IS IT THEN HARD TO DO THE THINGS WITH WHICH JESUS ILLUSTRATES THE KINGDOM HEART OF LOVE? OR THE THINGS THAT PAUL SAYS LOVE DOES?
IT IS VERY HARD INDEED IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN SUBSTANTIALLY TRANSFORMED IN THE DEPTHS OF YOUR BEING, IN THE INTRICACIES OF YOUR THOUGHTS. FEELINGS.ASSURANCES, AND DISPOSITIONS, IN SUCH A WAY THAT YOU ARE PERMEATED WITH LOVE
……ONCE THAT HAPPENS, THEN IT IS NOT HARD
WHAT WOULD BE HARD IS TO ACT THE WAY YOU ACTED BEFORE.
DALLAS WILLARD
Prayer
Unity
Ephesians 4:1-3
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Last week we saw where Paul was praying for the followers to be rooted and grounded in love and were reminded that we are to be the same.
Ephesians 3:14-19
[14] For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, [15] from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, [16] that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, [19] and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Once we’re rooted and grounded what is next? What does it do? What does that mean? How does that affect me and others?
V1 of chapter 4 starts with therefore
John MacArthur says “Paul is saying we are going from Doctrine to Duty
From principle to practice
Position to behavior”
Ephesians 4:1-16
Unity in the Body of Christ
[1] I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, [2] with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, [3] eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—[5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. [7] But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. [8] Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”
[9] (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? [10] He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) [11] And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, [14] so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. [15] Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, [16] from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
—————-
So…let’s look at Ephesians and take an inventory of ourselves
Do I know who Jesus is? – Check
Am I saved – Check
Am I baptized – Check
Am I a member – Check
Am I present – Check
So what’s left?
Well, if I am rooted and grounded in love and empowered by the Spirit, then what follows is here in our passage. If I’m not, then I have problems.
Again, does closeness with God mean no problems whatsoever? No
But the human tendency is to drift away
“People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.”
― D.A. Carson
JI Packer puts it this way…..
in his book Hot Tub Religion. When searching for an image or metaphor or analogy to summarize the approach of many to Christian living today, Packer landed on the experience one has in a hot tub! Set aside for a moment your struggle with the image of J. I. Packer in a hot tub and let him make his point. As he sat in a hot tub for the first time, it struck him that the experience is the perfect symbol of the modern route in religion. The hot tub experience is sensuous, relaxing, floppy, laid-back: not in any way demanding, whether intellectually or otherwise, but very, very nice, even to the point of being great fun. . . . Many today want Christianity to be like that, and labor to make it so. . . . [To this end many] are already offering occasions which we are meant to feel are the next best thing to a hot tub—namely, happy gatherings free from care, real fun times for all. . . . [Thus] when modern Western man turns to religion (if he does—most don’t), what he wants is total tickling relaxation, the sense of being at once soothed, supported and effortlessly invigorated: in short, hot tub religion. He goes on to say that the feelings generated by a hot tub are okay; in fact, they are great! And relaxation and soothing emotions and exuberant celebrations are all permissible within biblical Christian experience. But if there were no more to our Christianity than hot tub factors—if, that is, we embraced a self-absorbed hedonism of relaxation and happy feelings, while dodging tough tasks, unpopular stances and exhausting relationships—we should fall short of biblical God-centeredness and of the cross-bearing life to which Jesus calls us, and advertise to the world nothing better than our own decadence. Please God, however, we shall not settle for that. But Packer is no killjoy! He repeatedly insists that happiness plays an essential role in Christian experience; indeed, he asserts that “real enjoyment is integral to real godliness.” But it “comes from basking in the knowledge of the redeeming love of the Father and the Son, and showing actively loyal gratitude for it. You love God and find yourself happy. Your active attempts to please God funnel the pleasures of his peace to others.
So Paul is telling us not to be Hot Tub Christians. He’s showing us the results of what being rooted and grounded in love looks like.
We are to:
- Walk worthy of our calling
- With humility, gentleness and patience
- Bearing one another in love
- And eager to maintain unity and peace
Then after he reminds us why, he provides more of what it should look like:
- Mature
- Live up to the calling of Christ
- No longer childish
- Don’t be tossed to and fro with every occurrence let alone some new crazy teaching or schemes
Instead of the Hot Tub we are to
- Tell the truth in love (know what that means?)
- We are to grow up in every way
“God is not trying to produce successful Christian business people who can impress the world with their money and influence. He is not trying to fashion successful church leaders who can influence people with their organizational and administrative skills. Nor is He trying to fashion great orators who can move people with persuasive words. He wants to reproduce in His followers the character of His son—His love, His kindness, His compassion, His holiness, His humility, His unselfishness, His servant attitude, His willingness to suffer wrongfully, His ability to forgive, and so much more that characterized His life on earth.” – Richard Strauss
Why?
So that……
Ephesians 4:16
[16] from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Everyone benefits. The church is unified, people feel welcome, we bear each other’s burdens, we love each other, we check on each other, we grieve with one another, we rejoice with one another, we pray for one another. We are here for one another. We are Christ’s hands and feet on this earth. We do this so we can be a lighthouse for the world to find Christ. A harbor for those in the storm and a hospital for the hurting.
