I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 5:1-6
Ephesians
5:1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the
way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God.
3
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any
kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy
people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which
are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No
immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with
empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are
disobedient.
-- when I started working at Moody
Air Force Base, one of the first people I met was the computer guy -- he was an
older gentleman -- worked there for decades -- his office was in a little
trailer behind our building -- and when I first had computer issues, I was told
to go find him -- no one would take me over there, and after I finally made my
way over and met him, I learned why
-- this guy was not friendly -- he
didn’t like to be bothered, especially by those people who needed his help --
he was gruff -- didn’t speak kindly -- and didn’t hesitate to use foul language
-- his whole demeanor was “leave me alone -- I don’t like you -- and I don’t
want to be around you” -- and so people avoided him as much as they could
-- as time went by, I got to know
him a little better -- we’d nod if we passed each other in the hall -- and I
had occasion to speak with him on other issues from time-to-time -- one day, he
stopped by my office and said, “I hear you’re going on the Walk to Emmaus --
that’s good -- I went on the Walk and it changed my life and it made me more
active in my church -- I’m a leader there now” -- and then he went on
-- my jaw hit the floor -- I
couldn’t believe what I just heard -- this grumpy old man who everyone avoided
because of his behavior and his language just told me he was a Christian -- and
not just a Christian -- but someone who had been on a special Christian retreat
designed for leaders in the church to help grow their faith and their walk with
Jesus
-- never in my wildest dreams would
I have imagined this guy was a Christian -- my best guess was that he was
undercover -- maybe a secret agent for the Lord -- but that really affected me
-- it caused me to consider who I was in Christ and how others saw me
-- you’ve heard the old cliche, “If
they were arresting people for being Christians, would there be enough evidence
to convict you?” -- well, there’s some truth in that old saying -- learning
that my coworker was a Christian caused me to think about how I was living --
could others tell I was a Christian based on how I talked and how I acted and
how I related to them in the office? -- or was I another secret agent for the
Lord? -- proclaiming to be a Christian while living a life in public that did
not reflect Christian values, attitudes, or behaviors?
-- that’s exactly what the Apostle
Paul is addressing in this passage from Ephesians 5 -- so, let’s look back at
this passage together now and answer those questions about ourselves as we look
at Paul’s call to walk with Jesus in love
II. Scripture Lesson (Ephesians 5:1-6)
-- look back with me at verse 1-2
Ephesians
5:1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the
way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God.
-- a couple of weeks ago, Great Britain
celebrated Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee -- she has reigned for 70 years
now -- and despite the public failings and foibles of her children and
grandchildren, her reign has always been characterized by grace and class -- she
has diligently given her life to serve her people well, and as a result she is
deeply loved and highly revered -- there has never been a whisper or a hint of
impropriety with Queen Elizabeth -- she has been an example for all the people
of Great Britain for over 70 years
-- So, you can understand what it means to
the people of Great Britain when they see the British flag flying over
Buckingham Palace -- when the flag is flying, it means the Queen is in
residence -- she is there with her people in the heart of her Kingdom -- that
flag is a visible and public reminder that Queen Elizabeth is there
-- As Christians, we should be cognizant
of the fact that our King is always present with us -- Jesus told us that He
would never leave us or forsake us -- that He would always be with us and in
us, no matter where we go -- our King is always home
-- but do others know? -- we don’t have a
flag that we fly above our heads to let the world know that Jesus is within us
-- but they should know He is in residence within us because of how we live --
if He is truly within us, that should show on the outside -- we should not be
secret agent Christians, living undercover lives -- but bold witnesses of His presence
and His grace as we imitate Him in our attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors1
-- as Phillip Yancey wrote, “For the
watching world, we ourselves serve proof that God is alive. We form the visible
shape of what he is like.”
-- that is why Paul commands us here to be
imitators of God -- as His dearly loved children, we are called to imitate
Jesus in our daily lives -- to become like Him -- inside and out -- reflecting
His Kingdom values in who we are and what we do
-- what does it mean to imitate God? -- it
means to be like Jesus -- and to explain that better for us, Paul tells us that
we imitate God by living a life of love
-- the word that Paul uses for love here
in the Greek is the word agape -- just as a reminder, while we only have one
word for love in our English language, the Greeks had multiple words to
describe the different types of love that we experience in our lives
-- for instance, they would use the word
eros to describe romantic love -- passionate love -- the love between a husband
and a wife
-- they would use philia to describe
brotherly love -- the love you have for your friends -- for those people around
you who are more than acquaintances but not blood relation
-- they would use storge to describe familial
love -- family love -- the love for your parents and your children and your
siblings
-- but the highest form of love was agape
love -- this is the love of God -- sacrificial, unconditional love -- the love
that has no bounds -- the love that surpasses all understanding
-- to imitate God, Paul says, you must
live a life of agape -- you must live a life where your love reaches out and
touches everyone -- spouses, family, friends, enemies, the entire world -- with
the love of God -- love, not in name, but in action and in attitude and in
behaviors -- the love that God poured out on us when He sent Jesus to die for
our sins and when He forgave us for all that we had done -- this is the love
you are to live out -- this is what it means to imitate God
-- now, I know what some of you might be
thinking -- sure, it’s one thing to tell us to imitate God -- to tell us to
live a life of agape love -- but it’s another thing to do it -- we’re not Jesus
-- we can’t live like Him -- we’re not God
-- no, you’re not -- but remember that you
have God in residence within you -- if you have received Jesus as your Lord and
Savior, you are filled with His very presence -- the Holy Spirit is inside you
-- empowering you and making you capable of doing what you could not do in your
flesh
-- remember that Jesus told us that we
would do greater things than Him -- and Paul isn’t just giving religious
platitudes when he commands us here to be imitators of God and to live a life
of love -- he’s not telling us to do something that we are incapable of doing
-- a lot of people forget that when Jesus
came to earth, He emptied Himself of His divine attributes -- as we learn in
Philippians 2:5-8, Jesus made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man --
He became one of us -- fully man -- fully human -- and what He did on earth was
done through the power of the Holy Spirit
-- we can do the same -- yes, we have a
sin nature that Jesus did not have -- we have a lifetime of sinful habits and
behaviors and thoughts that lead us astray that Jesus did not have -- but we
have the very presence of the living God within us who gives us the power to
imitate Jesus in who we are and what we do -- to be holy as He was holy -- and
to live lives of agape love
-- if this was not possible, God would not
have commanded it of us -- so, yes, we can do this, but only because we have
God Himself within us making us capable of living in such a way
-- so, immediately after telling us what
we are to do -- how we are to imitate God and live lives of love -- Paul paints
for us a picture of the opposite -- he shows us how we used to be before Jesus
came into our lives -- and how the world still lives today
-- look at verse 3-6
3
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any
kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy
people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which
are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No
immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with
empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are
disobedient.
-- in these verses, Paul contrasts the way
of the world with the way Christ calls us to live and to love
-- our world today is hypersexualized --
we see it in our movies and our TV shows -- we see it on the internet and in
social media -- we see it in advertising and in the lives of those around us --
as far as the world is concerned, almost anything goes when it comes to sexual
relations -- they have redefined normal sexuality to mean whatever they want it
to be and whatever feels good for them
-- God calls their definition of normal
sexuality immoral -- and Paul tells us and the Ephesian Christians that there
must not even be a hint of sexual immorality in our lives because this will
compromise our walk with Christ
-- the Greek word Paul uses here for
sexual immorality is very expansive -- it refers to any form of sexual activity
outside of marriage -- whether that is pornography, premarital or extramarital
sex, or same sex relationships -- for the last month, you might have heard the
catch phrase, “love is love,” being bantered about -- but Paul is saying that the
love the world defines as the new normal is contrary to the nature and
character of God
-- he goes on to talk about avoiding
impurity and greed -- with these three -- sexual immorality, impurity, and
greed -- Paul is addressing what drives our actions and behaviors -- he’s
calling out our internal beliefs and attitudes and the thoughts that drive what
we do and who we become
-- he is referring to our immoral
thoughts, passions, fantasies, and ideas that are coming from the old man --
our flesh -- which we talked about last week
-- as you remember, Paul said in Ephesians
4 that these need to be put behind us and that we need to put on our new selves
in Christ -- putting aside sexual immorality and greed and impurity and putting
on the things of Christ -- His holiness and righteousness -- imitating God and
living lives of agape love
-- there’s an old praise song we sometimes
sing that says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus -- look full in His wonderful face
-- and the things of earth will grow strangely dim -- in the light of His mercy
and grace” -- that’s the message Paul is giving us -- stop dwelling on the
things of earth and instead turn your eyes and your thoughts towards Jesus --
imitate Him in your minds and in your thoughts and in your attitudes -- and you
will find that the things of the world like sexual immorality and impurity and
greed no longer drive you and define who you are and what you do
-- he goes on to say that we should be
mindful of that which comes from our mouths -- and, I would add, that comes
through our fingers to our screens as we communicate on the internet and social
media -- avoid obscenity, foolish talk, and coarse joking -- instead speak
words of praise and thanksgiving and love from a grateful heart
-- I had a pastor one time who always
taught that what is in your heart comes out of your mouth -- that the words you
used were an indicator of where you were in your relationship with God -- she
always said, “do you want to know what is in your heart? -- hit your hand with
a hammer and see what comes out -- then you’ll know”
-- now I’m not advocating anyone to go out
and hit their hand with a hammer -- but I am recommending that you spend some
time paying attention to what you say and how you say it -- because that is
what the Bible is telling us to do here
-- the point Paul is making here goes back
to the two paths we talked about last week -- the path of the world and the
path of Christ -- if we are walking with Christ -- if we are imitating Him and
trying to become like Him, then our lives should start looking like Him -- we
should start reflecting Christ’s character and nature more and more
-- we should be putting behind us sexual
immorality and impurity and greed -- we should be speaking words of grace and
not words of death or cursing -- we should reflect who Christ is in our
thoughts and attitudes and behaviors as the Holy Spirit works within us to
sanctify us and make us holy as God is holy -- to make us more and more like
Jesus daily
-- Paul is counseling the Ephesians here
to look at their lives -- to see how they are living -- are they living in
truth and faith -- do their actions and behaviors reflect a life being changed
by God? -- or do their actions and behaviors demonstrate that their faith is
more lip service than transformational? -- are they true Christians living
lives of love or are they secret agents who are imitating the world more than
Jesus?
-- be imitators of God, Paul says, and
live a life of love -- so that you may become more like Jesus and less like the
world
-- let’s bring this to a close -- Paul
gives us several examples here of what not to do as we seek to imitate God and
live like Jesus, but what does living a life of love look like in practice? --
what does living like Jesus look like on a daily basis?
-- Thomas Aquinus wrote that “Love is willing
the good of the other” -- and Skye Jethani points out that “the true disciple
of Jesus Christ isn’t recognized by spectacular acts of power, but by an
inexplicable love that puts others ahead of themselves”
-- true agape love is loving others
unselfishly and unconditionally with the love of God that is in you
-- the clearest picture of what living a
life of love looks like can be found in 1 Corinthians 13 -- turn over there
with me now -- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a -- [read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a]
-- this is what love looks like -- this is
what agape love looks like when it is lived out in the life of a believer
-- it is patient -- it is kind -- it does
not envy -- it does not boast -- it is not proud -- it is not self-seeking --
it is not easily angered -- it keeps no record of wrongs
-- it always protects -- it always trusts
-- it always hopes -- it always perseveres -- love never fails
-- that is why the Bible tells us in 1
John 4:8 that God is love -- it’s because the agape love that we are called to
walk in is divine -- it is an expression of who God is -- it is the sum of
God’s character and nature and being
-- God’s love is eternal - Man’s love is
emotional
-- God’s love is selfless - Man’s love is
selfish
-- God’s love gives sacrificially - Man’s
love takes greedily
-- God’s love gives life - Man’s love
condemns us
-- God’s love is pure - Man’s love is
perverted
-- God’s love understands - Man’s love
demands
-- God’s love is personal - Man’s love is
objective
-- God’s love is unconditional - Man’s
love is conditional2
-- to live a life of love is to walk
the path of God in your daily lives -- to love, not just with words, but in
deeds and actions -- to love unconditionally -- sacrificially -- selflessly --
to love like Jesus
III. Closing
-- let me close by leaving you with
this thought -- a few years ago, I had the opportunity to go to the top of
Pikes Peaks in Colorado -- I don't know whether any of you have had the chance
to do that, but if you are ever out that way, I would encourage you to do so
-- Pikes Peak is over 14,000 feet
high and overlooks Colorado Springs -- from the top of Pikes Peak you can see
all of the front range of Colorado, including the Continental Divide -- it was
the view from the top of Pikes Peak that inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write
her patriotic song, "America the Beautiful"
-- there's really only two ways to
get to the top -- you can drive up a two-lane, partially paved roadway with
hairpin turns and 1,000-foot drop offs -- or you can take a cogwheel train -- I
didn't want to chance driving up that road in a rental car, so I took the train
-- the trip up in the train was
fascinating -- we started in the bottom of the valley at about 7,000 feet in a
town called Manitou Springs -- it was heavily forested with ponderosa and
logdepole pine -- but as we headed up the mountain, the vegetation changed --
the pines gave way to hemlocks and firs as we climbed in elevation -- and it
became easier to see great distances from the train
-- finally, as we neared the top,
the trees almost completely thinned out and you could feel the wind blowing up
the mountain, rocking the train car that I sat in -- the wind was blowing about
35 miles per hour and I asked the engineer about it -- he said that it always
blew like that on top of the mountain
-- he pointed out the snow drifts
that the wind had piled up right next to the tracks -- he said that they have
to go up there daily with a specialized train to cut a path through the
wind-blown snow -- you could see how the wind really shaped the environment near
the top of the mountain
-- right before we left the tree
line, I noticed how all of the trees had this unique shape -- in ecology, we
learned this is called a "krummholz" -- it is a German term for
crooked, bent, and twisted wood -- and that was the perfect term to describe
the trees up there at the edge of the treeline
-- the wind that was constantly
blowing against these trees affected their growth pattern -- rather than
standing up straight with a full canopy on each side like all the other trees
in the forest, these trees looked abnormal -- their trunks were bent and their
canopy was shifted towards the downwind side -- they didn't look like the other
hemlocks that I had seen lower down -- these hemlocks were permanently affected
by the blowing of the wind -- the wind shaped them -- the wind formed them --
the wind gave them life on top of that mountain
-- that is how it is to be for us as
Christians -- we are to be shaped and formed by the Holy Spirit blowing in our
lives -- filling us and empowering us with His presence -- our growth is to be
affected and we are to resemble Christ and not the world -- we are to look like
Him and not those around us -- we are to imitate Him and to walk with Him in
love so that others might see Him in us and come to know Him as we know Him --
that is the message of this passage for us today
-- so, go forth and be imitators of
God -- walk with Jesus in love today and tomorrow and forever -- and let the
Holy Spirit shape you and mold you and make you into who you are called to be
-- let us pray
----------------------------------------------------
1
Modified from an Our Daily Bread devotional by Joe Stowell
2
From Dr. Bradford Reaves, The Distinction of God’s Love in Jesus, Sermon
Central
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