24-11-24 - UNITED - Ephesians 4:4-24

Lou Hernández

Dec 4, 202414 min read

MESSAGE BY PASTOR ROB INRIG

FROM BETHANY BAPTIST IN RICHMOND, BC

I invite you to pray with me, Father God hear our prayer, and we humbly cry to you as it is written in your word, Lucas 11:9:” Keep asking and it will give to you, Continue searching and you will find it, Keep knocking and it will be open for you)” We are requesting healing for our dear members of our family and also dear friends who are suffering from illnesses in their lives fighting and suffering under a lot of pain, You know them by their names; (Gaby P, Vicky O, Nancy R, Tere G, Liz N, Gloria F, Stevie A, Les N, Miguel A H, Socrates D, Sara's mom H, Sergei B, Margarita G, Fega G. Manuel D, Marlen C. Rosy Ch) Also, some of them are tired of spiritual struggles, losing their faith in you, Strengthening their trust in you with a miracle in their lives, oh! Father God, hear our prayer, and we also pray for all the people around the world, especially the children who are suffering from wars, devastation, hunger, pain, hate and disbelieving in you also, bless the ones who are reading this message and their families. Heal the Land of those Countries at war; you love them so much, oh Father God, hear our prayer, we ask you in the name of Our Lord of Lords and King of Kings, your beloved son Jesus Christ. AMEN!

There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift :4-7.

Now let’s see if I’ve got what I just read right, thinking of: Baptists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Mennonite Brethren, Alliance and then within each of these, subsets. Take Baptists for example - North American Baptists, Southern Baptists, Fellowship Baptists, Canadian Baptists, General Conference Baptists, and Regular Baptists, AI says there are 65 different ‘streams’ of Baptists.

Kind of strange don’t you think for believers of whom Jesus prayed, That they may all be one just as You, Father are in Me and I in You Jn 17:21? Yet here God narrows what we better make certain around which our oneness must center: the centrality of the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. And around Him, ONE BODY – denominations obliterated - instead blood bought, blood forgiven children of Christ. His children, A great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb..., crying with a loud voice, Salvation to our God who sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. Rev 7:9,10. Don’t miss this as well, ONE SPIRIT - the Holy Spirit who indwells everyone who comes in repentance, asking Jesus to forgive their sins and make them new in Him. In this Spirit there are no There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift :4-7.

For now scattered pockets of people - dwarfed by what surrounds – different morals, different loves, different pursuits, different gods. And surrounded by this reality, it can be hard to grasp that scattered and dwarfed is not what is actually true. That even now in the midst of all that surrounds, we are One Body, One Spirit, One Hope people who in a time to come will know what it means to be a great multitude gathered together to worship our Risen King. Then we will know in full measure what Romans 5:5 assures, Our hope was not in vain, our hope does not disappoint

Then - fully aware, as One Body, One Spirit, One Hope people we gather before our ONE LORD. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 1 Cor 8:5,6

And this ONE, Jesus Christ. Not Jesus, the teacher. Not Jesus, the moralist, not Jesus, the healer. Not even Jesus, the comforter of the afflicted. But Jesus, the Son of God who died so we might live. Jesus who took your sins and mine, paying for our guilt that we couldn’t possibly pay. This Jesus who says of Himself, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life – no man comes to the Father, except by Me Jn 14:6 And as Peter declares, Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved Acts 4:12.

It is this ONE FAITH we gather around - this faith, the truth God has revealed to us. A faith that isn’t determined by the truth I choose to believe, isn’t determined by the preferences I decide are appropriate to follow. But God’s Truth that isn’t up for debate or modernization because His words are too hard, His declarations too out of step with what culture tells us to believe. God’s truth given us in the Bible that we are to earnestly contend for the faith Jude 3,4.

Yet in doing so, we also need to understand what 2 Cor 4:4 tells us, The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. Which is said as a reminder that our faith is to be lived out with love. The blind not shouted at or condemned because they can’t see but people who we, in humility and love, live before and communicate in ways that draw them to the One who can give them sight.

And this ONE, Jesus Christ. Not Jesus, the teacher. Not Jesus, the moralist, not Jesus, the healer. Not even Jesus, the comforter of the afflicted. But Jesus, the Son of God who died so we might live. Jesus who took your sins and mine, paying for our guilt that we couldn’t possibly pay. This Jesus who says of Himself, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life – no man comes to the Father, except by Me Jn 14:6 And as Peter declares, Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved Acts 4:12.

And this ONE, Jesus Christ. Not Jesus, the teacher. Not Jesus, the moralist, not Jesus, the healer. Not even Jesus, the comforter of the afflicted. But Jesus, the Son of God who died so we might live. Jesus who took your sins and mine, Immersed into Him which is what baptizo means - immersed, picturing what happened when we were given life in Christ - dead but then buried and raised to new life in Jesus. In Him, we have been given a new identity and a new lifestyle to which we have been called to live and empowered to live. So to be clear as 1 Corinthians 12:13 tells us, For in one Spirit we were ALL (who’ve come to faith in Christ) baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. This is not some ‘we are more blessed’, euphoric experience, it is a ‘we are most blessed’, euphoric reality – God’s Spirit in us.

Notice one other thing in what was just read, Beside Me there is no Saviour. Do you remember the angel’s words, Behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord Lk 2:10,11?

Here re-asserting, no other gods to come, this Jesus, this Saviour, isn’t from God, He IS God who has come in flesh to us. The Creator from Whom all things exist but best of all, our Saviour who is over all, through all, in all. No multiplicity of gods that Hinduism or Buddhism would promote. No people elevated to become gods as Mormonism would proclaim. NO pantheistic gods, ‘in the trees, in the hills, in the waves’ but God Almighty who stands alone, who can also be known as Father by those who are His children.

Children, John 1:12,13 tells us are only those, Who have received Him, to THEM He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. In other words, NOT children of God by physical birth, but children of God by spiritual birth – those who have been ‘born again’.

In all this, God making it clear, these ‘ones’ are the essentials of the faith. The followers of Jesus uniting under One Head – united as One Body, made new by One Spirit, looking forward to One Hope. These things true for those who have fallen before the One LORD. It’s in this we hold to One Faith, made new and being made new as disciples of Jesus in our One Baptism who in a day to come will bring us into the very presence of the One GOD who because of Jesus’ shed blood on the Cross is now our Father.

It's this assurance and with this message, we read, Therefore, when He ascended on high He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that He had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the One who also ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) :8-10

The wording used here is the same as we’re told in Ps 68, The chariots of God are 20 thousand, even thousands of angels. The Lord is among them ... You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive Ps 68:17,18. Here, Paul’s meaning is somewhat uncertain leading to various interpretations but rather than speculating on the unsure, I want to fix on what’s certain.

That He descended means that Jesus came down, entered into a world of death then He ascended from the grave in triumph. Following that, He victoriously presented Himself in heaven, Supreme over all. By His blood and gift of grace, He freed the captives who had been held in bondage by sin. And in that act of Grace given to men, He assured that the one who held them captive, would, in a day to come, be taken captive himself. The many taken by captive by His Grace – were at the Cross, forgiven, set free and made new by His love and their captor and his minions, captive still awaiting their judgment to come as Col 2:15 describes, He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.

So with this as our message and with this as the powerful demonstrations of what our message does – bringing freedom for the captives and captivity for those who have been ‘taken’ captive, Paul now turns to the importance of making certain we solidify, protect and stay true to what our message is to be. Anchored in what we have been given:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 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 :11-13.

This message about who Jesus is: witnessed by the apostles, foretold by the prophets, proclaimed by the evangelists, guarded by the shepherds and expounded upon by the teachers. Apostles who were first hand witnesses of what Jesus said and did. The apostles who were there - when the lame man was made to walk, the deaf man was made to hear. There, when Lazarus came forth from the tomb and when Jesus spoke into the storm. There, seeing the demons cast out and fishing nets cast full. More than any of that, there as eye witnesses seeing the Cross that delivered death and seeing an Empty Tomb that would deliver eternal life. These all witnessing this final declaration of everlasting life, proving in a way what they had yet to fully understand – in Christ they would never really die. Yes, they would go to their physical deaths but knowing what they’d seen and knowing what that meant - not turning away from their deaths, as horrific as those would be. Those deaths just a temporary layover.

The PROPHETS who spoke God-given words they believed and longed to see but couldn’t fully understand. Prophets who foretold God’s rescue plan that was to come. EVANGELISTS whose proclamation of good news – speaking the hard truth about our sin but the greater truth about a Saviour who had come to pay the penalty for our sin. Brought to us by SHEPHERDS AND TEACHERS - all intended that the body of Christ would be equipped AND unified in faith. That the message heard and believed would be solidified, focused on Jesus. This message isn’t about good deeds done, compassionate people met, political concerns spoken into – it’s about a Saviour who brings life into lives that have been dead. That as :14 says:

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. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, 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.

A body of Christ followers that isn’t being shaped by human cunning or by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Don’t miss what these words convey. Cunning and deceit don’t speak of the obvious, they speak of something that presents itself differently from what they are. Close enough to gain entrance, close enough to gain hearing but devious enough to infiltrate and corrupt.

And the safeguard – know truth, speak truth, and pursue truth but always live and express truth in love. Our truth not to win an argument or gain advantage but to live out Jesus, joined together with others in ways Jesus is seen above all. Which is to say, put on Jesus as first priority. It’s important to understand that truth isn’t the accumulation of what God says, it is the embrace of Who He is. Embracing who He is, enables me to fully trust in what He says. His truth given to us in His love. His truth not so much so we can live better, act better, be better rather that His Truth that brings me into His great love, We love Him because He first loved us 1 Jn 4:19. Full stop. No performing to get His love. No trophies earned. Just love that has been outrageously and undeservedly given, God wanting us to live out of the freedom and joy we have in that.

So put on love living in accordance with that love so we: Must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ! - assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. :17-24

In what we’ve just read, Paul notes that the Gentiles have: futile minds, darkened understanding, alienation from God and hard-hearted ignorance of God. And where has this led them? To be people who live self-centered, self-absorbed, impure lives.

As I considered what others say about this passage, I heard many dwell on these as depictions of those who lived around them. The effect they seemed to convey - ‘those’ people - the decisions they’ve made, the blindness in which they live, the immorality they run after.

Though this is true, I don’t think this is the emphasis Paul is speaking to. His point is that WE were that they, his emphasis don’t return to living as who you once were, the emptiness you once had. Before Christ, that life could be explained by the priorities you lived for, the blindness you had. You didn’t know, you didn’t see, you didn’t understand. But now you do so don’t explain away the truth you’ve come to know. Paul putting the question before us – are you walking in the newness of the life you’ve been given or have you returned to living as you once did, only this time trying to live with a foot in both worlds?

Make no mistake putting new clothes over top of the old doesn’t work. Oh, we can look like that for appearances sake, even appearances where we are deceiving ourselves but the old and now cannot co-exist without you returning to the old. To change the metaphor, a caterpillar isn’t intended to crawl when it has been changed into a creature that can fly. And yet what the caterpillar never would think to do, we often do. Going back. Forgetting where that life was taking us. Engaging in lifestyles alienated from God. Like the butterfly searching out the old casing in which it once lived.

In short, Paul saying a new love means a new life. And a new life means truly seeing who you have become and then choosing to live in accordance with that new life. Not by our power but by the Holy Spirit’s power within. He directing us to the truth in God’s Word. He convicting as we are enticed by sin that will do us harm. He saying to us as thoughts come, ‘Take off the old and burn it in the fire where it belongs’. Return to the Christ, set free in the forgiveness that He gives and fully embrace the ONE centered life you have been given.

Live for the new, doing what we are reminded at the beginning of this chapter, I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to, Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called Eph 4:1

Living as ONE Hope people, united in love, who truly know and experience the joy, the power, the blessing of what it means to live fully committed to Jesus, our ONE LORD who is worthy above all.

24-11-24 - UNITED - Ephesians 4:4-24

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