This is a sermon on Ephesians 4:1–16 preached on 10.16.22 at Redeemer Church

“I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord” — that is the way Paul opens our passage. Why would he start that way?

His letter began by describing Jesus’s cosmic work of redemption (chapter 1), and it continued into chapter 2 with two metaphors of Jesus’s work in and for the church: God in Christ brought us from death to life, a creation metaphor, and he is building us into a new temple, which is imagery signifying that the church is a physical form of God’s presence on earth, kind of like the temple was at another point in history.

In chapter 3, Paul turns to explaining his own role in this new creation, this new temple, the church, and do you know how he introduces himself in chapter 3? “A prisoner of Christ Jesus” — He says it to start chapter 3 and he says it to start chapter 4 where we are this morning. Why? What does that add, that description of himself as a prisoner?

Wouldn’t you like to know what Paul, sitting in jail, would urge the church to do? Wouldn’t you like to have the chance to ask Paul some questions in this situation in particular?

We have all experienced hard times and so can you remember how sobering hard times can be? You don’t tend to talk about the same things during hard times as you do when everything is normal. I think that what’s on Paul’s mind here in prison is more narrowly focused than what was on his mind during those first three leisurely years he spent in Syria after his conversion. When the prospect of death is at the door and he’s undistracted by comforts and luxury, what would Paul say is the most important things for the church to hear?

When the Spirit in scripture repeatedly reminds us that Paul says these things as a prisoner, there is an added gravity to the exhortation.

Paul urges fruit (vv. 1–2a)

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 …

It turns out that what Paul wants for the church is exactly what we want for ourselves. He urges them to walk worthy of their calling — who doesn’t want that for their life? Is there anyone here who wants to walk unworthily? When we are alone and we have a moment of quiet, isn’t this the echo of our soul, longing to be more whole?

He also urges them to carry themselves, to “walk,” with all humility and gentleness and patience. Perhaps if you were to make a list of how you would like to see yourself grow this group of virtues would be farther down the list. Even still, when we see true humility and gentleness and patience, we admire it. I think particularly of Leslie’s grandfather. I have to tell him this — that his life of service and humility and faithfulness has impacted me deeply.

These things are part what is on Paul’s mind as he writes from prison, but look at the next part of the command.

Putting up with one another (vv. 2b–3)

… bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Paul urges the church to put up with one another and to be eager to maintain unity. He urges them to be eager both in affection and in action to put up with one another.

Did you expect to hear that from the apostle writing from jail? What do you think about that this morning?

The Holy Spirit says to you through scripture to put up with one another.

Perhaps bear with one another has a more loving, tender tone, but you know this isn’t always tender business. There is some grit involved in bearing with one another.

But again, I ask you, isn’t this what you want? Don’t you want people you are in relationships with, the deepest relationships and the most casual ones, don’t you want them to put up with you and bear with you? You know you have character flaws, and sometimes we are so afraid of letting people know what we actually think and feel and do because we fear that they will not do exactly this thing. We are afraid they won’t put up with us and they’ll leave or push us away.

Families require it

Colossians is very similar to Ephesians, and in Colossians there are words very similar to these verses. These parallel words in Colossians 3:12–13 are the words Leslie and I had read and preached at our wedding:

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Sounds like a great wedding passage, does it not? There is no such thing as a close relationship that doesn’t need bearing with one another in order to maintain peace. It isn’t bearing with for the sake of bearing with. Peace — that is the goal. And what the Spirit is saying through Paul is that bearing with one another is necessary to get to the goal. A fruit of the Spirit is peace, and the Spirit will work this in our families and in our church, but it takes time.

I was struck just this week with a little seven year old girl’s prayer request to this effect. I asked Noelle how I could pray for her, and she said to me, and I quote because I typed it as she said it, “That our family is happy and works together well.” You see, we had a particularly tumultuous week of bearing with one another, and that sweet seven year old was perceptive enough to recognize the need for peace. I might be standing in front of you preaching a sermon this morning, but there is no family that doesn’t need to hear the Holy Spirit say, “I want to help you bear with one another and work peace in your relationships.”

Paul isn’t being negative or pessimistic here; he’s being realistic. I think sometimes we become weary in the bearing with, but in the new cosmic reality God is bringing about, among this new creation temple of God called the church, made up of families like mine and yours, we do not throw in the towel on one another. We must bear with one another, but how?

If we think about faithfulness and stability as ability to hold an anchor, then hooking our anchors primarily into one another is not going to be enough. God himself is the firm foundation, and this is where the creed comes in. This is why we recite the creed, to reanchor our souls to a firm foundation.

Foundation of unity (vv. 4–14)

This is why the confession of our faith is so important to our liturgy and for our lives. The Holy Spirit here in Ephesians 4 goes directly from urging the church to unity and peace and bearing with one another straight into what sounds very much like a confession of faith.

• Just as scripture says in Ephesians 4:4, “There is one body,” we say, “We believe in the holy, catholic, and apostolic church.”
• Just as scripture says, “There is one Spirit,” we say, “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life …”
• Just as scripture says, “There is one Lord, “ we say in the Nicene Creed, “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God …”
• Just as Paul says, “He ascended” and “He descended” in verses 8–9, we also say, “For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,” and later, “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.”
• Just as Ephesians 4:5 says, “There is one baptism,” we say, “We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.”
• The Holy Spirit says in verse 6, “There is one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all,” and we say in response, “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is visible and invisible.”
• Paul writes, “There is one faith,” and we in response say the Creed.
  

Purpose of a creed

The word creed comes from the Latin word credo, which means I believe, and there are three creeds that our church considers of utmost importance: the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. These are ancient confessions of faith that derive from the oldest, most concise statements of what Christians have always believed about God. We have at least four touchpoints with these Creeds: (1) baptism, (2) the Catechism before confirmation, (3) the Daily Office, and (4) Sunday morning worship.

The purpose of a creed is not to add anything to scripture. Rather, I want you to see this morning that the creed is scripture through and through. By holding up the creeds as foundational, we are not saying that scripture isn’t enough or that scripture is unclear.

We are affirming that scripture is vast and manifold; it’s a whole Spirit-inspired-world of moral formation and communion with the mind of God, and by saying the creed we are affirming with the Church throughout the centuries the most concise statements of who God is, similar to Paul here in Ephesians 4.

God himself is the topic of the Creed, and he is the unique foundation upon which our families and our church and our friendships rest.

Our faith’s beauty & strength

Perhaps you look at Paul’s words, and you think, “Why, Paul? Of all the things you could say, why would you want to sound like a creed? You seriously think this has anything to do with holding my relationships together?” Maybe you view the recitation of the creed on Sunday as a box to check, and you think it’s kind of boring. That’s OK, there is space for you here, too.

I would encourage you, however, to pray through the creed. Read it slowly and pray through it because there is good news here.

• You see, “We believe in one God” is a defiant statement that we will look up, above the sun, despite how we feel at the end of a work day or on any given Sunday morning.
• When we speak of God as “the Father, almighty” we declare that God is for us and he can help.
• “Maker of heaven and earth” means this world is not an accident, and it isn’t out of control.
  

Aren’t these things we need to reanchor ourselves in on Sunday and through the week?

• “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ” recognizes that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah, and because that Messiah is our Lord, too, we realign ourselves to the reality that the story of scripture is our story. Its hopes and dreams, its picture of the past, present, and future is our past, present, and future.
• Because Jesus is our Lord, we do not live as though we are our own.
• When we declare together that Jesus is the “only-begotten Son” it reminds us how unique Jesus is and that Jesus is the only way into the life of God, despite the many voices calling us in another direction throughout the day.
• When we say that Jesus “was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,” we recognize his two natures, completely human and completely divine. Because Jesus is truly God and truly human, we trust we are fully known and fully redeemed. No part of our human existence is hidden, misunderstood, or unknown; no part will be left as is.
• When we say, “He suffered under Pontius Pilate,” the mention of Pilate reminds us that our faith is rooted in a historical time and place and people. We speak of our Lord and our faith with confidence that it is not just another story.
• “He was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead.” Here, we affirm in powerful, vivid language that our Lord truly died. This isn’t a metaphor. He died like every other person dies, and with these words we remind ourselves that when we walk through suffering and death we do so knowing our Lord has done it, too.
• “He rose again” means Jesus wasn’t just resuscitated, like Lazarus was brought back to life only to die again. He physically and bodily rose from the dead — from fully dead to new, true life.

When we say these words we realign our hearts and minds to the fact that God works according to the upward spiraling pattern of hope we see in the resurrection, not the downward spiraling pattern of brokenness we see in the world.

• “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father” means there is a fully human being sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for us as a priest would intercede for ancient Israel. We therefore speak to God with boldness and confidence that he listens, he understands, he sympathizes with us, and he will act on our behalf.
• When we confess, “He will come again to judge the living and the dead,” we urge one another to live with a calm and peace that our Lord will bring justice to every realm of creation.
• “We believe in the Holy Spirit” means we live as those who walk with God. We have not been abandoned.
• When we say we believe in “the holy, catholic, and apostolic church,” it means the Holy Spirit is not the possession of an individual or a family or a single local church. All of God’s people — of very race, nationality, and denomination — are united by the Holy Spirit. By saying these words, we confess that God is active throughout the world and across denominational lines. We carry ourselves with the recognition that the Holy Spirit dwells in people like us and in people very different from us.
• We believe in the “the forgiveness of sins” reminds us that Christ’s work isn’t just “for the world” and isn’t just for the church in the abstract, but it is for us. Three times we say “for us” and “for our,” and we remind one another that we have the freedom to try and fail, and we allow each other to do the same.
• “We look for the resurrection of the dead” means we believe that death is not the end. We remind ourselves that our hope is not ultimately in this life.
  

We believe the physical world matters, physical life matters, creation matters. Our faith has claims to make about they physical world, not just the immaterial or spiritual.

Allegiance and alignment

Do you want to know what we hold dear? What do we cling to and clutch with a white knuckled, right hand grip? This is him. We are about to say it together, and we do so to pledge our allegiance to the Triune God. We seek, by saying these words, to realign our souls to the one who is true, and good, and beautiful. Each week we seek to realign our hearts not to a vision for our country or for a political party, not to a particular social agenda or favorite hobby or opinion or book or personality, but to scripture’s vision of God himself.

Our marriages, our friendships, and our church are rooted in our commitment to the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

☩ In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. ☩