Living Out Gospel Realities

Living Out Gospel Realities—Ephesians 4:1-6

Our sermon this evening is about living out the realities of the gospel. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I was in school—particularly middle school and high school—one of the things that got on my nerves was having to learn things that I thought had no practical value—abstract theories and ideas that I wondered whether anyone actually used. Like maybe the teachers just got together and thought of different ways they could be mean to us and decided that learning useless information was the best way to do that. Or maybe they ran out of useful material to teach sometime in early middle school and the teachers in high school still needed jobs, so they decided to teach useless information to keep themselves employed. As a high school student who was struggling to stay on top of everything, neither of those possibilities could be entirely ruled out in my mind. 

But it turns out that what I thought was useless information can actually be quite useful in society and in moving society forward. Take math for example. A computer scientist uses mathematical algorithms to program computers. Architects use math to design buildings, making sure that everything’s going to fit together properly and that the structure will be strong enough to support all the weight. The weatherman uses math—though not always successfully—to measure different variables and calculate what the resulting weather will be like. A stockbroker uses math to determine what stocks are a good investment. Math really is all over the place. It’s anything but useless information. It’s used every day in thousands of areas, and our lives definitely wouldn’t be the same without it. 

And in a similar way, when it comes to Christianity, theological truths—the truths taught in the Bible—aren’t just these useless factoids that might be interesting for people in seminary to study but aren’t really that valuable for everyone else. No, they are the foundation of everything. Truths about who God is, what God has done for us in Christ, who we are as a result—these truths are the foundation of everything we are and everything we do. And while school subjects like higher-level math may be somewhat optional to learn because you can still benefit from them even if other people are the ones actually learning them and doing cool things with them, it’s not like that with Christianity. Someone else can’t learn everything for you so that you don’t have to worry about it. The only way you can benefit from biblical truth is if you roll up your sleeves and learn it for yourself. So, as I mentioned, our text this evening shows us how Christianity is about living out in our life the things we know in our mind. It’s about living out the realities of the gospel.

So please turn with me to Ephesians 4. If you’re using the Story Bibles we provide that’s on page 812. Ephesians chapter 4 is really the turning point of the letter, because in Ephesians 4, Paul gets really practical. In chapters 1-3, Paul was mainly reminding his readers about theological truth, about the truths of the gospel. Now, in chapters 4-6, he switches gears and starts explaining how his readers should live out those truths in their everyday lives. So let’s read Ephesians 4:1-6: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

So again, this text shows us that Christianity is about living out the truths that we know—living out the realities of the gospel. Paul first states that in the form of a general principle in verse 1, and then in verses 2-6, he gives a specific example of how we live out the things we know—specifically how we live out the unity God’s given us. So that’s what we’ll look at: first the general principle and then the specific example. 

The General Principle

Look at the general principle in verse 1: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” So Paul is “a prisoner for the Lord,” he’s actually in prison because of his Christian ministry, and he urges the Ephesians to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” What does that mean? Well, they’ve been called to the blessings of the gospel. They’ve been called to all the blessings God has graciously provided in Christ. That’s their calling. And now, Paul says, you need to live that out. You need to live out the realities of the gospel. 

I’m reminded of a similar statement in Romans 12. In chapters 1-11, Paul thoroughly explains various gospel truths. Then, he begins chapter 12 with a statement about how they need to respond to those truths in an appropriate way. He says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God [the mercies I’ve just spent the first eleven chapters explaining], to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” So right beliefs should lead to right living. Understanding the realities of the gospel should lead to living out those realities in daily life. 

I think the Christian life is like a road with two ditches on either side, and it’s very easy for us to fall into either one of those ditches. The first ditch is what we’ll call “cold intellectualism.” Someone who’s fallen into cold intellectualism knows a lot and is quite proud of what they know, but their supposed knowledge hasn’t translated into daily life. They cross all their theological T’s and dot all their theological I’s. They read book after book about Bible doctrine. They can tell you what Spurgeon said about this and about what Calvin said about that. But those truths don’t appear to affect them very much other than puffing them up. They profess to believe in a great God, and yet they’re arrogant, acting as if they’re someone great. They profess to believe in a loving God, but they don’t demonstrate much love for others. They have the beliefs God wants them to have, but they don’t live the life God wants them to live. Please: don’t be that person. The more you learn about Jesus, the more like Jesus you should be, and the more it should humble you.

So that’s the ditch on this side of the road: cold intellectualism. The ditch on this other side of the road is shallow emotionalism. That’s the opposite error: shallow emotionalism. This is where someone tries to live the Christian life without making much of an effort to grasp biblical truth. They get their inspiration from a Facebook post here and a Christian song there, neither one of which have much theological substance. And they listen to preachers who preach what I’ll call “cotton candy sermons.” “Cotton candy sermons” are sermons that sound good while you’re listening to them, but then they end and you realize there wasn’t really much substance to them. It was just the fluff and the sweetness of inspirational clichés but no real substantive truth—nothing that could bring lasting transformation to your life. And it’s really exciting to listen to in the moment, but then you walk away and you wonder, “Now why was I excited again?” So that’s the other ditch we have to watch out for: shallow emotionalism. 

Ephesians 4:1 helps us steer clear of both of those ditches: cold intellectualism on one side and shallow emotionalism on the other. It reminds us of the need for a solid understanding of biblical truth as well as that truth showing up in our lives. It’s not either/or; it’s both/and. And the verse especially seems to focus in on the “living it out” part. 

Think of it in terms of adoption. Let’s say a child in Sudan is orphaned, starving, homeless, and in desperate need of…everything. And an American family goes over to Sudan and adopts that child and brings them back to their nice suburban home in America. In one day, that child went from being abandoned and impoverished to being loved and rich. How unfortunate would it be if that child continued living as if they were an impoverished orphan—wanting nothing to do with their adoptive parents, refusing to eat, wearing ragged clothes, sleeping outside in the backyard? They’ve been legally adopted, the papers are signed, everything’s official, but the child doesn’t live out their new status. As Christians, we’ve been adopted into God’s family and received so many blessings in the gospel. So why wouldn’t we live those out? Why wouldn’t we live out those blessings? 

Now, you might wonder, what exactly should we live out? In the terminology of verse 1, what exactly is the calling to which we’ve been called? Flip back to chapter 1. In verse 4, Paul tells us that God chose us to “be holy and blameless before him.” Do you see that? That’s the truth we need to understand with our minds. And the way we live that out in our lives is by actually pursuing a holy life. We need to be in practice what we already are in position. Also, look at verse 5 of chapter 1. Paul says that God has adopted us as his sons [and daughters] through Christ—like we just talked about. So we need to understand with our minds that, as Christians, we have a unique relationship with God. We’ve been legally adopted into his family so that he’s now our Father. It’s an accomplished reality. But we need to live out that close relationship with God by actually seeking to know God better. We need to experientially live in closeness to him day in and day out. And then finally, if you look down at verse 11, Paul talks about how we’ve “obtained an inheritance.” We have an inheritance in heaven to look forward to, and that’s our true home. And so, the way we live that out is by living as citizens of heaven, to use terminology Paul uses elsewhere. Don’t just look forward to heaven in your mind; try to have conduct appropriate for heaven in your life. So that’s what I mean when I say, “living out the realities of the gospel.” Those are three examples. We know we’re holy and blameless, so we live a holy life. We know we’re adopted as God’s children, so we pursue a closer relationship with God in our lives. And we know that we have an inheritance in heaven in our minds, so we try to live as citizens of heaven even before we get there. 

And then another example of living out a gospel reality is the example Paul uses back in our main text. So flip back over to Ephesians 4. In verse 1, Paul tells them to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called”—the general principle we just talked about. Then, he gives a specific example in verses 2-6, and it’s all about unity. Look at it, beginning in verse 2: “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” So he sort of lays it out in reverse order, doesn’t he? He first talks about living in unity in verses 2 and 3, and then in verses 4-6, he explains the foundation of that unity, which is various truths related to the gospel.

Let’s briefly look at those truths. At the beginning of verse 4, Paul says first that there is “one body.” The body is a frequent metaphor Paul uses to refer to the church. The church is the body of Christ. Notice there aren’t multiple bodies. No, Jesus has saved us into “one body.” And not only that, but there’s also “one Spirit,” Paul says. It’s not like different Holy Spirits brought different believers to salvation. No, just one Holy Spirit did that. And similarly, there’s “one hope.” Christians don’t have different futures; they have one future, “one hope” they’re looking forward to. And then also, “one Lord.” We’re all under the authority of one Lord, one Master, one General. And in addition, we all hold to “one faith,” as it says, referring to one body of doctrine that we hold to. We’re not divided in our beliefs about the most important Christian doctrines. Furthermore, we’ve all been baptized by “one baptism,” an outward ritual symbolizing an inward change that we’ve all experienced. And of course, verse 6, we have “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” So, in other words, we have all these things in common. All true believers share all of the things on this list. 

And let me bring all of these individual items together and summarize the core idea I believe Paul is trying to communicate. We are “one.” If you’re a believer and I’m a believer, we’re one. It’s an accomplished reality; it’s something God has brought about. You see, you weren’t saved just into a relationship with God. Did you know that? You were saved also into a relationship with other Christians. I think that’s something that’s kind of difficult for us Americans to understand. We tend to think in very individualistic terms. It’s part of our culture—that rugged individualism. And when we become Christians, we tend to take that individualistic mindset into Christianity with us, only now instead of just us, it’s us and Jesus. We let Jesus in, but no one else. No, my friend: you’ve been saved into a body of believers. It’s you, Jesus, and other Christians. 

Think about it like this: God has adopted you. You were that orphan we talked about living in poverty without a home, and God’s made you his child through adoption. But here’s the thing: he hasn’t only adopted you. He’s adopted other spiritual orphans as well. And his intention is that you would all live together under one roof. Don’t try to relegate your brothers and sisters to that shed in the backyard so that it’s just you and God living in the house. God has adopted you into his family so that you could have a relationship not only with him but also with your adopted brothers and sisters. It’s you, God, and other Christians. That’s the truth Paul’s teaching here in verses 4-6. That’s the gospel reality Paul’s communicating that we have to understand with our minds. You’ve been saved into a spiritual family that consists of more than just you and God. In Paul’s words, there’s a spiritual oneness that God’s brought about among all true believers. 

But of course, it’s not enough to understand it with our minds is it? You’ve heard enough of this sermon to know what I’m gonna say next. We have to live it out in our lives. We have to live out the unity and the oneness that we already possess. And let me say this: the first step to living that out is becoming an active member of a local church. That means making a formal commitment to be a part of that church, faithfully and consistently attending that church’s Sunday gatherings as well as other church functions, building meaningful relationships with other believers in your church, ministering to them with your spiritual gifts, and simply serving and loving those people in any way possible. That’s what church membership looks like. So you’ve been saved into a spiritual family, and the first step of living that out is being an active church member. 

Now since Paul’s writing to a church, he assumes that they already understand that, so he explains how they can continue living out that oneness, that unity. Look back at verses 2 and 3. Remember, reverse order. In verse 2 and 3, we see that we should live out our positional oneness by pursuing practical oneness, experiential oneness, living at peace with each other. And we need to do that, verse 2, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” So basically, pursue peaceful relationships with other believers. In Paul’s words, you already have “unity of the Spirit,” so “maintain [that] unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

That means when somebody in the church does something against you, you don’t make a big deal about it. You just overlook it in love—Proverbs 10:12. If the offense is too great for you to overlook, you don’t gossip about it. You go to that person directly and confront them in love—Matthew 18:15. And then, when all is said and done, you forgive the person and refuse to dwell on it or bring it back up in the future—Matthew 6:14. If we could just do those three things—overlooking offenses, privately confronting in love, and walking in genuine forgiveness—it would solve just about all conflicts between believers. But you know what? Those things the virtues Paul mentions in verses 2 and 3: humility, gentleness, patience, love, and eagerness to maintain unity. We need God to work in our hearts and enable us to behave in those ways toward one another. That’s how we live out the reality of our oneness. That’s how we live out one aspect of the gospel.

Conclusion

So let this passage be a reminder to you not to fall into the ditches on either side of the road. Avoid cold intellectualism, thinking you’re where you need to be because you’ve accumulated a lot of intellectual knowledge about the Bible. That knowledge should be making a difference in your life. And if it isn’t making a difference in your life at all, then you may need to examine whether you’ve truly been saved. Thinking back through those truths we looked at in Ephesians 1, if you have no desire to live a holy life, or pursue a deeper relationship with God, or live as a citizen of heaven, that should be a red flag that you may not be saved. And by that same token, back in Ephesians 4, if you have no desire whatsoever to live out that oneness with other believers, that should also be red flag. Don’t fall into the ditch of cold intellectualism. 

And also don’t fall into the ditch of shallow emotionalism. Recognize that your spiritual maturity will never surpass your understanding of biblical truth. Without a firm grasp of those truths, you’ll be a malnourished and sickly Christian—starving in the midst of a feast that God has made available to you. If anyone feels like that may be them, and you want some resources about what to study or how to study, come see me after we’re done, and I’ll be glad to point you in the right direction.