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foreign good evening to everyone welcome back to the house of the Lord and with any visitors out there this morning this morning it's not the morning it's the evening with any visitors out there this evening we welcome you to free Grace Baptist Church it's nice to have you with us to worship our great God well let's begin that worship there are no announcements let's begin worship by turning to Psalm 103 in our Bibles for our call to worship a reading of Psalm 103. yeah Psalm 103 beginning at verse 1 this is the word of the Triune God a Psalm of David bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits who forgives all your iniquities who heals all your diseases who redeems your life from destruction who crowns you with loving kindness and Tender Mercies who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles the Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed he made known his ways to Moses his acts to the children of Israel the Lord is merciful and gracious slow to anger and abounding in Mercy he will not always strive with us nor will he keep his anger forever he has not dealt with us according to our sins nor punished us according to our iniquities for as the heavens are high above the Earth so great is his Mercy toward those who fear Him as far as the East is from the West so far has he removed our transgressions from us as a father pities his children so the Lord pities those who fear Him for he knows our frame he remembers that we are dust as for man his days are like grass as a flower of the field so he flourishes for the wind passes over it and it is gone and its place remembers it no more but the mercy of the Lord is from Everlasting to Everlasting on those who fear Him and his righteousness to children's children to such as keep his Covenant and to those who remember his Commandments to do the same excuse me to do them the Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all bless the Lord you his angels who excel in strength who do his word heeding the voice of his word bless the Lord all you his hosts you Ministers of his who do his pleasure bless the Lord all his Works in all places of his Dominion bless the Lord O My Soul amen well let's stand together and sing our first hymn is going to be Psalm 22 b as in bravo Psalm 22 B let's stand and sing together yourself away [Music] together [Music] foreign [Music] together [Music] forever [Music] praise us [Music] let's go to our God In Prayer let's pray are righteous and holy God we come to you in prayer this Lord's Day evening rejoicing that we can gather a second time for the worship of our great god father Son and Holy Spirit we thank you that we have this freedom to do so we pray that you would give us Hearts now to worship you a right we pray that we would worship you in spirit and in truth that we would rightly and truly hallow your most high name we pray that you would just cause us each and every one of us because it is possible with you to do so that you would cause us all to sing your praises and as we read the scriptures as we engage in prayer as we sing hymns and songs and spiritual songs and as we engage in that Central act of worship the preaching of your word we pray that you would cheer our hearts with a a high knowledge of our blessed God and that we would reflect with great joy upon Upon Jesus Christ Our precious savior we do thank you Lord God that in the fullness of the times you did send him forth born of a woman and born under the law to redeem those who are under the law that we have such a precious savior that came into this lower world that took upon himself our Humanity though without sin that he lived a life of perfect obedience unto your law that he died a perfect death upon calvary's cross and that he was raised the third day in power and in great victory in all this for our salvation for the for the Forgiveness of sins and for a justification a righteousness that truly avails with you not our own but even that of the Lord Jesus Christ himself and we do thank you that we have so great a Salvation we thank you that we have So Glorious the gospel and we do pray that you would just cause us afresh now to reflect with great joy upon that truth we thank you that we have the Forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus our lord we do pray that you would forgive us afresh in the blood of the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ we know that his blood cleanses us from all iniquity and we thank you for that and we pray that you would just cause us when we sin not to be carried off in seasons of of undo lament but that we would quickly that we would swiftly fly to that Fount which is opened up for sin and uncleanness the Precious Blood of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ and that we would have that blessed knowledge that we have perfect forgiveness in him we do pray God that you would be with those unable to join us whether for travel or illness's sake we do pray that you'd be with them that you would cause them to know your presence that they would know the joy of the Lord and we pray in the midst of suffering for those who are suffering physically we pray that these Lord God would know your strength that you would cause them to know healing to no gains and in Vigor and that they would just cast themselves upon you in all things we do pray for those who are with child we rejoice in these good gifts to your people we would ask Lord God that you'd bless them just cause them to uh to know your good to know strength in body and that that for both mother and mother and child in due time the occasion of bringing these young ones into this world would be it would be a blessed day and that there would be no issue and uh Lord God that you would just bless these mothers and these children and we pray for all of our children Lord as we have many at various ages we pray that you would cause parents and even grandparents Lord God to to raise up these children in the fear and in the training of the Lord that they would at a young age own our God and rejoice in Our Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ we do pray God again for the persecuted church as we think about many nations throughout this world where there is such a hot persecution and we think of our Brothers and Sisters in Christ in these places and we just pray that you would be with them that you would be near to them in the midst of the oppression and the The Tyranny and the opposition that they endure Lord God we pray that you would lift them up in spirit that you would even in the face of these wicked things cheer their hearts with the knowledge of the Triune God and with the fact that they are found safely in Christ Jesus the Lord that they would in the in the face of their persecutors look with eyes of faith upon the Risen Christ and find in him their strength and their courage we do pray for those who minister to them in these lands missionaries and and pastors men in churches who who preach the word and who carry the gospel to many of these countries Lord we pray that you would watch over them as they travel and as they Minister give them courage and give them confidence in the Triune God to to go about to go about their calling bringing the gospel to Sinners and and cheering the Saints in these areas we do pray for for these wicked men these wicked women who do persecute your people we pray Lord God that by spirit and word they would be brought forth from The Madness of their idolatry and and irreligion they would be brought forth to the Delight in life in Christ Jesus our precious savior that they would cast off by Grace the The Madness of idolatry and own the name of Christ and we do again pray for for those who would remain obstinate for those who would remain reprobate of course and and opposed to your word and in the spirit of the Living God we pray that you would take them out of the way that they might no longer to bring violence against our precious Brothers and Sisters in Christ we do pray Lord God that you would cause your gospel to go throughout the world that it would that it would go forth victoriously that many Lord God a newly redeemed tongue this day and each and every Lord's day would sing the Praises of so great a redeemer and that throughout the world Our Gospel your gospel would be victorious we do pray for this this evening Lord now this we sing a few more songs as we read from your scriptures as we do engage in the preaching of the word we pray that you would be with us help us as as it was prayed this morning to cast off thoughts of the previous week and to cast off thoughts of the upcoming week and to solely be focused now on the worship of Father Son and Holy Spirit and do bless our brother Pastor Butler as he comes up here to preach your word strengthen him give him what he needs in this Pulpit to to grip it to open up his Bible and to speak well the things of the word of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ Christ of the the precious truths of amazing and Victorious Grace and how we are Lord God as those saved by Amazing Grace to live in light of So Glorious the gospel so do be with him and be with us and we pray that all that is done this evening Lord God would be done unto the praise of Father Son and Holy Spirit and that our precious redeeming King Jesus Christ would be exalted upon the Praises of this gathered assembly and it's in his name that we pray amen well let's stand again and sing another hymn this time you can turn with me to 466. that's 466. let's once again stand and sing together [Music] good morning foreign [Music] is outside [Music] foreign [Music] can turn in your Bibles with me to the Book of Numbers the book of numbers as we read consecutively through the Old Testament in the evening Services we're now at Numbers Chapter 28. numbers 28 I'll begin reading reading in verse one once again the word of the Triune God now the Lord spoke to Moses saying command the children of Israel and say to them my offering my food for my offerings made by fire as a sweet Aroma to me you shall be careful to offer to me at their appointed time and you shall say to them this is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to the Lord two male Lambs in their first year without blemish day by day as a regular burnt offering the one lamb you shall offer in the morning the other lamb you shall offer in the evening and one tenth of an effort of fine flower is a grain offering mixed with one-fourth of a hint of pressed oil it is a regular burnt offering which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a sweet Aroma an offering made by fire to the Lord and its drink offering shall be one-fourth of a hint for each lamb in a holy place you shall pour out the drink to the Lord as an offering the other lamb you shall offer in the evening as the morning main offering and its drink offering and shall offer it as an offering made by fire a sweet Aroma to the Lord and on the Sabbath day two Lambs in their first year without blemish and two tenths of an effer of fine flower as a grain offering mixed with oil and its drink offering this is the burnt offering for every Sabbath besides the regular burnt offering with its drink offering at the beginnings of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the Lord two young Bulls one ram and seven Lambs in their first year without blemish three tenths of an effort of fine flower as a grain offering mixed with oil for each Bowl two tenths of an effa a fine flower as a grain offering mixed with oil for the one ram and one tenth of an effort of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each lamb as a burnt offering of sweet as a burnt offering of sweet Aroma an offering made by fire to the Lord their drink offering shall be half a hint of wine for a bowl one third of a hin for a ram and 1 fourth of a hint for a lamb this is the burnt offering for each month throughout the months of the year also one kid of the goats as a sin offering to the Lord shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering on the 14th day of the first month of the Passover of the Lord is the Passover of the Lord and on the 15th day of this month is the feast unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days on the first day you shall have a holy convocation you shall do no customary work and you shall present an offering made by fire as a burnt offering to the Lord two young Bulls one ram and seven Lambs in their first year be sure they are without blemish their grain offering shall be fine flour mixed with oil three tenths of an effa you shall offer for a bowl and two tents for a ram you shall offer one tenth of an effort for each of the seven lambs also one goat is a sin offering to make atonement for you you shall offer these besides the burnt offering of the morning which is for a regular burnt offering in this manner you shall offer the food of the offering made by fire daily for seven days as a sweet Aroma to the Lord it shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering and on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation you shall do no customary work also on the day of the first fruits when you bring a new grain offering to the Lord at your Feast of Weeks you shall have a holy convocation you shall do no customary work you shall present a burnt offering as a sweet Aroma to the Lord two young Bulls one ram and seven Lambs in their first year with each grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil three tenths of an effa of each Bowl two tenths of one for the one ram and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs also one kid of the goats to make atonement for you be sure they are without blemish you shall present them with their drink offerings besides the regular burnt offering with its grain offering amen well just very briefly we we see in the scriptures and um and especially here not especially here but significantly here we see the care with which God approached the sacrifices that are to be rendered to him there is great care there's great precision and there's an extensive nature to the sacrifices to the offerings and to the observations that are to be rendered by the nation of Israel and these are such yes because God is Holy and also because they are being instructed in an anticipatory fashion regarding the coming Christ Our confession of Faith uses these words although the price of redemption was not actually paid by Christ till after his Incarnation yet The Virtue efficacy and benefit thereof were communicated to the elect in all ages success successively from the beginning of the world in and by those promises types and sacrifices wherein he was revealed and signified to be the seed of the woman which should bruise the serp head and the lamb slain from the foundation of the world being the same yesterday today and forever it's not a happy accident that the New Testament writers use the language of offering of sacrifice with regards to the Lord Jesus Christ it's simply to reflect the fact that Jesus Christ is himself the Fulfillment of Old Testament promises types and sacrifices the author here Moses in the Book of Numbers uses the language offering sacrifices this of course points forward to that once for all offering or sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ the New Testament writers use the same this language of the sweet smelling Aroma is also used of Christ in the New Testament that Christ who offered up a sacrifice of himself as a sweet smelling Aroma to the Lord God picking up the language of here numbers 28 and this this uh the extensive nature of the the times of the day the days of the week the times of the month and the times of the year speak to the extents of the perfect nature of the Lord Jesus Christ who once for all offered up himself a sacrifice for Sinners a a lamb without blemish and without spot offered up the richness of our Bibles is glorious to behold as the old anticipates the Lord Jesus Christ his coming into this world and his giving of himself as an offering as a sacrifice and a perfect one for the sins of his people well let's pray Heavenly Father we thank you for your Revelation to us in the scriptures we rejoice in your goodness to us in making yourself known and in making Christ Jesus known to us we do thank you that by your spirit we have been made to know that by your grace we have been made to know So Glorious a savior we pray that we we would Behold Him afresh with eyes of Faith this evening as we engage in this final act of worship the preaching of the word and just as we simply continue in worship we pray that you would fill our hearts with the knowledge of our blessed God and of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ and it's in his name that we pray amen our final hymn then before the preaching is 242 that's 2 42 we'll stand and sing our final hymn this evening together thank you for me so we're still Christ in Christ [Music] at you with us [Music] foreign [Music] the Lord [Music] foreign [Music] with me in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians as we work our way through Ephesians chapter four Focus tonight will be verses 49 to 32. Ephesians 4 29-32 but I'll read beginning in verse 17. beginning in verse 17 Paul writes this I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind having their understanding darkened being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart who being past feeling have given themselves over to lewdness to work all uncleanness with greediness but you have not so learned Christ if indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus that you put off concerning your former conduct the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and Holiness therefore putting away lying Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor for we are members of one another be angry and do not sin do not let the son go down on your wrath nor give place to the devil let him who stole still no longer but rather let him labor working with his hands what is good that he may have something to give him who has need let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth but what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers and do not grieve the holy spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption let all bitterness wrath anger clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you amen well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you that it is the authoritative and the infallible and inherent word of our blessed God we confess that concerning Genesis to revelation we thank you as well for this letter to the epistle to the Ephesians with reference to the doctrine of our Salvation we thank you that it's by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone and we know that when that happens when that obtains there will be sanctification there will be consequences as a result so God help us to receive these things tonight help us to watch our conduct in light of the Thrice holy God help us to live in a manner that is consistent with our High Calling in the Lord Jesus Christ forgive us for all of our sin certainly as we read scripture just the bare reading of it we are found out we are convicted we see that our our our righteousness is not always what it ought to be our pursuit of those things that are above are not always what they ought to be so cleanse Us in that precious blood of the Lamb even now and guide us by the Holy Spirit and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well as we have seen the Apostle has set forth the doctrine of salvation in chapters one to three and then here in chapter four if you notice at verse 1 he says I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called he then digresses in terms of gospel Ministry the purpose is for or the purpose of the gifts that Christ has given to the church that takes him to verse 16 and then in verse 17 he starts to get real practical with the people of God and remember specifically he bids us not to walk like the Gentiles he tells us that very clearly in verses 17 to 19 our uh our our nature our or rather our conduct is not to be like it was we have been saved what we were is no longer the case we have that before picture in Ephesians 2 1-3 and then we have that emphasis on but God in verses to four to ten so God has saved us so don't go backwards in your life don't go back to that Gentile Behavior but rather shun it avoid it and resist it and then in verses 20 to 24 he's not giving imperatives he's not saying I want you to put off the old man I want you to be renewed in the spirit of your mind by way of command and I want you to put on the new man these are things that God has done this is the indicative this is what has happened to us by God's grace the old man has been put off we're being renewed in the spirit of our minds by the Holy Spirit and we have by Grace put on the new man and then that last section there in verse 24 seems to allude to covenantal categories we might say that all these characteristics that were symptomatic of the old man characterize our life in Adam and then these things that are true of the new man characterize our life in Christ Jesus and you see that sort of creation Motif there in verse 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness so God according to Solomon made man upright but they sought out many devices according to Ecclesiastes 7 29. So Adam was made in a particular way he had a righteousness and he had a Holiness but he forfeit that by sinning against God by taking from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil there was a positive commandment there that was a Prohibition it was a covenant of works and out of course transgressed but as a result of the last Adam by God's grace now the old man has been put off the new man has been put on and we are being renewed in the spirit of our mind so that's the characteristics of the new man specifically there verses 20 to 24 and it's in that context now that he gives commands or he gives imperatives or he tells us how we are to live so he's not scolding the people of God he's not lecturing the people of God he's not using the law unlawfully he is not using it in a legalistic manner but rather in light of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Jesus Christ in light of your regeneration by the power of the spirit in light of the fact that you've been Justified freely by his grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ this is the conduct that is characteristic of your walk now in our lord Jesus I mentioned verse one we are to walk worthy of the calling with which we were called and so in verses 25 to 32 he gets very practical in describing the conduct of the new man and it's a structurally sound argument he first deals with the prohibit prohibited actions in verses 25 to 28 we saw that last week don't lie don't engage in a sinful anger which could lead to murderous thoughts and don't engage in theft and then structurally within each one of these commands or exhortations he gives a Prohibition he gives an exhortation and then he gives motivation and of course the prohibition is consistent with the putting off of the old man the exhortation is consistent with putting on of the new man and then the motivation is the reason why or rationale as to why we do these things so tonight we move to the prohibited speech in verses 29 to 30 and then the prohibited disposition in verses 31 and 32 and it's the same structure you have a Prohibition you have an exhortation and then you have a motivation in each of these subsections so let's take up first this prohibited speech in verses 29 to 30. notice the prohibition it's very simple verse 29a let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth now we all know that intuitively don't we we're not supposed to speak those things that are bad we're not to engage in obscenity we're not to use our mouths or our tongues as instruments of unrighteousness and in terms of using our mouths notice he's already addressed that in verse 25 therefore putting away a lying certainly a violation in terms of our mouth notice that in chapter 4 at verse 15 he envisages the church to be that body of people that speak the truth in love and in Colossians 3 which is very similar in nature to what we find here in in Ephesians chapter four same sort of emphasis let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth now this particular word that he uses here corrupt it's used elsewhere in the New Testament with a similar but not altogether the same meaning it means spoiled or rotten and it's used with reference to fish or fruit or other products that can rot so let no rotten word proceed out of your mouth let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth let no putrid word proceed out of your mouth in this particular instance it's bad or unwholesome to the extent of being harmful and notice the generality of it now the Apostle does not shrink back from denouncing Gossip or slander or backbiting or whispering in what we call Vice lists in the New Testament lists of various sins and transgressions of God's law the Apostle Marshals to gather the argument that these sins of the tongue are an offense to a Thrice holy God we're not to back by it we're not to gossip we're not to slander and all of that is encompassed by this general term let no rotten word proceed out of your mouth let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth and if we look at it in terms of the particular contacts we see the balance or the contrast notice in verse 29 let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth and then he goes on to say and we'll see this in more detail in a moment but what is good for necessary edification so we might say that the unwholesome words the harmful words the bad words yes again obscenity and things that we ought not to utter but it's those things that tear down it's those things that destroy it's those things that decimate it's those things that are calculated to do harm to our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ and as we move through the context we'll notice the motivation in this particular prohibition is found in verse 30. do not grieve the holy spirit of God if you were to ask a hundred Christians what kind of sins are they that grieve the holy spirit of God I would bet that a lot of Christians if they weren't thinking about Ephesians 4 they'd say well adultery that that really has to grieve the Holy Spirit and I would certainly argue that it does they'd say murder that really has to grieve the Holy Spirit going down to Walmart and stealing things that that really must grieve the holy spirit of God but notice what the context demands in terms of understanding what it is to grieve the holy spirit this isn't the sin that the Pagan engages in this isn't the sin of the Heathen this isn't the sin of the man outside the context next to the church in the context of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ it's these unwholesome words it's this tearing down it's this harmful speech it's this gossip it's this character assassination it's this slander it's this backbiting it's this whispering in other words we can grieve the holy spirit of God most high by the way that we talk to one another and so the Apostle says as new men in Christ Jesus you need to put that to death that kind of language is consistent with the old man that kind of language is consistent with Adam the first that kind of language is consistent with those who don't care about God and who don't care about others one man one commentator says although this term can refer to that which is spoiled or rotten or putrid in this context the term is used figuratively to refer to that which is harmful and tears down instead of building up there are a few Proverbs that go in this particular direction proverbs 10 seven the mouth of the righteous is a well of life but violence covers the mouth of the wicked again I think at times we don't really understand how how bad that our words can be and again I'm not just speaking about the obscenities that we might utter the curse words that we might say but the way that we tear other people down as well proverbs 10 31-32 the mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom but the perverse tongue will be cut out the lips of the righteous know what is acceptable but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse Proverbs 13 3 he who guards his mouth preserves his life but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction in other words Solomon says if you've got a big mouth destruction is in your future if you've got a big mouth destruction is part and parcel of not controlling your tongue Proverbs 15 2 the tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness so obviously the connection with this prohibition to the immediate conduct of context let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth why because that is the kind of language that is consistent with the old man and by the grace of God that old man has been put off by the grace of God you are to put on the new man that doesn't engage in that sort of talk that doesn't engage in that sort of character assassination so that's the prohibition let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth then notice the exhortation so put off put on put off put on that's the dynamic in the life of sanctification put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts those who simply put off are not necessarily Christians there's people all over the Earth today that are stopping to uh drink to drunkenness on a regular basis there's people that are stopping crack cocaine there are people that are stopping prostitution they're putting off but that's not the dynamic involved in sanctification it's a put off those wicked things but put on those things that God has commanded put on those things that God has said in chapter 4 at verse 25 put away lying and speak truth to one another verse 28 sex be angry do not sin verse 28 let him who stole still no longer but rather let him labor and then give to those who stand in need so the dynamic and sanctification is to put off those sins and to put on righteousness and so you see that here in 29 B so the exhortation is but what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers it's a beautiful thing isn't it not tear down people but rather build up people and we see for the Apostle Paul that edification or building up is very important look back to chapter 4 at verse 12. remember the reasons why Jesus gave gifts to the church verse 12 for the equipping of the Saints for the work of ministry four notice the edifying of the body of Christ the ministry is to have a positive impact on the people of God not to tear them down not to destroy them not to bring reproach upon the name of Jesus but rather to edify and build them up and then drop down to verse 16 from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share causes growth of the Body for the edifying of itself in love so you see the gospel Ministry exists for the edification of the Saints the Saints exist for the edification of the Saints let no corrupt word proceed from your mouth but that which is four necessary edification build them up encourage them help them impart grace to the hearers notice that emphasis there in verse 29 but what is good for necessary edification or building up that it may impart grace to the hearers now when I was a kid my mother used to have a saying I'm sure that all of you when you were kids had mothers that had a similar saying and I hope that you mothers today have the same saying and you pass it on to your spawn and it's simply this if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all pretty simple isn't it if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all really I'm the only guy that got that counsel or advice my mom was the unique snowflake in the history of the world that that came up with that it's a no-brainer Brethren this is Paul's point if we can read between the lines it's a very simple principle if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all but see even that falls short of sanctification in terms of Christ's people who have been Justified freely by his grace it's not the case that we have uh this mandate to not say anything at all we have a positive exhortation to speak those things for necessary edification so that we may impart grace to the hearers so that we may do them positive good so that we may be a means of blessing in their lives again the Proverbs Proverbs 12 25. anxiety in the heart of man causes depression but a good word makes it glad you know what doesn't make it glad knuckle under pal this is life it's just a hard slat you gotta deal with it buck up pal and get it together that's not going to typically heal the depression or the anxiety in the heart of your fellow it's not normally calculated to do him good it's not unto necessary edification the impartation of grace to the hearer or to mock him or to condemn him or to say a little trivial things to make him feel like he's even worse than he already is somebody's in the you know the bottom of a hall you you don't tell them you know just dig your way out pal you know you gotta claw your way out try harder maybe try to help him you try to offer some assistance you you try to impart some Grace anxiety in the heart of man causes depression but a good word makes it glad a good word what was job's complaint with his friends y'all just need to let me vent here if I could summarize job if I could just sort of Whittle it all down there's a time when a man just needs to vent and he doesn't need 15 hours of lecture on why he's in the condition he's in I mean there may be a time for that and there certainly is there's a place for that and there certainly is but when you're in the bottom of a hole the last thing you need are 15 lessons on why you're in the bottom of the hole and 25 lessons on how you can achieve success once you're out of the hole now just come into the hall and cry with me come into the hole and help me Proverbs 15 23 a man has Joy by the answer of his mouth and a word spoken in due season how good it is so remember Paul let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth but what is good for necessary edification that it might uh that it may impart grace to the hearers but again 15 23 in the Proverbs a man has Joy by the answer of his mouth and a word spoken in due season how good it is isn't it it was just that word it was just that encouragement it was that bit of necessary edification it was that impartation of Grace now when Paul says in part grace to the hearers he doesn't mean that we have salvificent Grace he doesn't mean we have the unmerited favor of God we're not the the god of Ephesians 1 7 that we've been you know Redeemed by his blood according to the riches of his grace but this grace to the hearers imparting grace to the ears means benevolence and kindness and and goodness it is the contrast to the tearing down the destructive tendency the lack of edification Proverbs 16 24 pleasant words like a honeycomb sweetness to the soul and health to the bones now I like to think about this particular passage in the context of marriage my beloved might think he doesn't think about it enough in the context of marriage but it does come up occasionally in my mind concerning the context of marriage think about marriage we love each other we're one flesh with one another we're as close as humanly possible in that context let no corrupt speech flow from your mouth let no corrupt word proceed from your mouth but what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers whatever the particular context is these are rules to live by these are things that the Apostle says are indicative of the new man in Jesus Christ Proverbs 25 11 and 12. a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold is a wise rebuker to an obedient ear why do you think Solomon says wise rebuker because there's probably likely a lot of unwise rebukers hey hey I see you're in the hole down there too bad for you I'm sure it was all those stupid decisions that you made that landed you in that Hall when you get out of that hole call me and we'll have coffee no a wise rebuke her is a blessing a wise rebuker is an encouragement a wise rebuker is a gift of the church bridges in his commentary on the Book of Proverbs says a well-disciplined tongue is a great blessing in the life of the church a well-disciplined tongue is a great blessing in the life of the church so again let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth it's a comprehensive term it certainly includes uh Gossip it includes slander it includes backbiting it includes evil speaking that's referenced to specifically in verse 31. so the prohibition the exhortation then notice in verse 30 the motivation the motivation and do not grieve the holy spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption there's a lot going on in this particular verse first of all notice the language used the word grief assumes or presupposes fluctuation the word grief assumes or presupposes movement from one state to another so a person is not grieved something happens to them and now they are grieved so are we saying that the holy spirit moves about are we saying that the Holy Spirit can be prevailed upon are we saying that the holy spirit is kind of like us he goes from a state of not being grieved to a state of being grieved I think John Gill is absolutely right and this is said of him by anthropopathy and supposes something done that is offensive to him if you're new with us and you don't know what that word anthropopathy means that's okay you're going to explain it there's something that the Bible uses called anthropomorphism you say great now two words I don't know how hopeful is that defining a word I don't know by another word that I don't know well anthropomorphism is typically more uh uh comment the Bible speaks of the eyes of the Lord are in every place the Bible speaks of the right hand of God God the Bible speaks in terms of human language applied to our God now in terms of God God is spirit and does not have a body like men we've got that definitionally by Jesus Christ in John 4 24. God is Spirit Well if he's spirit that means he's immaterial he's not extended into space that means he doesn't have arms he doesn't have eyes well what the Bible does is it accommodates us the Bible accommodates us because we are finite and it's tough for us to understand the infinite impossible at some level the Bible uses analogy and so it says of God that he has eyes it says of God that he has hands it says of God that he has a mighty right arm these are anthropomorphisms the the assertion of bodily parts to God not to say that God has bodily Parts but to say that God is like this it's an analogy it is a creaturely analogy so we can learn something of our creator anthropopathy or anthropopathism refers to feelings and emotions and the inner turmoil that you and I experience so when we go from a state of non-grief to grief there's movement and so when we read a passage like this we need to understand what the Apostle is doing and what he's not doing he's not doing this kind of theology the spirit was happy until you said a bad thing to your wife and now the spirit is sad that's not what he's saying he is saying that there is an offense that is happening in the church that brings this to the spirit that brings this what we call grief offense some sort of transgression to the holy spirit so again Gill says this is said of him by anthropopathy and supposes something done that is offensive to him if you want the technical language this is called an improper predicate improper predication concerning God if you want more information about this then please email Kim and he'll tell you all about it so that's the language but then notice the theology that's assumed if we can grieve the Holy Spirit what does that teach us about the Holy Spirit it teaches us that Jehovah's Witnesses are wrong Jehovah's Witnesses depersonalize the holy spirit of God Jehovah's Witnesses and not just Jehovah's Witnesses I'm just picking on them because they're low-hanging fruit but they say that Holy Spirit they say it holy spirit they don't even use the article Holy Spirit never the holy the holy spirit it's Holy Spirit holy spirit is God's active Force God's active force that depersonalizes the third person of our blessed Triune God we're not supposed to do that in a parallel passage or somewhat similar we have in first Thessalonians 5 do not quench the spirit here we have do not grieve the spirit in Acts chapter 5 Peter sin or not Peter but ananias and sapphirus the sin that Peter calls out is that they lie to the Holy Spirit what does that assume or what is that presuppose it presupposes or assumes the personhood of the Holy Spirit he's not just the active force of God most high as well notice the effect the effect explained so verse 30 do not grieve the Holy Spirit what does that mean do not grieve the Holy Spirit what is the effect of that grieving of the Holy Spirit when we engage in this kind of conduct or we engage in this kind of talk what's what's the net effect again guilt I think is hopeful and his being grieved appears by his departure from that now that doesn't mean absolutely positively which is to be perceived by the darkness of their souls the prevailings of corruption the weakness of Grace and their backwardness to duty I think that's legit when we engage in sin when we let corrupt speech flow from our mouths when we don't build people up when we don't impart race to the hearers what happens are we happy holy healthy and righteous absolutely not when we grieve the Holy Spirit there are effects upon us as a result of that at a fourth observation on this statement do not grieve the holy spirit of God is that it is something that is reminiscent of an event that happened in Israel's history in Isaiah the prophet in chapter 63 verse 10 we read this specifically this is rehearsing the the Israelites that had been redeemed notice the language of redemption in verse 30 by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption redemption in the New Testament has a great big background in terms of redemption from Egypt by God concerning the Israelites so God redeems the children of Israel out of Egypt they go out into the Wilderness and what do they do do they have prayer meetings all the time do they sing hymns of praise to God all the time are they constantly expressing their gratitude to God are they on their faces before Yahweh saying thank you for bringing us out of that land misery no they whine they complain they Grumble and so when we read in the prophet Isaiah 63 10 they rebelled and grieved as holy spirit so he turned himself against them as an enemy and he fought against them there's a parallel to this in Psalm 78 verses 17 to 20. the Israelites had been redeemed the Israelites were supposed to be grateful but instead they engage in whining and in one particular aspect we see it in in Exodus chapter 15. they whine for water they moan for water they want water the place is called Mera bitterness when Paul or dropping down when we get specifically to verse 30. notice the first word that we're supposed to avoid I'm sorry verse 31 let all bitterness so Paul has a backdrop of old Covenant religion and he is using those themes and he is using that language and he is using that concept for the New Covenant to Israel for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in some sense there's great discontinuity but in another sense there is some continuity you get a bunch of people together and what happens they typically whine get a bunch of people together they typically complain get a bunch of people together they talk negatively toward one another get a bunch of people together they don't speak those words that impart Grace to one another there is that consistency between old Covenant Israel and New Covenant Israel and then as I said earlier the context considered when you think of grieving the holy spirit is it corrupt speech really that's grieving the spirit yes according to the Apostle Paul we think it's the big Benchmark sins we think it's the big transgression of you know Murder and adultery and theft we we think it's you know idolatry and again I'm not suggesting that these things aren't an offense to the holy spirit of God but in this particular context it's the sins of our tongue and then notice the motivation celebrated verse 30. do not grieve the holy spirit of God look at what he ends up with by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption this is language we've already seen in Ephesians 1 you can turn there verses 13 and 14 concerning the Holy Spirit in whom or in him you also trusted after you heard the word of Truth The Gospel of your salvation in whom also having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit a promise who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the Redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory the similar convention used in second Corinthians chapter 1 verse 22 and here specifically notice Paul's argument do not grieve the holy spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption the idea is not do not grieve the holy spirit of God or you'll be cut off do not grieve the holy spirit of God because you'll be Cast Away into hell do not grieve the holy spirit of God because if you do I'm going to tell you this you're not going to make it into heaven off you go into the fiery pit wretch that's not what he says do not grieve the Holy Spirit by whom you have been sealed for the day of redemption and again put redemption in the context of the putting off and the putting on the new creation that we will one day enter into fully we've tasted it a bit we have already enjoyed it but it's not yet been fully exposed in terms of the consummate glory of God Warfield said men may think that stronger appeal might be based on fear lest we fall from the spirit's keeping as if Paul should have said because you can be kept only by the spirit beware lest you grieve them away by sinning but Paul's actual appeal is not to fear but to gratitude hmm isn't that interesting guilt Grace gratitude maybe the reformed tradition was on to something you think he says because you have been sealed by the spirit unto the day of redemption see to it that you do not grieve the spirit who has done so much for you see this is why Paul is not a scolding legalistic preacher this is why Paul cannot be conceived of uh as the guy shaking or wagging his finger in your face telling you to have no fun Paul is saying you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus which includes the sealing of the spirit unto the day of redemption you have tasted of the age to come but you've not yet fully entered into what there is in store based on that blessed reality live in such a way that you don't tear down your fellows with your tongue but rather build them up impart grace to the hearers use your words in a manner that is consistent with new men and new women in Christ Jesus now notice the prohibited disposition in verses 31 to 32 where do lying anger and Saft come from where do corrupt speech or where does corrupt speech come from well turn for just a moment to the gospel of Matthew Matthew chapter 15. Matt excuse me Matthew chapter 15. you have that instance where the Lord Jesus is dealing with I almost said his favorite people but our favorite people the the Pharisees those healthy wonderful humans and they're upset that his disciples did not wash their hands before they ate and they weren't coved sort of animated well you got to wash your hands you're going to get the the dorona no no it was defilement and then notice what Jesus says in verse 11 and Matthew 15. not not what goes into the mouth defiles a man but what comes out of the mouth this defiles a man then his disciples came and said to him do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard the saint but he answered and said every plant which my heavenly father has not planted will be upper uprooted let them alone that's pretty powerful isn't it let them alone leave those guys alone but but Lord leave him alone he says they are blind leaders of the Blind and if the blind leads the blind both will fall into a ditch notice that the man following the blind man doesn't get to plead ignorance but I know he was blind if I hadn't followed the blind man I wouldn't have fallen no no no both who fall or both will fall into the ditch there's no sort of lack of responsibility well I was just a follower followers are supposed to be bright enough to follow those who lead well followers are supposed to be bright enough that they don't hitch their wagon to some pony that's going to take them right to the pit of Hell the the the blind leading the blind both fall into the pit now notice in verse 15 Peter answered and said to him explain this Parable to us so Jesus said are are you also still without understanding do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated but those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart and they defile a man for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts murders adulteries fornications thefts false witness blasphemies these are the things which defile a man but to each eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man so going back to Ephesians 4 we ought to surmise that in this prohibit prohibited disposition section Paul is not simply calling for behavior modification Paul is not a 20th century psychologist that's okay with you just getting it together externally do don't lie just don't engage in sinful anger just don't engage in Theft just just kill those externals he's not you know my mom if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all he's not about simple externals but he goes to the heart of the issue the disposition of our heart the disposition of the inner man this is consistent with the old man being put off and the new man being put on see regeneration the work of God's grace is extensive it's not just behavior modification just stop smoking crack and you're going to go to heaven no that's not what the emphasis is in the scripture you should stop smoking crack because it's bad for you and it's certainly not going to help you in any sense shape or form but it's not that means by which you enter into heaven so it's not just behavior modification in terms of the externals and in terms of the tongue notice he deals with the heart notice in verse 31 let all bitterness wrath anger clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice notice that language put away from you these are things symptomatic of the old man the old man has been put off if there's these things remaining you need to kill them you're prohibited from having these sorts of thoughts and what do we see with reference to bitterness we see the state of being bitter in an effective sense animosity anger harshness bitterness is never Bueno Brethren the bitterness never helps anybody does it bitterness doesn't destroy the person you're bitter at bitterness always destroys you it's like trying to deal with the problems of another person by stabbing yourself it it just doesn't make sense it's just not the proper way to proceed so Paul says do not let bitterness Fester if there's bitterness in your heart to a brother or a sister what's the biblical response or remedy go to him deal with him love him reconcile with him bury the hatchet with him not in his head but in terms of the proverbial saying so that you don't have this outstanding problem bitterness affects in a very negative way but then notice he doesn't stop there let all bitterness wrath wrath is a state of intense displeasure indignation you see overlap and a bit of Distinction in each of the words and then he goes on to say anger so let all bitterness wrath and anger we must have to interpret this as unwarranted anger because back in verse 26 he says be angry and do not sin so there is a type of anger albeit there's a small margin for error there is a type of anger that a Christian can Harbor that's not necessarily sinful we have the two instances in the gospel records in Mark chapter three Jesus looks at the the Pharisees are upset that he healed a man he has anger with them he's grieved with that and when he's flipping tables over in the temple he's probably not whistling zippity-doo-dah he's angry he's showing and expressing that righteous indignation Psalm 7 11 God is angry with the wicked every day but if you do not deal with that anger what happens oh everything's going to be fine everything's going to be great I'm Cal I'm constructed in such a way that I can just be angry and bitter and wrathful and it is no big deal no according to Paul this is conduct or disposition that associated with the old man that old man's dad you're a new man in Christ Jesus guess what's not consistent with the new man in Christ Jesus bitterness wrath anger and then he says clamor what's clamor it means to yell it means to actually Express what's in your heart in a way that is ungodly it is Unholy and as I'm preaching this I'm mindful that I am certainly not a perfect being notice this language of clamor it is a loud cry a shout shouting or clamor of excited persons and then that leads to evil speaking and I think Lincoln in his commentary A.T Lincoln sort of brings these things to a connection he says within the comprehensive listing there is a progression from anger's inner Center bitterness and then it moves to uh through its initial eruption wrath and then there's this steady festering in Anger to its initial expression clamor and then the damaging of others by evil speaking so you see what happens if you are not living in a manner that is consistent with new men and new women in Christ Jesus if you entertain for a time this bitterness and and this wrath and this anger and then you let fly and clamor and evil speaking you are guilty you are living like an old man that is not in Jesus Christ so this is conduct becoming the new man and so by God's grace we need to put it to death we need to put it away but notice it's not just the put off it's not just the disregard or or get rid of but note the positive exhortation so in the absence of bitterness and and and wrath and and anger and glamor and evil speaking we put all that off with the old man what do we put on in terms of the new man well it's pretty simple not bitterness not wrath not anger not clamor and not evil speaking Paul summarizes it here very effectively be kind to one another right it's not rocket science Brethren as I mentioned last week and conversation with one of the brothers in the Church New Testament ethics isn't something brand new wow I I can't believe I'm I'm not supposed to hate my brother in my heart and I'm I'm supposed to be kind to him know what God instituted at Creation in terms of righteousness and Holiness which was forfeit by the last Adam is recovered by the or forfeit by the first Adam is recovered by the last Adam when that old man is put off and the new man is put on then guess what happens not a new body of Ethics not a brand new code but we get what the word of God has always said but internalized by the power of the Holy Spirit and now there's a willingness by us to comply with it it's a wonderful Dynamic so be kind to one another and then tender-hearted the language suggests bowels from your bowels have this sort of an attitude toward your fellows you see that sort of convention applied or predicated of God there's this bowels of Mercy sort of emphasis throughout scripture relative to God well we are to be kind to one another we are to be tenderhearted and you know he kind of leaves those terms out there so look at kindness what does that mean I I should say hi to people I should smile at people tenderhearted well I should care about people I I should pray for people I should try to do things for people I should try to serve people but in the absence of any specific referent in terms of what we're to do kindly or what were to do with tender affection or kind a a tender affection we have this specific emphasis on forgiving one another see this is contrary to bitterness this is contrary to wrath this is contrary to anger this is contrary to clamor and this is contrary to evil speaking it's unavoidable Brethren unavoidable that there's going to be problems in the church I can't believe brother so and so sinned against me I you know if you say that to me do you know what I'm actually thinking I'm probably going to be nicer in the way that I approach it but I'm actually thinking how can you not believe that do you not sin against people do you not have issues do you always speak everything positively in love I can't believe sister whoever did what she did really you you can't believe it in light of the Bible that has King David in light of the Bible it has the Apostle Peter in light of the Bible that has perfectly at descriptions of of you and I you can't believe it offenses will come trials and hardships among God's people obtain difficulties are introduced sin is a reality remaining corruption prone to wander prone to lead the God we love but what do we do from time to time we tear each other down we say things we ought not so what's the response be better at them avoid them like the plague clamor yell at them and and speak evil about them and oh by the way make sure you tell everybody they know how bad they are because that's always a positive step in the right direction you know just go and gossip all about them take your intimate inner dealings and just bring it to bear on everybody that's associated with with the situation because you know what that really pleases the Holy Spirit he's going to be so happy that you shared that in the prayer meeting that you're probably going to see Revival and the Latter-Day Glory no that's not what happens that's not what happens look at what he says be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another John Edie said faults will be committed and offenses must come but Believers are to forgive them are not to exaggerate them but to cover them up from view by throwing over them the mantle of universal charity amen John Eady he's aping or imitating first Peter 4 7. have fervent love for one another for love will cover a multitude of sins see this is where the proof is in the pudding I'm kind I'm tenderhearted you should just see how great I am but I'm not going to forgive that guy not going to forgive that girl then guess what genius you're not kind and you're not tenderhearted because this is what shows it this is what demonstrates it this is what puts it into play and I was gonna go I don't want to go too far too long but Matthew 18 you should go there later and look at the pursuit of reconciliation in Matthew 18 15 to 20. it's the instruction of our savior on discipline if your brother sins against you go to him if he hears you then you've won your brother praise God if he doesn't hear you take two or three Witnesses if he doesn't hear them tell it to the church he doesn't listen to the church then treat him as a tax collector in a heathen that's the process not bitterness wrath anger clamor and evil speaking there's a Judicial biblical legal principle involved but then after that statement Jesus illustrates forgiveness actually we're going to look Matthew 18. this illustrates the point beautifully Matthew chapter 18. look at verse 21. then Peter came to him and said Lord how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him up to seven times probably Peter thought he was being very large-hearted up to seven times Lord we know the response of Our Lord but the illustration that he gives is beautiful Jesus said to him I do not say to you up to seven times but up to 70 times seven now even in that he's not telling you to get your iPhone out and you know make sure you don't exceed seven times well that's it you're done we finally reached the we finally reached the threshold I'm done it's over I don't have to forgive you anymore it it is hyperbolic it is a figure of speech it is metaphorical to say you don't put a cap on forgiveness no this is coming out of the passage on church discipline you've probably heard people say church discipline excommunication what what an unloving process what's church discipline calculated to promote repentance forgiveness right standing stability life of the church no gangrene spreading amongst the membership so Jesus demonstrates the benevolence verse 23 therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain King who wanted to settle accounts with his servants and when he had begun to settle accounts one was brought to him and owed him ten thousand talents but as he was not able to pay his master commanded that he'd be sold with his wife and children and all that he had and that payment be made the servant therefore fell down before him saying Master have patience with me and I I will pay you all then the master of that servant was moved with compassion released him and forgave him the debt but that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat saying pay me what you owe so his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him saying have patience with me and I will pay you all and he would not but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt so when his fellow servants saw what had been done they were very grieved and came and told their master all that had been done then his master after he had called him said to him you Wicked servant I forgave you all that debt because you begged me should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you and his master was angry and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him a Brethren I'm not a rocket scientist and I'm not you know big on all that's involved in Penal sanction and torture and that sort of thing but I gotta think it's hard to make money to pay back a debt when you're being tortured that's what verse 34 says his master was angry and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him it's not going to stop I was going to go out and make money when he's being tortured now notice the implication or notice the lesson and it's what we're going to end with tonight in Ephesians 4. so my heavenly father also will do to do to you if each of you from his heart does not forgive his brother his trespasses now back to Ephesians 4. notice that that is the motivation so he says be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you now don't make the mistake in Matthew 18 to assume that we're not going to go to heaven or we're not going to be forgiven unless we first forget in other words it's a quid pro quo I forgive others and then God forgives me that's not the teaching of the text the teaching of the text is that the Forgiveness that we exercise to our fellows is a consequence of the Forgiveness that we have received from God most high in other words I don't forgive others so that I may go to heaven I forgive others because I am going to heaven I don't forgive others so that God will forgive me I forgive others because God has forgiven me again we are not preaching or teaching or saying behavior modification Works righteousness earn your salvation Paul ends on the that note in this section be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you Gordon Clark made this observation when we stop to consider how the offended God forgave our sins by the death of his son we must be as hard as a rock not to forgive a fellow church member whose sin against us is so small when compared to our sin against God he's right even as God in Christ forgave you Grudge holding Grudge bearing Christians who are filled with bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking are not living in a manner consistent with the new man they're living in a manner consistent with the old man this is not appropriate disposition in terms of the lives of God's people so we're to put off we're to put on and the motivation is that God in Christ has forgiven us so in conclusion the actions that are consistent with the new man the old man lies the new man speaks the truth the old man engages in murderous rage the new man puts that to death he seeks reconciliation the old man steals the new man works hard and is charitable to others with reference to the sins of the tongue the old man spoke corrupt speech the old man poured out the old man destroyed the old old man decimated so what does the new man do he speaks those things unto necessary edification he imparts grace to the hearers he does this in his church he does this in his family he does this in his Society this is not case specific only in the church but outside you're free to do whatever you want no new man in Christ Jesus are new men in Christ Jesus as well the inner disposition that is consistent with the new man is that we put to death the bitterness the Wrath and the anger and that we by God's grace Implement kindness tender heartedness and we exercise forgiveness one to another now if it's the sword of sin that brings great reproach upon the name of the Savior if it's not the sword of sin that we can just sort of let Love cover well then we take the process seriously we deal in terms of Matthew 18. I'm not suggesting that for every violation or transgression or infraction that obtains in the lives of God's people in their home they need to come to the elders with everything my my husband just won't put his socks in the hamper he's a pig he's a beast well sister that might be one of those things you just need to let Love cover it but if the sister comes and says my husband went and committed adultery we implement the procedure we implement the process we do what God has called us to do we're not to be coward as well we don't want to actually go and try to seek reconciliation so we'll just gossip about them we'll just slander them and we'll just let bitterness fester in our hearts that is ungodly Behavior it is inconsistent with the new man in Christ Jesus and Paul demands Paul exhorts and Paul commands under the inspiration of the holy spirit that we live live differently we live in a manner that is consistent with what is characteristic of new men and women in Christ Jesus not so that we will be saved this section is not teaching that do this for salvation there is an order Ephesians 1 into precede Ephesians 4-6 Ephesians 1 and 2 answer the question how am I saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone verses or chapters four to six answer the question how now shall I live by putting to death these Deeds that are consistent with the old man and putting on the righteousness that is consistent with the new man and you have the spirit you have the word you have one another you have sufficient resources to do all that God calls you to do well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for this section in Ephesians and the emphasis on practical Christianity and God we pray for the spirits enabling power in our lives so that we would refrain from the actions condemned here from the speech condemned here and from the disposition condemned here and that we would by Grace put on those things that are consistent with our blessed savior our Lord Jesus Christ those things associated with new creation and God help us to persevere help us to bring glory and honor and praise unto you and we ask through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation