Walk Differently in Newness (Part 2)

Let's pray. Father, your Word is clear in its instruction for our lives and it is sufficient to teach us, to correct us, to approve, to train us, and to thoroughly equip us. And yet having said that, we know that in ourselves we are inadequate and incapable of living the Christian life.

Apart from Christ, we can do nothing. So Father, we pray that you would give us heart desire to live even as your Word instructs and to do it in such a way that we recognize daily and moment by moment our absolute dependence upon you. Guide our thoughts tonight as we look at your Word and your Holy Spirit teach us and direct us and transform and change us and through the power of your Word and the Spirit at work in us we ask in Jesus name. Amen.

You may be seated. We've mentioned before that many times the structure of God's Word is a key to the message that he is communicating to us and this is quite true of the letter to the Ephesians. Paul divides this into two major sections. The first three chapters of course present the doctrine of the believers position in Christ, the blessings that God has poured on us in him, and then chapters four through six he turns to application and teaches us how we are to live out that position that we have, how we are to practice the Christian walk. And so as we have begun our journey through this application section we began by looking at the first 16 verses of chapter 4 where Paul speaks of the priority and the necessity of Christian unity, the oneness of the body.

In fact we were reminded that back in chapter 1 he tells us that it's God's overall purpose eternally that he would bring everything together in one and unite everything in Christ. And then as we got to verse 17 Paul begins to get specifically to application and how we live that out in daily life and he says that we are to no longer live like others do. There's something different, there's something new about us. We are no longer what we once were and so we are to live differently.

He uses the terms put off and put on. Those words in the original language are infinitives not imperatives as such and yet they have that weight as we look at them. Some have said that well if we really are as Paul says in 2nd Corinthians new creations the old things have passed away and everything has become new then why do we need all of this instruction? Well obviously we are not born mature Christians we are born babes and there's a necessity for growth and putting off the old ways and putting on this new creation that we are in Christ Jesus. So we are to grow in grace and knowledge and so we come tonight to our text in beginning in verse 25 of chapter 4. Here Paul gives us five illustrations if you will of what it looks like to put off the old man and to put on this new self that is created in Christ Jesus after the likeness of God. Paul says we're to stop acting like the old self and to start instead living this new life in Christ putting on this new man. Paul's method is the same here that it is in many of his letters he will give first some negative instruction and then positive instruction and then tell us why we need to make that change and so we will use that as a way we approach this text tonight.

So let's look first at the negatives. Paul says we're to stop doing some things and the first thing he lists is we're to stop lying. We're to put away falsehood.

Literally in the Greek it says put away the lie. We are to stop being people who are dishonest and deceitful and covering up. We saw earlier in the the overarching purpose of this new life that the life of the body in Christ that the the overall purpose is one of unity and oneness and that's not going to happen if we are dishonest with each other if we are not upfront and and if we are to be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace then we have to recognize that we must be forthright and and honest and not wearing masks all the time. Lord Jones put it very pointedly as he often does lying makes unity impossible. If we are not honest with one another we can never know true oneness and unity because the old self that penchant toward dishonesty and and deceitfulness that's a part of the old way that's a part of the old man that's kind of the the default for us outside of Christ. We want to hide and and not to be honest and straightforward. Life outside of Christ is characterized by lying and deceit and hiddenness. There are many ways to lie we do it sometimes just what we would call a bold-faced lie but more often we as believers hide behind things like exaggeration or just silence letting people believe something we know to be untrue and we don't want to correct it because they make us look bad but Paul says stop it this is no longer who you are in Christ we are to be putting away this lying and deceitfulness. Second thing he says in verse 26 is that we're not to hold on to our anger we don't we he says be angry and do not sin don't let the Sun go down on your anger not all anger is sinful there are some things that we should be angry about we should be angry at evil and sin and the destruction that it brings to the world we should hate what God hates. In Psalm 97 10 the Psalmist says oh you who love the Lord hate evil there should be something in us that rises up in anger against sin and evil and the destruction that it brings but we must pity the sinner not get angry in a sinful manner and not open the door to the devil by hanging on to our anger letting it fester and and become bitterness he says be angry at the sin and evil but don't hold on to the anger toward brothers and sisters inviting the devil to have a field day in the body. So put away the falsehood deal with your anger as you should and then in verse 28 stop stealing the the ESV there says let the thief no longer steal the the word there is it's really a verbal form it's a it's a participle which can be used as a noun but I think we might capture the idea a little better if we take it in the verb form let him who steals he said he's put this in the present tense something that's an ongoing activity you know we we try to think well this is what we used to be this is what others are but reality is we still fall into these patterns of the old self in our life as believers and he says let those who are still stealing quit it this is something we need to deal with like all of these instructions that they are addressing believers who are still engaging in some of these activities and whose conduct is characteristic of the old self not the new man the truth is we don't suddenly become mature Saints when we come to Christ we struggle with past sins and patterns that we've established over years this matter of stealing taking what doesn't belong to us what's at the root of that and of course it's selfishness the the one who steals thinks in terms of having not so much of earning the things that he has we don't we don't think of ourselves as thieves we're not taking a bunch of stuff and the thing material things that don't belong to us but what about our time on the job it was stealing from our bosses and their the business owners what what about another person's reputation when we slander and speak badly about them bring bad report we're stealing from them what about the the time and the energy and the resources that God has given us are we using them as we should to full advantage we we need to be careful that we are not continuing to steal and follow patterns that are characteristic of that old man that we're to put away and put on the new man next thing he mentions is a matter of speaking corruptly he says that we are not to let any corrupt speech come out of our mouths let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths how much corrupt speech is okay well none he says no corrupting speech no corrupting talk no filthiness down in chapter 5 no foolish talk no crude joking your speech is the one one of the ways that we are set apart from the rest of creation man is the only creature that is able to think and reason and put those thoughts into words and communicate with language and so it is one of the ways in which we manifest the nature of God in which we are created his image in us you know the time was in our culture when even unbelievers made some adjustment of their speech and language at times I I know years ago when people whose normal mode of speech included profanity and vulgarity when they get around ladies and preachers that quit it but that's not true anymore is it I mean even women today just engage freely in vulgarities and speech that is very unbecoming of anyone especially of ladies and so Paul is saying to us don't let any corrupting talk any foolishness any jesting course jesting don't let any of that come out of your mouth and even if it still comes to mind as you know those patterns of years of habit do he says don't let it pass your lips don't let it proceed out of your mouth no corrupting talk and then in verse 31 he says put away all malice the word there has a broad meaning it encompasses badness and depravity and malinity evil naughtiness everything that is part of the old self he says we're to put that away and he let that be a summary term at the end of the verse after he's mentioned things like bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander you know we pretty much know what these words mean but we might need to be reminded of how little steps can lead to great strides and we we may think you know I'm just a little bit bitter not bad bitter I'm just a little bit angry not real mad but those kinds of beginning steps can lead to that word clamor for example includes the idea of brawling and shouting at one another and we may think that that we're a little too mature and sophisticated to reach that level of anger especially as the body and in the church but the reality is that members of some congregations have gotten so heated in their relations with each other that they end up and in fist fights right in the church we need to be careful that we put all of those kinds of things away Paul says put it all away the word is used of a ship weighing anchor that ship needs to have sailed we need to put all of that away well that's kind of the negative instruction that he gives but let's turn now to the positive instructions he says stop doing these things but instead start doing these things first of all in verse 25 he says we are to speak the truth with our neighbor truth is in many ways a defining characteristic of the new man of salvation in fact of God himself God is a God of truth earlier in this epistle Paul has talked about the fact that the truth is in Jesus just some reminders of this matter of truth and how critical it is in the gospel and in in salvation first Timothy 2 for God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth Titus 1 to God never lies Hebrews 6 18 it is impossible for God to lie Paul has pointed to the fact that the truth is in Jesus and we are to be like him we are made in the image of God in our salvation we are created in God's image and that is a he uses the terms in righteousness and holiness of the truth truth is vital to this new life in Christ our life in Christ should be evident in our integrity there was a time when you would hear the phrase his word is his bond you could trust a man's word people didn't even bother to do written contracts because they could trust what someone said and you know that kind of integrity is what we need to strive for I remember as as a boy growing up in a small town my dad was anything but a politician he was a very quiet soft-spoken man who never put himself forward in any way and yet there came a time in our little town when there was such corruption in town hall that my father was elected to the town council just because he was known as a man of integrity and given responsibility for the purchasing of all the equipment and materials for the town and of course the side benefit of that was I as a little boy got to read all the catalogs with the big heavy equipment and everything was but it was because he had a name for being a man of integrity his word was his bond and where to be like that as we walk in Christ speaking the truth and then the next thing he mentions in verses 26 27 he talks about the anger how are we to deal with anger we all struggle with that wrestle with it well Paul gives us an answer he first of all he says do it quickly do it quickly don't let it fester and become bitterness or a grudge he says do not let the Sun go down on your anger the fellowship of the body the unity of the body the oneness we have in Christ is our first importance and our Lord even gave him priority to that relationship over our expressions of worship in Matthew chapter 5 verse 23 he says if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you leave your gift there before the altar and go first be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift kisten macher points out that dealing with something before the Sun goes down was to the Jew do it today because that was the end of one day the beginning of another when the Sun went down the day was considered to be the evening in the morning and so he said he was saying you know do it today don't let it linger don't let it become more than just this anger so how do we avoid sinful anger I think the key is forgiveness we when we react in anger we're claiming rights for ourselves we're claiming that somebody has offended us in some way and so some try to deal with anger by just suppressing it and not acknowledging that they are that they're angry that it's a problem for them but as Christians we're not to be stoics when you start stuffing the anger eventually it's going to erupt and explode become expression of bitterness in you so we're we're to deal with it we're not to suppress it and try to ignore it and say it's not there Paul in talking about the how we're to be different from the others he talks about the fact that because they have suppressed their emotion and their their ability to to feel things some have become what he called past feeling they become calloused and we're not to be like that we're not to be unfeeling it reminds me of what Jeremiah says about those who reached a point that they had forgotten how to blush when evil is present we're not to be like that we're not to ignore sin but we are to forgive and we're to do it quickly forgiveness not anger should become the characteristic response of one who's known forgiveness and in doing that we keep the devil at bay when we allow bitterness and angry to disrupt the fellowship and the oneness and the unity we are opening the door for Satan to have a heyday the next thing he mentions in from a positive standpoint is in verse 28 he says we're to work and work hard work is a good thing even before the fall man was given work to do God put him in the garden and placed him there to work it and to keep it and again this imperative is reflective of the image of God it's it's a way in which this new self is to reflect an image before the world who God is the new self is created after the likeness of God Paul said back in verse 24 and God is a God who works Jesus said the Father is working until now and I am working we are to work as a reflection of who God is the word there is translated labor includes the idea of feeling fatigue it means you work hard and he says it's to be honest work good work and work with your own hands this physical labor involved you know there's there's something about the tactical experience of dealing with stuff when you're working I was mentioned to Libby this week you know we we just went through a time of experiencing COVID and had to be quarantined and stay in the house for a while and and I told her about the third fourth day in I said I think I'm experiencing cabin fever you just get tired of it and I I was thinking about what I saw recently in a an instructional video about woodworking about the therapeutic quality of taking a plane and just making real fine thin shavings with a plane just there's something about physical labor that is good for us God created in us for that kind of work and we're to work with our hands to do labor that is tiring and fatiguing then verse 29 he says we are to build up to edify the body and here he's talking about how we communicate with each other how we speak words have great power notice how much attention Paul gives to speech in this passage he talks about falsehood speaking truth corrupting talk slander now in chapter five talks about foolish talk crude joking jesting and giving of thanks words are important words have great power just some reminders from the book of Proverbs about how important this is the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life with his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor by the blessing of the upright a city is exalted but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down but a good word makes him glad whoever restrains his words has knowledge when words are many transgression is not lacking but whoever restrains his lips is prudent don't talk too much and when you do talk make sure it builds up rather than tearing down another aspect of this poll says that we are to do only what builds up and edifies as it fits the occasion ESV translates it I like Martin Lloyd Jones translation there he says for the edification of the need whatever the situation is whatever it is that brother or sister needs that's what we speak to and we speak truth that builds up speaking to them the Word of God we need to know when to speak and what to say and how to say it you can't do that on your own it's only in Christ that we can do this and by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us but this these are the things that characterize the new self that we are to put on finally in verse 32 he says be kind and forgive each of these illustrations that he's given us of what it looks like to put on the new self each of them is also an expression of the nature of God how he is and this new self that we're to put on is created in the likeness of God and so these are expressions of who God is and we are to express his likeness as we live in this way God whose nature is manifest in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ we're to look like Jesus in the way we live and part of that is this matter of being kind and and forgiving those two words kind and tender-hearted being kind is not just the absence of meanness it's a positive seeking of the other person's good in in doing it in a winsome manner as I was thinking about this it made me think of a doctor who has a good bedside manner you know just an ability to communicate just by his presence peace and calm and confidence I remember some time back I had to have an emergency surgery happened on a Sunday morning and you just don't want to go the ER on Sunday morning but you know God in his Providence had a wonderful surgeon on call who came and in a matter of moments had stilled the heart and spirit of my wife as he spoke to her with such kindness and assurance and confidence and just exuded of the sense that he knew exactly what needed to be done and he was capable of doing it and we need to have that kind of kindness as we speak to others as we deal with others as we relate to the body and that word tender-hearted has the idea of empathy of being able to relate to what's going on in the life of another person Hebrews 4 15 I love the way the King James puts this for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities Christ is is touched with a feeling of what we're going through and we need to have that sense of tender heartedness toward others as we relate in the body forgiveness is at the core of the new self we are to forgive one another as God in Christ and for his sake forgave us this is is so essential to the way we live as believers forgiving having a forgiving spirit toward others you know the more I come to know how wretched I really am and what God has done in forgiving me in Christ while I was still in rebellion and sin and disobedience Christ came and died for me and the more I understand that the easier it is for me to have a forgiving spirit toward others to have empathy and understanding Martin Lloyd Jones great preacher from the 20th century was often very pointed in calm and British kind of upper stiff upper lip way and yet he would say things like this when he's dealing with this verse he said if you cannot forgive your brother I tell you in the name of God you are not forgiven yourself if you cannot forgive your brother I tell you in the name of God you are not forgiven yourself he's just really reiterating what Jesus himself our Lord said in Matthew chapter 6 verse 15 if you do not forgive others their trespasses neither will your father forgive your trespasses we are to be kind tenderhearted for giving one another even as God for Christ's sake have forgiven us so that brings us to the why and let's go back to verse 25 and walk through again why are we to live like this why are we to put off those things and put on these things well first of all in verse 25 he says we are members one of another we're all one body like each of these injunctions speaking truth has others in view the good of our neighbor is to be our motivation that's that's how love works we're doing what is good for the other person what is best for them speaking the truth and speaking it in love in Christ we are one though we are many yet we are one body in him and when one member rejoices we're all to rejoice when one member suffers we're all to suffer in our conduct in all of our conduct we are to keep the body in view the fact that we are members one of another and Paul puts it in his letter to the Philippians we are to look to the interests of others not just to our own interests and seek the good of the members of the body verse 27 he says that with regard to our anger we're not to give an opportunity to the devil don't open the door for him you know the world is watching us the world holds believers to a high standard because we proclaim a standard and they hold us to it they're watching but the world the people out in the world they're they're not the enemy they are they're blinded by sin and they're held captive by the Satan but they're not the enemy later on in this letter to the Ephesians Paul is going to say in chapter 6 verse 12 that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood its principalities powers rules of the darkness of this world spiritual wickedness in high places the enemy is the devil himself and all his minions and so we need to recognize this and and not let our anger toward people give the enemy an open door to the body verse 28 he says that we are to work for the purpose of being able not just to supply for ourselves and our family and provide but to be have something to share with anyone in need we're to work hard to provide for ourselves and our families a person who doesn't provide for his own Bible says is worse than an infidel but you were to go beyond that we're to be able to share with others and to give to those in need because we are not the owners of all the stuff that we accumulate we are simply stewards and we need to recognize that we should hold these earthly treasures very carefully and make sure that we recognize we are accountable to the true owner not only are we to share material things temporal things with others but we must also share the heavenly treasures that God is entrusted to us we've been given this wonderful treasure in earthen vessels and we have responsibility to share with others and that leads us to what he says in verse 29 that in our speech we are to do so in a way that is building up and edifying so that it will give grace to those who hear our speech should build up the body Jesus said that we'll give an account for every careless word we speak that's terrifying isn't it when you stop and think about how glibly we speak sometimes sometimes the best thing you can do for a brother or sister is simply to speak a word of encouragement Proverbs puts it very poetically a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and settings of silver we are to speak in a way that gives grace to those who hear and then in the final verse in verse 32 forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you the reason we are to be kind and tender-hearted and forgiving is that we are to put on this new self that is created in the likeness of God we are to look like God we're to be reflections of who he is we're to look like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ multiple times in this letter Paul speaks of God's eternal purpose which he purposed in himself which he purposed in Christ Jesus and from the beginning of creation he has made us to be a reflection of himself in the new creation in Christ Jesus we are created verse 24 says we're created after the likeness of God he has redone what we messed up in the beginning God has created us to be an reflection of who he is and just as God has forgiven us in Christ even so are we to forgive one another so put off the old ways and put on this new self put off that old self with its its rottenness and selfishness and corruption and deceit stop doing those former things put on Christ speak the truth hate sin work hard to give build up the body and be you kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you amen let's pray father forgive us for not looking like your children for not acting like you created us to act grant us grace by the power of your spirit at work in us to manifest this new self that you have created in Christ Jesus the good works that we should walk in that you've ordained for us and may we be faithful by your grace and the power of your spirit at work in us we ask in Jesus name amen