Ephesians: Sit-Walk-Stand

Ephesians: Sit-Walk-Stand

Ephesians 1:1-6

Pastor Steve Johnson

August 7th, 2016

Of all of Paul’s letters to various churches and people, this particular six-chapter letter is one of the most significant of all. One scholar suggests that, “Pound for pound, Ephesians may well be the most influential document in history.” (Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians 17). As we unpack this short but powerful letter, it is my hope that you will not only join us on the journey here each week, but that you will personally examine your own spiritually journey and choose to grow in the grace and knowledge of Him.

This letter was written by the Apostle Paul around 62ad toward the end of his Roman imprisonment, just 8 years before the destruction of Jerusalem. He mentions his imprisonment three different times (3:1; 4:1; 6:20).Though there are some who debate whether Paul was the actual author, the opening greeting is a fairly typical Pauline introduction:

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will:

To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus.

2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The letter to the Ephesians we have before us wasactually meant to be shared between many different churches throughout Asia Minor and as a result it does not address specifics that would not be pertinent to another church. It is considered a “circular letter” and has a timeless quality to it that transcends culture.

• Ephesus was a port city and a hub for a lot of commerce.
• The city was known for a variety of pagan religions—primarily the worship of the Roman cult goddess Diana/Artemis.
• But, the main form of pagan worship was Emperor worship.
• Caesar Augustus was spoken of as the “Savior.”
• His birth was hailed as the beginning of good tidings to the world.

The problem for Christians is that they already had a Savior and weren’t about to bow their knee to any other regardless of what it cost them.So, on the outside, the church was being pressured through forced Emperor and pagan worship. However, on the inside, the Church was dealing with friction from the Jewish Christians toward the Gentile believers over not following Jewish traditions and customs. And this gives us the basis for the letter that Paul dispatches to the churches in the area. He is addressing the need for the believers to come together in unity realizing that they are all one in Christ.

Back in 1952, a Chinese Christian pastor was falsely accused and then imprisoned for his faith. His name was Nee To-Sheng, but known to most as Watchman Nee. He spent the last 20 years of his life in prison until his death in 1972. During that time he continued writing. In 1957, Nee’s small devotional on the book of Ephesians was published. He called it: Sit, Walk, Stand.

In our study of Paul’s letter, we will learn to do what Nee described:

• SIT with Christ, because he has done all the work and allows us to reap the blessings of that completed work (2:6)
• WALK as a Christian in the world to model Christ with conduct that is in keeping with our high calling (4:1)
• STAND up to Satan our adversary because he has been defeated at the cross (6:11)

1. Sit with Christ

The idea of sitting with Christ is a result of the work that he himself has accomplished. Our Christian life does not start with walking anymore than it does for a newborn baby. We begin by sitting, not walking.The writer of Hebrews tells us in the beginning verses of chapter one, verse 3: After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.In other words…his work was completed.A priest never sat down unless his work was finished.

Ephesians 1:3

Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.You and I didn’t merit it, but Jesus blessed us with incredible blessings:

• 1:7 We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,
• 1:8 He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
• 1:11 We have also received an inheritance in Him,
• 2:4-6 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, 5made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens,
• 2:13 you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah.

God did all that, you didn’t, so just sit down and receive it. It’s all gift and your part is to receive it. You didn’t earn it; you can’t be good enough or do enough good. It’s all God, so relax in him and his finished work.As a result, Paul’s emphasis in this letter is one of unity. None of us has absolutely anything to boast about. Everything you have is a gift from God, so sit down. It isn’t about you or me—it’s about Him.

• This letter is the only place you will find the word “unity”used in the NT (4:3,13).
• The term, “one” expresses unity and is used 14 times.
• The phrase, “in Christ” or, “in Whom” or,“in the Lord” occurs 38 different times.
• And because the theme and passion of Paul is that the churches be united together in Christ as one body (1:22; 4:15; 5:23), it is no wonder that another theme that is highlighted is the word “love.” Both in the noun and verb form, it is used over 20 times in six chapters.

This is why in the first three chapters Paul establishes the importance of both Jew and Gentile believers living together in complete unity, harmony and love because everyone is on the same level ground at the foot of the cross.

After establishing our position in Christ throughout the first three chapters, Paul now lays out the practical outworking of that position. It is Watchman Nee’s idea of walking. There is a corresponding orthopraxy or right action to our living in harmony together.

2. Walk as a Christian

Unity should look different than disunity—seems like a no-brainer, right? Look around our world; it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that people don’t get along—even over the most insignificant things. But as Christians if we love each other; if we are all living out what the body of Christ actually looks like; if we are caring for one another as Christ cared for us—then that should resemble the church Jesus always intended.Unfortunately, some have stopped in the sitting stage and never moved on. We start there, but that is not the end, it is just the beginning. We rest in him and what he has done, but then comes our corresponding action of putting that into practice.

Nee says:

Sitting describes our position with Christ in the heavenlies.

Walking is the practical outworking of that heavenly position here on earth.

• 4:1-2Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love,
• 4:17Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thoughts.
• 5:1-2Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. 2And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us,
• 5:8-9 Walk as children of light— 9for the fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth

Paul uses the word “walk” 8 times and in every occasion he is providing an action that is to be carried out. To walk is to move from one place to another. To walk, you cannot remain seated; to walk isn’t staying in the same place; to walk takes effort; it is always about a destination.

Positionally we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies and are never to get up from that. Practically, we need to put feet on our faith and put our resting in him in action and walk the walk of the redeemed: that is a joy-filled journey.

After understanding our position in Christ, as a result of what he has accomplished for us and living that out in real time with our brothers and sisters in front of the world, Nee than says for us to stand up against our adversary.

3. Stand up Against your Adversary

The enemy is not your mother in law; not your boss; not whatever political party is opposite to yours; and believe it or not, it’s not actually ISIS.We have one adversary, as did Jesus. He came to save the people of the world, but he came to defeat his enemy—Satan

6:10-12

10Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.

11Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tacticsof the Devil.12For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.

Jesus has defeated Satan—yet we still have this roaring lion hanging around seeking people to devour.(1 Peter 5:8)

In 1529, Martin Luther wrote both the music and the lyrics to: A Mighty Fortress is Our God. In the first verse, Luther reminds us that Satan is still on the loose and is not going quietly:

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;

Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:

For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;

His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,

On earth is not his equal.

Don’t kid yourselves; you and I are no match for Satan. On earth is not his equal. By ourselves, we cannot stand against him. Listen to me now, because here is the key to opposing the enemy of your soul…if you are not seated with Christ and walking in the Spirit, you will not be able to stand against your adversary. Our adversary is not to be toyed with; he is to be vanquished.The order is to Sit, Walk and then Stand

The third verse of the Hymn says:

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,

One little word shall fell him.

Everyday he is after you; every moment his plan is to take you out; every second you have a target on your back. But, as Luther stated…we tremble not for him, because his doom is sure…one little word shall fell him.

James gives us the following formula for putting Satan and his host to flight. It’s simple, but cannot be overemphasized.

James 4:7

“Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.”

James has simplified what Paul has detailed out in our process of sitting or resting in him as well as living without hypocrisy his Lordship in every area of our lives. When that is your life, then your resisting the evil one will put him to flight.

Then Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:16

In every situation take the shield of faith,and with it you will be able to extinguishall the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Notice he says, “in every situation.” What are we to do in every situation? Take your faith with you wherever you go—don’t leave home without it. You’re going to need it to extinguish; to put out; to douse; to render ineffective; and, to smother all of the flaming arrows meant to consume you.Because that’s what fire does!

Ephesians 6:13This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.

The idea of “standing” is not marching orders to subdue and conquer. To “stand,”speaks about “holding your ground” and not backing down. Paul’s idea of standing against the adversary implies that the ground disputed by the enemy is really God’s and therefore ours.

In weeks to come, we will look at the weapons of our warfare and notice that they are primarily defensive weapons. Even the sword is used as a defensive weapon.

Nee does a good job explaining why this is so significant (42). The difference in our defensive battle versus an offensive one is that in a defensive one, we are fighting to keep the ground we have, whereas in an offensive battle we are striving to get it.

The reason we are in a defensive battle is because Christ has already won the victory—he was already on the offense and won, so the victory is ours as well. He beat Satan straight up—The church’s job is to keep him defeated!

We are battling to keep,or take back,the ground that the Lord has already won. And what might appear to become an offensive battle at times is really a defensive one, because Christ has already won and we are defending the ground he has already captured and redeemed.We war against the principalities and powers to maintain the Kingdom of God’s ownership. So stand and don’t back down!

Ever seen the movie War Room? Why do you think it was called war room?

Miss Clara would go into her closet and do battle in order to re-claim what the Lord had already won. She would claim victory where defeat appeared to be taking ground.

Sit—Walk—Stand is an overview of what is ahead of us in this study of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

There is another important matter I need to comment on, in the way of introduction to this letter. It was because of the tension that existed between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile believers that brought Paul to pen the letter he did. The setting in Asia Minor for the developing church included a lot of hostility and opposition as already discussed. Paul knew that there was little they could do to change that and that is why he was concerned about what they could change—how they loved and how they lived.

The church began Jewish. On the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit lit up the believers present—they were Jewish believers. When the Spirit added to the church, they were Jewish for the most part.Many saw the “saving” of Cornelius, the Roman centurion in Acts 10, as an exception rather than a new rule. Gentiles were still considered heathen and pagan: if they wanted into Jesus’ new kingdom, fine, but they were going to have to become Jewish in the process.

The men would have to become circumcised, and everyone would have to observe the Jewish feasts, holidays, dietary codes and sacrificial system—and of course believe in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah!

The purpose of this short, but powerful, circular letter to the believers throughout Asia Minor was to let them know that God had a plan that was birthed before the world began to have a people that would love and worship him and be his earthly representatives. It was bigger than Israel; it was more than being Jewish…it was global!But some of Paul’s words have caused quite a stir. And, though they were intended to create peace, they have actually caused a great deal of controversy. They have been the cause of many heated discussions and a lot of disharmony between believers. But Paul did not include the words I’m going to share with you now to discount his message of unity, he included it to clear it up.

The issue I am speaking about is that of predestination and election.

After telling us that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in verse 3, he says…

4For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love

5He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will,

6to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved.

Then down in verse 11 he adds…

11We have also received an inheritance in Him, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will,

Now at face value, one can draw the incorrect conclusion that Paul is talking about how God pre-selected certain individuals to be included in God’s grace and blessings—while others wereobviously excluded.The problem with interpretation here is when you and I look at the words, “us” in verses 4, 5 and 6 and “we” in verse 11, we naturally assume Paul is referring to individuals like you and me, or to those individuals present in the church at Ephesus. This is certainly a very traditional and Calvinistic approach. But I believe it to be extraordinarily incorrect.

In light of the disharmony that existed between the Jewish and Gentile believers, the “us” and “we” that Paul is referring to is not referring to individuals but rather to the two groups present: Jewish and Gentile. If you weren’t Jewish you were automatically Gentile: two groups.

Theologically, predestined is the idea that God has pre-determined something ahead of time. And, what he predetermined was to have a church from all nations that looked like him, not specifically the individuals that make up that church.When Paul says in the first part of verse 4, “For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world,”he is speaking about what is called “election.”