If you turn your copy of God's word now to Ephesians, I think that's on page 1161 of your pew Bibles. Ephesians chapter four, I'll begin reading in verse one. The preaching of the word today will be focused on verses 11 through 13. Let's give attention to the very word of God. I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one God, and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captive gifts to men. In saying he ascended, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions of the earth? One who also ascended far above the heavens, far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the gift of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature. We may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head. The whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up." Thus far in the reading of God's Word. Amen. Please be seated. Father, our God, we need your spirit. We need the filling of the spirit. We need the spirit. Holy. This is an important passage for us this morning. And so we ask that you'd guide us. Convict us certainly of its truth and applying this to our hearts, to each one of us individually and thus also collectively as this body. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. What are you filling yourself with? What will you fill yourself with this new year? Satan will call you throughout this year to fill yourself with everything the world has to offer. We did with or connected to or related to the living God or his son. What will you fill yourself with? Earlier this morning we read from 2 Kings with regard to the widow who is dead and who is facing creditors coming for her two sons, her children. And Elisha tells her to go and get empty vessels that she might pour oil into them from the one single vessel of oil that she had in her home. And as we know the story, as we heard it in the account, she filled all of these empty vessels out of this one single vessel, seemingly at least for a time, in unending and infinite source of oil. One single jar of oil. used supernaturally to fill all the empty vessels which had been brought in to the home. Empty. Filled with value. So much that the widow was able to pay her debts and live on the rest. What a picture of being filled. What a picture of Christ. This morning, as we turn to 4, Paul has finished the doctrinal portion of his letter, all the indicatives, all the truths, pretty much, that he's going to set forth before those at Ephesus. He's completed. He's told them that they have faith by grace, which is a gift. He's told them that Christ, peace, he's the one who has reconciled them to God. He's informed them that the Gentiles are the fellow heirs of the Jews. And then he's proclaimed that great doxology to him, be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen. Now he begins to apply all those truths to the hearts of the saints in Ephesus. In verse one of chapter four, I urge you then to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called, obviously referring back to the faith that he's already told them about in chapter two. He's called them to walk with humility, gentleness and patience. He's told them that this is done by grace and according to the gifts given by Jesus Christ. And those gifts are given to equip the saints, to equip them for the work of ministry so that their body would be built up until they all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son, to the measure of the fullness of Christ. Now, as we look at these three verses, 11, 12, and 13, I'd like us to see here this morning that Jesus, the Church, through preaching, so that His bride will be ready and worthy for His return. Jesus Christ fills the church through preaching so that his bride will be worthy and ready for his return. See that in three points this morning. First, Jesus calls the church to a worthy walk. Secondly, Jesus provides, fills all, including the church. As we go through this passage, these three verses this morning, I just want you to be asking yourself, what will I fill myself with this year? Jesus calls the church to a worthy walk. While we want to get to verses 11, 12 and 13, we have to see the context in which it's set. And so those at Ephesus here in verse one of chapter four, there I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called. He's writing to those who have been called. Now, what does that mean? You've been called. It's kind of important if you have to walk out. And we know that there is a universal call that goes out to all. Everyone's called. Everyone. Moses called all the Israelites. As he finished writing his pharaonomy, he's kind of rehearsing, and through that, commandments of the Lord. Indeed, he called heaven and earth to witness against them. He has set before them life and death. And he called them to choose life, baying his voice, holding fast to him. Isaiah called. Come, every who thirsts, come to the waters. He who has no money, come by. Buy wine, milk, without money, without price. Listen diligently to me. Eat what is good. Delight your heart as he was baptizing. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus called. First let him come to me and drink. Throughout scripture, we see this. You may think, well, what about those who didn't actually hear? There's an internal call to honor their Creator. Paul speaks of it in his first chapter in his letter to those at Rome. He also spoke of the law written on the hearts of the Gentiles. Everyone is called to honor, revere, and obey God. Either it's actually heard, or it's internal, or it's both. Actually hear and respond to that universal call, and we call that the effectual call, and that's what Paul is referring to in this letter. Those who have been effected, this is how the Westminster Confession refers to it. That's the effectual call, that you're called out of sin, and you're called into that state of grace and salvation. And by and through that call that's made effectual in you, you receive understanding. Your will is renewed. You have the Jesus Christ. So he's writing to those who have been called. The universal calls become effectual. Have you been called effectually this morning? I know many of you are saying yes. Well, is that it? I'll. I've accepted Jesus into my heart. I'm under grace, not law. I don't have anything to do. But that's not what Paul writes. He's asking Indeed, he's telling those at Ephesus, what are you doing with your effectual call? How are you using it? What's the Lord's expectation for you now that you've been effectually, do you have anything to do? Are you sitting on your hands waiting for Jesus to return? And the answer is yes. Yes, you've been effectually called and Lord has changed your heart. You've come to faith and now you have work to do. Now, let's be clear, that work is not saving work. No, Jesus Christ has done the saving work, and in fact, by and through his spirit, he has done the work of effectually calling you. Jesus has suffered in your place, and you've come now to trust in his broken body, his shed blood, his resurrection for your salvation, and yet, Because you've been effectually called, you do have a particular walk to engage in, don't you? I, therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called. Well, walking, we know, is active. It's pursuing. It's in a particular direction. And so Paul is speaking about living actively in your calling, pursuing the things of God. There will be a temptation at this point for those who are here, or maybe those listening on the stream or listening to the recording, say, well, I haven't been called. I haven't confessed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't know Jesus savingly. So I don't need to listen. I can turn this one off. That would be a grave mistake. because you're sitting here, you're listening, because Jesus has brought you to this place. He's worked in his sovereign plan to bring you to sit here, to listen to the stream, to watch the recording, and the Lord may be using this particular time in your life so that you would hear the call and that it would become effective in you, even at this moment. So you're here, so you're listening. This may be the day of your salvation. You may be plucked from the depths of despair and darkness and your sins lifted up to Christ. To eternal life. Wouldn't you want that? So listen. Receive the remainder for your good. But if you're here and you're saying, yes, yes, I've been called, well, what does it mean to walk in a manner worthy? We should all be asking that this morning. What's Paul speaking of? How can you be worthy? And that's not what Paul is saying, is he? None are worthy. We all deserve death. No one can become worthy. Paul's not saying walk in a particular way and then become worthy. He's not saying that. He's not saying that you need to achieve some particular status in your walk or do some particular work in order to be worthy. He's not saying that. He's saying that you've been called. That's God's work. And that's what he's done in his perfect holiness and his graciousness. But he's saying because you've been called effectually and because you've come to saving faith in Jesus Christ as a gift now, you're to strive to live in such a way that reflects that gift of faith that he's granted to you. The question is how? What does that look like? How can this walk be described or exemplified? Paul doesn't leave that to speculation, does he? As he told the Ephesians and he tells you even right now, with all humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace, there it is. That's the description of what it is to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you've been called. To live a life of worthiness. A life that radiates the object of your faith, Jesus Christ. Well, now we should be asking, how do we do that? How do we live humbly, patiently, gently with everyone around us, loving all? All in our midst, all in our circles, all who are seated next to us in the pews today. How? Now, let me just say, and I hope I don't offend anyone, it's not your nature. It's not your practice in Adam. It's not the way that your heart was born in Adam. But you say, I have a new heart. Yes, if you're trusting, sincerely trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, it's because you have been given a new heart. And that new heart needs to be taught. And you need to be trained how to live humbly, patiently, gently, with everyone around you loving everyone. So how? This call to live a worthy walk is really not optional. If you've been effectually called, then this is the next step. And so we need to know, where do you get this teaching? Where do you get this help? How can you be transformed? What are you filled with? And what are you seeking to be filled with so that your walk will become effectual and an example of the fact that you have been effectually called? There are several places we could go this morning, but the text gives us one to ponder even this morning. And so this worthy walk, this call to a worthy walk brings us to our second point. that Jesus provides preachers to the church. Well, Ephesians is full of gifts, gifts that have been given by the Lord Jesus. It begins with faith. It's a gift. And it continues here even in this chapter with the grace and the other gifts that are given by Jesus Christ. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. So Jesus gives even more gifts than faith. And you're scratching your head maybe and you're thinking, OK, what else? Well, the first is his ascension. That's a gift. The second are your under shepherds. They are gifts to you. And your third is the good and right teaching that you receive from your under shepherds. Look at verse eight, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. The one who ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all things. See, the ascension is a gift. Earlier in Ephesians, in chapter 1, Paul writes that Christ, when he was raised from the dead and seated at his right hand, meaning the right hand of God in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, above every name that is named, he put all things under his feet and gave him his head. over all things to the church. That's the ascension. That's the gift that you have received as Christ is your head and you've been placed in the church and you're seated with him as he has ascended. That's a gift. And as a result of his ascension, he has sent his spirit to abide in you. That's a gift. As a result of the ascension, Jesus Christ is interceding for you hourly, constantly. As a result of his ascension, he's appearing before his father to plead his blood for you. That's a gift, all as a result of his ascension. And then there's that gift as a result of the ascension, he fills everything. We want to talk about a specific gift right now, and that is the gift of evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. They're sent, they're given to equip you. Look at verse 12. Let me say verse 11. He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and the teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. Remember, we began with the call to walk in a certain manner, a manner worthy of your calling. And now Paul is saying that the Lord Jesus Christ provides evangelists, shepherds, or we could say pastors and teachers to equip you, to instruct, to encourage, to build up, to edify, to teach, to preach. Remember that question of how, how, how will we walk in this manner? Here's the answer. Jesus provides those who will equip you to walk in that particular way. Think of a football player. We are all thinking of football, I guess, in the season at times. A football player must be equipped to play. Helmet, shoulder pads, knee pads, cleats, uniform. Without this equipment, he can't play. And he must be trained to use them. Similarly, you must be equipped and you must be trained. Your equipping comes from the evangelists, the shepherds, and the teachers. We're not only equipping, but also training. That's the gift, isn't it? The gift of building up the body. Consider that the head, Jesus Christ and his body being equipped and trained by and through the evangelist shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry. See that the work of ministry? Sometimes we think it's just it's the shepherds that do the work of ministry. And what Paul is saying, well, not really. They're sent to equip you so that you can do the work of ministry, which results in the building up of the body of Christ. The saints are to be equipped for the work of ministry through the shepherds, the pastors, the teachers, the evangelists. Notice, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, Remember, we're all broken. Every single one of us are broken. Corrupt Anatomy, as we come together, it's a collection of brokenness. We're like a building that hasn't been cared for, and yet now we're brought together and we're being renovated. Isn't that what Paul is saying? Equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ coming together as broken people. And by and through the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, he's building up his body. Until we all attain, not some, but until we all attain This building up has a goal, until all attain the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son. And those two really go together, don't they? Unity of the faith. It seems rather straightforward. Faith is described in the shorter catechisms as a saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon Him, meaning Jesus Christ alone for salvation as He's offered to us in the Gospel. And so as we think of the unity of faith, we're thinking of, well, we're coming together in this faith, faith in Jesus Christ, and this faith which is described and defined in a particular way in a particular person, meaning that we all agree that we're all joined together. And not only joined together, but we're being built up in that faith which is uniform, wherein we confess the good news, the gospel, confessing that we're all sinners, we're all broken, and that none of us are able to save ourselves, that none of us begin by wanting Jesus, that we have the wrath of God bearing down upon us. And yet there's a sinless one whose name is Jesus who has taken the eternal wrath of God for sinners on the cross at Calvary, and this sinless Jesus died in our place, suffering our punishment, suffering from my sins. and that he was buried, and three days later he rose from the tomb, he defeated sin and death, and is ascended to sit at the very right hand of God the Father, and will come again to judge the sheep and the goats, meaning the righteous and the unrighteous. taking the sheep into glory and the goats sending to eternal damnation. And the only reason that I, the only reason that we have faith in Jesus alone is by and through the undeserved regeneration or the gift of a new heart by which the Spirit has granted me the seat of faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the unity of faith in the knowledge of the Son of God. It's a gift. But it's being built up. By the teachers, the evangelists, the preachers being brought together. By and through this gift that he's given. Do you grasp that gift? Do you understand that gift of preachers and teachers and evangelists that you've been given by Jesus? faithful preachers, faithful teachers, faithful shepherds, faithful evangelists, to proclaim His Word, all so that you, each of you, may become filled with Christ, all brought to that overflowing knowledge and love for Jesus to be made more like Him so that your walk would be worthy of your calling. That's the gift. Have you received it? Have you opened it? Are you using it? Will you use it this year? That brings us to our third point, that Jesus fills all, including the church. What is the end of this walking? It seems that it's summed up here in verse 13, until we all attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The fullness of Christ seems to be the end of walking in that manner worthy of your calling. Not that you can work your way to it, but it seems to be summed up in that. What is it to walk in a manner worthy of your calling? It's to be filled with Christ. That's what it seems to be. Did you notice how Paul speaks of one of the reasons for Jesus' ascensions, that he might fill all things? It's in verse 10. He who descended is the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. Well, you say, well, I thought he ascended to become king. Yes, of course he did. I thought he ascended to become our eternal priest. Yes, he did. I thought he ascended to become our prophet, our ultimate prophet. Yes, he did. But here Paul speaks very broadly to encompass all of that and more, that he might fill all things. Well, what is that? What does that mean for Christ to fill all things? It's a bit like that widow's bottle of oil, isn't it? Those empty vessels coming in. And the pure oil from that one jar that the widow had being poured out, poured out, poured out. Whatever Jesus fills. Whatever that was coming out of that jar of oil was filling those other jars with more pure oil. And so whatever Jesus fills, He fills completely. Each of those jars were filled completely and then set aside, filled completely and then set aside. And He fills everything that He does fill with His purity, with His holiness, with His divine being, with His obedient humanity. And so, as Paul speaks of Christ's filling, we must have that picture of only Christ. Not oil and water, just pure oil, just pure Christ. Whatever He fills, You must see that it's first completely Christ with nothing added to it. So let's just open this up and think of six things that Christ fills. I know he fills so much more. He fills all things. Think of the law. Jesus filled or fulfilled the law completely. As he walked this earth, there was not one aspect of the law that was left undone. There was not one aspect of the law that Jesus did not accomplish completely and fully according to the will and desire of His Father. And nothing was added to His work. Nothing was added to His completion of the task given to Him to obey. He filled the law completely without anything added to His labor. Not yours, not mine, not Adam's, thankfully. No one contributed to it. Nor does anyone contribute to it today. No one contributes to the obedience of Jesus. Only Jesus alone. He completely filled the law. Think of the cross. Think of the cross at Calvary. If you're trusting in Jesus Christ this morning for your salvation, it is because Jesus filled the cross for you. No one. Was on the cross with Jesus. No one suffered with Jesus on the cross. No one. Took the eternal wrath of his father. For saved sinners, only Jesus. Jesus took the entire cup of God's wrath for the elect children of God and drank it completely to its dregs, meaning until it was empty. Jesus filled himself in one sense with the eternal wrath of God for you. The cross was for the pouring out of the entire cup of God's wrath for you. for each and every child of God. It was emptied on the cross into Jesus. He became the full vessel of the wrath of God, such that none of it spilled over or out or leaked, not one drop. Jesus, in a sense, filled the cup of wrath with himself, such that you would never bear a drop of it. Think of the tomb. Jesus filled the tomb completely with his humanity. Completely dead. There was no other human being in the tomb, just Jesus. No other beings. Satan was certainly trying to be present. to keep him within. But Jesus filled it in such a way that he dominated it, that he broke free of it by the power of his Father, by the power of the Son, by the power of the Spirit. But he dominated the tomb. Think of the throne. Jesus fills the throne. You might be thinking, now I have a king sitting on his throne, having power over the nation of which he is enthroned over. It's somewhat like what Jesus is doing, but not quite. He's the King of kings and Lord of lords. He governs everything, every person, every event that happens in the heavens, above the heavens and below the heavens and upon earth. Nothing happens that's beyond the control of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything is governed and disposed of. Everything is discerned and understood and planned and purposed and executed by this King. And so he fills all things. Nothing escapes the throne of Jesus Christ. Think of the Word. He is the Word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. William Bridge puts it this way. When a man's mind is empty, As in temptation and want of comfort, it is empty of Christ. The more full a man's mind is, and now he's speaking of Christ, he's speaking of the word, the more free from temptations and fears. Now, scripture matter is the most filling matter. You see what he's saying? He's saying Jesus is the word, and if you receive the word, if you're filled with the word, you're filled with Christ, and it is the most filling thing we can think of. Now, think of the church. That brings us full circle, doesn't it? As we read that Jesus fills all things, He fills the church as well. It's his body. How does he fill the church? You may be saying, well, that's easy. That's easy. Jesus fills the church as his spirit abides in each and every one of his chosen sons and daughters. That's how he fills the church. And that would be a partial answer, a good one. But it's just partial. You may be asking, well, what do you mean partial? And certainly Jesus fills the church by and through His Word, as we just discussed. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is filled to overflowing by and through His Word. Have you ever been to one of those all-you-can-eat buffets? They can be dangerous, especially the good ones. because the chefs and the servers, they continue to bring new platters of delicious turkey or roast beef or your favorite dessert and you can be tempted to eat too much and sometimes we are, sometimes we gorge ourselves and we leave that restaurant stuffed with a stomachache. But you see, with the word of God given by and through the Lord Jesus Christ, by and through his shepherds and teachers, preachers, you will be filled but you can never have too much. If it's your desire, if it's your longing, you will always leave this place having been filled with it, filled with the nourishing, the delicious, with the taste and see that he is good, word of God. Jesus is not stingy with his word, he's merciful and gracious and giving constantly, giving more and more as the spirit takes it up and plants it within your hearts, he never stops. You'll never get to that point where the Spirit says, that's enough. And if you're hungering and thirsting after righteousness, you'll never get to the point of saying, that's enough. It's a wonderful paradox that you will be filled, but you'll never have enough until Jesus returns. You say, well, how does that happen? It happens through those gifts that have been given to you. Yes, you can read the word, and you should be reading the word on your own, but you've been given gifts of preachers and shepherds and teachers, given to the church by the Lord Jesus, and that's how it happens. These gifts given to you so that you'll be filled with Christ. He's ascended to give you this gift of filling. These are the gifts given to you so that Christ will be your fullness, not the minister, Not the teacher, not the elder, not the pastor, not the preacher. No, but Christ. As the preacher, as the teacher, as the minister, as the elder brings forth faithfully the Word of God as a gift from Jesus Christ, you will be filled with Him. He will be your fullness. Do you see the glory of Christ in this? Do you see that that's one reason for His ascension? so that He could be your fullness, so that Jesus will fill you with Himself by and through the work of the Spirit as He takes up the Word given to you by your preacher, your faithful preacher. It's like the Father Speaking on the Mount of Transfiguration, a voice came out of the clouds saying, this is my son, my chosen one, listen to him. And it's as if Jesus Christ is saying to this morning, I have ascended to fill all things, including you, the church, my bride, and these are my teachers and preachers, ministers and elders sent to you as a gift. Listen to them as they faithfully teach you and preach to you my very word. It will be my fullness. What are you going to be filled with this year? Are you convicted that you must work, strive, seek, pursue the attainment of the fullness of Christ? Is that what Paul, through the Spirit, speaks to each of us this morning? Is that the marching order? And the answer is unequivocally yes and no. Yes, we're all to be striving toward and praying for the fullness of Christ to be worked in each of us. And no, it's all the work of Christ. It's all Christ's work. He's doing it. He's ascended to the right hand of God in order to accomplish your becoming the fullness of Christ. He needed to ascend by the work of the Spirit to raise up those under shepherds, those preachers and teachers and evangelists and provide them and send them to you so that you might be taught and led and edified and encouraged and convicted by and through his word as it's preached to you to obtain the fullness of Christ through their work, through their labors. But it's all the work of Christ, isn't it? You thought he was done. You thought that he had just one remaining task, and that is to ride in the clouds with trumpets and angels in his return. And that's true. He will. But that's not his only work. Be encouraged that Christ is working today as the Spirit takes the word preached by these gifts from Jesus to build you up in the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God so that you may become the fullness of Jesus Christ. Yes, Jesus fills the church through preaching so that his bride will be worthy and ready for his return. Satan will tempt you this year to be filled with the world, with television, with internet, with sports, with the lust of the world. But those empty vessels in the widow's house are filled with only one thing. That's supernatural oil. And Jesus is providing that same thing for you by and through his faithful gifts from on high. His preachers, teachers, evangelists, and his elders. Praise be to God. He's doing this for us today. Amen. Father, What a joy, what a privilege, what a blessing. It is to know that Jesus sits on his throne. And as a result of his ascension, he has provided these gifts. Oh, Lord, we thank you for our faith, but we also think that you continue building us up in it, this unity of faith, this knowledge of the son of God. Father, we pray that you'd continue. Send us, Father, faithful preachers and evangelists and teachers and elders that we might continue until we all attain to the unity of faith, to the knowledge of the Son of God, and to the fullness of Christ. Help us, Lord. We ask all this in Jesus's name. Amen.