This week, we are looking at a
section of a letter in the New Testament of our Bibles where a man named Paul
makes seven specific commands to followers of
Jesus throughout history that reveal whether or not we are laying aside our old
life in a way that leads us to live
a new life.
Yesterday,
we saw Paul reveal for us the reality that our identity as a follower of Jesus should lead us to lay aside a lifestyle
of falsehood in order to live a new life that was marked by truth.
In addition, our identity as a follower of Jesus leads us
to live a new life that was marked by the right response of anger. Our identity
as a follower of Jesus should lead us to respond in anger at the right things.
And our identity as a follower of Jesus should lead us not to wrong God or
others in our response of anger. Our identity as a follower of Jesus should
lead us to respond to anger in a timely manner. Today, we see Paul's third
command to the members of the church at Ephesus in Ephesians 4:28:
He who
steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own
hands what is good, so that he will have something
to share with one who has need.
Now verse 28, if communicated in the language we use in
our culture today, would have sounded something like this: "Those of you
who are stealing at work need to stop taking what does not belong to you.
Instead, you need exert yourself to work hard to accomplish something of worth
that benefits your employer and will provide you the opportunity to be generous
to those who are in need".
You see, Paul wanted the members of the church at Ephesus
to rid themselves of their old nature that was marked by
dishonesty and robbery in the workplace in order to put on our new nature that reflected
their identity as being aligned with a lifestyle of honesty and integrity in
the workplace. And in the same way today, our identity as a follower of Jesus should lead us to lay aside a lifestyle
of dishonesty at work in order to live a new life that was marked by integrity
and generosity.
As followers of Jesus, we are to rid ourselves of taking
what belongs to our bosses and live our lives at work in a way that works with
integrity. As followers of Jesus, we are to work hard to accomplish something
of worth that benefits others and so as to be able to be generous to those in
need.
So here is a question to consider: Are you living a
lifestyle that is marked by dishonesty at work? Are you stealing stuff from
your employer? Are you stealing time from your employer? Because those traits
reveal a life that is being lives according to our old nature apart from God.
Or are you living a lifestyle that is marked by integrity
and generosity in the workplace? Because our identity as a follower of Jesus
leads us to lay aside a lifestyle of dishonesty at work in order to live a new
life that was marked by integrity and generosity. We see Paul's fourth command
to the members of the church at Ephesus in verse 29:
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your
mouth, but only such a word as
is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
When Paul uses the word unwholesome, here this word
refers to that which is bad or unwholesome to the extent of being harmful or
evil. So Paul here is commanding the members of the church at Ephesus to rid
themselves of using words that were harmful and hurtful to others. Instead,
Paul commands the members of the church at Ephesus to use words that are good
for edification according to the need of
the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
Now the word edification literally means to build
something up. In other words, Paul wanted the members of the church at Ephesus
to use words that built others up when they were in need of those words. Paul
wanted the members of the church at Ephesus to use words that built others up
in a way that benefited and extended favor to others. Paul wanted the members
of the church at Ephesus to rid themselves of their
old nature that was marked by harmful and hurtful words in order to put on
their new nature that reflected their identity as being aligned with a
lifestyle of helpful words toward others.
And in
the same way today, our identity
as a follower of Jesus leads us to lay aside a lifestyle of hurtful words in
order to live a new life that was marked by helpful words. As followers of
Jesus, we are to rid ourselves of tearing others down with our words. Instead,
as followers of Jesus, we are to start building others up with our words. We
are to speak words that are useful in building others up. And we are to speak
words that are beneficial to others.
So here is a question to consider: Are you living a lifestyle that is marked by
harmful and hurtful words that tear others down? Are you sarcastic, even
caustic with your words? Because those traits reveal a life that is being lives
according to our old nature apart from God.
Or are you living
a lifestyle that is marked by helpful words that build others? Because,
our identity as a follower of
Jesus leads us to lay aside a lifestyle of hurtful words in order to live a new
life that was marked by helpful words. We see Paul's fifth command to the
members of the church at Ephesus in verse 30:
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom
you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Now what I found so interesting here is that the word
grieved here, in the language that this letter was originally written in means to
irritate, offend, or insult. You see, the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal
force. Instead the Holy Spirit is a person who you can insult and offend. So
Paul here is commanding the members of the church at Ephesus to not insult or
offend the Holy Spirit.
Paul then reminds the members of the church at Ephesus
that the Holy Spirit sealed them, or identified them, as being followers of
Jesus who were Jesus own possession. As we talked about earlier, in a sense,
God the Father has put us on lay away. And as a deposit toward the full
payment, we have received the Holy Spirit, until the day when God brings us
into the fullness of the relationship that we were created for with Him in
Heaven. That is what Paul is referring to when he uses the phrase "by whom
you were sealed for the day of redemption."
You see, Paul wanted the members of the church at Ephesus
to rid themselves of their old nature that was marked by a
lifestyle that offended the Holy Spirit. And in the same way today, our identity as a follower of Jesus should lead us to lay
aside a lifestyle that offends the Holy Spirit who identifies us as being under
new ownership. As followers of Jesus, we are to rid ourselves of the things in
our lives that insult and offend the Holy Spirit.
So here is a question to consider: Are you living a lifestyle that insults and
offends the Holy Spirit? Does your attitude insult and offend the Holy Spirit?
Do your words and actions insult and offend the Holy Spirit? Because those
traits reveal a life that is being lives according to our old nature apart from
God.
And our identity as a follower of Jesus leads us to lay
aside a lifestyle that offends the Holy Spirit who identifies us as being under
new ownership.
Friday, we will see to final commands from the Apostle
Paul that will reveal for us a timeless truth...
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