Choose The Right Outfit (Ephesians 4:17-24) Series

I'd like to start today by giving a quick overview of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, up to this point.

At this point in history, God has now revealed his once secret plan for all of his creation. Paul describes this plan using three different metaphors.

The first, is that God is building a single, holy family spanning across heaven and earth, who would live in peace with Him, and with each other.

The second, is that God is building a new temple on earth-- not in Jerusalem, using wood, and stone, and precious metals-- but everywhere, using people who have pledged their faithfulness to Jesus, and who trust in Jesus. And so we find ourselves becoming a beautiful structure, which God calls home on earth.

The third, is that God is building one single body-- the church-- with Jesus as its the head. Each of us are members-- body parts, really-- of that one body. As this one body, we work together. We care about each other, because we are all interconnected.

Whether we think of God's plan, as making one family, or one body, or as building one temple, that plan revolves around God's desire to make the church. We are God's holy, righteous family. We are God's earthly temple, his home. We are one body.

All of that is basically chapters 1-3. Our calling, in light of that, begins with a singular response: to walk worthily of our calling. That's Ephesians 4:1. And we do that, first of all, by living in unity with each other. Maybe this is easy, because we are all mature, godly Christians who, through the power of the Spirit, get along with each other, and love each other, quite naturally. We have shared interests, and concerns. We are natural fits, outside of church. But maybe to some degree, this isn't quite true, and we have to encourage each other, and remind each other, to put up with one another in love. I love you all, but maybe I also put up with some of you in love. And you all love me, hopefully, but some of you find that it has the feel of putting up with me in love. And if that's the case, we do that with a smile, eyes twinkling, and in genuine love.

And it's to this end, that Jesus gives extra help. That was last week, Ephesians 4:7-16. Jesus doesn't just save us, and free us from the power of Sin. He doesn't just reconcile us to God, so that we can live in peace. Jesus gives gifts. And those gifts, are people. Jesus gives us apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, and shepherds, to fix the parts of us that are broken, and to equip us, so that we can be a fully functioning, fully operational church. If you're a Star wars fan, I find myself thinking that the end goal is a fully operational Death Star. Not the best analogy maybe. But the idea is that Jesus gave each of us a ministry for this church. You, the laity, the not-pastors, the not-teachers, build the church. You help it grow. If the church is the Death Star, each of you have a station. A responsibility. And if we all work together, we will find that we are unstoppable, in taking the fight to satan, and freeing people from satan's evil empire.

And some of you find, that you simply can't. You don't know what ministry Jesus has given you. You can't do it, because you lack training, or because you're caught in sin. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, and shepherds, fix you like a mechanic or a doctor, so that you can do the job Jesus gave you. Or they train you, like an army sergeant. And what this should lead to, verse 16, is the growth of the body, for the building of itself in love.

This brings us to Ephesians 4:17. What our church leaders do is fix us, right? Paul is an apostle, a pastor, a teacher. If anyone is a leader in the church, it's Paul. And because Paul is a leader, his job is to fix the church. And the Ephesians are broken, whether they realize it or not.

They aren't living in peace with each other; they aren't living as a holy family set apart for God. And if they are broken, they won't be able to do the different ministries Jesus gave them to do. And so Paul says this, in verse 17, our first verse for today:

(17) And so then, this I say-- and I insist in the Lord-- :

that you no longer walk

just as also the Gentiles/nations walk in the futility of their mind, (Eph. 2:3)

God has this plan for the Ephesians, just like he does for us. He wants them to live in peace with him, and with each other, in holiness. But there is the incredible gap between God's vision for them, and who the Ephesians actually are. The Ephesians are living terrible lives. They are still living like they used to, before they gave their allegiance to Jesus.