The Book of Ephesians Series
“Walking in Christ”
Ephesians 5.1-21
Introduction
This morning we are continuing our series on the book of Ephesians. Currently we are considering “The Unified Purpose of the Church” found in chapter four and the first part of chapter five. So far, we have considered our unified purpose of walking together in the unity of the Spirit and to lay aside the old self. (Eph.4.1-32) This morning the Apostle calls us to the unified purpose of walking in Christ. (Eph.5.1-21)
Before I read today’s text, I want to stress the point that these apostolic admonitions do not focus primarily on the individual Christian but are addressed to the body of Christ as a whole. We together as Christ’s Church are called to the unified purpose to walk together in the unity of the Spirit. We together as Christ’s Church are called to the unified purpose to lay aside the old self. We together as Christ’s Church are called to the unified purpose to walk in Christ. We together are all called to these purposes and no believer is exempt.
Hear now the Word of God:
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. 3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8 for you were formerly
darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. 14 For this reason it says,“Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” 15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
Walking in Christ
The first sermon I ever preached was from the story of the lame man in Acts chapter three that sat at the gate called “Beautiful” begging for alms. As the story goes when the Apostles Peter and John passed by him Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none but what I have I give to you: ‘In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene – walk!’” And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. (Acts 3.1-8)
At the age of twenty and with my great exegetical skills I told the congregation the definition of “walking.” That’s right. The definition of walking. What would be your definition of walking? Well, the definition of walking is “to lift and set down one foot firmly on the ground in front of you before doing the same with the other foot.” What intrigued me about this story of the lame man was that he had been lame from birth. He had never walked before that day but when he encountered the healing power of Jesusimmediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened and in one leap he stood upright and began to walk. And not just walking but walking and leaping and praising God.
Brothers and sister, the New Testament talks a lot about walking. As believers in Christ, we are called to walk in the newness of life (Rom.6.4), to walk in the Spirit (Rom.8.4), to walk by faith and not by sight (2Cor.5.7), to walk worthy of the Lord (Col.1.10), and to walk in truth (3Jn.1.3-4). Like the lame man at the gate called “Beautiful” we never walked until the day we encountered the power of Christ. And now the Lord calls us to walk in love, to walk as saints, to walk as children of the light, and to walk in wisdom as His beloved children. Paul wrote to the church of Thessalonica, “we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. The Lord desires that our walk in Christ would not be some leisurely stroll but that we would be walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Walk in Love
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (5.1-2)
Just like a child will mimic their father’s walk, so we as His beloved children we are called to imitate God by walking in love. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. (IJn.3.1a) Of course, we cannot imitate God that we have never seen, so in His abundant kindness God sent His Son so that we would know how-to walk-in love.
Here the Apostle calls us as beloved children to walk in love. But not to walk in love only with those we love but to walk in love with those who are unlovely. If we love only those who love us, if we love only the loveable what makes the Christian different than others in the world without Christ. (Mt.5.46) But if we love our enemies and wholeheartedly pray for those who persecute us, aren’t we imitating our Father who causes the rain to fall equally on the evil and the good? (Mt.5.44-45) And isn’t that the love that God demonstrated to us through Christ? That while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Rom.5.8) That while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son. (Rom.5.10)
So, as beloved children we are to walk in love to the point of surrendering our own opinions, feelings, and justifications of why we don’t love some people and offer our lives as an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. By walking in love in such a high degree we are imitators of God in Christ. This is how people will know that we are His disciples – that we love one another. (Jn.13.34-35)
Walk as Saints
After reminding us to walk in love, the Apostle encourages us to walk as saints.
But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (5.3-6)
Saints is a term used in the New Testament for Christians. The use of saints in the New Testament should not be confused with the special class of holy people recognized by the Catholic Church. Saints, as it is used in the Newt Testament, are all believers in Christ set apart by God’s grace. When we recite the Apostle Creed, we confess that we believe in “the communion of saints.” This means that we believe that all believers past, present, and future all share in the unified purpose to walk in the ways of Christ. None that name the name of Christ can exempt themselves from the commonality of living our lives to the glory of God through Christ.
As you can see from the text, every part of the Christian’s life should be taken seriously. From immorality to course jesting every part of our lives should be glorifying to God. From our sexuality to our speech the Christian should seek to glorify God in thought, word, and deed to the point that inappropriate behavior is not even named among us.Believers in Christ are careful not to allow culture to secularize our thinking, deceiving us to think that our lifestyles and behaviors don’t matter, and that God is not concerned about how we live our lives.
As saints we understand the big picture that our old self was crucified with Christ and our body of sin was done away with, that we should no longer live as slaves to sin. As saints we seek to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh, perfecting holiness in reverence to God. As saints we pursue sanctification knowing that without it no one will see the Lord. (Rom.6.6-7; 2Cor.7.1; Heb.12.14)
Walk as Children of the Light
As believers in Christ we walk in love, we walk as saints, and we walk as children of the light. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light(for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (5.7-14)
We once walked as children of darkness but because the light of Christ’s love, forgiveness, and grace has shined down on us we are now children of the light. As children of the light instead of seeking to participate in deeds of darkness, we seek to walk in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. But because we once participated in the deeds of darkness, we know from experience how unfruitful they are. And because of our past we can expose these unfruitful deeds for what they truly are.
But as time separates us from our past it becomes easy for us to fall into spiritual slumber and close our eyes to the things of this world. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” The Apostle interprets Isaiah’s prophecy for the daughters of Zion, God’s people, to arise and shine. The glory of Christ has appeared and has delivered us from our condition of darkness. (Is.60.1-3) Brothers and sisters, the only way to enjoy the radiant presence of Christ is to stay spiritually awake and experience daily the resurrected power of Christ. (Phil.3.10) For we are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so let us not sleep or fall into spiritual slumber. Let’s be alert and stay sober. (Taken from IThess.5.5-6)
Walk in Wisdom
It is in this state of spirit alertness that the Apostle calls us to walk in wisdom. Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, butunderstand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.(5.15-21)
The Apostle issues seven ways we can walk in wisdom.The first way we can walk in wisdom is to constantly examine our walk in Christ – being careful how you walk.(vs.15) Truthful self-examination of one’s spiritual health is good for the soul. (2Cor.13.5) The Lord’s Supper is a great opportunity for us to examine spiritual walk. The Apostle wrote, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat the bread and drink the cup.” (ICor.11.28) A verse that I have found very helpful in personal self-examination is Psalm 139, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”(Ps.139.23-24) When we ask the Lord to search of hearts, our thoughts, and our actions we are walking in wisdom.
The second way we can walk in wisdom is to make the most of your time. (vs.16) Because the days are evil, we avoid slothfulness and seek to implement proper life management that includes time for spiritual growth, worship, physical exercise, learning, relationships, and recreation. I was speaking with an individual the other day about approaching retirement, and he said, “You know my dad retired at sixty-two and watched television for the next thirty years of his life. I don’t want to be like that.” I agreed with him. That type of retirement is not making the most of your time.
Thirdly, walking in wisdom means that you are constantly seeking to understand what the will of the Lord is. (vs.17) Some things in life are easy to determine the Lord’s will while other areas are more different. It is in these difficult areas that we walk in wisdom by seeking the Lord through prayer, the study of God’s Word, and Christian counsel.
Fourthly, to walk in wisdom means we seek the Spirit’s control and restraint in areas of Christian liberty. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. (vs.18) Don’t worry this is not a Christian probation against drinking wine but rather it is an admonition against the abuse of Christian liberty. As we walk in wisdom, we seek the Holy Spirit to restrain our natural tendency to push the envelope of the liberty we have in Christ. As Paul writes, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” (ICor.6.12)
The fifth way we can walk in wisdom is by speaking and receiving encouraging truth from God’s Word – speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord. (vs.19) Those who walk in wisdom seeks the Word of God as they journey through life because they know that only the Word of God can restore the soul. Only the Word of God can make wise the simple. Only the Word of God can enlighten the eyes. Only the Word of God endures forever. (Ps.19.7-9) The Word of God should be more desirable that gold because by it we are warned, we can discern our errors, and keep us from sin. (Ps.19.10-13)
The sixth way we can walk in wisdom is to be constantly grateful to God – always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.(vs.20)
And the last way we can walk in wisdom is to humble ourselves to our spiritual elders and godly peers as unto the Lord – be subject to one another out of reverence to Christ. (vs.21) Spiritual brothers and sisters are called to restore anyone caught in a trespass and to lead us in the paths of righteousness. (Gal.6.1) Proverbs tells us that a wise man will acquire and listen wise counsel. (1.5; 12.15) If we desire to walk in wisdom we will appeal to our spiritual elders as a father and submit to their counsel. (ITim.5.1; IPt.5.5) A wise man seeks the humility to submit to spiritual elders and peers out of reverence to Christ.
Transition to the Table
As we transition to the Table this morning, I desire that each one would search their hearts to walk in Christ. Are you walking in love? Are you walking as a saint? Are you walking as a child of the light? Are you walking in wisdom?