Welcome to Expository Truths, where we exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with Dr. John Kyle, pastor of Faith Community Church in Vacaville. As Christians, we’re called to know the truth and be able to proclaim it. We can know truth when we know the Word of God, which is precise, without error, and powerful and effective for both salvation and spiritual growth. Enjoy digging deeply with Dr. Kyle as he takes us verse by verse through the powerful book of Ephesians, giving us a marvelous summary of the good news of Christ and its implications for our daily lives.
SPEAKER 01 :
Our place for me in our Bible is to Ephesians chapter 4, verses 4 through 6. Ephesians 4, 4-6. The letter of Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians living in the city of Ephesus. Paul wrote this while he was under house arrest in Rome, and he wrote it to lay a proper doctrinal foundation for these believers, chapters 1 through 3, so they could then live out those doctrines for the glory of God, chapters 4 through 6. We recently finished the doctrinal section, and now we’re looking at how we’re called to practically live out that doctrine. That makes sense, right? That because of everything that God has done for us, Choosing us, adopting us, showering us with undeserved grace, redeeming us, forgiving us of all our sin that condemned us, revealing His truth to us, promising us an incredible future inheritance, giving us His Spirit who lives in us and who guarantees what is to come, bringing us near, giving us hope, making us one with Him and one with one another, showering us with unfathomable love when we least deserved it, empowering us with His divine power until glory, and then everything else… In light of all that, what? Walk worthy of that, right? Walk worthy of that calling. Walk worthy of who you now are. Live like children of God ought to live. Honor the Lord with your fading life. That makes sense. That makes sense. And as we saw last time, it all starts within this church body, this church family, amongst the fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. Paul ended last time by imploring the Ephesian believers to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. And look what he says next, verse 4. Endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. And then this. There’s one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. Now here in today’s passage, Paul gives us seven reasons why we in Christ should endeavor to keep the unity. Now remember, endeavoring means to be diligent. It conveys the idea of doing something with passionate energy, with intense effort, and with eager motivation. And so the call is to eagerly and to passionately and to intensely keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. In other words, we’re to earnestly make every effort to guard the oneness and the unity of the body, the church. That’s not easy, right? Because Satan is always working, and none of us here has arrived yet, and that’s why we need to continually be working at this. So, what then are the elements that unite us together? Because we need to remember that. Well, Paul lists seven things, and note that these things focus on God. All of them. They focus on the one God who eternally exists in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Look, the first thing Paul says is that there is one body, talking about the church, which is indwelt by the Spirit, who’s mentioned next. Back in Ephesians 1.23, Paul said that Christ is the head of the church, and the church is the body of Christ. In 2.16, it says that Christ reconciles us into one body. And then in 3.6, Paul said that we who believe are of the same body. So the word body refers to an organized whole made up of parts and of members. This term describes a relationship of Christians to Christ the head, the head being the vital organic center of the whole rest of the body. See, when Christ entered our world, he took on a physical body prepared for him. And through his physical body, Jesus demonstrated the love of God clearly, tangibly, and boldly, especially through his sacrificial death on the cross. But look, after his ascension, Christ continues his work in the world through his body. Who’s that? That’s us. That is, through those that He has redeemed. Talking about us, the church, the people of God, who now demonstrate the love of God clearly, tangibly, and boldly to this world. And so it’s in this way that the church functions as the body of Christ. This really is a revolutionary concept because before Christ came, the Jews and the Gentiles, the non-Jews, they hated each other. And they could have never conceived of coming together in unity and of coming together in godly love But Jesus changes everything, doesn’t he? He unites us together. And it’s not that Gentiles have to become Jews or that Jews now have to become Gentiles. No. But it’s that unbelieving Jews and unbelieving Gentiles become one body of believers when they place their faith in Christ alone as Savior and Lord. He unites us together in him. He’s the one who makes us one body. The one body is made up of true believers all over the world, and those believers unite under the head Christ, and we love Him. Right? We submit to Him. We seek to honor Him. We want to represent Him well to this watching world around us. And look, the fact that there is one body is a great incentive to endeavor to keep the unity, because why would I want to hurt my body? Why would I want to hurt myself? Disunity hurts the body of which we’re all a part. So stop hurting yourself. See? So there’s one body, and second, there’s one Spirit, talking about the Holy Spirit, who’s the life of the body, and who dwells in all the members of the body. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12, 13, writing to true believers, For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, we were all made to drink of one Spirit. So God the Spirit indwells every true Christian, and that’s a great reason to endeavor to keep the unity. Look, all sin against true Christian unity is sin against God the Holy Spirit because those sins sever that which He binds together. This fact then should demand of us that we love our brethren and that we earnestly strive to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. Because sin against each other is sin against God Himself. Who exactly is the Spirit? The Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit, that’s a dead giveaway, holy. The third person of the Trinity. The Bible is very clear, right, that we worship one God who eternally exists in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As our doctrinal statement says, we believe that there is but one living and true God, an infinite, all-knowing Spirit, perfect in all His attributes, one in essence, eternally existing in three persons, the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each equally deserving worship and obedience. That’s absolutely right. As another has written, Within the Godhead there are three persons who are neither three gods nor three parts of God, but co-equally and co-eternally they are God. That’s important because there’s an old heresy that says God is the Father in the Old Testament. Then God changed His mask, and He became Jesus, God the Son, in the Gospels. And then He changed His mask again, and He became God the Holy Spirit in Acts and beyond. But that is called heresy. Because the Bible is very clear that from all eternity, God has always been God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. One God who has eternally existed in three distinct persons. Look, the Bible is very clear that the Father is God, and that’s not a problem for most. We can understand that. The Bible is also very clear that Jesus is God, and that’s a problem for some, but it’s biblical. In Isaiah 9-6, Jesus is called the mighty God. John 1-1, the word Jesus was God. Acts 20-28 mentions the church of God, which He, Jesus, God, purchased with His own blood. On and on and on it goes. The Bible is clear Jesus is God. And then we find that The Bible is also clear that the Holy Spirit is God. Hebrews 9.14 tells us that the Holy Spirit is eternal, a divine attribute. Psalm 139.7-10 says that the Holy Spirit is omnipresent, another divine attribute. Luke 1.35 says that the Holy Spirit is omnipotent, another divine attribute. 1 Corinthians 2.10 says that the Holy Spirit is omniscient, another divine attribute. Psalm 104.30 ascribes creation to the Holy Spirit because He’s God the Creator. In 1 Corinthians 12.4-6 it says there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. So Spirit, Lord, and God are used synonymously because they can be one God in three distinct persons. In Matthew 28, 19-20 it says, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of God. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Talking about God, right? We could go on and on, but clearly the Holy Spirit is God. And that’s important for us to understand. See, the Holy Spirit is not a force. He’s not an it. He is God. And He is much of an actual person, a He, as either God the Son or as God the Father. That’s important to understand because it goes to the nature of God. Edwin Palmer says this, One of the distinguishing marks of a Christian is his belief in the Holy Spirit as a person. From the early days of the church to present-day modernism, there have been those who have denied the personality of the Spirit in one form or another. Many so-called Christian preachers and theologians refer to the Spirit as an it, not as a he. They consider Him to be an impersonal influence or power or energy and not the third person of the Trinity. Such a view would rob us of some of the great blessings of our salvation. Furthermore, it’s not biblical. It also robs God a bit of His glory when we fail to recognize Him for who He truly is. Okay, so the Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Godhead, a distinct person who is worthy of our worship, who is worthy of our love, who is worthy of our praise. What then does He do? He helps us. He helps us. In John 14, 15, Jesus says, If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. Immediately after that, in the next verse, Jesus says, I’m going to pray to the Father, and He’s going to give you another helper. Who’s the helper? The Holy Spirit. And just as Jesus was the comforter, helper, teacher, counselor to the disciples when He walked with them, once He leaves, look, the Holy Spirit will come and fill that vacancy, doing for His disciples all that He had done for them when He was with them on the earth. The real difference being that the Holy Spirit would minister from within the Christian, how good is that, as Christ ministered from without. And what’s His goal? His goal is to help us. Help us what? Help us to powerfully live out our faith and to honor Christ until glory. That’s His aim. That’s His goal. So biblically, He saves us, He seals us, and He helps us until we arrive safely home. Without Him, God the Holy Spirit, none of us would be saved. And without Him as Christians, none of us would be able to have any kind of power over sin, over self, over the wicked one. But with Him… Power to see this thing through to the very end, which is true of all believers. So, how can I see this power at work in my life? How do I know that He’s working and alive and real in me? You see it when you see His fruit, right? You see it when you see the fruit of the Spirit working out of you. What’s that fruit? According to Galatians 5, love. Are you growing in your love for God and others? Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And when we see a Christian growing in those areas, then we’re seeing the reality of the Spirit working in his or her life. There’s only one Spirit, and every true believer has Him indwelling his or her life. And so the Spirit is prominent in this body, right? He permeates the body individually and corporately, and disunity in the body greatly offends Him. Do you really want to offend God? I sure hope not. That’s why we should endeavor to keep the unity. Third, you were called in one hope. What does this tell us? That every Christian is focused really on one thing, and that one thing unites us together. Look what Paul says. You were called in one hope of your calling, which is the same thing that Paul prayed for in Ephesians 1.18 when he said that they may know what is the hope of his calling. So the hope of your calling or of his calling is the same thing. What’s that? Glory. Seeing Christ face to face. Heaven. Receiving our eternal inheritance, right? And being forever with God and His people. That’s our hope, right? Hope is often tied into the return of Christ. Of course, can’t wait for that. But that always then points to what comes after that great day. So, what is hope? Biblical hope is a desire of some good with the expectation of obtaining it. Hope in the Bible is the absolute certainty of future good and the strong confidence that God’s going to do good to us in the future. that He’s going to follow through with His promises for us as His children. So hope is a confident expectation in God and in what God has said to us. Good news. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. He forgave us of all our sin that condemned us. He rescued us. He redeemed us. He guarantees our future inheritance and so much more. And while we’re experiencing that in part, and it’s really, really, really good right now, It certainly isn’t fully realized for us yet. No, the best certainly is yet to come for us in Christ. We’re not only going to be made perfect and we’ll not only go to heaven and we’ll not only be with other believers, but we will see Him, our beloved One, and we will be in His perfect presence forever. The hope, the hope of every Christian, that hope unites us, doesn’t it? Anybody excited? You better be. I mean, this unites us. This hope makes petty things seem pretty small. This hope focuses us in on what’s really important. This hope drives us forward. This hope helps us to live out what we looked at last week. Being low and gentle and patient and loving and united. Because this hope motivates us to godly living until that hope is fully realized in the near future. I have hope. Therefore, I can endure this trial, painful as it is. I have hope. Therefore, I can forgive that person because… That’s small compared to the hope that Christ gives. I have hope. Therefore, I can keep battling sin to the bitter end. I have hope. Therefore, I can lose friends in order to honor my Lord. I have hope. Therefore, I don’t have to fall into despair, not ever, because I know that the best is yet to come. I have hope. Therefore, I will passionately love God and others until the day that I breathe my last breath, because I have hope. Sure hope, solid hope, certain hope, and soon that hope will be my eternal reality. See how it works? Hope. Hey, it’s oh so good to be a child of God today. Why? Well, so many reasons, but how about this? Heaven will soon be our reality. Come on. What hope we have of what lay ahead. See, God promises that when we die as Christians, we go straight into the presence of God. We’ll be freed from the pain, the sorrow, and the suffering of this present life. We’ll be ushered into the Lord’s awesome presence forever. Did you hear that? Forever. Forever. We will no longer need to walk by faith, but we will walk by sight. We will know God. We will see God. We will be with God for all eternity. Revelation 21, speaking of heaven, says, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. It says, we will be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear away from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. The old order of things has passed away. Come on, how good is that? What hope we have in Christ. And we’re going there. That’s a promise. No more sin. No more battles. No more tears. No more pain. No more pain. Eternal joy, peace, and glory. Loved ones in Christ, fellow believers, family reunions, and best of all, Christ Himself, the source of all blessing, the source of everything that’s good, the source of real, true love. That hope unites us, doesn’t it? It focuses us. It settles us. It makes the side issues seem really petty. And it causes us to exalt Christ and lower ourselves until glory. Our hope fixes our attention. Focus on that. What else? There’s one Lord. Who’s Lord? Jesus is Lord. Right. The Greek word for Lord is the word Kyrios, and it literally means to have power and authority over something. The word is used to describe someone who rules. It’s used to describe the owner of a slave. And it’s used to describe the legal guardian of a child. Now, although this word was used of human powers, teachers and masters, for example, and although this word was used as a respectful way to address someone who had authority over you, look, in the spiritual arena, this word Kyrios is reserved for God alone. For only one who is Lord, Master, King, Ruler, and Authority over everything, and that is Jesus Christ our Lord, Jesus alone. And so we now turn to God the Son. We looked at God the Spirit, and we now turn to God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. And note this, that one Lord is in the center of these seven things that unite us together. Why? Because everything centers in and around our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Biblically, the eternal purpose of the Father and the mighty power of the Spirit are directed toward making the Lord Jesus Christ a living reality within the church and within the Christian. Look, the Bible is very clear that Jesus is indeed King of kings and Lord of lords, right? Very clear that He is God, the second person of the Trinity, the ruler and master over everything. Philippians 2.10 At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on the earth and of those under the earth. That’s everyone. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. See, He alone is Lord over all. And one day, everyone will bow and acknowledge that reality. Everyone. In Hebrews 1.1-4, we find that Jesus is the heir of all things. Meaning that everything that exists ultimately comes under His divine control. And look, He’s the creator of all things. He’s God. He holds all things together. He offers Himself up for us. And now He is on His throne. He is indeed Lord over all. In Colossians 2.10, it says that Christ is the head of all principality, rule, and power. In Revelation 1.8, Jesus says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, who is and who was and who is to come. See, He’s in charge, He alone. 2 Corinthians 5.10, we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Jesus is Lord and Jesus is judge. He’s the one that we will all answer to. I can go on and on, but the Bible is clear that Jesus is Lord over everything. He’s not just a good man, right? He’s not just a good teacher. He’s not just a person to look up to, a person in authority. No, no. He is indeed King of kings and Lord of lords, the sovereign ruler over everything, our mighty God who became a man to save undeserving sinners like us. Revelation 17.9, He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Revelation 19.16, He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus. Jesus Christ alone. We don’t have many lords. No, no. We have one Lord. One. And that has serious implications for us. And Luke 6.46. Luke 6.46, Jesus says, Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say? See? See? There he’s telling us the implications of what it means to call Jesus the Lord of your life. And he’s saying that if you call him the Lord of your life, then you’re going to treat him as Lord and you’re going to do what he says because that’s what calling him the Lord of your life means. Not too long ago, there was a huge debate going around in Christian circles about the Lordship of Christ. And it’s still going around today in many churches in our nation. The argument was this, that you could call Jesus your Savior, but not call him Lord. that you could be saved without living for His glory and without loving Him as Lord and Savior. That all you have to do is simply say the words, I believe, and you’ll be saved, and it doesn’t matter how you live out your life. That’s pretty convenient, isn’t it? The idea was that since we’re not saved by works… then it doesn’t really matter what you live like, even as a Christian. I’m saved by grace. Grace, grace, grace, grace, grace. And because God is a God of grace, then whether I live for God or whether I don’t live for God, it doesn’t really matter. It’s all about grace. Sounds good. But it’s not biblical. It’s not biblical, and it’s not the way anyone who truly loves the Lord should live. And while we know that works can’t save you, and please understand this, while we know that we are saved by grace alone, right? Not… By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and not by works so that no one can boast. While we know that, look, we also know that works and obedience and living for Jesus and loving Jesus is vital and essential for any true believer. If you love Him, you will obey Him gladly. If He saved you from wrath, it’s going to have to affect the way that you live your life. It has to. If you’re a child of God, you’ll make forward steps to living like His children are called to live because love for our Lord compels us to act on that love. The saved love Him. And it shows. So, the true church has one Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the true church lives like it. Sadly, many don’t live like it, and clearly they aren’t part of the true body of Christ. No, no one is perfect, but when Jesus is Lord of your life and of your church, then you battle sin. And you pursue loving obedience to Him. And you love what He loves and you hate what He hates more and more. And you can’t ever live in sin so that grace may abound. No, never. You call Him Lord and your life reflects that reality more and more. Not perfectly, no one’s perfect, but more and more. We have one Lord over all. Jesus Christ is Lord over all. And we follow Him alone, head and heart. And that unites us together. We love Christ. We want to honor Christ. We want to obey Christ. Jesus is Lord.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thanks for joining us for today’s exposition from the book of Ephesians on expository truths with Dr. John Kyle. Continue on with us next week at this same time. And to find this sermon in its entirety, as well as other sermons, visit vacavillefaith.org. Faith Community Church seeks to exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with a commitment to glorifying God through the pure, deep, and reaching message of the gospel through faithful exposition. Pastor John is the preaching pastor at Faith Community Church of Vacaville, a seminary professor, and a trainer of preaching pastors overseas. Join Faith Community Church for worship Sundays at 9 and 1045 a.m. located at 192 Bella Vista Road, Suite A in Vacaville. To learn more, visit vacavillefaith.org or call 707-451-2026. That’s vacavillefaith.org.
