— has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Summary: Paul has some strong words for us in this passage. Looked at in the wrong way, they can seem like a death sentence for us all. Looked at through the lens of Jesus’ love for us, the meaning becomes clear. We need Jesus!
Let’s begin by putting this passage in context. Paul begins his letter by reviewing the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Eph 1: 3-10). Then he dives into a discussion of our relationship with Christ as individuals (Eph 1-3) and then discusses the body of Christ as a whole (Eph 4:1-23). Beginning with Ephesians 4:24, Paul explains what it means to live a righteous life in Jesus. After making clear how important it is to be united in God, he makes this startling statement:
“For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”
In the story of The Rich Young Man (Mark 10:17-31), the rich man asks, “[W]hat must I do to inherit eternal life?” After talking with Jesus and professing he keeps God’s commandments, the Bible says, “Jesus … loved him.” The man had touched Jesus’ heart.
Jesus then said there was one thing the rich man lacked. If he wanted eternal life and to be truly righteous, he needed to sell all his possessions and follow Jesus.
This illustration fits well with what Paul is teaching us. If we want to be in heaven with Jesus, we need to “sell” all our immoral and impure treasures. Anything we are greedy for, any worldly thing we crave or desire, we need to give it away, let go, and abandon. We must turn our backs on all these things to be with God in heaven.
When Jesus told the man to sell everything, the rich man sadly walked away with his head hung low. Staring in disbelief, Jesus’ disciples asked the key question: “Who then can be saved?”
They realized that what Jesus had asked of the rich man would be hard for anybody, rich or poor. We all have “things” that are important to us. Maybe it is a picture of a loved one, a clock that belonged to a parent, or a bank account. All of us have something we don’t want to give up.
Who then can be saved?
Jesus’ answer is telling. He said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10: 27)
How do we reconcile this story about the rich man with the words Paul wrote? Jesus says, “all things are possible with God,” and Paul says, “No immoral, impure or greedy person … has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”
The answer, I believe, lies in a place we humans cannot see. Both Paul and Jesus are speaking about what is in the heart. The heart of the rich man was devoted to God. That is why Jesus loved him. Even though he could not attain full righteousness on his own, Jesus declared that it was still possible for him to get into heaven.
Paul is talking about the heart as well. People whose hearts cling to immoral or impure things cannot hide that truth from God. These people might confess to loving Jesus with their lips, but instead of rejecting sin in themselves, they treasure it.
Jesus knows the difference. You can trust him.
Application: Trust Jesus!
Food for Thought: How should the church body police itself when it comes to matters of morality, purity and coveting?
Just a in dance there is a measure of ‘it’s up to you to put in the effort’. The reason being, you can’t police the heart, the will, the feelings of another person. You can tell them what’s right, show them evidence of God’s instruction, set up accountability partners, show them their actions, be an example of what is right.
Anon –
I like the dance example. It is probably hard to mix free-form dance and the Polka or to try and Tango to hard rock music. 🙂
The fellowship is partly designed for sharing life together and for iron to sharpen iron (I say partly because there is a whole lot more to fellowship than that). We can point each other to the truths in Scripture and help each other run the race towards Jesus. Pointing people to truths in the word and looking to Jesus is helping the other person to train there eyes to be fixed on Christ. If we can do that, some of the concerns will fix themselves because people will be seeking Christ and His glory rather than their own.
Rich,
Thank you! There certainly is POWER in the Word and the Spirit. Relying on God’s power is the bedrock of all that we do in the church.
08-09-2023, How should the church body police itself when it comes to matters of morality, purity and coveting?
Just as God in John 16:8-13 has convicted every repentant believer of his/her sinfulness, we are to allow Him to speak through us as we correct a brother or sister in the love of Christ, always knowing our goal is to help them as they seek restoration.
The church is called to police itself in the love of God, being patient, kind, not envying, not boasting, not proud, not dishonoring others, not self-seeking, not easily angered, not keeping a record of wrongs, not delighting in evil but rejoicing with the truth, always protecting, always trusting, always hoping, always persevering as
1 Corinthians 13 commands.
Galatians 6:1, Matthew 7:1, 18:15-17, Romans 16:17, 2 Timothy 4:2
Ron,
Thank you! You dug up an interesting collection of verses. They provide instruction for both those who listen and respond to correction and those who don’t.
Yep, it can go either way. We all must make and answer for our individual choices regarding obedience to the Spirits leading.
Keep making us dig into Gods word Jeff!