn with rage every time something doesn't go our way. So, it's not necessarily that God doesn't want us to feel the emotion of anger. Instead, he wants us to be slow in becoming angry.

Church, listen, anger is overwhelming (27:4), and the person given over to anger causes many transgressions and stirs up strife (29:22). If you are a short-tempered person, your life will be marked with heartache, pain, suffering, and strife. Therefore, we ought to be slow to anger.

But, the fact that the Bible tells us to be slow to anger tells us there's undoubtedly a suitable time to become angry. In Ephesians 4, Paul tells us to "be angry and not sin." Therefore, there must be such a thing as righteous anger.

So, what is righteous anger? When is it the right time to feel angry?

Dr. Allender, in his book The Cry of the Soul, narrows our anger down to be a response to two things: interference with satisfaction and unjust assault. In other words, we typically feel angry whenever we have experienced an inconvenience (unrighteous anger) or witness or experience injustice (righteous anger).

In Psalm 7:11, we see a righteous God feeling indignation every day. And his anger is directed toward the wicked. He feels indignation toward the evil one. God is a good judge who can only judge rightly and justly. The cruel injustice in this world stirs up God's indignation every day. This tells us that God's righteous anger isn't a response to inconvenience; it's a response to injustice.

This is a good thing. We want God to get angry at sin, and we want him to punish sin! If a murderer is standing before a judge, and the judge smirkingly asks him, "What kind of gun did you use?" we would want that judge to be fired immediately. A just judge despises evil. Therefore, a God who felt anything but anger when looking at evil would not be a God worth trusting. We want God to get angry at sin. When someone has hurt you deeply, you want to know that God deeply cares about what you're experiencing. We don't want a God who is laid back on a couch eating Cheetos, shrugging his shoulders at the evil in this world. We want God to feel indignation every day.

But we also want him to be slow to anger, don't we? We want God to be slow to anger because we would all be dead in hell right now if he weren't slow to anger. If God had a short fuse, we would have tasted the wrath of God a long time ago. So, thankfully, the God who feels indignation every day is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness! Thankfully, God's steadfast love holds back the reigns of the anger he feels every day. Thankfully, he doesn't smite us because he abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness. Thankfully, God is quick to extend mercy and grace! Thankfully, God's long fuse gives us many opportunities to rethink our sinful decisions and repent from them.

God is a just judge who will deal rightly with the wicked. In speaking on God's anger, Nahum says, "Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him (Nah. 1:6)." So, when it's time for God to act on his anger, you better watch out. When it is time for God to strike his gavel, the wicked will be destroyed.

But, the beauty of the gospel is that God's steadfast love didn't just hold back the reigns of his anger. His steadfast love drove him to pour all that anger upon himself. God's anger, love, justice, grace, and mercy collide at the cross. God poured out his wrath upon his blameless Son at the cross so the guilty might go free.

Only when we rightly understand the cross will we begin to rightly steward the emotion of anger. The cross teaches us that the feeling of anger is not an excuse to set aside grace, mercy, and love. Righteous anger drives us toward redemption.

Church, it's not wrong to feel anger when we witness or experience any injustice. I agree with Ray Ortlund when he says, "The closer we get to Christ, the angrier we will get at real evil." The emotion of anger is not always wrong. If a sister was sexually assaulted, you ought to join with God in feeling anger. If someone was falsely accused of doing something they haven't done, you ought to join with God in feeling anger. When you witness racism, you ought to join with God in feeling anger. When you hear the abortion of babies being celebrated and encouraged in our country, you ought to join with God in feeling anger. When you see the rich profiting off the poor, you ought to join with God in feeling anger.

But what must we do when we feel anger in our hearts? We must not sin. And how do we make sure we don't sin in our anger?

First and foremost, I think we pause, reflect, and ponder. We need first to consider and question our anger. We need first to ask ourselves, "Why am I angry? And is my anger justifiable? Am I upset over an inconvenience, or am I upset over legitimate injustice?"

I'm going to be honest with you guys. I often find myself getting angry at all of the wrong things. Unfortunately, I get more frustrated with inconvenience than I do injustice. I'm afraid I would be more likely to get upset with my children for constantly asking me for a snack than with someone who stole my children's snacks. I'm often as bold as a lion when things aren't going my way and timid as a mouse when I witness true wickedness.

So, the first thing we need to do whenever we feel anger is question our anger. Why am I angry? Is my anger justifiable? If it's not, put it to death. If it is, then we need to question our desires. For example, let's say someone has wronged you personally. What do you want at that moment? Our sinful heart will want to be the judge at that moment. Our sinful hearts will want to hurt or destroy someone who wronged us. So, what is your desire? Do you want this person to experience pain and humiliation? Or do you simply want them to stop doing the thing that is causing you or your neighbor pain?

If it's the former, we must put that to death. The Bible is clear: vengeance belongs to the LORD, not us. If it's the latter, then (before we confront the individual or move forward in action), we should begin to ponder our own sinful hearts.

The Bible is clear: we should take the log out of our eyes before dealing with the speck in our neighbors. We often hate the very thing that we do ourselves. And we can't hate someone else's sin more than our own. So, we must ask, "Am I guilty of the very thing I'm upset about?"

If yes, we must go to the Lord for forgiveness before moving forward. Then, before we confront the issue, we should ponder the gospel.

We must never forget to cross. The anger you feel pales in comparison to the anger God feels. He feels indignation every day. Yet, in his steadfast love, he poured that anger out on his Son so that you might be free. The cross teaches us that anger is not an excuse to set aside grace, mercy, and love. Preach the gospel to yourself in your anger. The good news of Christ-crucified helps us act rightly in our anger. And after you've done these things, you confront for the sake of healing.

The emotion of anger is there to drive us to action. But it's not there to drive us to actions contrary to the gospel. We must be careful to "be angry and not sin." So, as we address the problem, we do so truthfully and in love.

You are not God. God is God. You are not the righteous judge. God is the righteous judge. So, rest in the fact that no act of wickedness will ever go unpunished. No sin will fall through the cracks. Each injustice will be dealt with viciously, either on the cross or at the end of history.

The cross leads to joy and gladness, not anger and bitterness. So, if your heart is drenched with anger, then could it be that you haven't truly encountered Christ? The cross forces us to drop our swords and forsake wrath.

DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN

Have you ever cooked a soup, turned the burner to simmer, and then forgot about it? Next thing you know, you've burned the bottom of the soup, ruining the entire soup. The same is true with anger. Letting anger simmer in your heart for a long time will only lead to your demise. Therefore, we must not let the sun go down in our anger. As John Stott puts it, "Satan loves to lurk around angry people hoping to be able to exploit the situation to his own advantage by provoking them into hatred or violence or a breach of fellowship."

Ephesians 4:17-24

The NBA trade deadline is coming up on February 8, which means that if a team wants to trade any of their players, they have until the 8th to do so.

Here's what that will mean for some players in the league: February 8 will be the last day they wear their team's uniform. On February 9, they will have a new jersey to wear. On February 9, they will have new responsibilities and a new identity. Someone will no longer be an LA Laker; they will now be a Chicago Bull. They will remove that old Lakers jersey and put on a new Chicago Bulls jersey.

In our passage today, we will find this "taking off" and "putting on" language being used. We put off our old self, and we put on our new self. When we place our faith in Jesus, our team changes. We were once on the world's team, but now we are on God's team. And now that we are on God's team, our responsibility and identity changes. We take off our old way of living and put on our new way of living. We take off our old way of thinking and put on a new way of thinking. We take off our old desires and put on new desires. As Tony Merida summarizes this passage, "When we put on Christ, we receive a new spiritual identity and new corresponding responsibilities. Having put off the corrupt garment of the old self (4:22) and put on the new garment (v. 24), we must live in light of our new identity."

Let's dive in.

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

DIFFERENT THAN THE WORLD

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

Walk is a term used throughout the gospels to describe the act of stepping one foot in front of the other— the act of making one's way through a town or place. Remember, there weren't cars during this time, so "walking" was a term that encompassed all of one's life.

Paul, however, often uses this word to describe the conduct of one's life. It's an individual's lifestyle. In saying, "You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do," Paul is saying, "You must no longer live as the Gentiles do." Put simply, how you live your life as a Christian ought to be drastically different than the Gentiles.

But what is a Gentile? A Gentile is a term used to describe 'the nations' or 'non-Jews' or 'the pagan world.'

So, Paul is saying Christians should live differently than the rest of the world. There are things the world will endorse that we should no longer endorse. There are things the world will do that we should no longer do. There are things the world will say that we should no longer say.

The language we use and the conversations we're a part of should stand out at work. How we do business, as a business owner, should be different than our competitors. How we care for our neighbors should be different than everyone else in our neighborhood. How we interact with the opposite sex should be different than our partners at the gym.

DIFFERENT THAN YOU

Your lifestyle should look different from the world. But not only should your life look different from the world, it should also look different from how you used to live. "No longer" implies that the church did, at one time, walk as the Gentiles walked. So, Paul says that those who have experienced salvation will also experience transformation. The way you live now as a Christian should be different than how you lived before you were a Christian. To confess Jesus as Savior is also to acknowledge him as Lord. To say, "Jesus has saved me from my sins" is also to say, "I'm willing to let Jesus lead me away from my sins."

There should be a distinction between the church and the world, and there should be a distinction between your new self and your old self.

You're missing this fundamental aspect of the Christian faith if your justification for snapping at a co-worker, bickering with a neighbor, or arguing with your spouse is, "Well, I've always been a short-tempered person. Short fuses run deep in our family."

The way you live now as a Christian should begin to be different than how you lived before you were a Christian.

HEART & MIND

Now, I want us to look at how Paul describes the world's ways, "...you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity."

Notice the primary emphasis here is on what's on the inside, not the outside. Paul doesn't summarize the world's way as "drinking, smoking, and cussing." No, he summarizes the world as a people who are darkened in their understanding and have a hard and calloused heart toward God.

I believe this teaches us that God cares about our hearts more than our actions. It's possible, at times, to look morally clean with religious actions and still be alienated from the life of God. It's possible to cover up a greedy heart with actions that appear to be selfless. It's possible to look like someone who loves God when, in reality, you hate God.

The heart of the problem is the heart of the person— "Futility of mind, darkened in their understanding, ignorance that is in them, hardness of heart, calloused."

Futility is a term that implies emptiness. It's a word used in the Old Testament 54 times (mostly Ecclesiastes) and three times in the New Testament. It's a term that signifies vanity, purposelessness, absurdity, or worthlessness.

Vanity, vanity, everything is vanity," says Solomon in Ecclesiastes. Similarly, Paul says in 1 Corinthians that our faith would be futile and worthless if Christ had not been raised from the grave (1 Cor. 15:17). In Romans 8:20, he tells us that creation had been subject to futility due to the fall (Rom 8:20), meaning it was created to produce fruit to preserve life, but was thwarted due to the curse of the fall. Similarly, Peter tells us that false prophets utter loud boasts of complete folly (2 Pt. 2:18).

So, here in Ephesians, Paul is saying that there is something fundamentally wrong with the mind of the world; it's unable to function the way that it was intended to function. There's a way that might seem right to the world, but in reality, it's empty and worthless apart from God. There was a way that seemed right to us before Christ, but in reality, it was empty and worthless apart from God.

Paul adds that they are "darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart." So, they walk in the futility of their minds because their understanding is darkened. But not only are they darkened in their understanding, they are far from God.

Paul, in Romans 1, tells us that "what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

So, God has made himself known to the world, yet the world has rejected him. They did not honor him as God. They've distanced themselves from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them. Therefore, God has given them up to the lust of their hearts. Their hearts are hard. Using Paul's language, they have become "calloused and have given themselves us to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity."

This is the world; this was you. Their minds are futile; your mind was futile. Their understanding is darkened; your understanding was darkened. Their life is far from God; your life was far from God. Their hearts are hardened toward God and full of ignorance; your heart was hardened toward God and full of ignorance. They are calloused and greedy to practice every kind of impurity; you were calloused and greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

LEARNING CHRIST

"But!" Paul says. Something has changed in you! He says, "But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus…"

Learned is an academic word. It's a word that implies one being taught something. So, Paul is telling us that when they learned Christ, transformation began to take place, which teaches us that teaching and learning are fundamental aspects of the Christian faith. They heard about Christ and were taught in Christ.

Community is important. Being present in one another's lives is essential. I think a healthy church does things together. We want to be friends with one another. We want to laugh with one another; we want to cry with one another. But, we short-change community if we neglect discipleship. Jesus called his disciples to go into the world to make disciples, and teaching is a fundamental element of discipleship. Discipleship is teaching a Christian how to think, feel, and act like Jesus. So, to be a disciple of Jesus, we must learn about Jesus.

There's something interesting here that 99% of us will miss. Paul, in his writings, often refers to Jesus as "Jesus Christ," or "Christ Jesus," or "Lord Jesus," or "the Messiah, Jesus." But, here in Ephesians 4:21, we find the only mention of just the name Jesus in Ephesians. So, Paul seems to be intentionally drawing his reader's attention to the historical person, Jesus. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The life of Jesus isn't a fabricated story; it's a historically accurate story about the person and work of Jesus. A fundamental aspect of discipleship is teaching one another about Jesus. Jesus is the subject of Christian teaching.

But our teaching isn't merely intellectual; it's also relational. As we grow in our knowledge of Christ, we should grow in our relationship with Christ. The fundamental difference between the world and the church is our proximity to God. The world is alienated from God; we are with God in Christ. The world worships man; we worship God. The world loves self; we love God. The world serves its own desires; we serve Christ. As we commit to learning about Christ, we commit to walking with Christ. We want to know him both intellectually and relationally.

NEW CREATION

Paul then says that we are to put off our "old self, which belongs to [our] former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds."

To embrace Jesus is to adopt a new way of life. We're taking off that old jersey and putting on a new one. And this new way of life starts with our hearts and our minds. When we trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit moves into our hearts and gives us new desires.

Think back to when COVID was running rampant through our world. One common effect of having the virus was a change of or a lack of taste. Things that we once loved, we no longer love. Things we once craved, we no longer have a taste for. Some of us, for example, were addicted to coffee, got COVID, and then no longer liked coffee. No one could explain how it happened, but something happened inside us that changed our tastes and desires.

Friends, this is the Christian life. Something changed within us when we learned Christ and placed our faith and trust in him. Our thinking changes. Maybe not instantly, but over time, our desires should begin to change. As our minds are being renewed, our affections are transformed. Things we once craved no longer sound appealing. Things our hearts once longed for don't quite have the same hold on us as they once did.

We put off our old self, and we "put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Church, when we trust in Jesus, we become a new creation. Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Colossians 3:1 says, "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God."

We are a new creation. Our old self has died, and we have been raised with Christ. And this new self has been created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

In Christ, you are declared righteous, truly righteous. You are justified before God, meaning you will stand holy, blameless, and above reproach in his presence. And, now, those whom the blood of Jesus has made righteous should begin to pursue righteousness by the power of Jesus in them. In Christ, you are made holy, set apart from the world. And, now, in Christ, you are called to pursue holiness.

Ephesians 4:12-16

TEXT:

"[12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, [14] so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. [15] Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, [16] from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."

SERMON MANUSCRIPT:

"They grow up fast" is a phrase most parents will say at some point in their life. One moment, you're in the hospital, and the next moment, you're in a college dorm room. One moment, you're sleep-deprived, waking up every two hours, and the next moment, you're fighting to get your child up every morning for school.

Growth, maturity, and development may take time, and it may seem like they will never happen. But they're inevitable. As long as there's breath in their lungs, the immature will mature, and the undeveloped will develop. Your little boy will one day become a man, and your little princess will one day become a queen.

They grow up fast. You grew up fast. One moment, you're climbing hills; the next, you're paying bills. One moment, all you want to do is play, and the next moment, you're wondering why your hair is gray.

Growth and maturity are common to the human experience. And what our passage today teaches us is that growth and maturity ought to be common Christian experiences. When each of us trusted in Jesus for our salvation, we were immediately adopted into the family of God, making us members of the body of Christ. And when each of us trusted in Jesus for our salvation, we immediately became spiritual infants. But, as we each grow, we grow together, becoming more and more like Jesus as we walk through life together. Like a young child, the church is to grow together into mature manhood.

BRIEF RECAP

Last week, we saw where Christ had given four unique gifts to the church:

• Apostles: someone who was personally taught and sent by Jesus into the world to teach his message.

• Prophets: a mouthpiece or spokesman of God.

• Evangelist: someone gifted with the ability to share their faith with the lost.

• Shepherd/pastor: someone responsible for caring for God's flock, the church.

And we saw that Christ gave these gifts to the church to equip the church for the work of ministry. And today, we will continue looking at God's intentions for the church.

So, let's dive in.

"[12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, [14] so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. [15] Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, [16] from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."

HUMBLE SERVICE

We're not going to spend too much time here. But, in verse 12, we see that Christ gave these gifts for the purpose of equipping the saints for the work of ministry.

Saints is a general term that describes the entire church, which tells us we are all ministers. We all have a unique role and gifting for ministry within the life of the church.

The word used here for "ministry" is the Greek word "diakonia." It means attending to the needs of another. It's the idea of serving another by applying intentional relief, which teaches us that proper church culture is one of humble service.

Every member of the church is called to ministry, and ministry is humble service. Each member of the church is called to empty their tanks, using their gifts to serve one another selflessly. A healthy church is a serving church. The heartbeat of the church should be lowly and humble Christ-like service and love.

GOAL OF CHRISTIAN UNITY

As we continue to read, we will discover that one of the primary goals of the Christian faith is unity in Christ— "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…"

This is a bit of a paradox when you think about it. On the one hand, we are positionally one in Christ. Upon belief in Jesus, we have been given an involuntary unity in Christ. We have been adopted into the family of God. We have been grafted into the people of God. We are now members of the body of Christ. But, on the other hand, we are responsible for working toward unity. Unity is something received, but it is also maintained (v.3) and attained (v.13).

The unity we seek to maintain is a unity that revolves around knowing Jesus— "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God…" Jesus is the glue that holds the church together. The moment we abandon knowing Jesus is the moment Christian unity comes out of reach. The moment we forsake learning about Jesus is the moment fractures will begin to creep into the body of Christ.

What unites the church ought to be that which ignited the church. What ignited the church? Individuals coming to know Jesus. What unites the church? Individuals knowing Jesus. Jesus is what holds us together.

GOAL OF CHRISTIAN MATURITY

In addition to unity, one of the primary goals of the Christian faith is Christian maturity— "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 from by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes."

Notice that the maturity he is referring to here is corporate, not personal. He's speaking about the church, the body of Christ, growing up together into mature manhood. But, for the church to mature corporately, it must be filled with individuals maturing individually. As we grow, we grow together.

As you watch a child grow, they sometimes grow awkwardly. Perhaps their feet, for a time, grow faster than the rest of their body. And, for a few months, they look like a duck. But, eventually, the rest of that child's body will grow with their feet. This is Christian discipleship. As we grow individually, we ought to grow corporately. As we mature personally, we ought to mature corporately. We use our gifts, talents, and resources to build up one another into mature disciples of Jesus. And, as we mature as disciples of Jesus, we are building up the body of Christ.

Christian maturity coincides with Christian unity. The more we grow in our walk with Jesus, the closer we should grow with one another. Immaturity pushes us away from one another; maturity pushes us closer to one another. We are intended to grow in our walk with Jesus together.

So, you show me a mature church, and I will show you a united church. You show me a united church, and I will show you a mature church. A key element to Christian discipleship should be teaching young believers the importance of Christian unity.

Now, I want you to notice what happens when the church matures. As a church matures, it will be able to recognize false teachings and withstand the deceitful schemes of the enemy. 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 in deceitful schemes."

I want you to see the imagery Paul is using here.

I grew up at the beach, and I love to surf. We are a beach family. The Parazine family is happiest when the air is warm and sand is between our toes. But going to the beach with young children can sometimes be nerve-racking, especially when the waves are big. When the waves are big, and the current is strong, you're afraid to let your children get close to the water. No matter how much they beg, you won't allow them to get close to the water because you know the danger before them.

As a parent, you know that what might be safe for you isn't safe for a child. You are taller, and you are stronger. The same current pulling at your waist would be pulling at their neck. The current you might be able to withstand would easily carry your child out to sea. So, as a parent, you must diligently protect your child from the dangerous currents of the ocean.

Well, church, I'm here to tell you that cultural and doctrinal currents are ripping throughout our society today. There are false doctrines that sound compelling and will easily pull young Christians away from Christ. There are false teachers who, like Satan himself, have intentions to confuse, trick, and deceive the church. There are men and women who, like Satan himself, are seeking to plant seeds of doubt into our hearts and minds by asking, "Did God really say that?" There are men and women who, like Satan himself, are unbelievably good with their words that will lure the spiritual infants into embracing teachings that are contrary to the true gospel.

So, we need to grow and mature in our faith so that we can begin to recognize and discern what is true or not. As we grow in our knowledge of Christ, we mature. And as we mature, we will become rooted and grounded in truth. We want to be a mature church full of men and women who can stand firm against the currents seeking to pull us away from Christ.

GOAL OF CHRISTIAN LOVE

Then, finally, we see that a mature church is a loving church. The more we grow in the knowledge of Christ, the more we ought to love like Christ. The more we embrace truth, the more we ought to ooze out love.

Have you ever seen one of those souvenir penny presses? You put the penny into the machine, crank the machine, and then out comes a newly shaped penny.

This ought to be the Christian's experience with truth. Upon belief, we enter into a relationship with Jesus. And the end result of being pressed by a knowledge of Jesus is a loving believer. The more we grow in the knowledge of Christ, the more we ought to love like Christ.

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

Part of Christian maturity is understanding, embracing, and proclaiming truth. But truly mature Christians will proclaim the truth in love. The mark of a mature believer is love. The mark of a mature church is love. Christian love is the blood flow to a healthy church. Without it, we will quickly die.

Ephesians 4:11-12

TEXT:

"[11] And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, [14] so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. [15] Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, [16] from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."

SERMON MANUSCRIPT:

Depending upon your upbringing, sports can get a good or bad rap. Sports can undoubtedly become an idol we worship, leading to multiple painful memories. But sports can also be a good gift from the Lord, a common grace of God that teaches us many valuable lessons about work, life, and God.

Sports teach us the importance of hard work, they teach us how to handle success and failure, and they teach us the importance of teamwork. Sports teach us that we need our teammates just as much as our teammates need us.

Think about baseball or football for a moment. For a baseball team to be successful, you need nine players to play nine different positions well. Even though everyone might want to play shortstop, you can't have everyone play shortstop. Just as much as you need someone to play shortstop, you need someone to play the not-so-glamorous position of right field.

The same is true with football, as well. For a football team to be successful, you need 22 players playing 22 different positions. Even though everyone wants to be the quarterback, you can't have everyone play quarterback. If everyone played quarterback, you would have no one to throw the ball to. With a team full of quarterbacks, you would have no one to block the opposing defense or stop the opposing offense.

For a team to succeed, you need a group of individuals who are uniquely gifted in various ways who are committed to playing their position to the best of their ability. Well, the same is true of the church. For the church to function correctly, it needs to consist of a group of individuals who are uniquely gifted in various ways and who are committed to playing their position to the best of their ability. Today, we will look at how God has uniquely gifted different members of the body of Christ for the glory of God and the good of the church.

But, before we do so, I want to give us a brief overview of spiritual gifts in the Bible. The word "gift" is the Hebrew word "charisma." It's a word that is directly tied to grace. Perhaps it could best be understood as God's undeserved favor extended to his people. At times, this word is directly tied to the gospel and the free gift of salvation.

For example, Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift [charisma] of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." So, where we deserve death, God has extended the undeserved gift of eternal life through his Son, Jesus. Salvation is not something you earn through merit; it is not something you deserve through effort. It is something you receive through faith, an underserved gift [charisma] from God.

In addition to salvation, charisma is also used to describe spiritual gifts within the church. So, this isn't a saving grace but a ministry grace. A spiritual gift is a Holy Spirit-empowered ability given to a believer that they should use to build up the body of Christ.

There are four instances in the New Testament where spiritual gifts are mentioned: Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Ephesians 4:11, and 1 Peter 4:11. In looking at these different passages, you'll notice some overlap in the described gifts. But, in addition to this overlap, significant differences are found among these lists.

The book of Romans and 1 Peter seem to lay out several essential and basic functions performed in the church. 1 Corinthians seems to be more of a matter of special abilities found within the church, and Ephesians 4:11 is a list of various offices within the church. Our passage today, therefore, teaches us that God has given unique leaders to the church for the purpose of equipping the church to be the church.

So, let's dive in.

"[11] And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, [14] so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. [15] Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, [16] from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."

I want to spend our first few minutes unpacking the various gifts Christ gives the church to equip the body of Christ.

APOSTLES.

The first gift mentioned is the apostles. The word "apostle" simply means "one who is sent." So, in a very general sense, an apostle is a specific messenger with a specific title, taking a specific message to a specific people. In this general sense, all Christians everywhere are apostles because we have been sent into the world as Christ's ambassadors proclaiming his message.

But, in a more specific sense, the Bible speaks of [A]postles of Christ. These were a small group of men chosen and commissioned by Christ to proclaim his message to the world (the twelve disciples of Jesus). So, where Jesus had many disciples who followed him, he chose twelve apostles responsible for preaching his message.

We see this in Luke 6:13 and Mark 3:14.

• "And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles…" — Luke 6:13

• "And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach…" — Mark 3:14

In chapter 2, Paul tells us that the apostles and prophets were the foundation of the church-- you and I 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." This tells us that the apostles and prophets are profoundly important to the church.

Let's now try to put a definition to the term apostle for a moment. An apostle was someone who was personally taught and sent by Jesus into the world to teach his message. An apostle was an appointed messenger of Jesus. These were men who personally walked with Jesus, who were personally called by Jesus, who were personally taught by Jesus, and who were personally sent out by Jesus to preach the message of Jesus.

Now, due to Judas' betrayal, we see Mathias become one of the twelve apostles in Acts 1. And, in Acts 2:42, we see the early church devoted themselves "to the apostles teaching…." So, the apostles were teaching, the church was listening, and the church was doing what the apostles were teaching them.

In addition to Mathias, we also see Jesus appear before Paul, save Paul, call Paul, and send Paul out as an apostle. So, at the beginning of many of Paul's letters, you find Paul introducing himself as an apostle of Jesus. In doing so, he's saying, "Hey, I have God's message for you."

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles were taught, commissioned, and sent by Jesus to proclaim his message. This was a small group of men who received authority to teach God's people God's message, which led to the church embracing their teaching.

With that being said, I believe that the gift of apostleship is still being enjoyed within the church today. But, I do not believe the gift of apostleship is still being distributed amongst the church today.

There's a fundamental difference between those two statements that I want us to understand.

In general, yes, we're all called to be [a]postles, meaning we're all sent into the world to be Christ's ambassador, proclaiming his message. But, in the specific sense of the word being used here, no one today has an apostolic authority to come and proclaim a direct and unique message of Jesus. Only a handful of apostles were sent to proclaim God's message in which the church would be built. So, church, you should politely run out of the building if I come to you next Sunday and say, "Church, close your Bibles. The Lord has given me a new message for you today."

Well, if the gift of apostleship isn't being distributed, how is it still being enjoyed? In God's providential goodness, we still can enjoy God's written message proclaimed through the apostles. In God's grace, the message of the apostles was written down and recorded. Therefore, we can still be equipped and edified by God's word spoken through the apostles.

PROPHECY

Like the apostles, the term prophet has varying degrees of application. In using the definition John Stott gives in his commentary on Ephesians, a prophet was "a person who 'stood in the council of God,' who heard and even 'saw' his word, and who in consequence 'spoke from the mouth of the Lord' and spoke his word 'faithfully.'" In other words, a prophet was a "mouthpiece or spokesman of God, a vehicle of his direct revelation." Like an apostle, a prophet proclaimed a direct message from God, saying, "Thus says the LORD."

Similar to an apostle, I do not think, in this formal sense, there are [P]rophets today. Like the apostles, the prophets served as the church's foundation, and fortunately, we still have their words available today that we can study and know. But, with that being said, I do think the gift of prophecy is different than the gift of apostleship in the sense that it is a gift still being given to the church today. When you look at the list of spiritual gifts in Romans and 1 Corinthians, you will find prophecy listed in both. So, although I do not think there are [P]rophets, I certainly believe there are [p]rophets.

But what does the gift of prophecy look like today?

Perhaps this could be demonstrated through a believer's ability to study God's word and then apply God's word to a specific person, people, or context.

Generally, we should all strive to handle the Bible carefully. And as we study the Scriptures, after we learn what the text means in its immediate context, we should ask the question, "What does God have to say to me (and us) today?" We should all seek to contextualize the Bible to our immediate life and context. But, there are undoubtedly some of us whom God has uniquely gifted to do this better than others. Some of us have a special gift for taking the Word of God and contextualizing it to where we are today. Some of us will be reading the Bible and feel the Spirit lead us to text someone and say, "Hey, as I was reading this morning, God laid you on my heart, and I want to let you know ______."

EVANGELIST

At the root of the word "evangelist" is the word "evangelize." In his book on Evangelism, Alvin Reid defines evangelism as "sharing the good news of Jesus Christ by word and life in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that unbelievers become followers of Jesus Christ in His church and in the culture."

As believers, we're all called to evangelize. We're all expected to share our faith with the lost. But, an Evangelist is gifted with a unique ability to proclaim the gospel and share their faith with the lost. An evangelist is someone gifted with the ability to share their faith with the lost.

As we all seek to share the hope of the gospel, there are undoubtedly some of us here today who have a special ability and passion to reach the lost. These are individuals who are more hardwired to think outward than inward. These are individuals who are always thinking through the lens of how to win the lost to Christ. These are individuals who can carefully walk with the lost without jeopardizing biblical conviction. These are individuals who can proclaim Christ crucified in a manner that is compelling and not abrasive.

A healthy church needs men and women who are using their gifts, talents, and resources to reach their neighbors for Christ. The church needs men and women to be praying, "Lord, help me leverage my entire life to make your name great in the world!"

SHEPHERDS AND TEACHERS

Next, Paul mentions shepherds and teachers. There's a difference of opinions here regarding whether or not this is one or two positions described. Some try to divide these into two roles or gifts (the gift of a shepherd and the gift of a teacher), while others lump them into the same role.

Those who put them in the same category point to the fact that there's just one definitive article separating in Greek here, indicating they're in the same position— "the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers." They would then say that one of the primary ways a shepherd takes care of his flock is by feeding his flock, and the way a shepherd feeds his flock is through the teaching of the word.

Others, however, would respond by saying, "Yes, all shepherds should teach. But not all teachers are shepherds. Some are gifted in teaching and will not be responsible for shepherding the flock in a pastoral role."

There are certainly valid arguments either way. And I, honestly, went back and forth on which camp I landed in this week. But I want to spend the next few moments discussing the role of a pastor/shepherd here.

Depending on your translation, your Bible will say "shepherd" or "pastor." The Greek word for shepherd here is "poimēn." It describes the act of overseeing and caring for the flock. So, a pastor is responsible for caring for God's flock, the church.

When you read throughout the New Testament, you'll find three different terms used to describe this same office of a pastor: presbuteros (elder), episkopos (overseer), and poimēn (pastor/shepherd). At Harbor, we will hold to the idea that these three terms are used interchangeably to describe the same office. So, an elder is an overseer, an overseer is a pastor, and a pastor is an elder.

Why do we think this?

We come to this conclusion because of passages like Acts 20:17-28. Here, Paul gathers the elders (presbuteros) of the church of Ephesus to give them a farewell message. Well, in verse 28, as he's giving a final commission to the elders, he says, "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (episkopos), to care for (poimaino) the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood." So, the elders of the church of Ephesus were to watch over and care for the flock that God had made them overseers of.

I want you to notice that Paul addresses the elder[s], plural, of the church of Ephesus. Passages like this make us believe a local church shouldn't have one pastor. We hold to the belief that a church is best shepherded through a plurality of elders/pastors. So, as long as the Lord has me here, I will always be one of the pastors here at Harbor; I will never be the pastor. We have three elders/pastors here at Harbor: Wayne Cunningham, Brady King, and myself.

But why? Why a plurality of pastors?

Well, I can think of a multitude of reasons. For one, the Bible talks about wisdom coming through many counselors. So, pastors shepherd best with other pastors. But the fundamental reason why I think a plurality of elders is so important is this: it allows your pastors to be pastored.

Look back at that passage in Acts, "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock…" Before you find a call to shepherd the flock, you find a call to shepherd each other, themselves. A plurality of elders provides accountability to those who need accountability. It provides comfort to those who need comforting. It provides wisdom to those who need counsel. It provides prayer for those who need prayer. A plurality of elders keeps your elders grounded.

Although I am the pastor you see the most, I am no different than Wayne and Brady. This is not my church, and I am not the pastor. This is God's church, which he obtained by his own blood. I am simply one of the men God entrusted to shepherd his flock, and in that same breath, I am a part of the flock that the pastors of this church are shepherding.

As pastors, it's our responsibility to pay close attention to ourselves and to the flock God has entrusted us to shepherd. It's our responsibility to lovingly care for you and seek your growth in Christ (Heb 13:17; 1 Th 5:12). It's our responsibility to provide teaching, preaching, and counsel from the whole counsel of God (Gal 6:6; 1 Tim 5:17-18). It's our responsibility to help you in times of need (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35; Jas 2:14-17; Gal. 6:1-5). It's our responsibility to pray for you regularly (Jas 5:14). It's our responsibility to be on guard against false teachers/teaching (Acts 20:28-31). It's our responsibility to exercise redemptive church discipline when necessary (Mt 18:15-20; 1 Co 5; Gal 6:1). It's our responsibility to help you become equipped to serve Christ and his church well (Ep 4:11-13).

Look at verse 12, "he gave these gifts... to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain the 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."

It's not the pastor's responsibility to do the work of the ministry; it is the pastor's responsibility to equip the church for the work of the ministry. To be clear, that doesn't mean the pastors do nothing within the church. No, we ought to serve and be actively involved in the life of the church. But what I mean by that is this: the church is best served whenever the pastors are equipping the church to do the work of the ministry because we are all ministers.

The word used here for "ministry" is the Greek word "diakonia." It means attending to the needs of another. It's the idea of serving another by applying relief to them. It's the same word used in Luke 10:40 to describe Martha. When Martha welcomed Jesus into her home, her sister (Mary) was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to his teaching. While Mary was listening, "Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Jesus and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?"

This teaches us that we are all called to ministry, and ministry is humble service. Ministry is a term of action. It's a term of selfless service.  We are all called to empty our tanks, using our gifts to serve one another selflessly.

Ephesians 4:7-10

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Spend some time reading as discussing the creed of oneness in verses 4-6. What does this creed teach us about what should be important in the church?

2. Why do you think Paul quotes Psalm 68 here when talking about spiritual gifts?

3. How is unity different than uniformity? Why is diversity within unity a good thing?

TEXT:

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

8 Therefore it says,

"When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,

and he gave gifts to men."

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

SERMON MANUSCRIPT:

For Christmas, my in-laws bought my children an unassembled swing set (which, in my humble opinion, is an expression of love to the child who gets to play on the swing set and an expression of hate to the parent who has to assemble the swing set, but I digress).

Over the years of building various things, I've learned that I'm not too fond of instructions; I would much rather skip the reading portion of the assembly and dive right into the building process. In doing so, I'm never able to assemble things correctly.

To build something properly, one must first consult the instructions. Well, the same is true with the Christian faith. As instructions are essential to assembly, gospel doctrine is essential to gospel living. Gospel doctrine shapes gospel culture.

We find the book of Ephesians teaching us this much. In the first three chapters of Ephesians, we find Paul teaching the church doctrine. He's been teaching the church theological truths surrounding who God is, what God has done for the church in Christ, and who the church is in Christ. But, here, in chapter 4, we find a transition taking place. In chapter 4, we find Paul shifting from the heart and mind to the hands and feet, from the vertical to the horizontal, from doctrine to application, orthodoxy to orthopraxy.

In the remaining portion of Ephesians, we will begin to learn that what we believe about God should shape how we live among men; correct thinking should lead to right living. If you want to build a sturdy play set for your kids, you need the instruction manual. In the same way, if we want to be a healthy church, we need sound doctrine. Gospel doctrine shapes gospel culture.

So, as we journey through the rest of this book, we will be building on top of the doctrinal foundation laid for us in chapters 1-3. In Ephesians 2, for example, Paul laid down the foundation of church doctrine. In chapter 2, he painted the picture of the church being a united people who cling to Jesus as their only hope for salvation. The church is a body, the body of Christ. It's a beautiful kingdom, a royal family, a holy temple. In Christ, we are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Well, in Ephesians 4, we find Paul stacking on top of that doctrinal foundation bricks of practical application regarding how the church should interact with one another on a day-to-day basis. Today, we will learn that although the church is one in Christ, we are not all the same in Christ. There is a diversity of giftings within the church that ought to be noticed and celebrated. You are one with the person next to you, but you are not the same as the person next to you. Unity is not the same thing as uniformity. The church is a united yet diverse group of people who seek to lovingly serve one another for the glory of God and the good of one another.

Let's dive in.

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

8 Therefore it says,

"When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,

and he gave gifts to men."

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

A UNITED BODY

Before we dive into verse 7, let's look at verses 4-6 for a brief moment.

The declaration here in these few verses was likely a creed that the early church would corporately repeat together. Here in this creed is a theme of unity and oneness.

The word "one" is used seven times in these three verses. Simply put, "one" is the opposite of many. It's a word of singularity. It's a term of unity. There are not many bodies of Christ; there is one body to which we all belong. There are not multiple spirits; there is one Spirit who indwells all believers. There are not varying objects to which we can place our hope and faith; there is one place our hope and faith can reside: Jesus. We don't submit to multiple lords; we submit to Christ and Christ alone. There are not numerous places to which our sins can be washed away; there is one baptism to which we can partake and become white as snow. We don't have multiple fathers whom we trust; there is one Father who has lovingly adopted us into his family. We are one, united together as the body of Christ.

This is a foundational doctrine of the church, the oneness of the church. The imagery Paul uses here is the church is a body. The church is not a building, nor is it an organization; it is a living and breathing organism that is joined together as the body of Christ.

This is strategic imagery Paul uses to communicate our oneness. We must understand that the Christian faith is not a solo faith; it's a corporate endeavor that we enjoy with other believers. You are a member of the body of Christ in the same way an arm is a member of a human body. In the same way an arm best functions while joined to a body, you function best when you are joined to the church. A hand doesn't get to wander off from the body. You don't wake up in the morning and say, "Daggumit, my feet ran off again." You need the church, and the church needs you.

For a body to function properly, it needs all of its members. And for a body to function properly, it needs all of its members to follow the control and guidance of its boss, the brain. Similarly, for the church (the body of Christ) to function correctly, its members (you and me) must follow the control and guidance of our boss, Jesus. Jesus is the head, and we are the members of the church.

So, our unity as the church centers around Jesus. It revolves around his life, teachings, death, and resurrection. Together as the church, we proclaim that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We are united in this proclamation. As the church, we aren't an all-inclusive club where anyone can bring whatever truth they want to the table. No, we are a people who have abandoned the many false truths that the world will offer for the one true hope of Christ crucified. What binds us together is a conviction to certain Biblical truths, which are of primary importance. Together, we are one body that rallies around one Lord, proclaiming one hope throughout the world.

Now, I want to speak on the local church for a moment. When I hear different pastors teach the idea of the church being the body of Christ, they unintentionally (or maybe intentionally) make it out that their church is the body of Christ. But I want us to understand that that's not what the Bible teaches here.

Harbor Community Church is not the body of Christ; it is a part of the body of Christ. Harbor is a [b]ody of Christ that is a part of the [B]ody of Christ. And in God's providential goodness, we are not the only [b]ody of Christ here in Mobile. Therefore, we are not in competition with other churches. In the same way that it would be crazy for an arm to despise a leg, it should be foolish for a church to despise another church. We are on the same team, members of the same body.

To be clear, not all buildings with the word "church" on them are a part of the body of Christ. Wolves are certainly in sheep's clothing here in Mobile. Organizations are pretending to be organisms. False teachers are proclaiming false messages. There are "churches" wrapping Satan's gospel with the words of the true gospel. Some folks have replaced the gospel of freedom with the gospel of slavery.

But, friends, let me also be clear. We have a lot of brothers and sisters throughout Mobile who worship in different buildings on Sunday. So, as a pastor, I believe I am responsible for encouraging and praying for other pastors in Mobile. As a pastor, I think I have a responsibility to, at times, encourage folks to join and stay at other churches in Mobile. We are not in the business of building our church with the ruins of another church.

If we want to be a faithful [b]ody of Christ, we must be eager to maintain unity amongst the [B]ody of Christ. We may have differing opinions on how the church should be governed. We may have differing views on baptism. We may have different opinions on the end times. But, we do not have differing views on the Lordship of Christ; no, together, we all bow in submission to Christ as our Lord. We put our arms around our brothers and sisters and say, "It is in Christ, and Christ alone, that our hope resides. We may not see you on Sundays, but we will see you in heaven."

UNITY IS NOT THE SAME AS UNIFROMITY

Now, notice what Paul does after addressing this creed of oneness. He says, "But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift."

The term "but" is a literary record scratch. It's a term used to introduce a phrase or clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned. So, what Paul is about to say contrasts with what was just said— "We are one body… but grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift."

The English word "grace" is the Greek word "charis." It implies an undeserved gift given to someone by another. It's a word often used in reference to salvation— we are saved by grace through faith (Rom. 6:1,14-17; 11:5-6; Eph. 2:8). But, it's used differently here. Here, it's used in reference to spiritual gifts. As Tony Merida describes it, "This is not 'saving grace' but 'ministry grace.' It is grace to serve and build up the body."

So, what this is saying is that although we are all one in Christ, we are also uniquely different in Christ. As the church, we cling to the singular hope of God's grace in Christ Jesus. Yet, we've also been graced differently by Jesus.

Unity is not the same as uniformity. Our ears are different than our noses, and our nose is different than our eyes. Each member of our body is different than the other, yet each member is a part of the same body.

To support this, Paul quotes Psalm 68 by saying, "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 regions, the earth? [10] He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)"

Psalm 68 is what some would call a victory hymn. God had gone in triumph before his people after the exodus out of Egypt. The mountains shook, the waters moved, and the kings were scattered. This Psalm was a reminder to God's people of God's victorious power and a call for God to act powerfully on behalf of his people in the future.

Now, what's interesting is that, over time, many Jews had begun to associate Psalm 68 with Pentecost, which was a Jewish feast that celebrated the giving of the law. It evolved into a covenant renewal celebration, a time for remembering God's covenant with his people on Mount Sinai. So, Moses ascended up Mount Sinai to receive the gift of the law and descended down with the gift of the law. Well, in Acts 2, we see that during the feast of Pentecost, the promised Holy Spirit came down on his people and filled them with power.

So, it could be that Paul is saying that Jesus is the greater Moses. Like Moses, Jesus ascended on high and returned to the Father after his death and resurrection. And he then gave the gift of himself (the Holy Spirit) to his people so that he might fill all things. So, the gift Christ gives to his people is the Holy Spirit. Each member of the church has been given a unique grace/gift of the Holy Spirit that they are to use to serve and build up the body of Christ.

Next week, we will begin to unpack some of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives. But, I want us to understand today that God has given everyone in the church different gifts that they are to use to serve the church. Although we are one, we are different. This teaches us the fundamental truth that everyone is essential in the church. You are important to the church. God has uniquely gifted you for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.

You may be an ear, and I may be the nose. She may be a hand, and he may be a foot. We are all vastly different in how God has gifted us. But, our differences are essential. As John Stott puts it, "Christian unity is enriched by the diversity of our gifts."

But, just to remind us, the words "gift" and "grace" are the opposite of "wage" and "strength." If you are prideful about how God gifted you, you are fundamentally missing the point. God has uniquely gifted you for the work of ministry. And this ought to breed humility, thankfulness, and selflessness. As you serve and use your gifts, you do so with a humble heart.

Ephesians 4:1-7

Acts 1:8

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. The disciples were “witnesses” of Jesus who witnessed under the power of the Holy Spirit. How should this help us trust their testimony surrounding Jesus in the Bible?

2. Why is it good news that effective witnessing hinges on the Holy Spirit, not our eloquence?

3. Do you find yourself becoming afraid or nervous when sharing your faith? If so, how does the apostle Paul saying that he preached the gospel in “fear and trembling” give us confidence that we can still be effective witnesses despite our fear?

Mary’s Song pt.4

Mary’s Song pt.3