We return this morning to the letter to the Ephesian church. Earlier we heard the author, whether it’s Paul or someone else, talk about Jesus tearing down the walls of hostility. Then we heard him call on the Ephesians to “lead a life worthy of our calling” and to “make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” This morning Paul calls on the Ephesians to imitate God by walking “in love, as Christ has loved us.”
The messages we’ve been hearing focus on what it means to be a follower of Jesus. First and foremost, that means walking in love, which involves our behavior. Last week we heard Paul call on us to live our lives “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.” In speaking of these virtues, we see parallels with the fruit of the Spirit that Paul speaks of in the Galatian letter. According to Paul, the fruit of the Spirit includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Paul tells us that “there is no law against such things” (Gal. 5:22-23).
Although Paul wrote this letter to a congregation filled with Gentile believers, in verse 17, he writes: “Don’t live like the Gentiles.” In other words, when they decided to follow Jesus they walked away from their old lives with their old behaviors and entered into a new way of life.
Having called the Ephesians, and us, to embrace a new way of living, Paul sets the stage for what comes next in verse 24. Here is Eugene Peterson’s translation of that verse: "Take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you." (Eph. 4:24 MSG). If you claim to be a follower of Jesus then the way you live should reflect that commitment. Just as we saw last week, Paul is committed to helping these new Christians reach spiritual maturity, which is reaching the full stature of Christ.
Paul offers us four important guidelines for living as a follower of Jesus. I think these guidelines have relevance even today.
First of all: Put Away Falsehood. We’ve been hearing a lot lately about posting the Ten Commandments in public spaces. While this is probably a political stunt, one of those ten commandments does have relevance for our political discussions, whether from the lips of politicians or from our own lips. That commandment tells us: “Do not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exod 20:16). This is a good response to those who spread conspiracy theories and other falsehoods. So, if you’re a follower of Jesus, don’t tell lies, just tell the truth.
The second guideline acknowledges that we may get angry at times, but don’t let your anger lead to sin. Jesus equated anger with murder and James warns us to be “slow to anger,” while Paul warns us not to let anger control our lives and relationships. That’s because, when we let anger control us that anger makes us vulnerable to the clutches of evil. When that happens, we may end up destroying our neighbors and ourselves. So, if you get angry, don’t take your anger to bed with you. Let it go!
Hopefully, the next guideline doesn’t apply to any of us because none of us are thieves. However, Paul does warn us against stealing. So the right thing to do is get honest jobs and give generously to those in need. That’s pretty straightforward advice that hopefully doesn’t require further elaboration!
The fourth guideline follows from the first. Paul tells the Ephesians and us, not to let any evil or unwholesome talk come from our mouths! That is another good word for this moment in time when it seems that the talk has gotten coarser. Many people feel they can say whatever is on their minds, even if it’s unkind or hateful. We hear politicians speak evil of their opponents, and we’re tempted to repeat what they say. As we ponder what Paul is saying here, we might want to heed the advice that Thumper’s father gave to him: “If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all.” Or, as Paul puts it, when you open your mouth, choose words that build up, not tear down, “so that your words may give grace to those who hear.” These are very good words, because even though Paul didn’t know anything about social media, what he has to say is good advice for those of us who spend time on social media! So, be careful what you say and what you share because what we say can easily embarrass or dehumanize another person. Unfortunately, I’ve been on both sides of the ledger! Humor is a good thing but not when it destroys. The message here is simple: make sure that what you say and write builds people up rather than tears them down.
Paul tells the Ephesians and us that if we’re going to live for Jesus, don’t grieve the Holy Spirit who dwells within God’s people. Put away bitterness, anger, clamor, wrath, and slander, because that grieves the Holy Spirit. So, if we’re going to follow Jesus and walk in love, then we are called to live differently from the world around us. We can do this, because God has forgiven and redeemed us, making each of us a new person in Christ.
To be in Christ is to become a new person who has set aside bitterness, wrath, anger, wrangling, slander, and malice, so we can live together with kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness, just as God has forgiven us in Christ. Yes, we are called to imitate God and live in love, because Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering to God.
Before early Christians accepted the name Christian, they called themselves “The Way.” Therefore, to be a Christian was to follow a way of life that was marked by love, mercy, and grace, which are qualities that define God’s nature. That’s the point of the incarnation. We can’t see God who is invisible to us, but we can follow the path laid for us by Jesus. So, when we turn to the closing verses of our passage, we hear Paul tell us in words rendered by The Message: “Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” (Eph. 5:1-2 MSG).
Mother Theresa understood what it means to live for Jesus like this. She knew what Jesus meant when he said, “When you do things to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do it to me.” She said: "Every person is Christ for me, and since there is only one Jesus, that person is the one person in the world at that moment." Mother Theresa didn’t perfectly embody the way of Jesus, any more than any of us do, but she committed herself to living in a way that reflected Jesus. She did this by trying to make everyone she encountered feel worthy of God’s love and mercy. She didn’t ask anything of them; she just cared for them. If we live for Jesus, then let us be like him by showing kindness, being tender-hearted, and showing forgiveness to our neighbors.
When it comes to showing forgiveness to others, my seminary ethics professor Lewis Smedes wrote in a book titled Forgive and Forget: “Forgiving is the only way to heal the wounds of a past we cannot change and cannot forget.” Even if we can’t undo the past, we can let go of it, so that, as Smedes puts it “when we forgive, we bring in light where there was darkness. We summon positives to replace negatives. We open the door to an unseen future that our painful past had shut. When we forgive, we set a prisoner free and discover that the person we set free is us.” [Smedes, Forgive and Forget, (Harper One, 1996).
When we forgive another person, we offer a word of freedom and a second chance. That’s what Jesus did for Peter after Peter denied him three times. That’s what Jesus did for the woman caught in adultery. It’s what he has done for us as well. In fact, without forgiveness, the church itself doesn’t exist because it’s God’s act of forgiveness that enables us to gather as a community. That’s because forgiveness leads to reconciliation, and reconciliation leads to hope that a new future is possible. This is the reminder that Paul gives to the Gentile believers who found a new way of living in Christ, the one who tears down walls of hostility and allows us to walk together in love.
Preached by:
Dr. Robert D. Cornwall
Acting Supply Pastor
First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
Troy, Michigan
August 11, 2024
Pentecost 12B
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