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Ephesians 4:17-5:20 To Live Worthy of our Calling (2)

27 Feb 2011

Worship – Andrea

Introduction

“The best known literary figure in eighteenth-century England was Dr Samuel Johnson.
A native of Lichfield in Staffordshire, he spent most of his adult life in London. He
wrote many works, especially his famous Dictionary and his discussions of
Shakespeare’s plays. He became famous for his table talk and dry wit.

Johnson was a devout Christian, some of whose published prayers are still in use in the
Church of England. Despite the tendency of many of his friends to turn their
conversations into displays of verbal brilliance, or into gossip and slander, he retained a
deep sense that there was more to life than that. He was without malice. On one
occasion his companion Boswell asked him what the point was of sharing a meal with
people if, as sometimes happened, nobody said anything worth remembering. Johnson
replied that the point was ‘to eat and drink together, and to promote kindness.’”1

In our study of the book of Ephesians we have seen that it is divided into two parts. In
the first three chapters Paul conveys the revelation of where God is going in history, and
what part the Church has to play in this plan. In chapters four to six Paul explains how
we are to participate in that plan being realised. The first half of the book relates more to
our belief, the second more to our behaviour. We are to live lives worthy of our very
high calling.

Last week we started to look at the practical side of our lives in God. As first steps Paul
emphasised unity within the church and the importance of our growth and maturity
through the five-fold ministry given by Jesus. In chapter 4:24 Paul states that we were
“created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” He stresses the importance of
our personal and corporate integrity. That means that as individuals and as the church,
our lives must demonstrate what we believe. The Bible teaches that God is holy and
pure, humble, gracious, compassionate and kind. Like Samuel Johnson, our lives should
reveal the nature of God in a sea of brokenness and sin.

Reading – Eph 4:17 – 5:20

Study (Using NIV)

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Story from Tom Wright, 2002, Paul for Everyone; The Prison Letters, p53
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:17
• It is immediately apparent that what follows relate to how we live; “..you must no
longer live as the Gentiles do ..”
• The first important difference between God’s people and the Gentiles relates not to
their morality, but to their thinking. Their thinking, no matter how clever or learned
it may be, is futile. In other words, it is for nothing; it leads nowhere.

:18
• “darkened in their understanding” – they cannot reason clearly. The way they
understand the world inclines to darkness, not light, to evil ways and not Godly
ways.
• “separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them” – see
Prov 29:18 – consequences of lack of knowledge and understanding. This explains
again why Paul is so concerned for his readers to understand and grasp the revelation
of the mystery that this letter teaches.
• This ignorance with its devastating consequences is not due to misunderstanding or
honest mistakes, but “due to the hardening of their hearts.” In other words, it
describes people who deep inside know that there is real truth out there, but they
don’t want to hear it, because they don’t want to submit to truth. They want to be
free to choose their own way of life; to develop their own take on truth.

:19
• People like this loose sensitivity in discerning right and wrong – they become
morally calloused. They continue in unrighteousness and approve of others who do
the same (Rom 1:32).
• Rom 1:18-32, in speaking in similar terms of those who hardens their hearts against
truth, and states that God gives them over to “the sinful desires of their hearts” (v24).
Here however it reads that they give themselves over to sensuality, which is to live
according to one’s natural desires.
• To live according to your natural desires can never satisfy – there will always be a
greedy lust for more. It is to choose a life of burning, unsatisfied desire.

:20-24
• This is an important passage. The continuity between verses 20 and 21 suggests that
how we come to know Christ is directly related to how He is presented to us through
teaching. Rom 10:14-15 states that our faith is dependent on the preaching of the
Word. Teaching relates to our minds. Whatever speaks to our hearts must go
through the channel of our understanding.
• Belonging to God implies a crucial exchange; the old self for the new, the corrupted
for the holy, the old me for a new me. The key in this exchange – as far as our part
is concerned, is in our thinking. This exchange – the extent to which our new inner
life translates into practice - rests upon the question of whether we renew ourselves
in the attitude of our minds. (See also Rom 12:2)
• “Attitude” speaks of an inclination towards something. Generally speaking, what do
I allow myself to think about? Are my thoughts inclined towards the barrage of
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emotions, opinions, reactions and desires that naturally comes to me, or do I take my
thoughts captive to obedience to Christ and his word (2Cor 10:5)?
• The goal of our walk of faith is to become like Jesus, and Paul brings that high goal
in view again. We are created “to be like God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Chapter 4:25 – 5:14 gives some very practical content to what a true Christian life should
be like. Paul handles the inner life and the outer life in a seamless way – so much so that
it is difficult to see a specific order in his list. They are mutually dependent upon one
another. All of the issues raised pertain to our relationships with other people. I am not
going to handle this passage in depth. Let us read through it and share some passing
comments:

:25-
• The word “therefore” indicates that the description of life that follows is directly
related to what precedes, namely, a commitment to direct our minds in God’s desired
way. Also, all the issues that follow contrast the way that the Gentiles live to how
we as God’s “dearly loved children” are to live.

:29, 5:4, 12
• Paul restates the importance of guarding one’s mouth, of being deliberate in what we
allow ourselves to say. (See JS 1:26, Prov 10;19, 11;12).

:30
• Failure to live in a Godly way in relation to other people (as described here) actually
grieves the Holy Spirit.

5:1
• We are not only to imitate Christ, but also our Heavenly Father. That is what
children do.

:6
• Again the importance of our minds is highlighted. We should be secure enough in
our understanding that we cannot be deceived by empty words that attempts to
justify the kind of life we are instructed to avoid. We are deceived by empty words
when we live in compromise in some or other area in our lives and we think it is OK.

:8-14
• We are to live in such a way that there is nothing to hide. If there are things that we
are ashamed of or that we know will get us into trouble we need darkness to be able
to hide them. Darkness is where the enemy has power, and where we are vulnerable
as we moved out of God’s protective covering. We were given the gifts of
confession and forgiveness which have the power to remove all need for us to try
and hide in the darkness. Read 1Jn 1:9.

:15-16
• There is a need for carefulness because it is easy to be swept away by the prevailing
winds in society. We need to be alert and intentional.
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• As time draws nearer to its end, opportunities may become fewer. There need to be
a sense of urgency in our lives. To know how to live in these times we need to have
a degree of clarity regarding God’s will. We need to learn how his wisdom applies
to given situations we find ourselves in.

:17
• Let’s choose what our lives are going to be influenced by.

:18-20
• We are told what not to fill our mouths with in this chapter. Now Paul gives the
positive alternative. Let our mouths learn the habit of expressing the joy, gratitude
and wonder of our hearts towards God. “Let the Spirit fill your hearts and lives,
particularly your minds and imaginations. Use all the resources of the rich Christian
tradition – its poems, its pictures, its liturgies, its hymns”2 to celebrate God in your
lives.

There is a great emphasis in the book of Ephesians on the domain of the mind. Paul
preaches and prays for us to understand, to know, to grasp, to believe and to remember.
He prays for us for us for a spirit of wisdom and revelation and for the eyes of our hearts
to be enlightened in order that we may know what we should know. He prays for God’s
power for us to grasp and to know. The Gentiles live in the futility of their thinking, with
darkened understanding and in ignorance, but we must live according to God’s truth in
our heads and we must be made new in the attitude of our minds. We must live not as
unwise but as wise. We must not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Part of our spiritual armour is the helmet of salvation, there for the protection of our
minds. There is a direct line of consequence between the inclination of the mind and the
condition of the heart which is what the kingdom of God in our lives is built upon
(Prov 4:23, Lk 6:45).

Worship and prayer

Announcements

• Friday night coming is special prayer by candle light evening – 19h30 in Rudolf
• Next Su – Support team lunch, meeting and prayer

2
Ibid, p64