MORAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE GOSPEL

 

“But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:20-24).

Paul’s discussion of the spiritual blessings of the gospel in the first half of Ephesians (chs. 1-3) is followed by his teaching on the practical implications of the gospel (chs. 4-6). The apostle emphasizes how those who have been redeemed ought to conduct themselves in their personal, family, and social life.

How we are to walk. The imperative to walk in an appropriate way appears repeatedly in this section, setting forth a code of moral and ethical conduct. As believers we are to walk worth of our calling (Eph. 4:1); walk with a renewed mind (Eph. 4:17); walk in love (Eph. 5:1-2); walk in light (Eph. 5:7-8); walk in wisdom (Eph. 5:15).

Such a lifestyle differs from the ways of the world. Paul presents a before-and-after picture, contrasting the old and new life of the believers. Christians must no longer walk as they used to. The old way of life is based on an old way of thinking that involves futility of mind, darkened thoughts, and hardening of the heart. Willfully ignoring God in our thinking ultimately leads to a life characterized by the pursuit of the sensual and the practice of impurity (4:17-19).

Ideas have consequences. What we believe and think affects our conduct. Our moral compass is ultimately set according to our worldview. Bad thinking tends to lead to bad conduct. Leaving God out of our thinking eventually results in a self-focused life and alienation from the life of God.

The new self. Believers have embraced a new life based on a new way of thinking. In Christ, we were taught to put off the old self with its lifestyle as if we were casting off an old garment. We cast it off because it leads to nothing good. Instead, we have clothed ourselves with the new person who has been renewed in mind, attitudes, and thoughts. The new self is the kind of person God had in mind from the beginning when he created man in his own image (4:22-24).

The answer is to hold to Christ. Embrace what we have learned in him (Eph. 4:20). Learning and thinking of Christ, his truth, his salvation, and his life provide the proper foundation for living. Christ—what he has taught us and what he has done for us—is our standard. In his own life he is the model we are called to follow and emulate. Learning Christ means we grow to a personal knowledge of who he is. It is the cultivation of the inner person in faith and knowledge of truth, an on-going process of transformation and sanctification.

Moral implications of the gospel. Paul’s moral instructions in this section of his letter demonstrate the moral implications of the gospel. True faith in Christ and the gospel message of redemption will change our worldview—who we are, how we think, and how we live. At the same time, the instructions regarding how we are to walk in life are more than lists of dos and don’ts or rules to be obeyed. They reflect what God has done through Christ in bringing redemption.

So, we are to speak truth with our neighbor because we have laid aside the lie that we accepted in our old life, and because in Christ we are members of one another (Eph. 4:25). We are not to allow our anger to lead us to sin, because we do not want to give the evil one a foothold by which he could lead us back to the old life (Eph. 4:26-27). We are to put away stealing, because it is through honest work that we can, like Christ, share with those in need (Eph. 4:28). We are to replace unwholesome communication that can divide and disrupt Christian unity with words that provide edification and grace to those who hear (Eph. 4:29). We are called to replace malice with the spirit of kindness and forgiveness that has been exemplified in Christ (Eph. 4:31-32).

We do nothing, the apostle says, that would grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom we were sealed for the day redemption (Eph. 4:30). Some behaviors, he continues, are neither proper nor fitting among saints, and should not even be named among those who look for the eternal inheritance (Eph. 5:3-5).

“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1). We have been blessed richly; let us live accordingly.

Dan Petty

A PLAN FOR UNITY AND MATURITY IN CHRIST

“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, so that 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” (Ephesians 4:11-16).

In the first half of Ephesians chapter four, the apostle Paul summarizes God’s provisions for the cultivation of unity, maturity, and stability among his people. Through his appointed servants and the message entrusted to them, the saints may be equipped for the work of service and the edification of the body of Christ, the church.

The text emphasizes the importance of diligently working to preserve the “unity of the Spirit” (vv. 1-6). The life to which Christians have been called requires walking in love and showing mutual forbearance. Unity depends on such attitudes, as well as teaching and adhering to the principles revealed in the gospel. The teaching of those principles promotes unity of the faith and the knowledge of Christ among believers (vv. 11-13). Those who share this common faith and Christ-knowledge are further bound together in unity and growth in spiritual maturity.

The analogy of children (v. 14) suggests spiritual immaturity here, as elsewhere in the New Testament. For example, Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians that, for all their cultivation of knowledge, their carnal attitudes proved that they were still infants in Christ (1 Cor. 3:1-2). The writer of Hebrews compared some who had not progressed in the word to infants who still required milk rather than solid foot (Heb. 5:13-14). Peter described some converts as newborn babes, and he wanted them to develop an appetite for the pure milk of the world, so they may grow in faith (1 Pet. 2:2).

It may be that the Ephesians were still infants in this latter sense, but in any case, they must not remain so. Infants are defenseless, unable to protect themselves. Spiritually they are easy prey for those who would like, through their influence, to lead them astray. Like ships at sea without adequate means of steering, they are tossed about by the waves and carried along by the prevailing winds. Their growth to maturity will bring with it the capacity to evaluate various ideas and teachings encountered in the world, to accept what is true and reject what is false.

The answer to finding spiritual maturity and stability is to embrace and follow the truth (v. 15). Speak truth, but do so in love. Paul’s reminder here is an important one. Truth is never to be separated from love. Our confession of faith is inconsistent with the objective and claim of knowing Christ, and ultimately self-defeating, if it is not accompanied by the spirit of love. If we fail here, we will fall far short of the goal of maturity in Christ.

The body in all its parts derives its life from Christ, who is its head (v. 16; Col. 2:19). By his power the body is fitted together and held together. It is from the living Christ that his people receive all they need to experience growth and stability, both individually and collectively. The success and growth of the church depend on the functioning of each member. Each one functions best in union with Christ and with each other. The bond is the bond of love.

God has provided for the growth, unity, and maturity of his people. The church is part of his eternal purpose and plan. As such it serves as a living manifestation of his eternal wisdom (Eph. 3:10-11).

Dan Petty

FILLED UP TO THE FULLNESS OF GOD

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19).

Paul had much for which to be thankful, many reasons to praise his God, as well as a profound interest in seeing his readers come to share the same knowledge and appreciation of those blessings. So, in a letter that focuses on praising God for his many spiritual blessings in Christ, the apostle more than once includes prayers on their behalf. In the first chapter, he prays that they would come to have fuller wisdom and knowledge of the great and wonderful things God has done (Eph. 1:15-21). Now he again shares with them his prayer to the Father for them to grow in faith and spiritual maturity.

Paul’s prayer provides a picture of the spiritual growth that every Christian should pray for and strive for. Such growth in the Lord will impact our lives in significant and practical ways.

We need to grow in spiritual strength, power in the inner person provided through his Spirit. This empowerment is further explained in the second half of the epistle as strength of faith, strength to walk worthy of our calling, strength to serve God, strength to stand against evil, and strength to persevere. Paul’s concluding exhortation is “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God.” All the elements of our spiritual armor are suited for our struggle to resist evil and to stand firm: truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, and the word of God, are at our disposal, along with prayer (Eph. 6:10-20). Such provisions from the Spirit are crucial for our spiritual strength.

God also grants us strength as, through faith, we allow Christ to dwell in our hearts. Faith believes, trusts, and obeys. Jesus promised to abide with those who hear his voice, love him, and keep his word (John 14:23; Rev. 3:20). When we live by faith in the Son of God, like Paul we can say, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). As we look to Christ, think of him, and reflect on his words, we grow in his grace and likeness. And when Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, there also will dwell the “peace of Christ” and the “word of Christ” (Col. 3:15-17).

We need to grow in deeper understanding. Paul is especially concerned that Christians come to a fuller comprehension of love—the love of God manifested through his Son. This happens to the extent to which we are “rooted and grounded” in love. The aim is to be fixed in love like a firmly planted tree, and established in love like a house built on a solid foundation. As we come to be settled in God’s love for mankind, we may be inspired to grow in our love for God and for one another. Of course, this implies a knowledge that is more than intellectual. It is knowledge based on experience. “We love, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Our spiritual growth is realized the more we appreciate God’s love for us and for our souls. The dimensions of love refer to the extent and vastness of God’s love. God’s love is as vast as his wisdom, as Paul summarizes his discussion of the gospel: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Rom. 11:33). Indeed, the greatest manifestation of God’s wisdom and power is his love. God is love. The love he demonstrated in Christ surpasses knowledge. So, to know the unknowable is a paradox. We pray and endeavor to know more and more of the love of Christ, yet the full extent and depth of it can never be fully comprehended this side of heaven. Grasping and experiencing Christ’s love is, for the believer, the key to greater spiritual strength as well as to being filled to the fullness of God.

The aim of this prayer is that we might grow to be filled up to the fullness of God, to be filled to the full with God himself. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3). These blessings may be ours “according to the riches of his glory” (3:16). Let us pray that we may more fully know him and enjoy his fellowship.

Dan Petty

BROUGHT TO LIGHT

“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things” (Ephesians 3:8-9).

Paul was able to identify with the Christians in Ephesus because he realized his own coming to Christ was a matter of grace. It was also by God’s grace that he was given the stewardship of preaching to the Gentiles. He was a prisoner in Rome when he wrote this epistle, but Paul also understood he was a prisoner or bondservant of Christ on their behalf. 

He expresses his profound gratitude in this, because he saw himself as the least of all the saints. In other places he describes himself as least of the apostles and as the foremost among sinners (1 Cor. 15:9; 2 Cor. 12:11; 1 Tim. 1:15). So, for him to be entrusted with delivering God’s message of redemption in Christ was truly humbling.

In Ephesians 3:1-13 Paul develops more fully the idea of making known the mystery of Christ, a theme he briefly introduced earlier in the letter (1:9). Mystery is a term he uses frequently to refer to the gospel (see Rom. 16:25-27; 1 Cor. 2:6-10; Eph. 5:19; Col. 1:25-27; 2:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:16). 

The mystery was not made known to mankind in previous generations, having been hidden in God throughout the ages (vv. 5, 9). Although many details and aspects of God’s plan had been revealed in the past, God had not entirely disclosed his purposes. He had kept them hidden. Peter described how the Old Testament prophets diligently searched to comprehend God’s plans, but even from them complete understanding was withheld (1 Pet. 1:10). God did not fully reveal the mystery until Christ came in the fullness of time (v. 9; Gal. 4:4). His purpose remained hidden until he chose to make it known. It remained a secret until it was brought to light. 

That was accomplished, Paul explains, by revelation, which refers to the process of uncovering and declaring that which had been hidden. God, through the Holy Spirit, revealed the mystery to Paul and other inspired messengers, his holy apostles and prophets (vv. 3-5). So, to the apostle Paul, God granted the stewardship of preaching, to bring to light for everyone what had been shrouded in mystery.

This text brings to our minds three important principles.

First, it reminds us of the eternal sovereignty of God, “who created all things” (v. 9). This truth takes center stage in Ephesians. At the outset of the epistle, Paul affirms that God’s purpose was known by him “before the foundation of the world,” that is, before creation itself. His plan of redemption was according his will, by his grace, and to the praise of his glory (1:3-14). 

Second, it reminds us of God’s eternal wisdom. Paul calls the message the “unsearchable riches of Christ,” the “manifold wisdom of God,” and his “eternal purpose” (vv. 8-11). God’s wisdom is greater than human wisdom. The message of Christ crucified appears foolish by worldly standards, but it demonstrates the wisdom and power of God (1 Cor. 1:18f; 2:1f).

Third, it reminds us of the beauty and authority of Scripture. God wanted all men to know about his gracious plan, so he revealed it so that it could be preserved in written form. This means the Holy Scripture is inspired of God. It means that when we read it, we can know and understand what God willed for us to know (v. 4). What was a mystery has been made known. It has been brought to light for everyone.

Dan Petty