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King 115.
Chapter One.
Paul could say in verse 16 cease not to give thanks for you making mention of you and my prayers.
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him the eyes of your understanding, being enlightened. That he may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us Word, who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ.
When he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above all.
Principality and power and might and Dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.
And have put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth. All in all shall we pray our God and our Father we rejoice to sing a hymn like this.
00:05:14
From Ephesians chapter one. But I wondered if brethren thought it was the mind of the Lord, if perhaps we could look at the 4th chapter connection with the beginnings of the eggs. Practical exhortations.
The Apostle Paul gives us in light of what is taken up in the 1St 3 chapters.
Sounds good.
Ephesians chapter 4.
I, therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling, 1 Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God, and Father of all, who is above all, and through you, through all, and in you all.
But unto everyone of us has given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he said, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto man. Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.
And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, under the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried above with every wind of doctrine, but a slight of men, and cunning craftiness.
Whereby they lie and wait to deceive, but speaking the truth and love may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
From whom the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth according to the effectual, working in the measure of every part, making increase of the body onto the edifying of itself in love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord that he henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart.
Who, being passed feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness.
To work all uncleanness with greediness, But ye have not so learned Christ. If so be, that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that he put off concerning the former conversation the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that he put on the Newman which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, wherefore putting away lying, speaking every man truth with his neighbor.
We are members one of another. Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your rod, neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands, a thing which is good, that he may have to give to him the needle. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good, to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace under the hearers, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed under the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ sake hath forgiven you.
Well, as has often been mentioned in the first part of the Epistle, we get the doctrine concerning the calling of the Church in Ephesians. Ephesians opens to us the mystery of the Church and presents to us not so much what Christ is to the Church, but what the Church is to Christ. In Colossians we have what Christ is to the Church. He's the head of the body. In Ephesians, as I say, it's what the church is to Christ.
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And she's the fullness of him that filleth, All in all, sometimes illustrated it this way in Colossians if and I don't want to sound.
Sound crude when I say this, but in Colossians the thought is that a body without a head is an incomplete unit.
We must take our direction as the members of the body of Christ from our head, our glorified head, the Lord Jesus at the right hand of God. And we know this in a physical way. Again, a body without a head is an incomplete unit, but it's just the opposite in Ephesians. In Ephesians, a head without a body is an incomplete unit. Isn't it tremendous to think, brethren, that Christ is incomplete without his body? The Church, as I say, summed up at the end of the first chapter, She's the fullness of him that filleth All in all.
But after he takes up the heavenly calling and position of the Church, and what is ours now in Christ, then he begins these very practical.
Exhortations. Because, brethren, whenever we're brought into a position of blessing and favor and given light from God's word as to that place of blessing that we've been brought into, there's always responsibility connected with it. And I believe that the joy and the fruit and the power.
Come in our Christian pathway, in the measure in which we walk by grace, and it's only by grace. But in the measure in which we seek to walk, in the good of what is what is ours, in the measure in which we seek to carry out our responsibility before God in light of the place of blessing that we've been brought into. And so from now until the end of the epistle, he takes up these very practical things, and he begins here in our 4th chapter.
In connection with our walk, I just want to point out before we get into this verse and into this chapter, that this is the third, the third of seven times in the epistle that we have our walk brought before us Without expounding on it. Let's just enumerate them very quickly and I'll leave them for your meditation. Go back to the second chapter for a moment and he begins the exhortations in connection with our walk, reminding us.
Of how we once walked before we were saved. And so in verse two of chapter 2, wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world. And so he reminds these Ephesians Saints that there was a time before they knew the Lord Jesus before they had been brought into this place and position of blessing and relationship. They walked according to the course of this world. But now he's going to go on and he's going to exhort them that that is not what how they are to walk any longer.
They no longer belong to this world. Their hopes, their goals, their abs, their their their goals are not connected with this world anymore. That they are a heavenly people with a heavenly calling. So notice 1St 10 of chapter 2 for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus.
Unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
And then if you go over to the 4th chapter, we'll skip for a moment the third one in our verse, the first verse of the chapter, verse 17. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord that ye henceforth walk, not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their minds. So again he goes back and reminds them how they are not to walk, and we need to be reminded as believers again and again. Now notice the fifth one is in the second, the second verse of the 5th chapter.
And and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. The 6th one is in the eighth verse of the same chapter. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord walk as children of light. And then the 7th one is in the 15th verse of chapter 5. See then that ye walk circumspectly.
Not as fools, but as wise. But then, just to go back to the third time in our verse, first verse of the chapter, I therefore the prisoner, the Lord beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation or the calling, where with you are called. And so in light of what has preceded as to the heavenly calling and position of the believer and the relationship is being in Christ, now there's an exhortation to walk worthy of that calling.
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May I also point out.
That.
As Christians?
We know God as nobody ever knew him before. We know Him as Father. Nobody knew him as Father. The Lord Jesus has revealed the Father. That's what we find even in John 17 that the Lord said, I have revealed to them thy name. He's addressing the Father. We know him as Father, as Christians and then also.
In verse 15 of chapter 3, to whom the whole family?
The better accurate rendering is every family in heaven and earth is named.
Believers are not all in the same position in the Old and in the New Testament.
There were various families.
And but we are in the most intimate position as Christians. We know God as Father. But to whom there is to God the Father? Every family in heaven and earth is named. And then in verse 18.
The practical admonition.
May be able to comprehend with All Saints.
What is the breadth and length and depth and height you know when it comes to God's ways of grace today?
That is not just to be understood in connection with those who by God's grace are gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. They are not all gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, but.
They are all our brethren in Christ. If they know the Lord Jesus as Savior, and if we do not have that view of the Church, we are limited.
Supposed to understand this, in order to really come into the full enjoyment of what Christianity is all about with All Saints, you know, we have to include them all in our Love's affection.
Although we can't walk with everyone in practical fellowship, but we in our thoughts and affections ought to include them all. Whether we can walk with them or not, they're all part of this mystery. And the mystery has to do with Christ and the Church. That means in the Old Testament it was not revealed, but since we have the revelation of Christ and the Church in the New Testament.
What do we find?
They're beautiful pictures in the Old Testament of Christ and the Church. Think of Joseph.
You know Joseph was rejected by his brethren, a picture of Christ being rejected by his Jewish brethren. But then when they are reconciled to him, what do they find?
There is a Gentile bride sharing Joseph's glory. That's a picture of Christ and the church you know today is going to come when Israel will be reconciled to their Messiah, the Lord Jesus. But they will be surprised. They will not be jealous of us. They will be surprised to see a Gentile bride. The church primarily consists of Gentiles out of the nations of people, for his name is a statement in the New Testament.
There's a gentile bride sharing that glory with him. The Lord Jesus is not only securing heaven for us, but today is going to come when he comes back with us and when we will reign with him in glory. You know, it's a wonderful thing. We are heavenly people, blessed with all spiritual blessing in the heavenlies, but even the earthly blessings. The Lord Jesus in his grace will share it with us or have us share it with him.
This one is.
Worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called, I think it's important to understand.
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It's been made mention of what that vocation is, vocation or calling. It's that which we occupy ourselves with.
In natural things, a doctor is a vocation. Person occupies himself with that vocation.
And I think it's important for us to be familiar with what we are called to. If you don't know what you're called to, how can you walk worthy of that vocation? I'd like to just go back briefly to the first chapter, just to mention a few of the points of what we have been called to. There is perhaps no other place in the New Testament that we have such a vast panorama.
Of spiritual blessing, as we do in the book of Ephesians. Oh brethren, we have been called to heaven and heavenly blessing and heavenly glory, and we need to let it sink into our souls, not only to know it, but to enjoy it.
The apostles prayer in the first chapter is to know it, and the apostles prayer in the third chapter is to enjoy it, and then there will be power to walk in it, brethren. But oftentimes we become so occupied in our daily lives with material things.
That spiritual things seem to kind of fade into the background. We need to be reminded of these things again and again, but here in chapter one, just going to briefly mention them.
In verse 3 Paul begins by saying blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
Every spiritual blessing belongs to the believer in the Lord Jesus. He may be that he was just converted last night, or he may be 50 years in the path of faith. The blessings are equal in both of those persons.
The one who has been saved for 50 years maybe enjoys them more than the one who has just been saved last night. But the blessings are the same. Oh, to let that sink into our souls. Every spiritual blessing is ours in Christ. You know, material things.
Really are just loan to us. They're really not our blessings. Our blessings are what are given to us forever.
And we might refer to material things as blessings, and I suppose in a certain sense we might say that. But really material things are all going to fade and pass away that which we have in Christ. And those spiritual blessings are that which is ours forever. No one can ever take them away from us, and we need to walk in the enjoyment of it, brethren. But then he goes and enumerates some of these blessings. Just let me go.
Through some of these verses, verse four, he's chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. We are chosen by God before there was any world in existence. He had in His eternal purposes, chosen you and I, who believe we don't understand that very well. But it's the truth of God that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. That's the position you occupy.
God in Christ.
Holy and without blame, you and I look at each other and we say, well, I can find some things to blame in one another. Yes, practically, that's so. But our position in Christ is this.
Holy, completely holy, and without blame, and no brethren in the measure that we lay hold of that and walk in the enjoyment it will give us power to walk in holiness of life in a practical way as well.
Verse five, We've been predestinated to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself. We've been brought right into the family of God. God not only.
Wants us as servants. He really wants us as sons, first of all, those who will sit down at His table, who are intelligent as to His purpose purposes and can enjoy fellowship with Him as to His eternal purposes.
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God has millions and millions of angels to do his service, really doesn't need any more servants, although it is a privilege to serve Him. But what He wants, and this is his eternal purpose, is to bring us into His presence as sons. So we're predestinated to the adoption of sons to by Jesus Christ to Himself. Verse six, He has made us accepted in the Beloved.
You know, sometimes young people say I just don't feel accepted. You might not.
But just know this, according to this verse, you are accepted on the highest level possible.
You're accepted in God's beloved Son. You cannot know a place of higher acceptance before God.
Verse seven We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.
How many times when you hear believers pray, I've heard them pray forgive us our sins.
It's interesting, but that truth is not known. Generally in Christian circles we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. Oh brethren, what a privilege. We don't have to ask for it any longer. We need to do is thank God for what we already have.
Verse eight he is abounded toward us in all wisdom.
Prudence. And what is why? What is that? What is the reason for that? Because in verse 9 he's made known the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself. What are those purposes about verse 10 and 11? That he's going to bring everything into subjection to the Lord Jesus, all things in heaven and in earth. These things are opened up to us and we have an intimate place.
In this sphere of blessing, O brethren.
That the enjoyment of these things.
Would take hold of our lives, that we would walk in it. When it says walk, it means let it be a practical reality. Don't just talk to me about these things in the meetings where you're sitting around. Walk in it. Let your whole life be evident that you really do believe these things. We live in a materialistic world and I have to confess brethren for myself.
That materialism affects my thinking far more than I like to realize. We need to confess it to the Lord and ask him to help us to lay hold in a fuller measure on spiritual reality.
He gives us all things joy. He gives us all things freely to enjoy. But we have to remember that these things connected with this earthly life are not our real blessings. They are mercies, are real blessings, are that which we have in Christ in heavenly places, and what we find in Luke 16 where we have.
The steward mentioned.
And I like to read that verse 12.
And that is in connection with stewardship.
And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, that's the material things don't belong to us, they belong to him who shall give you that which is your own. You know, if we are not faithful in administering the material things which are entrusted to us as to us, don't expect that you're growing wealthy spiritually.
My grandfather used to tell me.
That a brother was visiting in my hometown, a laborer and a brother was taking him from house to house. That was the custom. You know, the laborers were not just giving addresses, they were visiting the families and they were going to a house and on the way to that house, the brother said. We are now coming to the House of a brother who is poor, but he is rich. He was poor in material things, but he was rich.
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In spiritual things. Then they came to another house and while they were approaching, he said. Now we're coming to a House of a brother who is rich, but he is poor. He was rich materially, but was poor. I'm not saying it has to be that way, but the danger is that when we have material riches that that is what our heart becomes attached to. You know, we have to be stewards. And if you're not faithful as stewards.
That which belongs to another, the true riches will not be entrusted to us. That's a good thing for us in North America to be reminded of. You know, those of us who have visited in Africa and other poor countries. We know how thankful we ought to be for what we have in way of food, homes, clothing and all of that. But we have to remember that's not.
Our real riches. Our real riches is that which we have in Christ.
The circumstances that Paul was in, he mentions it two times. Chapter 3, verse one for this 'cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles. Chapter 4, verse one, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord. He wasn't like we are today, sitting comfortable in these chairs. He was a prisoner. He was in prison.
He didn't occupy himself one bit. If you read Ephesians, you wouldn't think that was there was anything unfavorable about his circumstances because he never mentions it. He was occupied only with what we have in Christ and the blessings which are ours.
And.
You were mentioning of these two men, one was like Smyrna, they had nothing but they rejoiced. The other ones were like Leon Lucia. They were rich and increased with goods and and they were miserable because they had business, the riches. The the greatest hindrance to us in America is we got too much stuff. We got too much material things. The Apostle Paul, he was raised at the feet of Gamaliel.
He was trained. He was educated. He wasn't he. And and yet he lifts himself totally about them. Those things that were gained to me as I counted lost for Christ. Yeah, Douglas, I count all things but loss for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things.
Think of what this man went through, the sufferings that he endured. And then he writes he just lifted by the Spirit of God, totally above his circumstances. And he writes about all these blessings which are true of all the Saints, not just his, but all the Saints I mean.
I couldn't help when you were commenting on this wonderful, these wonderful verses. Who wrote those verses? The one that had the most awful circumstance that you can imagine. And yet he's he's above it all, isn't he? To write what is ours. So we should.
Shame ourselves and get before the Lord if we get occupied with things that haven't gone right for us.
We're not. We're not even close to what Paul went through and the early Christians.
Not that we want to despise the mercies that God has given us. We're very thankful this weekend for this comfortable facility that the Lord has provided through our brethren here. We're going to be very thankful in a little while to go over to the dining room and enjoy good healthy food. We're going to enjoy a good rest at the hotel where they placed us this evening. And so we don't want to despise the mercies that God has given us, but again, those of us who've had opportunity to visit in other corners of the world.
Realize that those the mercies we enjoy and appreciate today and in a land like this, on a continent like this, they are not the bottom line. They are not the bottom line to the enjoyment of our truth, as someone has already said they can sometimes ought not to be, but sometimes.
Be a hindrance to our enjoyment of the truth. But they we don't want to despise what God has given us. If God has put much in our hand, then we're responsible as stewards to use it for His glory. If he puts a little in our hand, we're responsible to use that too. I would like to say too, in connection with what you said about Paul's circumstances, that Paul wasn't indifferent to his circumstances either. I used to think that it was good to get callous or indifferent to things. Lord, allow something in our lives or take something away.
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But we don't want to ever become callous or indifferent to our circumstances. And I was thinking of what Paul wrote later on in similar circumstances to Timothy. He said to come before winter and to bring his coat. He wasn't indifferent to his circumstance. He felt the cold. He felt the need for some physical comfort. In fact, this is a little aside, but I've appreciated the fact that that's why at the end of Paul's life, he could say only Luke is with me.
The Lord made sure that the one who could be the most help to him, the beloved physician, was with him when he needed him the most. And so we don't want to ever become indifferent or callous to our circumstances. But I want to echo what Chuck said, and that is that our enjoyment of the truth.
Gives us a joy and lifts us above the circumstances. It may not take us out of the circumstances, but it can lift us above them and give us an inner joy and a peace that the world can't enjoy. In adverse circumstances, a man of the world can be happy. A person, a young person who doesn't know the Lord can sing when things go well, but you just introduced something adverse into their lives. Their happiness and their joy and their singing depends on their outward circumstances.
But, brethren, our joy depends not so much on outward circumstances, but our enjoyment of what is ours in Christ and what is ahead for us in our souls. And that's why Paul, when he wrote to the Philippians, he could say, rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. There again he was in very adverse circumstances. There again he was a prisoner of the Lord, but he could rejoice even in those circumstances.
So, brethren, in the measure in which we get a hold of these truths in our soul, in that measure it will lift us above the circumstances may not take us out, but it will lift us above them, so that we can rejoice.
So I want to read Second Timothy one verse 15. This thou knowest that all they which are in Asia, be turned away from me, of whom are FA, jealous and homogeneous. And this is what you were saying. The Lord give mercy under the House of Onociferous, for he OFT refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.
O Lord, grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day.
And then how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well he valued all that. But the point I was making was his circumstances were anything but pleasant. And he writes the highest truth anywhere found in the word of God. He was above it all, in the power of the Spirit of God, and yet he appreciated anything that was done. And he said, he mentions that many times in his epistles.
Another thing too, in connection with this first expression of our chapter, is that Paul doesn't refer to himself here as a prisoner of Nero or the Romans, and that was true. But he refers to himself as a prisoner of the Lord. And I believe that was another reason Paul could rise above his circumstances, and that is that he took it from the Lord. He didn't consider the second 'cause. The second 'cause was the Romans, the second 'cause was Nero.
But he realized that he was a prisoner because the Lord had put him there. He was a prisoner of the Lord. And I believe, brethren, that what will give us peace in our circumstances is to realize that this circumstance comes from the Lord. It's so easy to look at the second causes and to question, well, why did this happen and why did that happen? There's an interesting example of this in the Old Testament with the children of Israel when they came to refit them.
In the I think it's the 16th of the 15th chapter of Exodus, we find there that they come and there's no water for them to drink. And you say, well, maybe they missed the mind of the Lord in coming to refit them. It says they came there by the commandment of the Lord. He brought them there to prove their hearts and to prove His faithfulness to them. And brethren, if we can just get a hold of that, you say, I don't know why the Lord has allowed a certain circumstance in my life that I'm going through.
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Well, don't look at the second causes. Look to the Lord. Say, Lord, you've allowed this, and now teach me what you have for me in this circumstance, and give me the grace in accepting the circumstance, to rise above it, and to have an enjoyment of yourself and your truth in the circumstance.
One or the other of Our Calling brethren, is that we are called in one body, in Christ and.
Especially this is addressed in this 4th chapter that we walk worthy in view of that fact that we are members of one body in Christ and I think this fact that He.
Addresses them as the prisoner of the Lord is very significant in that way. And.
I say it in this way. A prisoner does not have his own rights. A prisoner is totally at the command of those that have him in prison. He doesn't go out when he likes to. He doesn't. He can't do what he wants to do. It's all regimented for him. And I think that is an important thing to think about too, when we speak of walking.
As members of one body, there's so much, and I fear that we have been affected. I have to speak for myself where we think we have our rights. The Brethren should listen to what I have to say. I've got something to say and I want to say it. Where does that idea come from? It comes from our democratic culture, but we've got to come to the realization.
Brethren, the only rights that I have.
Our rights to the lake of fire for my sins.
Jesus came and redeemed me from that awful eternity, and now I belong body, spirit, soul, and body. Not only what what I am, but what I have is all his.
I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and it should be the willing rendition of our lives to Him, brethren.
Not something that's forced, but Paul speaks and I love it. Like you mentioned Jim, he doesn't say prisoner of the Roman Empire. He might have even gone back. And he said I made a mistake by going up to Rome, to Jerusalem, and that's why I'm a prisoner now, no.
He looks above it all. We have a God who is so great He can overrule even our mistakes. Brethren, for his own purposes of blessing Otter realize that we're before him. But brethren, if we're going to insist on our rights.
We are not going to be able to walk in the unity of the faith that the Scripture speaks about.
No, it is realizing that we are under the command of someone.
Far greater, far more supreme, the Lord Jesus Christ, prisoner of the Lord, the Lord help us to understand what that means.
I suppose and all right.
He was twice imprisoned. The first time he was in his own rented house, you know, and they came and visited him. He could fellowship with the Saints, but the second time he was in the dungeon, you know, so it is believed he was a prisoner twice, but.
That first imprisonment did not discourage him to continue to serve the Lord even.
When it endangered him for further persecution, and he did suffer more severely in that present second imprisonment, I'd like to comment on the.
Between the three things in this first verse, we're spending quite a lot of time, but hopefully profitably, on the first verse before US1 is prisoner, the 2nd is calling, and the third is worthy In the context of the epistle. Paul, being a prisoner and the calling are connected, and I think it's important to see it or we miss the real force of the two, which, if I may say so, is not.
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The circumstance itself, but it's the conflict involved in the first chapter. We have the calling.
On High of God Concerning us and we have been called.
To be part of the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ in the place that He has given of God as His church. And so we have been raised up with him To be in the heavenly places as we have in the second chapter and for us in chapter one. It's called the hope of your calling because in that sense it's not yet realized Our Calling in the sense of Ephesians, while we have many present blessings and spiritual blessings to enjoy now.
And we can enjoy Our Calling now, the realization of it, the hope of Our Calling, will be realized when we are physically present with the Lord Jesus in the glory. But our position before God is there now. And so in Chapter 2, Paul speaks of the fact that we are raised together with him in heavenly places in Christ, and we're viewed there now in Chapter 3.
Paul is a prisoner.
For the sake of we who are Gentiles.
Because God allowed him to be that in order to bring out that truth for our blessing and enjoyment, and so it's in connection with the truth of the calling.
That he is identified in this epistle with being a prisoner in chapter 4, having paid the price, if you will, to bring out the truth of it to us, he says to his fellow believers, I'm a prisoner of the Lord.
And then he brings in the calling for which he is a prisoner really in this epistle. And then he says that you would walk worthy. And in the 4th chapter he presents to us a worthy walk in the context of particularly the assembly in the 5th chapter. It's a worthy walk in connection with our relationships of life and with the world to whom we bear a testimony.
But then we see the real reason of the conflict. It's Satan opposes the calling, and in Chapter 6, Paul takes up the conflict that you get into. If you're going to hold that calling in your soul, it may be you have much, it may be you have nothing. But regardless of whether you're the richest person in this room or the poorest person in the room.
The conflict you're going to have to walk in, the truth of the calling that is yours, is because Satan is going to oppose you in it. And Satan opposed the apostle Paul to bring out the truth and to walk in it. And as a consequence he was a prisoner of the Lord because he was bringing it out for the Lord's sake, and the Lord allowed him to be in those in that place as a result of maintenance of that truth.
I say it because.
If we don't.
Lay hold of it. If we don't walk in it, then Satan doesn't have, if you will in that sense, a reason to oppose us.
But it's the maintenance of the truth of God in the soul. Satan is opposing that truth, and he's going to oppose it in the life and circumstances and walk of every believer in this room, unless we really lay hold of walking worthy of the vocation wherewith we have been called.
Fall after he wrote the 1St 2 verses, which was his introductory part that he got onto the topic of that believers are standing in grace. And that's what our brother was talking about a little bit ago, this standing in grace. When you look at verse three, it says blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. That's the only way that we can be blessed with those blessings is that we are blessed with them by his grace.
And it's by that beautiful grace that we're blessed by them when that topic goes all the way through the end of chapter 3 and verse one of chapter 4 begins that topic that we're talking about of the walk and the service of the believer. So when we get home after we've got left this meetings here together, we should also read the 1St 17 verses of chapter five that is the continuation part of the walk in the service of the believer.
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And when it gets into verse 18 of chapter 5, it's about the walk and the warfare. And that's where we see the very familiar passage about put on the whole armor and it goes down to the last four verses. That's a conclusion. So when we started this morning, my steam brother Jim started speaking about the different types of walk. And if we could, I'd just like to take a couple moments on that Chapter 2 and verse 10, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus under good work.
Which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them? The other day I went fishing.
And I started to walk down along some timber to the lake and there was a brown sign with a little white emblem painted on it. And it was 1 going, hiking down a trail. And I went walking down that trail and that trail was groomed by the Iowa DNR and I could walk down it. It was mowed, it was cleared and it was a path for me to walk on. So let's look at this as a selected walk. This walk is selected by God in Christ, Jesus unto good works. We had to have one that walked this way before.
That we could walk it. Christ Jesus walked in good works, didn't he? He did good works. He went around, He healed him. He He lifted him up. He made him whole, and he saved him. And so we see here that we have a walk that has been prepared. That little trail down through the timber was prepared for me to walk upon. This walk here is a prepared and a selected walk of God, and that is the walk that he expects us to be walking on.
We have no choice on this walk but to walk it. It is prepared and selected for by him, and he wants us on that walk. Now when you get over to the walk that is suited to Our Calling, our brother, who talked on that quite a bit, we'll skip that, Go to chapter 4 and verse 17. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind. We are to have a walk that is separated.
We are separated from out from amongst them. The Lord has called us out.
Called us out of the world, and we heard that in chapter 2 and verse two in which times in in which in times past she walked according to the course of this world. We used to walk according to the course of the world, but now we are to have a walk that is separated. That is the key here in verse 17 of chapter 4. And the key to walking separated is to having the mind correct on our walk. It is the last word.
We used to walk in the vanity of our minds. Now we have a mind that is different. We have to change that mind. And when you look at verse 23, it says and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. He is talking about our minds on this walk. We have to be renewed. This morning before I came here, I was, I was enjoying that. I was a creation that has been made a new in Christ.
Not like I used to be. A Newman We need to add the letter A with the word new, and it's a new. It's not really in our English language, but it is a Newman, a new creation, isn't it? And here we renew the spirit of our mind. And So what does it tell us? Verse 22 tells us to put something off, verse 24 tells us to put something on, and verse 25 tells to put something away. This tells us how to renew the spirit of our mind by the putting off, by the putting on, and by the putting away.
Then we can walk in a separated walk different than we used to walk. You look at chapter 5. Like I said, the 1St 17 verses of chapter 5 are the same topic. It is about a lovingly, lovingly walk we've been referred to. I like referred to it as a sacrificial walk. Christ was a sacrifice to God and a sweet smelling savour. So he's referring to us as having a sacrificial walk. I want to close real fast and give somebody else time. Verse 15 of chapter 5. See then that you walk circumspectably not as fools but as the wise. We have a walk of sincerity.
That's the walk that is talked about here, the walk of insincerity. So when you get home, read these other portions and put them all together. One verse I love in this the Little Epistle, and that is in chapter 3, verse 11. According to the eternal purposes which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, this was not a patch. When something goes wrong in my life, I put a patch on it and mend it and try to fix it up. This was an eternal purpose.
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God knew what he was doing, didn't he?
And he has prepared the first walk for us. It is prepared for us.