Act in Christ

[전승훈2]

Summary:
Paul describes how the new life believers have received in Christ must be expressed through their everyday actions and relationships. He calls them to abandon deception and live with honesty toward one another, recognizing that they are members of the same body. When anger arises, it must be handled carefully—without allowing it to turn into sin or giving opportunities for destructive forces to take hold.

Paul contrasts the old way of life with the new by addressing concrete behaviors. Instead of stealing, believers are to work honestly so they can become sources of help to others. Their speech is to move away from harm and toward words that build up, encourage growth, and benefit those who hear. Anything that damages unity or disregards God’s presence is a cause for grief to the Holy Spirit, who has marked believers as God’s own.

The passage closes by calling for the removal of bitterness, rage, hostility, and harmful speech. In their place, believers are to live with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness, reflecting the way God has treated them through Christ. This transformed way of living becomes visible evidence of the new life they now share in Him.
 
Teaching:
Finding joy and appearing happy over shallow, worldly things is foolish.

Have compassion on your own wife or husband, and forgive one another. When we show compassion, forgiveness follows. Just as God forgave us in Christ, we are to forgive others.

In the end, whether it is forgiving or doing good, everything comes down to this: we are to act as God has acted toward us in Christ - making us good, forgiving us, and extending His grace. In other words, we are to imitate God.

Excerpt from the sermon by Pastor Lee, Apr 9, 2026
Ephesians 4:25-32