Sermon Media & Review

Living as light in any culture entails having an acute understanding of spiritual wisdom.

This section is the climax of Ephesians 4-6. We have just talked about black-and-white areas that a Christian, as Light, clearly avoids. Now we focus on Light’s desire to make wise choices in “gray” areas.

The worthy walk of a Christian is filled with light contrasting the spiritual darkness of the world.

God is light, and as we experience His work of dramatic transformation, we will find ourselves shining as lights in a world that loves darkness. The Bible knows nothing of a saved person who has a lifelong lifestyle of struggle with sin. God’s effective grace ensures you will grow more like Christ over time. These verses continue to describe what Light looks like.

The worthy walk of a Christian is filled with light contrasting the spiritual darkness of the world.

In these verses, Paul gives a pretty specific description of the lifestyle of darkness. The passage is not assuming that Christians are still living in the darkness described – rather, the Holy Spirit gives us a reminder of what we are not to go back to. It’s not worth going back! Our delight, as people transformed by His grace, is to live to serve Jesus.

As a church, our highest ethic is love.

In this passage, we find a unique command to be like God, a call to non-emotive love, and the ultimate example of both.

The church's ethical "body language" - Part 2

When we are owned by Jesus Christ, we no longer desire to communicate sinfully. The church ought to be known as the most ethical family in the community. Last week we learned how this plays out in two areas - speaking truth and addressing anger. Biblical anger can become unbiblical over time. Things in the body of Christ can disappoint you, but they need to be addressed. We are all fellow saints.

The church’s ethical “body language” – Part 1

This passage describes the spiritual “body language” of the church. The Holy Spirit through Paul’s pen gets laser-specific about what things the new nature does and should not do. These are instructions for how we behave within the local church. If they are not lived out, we grieve the Holy Spirit and hinder His ability to work among us.

The Third Race Reality: The joyful reality in the life of the genuinely transformed Christian

"Who am I? What am I here for? Where am I going? What should I do?" These are the questions that shape our personality and character. The unbelieving mind is always answering these questions with selfish, sinful, and worldly thinking. This old self is what we are able to lay aside once we are saved. Christ completely transforms us so we can mirror His character and tell others how he changed our lives.

The Third Race Reality: The joyful reality in the life of the genuinely transformed Christian

This week we begin looking at the four characteristics of our new lifestyle, in direct contrast to the characteristics of the unsaved we studied last week. When we have been saved, we think and live differently.

The Third Race Reality: The Contrasted reality of a true Christian life versus the sensual or traditional-religious lifestyles

In the next section of Ephesians 4, Paul continues his focus on individual Christian responsibility. He does this by contrasting the lifestyle of a Christian with two unsaved lifestyles - the Gentiles and the Jews. As dispossessed citizens of Heaven, we will no longer live in our old lifestyle. The worthy walk of Christians in our culture will be radically obvious and distinct.

Personal maturity is the substance of unity in the local church.

The 1999 U.S. women’s soccer team changed the face of women’s sports worldwide because they were well-trained and passionate about working toward their goal as a team. If we are functioning well as a church, we also will influence the world – for Christ.

In these verses, Paul’s focus changes to individual responsibility within the body. Each member is specifically gifted by God, and each part works together toward a glorious goal. God designed the team and empowers it to have divine influence.