Therefore

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good afternoon everyone. It is Monday, August the fifth, twenty twenty four. It is currently five forty one pm Central Time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. Well. I thought my idea was a decent idea. I mean, I thought it was turn on the microphone, give some give everyone a very specific thing to listen to for the sermon's two point oh app challenge. Have them maybe look up some things that I think will be very interesting about the word salt and light, and okay, go ahead and read Ephesians four. And I just kind of threw it all out there right, just thinking, Okay, I've given everyone in a sense a buffet of things to choose from so that they can study, that they can like I kind of just handed everyone in a sense a buffet of spiritual food and that they could work on it on their own pace, do what they want.

1:09 They could make a decision. So I kind of walked away from it. And then the more I thought about it, and the more I thought about it, I was like, well, do I just leave it there? I mean, I guess technically I could, because I didn't say, well, I'm going to do this or I'm going to do this. But in a roundabout way, I kind of set myself up for really kind of three different kind of three different studies, right and aroundabout way one is the most obvious. For the Sermon's two point oh app sermon challenge for that series that we have, I could begin reviewing all of the sermons or at least some of the sermons in that series that I told you to listen to, so hopefully everyone remembers I told everyone to look up. If you open up the Sermon's two point oh app to look up Tyler Primitive Baptist Church, Tyler Primitive Baptist Church, scroll down, look for Salt and Light, or look for a recent series Sultan Light twenty twenty four. And then there are thirteen sermons and listen to all of them. Right, So I told you to listen to them. But I also then gave me obviously it's easy for me to just grab a sermon and review it. Grab a sermon and review it, and then that would kind of add to our series, you know, the Sermon's two point zero app sermon challenge.

2:26 So that would work pretty good. That would work well, okay, great, I you know, I could review one, I could review five, I could review six, I could review ten. In other words, I it gave me a lot of options, all right, So that's that's great. If I review some some people may notice. If I don't review any I doubt anyone would notice. They're listening. They know what to listen to. So in a round of oay, I'm not really obligated much to do there. But then I told everyone, since this salt in the twenty twenty four saltan Light Conference, it's key text is in the Book of Athesians, Ephesians chapter four, where we read these words. Aphesians chapter four, we read these words one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in you all all right. That's Ephesians four five. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and.

3:22 Through all, and in you all all right? Okay. So since it's Ephesians four five is the key verse. I told everyone, we'll go to Ephesians and start reading Ephesians all week. Just read Ephesians four. Read Efesians four, not the entire book. Go to Ephesians four. I didn't specify that there jo there, but now let me specify it. Go to Aphesians four. I told everyone to go to Ephesians four and read Ephesians four over and over all week. So then I opened my Bible. I looked at Ephesians and my first thought was, hmm, okay, I could do something right there. Well, then I could, well, we could do that, well what about well, wait a minute, what about this? What about this? And I started coming up with all these ideas.

4:02 I'm like, well, I kind of like I've given everyone, you know, something to do, and I could do reviews for the sermon's two point oh opp sermon challenge. But I could just start walking through Ephesians chapter four. I could I could just do that and then I and then I started looking. I'm like, well that could turn into a lot, but I really could end up with a series on Ephesians chapter four. I'm like, okay, well all right, so now I've kind of given myself two things to do, right, do the sermon reviews at the same time, start working through Ephesians chapter four. Okay, well this sounds like I've kind of I've kind of created now a big mess for myself. Okay. And then I'm like, well, wait a minute. I gave everyone a very specific assignment.

4:45 This conference is called Sultan Light that comes from Matthew chapter five, where Jesus says you are sault and you were light. And I'm like, hmm, okay, well, Jesus is obviously pulling from the Old Testament. So I told everyone for their assignment, go to the go to the Old Testament, look up all the references for salt and light, and try to figure out what Jesus was trying to say and what he was pulling from. So I could then well turn on the microphone and do an entire series on sult and light. How salt is used in the Old Testament, and how does that impact Jesus use of it in Matthew five. Light is used in the Old Testament. How does that impact the use in Matthew chapter five? That could be an interesting study. So really, now I've got I got the reviews, I've got Ephesians four, and I've got all the verses about salt and light and the Old Testament. Yeah, okay, so I will finish all of this. Never I would be dead before I could ever come close to finishing any of this. So I'm like, what have I done? I don't know what I've done, so I don't know how much I'm going to do, but it's all right there. So then I thought, well, let me just look at Ephesians four. Right, so the Sultan Light that's going to take a lot of work.

5:53 I need to do a lot of work. Okay, the sermon reviews. We all already know. If I do one sermon review that could take, you know, for one sermon, that could be three, four five hours of broadcasting. So I'm like, okay, so let me look at Ephesians four. So I opened Ephesians four and I started playing the first sermon from the twenty twenty four Salt and Light Conference. And when I started listening, I was like, well, this is kind of an interesting approach. They're just kind of going directly to Ephesians four. Five. Now I didn't listen to very much, so maybe in the first sermon they do correct this. But I'm like, I don't know if you can go to verse five without at least looking at verse one, two, three, and four, and not just that.

6:40 I think you have to kind of look at how this whole thing is structured before you really can get into verse five, because Paul is trying to do something in Ephesians four, and he's doing it on the basis of what came in chapter one, two and three, and I'm like, WHOA, Okay, I would have I would have made made the first sermon all about the structure the context. I would have went that direction. Now I could, I could kind of bring this into my review, but I'm like, you know what, I'm not gonna the review could take five hours. I can just turn on the microphone today and we can just go look at Ephesian chapter four, and we're just gonna look at one word, now, the word. My original idea was look at that word prisoner, because that I think that could be interesting.

7:26 But obviously there's a word before prisoner. In a vision Chapter four, verse one. Now I'm reading from the. New King James. It reads like this, I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord beseech you. I therefore, or therefore, Paul, the writer to the Church at Ephesus, I the prisoner of the Lord beseech you. He is beseeching them. Now, the word beseech, that's not the one I'm going to focus on. But let's look up the word besiech really quick, because I think we can start building what's going on here, and I think it can get I think it can be very beneficial. All right, So I'm gonna pull up Ephesians four. No, I don't want to open up Apple podcasts. All right, I want to go to Ephesians chapter four. You go to a New Testament Fijians chapter four, opening up verse one and the anti linear, and I'm going to go to the word besiech. Now, the word besiech comes from this Greek word. All right, are you ready? Strong's g seventy parrakalao, parraclao, paracaleo, paakalao. Now it's used one hundred and nine times parakalayo. It's used one hundred and nine times.

8:47 It's forty three times besiech, comfort, twenty three times, exhort, twenty one times, desire, pray, and treat basot. Strong's definition is this to call, to invite, to invoke by imploration or consolation, beseech, call for comfort, desire, exhort, right, So it's to implore, it's to invite, it's to call near the outline of biblical usage to call to one side, to call for, to summon, to address, speak, to call upon, which may be done in a way of an exhortation, entreaty, comfort, instruction, to admonish, to admonish, to exhort, to beg to entreat, to strive, to console, to encourage. It's the idea like, hey, hey, I look, I the prisoner. This is Paul speaking writing to the church of Ephesis. I the prisoner, beseech you.

9:43 I entreat you, I beg you, I implore you, I instruct you, I teach you to do something. And he says to walk worthy. So Paul says, hey, I beseech you. But the beseech you is something comes before that. I therefore. I beseech you. Because of what came before. What came before sets up the foundation for the besieching, the instructing, and the teaching. And you can go through and then if you get to four or five, which is the key verse, the theme verse for that the Sault and Light Conference, which reads One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, He's besieching them in a sense to listen as he instructs them on these things. But these things the reason he wants to know these things, there's got to be a specific reason that has something to do with what came before, for one. So I'm like, Okay, let me do a little bit of work on this, and let's see what we can come up with, all right, So let's see what we can find. So I did a little bit of work, and I've got a lot of it here in my notes, and hopefully we can work through this and this will be beneficial. Right since the Salt and Light conference is in Ephesians four five, I told you to read Ephesians four and the first word is therefore I wanted to go to prisoner.

11:09 Besiech is obviously important. But before we can get to the prisoner, before we even can get to the besiech, we have to deal for He's going to beseech them, implore them, exhort them, challenge them, beg them to do something on the basis of what came before. Or we could put it this way. In Ephesians four one, the word therefore indicates a transition from the philological exposition and the argument would be in the first three chapters of Ephesians, we have a philological exposition, and chapter four, therefore, in this particular case, indicates a transition. Now, therefore, always whenever you see there, for it always indicates, Okay, what I'm about to say is because of what just came before, on the basis of what I have said.

12:08 Now I say this, right, so. You always know that. But in this particular case, therefore what he's saying is based on what came before. But it also serves as a transition, because chapters one, two, and three have been a philological exposition, all right, And so it goes from a transition from the theological exposition and first three chapters to a practical exhortation in the latter half of the letter. So it goes from a theological exposition to a practical exhortation. Philological exposition to practical exhortation. Now here is the principle that you need to get down your philological belief. Your theology should lead to a practical application.

13:07 So that's a very important point. Philological truth should lead to practical application. You practically practically apply the theology. Now, for many of us are Christianity. Let's just be well, I think we have, really I think we have three problems in Christianity. Right. We have the first problem where we have people who are so very philologically minded. They're very philologically minded, so Christianity is just a series of philological equations, philological problems, philological puzzles, and they're putting it together, putting it together, figuring it out. They love the mystery, they love the exploring, they love the putting together the puzzle, they love the study, they love the history, they love the books, they love all of that. But in many cases it just stays kind of like a theoretical theology and it never turns into a practical application. Right. I think that that's a major problem.

14:07 You've got those who are theologically minded, but they never even consider the practical application. They don't really care about the practical application. It's just the theology is interesting. Oh this is the right theology, that's the wrong theology. Here's the history of that theology, or here's the seventeen different viewpoints of that theology. And trust me, I'm very much in that camp. At times. I love that. It's fun, it's interesting, but at some point it's got to go from the theoretical to the practical. So you have those who love the theological exposition, the theological study, but they don't really think. About the practical. Then you have and I think this is the majority of Christians who they whether they love theology or don't love theology, it's really irrelevant. They know philological concepts, they know them, they go to church, they hear them, they read, they may listen to sermons. But what happens is their practical application is completely inconsistent with their theological understanding. They have a thiological belief, but in practice they completely contradict it.

15:14 We well, we talked a little bit about this and prayer, right, we talked about like, well, based on your theology, that should greatly impact how you pray. But people's prayer is never guided by their theology. Everyone basically prays the same way. You have non Calvinists who pray like Calvinists, and you have Calvinists who pray like non Calvinists. It's it's just bizarre because what motivates prayer is is need, want, desire, fear, anxiety, almost superstition. It's it's it's a completely weird thing that drives it. So you've got those who are theologically minded, and then you've got, for the most part, you've got people who who have a theology, but in so many cases they contradict it. Right.

16:02 Hey, God is absolutely sovereign. Nothing can happen to me apart from God's sovereign will. But I have fourteen guns. I got eighteen locks on my front door. And if you do any wait, whita, wait wait, I thought you said God is your protector, your shield, your defender. He a sovereign nothing can happen to you. Well, you look like you live in fear and anxiety considering all the guns you have. See your church has a security team with guns. Well, I thought you believed in God's power and sovereignty. See, your theology does not match your practice. So you've got those who are theologically minded who don't really worry that much about the practice. You got those who have a theology but contradict the practice. And then the third kind sometimes you have in Christianity are the people who love the practical application. They love it, love it.

16:52 They're always saying I should do this, and I should do this, and I need three points to do this, and points to do this. And they almost reduce Christianity and almost into a moral system. Do this, don't do this, do this, don't do this. Christianity is a system of morality. It's a system of dos and don't and a lot. And sometimes they may be very passionate, they may have zeal, but they have no philological understanding. They may quote scripture about, well, the Bible says I should do this, or I should do this, or I shouldn't do this, or I shouldn't do this, or should I watch this? Or should I go here? Or should I do this? Should I wear this? Should I think this? And it's their whole life is a list of rules. But they really have no theology.

17:34 In fact, when you trying to actually get to a philological discussion, all they can say is, well, the Bible says this, or the Bible says and you're like, well, yeah, but there's more to that text and just you just went and found a list of rules. There's who are those rules too? What is the historical context? And they do weird And sometimes these people are very passionate and they love God and they're pursuing, you know, living right, but they just don't have any theological basis, and this is a problem. This is the disconnect so Ephesians, the structure of Ephesians demonstrates. Let me state it again. The first three chapters sets up the theological exposition. What flows from the philological exposition in chapters four, five, and six is the practical exhortations. The practical flows from the philological.

18:29 So your practical application must flow from the philological. It doesn't flow from the way you were raised, from the people around you. It doesn't flow from your own personal morality or what you think is right away, whatever anybody else thinks is irrelevant. You must establish the theological exhortation, and then what should immediately flow from that is the practical exhortation. But I think we have three types of Christians that we ever had. The theological minded never really consider the practical application in. Many cases just don't even worry about it. The second you have the theology, but you're just absolutely inconsistent with it and you're practical living it out. And then third you have those who are so practical minded.

19:10 And they have zeal, they have passion, they just have zero knowledge when it comes to theology. And when you hear them start talking about it. You're just like, what are you? And sometimes they're ripping verses out of context. It's just it can be maddening and you'd want to correct them, but sometimes you feel bad in correcting them because you see that zeal, you see that fire, and you don't want to go throw, you know, a bucket of cold water upon it. At the same time, they need to be confronted for their bad theology. So where where do you fit in those three? Where do you fit well? Ephesians four that they're for saying, Okay, now you've got your theology. Now let's look at the practical application. But we can't look at the practical application until we kind of understand the philological exhortation that comes before it. So let's do a little bit of work here on Ephesians one through three. All right, let's just look at a couple of things in chapter one, verses three through fourteen. If you just want to look at this, you may want to mark this. Now.

20:16 I utilize different sources here, so don't. I'm throwing this out as kind of just a you know, a simple kind of blueprint that I may I would possibly may change or or do some things with but I'm kind of going with this to keep it structured and then we you can tell me what you think, all right, So we're looking at chapters one through three for the philological exhortation that lays the framework, the foundation for the practical application in a sense that flows from the stillological exhortation. Are you ready? So in chapter one, really you kind of have the introduction and verse one, chapter one, verse one, maybe chapter one, verse one, verse two.

21:01 But starting in verse three, we read these famous words Ephesians, Chapter one, verse three. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. This establishes the idea of spiritual blessings in Christ. We have all spiritual blessings in Christ. We are not missing any We have all spiritual blessings in Christ. Paul describes the spiritual blessing believers have in Christ, including election, adoption, redemption, and the selling of the Holy Spirit. Right, so Paul describes the spiritual blessings. We need to know those spiritual blessings because whatever practical application, typically practical application is going to be like do this, do this, do this, do this, do this, do this, do this. You're not doing it to get the blessing you already have the blessings. You have those blessings in Christ Jesus. Now you're doing you're putting into practice certain things on the basis of having these spiritual blessings. So that's really Chapter one, verses three through fourteen, Now and verses fifteen through twenty three, Paul praise for the Ephesian believers, asking God to give them wisdom and revelation to know Him better and to understand the hope and power available to them. And a roundabout way, Paul says, hey, guys, here's your spiritual blessing. Now, I

22:32 pray that you will understand all the blessings you have. I really want you to understand all of these blessings you need to live well. And this part he's not giving any practical He's mainly giving you the philological. Here are the philological realities. These are the spiritual blessings you have. Now I pray that you understand. Right. So number one is spiritual blessings in Christ, all of chapter one, all of chapter one. The second thing he does in chapter two unity in Christ. Paul explains how believers were dead in their sins but made a life in Christ by grace through faith. Paul emphasized that Christ had broken down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile, creating one new humanity and reconciling both to God. So in a sense, in Christ we have all spiritual blessings, and in Christ we have spiritual unity. Our unity is not based off male, female, Jew Gentile. It's not based on race, it's not based on geography. It's not based on what we like what we don't like. It's based off in Christ. In Christ, there's unity in Christ. They're spiritual blessings, all right. So Chapter one is the spiritual blessings in Christ. Chapter two is the unity in Christ.

23:57 Chapter three we have the mystery of the Gospel revealed. Paul discusses the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to previous generations but is now revealed by the Spirit that Gentiles are. Coirs with Israel. Paul prais for believers to be strengthened with power through the Spirit, to grasp the love of Christ and to be filled with the fullness of God. So in a roundabout way, we have three basic basic theological exhortations. Here understand, all spiritual blessings are found in Christ. You have them by grace you have they're because of Christ. Number two, we have unity in Christ. And number three, the mystery of the Gospel is revealed. And a part of that mystery is that the gentiles now are partaking in these blessings and this unity. Right, I think that's pretty good.

24:47 Now, starting in chapter four, there's the transition. Now, the transition goes something like this. If we wanted to break this section down, all right, and we'll just look at chapter four, we won't go to five or six. If you look at chapter four, you have the call to live worthy. Chapter four, verses one through six, Paul urges believers to live a life worthy of the calling they have received, highlighting humility, gentleness, patience, and love. Chapter four, Yeff also emphasizes maintaining the unity of the spirit through the bond of Peace. Chapter four, he hits a reminder of the one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.

25:30 Well, why should there be one? This one, this one, this one, this because we have unity in Christ. Jesus. If we are all in Christ, then that from that philological reality should flow practical unity. We have spiritual unity in Christ. What should flow from that would be practical unity. Now the reason it doesn't we could get into all kinds of discussions. All right, then gifts for building up the body. And chapter four seven through ten, Christ has given grace to each believer as he appointed it. Emphasizing his victory and ascension. Christ gave different ministry gifts, apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teachers to equit believers in the work of Christ. The goal is maturity and faith and acknowledge the Son of God, resulting in a mature body. So because of the thological exposition lays down all the truth. Now, what should flow from that is well, these practical applications, right, These practical applications should the way we live. It should call about being unified, right, and we should be built up.

26:35 These are all things that flow from it in chapter four. Right now, we can break down chapter four a little bit more. But since you're going to be reading chapter four all week, I'll let you look for how these things in chapter four relate to all that that came in chapter three that I outlined pretty good. Now here's the question, what is the connection between Ephesians one through three and Ephesians Chapter four, verses one through sixteen. I was trying to break it down a little bit. I could do a lot better. I got a lot more notes, but I'm just trying to get you started there. All right, see the basic the theological exposition in one, two, three, and then therefore, based off all of that philological exposition, here should be the practical application of it. So let's think of it this way, right. Chapters one through three of Ephesians provides the philological foundation, emphasizing the believer's identity and unity in Christ, the transformative work of grace, and the revelation of the mystery of the Gospel. That's the theological foundation. Now Chapter four begins with the word therefore to indicate that based on this rich theological foundation, believers are called to live out these truths in very practical ways. This includes living in unity, using their gifts for the edivocation of the church, and growing towards maturity. Therefore, in Ephesians four, one connects the doctrinal truths of the first three chapters with the

28:07 practical exhortations that follow, emphasizing that our behavior should reflect our identity and calling in Christ. Behavior should flow from the spiritual reality of who we are in Christ. Or I could say it this. Way, are the theological realities of Chapter one, two and three really speaks to the positional reality that we. Have in Christ? Jesus four, five and six, or at. Least chapter four. Well, I think we could even look in five and six. I think we could probably I think it would stay true. Is now we have to live out or a sink to live out in practice what is true in our position. Because what happens despite these theological truths scented in Ephesians one through three, Christians sometimes live in ways that.

29:05 Do not align with these truths. This inconsistency can manifest in various areas of our life, such as our personal behavior, relationships, church life, and engagement with the broader community. And then here are some ways in which I think this can happen. Now, this is not perfect, but I want you to see this. So let's kind of lay the framework here. Let's lay this all down. I know I went through that relatively quick, but I'm I'm trying to help when you start listening to these sermons on Ephesians four and you start reading it, now, hopefully I've provided you a structure that will make it much better. So here we go here.

29:45 So first, I want to just state there are three kinds of Christians. Right. The first Christian is the one who loves the philological puzzles. They love to study it, understand it, may debate it, figure it out, determine which one is right, which one is wrong, But it's all about the mystery, the puzzle, solving it. They're theologically minded. In many cases, the theological mindedness never actually leads to practical application or practical living, and that's a problem. The second are this is the majority of Christians. They have a theological understanding, they have a theology, they have a doctrine.

30:26 They can even articulate their theology to some level. But over and over and over in their life you're like, well, if that's what you believe theologically, then that makes no sense. And that makes no sense, and that makes no sense, and that makes no sense. This is not it's not even so much. We're not talking about sin per se. We're just saying the way they think, the way they act it's not. I mean, we all are contradictory to our theology in the sense that we all sin. I'm talking just like you know, like again, how you pray, You're praying not consistent with your theology. Wait, you say that nothing can happen from the sovereign will of God, but yet you're the ones saying everyone should have three guns. Well, wait a minute, why do I need a gun if God's If God's the one protecting, I don't understand. And There's just countless other examples like that. I'm just using simple ones. So so I think that's I think that's a major majority of Christians. Is that inconsistency.

31:20 And it's hard because. You look at some of the theological truths you're like, well, wait a minute, how is that supposed to play out in real life? It sounds good, you know, at church, but how is that supposed to work when I get home? That's always the struggle. And then the third kind of Christian is the one that's all about the practical application. They have zeal, they have passion, but they really have no theology, and. All three are in error. Ifphesians, the way the book is structured demonstrates in a sense, we need to work on correcting this because Ephesians one through three provides a philological exhortation. Chapter four begins with therefore and now is going to lay out the practical application that flows from that philological exhortation. But sometimes we can be inconsistent with that. Let me give you an example.

32:17 Ephesians chapter one, verses three through fourteen is all about who we are in Christ Jesus. That our identity is in Christ Jesus, that I have all spiritual blessings. In effect, to look at it, that I that He chose me in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame through Him and love He has predestinated us. It tells us all that we are redeemed. It tells me everything I am in Christ Jesus. This is my identity in Christ. It's my positional reality. It's my identity. It's my positional reality. That is my identity. That's philological exhortation, philological truth. Now, because that is your identity, then how should that impact or how should that play out practically? Well? This is according to one source, believers are this is the theological truth. Believers are chosen, redeemed, and adopted by God. Now, how do we live inconsistent to that? We struggle with our self worth, We struggle with seeking validation from worldly achievements, or we seek validation from our relationships rather than embracing their identity in Christ.

33:33 We have this wonderful, perfect identity in Christ. We have this perfect positional standing. And then what do we do? We find ourselves not happy about this, and we're struggle with this, and. We struggle with that everything from you know, self worth, seeking validation and wrong things. We have all of these problems because we are living inconsistent with the reality, the theological reality presented in Ephesians chapter one. All right, I think that's very important. Number two grace and forgiveness versus legalism and unforgiveness. The theological truth salvation is by grace through faith, not by works. Ephesians two eight and nine clearly articulate that. So how do we in how do we live inconsistent to that truth? Well, we have we adopt a legalistic mindset. We begin to judge others harshly.

34:30 We withhold forgiveness despite receiving immens grace and forgiveness from God. We live inconsistent with it, and so we become legalistic, law based, unforgiving, judgmental, no mercy, and we seek to destroy people like we live inconsistent to it. Unity in the body versus division. The philological truth is believers are united in Christ, breaking down the barriers between different groups. We live inconsistent. When we begin to harbor prejudice, we engage in divisive behavior, are failing to promote unity within the church. Because Ephesians says that the wall has been broken down, there should be unity because we have spiritual unity in Christ. We have spiritual blessings our that's those spiritual blessings include our identity, they include our forgiveness, They include our positional standing before God because of grace alone.

35:34 And so what do we do We live inconsistent with our self worth, seeking validation through other sources. We begin to become legalistic and unforgiving. All of that is contradictory. Well, we have unity in Christ. We have spiritual unity in Christ. And then what happens will begin to have prejudice against people, and we become divisive and we fight, and we have all of the problems. The idea of spiritual growth the philological truth, believers are called to grow in knowledge and maturity, inconsistent living as when we begin to neglect spiritual disciplines like prayer, Bible study, fellowship, leading to spiritual stagnation. Now, why do we do Bible study and all of that stuff to grow? Not so that we can gain blessing.

36:19 We already have all spiritual blessings. Not that we can gain salvation. We already have salvation. So it flows from that philological reality. The philological reality is that believers are called to live a life worthy of our colleague, because we are called, we are chosen, we are predestined. Well, we sometimes live very inconsistent with that in our behaviors. I think we can clearly see that. I think we can clearly see that some more concepts here, all right, if we truly understand, well, well, we kind of went through all of that, so I guess we could say this.

37:06 The practical outworking a philological truth and a believer's life is crucial for authentic Christian living. Recognizing and addressing these inconsistencies is essential for personal growth, the health of the church, and the effective witness of the Gospel in the world. By continuing to align our lives with the truths of our faith. Christians can live in a way that truly reflects their identity and calling in Christ. So when you look at Ephesians four. In fact, now let's go to this. Now, let's go to Ephesians four. We'll do a little bit here working on this. It's not gonna fit, it's not going to always work perfectly, but you'll get some of the idea here. You'll get some of the idea here. So for example, I there for the prisoner, I there for the prisoner of the Lord. Beseech you. Now, I'm gonna implore you. I'm going to beg you. I'm calling here because I want to challenge you. I want to teach you something on the basis of all all of these stiological truths in chapter one, two and three. Because of this stiological you know, exhortation. Now, I'm beseeching you.

38:08 Here's the practical exhortation if you want to do it that way, the practical challenge. I now call, I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. We have an eternal, sovereign call on our lives as a believer. Now we are to seek to walk worthy and practice. Now, remember, we're already perfect, we're already made worthy in our position because we're in Christ Jesus. But now this is trying to walk and away worthy of that. And look what he says, with all, how do we walk worthy with all lowliness, gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. There is one body, one spirit, just as you were called into one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in you all that. Hey, because we are called, because we are in Christ Jesus, there should be this natural walking worthy. Here's how we walk worthy, and that should flow into a unity. But it's all on the basis of that. Theological truth goes on to say in verse seven, But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, he says, when he ascended on high, he led captives captive and gave gifts to men. Now

39:39 this he ascended, what does it mean that he also first descended into the lowest parts of the earth. He who descends is also the one who ascended at the far above all the heavens, that he might feel all things. So now it's just a kind of reminder, right that this the one that we believe in, the one that we are in Christ, Jesus, we have redemption, the one who we have all of these things. Okay, he ascended, so he's now there in heaven. But guess what he has done. Look at verse eleven. He's given some apostles and prophets, and evangelists and teachers and pastors, for the equipping of the ministry, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we should no longer be tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. But speaking the truth and love, we may grow up in Him all things, into Him who is the head Christ.

40:41 So the idea is okay, Christ, who we believe. Now practically what should happen well from Christ and from the spiritual unity. Now, what should flow from it is a practical unity lived out and these attributes that he gives here in the first part. But it also we then should be pursuing spiritual knowledge and growing because Christ has given this to us teachers, that we listen to so that we may grow and we're no and not that we stop fighting one another, but that we no longer are tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. We are built up complete spiritually and there's unity that flows from it. All. Right, then, so there's that part of it. Then starting in verse seventeen, you get the idea.

41:34 I'm not going to go I'm not going to do everything for you, but you can read from verse seventeen to thirty two. But what I want you to do is you read as you read Ephesians four. Here's here's I'm going to help you with your assignment as you read Ephesians four, verses one through thirty two. What I want you to be thinking as you read is how does that relate to the philological exhortation and chapters one, two and three. Now it's not it's not always going to be so simple and so easy. I wish it was. It's not always the case. But you can look and say, okay, how how does that relate to what came in chapter one two three? Because the this entire chapter begins with therefour now because of the philological exhortation. Now I'm transitioning to a practical exhortation and immediately says.

42:23 Walk worthy, and how do you walk worthy? Look? Why? What? What? What is it in Ephesians one, two and three? Just think of it this way? You can, you can. I can just help you immediately with a good example, walk worthy with all lowliness. Now, figure out what lowliness is? What is it in chapter one, two and three that should give you lowliness of mind? What should what is it in chapters one, two and three that should lead you to being gentle? What is it in chapters one, two and three that should lead you to have long suff and bearing with one another in love? All of it flows from that philological exhortation. You've got to connect all of this to chapters one, two and three. If you do that, you're getting the idea behind the I beseech you. I am imploring you based on this. And remember, there are three kinds of Christians, right, I'm gonna just I'm gonna I'm gonna end with this, and you're one of them. You're the philologically minded one. Right, And it looks even in this forty three minutes, Get what if I done? See? I love hermeneutics. I love to figure out the structure. I love to figure out how this fits with this. See. I love the puzzle. See I love the puzzle. I've put the puzzle together. I think I've done halfway okay with it. May not be the most exciting teaching, but it's very practical. It's very much hopefully helpful and helping you be able to exegete the

43:55 text properly. But it all it's all a hermoneutical puzzle. I love putting together the hermoneutical puzzle. I love that. I love that. That's fun. Right, I could have I could have fourteen notebooks here putting this together and cross referencing this and. This, and I could turn in the paper and like, look at this, I have exeguted this, I. Have demonstrated it. Why therefore is a transition from a theilological exhortation to a practical exhortation. I've now demonstrated how the practical exhortation is related to the theilological exhortation. I've given cross references, I've given sources here, you go, all right there. I love that, But you know where my weakness is. As soon as I'm done with that, I'm ready to move on to the next theological puzzle, the next hermineutical question. I'm ready to move on.

44:48 Am I going to actually do anything with it? I don't know. I probability I want, because. High probability I will not. You can don't act all shocked or surprised, because again, you're one of these three kinds of people. So the first one is philologically minded, hermoneutically minded. Love the puzzle, love the mystery, love solving it doesn't change anything in their life of any significance. The second is where most Christians fall in. You have a theology. You have it, you know it, you learn it. You may even have stacks of notebooks where you've written it down.

45:28 You may even be able to win an award and a wanna because of all the things you've got memorized. However, so many things in your life is so inconsistent with your theology. And I'm not talking about sin, I'm just talking Well, wait a minute. You say you believe this, then why are you praying that way? Why are you thinking that way? Why? Wait? That isn't what are you talking about? That's not consistent with your theology. That's where we that's where a lot of us find ourselves. We have the theology, we're just inconsistent it and we don't even immediately catch Oh, I believe that we're saved by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. I believe you're saved by an imputed righteousness. However, if you don't do this, this, this, and this and this and this, you prove you're never saved. Well wait a minute, how can doing this prove imputed righteousness? It's imputed, it's not infused.

46:19 So immediately you're being inconsistent with your theological belief. That inconsistency is a cancer in all of us. We're all inconsistent in some way, shape or form. And then the third kind of Christian is all about the practical, the zell, the passion, the love, and they want to do this, and do this, and do that, and they go and they and you may even be convicted by all of their zell And it looks great until you start talking to them and you're like, oh, what are you doing at that passage of scripture? You're absolutely destroying That's not what that passage means. No where, that's a that's a theological heresy from four hundred a d. What are you talking about. No, that's not how you. Define the trinity.

46:59 No. Oh, if you talk about the deity of Christ anymore, I'm going to scream. You're destroying the hypostatic union. You're destroying everything. I think you've gone full blown Gnostic on me. And they don't have a clue what you're talking about. But you know what, they got passion and they got zeal. Ephesians comes along and says, hey, guys, we're going to be an Ephesians chapter four. We're going to be an Ephesians chapter four. Now, guess what we're going to be an Ephesians chapter four. And what we're going to do is demonstrate to you. It's almost like Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is I'm going to demonstrate how the Christian life should work, and I'm going to do so in one word, therefore, therefore is it serves as a transition because four five and six is the practical exhortation that flows from the theological exhortation. Because my theology should lead Think of it this way, your theology, this is how it should work.

47:57 Your theology should serve as a little voice in your brain that's constantly saying, I beseech you. Therefore, and it gives you those practical exhortations. But it's on the basis of that theology. The more theology you understand and know, the more it should lead to the practical exhortation. It should work that way. It often doesn't. How do I know this? Go find someone who maybe in their second or third year of Bible college or a seminary, or maybe they just graduated from seminary or Bible college. You know what you tend to find. Not always this is somewhat of a stereotype, but a lot of arrogant, condescending think they know it all, want to argue with everyone, fight with everyone. They're right, everyone else is wrong, everyone else is stupid. No one else knows how to read their Bible, and he's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa?

48:59 How did all of that iological knowledge lead to you becoming and just an arrogant, condescending jerk who seems to have no compassion or love for anyone and just thinks you know everything. And I was guilty of that. I mean, I've told the story a million times. You know, I've become a Christian. I've got the entire Bible read within a week. I got the entire thing read within a week. I'm reading, I'm studying, I'm listening to sermons, I'm buying Christian I'm buying Christian books, systematic theology. I'm working, working, working, working, working, working, working, and then i end up going to Sunday School. You know, it's within a couple of months of being a Christian and I'm coming into the Sunday School class and I'm like, you're a joke. You're an absent. How did you become a Sunday School teacher? You don't even have a clue what you're talking about. Did you even read the material for today? Because I got the quarterly right here, and I've got it marked, and I've got it charted out.

49:57 You're an idiot. So I was a I'm as scending little jerk to Sunday school teacher. You've probably been teaching Sunday school for fifteen years. Guess what my philological knowledge it did in no way, shape or form match my life. Therefore, your job is to read Ephesians four and figure out everything that follows, how it fits or how it's connected to the philological exhortation in chapters one, two, and three. Because of this theological truth, I now exhort you to well, to walk worthy? And how do I walk worthy? Lowliness what theological truths and Ephesians one through three should make you have? Lowliness of mind, lowliness of character? However you understand lowliness, you can look up loneliness and that's what you figure out. How gentleness? What is an Ephesians one, two, and three should make you be gentle? All right? Fifty one minutes? Oh, I feel like I feel like I went way too fast through some of that. Maybe I don't know.

51:20 Hey, all I can do. I've done it. I can't do anything about it. It's done. I can't go back and try to reteach it. I can't go back and try to say well, now let me do it again, and I'm going to go slower this time. I know I went quickly through that. I tried to break down Ephesians one through three and four and chapter four. I tried to break it down. I know it wasn't perfect. I didn't break chapter four down perfectly. I have some I could definitely clean up the outline for chapters one through three, But I tried to tell you I was just laying down some of the basic kind of like the basic sketch. You have to go in and color it in. You have to fill it in. You have to do your work right. So for the rest of this week Ephesians four, Ephesians four, Ephesians four, Ephesians four, read it, read it. I've told you now specifically what you need to connect to, what you need to be listening to all of the sermons and the Salt and Light twenty twenty four conference from Tyler Primitive Baptist Church that's on the sermons two point oh app thirteen sermons. Be listening to them all from Ephesians chapter four. When you listen now, you can consider how they connect it to Ephesians chapters one, two, and three.

52:20 If they don't do that, well, then you can determine if that's a good thing or a bad thing. All right, and then sult and light. Since Jesus talks about salt and light Matthew chapter five, I can one hundred percent assure you that he's pulling the He's using salt and light based on how the Old Testament uses salt and light. So your job this week is to go through the Old. Testament and find out how they use salt and light and then see how that impacts the interpretation and meaning in Matthew chapter five. Now, please note all the things I gave you. See, those are assignments. I love that. I got no problem fulfilling the assignments. I got no problem. I'll get an A and all the assignments. I'll get them done better than you. I'll get them done faster than you, and you won't be able to touch me.

53:06 And the knowledge I gain from it, I can beat you in any argument. Probably won't be any better a person by the time it's over. Now that is my struggle. What is yours news? I f at yahoo dot com. That's news. I f at Yahoo dot com. Everyone have a great day. I'm gonna go eat some food. God bless