Ephesians 4:1-32
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,a beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivityb captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fillc all things.)
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come ind the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindnesse of their heart:
19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But ye have not so learned Christ;
21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and truef holiness.
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.
28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to giveg to him that needeth.
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good toh the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
CHAPTER 4
Even though Paul is a ______________, he still urges us to walk in our __________. This walk must be a ____________ one.
What does it mean to walk worthy? Paul gives us some words to consider:
1. __________________. 2. _______________.
3. __________________. 4. _______________.
5. In _____________.
We must ______________ to keep the ________ of the Spirit. This can only be done in a bond of _________.
Paul now lists seven "Ones" of the Christian.
1. One __________.
2. One __________.
3. One __________ of our calling.
4. One __________.
5. One __________.
6. One _____________.
7. One _______ and Father of all.
Each of us have been __________ grace and speical gifts. The ______________ of these gifts is ________________ to the gift of Christ.
Paul proves that Christ __________ gifts by the quote from Psalms 68:19. Christ led into ______________ the captives of sin and death. As conqueror, in triumph over death, Jesus gives does not seek gifts, he __________ to men.
Paul explains this passage and applies it to Christ, who first ______________ into the earth and _____________ back to heaven.
This one who ______________ is the same one who is also ____________ far above all heavens. He __________ all things.
God has given many different gifts. Some were temporary:
1. _____________. 2. ______________.
Other gifts are for the church of all ages.
1. _______________. 2. __________. 3. ____________.
NOTE: These are all "__________" in the church. They are all positions of leadership and authority. Evangelists are to speak and rebuke with all _____________. (Titus 2:15) Pastors are also called __________ and bishops in the New Testament. A pastor is a ______________ who feeds the flock and oversees it. Christians are commanded to be _____________.
There are three reasons for these offices in the church. People are set in these positions:
1. For the ______________ of the saints.
2. For the __________ of the ministry.
3. For the _____________ of the body of Christ.
How long should these positions in the church last? Paul says they should be active ________ -
1. We all come to the __________ of the faith.
2. We have the _____________ of the Son of God.
3. We have become the __________ man.
4. We _____________ up to the __________ of the fulness of Christ.
5. We are no longer ____________.
6. We are not ____________ to and fro.
7. We are not carried by every __________ of doctrine.
8. We are not tricked by cunning ______________.
9. We are stable and not _____________.
10. We speak the __________ in love.
11. We __________ up.
The church must function as a __________. All must fit and __________ together. Every __________ must do the job given it. Every part must work to help the body _____________. While the physical body must grow in size, the body of Christ must grow in ______________ itself.
We should not walk as other _____________ walk. They walk in the __________ of their mind.
They walk with their understanding _____________. They are _____________ from the life of God. They are living in _____________. They have a ______________ of heart.
They have lost the ability to feel guilt or remorse. They are past ____________. Their lives are __________ over to:
1. __________________.
2. _______________.
3. _______________.
This is not how you have ____________ to walk in Christ.
Have you __________ Christ? Have you been __________ by him? Do you know that the __________ is in Jesus?
If the answer is YES, then, put off the old man of your former ___________________. This old man is ______________ with ______________ lusts.
We need to be ____________ in the spirit of our __________.
We must put on the __________ man. This man is created in __________________ and true ______________.
What must we put away? First we will list them.
1. _____________.
2. __________.
3. ____________.
4. Corrupt _________________.
5. __________ the Holy Spirit.
6. ______________.
The Christian must put away __________. We must speak the __________. We are ______________ of one another.
We must put away __________ which results in ________. The sun must not go down on our __________.
When our anger leads to sin, we give place to the __________ in our lives.
______________ the property of others is prompted by the greed of the old man. It is not enough to stop stealing. We must do three positive things:
1. ___________ with our hands.
2. The work must be __________.
3. The money earned must be _____________ by giving to those who need it.
Our speech must be pure. We must not allow ______________ communication to come from our ___________. What we say must be __________. It must __________ the one who hears it. Our words must _____________ grace to the hearers.
Christians must not ___________ the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has _____________ the will of God to us. If we do not obey the commands in the Bible, the work of the Holy Spirit was in vain. We are ____________ by the Holy Spirit. Do not destroy that seal of approval.
As we put off the old man, put away all ______________. All forms of ____________ must be put away.
WHEN GOD ERASES, HE IS GETTING READY TO WRITE. It is not enough to put off the old man and these evil deeds. We must also put on some new behaviors.
We must be __________ to each other. We must show that we are ____________-________________. We must be able to ____________ each other. We must remember that God has _____________ us because of the work of Christ. We should be able to forgive each other.