A Walk Through Ephesians (Preaching, Part 3)
Series: Preaching (Part 3)
Author: Larry Kirk
Title: A Walk Through Ephesians
Going back to Stott’s statement that the key to the secret to effective preaching is not mastering certain techniques but being mastered by core convictions, I want you to indulge me in something that's designed to just deepen that conviction in you. Because there are a lot of things out there about how to do Christ centered preaching but I think the single most important thing and the reason I like to use this analogy is that if it becomes a core conviction that you must both turn up the music and call the dance, I believe you'll find a way to do it.
Here's the exercise. I want us to look at one of the most famous church renewal pastors and church planters and how he does it in one of his most famous books, the book of Ephesians. I'm talking about Paul. In Ephesians, part of the beauty of Ephesians and why I want to do it is there are six chapters. I think in the first three chapters, what you have are the riches of God's love in Christ, and the last three chapters, the expression of Christ in our lives. Here's what I want us to do for just a minute though, to see how Paul does this, let's think about how Ephesians 1 through 3 reveals the grace of God. If you have a Bible, turn to Ephesians 1, if you don't have a Bible just remember because I'm sure you know Ephesians. What are some of the expressions of the grace of God that we are given in Ephesians Chapter 1? Is there any grace in Ephesians Chapter 1?
He starts off by saying, "Blessed be, the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ." He's putting all of this in the context of praise, which by the way there's an application for all of that. He says he chose us before the foundations of the world, he pre-destined us, there's an inheritance there and in verse 5 through 7, he says, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace which he lavished on us." Lavished mean just like "Whoo!" Is there any other grace anywhere else in Chapter 1? We're predestined for the adoption of sons, what comes right after that? Inheritance? What else? Sealed by the spirit who's the earnest of our inheritance into the day of redemption. That's a tremendous outpouring of the grace of God right there, so much so that what does Paul do at the end of the first chapter? He's caught up in praise and he turns into prayer for his spirit of revelation in the knowledge of Christ so that we would grasp the richness of his power at work within us.
That's chapter 1. Is there any grace in Chapter 2 of Ephesians? Starts out, "You are dead in your trespasses and sins. You walked according to the course of this world. The prince of the power the air, children of wrath." This is that powerful, powerful but God… But God. Then how does he describe God right after he says, "But God"? Being rich in mercy. Then, what was motivating when he acted? Because of his great love with which he loved us? This is amazing. Made us alive together in Christ, by grace you're saved.
A little bit later on in the book of, in Chapter 2, what else does he say are some of the things that are true of us, like get down around verses 19 and 22? You are without hope and without God in the world but you're no longer foreigners and strangers, there's reconciliation. What's the image that he uses in that passage? The dividing wall of the temple and Christ as the cornerstone that Isaiah had talked about. In Chapter 3 he says, verses 1 through 6, who shares together in the promise of grace. Look in Chapter 3, we'll move a little bit more quickly, if you come down to chapter 3 verses 7 through 13, what is the result in terms of how we can approach God? Different versions will put it a little bit differently. How can we approach God because of this? With boldness, confidence, some versions have with freedom and boldness or freedom and confidence.
Does anybody know how many imperatives, how many commands are in Ephesians Chapter 1 through 3? The only command for three chapters is to remember where you used to be before you got the grace of God in Jesus. That's the music. At the end, he comes to the end in Chapter 3 and he gives a prayer, we're going to come back and look at that prayer but then he says, "I, as a prisoner of the Lord, then", and the then softens it. This is the NIV but a lot of versions, it's the therefore. "As a prisoner of the Lord, therefore, I urge you live a life worthy of the calling." Worthy, I think in our modern culture that almost makes it sound like ... I think it throws you a little bit. It's the idea of a life that's in keeping with or appropriate to what you just read and everything that came up before this.
Here what I want to do now though. One imperative, only one imperative in the first three chapters and that's the imperative to remember that formerly, you were without Christ. Now, are there any imperatives in Chapter 4? We got one. "Live a life worthy of the calling that you've received." Think about it or look if you have Ephesians 4 in front of you and quickly, let's begin to itemize some of the imperatives. What else are we told to do?
I'm not just looking for implied imperatives but just explicit imperatives. Forgive us Christ, forgave you, do you know where that is? Twenty eight, I think. Before we get to 28, let's back up and go through it. "Be patient with each other", where's that? Verse 2. "Guard the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, be humble and gentle, bear with one another." Then there's a little section in there where he talks about Christ ascended and poured out gifts and apostles and prophets for equipping of the saints, but then right after that, begins more imperatives. What's some others?
Is there anything between verse 15 and 24 that's an imperative? Speak the truth in love, no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, be renewed in your mind, lay aside the old self put on the new self. I don't want to just do one. There won't be anything to work with. Then we'd get, be angry and do not sin, don't let the sun go down on your wrath. Then right after that, there's a bunch of others aren't there? What are some of the other ones? Don't steal. Don't steal but labor. You get that series of "don't do this but do that", replace this old behavior with this new behavior, is that it? What comes after "Don't steal"?"
No unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, only what's good for the edification of others. What else? Don't grieve the Holy Spirit. Do you see how many imperatives now where you go from three chapters where there's basically no imperatives. Then, here we are in the first 20 verses, I think we just named almost 20 imperatives. But does it end there? No. If we go back and we look, what are some of the other ones in Ephesians 4? Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. Before that he says, there's a negative before that, get rid of all what? Malice, brawling, slander. In this church, the brawling has to stop. Be kind to one another, imitators of God as dearly beloved children. Walk in love just as Christ loved us.
Now we're into chapter 5 aren't we? What comes after that, "walk in love just as Christ loved us"? No sexual immorality, and then he talks about your speech. Then we'll go a little bit faster but if you read on, he talk about such a variety of applications. Be circumspect in how you walk redeeming the time for the days are evil. Do not be drunk with wine but be filled with the spirit. Submit to one another out of fear of Christ. Husbands love your wives. Wives, love and respect and submit to your husbands. That ends Chapter 5.
He's talked about substance abuse, he's talked about marriage, he's talked about time management, he's talked about sexual immorality, lying, stealing, unity, love, forgiveness, bitterness. Now we get into Chapter 6, are there any imperatives? Children, obey your parents, fathers raise your children and nurture the discipline of the Lord, put on the armor of God, fight these spiritual battles, praying always. There's just this incredible, I think it's Sinclair Ferguson says that it is as if in Ephesians, what you get is this beautiful white light of the Gospel that passes through this prism and it just spreads it into this entire spectrum of every single aspect imaginable, pretty much of life.
We left out the part about masters and servants, so you've got the workplace, the home, substance abuse, time management, sexuality, your words, your heart, laying aside all malice, it's just every single aspect of life is affected by the music. That's the dance. That's all the dance and it's all important. Preaching the Gospel doesn't mean that you somehow diminish the imperative nature of those imperatives.
What percentage of obedience do we aim at? 100% obedience, from the inside out, 24/7. But what Paul is showing us is that dance, the God who choreographed the dance composed the music that goes with it and that is intended to inspire and empower it. We can't dance the dance well unless we're listening to the music.
Look at this prayer. This is the hinge between those two chapters. He says, "I pray that out of his glorious riches", this is the end of chapter 3, last thing before he gives the beginning of the imperative. "He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit and your inner being." It's interesting also, we're talking about dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Sometimes when people think of the power of the Holy Spirit, they may think of many different things in life but he says that what he's praying for is that this empowering will result in Christ dwelling in your hearts through faith.
We know earlier in Ephesians 1:13, he said that, "If you have heard and believe the Gospel, the Holy Spirit has sealed you and you the indwelling of Christ to be the person of the spirit." I agree with the commentators who say here he's talking about a more experiential or existential sense. It's not talking about the ontological reality of the indwelling Christ because every believer has that reality. It's part of the Gospel, part of what it means to be renewed. It's part of the new covenant. But rather the experiential acknowledgement and sense of Christ dwelling in our hearts through active living vital faith.
“I pray that you being rooted and established in love.” Two metaphors, one from gardening planting, one from building, establish like on a foundation, rooted like a plant in the soil. Again, there's no corresponding attribute of God what we're ever told to be rooted or established, so yes God's holy and he's wrathful. He has his wrath but there's no verse that says, "I pray that you would rooted in the wrath of God."
Propitiation has resulted in Christ having taken the wrath for us as believers. As J.I. Packer says in Knowing God, "Those who received Christ as their propitiation do not face the wrath of God. But so that you would be rooted and established in love and you may have power together with all the saints to grasp the full dimensions of the love of God." How wide and long and high and deep is the love of God. To know, again, since it surpasses knowledge, this is talking about a kind of existential spiritual knowledge of a love that surpasses intellectual comprehension that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of God and this is what leads into all of those imperatives. Those imperatives are showing you what the effect of being filled all the fullness of God will mean as it works its way out in marriage and children, in the workplace, in time, in substance abuse, in sexuality, in words, in bitterness, and all of it.