Introduction

We have examined over half of the Ephesian epistle of Paul.

He has written about who we are in Christ

Since we are beloved of God and Christ, we have certain obligations to our Lord and Savior

Now here in chapter 5, Paul continues his work teaching us about our obligations

We are going to examine the first 10 verses of this chapter to be reminded of what he says

And so, lets turn to Ephesians 5:1 & 2

Body

Be followers of God

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. {2} And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Philip Turner in his article, First Things in Christianity Today says, "The study of divinity is not possible apart from what the author of the Epistle to the Ephesians dares to call the imitation of God. ... [Most people who teach and study at divinity schools miss this point. That the way in which life together is conducted is as essential to the knowledge and love of God as is much reading. ... [Apart from the way of life that imitates the life of God, our words about him are more like gossip than truth.

Simply stated, just reading about God and reading the Bible is insufficient to know God

We must imitate God to know God

The Greek word mimetes is a word that means follower or imitator

Reminds me of playing follow the leader

If you’re in follow the leader, you have to follow every where the leader goes and do everything the leader does.

You may have to crawl under a log

You may have to balance on a fence rail

You may have to shout some nonsense phrase

But then that is the game of follow the leader

Pastor Mark Thompson of Faribault, Minnesota, suffered terrible knife wounds from an assailant in his home, in October 1988. One of the many consequences of his difficult recovery was being forced to miss watching his son Chris run in the state cross-country championship meet. Pastor Thompson commissioned his brother Merv to go in his stead.

According to the account in the St. Paul Pioneer Press & Dispatch, Mark told his brother, "I can't be there to see Chris run. So I want you there at the beginning of the race. Holler a lot. ... Then at the end, I want you to really cheer loudly. And I want you to make your voice sound like mine."

Merv heeded the advice, and Chris ran a strong race, finishing second. Merv, also a pastor, discerned the theological truth in the story. "That's what Jesus wants us to do." he said. "Make your voice sound like mine."

While I was in Pennsylvania my brother-in-law, Ronald Peters, and I were surfing the TV early in the morning and we came across one of those TV preachers. This TV preacher often spouts some very interesting ideas, like, "you can’t be saved by reading the Bible unless you read it out loud, because the Bible says, ‘faith cometh by hearing.’" But this time he made the statement that we are to be followers of God. And if we are telling a lie, we are not following God, we are following the devil. However, he was talking about lying. But, the idea can certainly be expanded to include sin in general and to include other specifics such as not doing all things in love, 1 Corinthians 16:14

Let all that you do be done with love.

You’re following the leader, he jumps over the log

You jump over the log

He acts in love to a stranger

You act in love to a stranger

Simply stated, you are to follow, imitate God in His loving ways

Specifically, agape, sacrificial love

We are to do what Jesus would do, doing it in a manner consistent with His sacrificial, life giving, God pleasing sacrifice

In verse 2 we find the phrase, sweet-smelling aroma or as the King James says, "sweetsmelling savor."

Now, if you have ever smelt burning flesh, you know that the sacrifices to God, the burn offering, could not possibly be sweet smelling

So, to what does the sweet aroma, sweetsmelling savor, refer?

If you check each occurrence of the sweet aroma you will find that it refers to the fact that the offering is voluntary

The offering is a peace offering

Or a Thanksgiving offering

Voluntary

Lets turn to 2 Corinthians 9:7

As Cody passes among you on a Sunday morning, your tithe, even though you give willingly, voluntarily, is not necessarily a sweet savor to the Lord, because the tithe belongs to God already.

But, that which is over and above the tithe is a sweet savor to the Lord

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

Just think about this

You mow the lawn for your neighbor who is unable to do it himself.

If you do not mow the lawn in love you’re not following the Lord

If you are not following the Lord, who are you following?

But, if you mow the lawn in love, you’re following the Lord

And your mowing is a voluntary act

Your act becomes a sweet-smelling aroma to God

So, in essence, mowing the lawn becomes an act of worship

If we were to stop there and move on, we would have been faithful to the Scriptures, but look again at that second verse

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

What is said about Christ?

What is said about His sacrifice?

Jesus loved us.

And because of that love, Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice a sweet-smelling aroma

Jesus in His love for us, worshiped God, paying the price for our redemption

I can understand the words, but the concept of that kind of love, sacrifice, and worship is almost too much for my mind to encompass.

Jesus loved me that much?

Jesus loved you that much!

These first 2 verses tell us how to follow God

Have you ever wondered why clocks run clockwise? Before there were clocks, there were sundials. In the northern hemisphere, the shadows on the sundial rotate in the direction we now call clockwise, and the hands of the clock mimic the natural movements of the sun. So too our lives should imitate the Son of God.

To do everything in love

Now as we continue in Ephesians 5:3 & 4,

Paul takes a turn at what not to do

But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; {4} neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

The word fornication is porneia in the Greek and it means harlotry and includes, adultery and incest, it is also a figurative word meaning idolatry

You might notice the Greek word is porneia which is the root of pornography

The word uncleanness does not refer to dirt in a literal sense

It means to be impure morally

Then, of course, covetousness speaks of greed and avarice

This passages says,

But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints

All uncleanness

All covetousness

Let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints

We are not to be indulging in this behavior

Its not fitting for saints

The implication is, we are saints

And as saints we are not to be indulging these things

neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

In verse 4 we have the word filthiness, again not physical dirt, but moral dirt, the Greek word for filthiness is a word which means shamefulness, for example, obscenities

At sometime in mid 20^th century, people had gone to see, "Gone with the Wind." Thousands streamed out of theaters incensed because Rette Butler told Scarlet O’Hara, "Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn."

Today, on TV, in the theaters, in the coffee shop, and on the streets one hears worse.

Filth out of the mouths of little children

Blasphemies, using the Lord’s name, not just in vane, but as a curse

Many are not even aware of these words pouring out of their mouths

And words of sexual innuendoes

Not proper words of human love, but gutter talk

F this and F that

These are the things we say and hear

There are other obscenities

Images, the things we show and see

Acts, the things we do

Suffice it to say, if you’re not following the Lord, who are you following?

Even TV preachers some times get it right.

You’re following the evil.

Foolish talking

Ryrie’s note says, foolish talking, and course jesting mean unclean speech, often veiled in innuendo or double meaning.

The double meaning is what makes it funny

Don’t you think it’s a shame that this kind of thing has hijacked some perfectly wonderful words

To many in the world system gay apparel has a different meaning than the old Christmas song

And you can’t talk about many innocent things because of the hijacking innuendos

Course jesting is just a polite way of saying dirty jokes

But notice the last clause in these two verses, "rather giving of thanks."

A heart filled with gratitude for the many wonderful things God has given us to enjoy and experience in this life has no reason to sully those things with filth

Now lets continue on to verses 5 - 7

No inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God

For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. {6} Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. {7} Therefore do not be partakers with them.

First, understand, Paul is speaking of those who’s lifestyle is characterized by these things will ever see heaven

Many Christian people have been caught up in these sins

But, it is not a lifestyle, it is a stumble

Christ forgave that on the cross 2,000 years ago

Again, it goes right back to who it is we follow

Fornication is a prostitution of the God given gift of physical love

An unclean person is an individual who’s lifestyle is one of moral filth and degradation

The covetous man is greedy and because of his greed he has put material things before God he is, therefore, an idolater

Verse 6 brings this warning, "Let no one deceive you with empty words."

Live life to the fullest.

Go with the gusto

You deserve it

Its your life

These words from advertising urge us to behave in a way contrary to God’s way

But there is also the words of our worldly friends, "awh come on, it won’t hurt, just this once."

You’re old fashioned

Don’t let others tell you what to do

I double dare yah, I double dog dare yah.

Chicken

Jo M. Guerrero of Joplin, Missouri wrote in the Christian Reader, "My five-year-old daughter, Barbara, had disobeyed me and had been sent to her room. After a few minutes, I went in to talk with her about what she had done. Teary-eyed, she asked, "Why do we do wrong things, Mommy?" "Well," I replied, "sometimes the devil tells us to do something wrong and we listen to him. We need to listen to God instead." To which she sobbed, "But God doesn't talk loud enough!"

I thought you might enjoy those words from the mouth of a child

And we are children, children of God

For because of these things, fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, and course jesting, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

The gist passage is, if you live this lifestyle, you are following the devil and heaven is not your home.

Not that you can’t be redeemed, but that, today, is highly unlikely.

So, then, let us continue on to verses 8 - 10

We are children of light

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light {9} (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), {10} finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

As if to say, you, we were just like that at one time

But, today, in Christ you are light

Light a witness

A witness for righteousness

Or a burnt out light bulb that lights nothing

So Paul’s instruction is to live as children of God

Luci Swindoll in Today's Christian Woman gives us this illustration, "A friend of mine was caught in an elevator during a power failure. At first, there was momentary panic as all seven strangers talked at once. Then my friend remembered the tiny flashlight he had in his pocket. When he turned it on, the fear dissipated. During the 45 minutes they were stuck together they told jokes, laughed, and even sang. Ephesians 5:8 says we are that flashlight. Just as the flashlight draws power from its batteries, we draw power from Jesus. As light, we dissipate fear, bring relief, and lift spirits. We don't even have to be big to be effective. We just have to be "on."

The fruit of the Spirit is goodness, righteousness and truth

Galatians 5:22 & 23 adds to this list

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, {23} gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Living and enjoying life in the Spirit of God precludes living a lifestyle destined for hell.

Conclusion

Just as the flashlight draws power from its batteries, we draw power from Jesus. As light, we dissipate fear, bring relief, and lift spirits. We don't even have to be big to be effective. We just have to be "on."

Secondly, if we are not following Jesus - who are we following

If we are not following God - who are we following