Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:07] It's Rick. Welcome back to the Nomad Pastor Podcast.
[00:00:10] This week, we're going to continue walking through Ephesians. We got a couple more chapters to go.
[00:00:17] The last three episodes were Ephesians 1, 2, and 3. Today we're going to dig into Ephesians chapter 4. And chapter 4 is kind of this transition point in Paul's letter. You see, up until now in chapters one, two, and three, Paul. Paul has been laying the foundation for who we are in Christ, right? We are chosen, we are redeemed, we are forgiven, we are sealed. And now in chapter four, he shifts focus or he shifts gears from identity to action.
[00:00:49] He shifts gears to kind of look at, like, what does it look like to live like a person who belongs to Jesus, Right? That's kind of the question he's getting to. And so this chapter calls us to walk in unity, in maturity, in holiness.
[00:01:10] And it's powerful, it's practical, and at the end of the day, it is deeply personal, especially to anybody who's trying to rebuild their life. If you're trying to rebuild your life, whether it's from addiction, whether it's from loss, maybe it's just the weight of the world with everything that's going on, this is the roadmap to that new life that we're called to live.
[00:01:35] And so we're going to jump right in. We're going to start with Ephesians 4, 1, 6. Again, this is the NASB version.
[00:01:42] So we start off, therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.
[00:02:09] So Paul doesn't waste time here.
[00:02:12] He doesn't waste time and he doesn't waste words. I do love. Again, how he says the prisoner of the Lord. He doesn't say, I'm a prisoner in Rome or whatever. He just says, I'm a prisoner of the Lord. But he starts out strong. He says, a walk worthy of your calling.
[00:02:31] I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. That calling isn't just about ministry.
[00:02:40] I think sometimes people mess that up. But that calling, it's the call to follow Christ and represent Jesus in every part of your life.
[00:02:55] And so how do we walk? Worthy, right?
[00:02:59] Walk in a manner worthy of Your calling, He tells us with all humility and gentleness and patience, bearing one another in love.
[00:03:11] Now, these are flashy words, right?
[00:03:15] Humility and gentleness and patience and love.
[00:03:18] And I think a lot of people throw them around every day in this world.
[00:03:24] But if you truly have humility, if you truly walk with gentleness, if you truly walk with patience and love, these are the marks of someone who has been changed by the grace of God.
[00:03:40] And Paul emphasizes unity.
[00:03:44] Keep the unity of the Spirit, not uniformity, right? Don't just be uniform to the world, but unity in Christ.
[00:03:56] He lists a bunch of ones in here, right?
[00:04:00] One body, one Lord, one spirit, one faith, one baptism, one God.
[00:04:08] There are seven.
[00:04:11] You see, we're part of something bigger than ourselves.
[00:04:16] And unity, it's not optional.
[00:04:19] Unity is essential.
[00:04:22] You know, if you've been hurt by division, whether it's family or church or community, Paul's telling us right here, he's reminding us that we belong together.
[00:04:35] And unity is hard work, but it is holy work.
[00:04:40] You know, growing up in Salt Lake City, I have been hurt.
[00:04:49] You know, the Mormon Church is very not.
[00:04:53] What's the right word I'm looking for? They're not open to outsiders. They say they are, but they're not. If you just blatantly like, I'm not Mormon, I'm not going to be Mormon. I'm Christian. I walk with Christ. You're out in this right here, Paul is saying, we belong together. And in chapter three, he talks about, you know, everyone, Gentiles, everybody, right? It's for everybody.
[00:05:21] So I just want to remind you again, unity is hard, but don't let the pain that somebody else has caused impact you going forward, because this is holy work.
[00:05:39] So we're going to move on to Ephesians 4, 7, 16.
[00:05:44] But to each one of us, Grace was giving according to the measure of Christ's gift. And he gave some as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry until we all attain the unity of faith and grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, that is Christ.
[00:06:11] So now Paul switches gears, right?
[00:06:16] He shifts to this spiritual growth.
[00:06:19] He says that Jesus gave gifts to the church, right? Leaders, teachers, encouragers, pastors, event, right? All these people. He gave those people to the church not so they could do all the work, but so they could equip the rest of us to grow and serve.
[00:06:40] You see, God doesn't want us to stay babies or for lack of a better term, spiritual infants.
[00:06:48] He tossed everyone by every trend or emotion.
[00:06:54] Let me rephrase that. He doesn't want us to be spiritual infants that are tossed around.
[00:07:00] He wants us to grow.
[00:07:03] He wants us to mature. He wants us to become grounded believers rooted in truth and love. And when we grow, the whole body benefits.
[00:07:14] Every part matters, every gift matters. And when we operate in love, we build each other up.
[00:07:20] You know, and one of the, I guess I could say, kind of pet peeves of mine is, you know, we've been through, you know, throughout the years, you know, we grow, you grow, and you move on and you do different things. And maybe pastors retire and you go to a new church. But everywhere I've ever been, I've seen people in the church, and I apologize if this offends anybody, but I've seen people in the church that believe it is the pastor's job to go out and minister and evangelize. That is the pastor's job to go do all of this work. That's what they're there for.
[00:07:56] Wrong, 100% wrong.
[00:08:00] That pastor's job is to equip you so that you can go, that you can serve.
[00:08:12] It's an important different way to understand it, because that's what Paul is telling us here.
[00:08:20] He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry.
[00:08:30] It's my job to go make disciples. It is not my pastor's job. It is my job to go minister to the lost.
[00:08:37] Now, look, my pastor will join me.
[00:08:40] We have an amazing pastoral staff where I go to church at Crossroads Fellowship in Lebanon.
[00:08:46] But I'm telling you, their job is to equip me. My job is to go.
[00:08:52] They do an amazing job of it.
[00:08:57] But if you're sitting in your church on Sunday and you think that that's what you're accountable to do because you pay tithing and the pastor's supposed to go out and do those things. You're wrong. And if I'm hurting feelings, I'm sorry, but that's what scripture says and that's what I'm going to always stick to.
[00:09:14] So I'm going to move on to Ephesians 4, 17, 24. It says, so I say this, that you are to no longer walk, just as the Gentiles also walk, but to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
[00:09:36] You see, this is where Paul starts to get personal with Us. Because he says, don't walk like you used to. Don't go back to your empty, dark ways of your old life. Don't go back to the drugs. Don't go back to the alcohol. Don't go back to whatever that was in the world. Don't go back to the dark ways of your old life. But he's telling us to be renewed in our mind and to put on our new self.
[00:10:04] This isn't about behavior modification.
[00:10:08] This is about transformation.
[00:10:11] God's not asking you to clean yourself up before you come to him.
[00:10:16] I had that lie in my head for so many years.
[00:10:22] Oh, I can't go to church because I don't. This. I can't go to church because I don't own a suit. I can't go to church because I swear or I cuss. I can't go to church because I do. Whatever my reason was, all I was doing was lying to myself that I had to clean up before God would accept me.
[00:10:40] No, he already accepted me. I had to accept him.
[00:10:49] He's inviting you to step into this new identity that he has already given you.
[00:10:55] You're already part of the family. Like it or not. You're coming to Thanksgiving dinner.
[00:11:03] It's like.
[00:11:05] It's like. It's almost like just picture taking off, you know, dirty, smelly set of clothes and putting on brand new ones.
[00:11:16] That's what it's like when we choose to live out who we are in Christ.
[00:11:23] Just take them off and put them on.
[00:11:27] Don't give up. If you're struggling, don't give up. Growth is a process. It is not overnight.
[00:11:34] The old life, it might call to you. In fact, it probably will. Like, not even might. It's going to.
[00:11:42] But you've been given something so much better.
[00:11:45] You've been given freedom. You've been given peace, and you've been given purpose.
[00:11:55] That's.
[00:11:57] That's love.
[00:12:01] Then we move on to Ephesians 4, 25, 32. It says, Therefore, ridding yourselves of falsehood. Speak truth. Each one of you with his neighbor. Be angry and yet do not sin. Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only such a word as is good for building up. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and slander be removed from you. Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
[00:12:35] So Paul's closing here.
[00:12:37] Whenever I'm reading scripture, I love when I see the word therefore, because therefore means. Hey, because of what I just told you. Right, because of what I just said, therefore.
[00:12:56] Right, and he just said so I say this that you no longer walk as Gentiles also walk. Right.
[00:13:03] Therefore rid yourselves of the falsehood. See, Paul closes the chapter out with this list of real life ways that we can live our faith.
[00:13:14] He tells us, speak the truth, deal with anger quickly, build others up with your words, forgive, show kindness.
[00:13:27] Why does he do that?
[00:13:30] Because this is what it looks like to live a spirit filled life walking with Christ.
[00:13:38] This is what it means to, to reflect Jesus. When people see you, when people look at you, do they see the reflection of Christ because of how you treated them?
[00:13:51] Or do they see the reflection of the world?
[00:13:55] And I know it's hard. We all have emotion, we all have tempers, we all have anger. I know that. I do. There are times that my wife will look at me and go, who are you talking to?
[00:14:11] And maybe I had a long day, or maybe I, it's just an excuse.
[00:14:20] But when somebody looks at you, do you reflect the love of Jesus? Is that what they see?
[00:14:31] You know, I'm here to tell you none of this is easy.
[00:14:34] None.
[00:14:36] But all of it is possible.
[00:14:39] And the way it's possible is when we remember how much we've been forgiven in love.
[00:14:49] And the important point here is Paul's not saying try it harder.
[00:14:54] He's saying live like someone who's been made new, you know, for years. And now this just makes me reflect for years I've said every day I want to be 1% better, 1% more like Christ every day. That's what I'm working for.
[00:15:12] I'm trying.
[00:15:14] And now I'm reading this again and I have read this I don't even know how many times.
[00:15:19] And Paul's saying, he's not saying try harder.
[00:15:23] He's not saying try to be 1% better every day. He's saying, live like someone who's made new.
[00:15:32] So if you're one of those people holding on to bitterness, if you're holding on to some of those old wounds from the world, you don't got to carry it anymore. Jesus forgave it. He forgave you.
[00:15:44] And with the help of Christ, you can forgive others too.
[00:15:49] With the help of Christ, you can walk in freedom.
[00:15:54] That's power, you know, I'd ask you what area of your life needs the Spirit's help?
[00:16:04] Is it your attitude?
[00:16:07] Is it your forgiveness? Is it how you speak?
[00:16:10] What area? Think about that, pray about it.
[00:16:15] You see, because Ephesians reminds us, or at least Ephesians chapter 4 reminds us that God didn't just save us to sit still.
[00:16:26] He saved us to grow and love and walk in a new life, not try harder to walk in a new life. Live like someone who's been made new.
[00:16:43] So as you reflect on this podcast this week, I want you to walk worthy of your calling with love and humility.
[00:16:55] Use the gifts that God has given you to build other people up.
[00:17:02] Step away from the old you and embrace the new life in Christ that you have been given.
[00:17:09] Speak truth, forgive freely, which is the hardest of them all.
[00:17:17] That's probably as I read through scripture and study and pray and all the things that I do every day.
[00:17:26] Forgiving freely is the hardest thing for me to do, and that's the worldly me. And I'm just being open and transparent. But I'm coming to a point where I just have to give it to God.
[00:17:40] I'm going to forgive him. And God's got it. He'll take care of it.
[00:17:45] So put off the old, embrace the new life in Christ. Speak truth, forgive freely. Live kindly.
[00:17:54] You are not who you used to be. I am not who I used to be. We are new creations. Let's live like it. Let's live by boldly. Let's live humbly, and let's live full of the grace that we have already been given when we don't deserve it.
[00:18:17] I want to thank you for joining me today. Remember, this is the Nomad Pastor Podcast. You can subscribe on any platform of choice. If you enjoyed this podcast, share it, give it a thumbs up. Like it, Tell your friends. I want you to remember, you are called, you are equipped, and you are empowered to live out your faith in real ways every day.
[00:18:41] And until next week, this is Rick with the Nomad Pastor Podcast. Remember to love God and love people.
