No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are easy prey for predators. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love. And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can’t think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion.
But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to Him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you. What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.
Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life. Did you use to make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can help others who can’t work.
Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted. Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.Ephesians 4:15-32 MSG
Appropriate words for you and I in this current day and culture. As the birth pangs of this world increases, and the earth groans under the weight of sin running rampant throughout all the people, we desperately need to continue to return our focus on Him. To understand with greater clarity the very breath of the Holy Spirit inside of us. We need to clear away all the clutter in our minds and souls that hinders us from hearing Him. For He is speaking to us everyday and wanting to meet with us, teach us, love on us, laugh with us, and celebrate the Father’s goodness towards us. But so many of us can rarely recognize His Spirit within us throughout our day. We don’t give Him a thought.
Let us pursue Him with ALL that is within us. Let’s determine our will to seek after the growth of His character within us, to nurture His fruit growth in our daily lives (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control). Adding to His fruit our humility, and hospitality towards others always in love and generosity.
Let’s learn to understand with greater depth the roles He has set us into His Body for His purposes and the Body’s edification, encouragement, and mature growth. The scriptures right before today’s introductory passage speak to this need.
And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ. Ephesians 4:10-13 MSG
These roles are gifts not titles or positions to be lorded over others. The religious system has elevated these roles into titles of career, professionalism, and authority / power. But that is NOT the way of His Kingdom. These ‘gifts’ are there to HELP as Jesus did when He washed His friends feet. The first shall be last. Humility and love reign over all. So that the Body can actually become ‘mature’. If we truly have ‘adults’ in our community then why is the Sunday sermon always at a third grade level? And way TOO often that is the only ‘food’ offered by the so-called leadership to the Body meeting together.
Let’s learn with depth from the Holy Spirit what those ‘gifts’ do, and are for, and how they are to function within each of our spiritual communities. The apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher — all working together to bring everyone within the spiritual community to maturity in Christ, powered and moved by the ‘wind / breath’ of the Holy Spirit. Not leadership from a ‘pedestal’ or platform but from close intimate friendship and fellowship in true service and humility.
We all need to daily sit and soak in His Spirit. For He actually is our ‘bread’ (spiritual sustenance) needed for our daily survival. We need to immerse ourselves into His Word allowing Him to bring revelation and understanding to our minds and hearts. Through Him we are to become living epistles of His life as a sign and marker to all those around us and to our communities at large.
What are you ‘feeding’ on? Who are you following? Where are you headed?