Series: Ephesians
Title: Kept From the Evil
Text: Ephesians 4: 14
Date: May 18, 2014
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
We have
seen that when Christ Jesus ascended, he began giving his preachers: Ephesians 4: 11: And he gave some,
apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers;
We
looked at the general reason why Christ gave his preachers—Ephesians 4: 12: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ:--perfecting means resetting of dislocated
bones—we are the dry bones dislocated from Christ in the garden, reset by the
gospel, in Christ in whom we are perfect.
We saw
how long Christ shall give his preachers—Ephesians
4: 13: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ:--Christ shall send his preachers till each elect, redeemed member
of his body is called into the unity of the faith, unto the knowledge of the
Son of God—then Christ’s body will be full.
Here is
our text. It gives us one more reasons why Christ sends his preachers--Ephesians 4: 14: That we henceforth be no
more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in
wait to deceive;
Proposition: Christ gives his preachers to save his people from false
preachers.
Title: Kept
from the Evil
John 17: 15: I pray not that thou shouldest take them out
of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16: They are not
of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17: Sanctify them through thy
truth: thy word is truth.
I. WHEN BORN-AGAIN BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD WE
ARE NEW BORN BABIES, CHILDREN IN UNDERSTANDING AND STRENGTH.
Christ
feeds us with the gospel, making us grow inwardly—for this purpose—v14: That we henceforth be no more children,
tossed to and fro, and carried about
with every wind of doctrine; by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
This
metaphor is of ship tossed at sea. But through the gospel, Christ makes his
child,
Hebrews 6: 18: …lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19:
Which hope we have as an anchor of the
soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
20: Whither the forerunner is for us
entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of
Melchisedec.
Christ
sends his true preachers to grow us and save us from false preachers and their
false doctrines.
Have
you noticed in the scriptures, God always describes false preachers the way he
does in our text?
·
As using sleight of hand, cunning craftiness,
·
As lying in wait to deceive.
These
descriptions partly describe the false preacher’s way of commending himself as
a true preacher.
Scriptures
give three things that false preachers do to convince men they are sent of God: 1) they commend themselves BY
themselves: by their education, scholastic achievements, letters of
recommendation from men, and so on 2) Secondly, they commend themselves, to the
carnal, fleshly appetites of sinners: preaching man’s will, preaching morality,
taking the offense out of the cross, using inventive means and programs, and so
on. 3) Thirdly, they commend themselves as in the sight of men, they do all to
be seen of men, to please men, to gain the favor of men.
II. NOW LET’S LEARN ABOUT CHRIST’S TRUE
PREACHER IN 2 CORNINTHIANS 2 WHERE WE SEE HOW GOD SAYS HIS TRUE PREACHERS
COMMEND THEMSELVES AS TRUE CHRIST-SENT PREACHERS—2 Corinthians 2: 14: Now
thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh
manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. [God does it] 15: For
we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them
that perish: 16: To the one we are
the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.
And who is sufficient for these things? 17: For [here is the reason Christ’s preacher is a sweet savor unto
God] for we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity,
Christ’s
preachers do not preach our word, we preach God’s word; we do not try to make
the word of God say what it does not say; we preach the word of God as it is; we
preach the word clearly, faithful to God who sent us, faithful to the souls of
eternity bound men and women; we preach total depravity, unconditional election,
limited atonement, irresistable grace, preservation and perseverance of the
saints—as of sincerity
2 Corinthians 2: 17: but as of God,
We preach
the word as the word of God giving God all the glory and man none, as those called
of God, as those taught of God, as men sent of God, as men speaking by the
power of God.
2 Corinthians 2: 17: in the sight of God
Christ’s
preacher is not concerned about being seen of men or of pleasing men but he
preaches as in the very presence of God. We seek God’s favor not men’s favor.
2 Corinthians 2: 17: speak we in
Christ.
We preach
Christ and him crucified; we give Christ all Preeminence; we declare Christ the
Prophet, Priest and King of his people; we declare Christ the sovereign,
successful Savior who accomplished the redemption of his people; we are in
Christ, sent by Christ, speaking by Christ, speaking only of Christ—not in some
messages now and then but in every message we preach.
2 Corinthians 3: 1: Do we begin again to
commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you,
or letters of commendation from you? 2: Ye are our epistle written in [your] hearts,
known and read of all men: 3: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the
epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit
of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. 4: And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
The
commendation of Christ’s preacher to Christ’s people is nothing else but the
truth written on your hearts by Christ himself, written with the Spirit of the
living God, written in the heart made new by God. We look to no other means to
persuade sinners to believe Christ or to keep you continuing. We look to God
alone to do this work through Christ Jesus—such trust have we through Christ to
God-ward.
2 Corinthians 3: 5: Not that we are sufficient
of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our
sufficiency is of God;
We ascribe
none of the results to ourselves. We have no sufficiency of ourselves for any
aspect of this work: no sufficiency to change God’s ordained means, so we
preach; no sufficiency to speak anything but God’s Word, so we preach Christ
the Word; no sufficiency to deliver the message ourselves, so we depend upon
Christ; no sufficiency to make God’s word effectual ourselves, so we wait on
Christ. Our sufficiency is of God!
2 Corinthians 3: 6: Who also hath made us
able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for
the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life….
Christ
sends preachers who Christ has first called by his great power, through the
preaching of everlasting covenant of grace, so that having experienced God’s
power, Christ’s preachers only preach that which we have seen and heard and
experienced in our own hearts. We know preaching the letter—preaching the
law—only kills—preaching do’s and don’ts—never gives life—the law is the ministration
of death! But preaching the spirit—the gospel of God’s grace—is the means whereby
God gives spiritual life. We know this because we have been given spiritual
life through the preaching of the gospel!
A man
cannot preach what he does not know! A man cannot depend upon Power which he
has not been conquered by himself! Christ’s preacher declares every man a
sinner with no ability to discern things of God, because Christ has taught us
this about our own selves and saved us from our own selves. Christ’s preachers preach the gospel of God’s
grace—the works which God performs—and we wait on God to quicken, call and grow
his child through that gospel because we ourselves have been quickened, called
and grown through that gospel.
2 Corinthians 3: 12: Seeing then
that WE HAVE such hope, we use great
plainness of speech:…
Seeing
we know by experience that the Spirit giveth life, seeing we know by experience
that God gives life through the gospel, not by the preaching of law and works,
seeing we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech. Christ’s preacher
knows by experience, that
2 Corinthians 3: 15:…even unto this day, when
Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
When the
letter of the law is preached, when men are turned to themselves, to their
law-keeping, God gives no life and no discernment—the vail is upon their heart.
2 Corinthians 3: 16: Nevertheless, when it
shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
This is
why we preach Christ. Christ is the Light. Christ alone can take away the vail
over the heart and give spiritual light to dead sinners
2 Corinthians 3: 17: Now the Lord is that
Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
The
Lord alone is that Spirit who takes away the vail on the heart. The Spirit of
the Lord alone can give liberty from the chains of spiritual darkness. The Lord
makes us see him openly through faith, through the gospel
2 Corinthians 3: 18: But we all,…
This is
true of the preacher as well as those to whom we preach; this is not by making
men see us—but by declaring the glory of the Lord Jesus.
2 Corinthians 3: 18: But we all with open
face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same
image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Seeing
as how Christ’s preacher has received mercy ourselves this one way, seeing as
how we have been made ministers of the gospel this one way, as we have received
mercy from God ourselves through this one gospel of God’s free and sovereign
grace in Christ
2 Corinthians 4: 1: Therefore seeing we have
this ministry, as we have received
mercy, we faint not;
As we
have received mercy ourselves—through the gospel of God’s free and sovereign
grace in Christ Jesus—so we faint not to declare the gospel of God’s free and sovereign
grace in Christ Jesus. And we wait on God to work the work in the hearts of his
people the same way he did in ours.
2 Corinthians 4: 2: But have renounced the
hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully;
All the
hidden, dishonest, crafty, deceitful ways that men commend themselves as
preachers—Christ’s true preacher has renounced.
2 Cornthians 4: 2: But…
Be sure to get this. This is the difference between the false preacher and
the true. Christ’s true preacher commends himself as a true preacher these
three ways:
1) 2 Corinthians 4: 2: by manifestation of the truth commending
ourselves
The
false preacher commends himself by himself: by his credentials, by letters of
commendation from others and so on. God’s true preacher proves he is sent of
Christ simply by preaching the truth
2) Secondly,
God’s true preacher proves he is true by
preaching the truth…2 Corinthians 4:
2:…to every man’s conscience
We
trust God to make the truth manifest in the conscience purged by Christ’s
blood. False preachers appeal to the carnal, fleshly appetite but God’s true
preacher trusts God to reveal the gospel in the heart of his people.
3) Thirdly,
God preacher commends himself as true---preaching the gospel in truth--as 2 Corinthians 4: 2:
in the sight of God.
The
false preacher seeks to be seen of men and to please men. The true Christ-sent
preacher preaches, not to please men, but in the sight of God, to please our
Lord whom we serve.
Galatians 1:10: For do I now persuade men, [do I seek
men’s favor] or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I
should not be the servant of Christ.
So read
verse 2 again, every Christ-sent preacher has “renounced the hidden things of
dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God
deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every
man’s conscience in the sight of God.” He finishes this thought in verse 5-7:
2 Corinthians 3: 5: For we preach not
ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’
sake. 6: For God, who commanded the light to shine
out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7: But we have this treasure in
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
And those
who reject Christ’s true preacher reject Christ who is our Gospel. He says that
back in verses 3 & 4.
2 Corinthians 3: 3: But if our gospel be hid,
it is hid to them that are lost: 4: In whom the god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
So this
is the difference between a false preacher and Christ’s true preacher; this is
the reason Christ gives his true preacher.
Ephesians 4: 14: That we henceforth be no
more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in
wait to deceive;
Christ
shall not fail, till he hath set judgment in the earth. His name is Jesus for he shall save his
people from our sins, even from every false way. So brethren, endeavor to keep
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
We need the gospel in truth because
we need Christ who is our Gospel, who writes his gospel in our hearts and keeps
us from every false way!
Amen!