Ephesians 4:30-32 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
 
ARE you grieved when someone you love refuses to do what’s right? Do you grieve in particular over the ungodly ways a loved one speaks to you and others?
    This is what Paul means as he says “do not grieve the Holy Spirit”. He has written of the ways we should put aside our anger, serve others and speak well toward one another. Now he continues to teach the one body to warn us. Be alert and know the Spirit grieves when we give ourselves up to sin with no desire to live into God’s truths.
    Yes, we will sin in the ways Paul lists here and certainly in other ways. That is our nature. But Paul’s point is that we must strive to live into the one faith we proclaim in our one baptism. We cannot say we worship God and then deliberately live as an unbeliever!  
    Listen to the Holy Word here. Be purposeful to please the Holy Spirit with your efforts to put away all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor (demanding attitude), slander and malice from your life.  Live in the Spirit’s power. Be “kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
    Your desire to please God and to live in his ways will be a joy to the Father, Son and Spirit. Obeying God’s teachings, you will come into a deeper relationship with the Triune God. Loving God is obeying his commands. In such love, you are rooted and established in his true love for you. What joy it is to strive toward God. What peace, strength, faith, hope and love you will have for your God and for all around you.
 
Prayer: Holy God, I pray I do not grieve you. When I do, let me know. Give me a loving heart for you that longs to obey your teachings, so I know your joy. In the Spirit’s power, amen.

Ephesians 4:26-29 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
 
PAUL continues to define how we live under one Lord as we “put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:24)
    The first directive, “Be angry.” can confuse us. The Bible often speaks against anger and its consequences. It allows only God’s just anger over sin as proper anger. But Paul doesn’t direct us to be angry, but in “be angry” he is teaching us how to respond to this sin common for all. 
    We are to let go of it, turn it over to Jesus. If we have anger against someone, we are to consider why we feel that way. No one makes you angry. Your anger is your own response to things you don’t like. When someone acts in a way to that displeases you, go to that person and speak in love with them. Strive to be patient and kind. Pray for peace in your heart. You will find that a careful, thoughtful and humble response to all circumstances will keep your mind at peace. Remember the ways you might frustrate others. Live in grace, and strive to love all in all ways.
    Paul goes on to say that if one is a thief he should begin serving others in need. If one talks in harmful ways, he should speak to build up and strengthen. Know there is no such thing as “constructive criticism”. We have made such a term an excuse to intervene, judge and tear down. The only constructive words are words of grace, removing any hint of self while focusing on others.  Jesus taught us this kind of language will have great benefit: Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
 
Prayer: Lord God, clothe me in Jesus’ meekness. In his name I pray, amen.

Ephesians 4:20-25 But that is not the way you learned Christ! – 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
 
“IF you’ve heard (and I’m assuming you have) then change and tell others.” That’s what Paul Is effectively teaching here. In his love for the church in Ephesus, he is admonishing them to live into the new lives Jesus has given to them. In response to Jesus, each one in the one body of the church is to “speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.”
    I use “admonishing” for a specific purpose. When you read the word, did you think it too harsh? Were you perhaps thinking Paul’s words as loving and encouraging instructions to the one body in Christ?
    I hope you do; I believe they are loving words to encourage people in their one faith. I do not think he is scolding them. But I use the word “admonishing” to draw attention to the reason for Paul’s teaching. To admonish can mean “to rebuke or scold”. But in a different light, “admonishing” can mean “warning” or “cautioning”. Paul writes, for example, in 1 Corinthians 4:14 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. He’s warning a church in trouble to live true to Jesus. Then see his words in Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. The church is to encourage and caution one another with all aspects of God’s creation. Those saved in Jesus’ blood are to use Jesus’ living gifts of teaching, preaching and evangelism. Christ’s followers are to read, speak and sing the Psalms, sing hymns and sing spiritual songs. The one church gathered in one faith must speak encouragement to know and to live in the one true Lord.
    In love, I admonish you to be one body with one faith under one hope in one God and Father.
 
Prayer: Lord, admonish us to your truth that we will live fully into your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Ephesians 4:17-19 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
 
PAUL has been writing to the Gentiles to encourage them to be one with Jesus in the once church. Now he seems to have hard words against Gentiles. Has he had a sudden change of heart?
    The “Gentiles” here are people who are still outside Jesus’ one church. As Paul has used “Gentiles” throughout his life to refer to people who did not believe in Yahweh, the one God of the Jews, he now uses “Gentiles” in reference to people who do not believe in the one God, one Lord Jesus and one Holy Spirit. With this new reference to Gentiles, he is helping the former Gentiles see how God has changed them.
    He describes the changes in verses 19-20. See the “Gentile lifestyle” there. These are traits of people who live without one faith in one God, pursuing their desires. When we ask, “What’s wrong with the world. Why is there so much trouble?” a simple and eternal answer is, “People are not one with God.”
    Some will say this is a trite answer. The questions of world conflict need deeper and more thoughtful responses. But in loving truth, what else is there? Who else is there? Hear Peter’s words in Acts 4:10-12 “Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead – by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
    Peter affirmed Jesus’ healing power to save – to save physically and to save spiritually. Jesus came to save the world from the evils Paul described and saw in the world around him. As one church, with one faith in one Lord, we must live under the one name – the Son of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The world needs the Holy God to save us. It is as simple, as wide, high, long and deep as that.
 
Prayer: Father, we pray for the “Gentiles”, those in the world who deny you and live in evil ways. Come, Spirit, and heal their misery. Give them faith in Jesus. In his name, amen.

Ephesians 4:15-16 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
 
 IT is often difficult to speak “the truth in love”, isn’t it? If we have the courage to tell someone the truth of their sin, we are often accused of being judgmental, unloving and “stuffing the Bible down my throat”. Why suffer such abuse? Let them live in their sin!
    Yes, these rejections often force us to be quiet, to not even consider speaking the truth in love.  We as individuals and even as the body of the church are unwilling to teach, preach or evangelize the truth because we want to be known as the church that “loves everyone”. We can’t say, “You are a sinner.” in love, can we?
    Actually, we can. And we must. Remember, Paul said, “speaking the truth in love.” He didn’t say, “Avoid or be quiet about the truth in love.” After all, is it unloving to tell a child, “Don’t touch. It’s hot.” “Look both ways before crossing the street.” “Wash your hands before you eat.” “Brush your teeth.” “Say ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you.’”
    Of course, it’s not unloving to instruct children in physical safety, manners and hygiene. These are loving truths that will help children mature into healthy adults if they follow your teaching. You teach them because you love them.
    Do you love someone enough to tell them of their sin and Jesus’ salvation? Do you love them enough to share some Bible verses and to pray with them? Do you love them enough to listen to their heart, then tell them of Jesus’ heart?
     As one body, Jesus’ church, we are to love the truth. We are to love Jesus so much we eagerly tell his truths. We are to love others so much we point them to salvation.
    Speak these words from your heart. Be grateful someone has told you. Be loving in your approach to others. In Jesus’ love we can be loving to those who need his instruction.
 
Prayer: Lord, I love you. I pray I love others enough to tell them, “Jesus saves.” Amen.

Ephesians 4:11-14 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
 
IT is important to grow up, isn’t it? I think we adults have alll been told at some point to, “Grow up!” Perhaps our parents, teachers or older siblings were tired of our childish ways. They wanted us to learn more about being an adult, so we could be more mature in our relationships with them. As parents, too, we are eager for the day our children will grow up into lessons we teach them, so all of our family will live more in unity and peace, likeminded in our household.
    That is the picture Paul gives to us here. As he has been writing of Jesus’ gifts coming into the church, he focuses now on the gifts designed to teach God’s Word to the church. Apostles, pastors, evangelists, prophets and teachers are men and women focused on revealing the Father’s truth to his children. These gifts of revelation are the means of building Jesus’ church into one body with one faith and one hope.
    What causes division in a family? Of course, it is family members refusing to grow up into unity with others. Prideful selfishness, unwilling to say, “I will cooperate; I will love; I will be humble before others.” creates continual strife in our families, cities, churches and nations.
    There is one truth for the church to know. He is Jesus. We must be willing to grow up into Jesus, to know his commands, his teachings, his sacrifice and his grace, so we will stand as one body, testifying to the world of the one gospel truth.
 
Prayer: Lord God, mature me more and more into your truth. Teach me to listen carefully to your teachers, apostles, preachers and evangelists that I will grow up into your faith. In the Spirit’s power I pray, amen. 
 

Ephesians 4:8-10 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
 
DO you live an “ascend life”? In verse 8 Paul moves from his teaching on Ephesians 4:7 regarding Jesus’ distribution of gifts. Paul emphasizes our gifts from Jesus are the result of Jesus’ victory over evil. To help the Jews understand this, he quotes from the triumphal language of Psalms 68:18 You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.
     This psalm celebrated the conquering King David distributing the gifts of his conquests to his soldiers. In a like manner, following our conquering King Jesus, we receive his gifts that enrich our lives as the living church. Paul points to Jesus descending from Heaven to earth and then descending into the grave. From there, Jesus ascended out of the grave, from the earth and into Heaven’s greatest heights.
     Paul’s heart has ascended to the King with worship, obedience, love and joy. He calls the church to receive and enjoy the King’s power. In his triumph, our Lord reigns over the grave and Satan’s temptations. This Scripture is a beautiful, compelling fulfillment of Psalm24, which the ESV labels “The King of Glory”
 
Psalms 24
1 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. 7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory!
 
Oh, yes. Are you saved in Jesus’ blood? Do you worship the ascended King? Then let the King of glory come into your heart, mind and soul. You are no ordinary person. Lift up your life into the majesty of King Jesus.
 
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the King of glory. Rule my life. Amen. 
 

Ephesians 4:7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
 
IF you were to measure the impact of Christ’s gift on your life, what would be the size of your measure – a teaspoon, a coffee cup, a large swimming pool, an ocean, or the limitless universe? I believe all of us who pause to consider our sin and our salvation, would measure it as the ever-expanding universe, increasingly filled with God’s eternal blessings. Remember how Paul measured it in Ephesians 3:14-19. Wide, long, high and deep is the Father’s love! Then remember how Paul wrote of doing good works in Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Saved by grace, are you eager to graciously extend your life back to God?
    As God’s overflowing measure of love has saved us, what is the “Good Works Life” he has prepared for you? Paul directs you to respond to your limitless salvation with the life-changing gifts our Lord has granted us. Paul wrote of this in depth in 1 Corinthians 12:1-12, and he lists in other epistles the various Spiritual gifts we are given to use for the body of Christ.
    There are many teachings in the church about using your gifts. As God has formed a wondrous, complex and ever-growing universe, his church is to model this growth. It is said if the universe were not expanding at exactly the rate it is, it would stop and collapse on itself. The church is the same. Churches that stop growing in ministry, stagnate and collapse.
    That’s why God created many people to come to his church. He has gifted us to do our part to fulfill the church’s expansive mission to go and make disciples until Jesus comes again. In Christ, know you have one or more gifts. In Christ, know they are given to you to expand his church.
    Surely this is not an easy task. Using gifts for Jesus’ church will often put you outside your comfort zone. You will fail sometimes and make mistakes. But if God is saying, “Go.” Who are you to say, “No. I’m not ready. I’m not good enough. I’m not comfortable.” Moses tried that. Isaiah tried that. Jeremiah triad that. Mary was unsure. Peter felt that way. Paul even worked to destroy Jesus’ church. But the Holy Spirit transformed and empowered each person. God miraculously called each person into his holy presence to do a holy work for him. How could they refuse the sovereign God? How can you?
 
Prayer: Point to me the way you want me to serve your church, Lord. I am not ready. But I am willing. In the Spirit’s power, move me to your holy will. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
 
 

Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
 
PAUL has written in Ephesians 2, and we have examined how God has acted that people from all nations are made one people with God. Now, Paul affirms this “One with God” relationship again. Do you see the “Eight Ones” in these verses? There is 1) one body 2) one Spirit 3) one hope 4) one Lord 5) one faith 6) one baptism 7) one God and 8) one Father. (Some say seven “ones” combining God and Father, but you’ll see why I number them separately.) Know again how God had identified himself as the God of Promise first to Israel. “Say this to the people, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:15) What began with the Jews now extends to all people.
    Perhaps we can see God’s plan for this “one transformation” as we put the “Eight Ones” in a sequential order. We’ll begin with “one God.” After all, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Then we’ll go to “one Father”. God first demonstrated his fatherhood to Adam and Eve as he formed them and then joined them to himself and each other in Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Lovingly, the Father embraced his created children.
    From man’s beginning we know sin came into the world. So we now move to the “one Spirit”. In power, the Holy Spirit moved throughout the Bible to draw God’s chosen people to himself. The one Spirit empowered Abraham to faith, released the Jews from Egypt, informed the prophets, conceived Jesus in Mary’s womb, baptized the Son to ministry, raised Jesus to life and breathed new life into our dead souls as we confess Jesus.
    Fourth is the “one Lord”, Jesus, whose faithful work in the Father’s will made possible the salvation of our souls in the one God, who “predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.” (Ephesians 1:5) That transformation is the birthing of “one faith” in our one Lord Jesus. Publicly then, in our one faith, we receive the “one baptism” as we declare, “We are God’s own!” Believing in and baptized in Jesus’ blood, we become part of the “one body” Jesus’ church. We live, then, with a great, eternal “one hope”, trusting our God for all aspects of our life now and forever.
    This is one magnificent plan, isn’t it? I’m reminded of the hymn “The Church’s One Foundation”. It speaks of the church being built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, by the water (of baptism) and the Word - of faith and hope.
Verse 2 says:
“Elect from every nation,
yet one o'er all the earth;
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.”
 
Verse 5:
“Yet she on earth hath union
with God the Three in One,
and mystic sweet communion
with those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
like them, the meek and lowly,
on high may dwell with thee.”
 
     In his grace has come the Three in One God to draw his own into a sweet one-communion with him. What is our response? Are you desiring to be one with God? Are you living one with his church?  Are you willing to support your Lord’s mission to minister the one gospel? Are you eager to support your church with prayer, helps, tithes, service, gifts and wisdom, so others will be joined forever with God?
 
Prayer: I pray, God, my heart, mind and soul will be one with you. In Jesus’ name, amen.              
 

Ephesians 4:1-3 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
 
PAUL has affirmed God’s salvation to all, celebrating the church’s role in ministering to all people that gracious truth. Now he begins the second part of Ephesians with the intention to teach us how to live as Jesus’ true church. He begins with some walking instructions.
    The phrase “How’s your walk?” seems to pop up in church, doesn’t it? I believe it’s often asked with a caring heart. Christians – Jesus’ church – are called to care for one another. With a loving attitude it is appropriate to ask the question. As one replies with an honest, humble answer, the conversation can be of help to encourage each of us to walk more closely with our Lord.
    What does that walk look like? Paul tells us. As we have been saved by God’s grace through Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, we should walk to honor God’s costly gift and glorious power. We do so when we walk with a humble, gentle, patient and understanding heart. We walk faithfully trusting God as we live under the Spirit’s power and peace.
    As Paul experienced many churches and its members, he must have seen people walking in opposition to his teaching here. We see similar exhortations in 1 Corinthians 13, the famous “love chapter”. And Paul encourages the church to walk in these unifying traits in Colossians and Galatians. 
    How much strife would be absent in Jesus’ church if his people had walked in this way? I am consistently amazed at the number of churches that have experienced serious division because its people walked in their own way. They let go of Jesus’ bonds of peace. They dismissed his love as meaningless. They traded humility for self-power and church control.
    One way to apply Paul’s words is to say, “Walk as Jesus walked. Walk with your Lord. Walk in your Lord’s teaching. Walk in your Lord’s death. Walk in your Lord’s resurrection. Walk with faith. Take Jesus’ hand. He will lead you on the paths of righteous for his name’s aske.”    Friends, this works in your home and your job, your volunteer organizations and your community groups. Walk in Jesus’ power, and you will enjoy a walk of peace.
 
Prayer: Lord, teach me how to walk more closely with you. In Jesus, I pray. Amen.