Sermon 8-4-24

Pastor Ray Lorthioir

Trinity Lutheran Church

W. Hempstead, NY

Based on the Second Lesson for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost, Ephesians 4:1-16.

Called To Life

We begin this morning with Paul writing in Ephesians 4:1, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” Note the words “calling” and “called.” And we find a similar phrase in Ephesians 4:4, “. . . just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call. . . .” This same turn of phrase is found elsewhere in the New Testament. So, who is calling who and for what purpose?

I think we’ll see things a little more clearly in a parallel verse, 1Thessalonians 2:12, “we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.” It’s clear that it’s Yahweh doing the calling. He’s calling humanity out of the present rebellion against Him. And He’s calling humanity to His Kingdom and His glory. In Ephesians 4:4 we just saw that there’s a hope that belongs to Yahweh’s call. This means that Yahweh’s call on this earth leads to a future that has not yet appeared — namely His Kingdom and His glory.

It’s been a while since we’ve considered the glory of the Lord. The word “glory” refers to a shining or a brightness. Yahweh doesn’t just shine. His glory blazes out in a light that only those equal to Him in righteousness can withstand. That’s why no sinner can stand in His presence, except by special arrangement. That arrangement being the total forgiveness of sins.

However, notice. The call of Yahweh is a call to His glory and this call is extended to sinners. Therefore, the purpose of Yahweh in calling to sinners is to call them out of sin and into the glory of His perfect righteousness.

We usually refer to the Kingdom and glory of God as heaven. Heaven may be the temporary destination of disembodied souls. However, remaining in a disembodied state is not the ultimate fate of humans. Jesus said in John 5:28-29, “28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his [the Son of God’s] voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” So a day is coming when every human who has ever lived will be reembodied. This makes the Hindus right and wrong. We all will be reincarnated. But only once.

And here’s what was revealed to the Apostle John in a vision concerning those resurrected to life. We read in Revelation 21:1-4, “1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’”

So, those resurrected with Jesus to life will live on a new earth in a new universe. And Yahweh, our Creator, will dwell with us on this new earth, just like Yahweh walked with Adam and Eve in the original Garden of Eden. The difference will be that there will be no serpent on that new earth. As Jesus said in Matthew 13:40-43, “40 . . . ‘so will it be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. . . .’”

On the new earth under the new heavens, there will be no cause of sin. And, did you notice? The righteous humans who will inhabit that new earth will shine. There’s that shininess of glory again. Just like our Creator shines with glorious righteousness, so those admitted to the Kingdom of God will shine with our Creator’s glorious righteousness. The redeemed will be able to stand in the Creator’s presence without fear and without condemnation. All humanity has been called without exception to this existence with Yahweh in full, unspoiled righteousness.

So how is humanity called to the Kingdom? It’s through the preaching of Messiah Jesus; the preaching of the Gospel. How does humanity gain entry to the Kingdom? Again, it’s through Messiah Jesus.

We read this dialogue in this morning’s Gospel lesson. John 6:28-29, “28 Then they said to him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ 29 Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’”

First, point: Jesus claimed to have been sent by Yahweh Himself. Second point: Jesus called all people to believe that He was the one sent by Yahweh. But sent by Yahweh for what? Jesus continued in a verse we’ll see next week: John 6:40, “‘For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.’”

There it is. Jesus was sent to get victory over the judgment Yahweh placed on all humanity because of Adam and Eve’s sin — the death of our physical bodies. Jesus’ victory is the resurrection of the dead. As St. Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 15:53-55, “53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ 55 ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’”

In Christian evangelism and theology we must never ignore the colossal importance of the resurrection with Christ to righteous eternal life. Don’t ignore it in your Christian walk. Resurrection to righteous eternal life is the ultimate destiny of the Christian life. It’s the reason Yahweh has called us to walk with Him. He wants us to live in Him and to have life abundantly in His righteousness. In addition, the resurrection is the source of courage in persecution.

Now, if Yahweh has called to us to join Him in righteous eternal life, He’s also called us to join Him in righteous living on this earth, insofar as that is possible for us who are born in Original Sin. The entire call is made possible by the work of Messiah Jesus and by the work of Lord Holy Spirit.

Messiah’s work is described in Romans 3:24-25, “24. . . [We] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” Propitiation is the act of satisfying God’s wrath against us because of sin. All of our rebellion injures our Creator’s great Name and reputation. He is just in seeking compensation from us. It would be the same if you caused injury or damage to someone and they sought compensation from you through law.

Our problem is that the magnitude of the injury we cause Yahweh is hidden from our eyes. We think we have done nothing wrong. Therefore, Yahweh had to reveal it to us through His holy Law. And even then we don’t see the magnitude of our rebellion and law breaking. Finally, Yahweh revealed it to us through His Son. We crucified the Son of God. The magnitude of the offense was shown when the sun was darkened for three hours on that afternoon. The earth quaked. An unseen hand split the great curtain that concealed the holy of holies in Yahweh’s Jerusalem temple. And if that wasn’t enough, three days later there was an empty tomb, reports of angels and reports of a dead man alive in an immortal body. Yet, even though these ancient reports are historically true, we refuse to believe them and see the magnitude of our offense.

Nevertheless, our ultimate act of rebellion — the crucifixion of God the Son — was actually the means by which Yahweh’s wrath against all humanity was satisfied. For, Yahweh’s Son willingly gave Himself as the sacrifice that would atone for all human sin. Only Yahweh, the Son incarnate in human flesh, has the status that could accomplish a thing of such magnitude on our behalf. This is the work of Messiah that not only satisfied the wrath of Yahweh, but enabled Yahweh to declare sinners righteous in His sight. This in itself is amazing beyond comprehension. And it’s what Paul meant when he wrote that by the gracious work of Messiah our lives are justified before Yahweh. To be justified means to be declared righteous, free of guilt. This is the free gift of the living God to all of humanity. It’s the forgiveness of sins. And where sin is forgiven only righteousness remains.

Now, even though justification is a gift to all humanity, the only way to actually receive and be covered by Yahweh’s gracious declaration of righteousness is through the work of Lord Holy Spirit. We read in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.” Faith is believing news we have heard. Faith is believing a promise we have received. But the Original Sin we’re born with makes every human on earth unable to believe the news about Messiah Jesus. Original Sin makes it impossible to believe the promise of eternal righteous life through the real forgiveness of real sins. Therefore, the work of overcoming the power of Original Sin belongs to Lord Holy Spirit alone. He is the person of the living God who enables you and I to receive by faith the full loving commitment of God the Son given to us through the Son’s sacrifice. Lord Holy Spirit is the sole source of the faith that enables us to believe that the Gospel we have heard is real and true.

Messiah Jesus is the reality we and all humanity have been called to. On this side of death, Lord Holy Spirit unites us to Messiah by faith in the Word and Sacraments.

Again, we look at Ephesians 4:1, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” Hopefully at this point we understand the call of God. Now, what does it mean to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called?

We read in Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Arrogance before God is doing our own thing — walking in our own ways. Humility before God is doing His thing and walking with Him in His ways. For He is our maker.

Walking in humility with the Lord this side of death is also the work of Lord Holy Spirit. For, Original Sin will have nothing to do with Yahweh. And Romans 8:3 tells us that the sinful nature is more powerful than God’s Law. Thus, the only way to walk with Yahweh is if we have one with us and in us who is more powerful than the sinful nature. This is Lord Holy Spirit. That Lord Holy Spirit is powerful enough to keep the sinful nature in check is confirmed in Galatians, 5:16-17, “16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

So, as we read on in Ephesians 4, we see the work that the Spirit will do. Ephesians 4:1-3, “1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” There’s the humility with God in verse 2. But such humility also extends out to those around us, especially in the body of Christ.

Nevertheless, there’s a caution in verse 3. What is unity of the Spirit? And what is the bond of peace? To find out we go on in Ephesians 4:4-6, “4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Lord Holy Spirit is one, not many. The Church of Jesus Christ is one, not many. The great hope of the resurrection is one, not many. There is one Messiah Jesus, not many. There is one Christian faith, not many. There is one baptism, not many. There is one God, not many.

True Christians agree there is one God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They agree there is one Jesus and one Holy Spirit. But down through history there have been controversies over the nature of this one God who is one in essence but three persons. As the various controversies appeared, creeds were written to settle them. To this day, true believers are recognized by their subscription to the three creeds: Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian. And to this day, any teaching that would contradict any of the three creeds at any point is deemed heresy, or false, lying teaching. Members of the true Church of Jesus Christ subscribe to these three creeds without reservation. For the creeds teach the truth about Yahweh. Amen.

Prior to the Reformation of the 1500’s there used to be one teaching on baptism. Unfortunately, controversies broke out during the Reformation concerning baptism that remain to today. Lutherans adhere to the historic understanding of one and only one baptism. Baptism is God’s action of grace for us, entirely connected to His Word and the cross of Messiah Jesus. Baptism is not a good work we do for God. Holy baptism also connects us with Lord Holy Spirit. Therefore, there is not a separate baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the Christian life there can be multiple infillings with the Holy Spirit as well as steps up in faith, knowledge and gifting through the Holy Spirit. But as St. Paul says here in Ephesians, there is only one baptism.

In 1517 a huge controversy about justification before God broke out in the Church. Martin Luther was the one who began it. He held fast to what we saw above in Ephesians 2:8 — that the only way anyone can be justified before God is by faith in the work of Messiah Jesus alone. Unfortunately, Rome disagreed and disagrees to this day. But the controversy didn’t end there. It spread out to the nature of the Church itself and the source of the Church’s authority. As a result, what became known as the Lutheran party in the controversy put forward a series of true teachings from Scripture. These are known as the Lutheran Confessions. These confessional teachings are not proprietary to Lutherans, but are meant to be true and proper teachings for the whole Church. Unfortunately, Rome disagreed on numerous points and disagrees to this day.

Even more unfortunate, other teachers in disagreement with Rome put forward their own ideas and some of their ideas are not in agreement with the Lutheran Confessions. The disagreements range from the nature of the sacraments to the type of government proper for God’s Church. Even down to the present time there are people creating new doctrines. Therefore, denominations have multiplied and multiplied. The whole Protestant mess is quite confusing for anyone coming to Christ without a Christian background.

Just so you should know, then. Bible believing Lutherans are not protestants per se. Instead, we claim to be the historic Church purified of both medieval and modern errors.

But even worse, there is now a division in most denominations over the truth of Scripture itself. Lutherans are no exception. This manifests itself mostly in the controversies over human sexuality, marriage and family. Just so you should know, Trinity stands with the Lutherans who receive the Bible as the inerrant and infallible Word of God.

But it’s quite plain that among modern Christians in the U.S. there is little unity over correct teaching. Ironically, if there is any unity, it’s mostly among groups that have abandoned Scripture and true doctrine.

In this mess, how do we interact with those not in agreement? In Ephesians 4:2 we’re called to humility, gentleness, patience and bearing with one another in love. We should take this attitude among ourselves. And we should take this attitude when attempting to convince others of the truth.

However, it’s been my experience that false teaching spreads like spilled milk. Those who cannot be convinced and insist on promoting false teaching should be invited to go their own way. For there is only one God, one Spirit, one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There is only one Church. There is only one baptism, one call and one hope. This is what the Apostle teaches.  It’s why we believe and confess one holy catholic and apostolic Church. Amen.

All Bible quotes are from the ESV.