14Then
we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and
blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and
craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking
the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head,
that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held
together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love,
as each part does its work.
John
13:35
34"A
new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must
love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one another."
Set
the parameters for this message.
John
13:34-35
·The Last
Supper
·Jesus told
the Disciples to love one another
·By doing
this that all men will know that they are His disciples.
Also
led to the passage where Paul writes to the Ephesian church about the need
to speak the truth in love.
·Loving one
another as Jesus commanded us to do reveals to the world that we are
following Him
·Examine
what it means to speak the truth in love.
·The word
“love” in both of these passages is the same root word of agapaeo
oit is used
in the two passages in different tenses, agapaeo in John 13, and agape in
Ephesians 4.
oIt is the
same word for love used in John 3:16 and throughout the NT when referring
to God’s love for us.
The
passage in Ephesians 4 can be pulled out by itself and examined alone, but
that can always be risky – when verses are written in the context of a
passage, it is always best to make sure what they mean “alone” fits with
what they mean in the context. (Proverbs are an exception to this – they
are meant to stand alone.)
Throughout Ephesians, Paul addresses the concept of unity of a body of
believers.
·Analogy of
a physical body represents the spiritual unity of a group of believers.
·Christ is
the spiritual head
·Each
member is a part of a spiritual body
·Joined
together by the common bond of love for Jesus.
Ephesians 4: 14- 16
Sandwiched in between
·the notion
of being immature babies without any spiritual stability
·the notion
of being a well developed healthy body
·the idea
that “speaking the truth in love”
owill help
us grow from one place to another
ofrom
helpless and endangered infant faith into strong and healthy maturity of
faith in Christ.
So,
if this idea of “speaking the truth in love” is so critical to our
spiritual maturation, we need to understand what it is – and incorporate
it into our lives.
“Speaking the truth”
·Originates
as a single word
·To break
it down into something other than a “concept” would be incorrect
·This idea
implies audibly teaching or professing the “truth” about God.
·In
Galatians (4:16), Paul uses this same word to get across this concept that
there are those who consider him an enemy because he tells them the truth
about Who God is.
As we
speak the truth about Who God is, we are to do it in love.
·This is
the same love in John 3:16.
·This love
is sacrificial and self-less
·Not
self-serving or self-centered at all.
Paul
expects speaking the truth
·Audibly
teaching or professing
·In love
·With
sacrificial, selfless love
·Will
transform us
ofrom
defenseless spiritual babies
oInto
healthy strong spiritually unified bodies of believers with Christ as our
head.
How
does that happen?
To be
honest, it rarely seems to happen in the body of Christ.
-This is where God either wants to convict or commend
-I have no clue what His intent is for this message
-Bro. Don has not “prompted” me to preach this
-God is the one who wants you to hear this
In
most churches
·People are
more likely to speak about one another than to speak to one another.
·As they
speak about one another, presented as “prayer requests” or “fruit
inspection”
oRather
than being offered up as the gossip it really is.
·What is
said is not truly rooted in love
o Rooted in
offense.
·Someone
offends me
oI say
something which is not really meant to be offensive
oMeant to
be defensive in nature
§just
protecting myself or someone or something I care about.
Where
in the world do you find offense and defense fighting it out?
-You
find it in games of all types.
-Responding to offenses with defensive comments
-you
are involved in a game
-One
orchestrated by our common enemy
-who is
using it to destroy the unity of the body of Christ.
Paul
tells us we are to speak the truth in love to one another.
·We all are
to do it, too
·Not just
those in leadership or those who are paid staff
·As members
of the body of Christ
owe all
contribute to the health or the demise of the body of Christ
I want
to give you a few examples of what speaking the truth in love isn’t, what
it is, and how doing this has the potential of transforming lives and
congregations.
I
realize that this is a very difficult thing to do. Very difficult.
·When
someone is unfair, it is hard to respond in love.
·When
someone is attacking you, it is hard to respond in love.
·When
someone is attacking someone you love, it is harder to respond in love.
·If you are
a quiet person, it is hard to speak the truth in love.
·If gossip
has been an issue for you, it is hard to speak the truth in love.
·If you
hate controversy, it is hard to speak the truth in love.
Speaking the truth in love is not a license to speak your mind
·Biblical
mandate to respond to situations verbally using the sacrifice of Christ
and the message of the gospel as the filter for all you say
·That means
that your motive is not self-vindication. Instead, your motive is
Christ-glorification.
·If what I
want to say isn’t going to draw me or the other person closer to Jesus,
then maybe it doesn’t need to be said.
·My words
had better be prayer-bathed and humbly, brokenly spoken, since I need to
know that what I am saying is truly necessary to be said and is not for
self-serving purposes.
Speaking the truth in love is to be accomplished within the guidelines of
other scriptural directives as well.
·If a
brother or sister offends me
oI need to
either let it go (not bury it)
oOr go to
them to try to make things right
·If I have
offended someone
oI need to
go to them and seek restoration.
Be
prepared to go to a brother or sister at other times
·“Deceived
people do not know they are deceived.”
·What seems
normal to you may not be normal at all.
-This is not a license to be a busy body, but rather an instructive to be
a broken body – a body which is broken for one another and seeks to help
heal and restore its body parts.
Example of Chris speaking about the potential of being in a congregation
where this happens
Example of Wilma and how doing this set her free from bitterness
Paul’s
intent in telling the Ephesians
·Helping
them protect one another
·
Transforming power of the message of the truth of the gospel.
Spiritually, grow up
·Don’t
choose to respond as infants
·Don’t
choose to be powerless
·Don’t
choose to be without instruction of godly men/women
Spiritually, help others grow up
·Choose to
respond with the truth of the gospel message
·Choose to
seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and speak up
·Choose to
speak to one another rather than about one another
·Choose to
be a healthy body – the health of others affects you
Spiritually, let the world know you are a body which belongs to Him
·The
workplace plays games – the church doesn’t
·The
competition means wins and losses –eternity is at stake
The
Gospel of Jesus Christ – that God realized our sinful state and chose to
reach out to us and rectify that through the sacrifice of His only Son,
Jesus, and that through this sacrifice, we can be reconciled with God as
we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior – is what those of us who have
heard and received it, are charged with speaking to one another and to the
world.
