Walking in Love

Good morning again to worship.

I'm Jeff Simpson, I'm one of the pastors here.

Let me extend a warm welcome,

especially if you're new and joining us for the first time.

We'd love to meet you after the service.

We'll be towards the front on the steps

and we'd love to get to know you and hear your story.

The past several weeks,

the lectionary has taken us through the book of Ephesians.

It's this letter that St. Paul wrote

to this church in Ephesus.

And this morning, the lectionary brings us

to the first half of Ephesians chapter five.

And since we're in the latter half of this letter,

let's briefly just review what has come before in this letter.

In the first half of the book of Ephesians,

Paul unpacks what the gospel message is

and what happens to those who believe the gospel.

In Jesus, we have been redeemed, we've been forgiven,

we've been adopted as God's children,

we've been filled with the Holy Spirit,

united to Christ, seated at God's right hand,

and given an eternal inheritance.

That's Ephesians chapter one.

That though we were dead in our trespasses and sins,

God rescued us, made us alive in Christ,

saved us by grace through faith, not by works,

and has made us fellow citizens of his kingdom

and members of his household together with a family

from all the nations on earth.

That's Ephesians chapter two.

And then Paul spends chapter three praying that the Ephesians

would have the spiritual power to comprehend all of this,

not just that they would get it on an intellectual level,

but that they would have a deep experience

of the incredible riches of God's love for them.

So Ephesians chapter one through three

basically is about here's what Christ has done for you,

here's what the gospel is,

and here's who you are now, here is your new identity

based on what Christ has done for you.

And then in Ephesians four through six,

the focus is basically given who Christ is

and given what he's done for you,

given your new identity in him,

here is now how we live into that identity.

Here's how we practically live the Christian life.

That's the structure of the book of Ephesians.

And so as we come to the beginning of Ephesians chapter five,

we see that it's the continuation

of what Paul is talking about in chapter four.

It's about how to practically live the Christian life,

how to practically live out our identity in Christ

as adopted sons and daughters.

And so that's what we're gonna look at this morning.

We're gonna look at two images that Paul gives us

for what it means to practically live out the Christian life

that are centered on this theme of walking in love.

Walking in love is one of the main themes

of the Christian life.

And we're gonna look at walking in love

as beloved children and walking in love

as God's holy people.

Walking in love as God's beloved children

and walking in love as God's holy people.

That's what we're gonna look at this morning.

So first of all, let's look at walking in love

as God's beloved children.

In verses one and two, Paul says,

therefore be imitators of God as beloved children

and walk in love as Christ loved us

and gave himself up for us,

a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Throughout the Old Testament,

the image of walking is an image

that meant to refer to your whole life,

every aspect of your life.

In Genesis 17, God tells Abraham,

Abraham, walk before me and be blameless.

In other words, live your whole life,

live every aspect of your life in obedience to me.

And walking is a helpful image

not only because it involves our whole life,

but because it involves purpose.

It involves direction.

It involves a destination and a goal.

So what is the destination?

What is the goal?

What is the direction of the Christian life?

Well, Paul says here, verses one and two,

it's to imitate God.

It's to become like God by walking in love,

to love God and love others

in the same way that Christ loved us

by giving himself up for us and sacrificing himself.

And we actually remind ourselves of this truth

every week in worship,

where we do the summary of the law.

We're to love God with everything that we have

and we're to love our neighbors as ourselves.

There's lots of things that we're supposed to learn and do

in order to grow as a Christian.

But this is the destination.

This is the goal, to become like God

by learning to love like God.

And we're to walk in love as people

who are already beloved.

And the order of this, the sequence of this

is absolutely crucial to understand in scripture,

in the Christian life, the indicatives

always empower the imperatives.

What is true about us in Christ

fuels what we're to do.

What God has done for us

motivates what we're to do for him.

God doesn't love us because we obey.

We obey because we are already loved in Christ.

And if you've never heard the Christian life

talk about this way,

it is absolutely crucial and essential

that you get this.

Because it's completely different

from every other religion or philosophy.

If you feel like this is something

that you've heard a million times,

well, that's good.

Because you need to hear it another million times.

Because this is the center,

it's the core of how we grow as a Christian.

It's critical to understand

that obedience in the Christian life

isn't about becoming something

that we're not yet.

Growing as a Christian

isn't about becoming somebody

that we hope to be in the future.

No, it's actually about becoming more and more

of who we already are in Christ.

Let me say that again.

It's about becoming more and more

of who we already are in Christ by grace.

It's easy, I think,

to think of the Christian life

or obedience as a Christian

as over time depositing money

into our bank account

and seeing our bank account

grow slowly over time.

A little prayer here,

it's a deposit.

Attend church,

that's a deposit.

Serve in kids ministry,

that's a big deposit, right?

It's easy to think about the Christian life

as depositing into our bank account.

But that's the opposite

of what the Christian life is.

No, rather,

obedience as a Christian

is the reverse.

It's about learning

to withdraw funds

from a trust fund

that you've inherited

that has $100 billion.

That's more what obedience

in the Christian life is.

We become,

we learn to live into our identity.

We become more and more

of who we already are in Christ.

We learn to experience

the privileges

and the inheritance that we have

that's already ours.

We learn to experience

those privileges

at a deeper level.

That's what it means

to grow and obey Christ.

Grace empowers obedience.

What God has done for us

motivates what we're to do for him.

And so what this means,

based on verses one and two,

is that much of the Christian life

involves coming back

again and again and again

to our identity in Christ

as beloved sons and daughters.

It means asking ourselves,

do I really believe

that God loves me

as much as he says he does

in his word?

And I think if we're honest,

I think a lot of us would say,

yeah, yeah, yeah.

I know God loves me.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I've heard that a million times.

God loves me.

Great.

But do you?

Really?

Do you really understand

on an experiential level

what a beloved son you are?

Do you really understand

on an experiential level

what a beloved daughter you are,

that he delights in you,

that he feels great affection towards you,

that he likes you,

that as Zephaniah 3 says,

that he rejoices over you

with loud singing,

that if you're a parent,

that the amount of love

and delight you feel for your kids

is just a small shadow

of how God feels towards you.

I think if we're honest,

I think we all struggle to believe

that God really loves us like this

as much as his word says it.

If I'm honest,

this is certainly

one of my greatest struggles

in my Christian life.

I think that many of us

are so loaded down

with shame

and perfectionism

and even self-criticism

and self-hatred.

For many of us,

the love of God

is more of an abstract

theological doctrine

than an experiential reality.

And this is why

if you go back two chapters

to chapter three,

this is why Paul is praying

that they would have

spiritual power

to know the depths

of God's love for them

because experiencing

the love of God

isn't just about

intellectual insight.

It requires

the power of the Spirit.

When is the last time

that you asked God

for a deeper experience

of his love?

That the Holy Spirit

would so fill your heart

with love

that you would know

in your soul

that you belong to him,

that you're secure,

that you're his child,

that you are the object

of his affection,

that he delights in you.

Maybe this is something

that you need to receive

prayer for today.

Maybe after you receive communion,

ask somebody over here

to come and pray this over you.

Whatever area of your heart

fails to understand

God's love for you,

maybe this is something

you need to spend time

praying with somebody

about this week.

It's not just about

intellectual insight.

We actually need the power

of the Spirit to get this.

And don't miss the sequence.

The sequence here

is so important.

It's as beloved children

walk in love.

As Christ loved us

and gave himself up for us,

walk in love.

So that's the first thing

we see in this passage,

that we're to walk in love

as God's beloved children.

But the second image

that Paul gives us here

is that we're to walk in love

as God's holy people.

As God's holy people.

The reason why it's important

to follow this sequence,

this order,

that the indicatives

empower the imperatives,

that grace empowers obedience,

that what is true

informs what we're to do,

is that learning to walk in love

involves confronting

the darkness within.

sin.

It involves confronting

the sin that dwells in us.

It involves what Paul calls

in chapter 4, verse 22,

taking off the old self.

If we're to walk in love

towards our destination

as Christians,

to imitate God,

to be like him,

then there are some things in us

that need to be put to death.

Christians across the ages

have called this

mortifying the flesh

or mortifying the flesh.

It's a helpful term.

The word mortify

means to put to death.

And that's what we have to do

to our sin.

We have to put it to death.

This is what Paul

is addressing

in verses 3 and 4

when he says,

but among you

there must not even be a hint

of sexual immorality

or of any kind of impurity

or of greed

because these are improper

for God's holy people.

Nor should there be obscenity

or foolish talk

or coarse joking

which are out of place

but rather thanksgiving.

And I think there's,

for the average person,

I think this is actually

the kind of thing

that people expect to hear

when they hear about

what it means

to be a Christian.

Basically,

someone sort of wagging

their finger at you

and giving you a list

of things that you can't do.

You gotta be holy.

No sexual immorality.

No greed.

Stop making coarse jokes.

Right?

This is what people

expect to hear

about this is what it means

to be a Christian.

But if you,

if that is how you read

these verses,

number one,

you've clearly not read

the two verses before

and you've also not read

Ephesians chapter 1 through 4.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

Paul isn't wagging his finger

telling people

to be more holy.

No,

he actually says the opposite.

What does he say in verse 3?

These things are improper

for God's holy people.

He's saying,

because of who you are

in Christ,

what?

You are holy.

You are holy

because of what

Christ did for you

and because you,

by the Spirit,

are united

to him.

And that is so crucial.

Because what this means

is that pursuing holiness

and obedience,

confronting our sin,

mortifying the flesh,

taking off the old self

isn't about just avoiding

some checklist

of bad behaviors.

No,

it's about becoming

more and more

of who we already are

in Christ,

of God's holy people.

And doing that means

learning to walk in love.

Putting our sin to death

and pursuing holiness

is about increasing

our capacity

for love.

Your soul

is like a balloon.

Think of your soul

like a balloon.

When you first believe

the gospel,

God fills you

with his Spirit.

He fills you

with his life

like a balloon

fills with air.

And that balloon

always has air in it,

but it can be stretched,

it can grow.

Its capacity for air

can grow.

And that's the Christian life.

We've been filled

with God's love

through his Spirit.

And God never lets us go,

but God wants us

to stretch our hearts.

He wants us

to stretch our souls

to experience

more of his life,

more of his love.

And this, by the way,

is what all the spiritual

disciplines are for.

Whether it's prayer

or reading scripture

or worship

or fasting

or confessing our sins,

what we're doing

is we're opening ourselves

up to the work

of the Spirit.

And we're asking

the Spirit

to stretch

the balloon

balloons of our hearts

to increase

our capacity for love,

to both receive

God's love

and to love others.

And this informs

how we're to think

about this list

of things

that Paul tells us

we should avoid.

If pursuing holiness

is about becoming

more and more

of who we already are

in Christ,

about his beloved people,

his holy people,

if pursuing holiness

is about increasing

our capacity

to love,

then this frames

how we're to think

about what it means

to confront our sin.

This list,

sexual immorality,

impurity,

greed,

foolish talk,

crude joking,

what do all of these things

have in common?

Well, seen in light

of this text,

what they have

all in common

is that they are

ways that we live

more like orphans

than as beloved

sons and daughters.

Instead of looking

to our Father

to meet our needs

and trusting in his love

and his provision,

we seek to meet

our needs elsewhere.

Sin is any time

we seek to meet

a legitimate need

in an illegitimate way.

Sin is any time

we seek to meet

a legitimate,

holy,

God-given need

in an illegitimate way.

And so let's think

about a few

of these examples.

Sexual immorality,

greed,

coarse choking.

All of these

are ways

that we have

an orphan mentality.

First of all,

let's look at sexual morality.

I know that

as soon as we mention this,

as soon as a pastor

mentions this

in a sermon,

you know,

a lot of people

roll their eyes

and just kind of check out.

They're like,

yeah, yeah, yeah,

I've heard all this before.

I don't want to hear it.

And I'm not here

to avoid this topic

because it's in the text,

but I am here

to reframe it for you.

The reason why

the Bible takes

sexual immorality

so seriously

is actually

what comes later

in Ephesians chapter 5,

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

that our bodies

reveal a sacred mystery.

And that mystery

is the marriage

of Christ in the church.

The union of husband

and wife reveals

the heart of the gospel,

the love story

between God and humanity

where we as the church,

as Christ's bride,

are united

to our bridegroom

in covenant relationship.

An eternal life-giving

relationship

of divine love.

Often when I'm doing

premarital counseling

for couples

who are getting married,

I will encourage them

to think about the words

of Jesus

in the Eucharist.

This is my body

which is given for you.

This is my blood

which is shed for you.

And I encourage them

to think about

how these are

the words

of a bridegroom

speaking to his

beloved bride.

These are covenantal

marriage vows.

The Eucharist

is where the bride

communes with the bridegroom

this side of heaven.

It's this preview

of the great marriage

supper of the Lamb

where Christ will unite

all things in heaven

and on earth.

Ephesians 1 verse 10.

Ephesians 1:10

And I realize

if you're here this morning

and you're not a Christian,

you may not buy that story.

But if it's true,

what it means

is that God

has made you

with an infinite longing

for love and intimacy

that goes far beyond sex.

A love and intimacy

that sex can only hint at.

And what it means

is that the fulfillment

of our deepest desires

for love

can only happen

within God's design

and authority

and story

of love for humanity.

And so whether

it's pornography

or sex

outside the covenant

of marriage,

all sexual immorality

is like having

an orphan mentality.

It's trying to meet

a legitimate,

holy,

God-given

desire for love

through an illegitimate way

that falls outside

of God's design

and authority.

And to live

as a beloved child of God,

to live as God's

holy people

is to understand

that when we say no

to sinful sexual desires,

we are saying yes

to our deeper

God-given desires

for love and intimacy.

We're asking the Spirit

to stretch the balloon

of our hearts,

to increase our capacity

to both receive God's love

and to give love

to others.

Second of all,

covetousness or greed.

Greed.

Greed.

What's the legitimate need

underneath the sin of greed?

Well, it's a need

for provision.

It's a need

to have our basic

human needs met

for food and clothing

and shelter and security.

And these are things

that we ask our Father

for in the Lord's Prayer

every week,

for God to provide

our daily bread.

But greed

is when we start

to begin less like

sons and daughters

and more like orphans

by becoming discontent

with what He has provided,

we start to pursue

money and possessions

as ends in themselves,

as objects of love,

and we seek our security

in those things

rather than in God.

And when we love money

and possessions

more than God

and people,

it shrinks our hearts.

Rather than giving

ourselves up for others

as Christ gave Himself

up for us,

we give ourselves up

for our work

and our careers

and our money

and for success.

And those things

become an idol.

Greed,

at the end of the day,

is a failure

to live as a beloved child

and to live

like an orphan.

It's seeking to meet

a legitimate

God-given need

through an illegitimate means.

Finally,

let's look at

the example

of coarse choking.

Now,

to be honest,

in this list,

you read this

and you go,

this one seems

kind of random.

You know?

Okay,

sexual immorality,

greed,

those seem

kind of heavy

and important.

But coarse joking,

why does Paul

even mention this?

Why is this

even in the Bible?

Let's think about it

for a second.

Why does it feel

so good

to make someone else laugh?

Have you ever

thought about that?

Why is making

someone else laugh

often more enjoyable

than laughing ourselves?

It's because

when we do,

we feel validated,

we feel liked,

we feel accepted,

we feel loved.

Humor meets

this legitimate

God-given need

that we have

to feel connected

to other people

and laughter

is a beautiful

God-given part

of that.

God invented humor.

God is the funniest

being in the universe.

Can you imagine

your deepest friendships

and your relationships

without laughter?

I can't.

I love

a well-timed joke

that makes other people laugh.

I love doing that.

But there is a difference

between godly humor

and coarse joking.

The aim of godly humor

is ultimately

about giving up

oneself

for another

in love.

But the aim

of coarse joking

is love of self.

Godly humor

recognizes

there are

God-given boundaries

about what's okay

and not okay

to laugh about.

But coarse joking

doesn't see any boundaries.

It seeks to poke fun

at anything

and everything.

Godly humor

over time

connects people

and brings people

closer together.

But over time

coarse joking

pushes people away.

To want to be liked

and loved

and accepted

is a good

human

God-given desire.

But when we get a laugh

at someone else's expense,

when we joke

about things

that cross

a boundary

that are inappropriate

to joke about,

when we joke

in a way

that makes us

feel good

and makes other people

feel uncomfortable,

it's usually

because we're acting

out of a place

of insecurity.

We're acting

like orphans.

We're seeking

to meet

a legitimate need

for connection

in an illegitimate way.

We're failing

to live

into our identity

as beloved

children of God.

We're not believing

the gospel

that we are

already loved.

We're already

accepted.

We're already

liked by

the one being

who matters most

by God himself.

And so instead

we seek

a kind of

false connection.

The reason

why we say

no to coarse joking

is so we can say

yes

to walking

in love

and pursuing

real

genuine

connection

with other people.

So sexual

immorality

and greed

and coarse joking

these are just

a few

of the many

examples

that Paul

gives in this

passage

of the kind

of sins

that we have

to confront.

If we're

going to walk

in love

if we're

going to embrace

our people

as God's

beloved sons

and daughters

as his holy

people

it's not about

avoiding a checklist

of bad behaviors

it's about

learning

to walk

in love.

It's about

becoming

more and more

of who we

already are

in Christ

by grace.

It's

putting sin

to death

and pursuing

holiness

is about

increasing

our capacity

to both

receive

God's love

and also

to give

God's love

to others.

And we do

this

as people

who are

already

deeply

deeply

deeply

loved

by God.

And so

as we close

our time

together this

morning

I actually

want to

provide

just a few

minutes

of prayer

and reflection

for us

to meditate

on these

things.

So I invite

you

where you're

sitting

just to

close your

eyes

and to

reflect on

some of

these

questions

together

and to

pray about

them

individually

and then

I'll close

this out

in prayer.

I want to

invite you

to think

about a few

things.

And the

first is

this.

In what

area of

your life

do you

have the

most

trouble

believing

that God

loves you

as his

beloved

child?

Spend a few

moments thinking

about that.

In what

area of your

life,

what place

of your

heart

do you

have the

most

trouble

believing

that God

loves you

as his

beloved

child?

And as

you think

about that,

I invite

you to

ask him,

ask the

Lord,

to give

you a

deeper

experience

of his

love

through the

power of

the Holy

Spirit.

Spend a few

minutes asking

him,

for that.

Secondly,

where do you

live more

like an

orphan than

as a

beloved

child of

God?

Where are

you tempted

to do

that?

Where are

you tempted

to meet

a legitimate

need?

In an

illegitimate

way?

Where are

you living

more like

an orphan

than a

beloved

child of

God?

Spend a

minute or

two

confessing

that to

the

Lord.

What?

And finally, where in your life is God calling you

to pursue greater holiness and greater obedience?

To become more and more of who you already are in Christ?

Where is God calling you to pursue greater holiness and greater obedience?

To become more and more of who you already are in Christ?

Spend a few moments reflecting on that.

Father, thank you that you love us in Christ as your deeply loved children, as it says here in Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

We ask that by the power of your spirit, you would give us a deeper experience of that love, especially in places in our lives where there's shame, where there might be perfectionism or self-criticism or maybe even some self-hatred.

Thank you that through Christ you've made us your holy people.

Help us to become more and more of who we already are by grace.

Help us to see where we act more like orphans than as beloved children.

And help us to put sin to death in us so that we can walk in love as you have loved us and gave yourself up for us.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.