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SERMON
Well, we are now into week number nine of our study in Ephesians. And
before we really get going on today's passage, I'd like to take a few
minutes just to jog our memories as to what has come before, over the
last several weeks. It's important for us to remember that the books of
the Bible are really meant to be read as a whole. This is especially
true of letters like Ephesians, where important later points depend
heavily on what was said earlier in the letter. And so, I'd encourage
you at some time to actually sit down and read Ephesians from start to
finish, in one sitting. In any case, our passage today will make a lot
more sense if we have the beginning of the letter fresh in our minds.
So, let's take a few minutes to remind ourselves of where we've been.
In fact, "where we've been" is exactly what Paul wants to talk about. He
started out Ephesians by reminding us of God's great grace, and made an
extra effort to also remind us, in light of that grace, where we were…
what position we were in, when that grace appeared to us. Listen to some
of those passages again:
Chapter 1:4-5 "For he chose us in him before the creation of the
world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us
to be adopted as his children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with
his pleasure and will." It's God's great grace… God chooses to adopt
us as God's own children.
vs. 7 "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace."
vs. 13 "having believed you were marked in him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance
until the redemption of those who are God's possession." We are
signed, sealed and delivered for new life. And how is all this great
news made possible?
vs. 19 It's possible by "the working of his mighty strength, which he
exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his
right hand in the heavenly realms, far above…" well, I'll shorten it
up a bit, far above everything…
Oh, and don't forget why God appointed Christ over everything. It was,
according to vs. 22 "for the church." This is the Good News.
God's redemptive act, our salvation!
And this Good News is made even better when we are reminded of where
we were, where came from. Paul spells it out in an extensive
compare-and-contrast exercise. Or to put it another way, Paul gives us a
series of before and after photos to look at. In the interest of time,
let me again summarize them. We, were once dead in our sins are now made
alive in Christ. We were once at war with God and have now been given
peace. We who were far off have been brought near. We who were aliens,
we who were excluded, we who were divided, we who were cut off are now
brought together into one body, made heirs of God's promises, and are
lavished with God's gracious gifts, so that the church "joined
together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in
love, as each part does its work." (4:16) We who once had no life,
no hope, no future, have been given all of that and more. Thanks be to
God!
And the first part of Ephesians just explodes with praise as Paul lays
out what is, in fact, the very basic Gospel message. Paul builds up his
account of the saving acts of God for all to see. "Look," he says, "THIS
IS WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR YOU!" Wow! It's amazing! Incredible! Step back
for a moment and recall the love of God for you. Look at the way God in
Christ has forgiven you and stand in awe of that overwhelming, unmerited
grace. Freeze that picture of God in your mind, and hold tightly to it,
because we'll need it in a second.
You see, there's this little tiny Greek word. "oun" It's only
three letters, "o-u-n," and it's a word that we might glance over
without really noticing. But upon this little word the whole rest of the
letter hinges. And upon this little word the whole rest of our life
hinges: "oun" "Therefore."
You have heard the proclamation of God's grace, you have seen how God
was willing to give you new life, THEREFORE your life should be
different. You have seen how God was willing to give himself for you in
forgiveness, THEREFORE, you also should be willing and able to give and
forgive one another. You have seen how God is willing to make peace with
you, THEREFORE you also should live at peace with one another. God's
grace should provoke in us a very real response, should bring forth from
us a very real THEREFORE. We should not be able to encounter the
massive, living love of God for us without it affecting the way we live
our lives.
And so Paul starts chapter 4 "Parakalw oun. . . I beg you,
therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, to live a life worthy of the
calling you have received." In fact, Paul does more than just urge a
life change. As you heard last week, Paul "insists" on this change. You
must no longer live as you once lived. Now, in chapter 5, Paul
continues and expands upon that theme, and spells out more fully the
shape that our lives should take. He gives us a benchmark for our
behavior. He begins to unfold our THEREFORE.
"Ginesqe oun..." "Be, therefore, imitators of God, as dearly
loved children…" You remember that picture of God spelled out in the
first part of Ephesians? That picture of a gracious, loving, forgiving,
peace-making, self-sacrificing, saving God? That's it, that's the model.
That's the benchmark. That is to be the shape of your life from this
point forward.
Now hold on just one second! Back up the bus! Can he be serious? How in
the world are we supposed to imitate God? I mean we're only human, how
can we be expected to be like God? Well Paul gave some practical dos and
don'ts in last week's passage. He gives a few more in today's passage.
He'll give a few more in next weeks passage. No sexual immorality, no
impurity, no greed, no obscenity, no foolish talk or coarse joking, no
drunkenness… these are a few of the things that he calls "fruitless
deeds of darkness." Grasp at these things, says Paul, and your hands
will be too full to hold on to the inheritance offered to the children
of God. He's pretty blunt. Children of darkness gain no inheritance from
the light.
In contrast with these deeds of darkness is life in the light.
Thanksgiving, goodness, righteousness, truth, pleasing the Lord, seeking
God's will, speaking and singing God's praise to one another and to God.
These are the footsteps, says Paul, of the children of light.
Now there is no question that the deeds of darkness are bad, and that
Paul says we should not do them. There is no question that we should do
the good things, that we should walk as children of light. But this is a
place where God's people have historically run into some trouble. We
have two lists; one of bad things, and another of good things. And those
lists can become great temptations for us.
On the one hand there is the temptation for us to become like the
Pharisees, checking off to see who is doing what on which list. "Now
Bob, it's been at least two weeks since I last heard you singing any
psalms, hymns or spiritual songs… and I noticed you told a silly joke
the other day. I'm worried you are being tempted by the dark side." That
is not the purpose of this passage. In fact, in Chapter 2, Paul made it
a point to emphasize that it is not our deeds that save us. 2:8-9
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can
boast."
But neither does Paul want us to be deceived into thinking that our
deeds, that our actions do not matter. Our actions show the reality of
who we are. And careless living can lead us down dangerous paths where
we forget who we are, and whose we are. Paul makes a clear distinction,
we are either darkness or we are light in the Lord. And if we are
darkness, or are playing with sin, we are in terrible danger. Our day to
day actions are more than just indicators of what is already going on
inside our heart. Our day to day actions can actually shape what is in
our heart. Our habits change how we think and feel about the world. Our
habits, for good or bad, show what the center of our universe really is,
and as we do them over and over again, they pull us closer to that
center. And for many people, the center of the universe is not God. And
Paul gives a very clear warning.
But, by the grace of God that center can change. By the grace of God, we
are offered a new beginning. "For you were once darkness, but now you
are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." You know for 10 years
of youth ministry I watched kids playing games. I'm not sure I ever
really figured out what exactly was a legitimate reason for a "do over,"
and frankly I'm not sure there are any rules. But I'd be watching a
really intense game (usually something like foursquare) and suddenly
everyone would shout "do-over" and no matter how intense or vicious the
game had become, it would just start again, no arguments. I always
thought it was a profound witness to the presence of grace in those
young lives. That kind of grace can have a profound impact on our lives.
In 1514, a young man named Nicolas Copernicus published a small
handwritten book that described in brief his radical new idea that the
universe did not revolve around us. For centuries everyone had assumed
that the earth was the center of everything, but this new way of looking
at reality, with the sun at the center, changed everything. The
fundamental focus of the entire universe was shifted, and so math and
science, astronomy, even theology… all had to be rethought. Everything
shifted to take into account the realization of a new reality. And that
is exactly the sort of shift that Paul is describing here.
"Be, therefore, imitators of God, as dearly loved children."
It starts with an identity that flows from God's choosing of us. We have
been adopted as Children of God. Our universe no longer revolves around
us, for the Son, the Son of God takes his rightful place at the center
of our universe.
Paul is clear in stating that a life that is touched by God's grace
should be lived in imitation of that grace. But it is not a forced
imitation. It is the imitation of beloved children, who as they
experience the reality of love from their parents respond to the world
with the same quality of love. It is the imitation of beloved children,
who look up to their parents with joy, and want to be just like them.
It's imitation.
And all of the lists, all of the dos and don'ts are really summed up in
this one simple verse. "Be, therefore, imitators of God, as dearly
loved children…" But Paul narrows it down even further for us. Just
in case we find it too difficult to imitate God, he brings it down to a
point in yet another small Greek word. "kaqw~" It means "just as"
or "to the same degree." Our imitation is to be "just as" or "to the
same degree" as "Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a
fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
This is the heart of Christian living. We strive to be Christ like, to
love others JUST AS Christ loves us, to forgive others JUST AS Christ
forgives us, to give of ourselves to others JUST AS Christ gave of
himself. And we do it all from the security of knowing that we are
already forgiven, already adopted as God's children, already given new
life. Our imitation, is our striving, with the Spirit's help, to live
into the life that is already given to us. The technical theological
term is "sanctification." But to put it in simple terms, it's that we
have been given, as a gift, a new set of clothes and a new pair of shoes
that are just plain too big for us to fill. But gradually, as we look to
Jesus, as we are moved by the magnitude of grace and love given for us
through him, as we choose daily to live as Children of light, and as we
make a habit of following and imitating God in Christ, we will grow into
those new clothes and we will fill those shoes.
I want to close with just a few words about the season. Lent is a
special time in the church year to make these kinds of changes in our
lives. As we focus on the upcoming passion of Jesus, and as we look to
the Easter triumph, we are reminded of our own part in that event. We
are given the opportunity to repent and to seek a change in our lives.
And finally, we are encouraged throughout the forty days of Lent to
prayerfully build the habits of Christian living. God has poured his
graciousness upon us. God has spared nothing in seeking us out and
offering us a new beginning. God, in Jesus the Christ, has showed us the
fullness of love and forgiveness, embracing even death so that we might
have life.
Be, therefore, imitators of God, as dearly loved children and live a
life of love, just as Christ loved us…"
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