Marks of a Transformed Life (Love & Faith)
By Pastor Matt Black
04 June 2006
Lord's Day morning
Ephesians 1:15
Introduction: Open your Bible to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. This morning we are going to see how a person who comes to know Jesus Christ is totally transformed. The title of this morning’s message is “Marks of a Transformed Life.” We will be looking at two marks this morning, and then two marks next week. Let’s stand together and read Ephesians chapter 1 and verses 15 through 23.
[Stand and read Ephesians 1:15-23]
In these verses we see that Paul heard certain things about the Ephesians that gave him assurance that they were believers and that caused him to rejoice.
One thing that marks every true believer of Jesus Christ—there is a great change. There is a turning from sin and a turning to God. There is a great transformation of the life. Without this change, there is no assurance whatsoever of the new birth. Something new and living has taken place. That which was dead now lives—a transformation has occurred.
In our text this morning, Paul has just finished talking about what God has done. God has:
· Made us saints and faithful in Christ (verse 1)
· Brought us to Himself through His grace (verse 2)
· Reconciled us (verse 2)
· Blessed us in Jesus Christ (verse 3)
· Elected us (verse 4)
· Adopted us (verse 5)
· Made us acceptable to Him by Christ (verse 6)
· Forgiven us all our sin (verse 7)
· Opened our eyes to His will (verse 9)
· Worked everything according to the counsel of His will in our lives (verse 11)
· Sealed us with the Holy Spirit (verse 13) and …
· Promised us final redemption (verse 14)
That’s all what God has done—that’s all from God’s perspective.
Now that God has done all of that, we are changed! We are transformed! We can no longer be the same!!
Now remember, at the time Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesian church, he was in a filthy Roman prison. The year is around 62 AD, and this is Paul’s first imprisonment. He would later be put under house arrest, but this imprisonment was the most severe.
John McRay has written about what it would have been like for the Apostle at this time:
“Roman imprisonment was preceded by being stripped naked and then flogged, a humiliating, painful, and bloody ordeal. The bleeding wounds went untreated; prisoners sat in painful leg or wrist chains. Mutilated, blood-stained clothing was not replaced, even in the cold of winter…
Most cells were dark, especially the inner cells of a prison, like the one Paul and Silas inhabited in Philippi. Unbearable cold, lack of water, cramped quarters, and sickening stench from few toilets made sleeping difficult and waking hours miserable . …Because of the miserable conditions, many prisoners begged for a speedy death. Others simply committed suicide.”[1]
“The present situation is, therefore, very unpleasant, deeply frustrating. He is in a Roman cell: damp, with little light, and probably cold - very uncomfortable. At this time Paul was continually bound with chains, and he lacked adequate clothing and books, for he asks Timothy to bring his cloak and the books with him when he comes to visit him.”[2]
So Paul is in the worst possible circumstances while writing this letter, but he is not at all concerned with himself. He does not mention how horrible the conditions are—he is selfless. He is blessing God, exulting in God, and concerned about the Ephesians. Listen to what he says in our text in Ephesians 1:15-16:
Ephesians 1:15-16
15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
Even though Paul was a thousand miles away in Rome, he is still concerned about the Ephesians. It had been about four years since Paul had left Ephesus. Remember what Paul had said in Acts 20:17; 22-23, “And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. 22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: 23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.”
And “bonds and afflictions” did await Paul. He is now in bonds and afflictions writing to the Ephesians, and he must have been receiving visitors who told him about the Ephesians—he had been kept well informed. Paul had heard about certain things that marked the Ephesian believers, and that marks all believers, and this brought joy and prayer to Paul. Let’s look at these marks right now.
From this passage we see FOUR marks, or evidences of genuine Christianity. We see two of the marks in the Ephesians and two others in the life of Paul.
You see, when a person is forgiven and made holy by the power of the Holy Spirit of God, when a person turns from his life of selfishness and sin, and turns to Christ, there is a deep and extreme transformation. Something is different! There are marks, evidences that show a change. In fact as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “…if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” It is so massive a change that Christ calls it being “born again” (John 3:3), and he says unless this massive transformation has taken place, that person “cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Let’s look at these four marks of one who is genuinely transformed by the power of God. The first one is found right here in verse 15. Paul says that while he’s in this Roman prison cell, he gets word about the Ephesians. He says, “I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus” (verse 15).
I. Mark number one: Faith. “I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus” (verse 15)
So we need to ask ourselves the question: What is faith?
Faith is: A Vision of God in all things.
A. Faith has a vision of God beyond the ugly details of life.
A true believer is pushed to God by all the ugly details of life. If we only see with our natural eyes, then the ugly details of life will only make us bitter. But the true believer has a vision of God in all things. He sees beyond the here and now. He sees that this world system is just a sham—it is in rebellion against God. A believer knows that any evil that harms him is just temporal, because there is something more substantive that will last eternally beyond what we now see. The believer lives for the substance and evidence of those eternal things.
Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Many people think that faith is mysticism. It is not mysticism at all! Faith is the opposite of all that. There is “substance” and “evidence” of these unseen things. Mysticism wishes and hopes and feels. Faith sees the evidence and substance of things not seen by the natural eye, but faith sees nonetheless. Yet it is not a natural sight, just as 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “we walk by faith, not by sight.”
So a true believer sees God in all things. He sees beyond this life. He does not value the things of this life!
So faith has a vision of God beyond all the ugly details of life. But then we see that…
B. Faith values God above all things.
1. That means count we the world as worthless.
We must DEVALUE the world in our lives.
We should count all things in this life “as dung” that we might “win Christ” (Philippians 3:8).
Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:19, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
The book of First John was written to demonstrate the marks of true believers. John gives a very clear command to us in 1 John 2:15. He says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Do you love the world? Where are your treasures? Do you count your life dear? Or are you holding onto your life. We must not only devalue the world, we must devalue our own life!
Listen to the words of Jesus once again in Luke 9:23, “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away [INTO HELL]?”
If you hang onto this world, to your life, to your treasures, to your sin, and you do not forsake all and follow Christ, you will lose all, and you will lose it forever!
So we must count the world, and our own lives, as WORTHLESS. But then…
2. That also means that we count Christ as precious!
The believer seeks first “the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). We are willing to suffer loss for Christ. We are willing to suffer persecution for Christ (2 Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”) Paul said in Philippians 3:8, “I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”
So faith has a VISION of God beyond all the ugly details of life, and faith VALUES God, but then we see that…
C. Faith is the only venue to please God.
Romans 14:23 “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
So faith has a VISION of God beyond all the ugly details of life, and faith VALUES God, Faith is the only VENUE to please God, and finally we see that…
D. Faith is viewable [observable] to all the world.
1. Faith is observable through our lips.
Many people try to avoid the truth of God by saying, “Well, my faith in God is a private issue.” This is not faith at all. Faith is not hidden, it is out in the open for all to see. Paul said in our text in Ephesians 1:15, “I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus.” He sais in Romans 1:8 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” How did that happen?
Let’s look at it this way. Are there any Cubs fans here today? How about White Sox fans? You root for your favorite team right? You talk about it. All the likes and dislikes of your life are all observable, because you talk about what you love and you talk about what you don’t like. It’s the same with those who trust in Jesus Christ. Christians are obsessed with Christ. He is their love. He is their treasure. “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20)! We confess with our mouths to all who will hear that “Jesus Christ is Lord!” And one day “[every knee will bow] and … every tongue … confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11)
We cannot keep quiet. Our faith is observable. It’s observable not only through our lips, but through our life!
2. Faith is observable through our life. John tells us that our faith is not just a bunch of talk, but it is something that we practice and exercise in our lives. You can tell if someone is in shape, or if they are just talking. So let’s look at 1 John 3:18. John says, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
Or as Philippians 2:12-13 puts it so clearly, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Your salvation, your faith is so powerful, it is transforming. It transforms your life. God works to will and to do His good pleasure in you and through you. Is that the kind of life you are living?
So do you have the first mark? Do you have faith? Do you have that vision of God in all things?
If not, what is blocking your vision? Faith is that which forsakes all and follows Christ!
So the first evidence, or mark, that we are genuine believers is what? FAITH! Now let us look to the second mark.
II. Mark number two: Love.
Paul says to the Ephesians, “I heard of your…love unto all the saints” (verse 15). But what is love? Is love that feeling that I feel when I feel that I feel something? In our minds so much of the time, we view not only faith as mystical, but love as mystical also. It is not tangible to us. But that is not true Biblical love. What is true Biblical love?
A. First let us look at the Attributes of Love. What is love?
1. Love is a Sacrifice of Self for the sake of the object of love. Look at John 3:16. Here we see the ultimate act of love.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God so loved…that he GAVE!! He gave! God loved, and so He gave all that He had, His only Son…He bankrupted heaven, because he loved. The word here is AGAPE, and it is that divine love that loves unconditionally. Is your love conditional?
Listen to 1 Corinthians 13:1-8, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never faileth…”
You need to ask yourself the question, who do I love?
So love is a sacrifice of self—it’s pretty concrete. How do you know if you love someone? Well, someone might say, “I just do.” I can’t put my finger on it!” That’s not love—that’s sentimentalism or lust or nostalgia, or some other thing, but it is not love! That brings us to our second point.
Love is not only a sacrifice of self but…
2. Love is not subjective, but always has an object. “I heard of your…love unto all the saints” The object here is the saints, but we need to ask, why do we love the saints? Look at verse 15, because of their “faith in the Lord Jesus.”
The object of our love is those who love Christ because the ultimate object of our love IS Christ!
Love is a powerful transforming thing. Do you fear things in life. Fear is what controls us much of the time. But if we give our all to Christ, and we love Him more than all, then fear will be gone!
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
You see love is not subjective. It is a commitment. When there is a commitment to Christ, you love him, you sacrifice all for him. You count Him as infinitely valuable!
So we’ve seen the attributes of love…
B. Now let us look at the Aim of love. Be careful what you love! Love will seal your destiny!
1. Do you love the world?
John tells us that whatever we love is going to determine our destiny. Look at 1 John 2:15. He says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
1 Corinthians 16:22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
Do you realize if you love the world, you will be destroyed with the world?
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Do you love the Lord? Do you love the saints? If you love the Lord, you will love His people.
John cuts it straight in his first epistle: I John 3:14ff, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
Do you love the Lord? If you love the Lord He will be LORD!! He will dominate your life. You will do what He says, and go where He tells you to go!
1 John 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Conclusion: You may be here today, and these marks are not in your life. Instead of faith, you live for the world; instead of love for God and others, you love yourself. Where is your life today? Repent—turn from your selfishness, you lying, stealing, and lustful thoughts. Stop coveting after this world, and turn to Jesus Christ to save you!
Closing Hymn: 91 The Steps of a Good Man are ordered by the Lord
[1] Church History, Issue 47.
[2] Clark Haak. The Reformed Witness Hour. Learning Contentment. http://www.prca.org/refwitness/1999/1999apr25.html. Accessed 15 January, 2006.