Walk The Talk, Part 2 Series

Introduction

1. If you are going to talk the talk…

• Then you gotta walk the walk.

• In other words, if you are going to open your mouth and start making promises…

• You better be prepared to back it up with your actions…

2. If you are going to claim to be a Christian…

• You’ve got to live the life of a Christian…

• If you are going to profess to be a Christian with your mouth…

• You’re going to have to act like a Christian with your actions…

• You’re going to have to “walk the talk”…

• You’re going to have to “live the life”.

3 Last week, we started off in chapter 4, but there was just so much material…I had to divide it into part 1 and part 2.…

• Thus, tonight, we will talk about Walking the Talk, part 2.

Read Ephesians 4:1-6

Body

1. Last week, we focused on the first 3 of those 6 verses…

A. Tonight, we will focus on verses 4-6…

• Although we will certainly review the first 3…

• Because it is all a continuation of that thought…

• Paul says. “Live a life worthy of the calling”…

• The calling to follow Christ…

• To be a Christian.

B. Paul goes on to mention some of the characteristics of people who “live the life” and “walk the talk”:

• He tells them to be Completely Humble

• He tells them that if they are going to live a life worthy of the calling…they’ve got to be gentle…

• He says that Christians will be patient….

• He says that people who walk the talk will bear with one another in love…

• People who live the life will “keep the unity” verse 3.

2. Paul then, in verse 4 continues this great discourse of living a life worthy of the calling…by mentioning 7 great unities.

A. There is one body

• This is talking about the church!

• In Paul’s day, he was speaking about the Jews and Gentiles…

• There wasn’t to be a church for the Jews…

• And one for the Gentiles…

• There is one church…

• One body…

• It is composed of those who follow Christ….

• Let me say a word about denominations here…

• If Paul were writing today…

• He might be thinking of Baptists and Methodists…

• Pentecostals and Nazarenes…

• There are many DENOMINATIONS…

• But there is only one CHURCH!

• I certainly feel that there is a place for different denominations…

• Different types of worship speaks to different people…

• However…I think it grieves Christ when His children don’t get along!

• When we quibble about this little nuance Scripture…

• or that little nuance of Scripture…

• Now don’t get me wrong…I think its great to have open discussion…

• That we share with one another in love…

• But sometimes, I fear that LOVE takes a back seat to trying to beat the other person over the head with their knowledge of Scripture…

• And that is certainly not the proper use of God’s Word!!

• Let IT do the convicting…

• Not the loudness of our argument!

• In Romans 12:5, Paul says, “so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others”

B. There is one Spirit

• The same Spirit that moved at Pentecost…

• Is the same Spirit that lives within me…

• Which is the same Spirit that live in you!

• The Greek word for Spirit is pneuma

• In Greek, it also has the meaning of breath

• Unless there is breath in the body,…

• the body is dead…

• and the same holds true for the Church…

• unless the Spirit be in the Church (the Body)…

• The Church is dead. —Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)

C. There is one hope

• Paul has already spoken about hope…

• In Ephesians 2:12, he said, remember when you were “without hope”

• Once there was a time when we were “hope-less”…

• Without hope…

• But then Jesus came into our hearts…

• And now we have a hope…

• ONE hope…

• Actually, we often have MANY hopes…

• “oh…I hope it doesn’t rain”…

• “I hope the Indiana Pacers win the Championship”…

• “I hope the stock market goes up”…

• “I hope that they have pistachio ice cream on the buffet…”

• “I hope…I hope…I hope”…

• But, there is really only ONE hope…

• And that hope is the HOPE we have of making heaven our home…

• And coming face to face with Jesus …

• Enjoying His presence for all eternity!

D. There is one Lord