Latin-American Reformed Seminary Ephesians

May 2018

Lecture 10
Ephesians 4: 25-32

Intro.

- What he wants us to see

o Is that our complete dependence upon God
 In salvation
 Means that
o Now we can lay claim
 To nothing.
o We are wholly God’s,
 Once dead in our transgressions and sins
 But passively,
o Having been made alive
 By God in Christ.

- Calvin:
o “We are not our own: let not our reason nor our will,
therefore, sway our plans and deeds.
 We are not our own: let us therefore not set it
as our goal to seek what is expedient for us
according to the flesh.
 We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us
therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours.
 Conversely, we are God's: let us therefore live
for him and die for him.
 We are God's: let his wisdom and will therefore
rule all our actions.
 We are God's: let all the parts of our life
accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful
goal.”

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- That’s what Paul is driving at.

o That’s the general ethic
 That of the Christian life:
 An understanding
o That we belong to another
o And so we
 Have no place for pride
or self-regard,
 But are wholly focused
 On the glory of
God
 And the good
of His people.

- And it is that general ethic

o That Paul narrowed in
 And applied (at the beginning of the chapter)
 First to how we understand
o Our place in the church.
o That general ethic
 Of radical humility
 Means
o That we understand our
spiritual gifts
 As given
 Not for our
good
o Or glory
 But simply

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 (v. 12) “, for

building up the
body of Christ.”

- But now,
o With v. 25
 Paul turns
 To show us
o What difference
 This humility-ethic
makes
 When it comes
 To how we
relate to the
non-Christian
culture that
surrounds us.

- Paul has just,

o Laid the groundwork
 For this
 In vv. 17-24:
o That our lives
 As Christians
 Are lived in a
wholly different
context
 That those of
the non-
Christian world.

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- Whereas the non-Christian

o Lives and operates
 In the realm of the senses
 What can be tasted and touched
o And seen and heard,

o Our lives as Christians

 Are in the context of the eternal.
 You remember Paul’s definitive
statement
o In v. 20
 Contrasting our lives
with the lives of the
Gentiles?
 “But that is not
the way you
learned Christ!”

- We didn’t learn Christ

o Through the senses.
 We learnt Christ
 Through the eternal resolution of God,
o That determined
 To raise us from the
death of our sin
 And give us new life in
Christ.
 It was because
o God, in eternity past,
 Before the foundation
of the world

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 Chose us in Christ
 That we are
Christians.
- His point
o Is that we understand life differently.
 We have different reference points.
 Our starting point
o For how we understand our
lives
 Is different
 And so our conclusions
o About how to understand our
lives
 Is different.

o Instead of being confined

 To trying to find meaning simply
 In the here and now

 Our self-understanding is rooted

o In the decrees of God
 In eternity past
 In which He
elected us for
salvation,
 And that salvation
o Has secured for us
 An eternity future
 That is wrapped
up

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 In our new
identities as the
heirs of God.

I. What does it say

- But here
o Paul puts all of that together,
 And he says to us
 This is what all this means
o When it comes to how we
relate
 To the culture that
surrounds the Church:

o Driven and shaped

 By the
 Salvation that we have received
o From God
 We are to live lives
 That are the opposite
 Of what we find
around
ourselves.

- So,
o Look at what he says:
 This section is simply a series of contrasts –
 V. 25 Truth must replace falsehood
 V. 26 Anger that is righteous must
replace anger that controls us.
 V. 28 Generosity must replace theft.

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 V. 29 The language of blessing must

replace the language of cursing.
 V. 31 Kindness must replace animosity

- And you see

o What unites
 All of these things?
 All of these virtues?
 They are distinctly self-effacing.

- Or,
o Think about
 For a minute
 What unites
o The sinful habits
 That are to be replaced:
 They are all
distinctly self-
focused.

- Why do we lie?
o Because we want to control the outcome
 Of a conversation or a situation,
 And so we seek to deceive
o So that we might retain the
dominant position.
o So that we might retain control.

o As long as we control the narrative

 Then we can control the situation.
 Lying, falsehood

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o Is rooted
 In a self-centered way
of understanding our
place in the world.
- Why are we prone to unrighteous anger?
o It is right to be angry about some things
 We see Jesus get angry in the Gospels,
o But we are prone
 To an anger that is rooted in
 How we have been wronged,
o And then letting anger master
us,
 Consume us.
 We are prone to letting
 That anger fester
o Because it is so often wrapped up
 With self-justification.
 Our anger
o So often betrays our exalted
view of ourselves:
 That someone or
something has gotten
in the way of my wants
and desires.
o We are prone to unrighteous anger
 Because our view of ourselves
 And our place in this world
o Is focused on what people think
of us,
o And we cannot stand any threat
 To that.

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- Why would someone steal?

o Because his understanding of life
 Is wrapped up
 In his own advancement.
o And so he is willing
 To deprive another
 As long as he is able to look after
himself.
- Where does corrupting talk come from,
o It comes from a desire
 To elevate self
 By belittling others.

o We see that
 In verse 29
 Don’t we?
 What’s the opposite
 Of corrupting talk?
o Speech that is good for building
up and that gives grace to those
who hear.

o So, corrupting talk

 Is speech that doesn’t do that:
 Speech that cuts down
o Speech that cuts and harms
those who hear it.
o And why would you talk like that?
 Because its powerful.

- Remember how James

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o Describes the power of the tongue?

o James 3:3–6
 When he uses the example of horses and ships:
 You have these great, powerful horses
o But a little bit of metal in their
mouths
 Seemingly
inconsequential
 Can direct where they
go.
 You have these enormous ships:
o The island I live on has a car
import-export port near it
 And so through the
channel between us
and the next island
 These enormous car
carrying ships sail.
 They are huge – they
come from all over the
world, from Germany,
from China,
o And what is it that steers them
 So that they can
maneuver around our
island to get to their
port?
 A proportionally tiny
piece of metal.
 A rubber

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 That pales in
comparison to
the rest of the
ship,
 But which
completely
dictates which
direction that
boat will go.
- That’s James’ point
o The tongue
 Is tiny,
 But of every part of the body
o It is the most powerful.
- As the writer of Proverbs puts it
o “With his mouth the godless man would destroy his
neighbor.” (Prov. 11: 9)
 Or Proverbs 18: 21
 “Death and life are in the power of the
tongue”
- You’ll probably never kill a man
o But you can devastate him
 With just a few words.
 With just a few choice words
 You can gain the upper hand,
o Or you can assert yourself over-
against a colleague in a
business meeting.
o You don’t need to lead an army in battle to build your
little kingdom,
 You just need some well timed

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 Corrupting talk,
 Designed to undermine
o And attack
 Others.

- Bitterness, wrath, anger -

o The animosity of v. 31 -
 Is all rooted in the self:
 An understanding of the world
o That says I am most important
o And so when I am hurt
 Or crossed
 Then I have every right
 Even a duty
 To avenge
myself.

- Every one of these sinful habits

o Is rooted
 In pride.

o Every one of these things

 Are anchored
 In a view of the world
o That is preoccupied
 With the promotion of
self
 Even if that comes
 At the cost of
my neighbor’s
good.

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- Each one of these things

o Is rooted
 In a view of the world
 That is blinded to everything except the
here-and-now
o And so the most important
thing in life
 Is attaining the best life
possible here and now.

- C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

o “As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A
proud man is always looking down on thing and people:
and, of course, as long as you are looking down you
cannot see something that is above you.”

- It is a way of life
o That sets ourselves up
 As little gods
 Who demand that we be worshiped
o That our will be done
 And woe to the one
 Who dares cross us.

- Now,
o Just like the non-Christian worldview
 That Paul describes in vv. 17-24
 He is here exposing
o The horrid inner-workings
 Of this worldview.

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o Not everyone
 Will manifest this
 In the grotesque and violent
o Ways that come to mind.
- Illustration: Peaky Blinders.

- (difference between Absolute Depravity and Total Depravity

o Absolute Depravity says that we are as bad as can
possible be.
 That is clearly untrue.
 God, in His grace, restrains our sin
 So that there are moral non-Christians.
o But what Paul is talking about here
 Is Total Depravity
 The idea
o That there is not a part of our
being
 That has not been
stained by sin.
o Our bodies have been –
 It is why we degenerate
and die.
o But so have our morals, and our
intellects, and our reasoning.

o Every part of us
 Has been tainted and affected by sin.
 That’s what Paul is talking about here.)

- For most people

o This will manifest itself

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 In a great deal of subtlety,

 But it will still be there.

o The lies
 May not be elaborate cynical counter-
narratives,
 But little white lies,
o That bend the truth just enough
 To cover our backs.

o The anger
 May not be table smashing,
 Door slamming fury,
 But a quiet bitterness
 That is
o Nursed to keep it warm
o Over years
 And which is used at
pertinent times
 To manipulate
and control.

o We might not all walk into a shop and steal,

 Or embezzle funds,
 But, as the Heidelberg Catechism says
 The Eighth Commandment
o Requires that
 We do whatever we
can for our neighbor’s
good,

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 Treat others as we
would like them to
treat us,
 And that we work
faithfully
 So that we may
share with
those in need.

- Sinclair Ferguson:
o “We all share the tendency
 Of the man who asked Jesus to identify
 the ‘neighbor’ whom God’s law
commanded him to love (Luke 10:25ff.)
o He wanted to place limits on his
responsibility.
 We image that so long as we do not commit
theft
 We have kept the law.
o But God is concerned with the
goal of the commandment:
 Giving generously, as
those who have
received generously.”

- What Paul describes here in the extreme

o Is in reality
 The mark
 Of a non-Christian life
o In one degree or another.
 A life

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o That is focused on self

o On self-advancement
 Self-security
 Self-promotion
 Self-righteousness
 Self-pity
 Self-confidence
 Self-sufficiency
 Self-admiration
 Self-love

- But,
o As Paul said in the previous section
 “That is not the way your learned Christ!”
 And so we are called to put away
o That old, self-focused,
 Pride-full way of life
 And we are to
put on the new
self,
 Created after
the likeness of
God in true
righteousness
and holiness.
(v. 24)

- In the place of these

o Self-sins
o We are called to a life
 That is characterized

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 By self-effacing virtues
o That are focused on the welfare
of our neighbor.
- Rooted in the knowledge
o That we are debtors to mercy alone
o Rooted in the knowledge
 That not only do we have physical life
 From the hands of God,
 But also
 Spiritual life
o Eternal life
 That is rooted
 In the eternal
council of God,

o We are freed
 From the tyranny of self
 And trying to value and significance
o In our relationship
 To those around us,

o We are freed
 From that constant
 Restless quest
o To be something
 In the eyes of the
world,

o And we are freed

 To simply love those around us.
 We are freed to take our eyes

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o Off of our selves

 And place them on our
neighbor,

- So that
o We no longer lie or tell half truths
 To cover ourselves
 And to retain control of the message,

o And we are freed to speak the truth.

 We are freed to be open and honest
 Pursuing a bond of trust
o Even when the truth
 Might testify against us.

o We no longer
 Nurse our grudges
 But we keep short accounts,
 We are freed to forgive those
 Who have wronged us
o Because it’s not all about us.

o We refuse to be burdened
 By poisonous animosity,
 And so
o We pursue reconciliation.

o We are freed
 To be our brother’s keeper
 And to work hard
o (v. 28)

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 “so that we may have

something to share
with anyone in need.”
 We are freed from trying to find our identity
and significance in our stuff,
 And so we don’t work
o So that we can simply die with
the most toys,
o We work
 So that we are able to
help those around us.
o We are freed
 To speak words
 That build up
o And don’t cut down,
 Because our chief concern now
 Is the welfare and health
o Of those to whom we speak.
 As Jesus said
 It is out of the heart that the mouths
speaks,
o And so now that we have hearts
that have been transformed by
the gracious love of God in the
Gospel,
 Our mouths are no longer
o Conduits of our self-promoting
propaganda,
 But are life giving
channels through which
we seek to edify and

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encourage those with

whom we speak.

- We are freed to be kind,

o And tenderhearted,
o We are freed to forgive those who do us harm
 (intentionally or unintentionally)
 Because we remember that the context
in which we live
o Is the gracious forgiveness that
we have received from God in
Christ.

II. What does it mean?

- You see what Paul is doing here?

o He is taking the general ethic

 With which he began the chapter
 And he puts hands and feet on it:
 We once lived
o Like the world lives:
 Focused on self and the
building of our own
little kingdoms.
 Creating and bolstering
divisions between us
 As we tried to
jostle for
position

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 And be our own

saviors and
kings,

- But
o Now that we are united to God
 By faith in Christ
 We have a new life
o That is held so secure
 By the love of God for
us
 The predestinating love
of God for us,
 That we are freed to knock down the barriers,
 And seek peace
 And seek unity
 And seek the welfare of our neighbor.

- Sinclair Ferguson points out

o That all of this
 Rather unremarkable:
 “The new life Paul describes here may
seem at first sight disappointingly
mundane and unspectacular.
o These verses do not describe
mighty deeds, wrought in great
power, but humble lives
transformed by the Holy Spirit.”

- But these humble lives

o Bear testimony

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 To the radically new

 Worldview that we have
o Because of our salvation.
o Every thing we are
 Every thing we have
 Now understood
o In reference
 To the eternal, gracious
love of God
 That takes us,
 Sinful, self-
glorifying
rebels,
 And forgives us
 And make us new
 And gives us
every spiritual
blessing in the
heavenly
places.

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