STAND STRONG
STAND STRONG
8.11 - Imitating the Father
As our reading crosses into Ephesians 5, the apostle Paul warns that our thoughts, words, and actions need to align with our new life in Christ. As children of God, we have an inheritance, but we can be deceived into violating that inheritance if we are not careful.
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Paul and Noah both preach and teach with the Cedar Park church of Christ in Cedar Park, TX. You can visit our site at: https://www.cedarparkchurchofchrist.org/
Well will welcome, welcome today to those who are tuning into the Stand Strong podcast. I'm in the studio again today with Noah, and we're in the book of Ephesians. We've got our Bibles open. If you're at a place where you can find yours and open yours, we'd encourage you to do that. This is Rich, rich material. We've been in chapter four. And we're moving into chapter five. It is so practical, Noah, because we started the application side of this in chapter four, just with the language that Paul used. We wanna walk worthy of the calling, and we talked about what that calling is in chapters one, two, and three. We got very practical the last couple of episodes. And what it means now to walk in unity, to walk in purity, and really that conversation on walking in purity is, is not going to take a break. It really flows naturally into the thoughts that we want to share together with all who are joining us in Ephesians chapter five. So welcome today, Noah, to the studio.
Noah:Yeah, I'm, I'm looking forward to this chapter five is So Rich and like you said, it just. It flows from chapter four. This is one of those chapter breaks that really is probably just more about verse management than it is about content. Agreed. Because, you know, we've, we've been reading through this and Paul's been addressing. Most recently in chapter four, the Christians new life that they have in Jesus and how it involves putting off and abandoning their old Gentile way of living. That's, that's what he talks about there, the gen you must not act as the Gentiles do. But instead in verse 32 of chapter four, he says, be kind to one another as he's kind of. Wrapping up that particular section, tender hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. And I point out that verse because when we get to the very next verse, he says, therefore, be imitators of God. I mean, that's repeating the very same concept that he just said, as right as God forgave you in Christ, you are to forgive and to be tender hearted. And then therefore be imitators of God as beloved children. And for the next, you know, several verses, he's going to use that image of being children of God being part of the household of God. And therefore because we're part of his household imitating him as his children walking in love as Christ loved us. That's there in verse two. That's kind of the thrust of where he is going is. We're his children, so we need to be like him.
Paul:Yeah. I love it. It, it's so refreshing to me though, to see how God centered. Paul's approach is mm-hmm. In a very practical way.'cause I was wanting to deal with the practical side and the application side. It's refreshing to me just, just as someone who's trying to open the text and make it very applicable, just to see how God centered Paul's approach is even in the first century. Yeah. I, I love that. So in chapter back in chapter four, you know, he'd, he'd make a point like, you didn't learn Christ his way. So he says, here, here's what it means to learn Christ. And then he says, oh, don't grieve the Holy Spirit. Mm-hmm. If you're guilty of this, if you're guilty of this, if, if this is your heart, if you're thinking like this, if you're acting like this, if you're treating others and speaking of others this way, that is, that's so, that's grieving God. Mm-hmm. And then he just said, Hey. Imitate your father.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:Mimic God. It's, it is. So God-centered, the Son, the Spirit and the Father.
Noah:Yes. Yeah. Which we've, we've recognized that earlier in the book, in the in as, as he calls us to this calling that he keeps it focused on God, the Father, the Son, the Spirit. And now as he is encouraging the application and the really practical, nitty gritty, he keeps it. Focused Similarly, he starts with the standard. That's, that's really what it comes back to. When he's, when he points to God, he says, wait, for instance, when he points to the Spirit, you're grieving the Holy Spirit. That indicates that the spirit in, in some way is the standard of our living. And here in the first couple verses of chapter five, you're supposed to imitate God. He's the standard you're supposed to love as Christ loved Christ is the standard. Which then makes verses three and following make a lot of sense because what Paul is saying is these don't fit that standard, right? They don't fit, they don't, they don't fit. You're supposed to fit the standard that God has set in the example that God has set. And he says in verse three, he sexual immorality and impurity and covetousness. That's not proper among saints. It's not even supposed, you know, it's not supposed to be named among you. Which the idea there simply being this, this shouldn't be a problem for you. This isn't how saints are supposed to act. And he goes on from there.
Paul:Yeah, the new king. The new king James, verse four and verse three, as is fitting, but verse four, which. Are not fitting. Mm-hmm. It doesn't. So, you know, all there, there's technical definitions to that. And I get that on an application side. Here's a simple way for me now he says, now as, as is fitting, say it doesn't fit someone who says I'm a holy one. Mm-hmm. I'm trying to reflect the image of Christ, the image of God. I'm wanting to mimic God. It just doesn't fit. One morning I was coming out and Amy asked me, are you gonna wear that tie, loaded question? But the bottom line is, you know, the point was it, it, it didn't fit. I. Mm-hmm. You know, it didn't fit. I've heard one preacher call it, it looked, I, I looked like death eating crackers. I don't know what he meant by death eating crackers. But it, it doesn't fit, it doesn't look good. I know that's a very simplified way of, of making a very serious point of Ephesians five, if you claim to be a holy one. Mm-hmm. Separated from sin sanctified to serve God's purposes to, to imitate God. Then this kind of lifestyle, this kind of. Way of living Doesn't fit.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:Yeah. Doesn't, it doesn't, doesn't it doesn't match, right. Doesn't work.
Noah:Yeah. There's all sorts of, we, we all can think, I mean, if we just take a moment to think about the past, oh, you know, 48 hours of our lives, or even just over the past week. I'm sure we could find illustrations of when, that kind of thing you know, silly ones like the tie, or like you said, death eating crackers. Were. Something just didn't work. This was there was no, it wasn't congruent, right? Mm-hmm. This was incongruous. I just, the other day, Cohen was going out into the, into the yard to pick up some trash with, with his mom, and they were putting on some gloves and they're adult sized gloves, you know, he puts it onto his 6-year-old hand. That doesn't, doesn't fit. The idea is we're in the household of God. And that means some things fit, like Thanksgiving is called out in verse five or four, verse four or five, right? Thanksgiving is called out that fits in the household of God, but other things don't. What's really important that we notice in this section is that Paul doesn't just talk about. When, when he's talking about our walk and our lives, he's not just talking about the actions that we take.
Paul:Oh, yes.
Noah:I wish you guys could see the way Paul's eyes light up when he knows he's about to. He's about to light it up. But as we read through this section, I, I'll just make this observation and then I'll toss it over to you, Paul. He addresses actions that we take. Mm-hmm. But he also addresses the thoughts that we have and the words that we say. All of these are gonna be included in what does or does not fit in the life of a Christian in the life of someone who lives in God's household.
Paul:Yeah. So you know, that, that was for me, you know, so I'm, I'm, I'm not trying to go after everybody else as much as, as I want to just make sure. That we don't cherry pick, you know, the sins that we really want people to talk about and, and mention in the podcast and preach the sermons about, because Paul is an apostle, he's very clear here. He's saying that, that these things do not, if you claim that you're a saint. This is not proper. It's not fitting. And there are two things that don't get as much as attention as some of these other things, like fornication and uncles. Mm-hmm. And some of those sensual sexual sorts of sins and attitude and action. But how many times do we just, the whole podcast is about the foolish talking or more to the point, the course jesting or the crude jokes.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:Or how much, you know, when's the last time you heard a 40 minute sermon on covetousness, which is idolatry?
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:I have never had somebody come and say to me before the entire congregation. Would y'all please lift up my hands and help me? I have, I have been petitioning my father and asking for forgiveness, and I need your help because I've been, I've just been covetous. Mm-hmm. It doesn't fit. Mm-hmm. It doesn't fit. And it, there's so many of these things that, in such subtle ways, and in that context, I'll toss it back to you, Noah, but it's in that context. He says things like, let no one deceive you.
Noah:Mm-hmm. Yes. Yeah.
Paul:Hell is for the people. And I, I'm not, I'm not trying to speak lightly. Of of those that are under the wrath of God and under condemnation.'cause they refuse to repent of their sins by saying hell is reserved for, but that's what Paul is saying. They're under the wrath of God. So these fornicators, these people that are living these sexual immoral lives and care less about any change, they have no remorse for this. Yes, yes, yes. But what about the crude people that are just. Letting their minds be filled with such pollution and filthiness that it's just commonplace for them to speak in such crude and coarse, unwholesome foolish kinds of way with the tongue. He said, don't be deceived. You're under the wrath of God too.
Noah:Right. In fact, the the phrase that he says is, people who are engaged in this have no inheritance. Yes. That there's, I mean, the, it sounds it sounds extreme. But the, I, there's this idea that, listen, you, you, you have access to an inheritance. You have access as a child, but living this way, that is counter to your calling and is counter to the way of your father. Disinherits you mm-hmm. From the kingdom that your father is king over. Right. That, that needs to ring out, that needs to echo through us a little bit so that we can honestly assess. I, I love the point that you made about, about covetousness. There are, i'll put it this way. There are a lot of times in both the Old Testament and the New Testament where covetousness is specifically called out and it's specifically addressed, whether it's called covetousness, or sometimes it may be addressed as greed or jealousy or envy. Those are all interconnected concepts. There's nuances there, but they're all interconnected and yet w we like to say, I'll get it figured out. I'll get it figured out. Can we just stop for a moment and appreciate there are some things we need help with and we recognize that really easily in certain areas of our lives. But then when it comes to these things that eat away at our heart and eat away at who we are as, as sons and daughters of the King that we go, no, I'm just, I'll get it figured out. I'll get it figured out. Well, maybe we will. You know but God gave us a family for a reason. Mm-hmm. We're, we're, we're sons and daughters through Christ for a reason. We are supposed to be lifting one another up. We're supposed to be encouraging one another. And if we're not reaching out for that help, well, I'm, I'm sorry to say, we may never get it figured out. And we, there's an inheritance to be lost. There's an inheritance at stake if we don't get that kind of thing figured out.
Paul:Yeah. You know, I wanna, I wanna make a point and then, and then give a passage to support this point. How, how is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ? We are called to be pure and holy. We're, we're said that, that you are the temple of the Holy God. And how is the church supposed to stand out, be separated from the world so that we can recommend to others Jesus, as Christ king over a kingdom if the church becomes a moral mess.
Noah:Hmm.
Paul:Now Titus two in verse 10, we are to adorn the doctrine of God or Savior. I like this translation in every respect.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:In the respect of these sexual sins, in the respect of the tongue, in the respect of how we view this or that in life, it doesn't become an idol that grips us and immoral lives. And crude speech does not make the teaching of a Christ attractive in it's outta place. For someone who says, I'm a follower of Jesus.
Noah:Amen. And if we can have a moment of clarity, I think we'll recognize that sometimes we actually fall into the trap of actually thinking the reverse of what you just said. Sometimes we try to appeal to others by let me, this is a better way to put it. We try to appeal to people who are outside of Christ by becoming more like them. And it, it's, it's kind of like this is the exaggerated version, but it's kind of like that the you know, the guy in his thirties, I can poke fun now'cause I'm in my thirties. Mm-hmm. The guy in his thirties, you know, trying to. Hang out with the, the high schoolers and he's trying to throw out slang that they know and use their vocabulary and reference their pop culture references, right? It so that he can be relatable and he can, he can get an end with them. When in my experience, what's far more successful is be who you are. And treat them as legitimate, you know, human beings made in the image of God and treat them with respect. Don't try to become like them. Well, that, that's the, that's the image I'll put in your head for what we sometimes do as Christians with the world. Well, maybe if I just act a little bit more like it, if I tell a couple of their jokes, if I talk about what they like to talk about, if I, if I you know, engage in, in discussion about, oh man, you know. So and so is possessions. Their house, their car, you know, if only I had all that, and suddenly, instead of adorning the gospel of Christ, what we've really done is just we've, we've taken the gospel of Christ and said, that's not enough to reach you as a person in the image of God. Instead, I, I have to become like you. And that's not what we're called to in God.
Paul:No. No. Second, you poke the bear, the preacher, second Corinthians six. It sometimes, as I, people have heard me say before, the, the chapter divisions are unfortunate. In my opinion. But here's one case in second Corinthians six going into second Corinthians seven. I like the end of second Corinthians six where most people that come out from among them be separate, says the Lord, touch not what is unclean. I will receive you. I will be a father. You. You shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord God Almighty. That that was abundantly clear over and over in Old Testament scripture. Now chapter seven, verse one. Therefore having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filth as the flesh and spirit. Perfecting holiness, the fear of God, that, that perfecting holiness is an ongoing thing. And he says, in the fear of God, out of reverence for God, how can I say, I have reverence for God in the things of God if I'm not looking to perfect holiness.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:You know, and, and it's, and it's, it's an attitude toward this that affects our actions. And I get, you've heard this before. No, I'm not trying to be critical of those. I've said it myself. To be quite honest, that the church is not a hotel for Saints as a hospital for sinners, right. Yeah, we're not pressing perfection, but we are talking about spiritual progress, right? We are talking about the spirit. You are the body of Christ. I mean, we talked about that earlier in Ephesians, right? You know, and, and God's spirit dwells in you and you are to. Look this way and live this way, and when we don't, we grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
Noah:Yeah, yeah. You know, I was, I was thinking about that exact, the, you know, not a hotel for saints, but a hospital for sinners kind of imagery. Because sometimes when we talk about this, this. Distinction that we are, we are to be distinct, right? We get into this trouble where we go, okay, well if we are supposed to be distinct, then we have to present ourselves as perfect. Mm-hmm. And that's when hypocrisy enters the scene, right? When we're unwilling to admit that we have any, any flaws or failings or struggles or that we never have doubts or that, you know, you can list it on and on and on. And that recognizing that has to be a part of how we present the Gospel of Christ. We are not perfect. Jesus is, and that's the good news of the gospel. Yes. And that's, that's where that, that Hospital for Sinner's idea comes into play. But if we can extend that analogy just a little bit, if you've got a hospital that that never works on actually helping people to heal, then what you've really got is a really expensive morgue. I mean, you just bring the people in to die.
Paul:Oh my.
Noah:And that's not what we're called to do either. We're called to help with the healing process, not. Let people come in and then stay how they are
Paul:exactly separate from the world, consecrated to Christ and those who don't want to accept Christ and those who do not want to pattern their lives after Christ. Again, in the language of Ephesians five, how we start off are not trying to be imitators of God and walk this way, think this way and live this way. Paul makes a clear point. And verse seven, do not be partakers with them. Mm-hmm. The association, the fellowship, the, the partnering with why?'cause we're to be separate from
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:We're to try to bring them into Christ. We're to try to share the gospel. We're try to bring them to the light so they can walk as children of light that may come up in the next podcast, but we are not to associate with them. What, what is the church? Yeah. For which Christ died, what are we talking about? We're talking about a certain kind of people.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:Not these rebellious, you know, impure, unclean do what they want to do. Kinds of people.
Noah:Right. And the fact is we do often find a lot of confusion around these ideas, and we do often find a lot of. Bad teaching around these ideas. And I think that that makes sense considering Paul's warning there, which you referenced earlier in verse six, is let no one deceive you with empty words. For, because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Mm-hmm. Paul, the, the, the implication that we can get that from is. Get from that, excuse me, is that others will try to downplay, others will try to deny that these things are that bad, right? Or that these issues are that important. And Paul is saying, don't listen to them. They're, they're lying, they're wrong. They're misinformed. However you want to describe it. Don't be deceived. This is a big deal. This is about your inheritance in the household of God.
Paul:Yeah, you can, you can think about, you know, Luke, Luke gives us a little bit of a glimpse into the, the culture, the expectation, what could be easily seen and heard throughout Ephesus in the first century, and the sensuality, the temples that they had. Mm-hmm. The. The licentiousness that surrounded all of that, the immorality that surrounded all of, all of the, that in, in, in Ephesus. So we know how bad to some degree Ephesus was and why perhaps Paul would say, don't be deceived. Yeah. Don't be deceived. You know that, that God's gonna be okay with this and it's no big deal. And, and man, have we taken that in 2025? And so we have to you, you're right. That's a, that's a very valid point. We need to be careful, I need to be careful that we don't allow this, this deception to cause. Us to get to a point that we don't expose and that we start participating and accepting things that God says he will not tolerate,
Noah:right? And that idea of exposing the things that God does not tolerate, that's gonna be coming up in the next few verses. But if you're, if you're listening along and looking at the time marker, you realize we're not gonna get to that in this episode. Yeah, we we, we could try to cover the next, you know, 10 verses or so, but we would be here probably for another 20 minutes. So I think now is a good time for us to go ahead and, and wrap up this section. We'll pick right back up in verses seven or eight, right, right around there next week as we continue through Ephesians five. But for now it's just. It is so, so important for us to remember. We have a father. He is good. He is right. He is perfect, and he has called us to walk in a way that imitates him. And there's no better walk to walk.
Paul:Amen. Amen.
Noah:So, thank you for listening. Thank you for joining us. As we study through Ephesians, we pray that you'll be back next week and join us for another section of Ephesians chapter five. Until then, as we all strive to imitate our Father, I pray that you can stand strong.
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