Ephesians 5:1-20

Paul urges the Ephesians to be imitators of God, walking in love, and turning away from the “old man”…to live in light of the truth so that they will build up, and not tear down, the Body of Christ.

When we trusted in Jesus, we were adopted into His family. Our allegiance changed. We are now sons and daughters of the King. We were darkness, now we are light in the Lord. And so we are called to walk as children of the light…goodness and righteousness and truth…doing the things that please the Lord. Loving others the same way Jesus loved us. Not easy, but something we are called to do together.

The goal of the Christian life is conformity to the image of Jesus. We might say…to live and love like Jesus. Not just for some us. For all of us. We are the Body of Christ. That’s super important to keep in mind. It means that following Jesus is not a solo gig…it’s a group project. It’s something we do together. It’s not enough for one of us to follow Jesus well. Paul says the job’s not done “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ,” being filled with the Spirit where there is a lot of singing and thanksgiving and serving one another.

That’s of course if you are a part of the Body of Christ. And that only happens when you’ve trusted in Him. Until then, you may “go” to Church, but you are not a member of Christ’s Body. But you can be. It’s as simple as recognizing that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Believing that Jesus is the Savior that God promised. He lived a perfect life. He died a sacrificial death on your behalf and was raised the third day conquering both sin and death, so that by faith in Jesus you can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life and can now be a part of this thing called the Church.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our Ephesians series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X or Threads: @ccclancaster. You can also download our Central Christian app in the iTunes App Store.