982. The Message of Ephesians

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.

The school was founded in 1927 by the evangelist Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. His intent was to make a school where Christ would be the center of everything so he established daily chapel services. Today, that tradition continues with fervent biblical preaching from the University Chapel platform. Today on The Daily Platform, Dr. Steve Pettit, President of Bob Jones University, is continuing a study series from Ephesians entitled, New Life in Christ.

Steve has written a study booklet for this series. If you would like to follow along, you can order a printed copy from the website, thedailyplatform.com. Today, Steve will walk us through the overall message of Ephesians in Chapter 4, Verses 17-32. I want you to take your Bibles and turn with me please to the book of Ephesians, Chapter 4. This morning, my message is entitled, if you have your book with you, it's entitled, The Message of Ephesians. And so we're going to sort of do a deeper dive today into the overall plan and message of Ephesians. Last week we did a simple background check of the book and we talked about the city, the church, and the correspondence that Paul wrote. And today I'd like us to do a better, sort of a bigger understanding of the book and then next week we'll actually jump into the passage that we're going to read this morning.

But I would like to read the passage of scripture that we're going to study and then take a simple look at the book of Ephesians as a whole. So I'm going to read beginning in verse 17 down to the end of the chapter. This I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ.

If so be that you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus. That you put off concerning the former conversation the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that you put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying speak every man truth with his neighbor for we are members one of another. Be ye angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil.

Let him that stole steal no more but rather let him labor working with his hands the thing which is good that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice.

And be ye kind one to another tender hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. This is the passage that we'll be studying throughout the course of the semester verse by verse and I believe it will be a great blessing to all of us as we have a greater understanding of his truth. When you look at the letters of the Apostle Paul and the way he addresses the Christian life, we see the Apostle Paul following a very consistent approach or plan to his letters and you can see it in almost all of his letters. And basically his approach is this. He starts by unfolding Christian doctrine and then he follows up with explaining Christian practice. In other words, he speaks to what a Christian is supposed to believe and then he follows up with how a Christian behaves. So before behavior what you're supposed to do, he starts with belief, what you are to understand and comprehend.

Now why is this so important? Why do we start with, with belief first? Because all actions for a Christian should be based on our faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God for him that cometh to God must believe that he is and he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. All actions in our life should be rooted in God's purposes, God's plans and God's provisions.

Christian living therefore is living out in experience what God has accomplished in my life through grace. So Paul's use of this approach, doctrine first and practice second, you can find in almost all of his letters. And Paul's use of this approach is seen very, very clearly in the book of Ephesians. In the first three chapters Paul declares the things that God has done for his sons and daughters in Christ when he saves us.

That's the first three chapters. And he declares this work in multiple theological statements of facts. These statements of fact in the Greek are called indicatives. These are things that we as believers are to believe. We are to trust God.

We're to understand these things. Now in contrast to what God has done in the first three chapters and the last three chapters of Ephesians, we see what a Christian is to do. These things we are to do are called imperatives or they are commands.

In other words, they're not options, they're obligations. They're not sort of a pick and choose, but they are things that we are to earnestly obey. And there are at least 40 of these imperatives in these last three chapters. So this morning I want us to go a little bit deeper and understand what is it that God has done in the first three chapters.

And then secondly, what are we to do as believers as we see it in the last three chapters? When we consider the first three chapters, Paul expresses the splendor of God's work in saving men and women from sin. It is a glorious work.

It is a wonderful work. And if I could entitle the first three chapters, I would say it this way. We're talking about the wealth of the believer.

What it is that we have in Christ. And let me encourage you to take time even this week in personal devotional time or just reading time to read through these three chapters and read them every day. There's no way you're going to comprehend them in one reading. And I don't think we can possibly cover everything in these incredible verses. So let me this morning focus our attention out of these three chapters on three key words.

Because these words are repeated by Paul over and over and over. The first word is the word riches. Let me begin with a question. What is it that Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg all have in common?

What is it? Money. These are considered the four richest people in the United States. Bill Gates, Microsoft. Warren Buffet, investor. Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon.com.

Zuckerberg, the owner of Facebook. These men are worth a total combined amount of $269 billion. Now to put this into perspective, this is the combined amount of the state budgets of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia combined.

So for those guys to go out to eat, it's just going to cost a lot no matter what they do. These guys are rich. Take that image, if you will, and consider the metaphor that Paul uses to describe what you and I have in Christ. He says we are rich. Look at Ephesians chapter one and notice verse seven. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. The word riches there is the Greek word plutos. It means wealth in the extreme, the highest point on any scale.

It implies not only amount but value, something that costs a lot and something that is worth a lot. In the first section of Ephesians, he writes about the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ and these blessings come out of the riches of his grace. And that these riches and these blessings have been given to all of us who are redeemed. In chapter one and verse 18, he speaks of the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. He wants us to understand and comprehend what we have. In chapter two and verse four, he talks about the riches of his mercy.

We who are dead and disobedient and depraved, God resurrected us from the dead. In chapter two and verse seven, he speaks of the riches of his grace and his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus so that in all eternity we will have unfolded to us the riches of his kindness. In chapter three and verse eight, he talks about the unsearchable riches of Christ. In chapter three and verse 16, he prays that we would be empowered on the inner man by the riches of his glory. His glorious presence in our life empowering us. So this is why we could entitle these first three chapters, The Wealth of the Believer. One writer called his commentary on Ephesians, he entitled it, Be Rich. Because that's what we have in Christ. Then there's a second word and we mentioned it last week and I'd like to repeat it this week and that's the word mystery.

The Greek word is the word musterion. It is the idea that something has not been known but now it has been revealed to, if you could say it this, a group of insiders. In other words, you and I because of our faith in Christ are a part of the inside group. We are, we've been let into the mystery, into the secret.

We are a part of a restricted constituency by faith. So what do we read in chapter one and verse nine? It says he's made known unto us the mystery of his will. We understand what is the mind and the purpose of God.

And isn't it an amazing thing that God has allowed us to know that? In chapter three and verse three, he speaks about the mystery that was known by revelation. He talks about the mystery of Christ. In verse six of chapter three, he says the mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs. That is, we are a part of what he's doing in the world. In chapter three and verse nine, he says the plan of the mystery hidden for ages. And in chapter five and verse 32, he says this is a great mystery but I speak concerning Christ and his church. In other words, you and I are part of what God is doing in the world. So what is this mystery?

I mentioned it last week, I'll repeat it again. And that is this, that God is preparing a bride for his son. God the Father is preparing for God the Son a bride.

And who is that bride? It's the church. It's the body of believers. And the second point is that the church includes believing Jews and Gentiles. He's taken the two groups, the two spiritual groups in the world, those who believed in one God, the Jews, and those who believed in multiple gods, the Gentiles, the pagans, and he's brought them together in one body called the church. And the third point of the mystery is that God has removed the wall that separated these two groups and he's made of one — he's made one new man or one new humanity united together in one body, the church of Jesus Christ. So God has created a unified church that currently exists. And if you and I are believers, then we are all a part of that body. And in order for this unity to be experienced, then these two groups must strive together for a solidarity with one another.

In other words, it is no small challenge in the face of such extreme diversity between these two groups for them to become one. But that's what Ephesians is all about. It's how the two become one. So we see his riches, we see his mystery, and then there's a third word. And that's found in the book of Ephesians. All of these, each time seven times, this word is found seven times is the word glory. And especially in the first few verses, chapter one verse three to verse fourteen, he unfolds the blessings that we have, the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ. And these blessings have come from the Father, they have come from the Son, and they have come from the Spirit. And each member of the Trinity is to be praised. Chapter one and verse six, the Father is to be praised for his glory. And chapter one and verse twelve, it says that the Son is to be praised for his glory. And in chapter one and verse fourteen, he says it is the Spirit that is to be praised for his glory. We are, we are, we could call this glory the Trinity and glory in what God has done. And we come to chapter three and verse twenty, and he says that God wants to get glory in the church. And in chapter five and verse twenty-seven, it says that he is creating a glorious church.

So three simple words. Riches, we are wealthy in Christ. We are part of this mystery. And all of this is to be done for his glory. So if I could sum up the theme and the message of Ephesians, it is this. God the Father is preparing for God the Son, through God the Spirit, a bride for his glory. And that bride is called the church. That's why folks, if we are not committed to, and connected to, and serving through the church, we're really not operating under God's plan. God's work in the world today is the church. And regardless of what you do in your occupation, your service to God should always be in line with the church, the body of Christ, serving God through his local church. God the Father is preparing for God the Son, through God the Spirit, a bride called the church for his glory. This is what God has done for us in Christ. Now that leads me to the second point, and that is beginning in chapter four to chapter six, we see now what it is that a believer is to do based on the foundation of what God has done in Christ. And here we speak about the walk of the believer. How do we respond to these riches?

What are we supposed to be doing? And the scripture says that we are to be walking in a manner that reflects our wealth. Now, not everybody who is wealthy and rich looks like it all the time. But generally, it's a common thing that if you're a wealthy person, you live like it, you eat like it, and you dress like it.

You look like you're healthy. And for us to be proper believers, then we should walk in a manner that is a reflection of our wealth. And actually, Paul speaks about this in Ephesians chapter two and verse ten. Notice what he says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. And when you come to chapter four, beginning in chapter four verse one, you see a complete change in Paul's writing. As he goes from the wealth, now he's talking to believers and what they're supposed to do.

And five times in chapters four, five, and six, he uses and introduces the word walk. Look at chapter four and notice verse one. He says, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you're called.

What is he saying for us to do? We're to walk in a manner that reflects the worth, the value of our calling to this wealth as a believer. Drop down, if you will, to chapter four verse seventeen, which is what we will be looking at this semester. Notice what he says, this I say therefore, and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind.

So here is a negative, and it's the only negative of the five different times he uses the word walk. He tells us to not live like other Gentiles. In other words, there should be a difference in our life. Then notice chapter five and verse two, he tells us that we are to walk in love as Christ hath also loved us. So we're to walk in love. And then chapter, chapter five verse eight, he tells us that we are to walk as children of light. For you are sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

I'll give you a little illustration here. When I was in college, I've mentioned that I went to the Citadel in South, in Charleston, and I got saved my freshman year. And then a lot of my big change of life started coming in my sophomore year. And I was starting to, first of all, hang out with Christian guys, dedicated Christian guys.

I started going to Bible studies and started going to church and my life began to change. And in the fall of that year, we always have at school, we always used to have what they called senior parties. And a senior party was not quite like the rush party you had on a Friday night. A senior party was located at Folly Beach and it was, it was at the Folly Beach Pier. And they used to have a big band that would come in and they would play and basically it was a band with dancing and drinking.

That's what it was. And everybody, everybody went to the senior party. Well, I went to the senior party my freshman year because I wasn't a believer, but I'd gotten saved. And I was really struggling.

Should I go to the senior party or not? I'd only been a Christian for probably six months, maybe. And so the fellow that probably had the greatest influence in my life, a fellow named Jim Smith, who was one year older than I was, he was a junior, I went up to his room and I told him, I said, you know, I am really struggling with whether or not I should go to a senior party.

I don't know what to do. Well, deep in my heart, I kind of knew what to do, but I didn't really have any biblical reason for it. I didn't, because I didn't know the Bible that well. And you know, Jim could have, Jim could have said, Steve, don't go to the senior party. It's wicked.

It's bad. That's not what a Christian I'll do. He could have done that.

And I probably would not have gone, but he did something far better. He said, I want you to go and I want you to read Ephesians chapter five. And I want you to read the first 11 verses. So I went back to my room and sat down and I began to read, I started to read chapter five, verse one. And I got down to verse eight where it says, for you are sometimes darkness, that's what I was, but now are you light in the Lord, walk as children of light, for the fruit of righteousness is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. I went, okay. All right, I got it.

I'm not going to go. And the basis of my decision making was on the truth of God's word. My decision was based on faith. And I'm so thankful for the fact that Jim dealt with me that way because he understood that my walk needed to be based on my faith. And so I took God's word, applied God's word, and lived God's word. That's what it means to walk. And then the final walk is found in chapter five in verse 15 when he says, see them that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.

So he's speaking here about a wise walk. And in order for this unity to work in the face of so much diversity, there has to be a solidarity in our commitment to walk. The conduct of a believer should be the same in every culture.

Let me say that again. The conduct of a believer should be the same in every culture. So here we have great diversity here at Bob Jones University because we have people from literally all over the world. But when we take our Bibles, the Bible was not written for one particular culture. It was written for all of God's people.

And even to be specific, for all Gentiles. And we are to be committed to living out this new life. We are Christians. Therefore, we are to live like Christians.

We are different people. Therefore, we are to behave differently. Our new status as God's new society involves new standards. Our new life in Christ demands a new lifestyle.

And that's the way we as believers are to live. So he speaks about the wealth of the believer, the walk of the believer. And before we finish this morning, if we go to chapter six and verse ten, which we will not have time to study this semester, we will realize that as we seek to be unified, we do face an enemy. And in chapter six and verse ten, we are exposed to the warfare of the believer. That we are to put on the whole armor of God.

The wealth, the walk, and the warfare. That's the outline for the book of Ephesians. Another writer did it this way. He used three words, but they were different. The first word is the word sit, because we are seated in the heavenlies and we need to understand what we have in Christ. The second word is the word walk. We are to walk with God.

And then the third word is the word stand. We are to stand against the wiles of the devil. How do you live the Christian life?

Sit, walk, stand. It's almost the opposite of what we normally do, but that's the way we are to live. We are to sit in the heavenlies, understanding our wealth, walk with God, and stand against Satan. And so next week as we begin, we will start with Ephesians four verse seventeen as he tells us how it is that we are to live out this new life. Father, thank You for Your word. Help us to walk faithfully with You in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you.

You've been listening to a sermon from Ephesians chapter four. This sermon is part of the study series called New Life in Christ by Dr. Steve Pettit, President of Bob Jones University. These daily programs are made possible by the many friends of Bob Jones University and this radio ministry. If you appreciate this program and benefit from the faithful preaching and teaching of God's word, would you consider sending us a special financial gift?

You can easily do that through the website thedailyplatform.com. I'm Steve Pettit, President of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Thank you for listening to The Daily Platform. If you're looking for a regionally accredited Christian liberal arts university, I invite you to visit our campus and see how God is working in the lives of our students. For more information about Bob Jones University, visit www.bju.edu or call 800-252-6363. Thanks again for listening. Join us again tomorrow as we study God's word together on The Daily Platform.