STRONGER-Part 9-AFTER THE SERMON
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or to be used for a sermon group discussion. CLICK HERE to find a discussion group. Enjoy!
Sermon Title: WALK IT OUT
Main Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Check out this overview of the entire book, especially the first chapters of Ephesians to better understand the depth of Ephesians 1 Ephesians Overview
Summary:
Pastor Ryan launched us into the second half of Ephesians where Paul begins to challenge the church to put legs to our beliefs. The second half of the book has a keyword, “walk,” which means to live out our identity in this world as children of God. Ephesians 4:1-16 is all about unity in the church body. Pastor Ryan is breaking up the 16 verses into two sermons so we began with verses 1-6. Today, we learned how verse 1 is the bridge between chapters 1-3 and 4-6. We are challenged right away to lead a life worthy of our calling. To live properly is to appreciate and honor all that God has given us. In verses, 2-6 Paul urges the church to keep or preserve the unity Jesus died to establish. We have been brought into unity with one another through Christ. We don’t create unity, it was made possible through our salvation in Christ. Pastor Ryan gave us two ways we preserve our unity according to verses 2-6, showing grace to one another and staying rooted in the grounds of our unity. Overall, we were challenged by God’s Word to not take for granted what we have been given and not to haphazardly be in unity, but to be vigilant to preserve it!
Pastor Ryan’s teaching notes:
Intro:
Paul turns from the mind-stretching theology concerning what God has already done for us in and through Christ to focusing on what believers are to be and do now that they are children of God. -Full Life Commentary pg 1057
A keyword in this last half of the book is “walk.”
It was important that Paul focused on what we believe to be true because what we believe determines how we behave. If we believe we are loved we will live loved. If we believe we are forgiven we will live forgiven. If we believe Jesus has given us His Spirit we will live with confidence that we are not alone. If we believe we are his masterpieces restored for good works, we will do good works for God. If we believe we are adopted by a holy God we’ll live like a holy child of God. If we believe this grace is good news we will share it with the world.
Proper theology promotes proper living.
Ephesians 4:1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
The bridge of Ephesians 1-3 and 4-6.
Walk (live or lead)
To lead a life, to walk out what we believe is true.
In Greek it’s a verb that means to live and denotes the changed manner of living that characterizes believers because of their new life in Christ, privately, publicly, and in all relationships.
The verb walk or to live also contains the idea of progress forward, moving ahead toward the goal of full maturity in Christ. We are on a lifelong journey of making choices that are consistent with the character of Christ.
The scripture verse that got my attention many years ago: 1 John 2:6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
Worthy
The word in Greek is “Axios” which literally means, “Bringing up the other beam of the scales” Paul is saying there must be a balance, a consistency between the faith believers profess and the faith they practice. Do they match? And again the best way to tell if they match is the example of Christ and the standard of righteousness found in the Bible.
I’m personally motivated to live, to walk out a life that matches my faith for a few reasons:
I am grateful. I know how great my sin is... I know how much debt I was in and yet it was all paid for by Christ.
The only suitable response for saving my life is surrendering it to God so He can use me for His will and purposes.
I want to represent God well by living a life consistent with His character. We are children of God who carry His name and reputation with us. Our desire should be to honor and glorify His name, not tarnish it.
Ephesians 4:2-6 Preserving our unity
We have been brought into unity with one another through Christ. We don’t create unity, it was made possible through our salvation in Christ. This unity came at a great sacrifice. To lead a life worthy of our calling is to appreciate and honor that great sacrifice made by Jesus and keep or preserve the unity Jesus died to establish.
How do we preserve our unity? Paul breaks down four areas of unity in 16 verses. We’ll focus on two, today.
1.Show the grace of God to one another (v 2-3).
In common terms, Paul basically says, get along with each other.
Be humble. Not a proud, high, and haughty view of oneself. To be humble is to have a realistic view of oneself that knows there is no perfect person outside of Jesus. It’s to have the attitude of Jesus that thinks of others first. Jesus demonstrated humility by serving when he should have been served.
Be gentle. Also known as meekness. Some would say meekness is weakness but it’s actually bridled strength, strength under control. A believer who is gentle has learned to master themselves and keep it under control (the other way would be to respond or react brashly).
Be patient and bear with one another in love. These are essential virtues for tolerating the failures, weaknesses, and irritations of one another. Some translations use the word long-suffering which literally means long-tempered. The ability to endure discomfort without fighting back.
By making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. An eager desire to maintain unity. Unity is spiritual, not just physical in Christianity.
Peace. Diplomacy and peace between countries takes work. Unity and peace in marriages take work. Unity and harmony in friendships take work. Unity and peace in the church takes work.
Some will throw that desire out the window because the desire to be right overcomes the desire to be in unity and peace. I’ve always said, When you have to be the one that is right, that is when everything goes wrong.
Application: Let me take a moment now to help us apply and drive this home.
The absence of these qualities may jeopardize Christian unity.
These traits are found in Christ and Paul’s desire in this chapter is we grow into the fullness of Christ. We not only have Jesus as our example but we have His Spirit, the Holy Spirit in us to live humble, gentle, patient, and bearing with each other’s weaknesses with love in the body of Christ.
We can’t practice this fruit of the Spirit if we aren’t walking in the Spirit as Galatians 5:16 says.
It takes the grace of God in and flowing through us to keep and preserve unity.
This grace with one another ought to be our default response, especially as we mature in Christ.
A perfect example of the importance of these grace attributes is when a new believer comes into the family of God and still has an edge. Thankfully, the church understands to bear with, to be patient with the new believer.
But we seasoned members of the church family are not perfect. We can become callous, tired, run low on patience over time. It’s in that moment where we dig into the deep well of our relationship with God and with humility, remember we are not perfect. The same patience and grace God is showing us we ought to express as well. We need to be an example of how to endure trials and conflict with grace.
This scripture implies fellowship, connection, and time together. In Paul’s context, this church would be around each other often and it would be tested, but also have a greater chance to grow too.
The second way we preserve unity…
2. Stay rooted in the grounds of our unity (v 4-6). .
Paul weaves in doctrine and theology into this portion of the letter so he reminds the church what unites and makes them one.
The word ONE is used 7 times with 7 foundational spiritual truths emphasizing the theme of unity here.
One body: the body of Christ and all believers are members of His body.
One Spirit: There is only one Holy Spirit that dwells in all believers.
One glorious hope: referring to the return of Christ. This hope keeps us focused on the bigger picture and to be peacemakers.
One Lord: We all submit to Jesus as master and leader of our lives. Warren Wiersbe wrote: “It is difficult to believe that two believers can claim to obey the same Lord, and yet not be able to walk together in unity.” We can’t serve two masters, we serve Christ, and then we serve one another before we serve ourselves.
One faith: The faith God says we must have in Him and the good news.
One baptism: most scholars believe it’s referring to water baptism here because of being baptized into Christ and His body.
One God and Father…Paul caps it off with having ONE God and the same father, adopted into this spiritual family.
These are 7 foundational truths and very powerful reasons to remain in unity. I want to say something strong...to let conflict and discord win means we’ve had to turn our back on those 7 spiritual realities. When division takes place that means someone has to abandon the most powerful truths and God himself.
Between the traits of grace we show each other in verses 2-3 and the spiritual grounds and foundation of our unity in 4-6, it should be extremely hard for disunity to win (yet it has too much in Christianity).
Takeaways:
What we believe determines how we behave.
Proper theology promotes proper living.
When you have to be the one that is right, that is when everything goes wrong.
Unity is spiritual, not just physical in Christianity (Look at verse 3 carefully)
Our daily living should be a grateful and careful expression of honor to God for all He has graciously given us.
Keeping unity requires us to walk in step with the grace and Spirit of God.
What makes us ONE is more powerful than what tries to divide us.
Discussion:
What was one big takeaway for you from today’s message?
What something new you learned, today?
What scripture verse stuck out to you and why?
What did you sense the Holy Spirit was saying to you during this message?
Where does the grace to get along with each other come from and how do we get more of it?
What does it take for unity to fall apart if we have 7 Biblically spiritual truths and doctrines mentioned in verses 4-6 that are keeping us in unity?
What have you been doing to promote and preserve unity in the church?
The most important decision you will ever make!
Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed we encourage you to say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I see my sin and how wrong it is. I see how without Jesus I’m lost. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me from my sin, my past, this world, and your judgment. I repent, I turn away from that life and I put my faith and life in Jesus! Amen!
We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know!
Pray Together
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!