(Audio/Video/Text)
Title: Four Means to an End
Intro:If you recall, as we closed last week’s message with this question: What does it mean to “walk worthy”. I then told you that Paul will not leave us without a path to being able fulfill this command.
So today we are going to outline the four characteristics that Paul states as a means to the end of being able to “walk worthy.”
Let’s begin with the first thing Paul lists:
1. Lowliness
Common English Translations: “Lowliness”, “with all humility”
Greek: tapeinophrosynē (tä-pa-no-fro-sü’-na)
This word occours only 7x in the NT (Luke uses it in Acts, Paul in five different letters, Peter uses it in 1 Peter)
Definitions:
1. the having a humble opinion of one’s self
2. a deep sense of one’s (moral) littleness
3. modesty, humility, lowliness of mind
Conclusion: We see right off the bat, that if we have any hope of “walking worthy” we must first evaluate our own opinion of ourselves to make sure we are not thinking more highly of ourselves that we ought to.
Question: Why do you think this is the first thing Paul mentions? What does corporate humility accomplish in a Church?
Answer: It levels the playing field. We are all sinners.
2. Gentleness
Common English Translation: “gentleness”, “meekness”
Greek: praotēs (prä-o’-tas)
Paul is the only N.T. author who uses this word, and he uses it nine times across nine books.
Definitions:
gentleness, mildness, meekness
Conclusion: Whereas our first word (humility) deals with how we view ourselves, “Praotes” deals with how we treat others. The second key to “walking worthy” is not just believing the right thing (Orthodoxy), but practicing it the right way (Orthopraxy).
Question: What are examples of Churches that believe the right thing, the wrong way? They believe the right things, but there is a profound lack of “Praotes”?
Answers:
- Judgmentalism: the theology is right, but the way they enforce/encourage it is all wrong.
- Elephants before Jesus: we elevate our political leanings to a place of universal theology an use it as a measuring stick for who is a “real” Christian
- Others?
3. Long-Suffering
Common English Translations: “long-suffering”, “patience”
Greek: makrothymia (mä-kro-thü-me’-ä)
This word is used 14 times in the N.T., mostly by Paul
Definitions:
patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance, forbearance, long-suffering, slowness in avenging wrongs
Conclusion: We are told to play the long game with others. We need to focus on progress, not perfection. This applies both to how we treat others as well as ourselves.
Question: What are ways in which we expect too much too soon from other believers and/or ourselves?
Answers:
- Not showing grace to others as they work out their theology
- Not demonstrating a willingness to walk along someone who slides back into habitual sin.
- Others?
4. Bearing with one another IN LOVE
Common English Translations: love
Greek: Agape (ä-gä’-pa)
This word is all over the N.T. Used 117 times.
love (86x), charity (28x), dear (1x), charitably (with G2596) (1x), feasts of charity (1x).
Definitions: affection, good will, love, benevolence, brotherly love
Conclusion: It is not good enough for us to bear with one another in duty, or with indifference, we must bear with one another BECAUSE of our love for each other. Motivation for right action is just as crucial as right action itself. Again, we must do the right things for the right reasons as a body of Christ.
Question: What is the long term result if we bear with one another out of duty, rather than love?
Answer: We end up resenting the other person, the precise opposite of love! Then the fellowship is fractured.
Close:
And WHY are we told to do all this? Paul gives us the answer at the end of verse 3:
we must “keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”
Paul goes to great lengths in chapters 1-3 to show how Christs death is a unifier between Jew and Gentile, and the silliest thing we can do is then undue that work by failing in these four areas.
We think too much of our own worth…the unity of the Church falls apart.
We fail to be gentle…the unity of the Church falls apart.
We fail to be willing to walk the long road, we tire too quickly, we grow frustrated and agitated at other’s progress…the unity of the Church falls apart.
Finally, we don’t bear with one another in love, and our motives betray us, we grow resentful toward others…the unity of the Church falls apart.
Friends, we are are group of humans, with a lot of differences, even here in Ashland, we are brought together, brought low, and then BONDED by the blood of Christ, but that unity, that bond can be very fragile if we do not heed Paul’s instructions and pay very close attention to these four instructives that Paul lays out here.
And if that unity fractures, it is not just the unity of the church that suffers, it is not just our ability to witness and share the Good News to others…friends, it is the very Glory of Christ that is besmirched, and this can never be.
Our greatest joy should come from the Glory of the Risen Christ.
Our greatest fear should be that we would tarnish that Glory.
Let’s pray.