Note: This is a study through the book of Ephesians as done in 1995. One of the main sources I used at the time was Beacon Bible Commentary vol. 9.
Title: From Rags to Robes
Theme: Show the difference the Lord makes and why.
Text: Ephesians 4:25-5:2
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. {to give: or, to distribute} 29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. {to...: or, to edify profitably} 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. 1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Last week we talked about putting on the old life and putting on the new. I illustrated this by using the idea of cleaning out our closets. Taking some of the old clothes that we have and replacing them with new ones. Not covering things u. But the question is often asked why? Why should I live a life pure and holy? God saved me. Well in these passages we see the reason. Tonight I want to look at two things. 1) the reason to put off the rags 2) the reason to put on the robe. I call this from rags to robes or even better from rags to riches.
I. Three reasons why we should put things away
Things to be put away: lying, anger, stealing, coarse language, bitterness, wrath, clamour, evil-speaking and malice
Why?
A. Members one of another vs 25 cf. Rom 12:5
speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
We are all of the same body. We alll are working for the same goal. Our goal is to edify Christ, the church and one another. If we keep our goal in focus then we don't have time to indulge in other activities
B. We ought to not give place to the devil vs 27
27 Neither give place to the devil.
We are to be carful not to give any open door to Satan. As we have already said many times over these past few weeks if we give Satan any crack in the door he will take it. If we give him any crack in our armor he will take it. This is what he wants. He will allow it to eat away at us until someone takes control. Peter put it this way:
NIV Do not give the devil a foothold
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9 AV)
So watch Satan. We are told in James
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
C. Not to greive the Holy Spirit
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God,
The third reason to put off the old is so that we will not grieve the Holy Spirit. In scipture we are given a progression in which a man finally loses out on God. It all begins here.
1. greive the Holy Spirit Eph 4:30
greive: to cause pain, or greif to distress
The Holy Spirit is seen as one you can cause pain to.
We see that Israel did this as spoken of by Isaiah in:
And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? (Isaiah 7:13 AV)
But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. (Isaiah 63:10 AV)
2. Resist the Spirit Acts 7:51
resist: to strive against, to fall against
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. (Acts 7:51 AV)
3. Quench the spirit ! Thesolonians 5:19
Quench not the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19 AV)
Here is the third step in the progression of being separated from God. A person not only greives and causes pain but they resist him which can lead to quenching him.
quench: to hinder, used hear as by quenching the spirit by hindering His operations in oral testimony in the church gatherings of believers. can be done by a) refusing to submit to b) impatience with the ignorance or selfwill of others
This is going against his will. Which leads to:
4. Hardening of heart or despising the Spirit of Grace Heb 3:8-13
5. Depraved mind and labeling of good as evil Is 5:20; Rom 1:28
II. Why put on robes?
Things to put on: truthfulness, honest industry, edifying speech, kindness, tenderness of heart, forgiveness, imitation of God and loving walk which becomes his followwes.
A. God in Christ forgave us vs 32
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
We have been forgiven of the great debt that we owe. We were in debt. We was like ther servant who owed the king (Mt 18). The only way we could attempt to pay for this debt is with our own soul. Not just our life here but our life eternally. But by the grace of God it has been paid.
1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jo 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake
B. Christ loved us
Christ also hath loved us
So great a love that it is compared to the love of a huband and his wife.
Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
C. Christ gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God of a sweet smelling
savor
Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. {to...: or, a testimony}
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works
Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: (Galatians 1:3-4 AV)
Christ our example
1Pe 2:21 . . . Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: {for us: some read, for you}
So now we know. We know that life of the old. We know how it used to be. But we are new and renewed with the life of the new. We have went from the rags of this dirty nasty world to the robes of righteousness to be worn by the saints in heaven. Is it worth it? Oh let take time to tell Christ that he is worth it. To serve him to give up our life for him
