Real Responsibility
October 5, 2025
Pastor Jim Danielson
Opening Illustration
Then I will be good.
Introduction
Responsibility starts with parents giving small doses of it through chores to their children. It should increase as children grow older. Paul wanted the believers to grasp that Jesus also has responsibilities for His people to accomplish in the church.
Three Ways Jesus Works in Us
1. Jesus gives us responsibilities to fulfil.
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life
worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3
Paul wanted the Ephesian believers to know the primary responsibilities Jesus had given them as members of His church. They come from His command to love one another.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
Three responsibilities We Are Given by Jesus
1. To live a life worthy of our calling.
We are to live our lives in a way that honours the Lord. We have been invited into a life of difference, purity and holiness.
2. To always treat one another with love.
Paul emphasized three ways we express our love to each other. First, we are to be humble, putting others before us.
“The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Matthew 23:11-12
We are to be gentle and show kindness to others. To be gentle is to show strength under control. Our strength comes from being under Christ’s control.
3. To strive to maintain the unity of the Spirit.
Our unity comes from God. Our privilege is to strive to maintain this unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. The Holy Spirit holds us together in Christ’s spiritual body and the bond of peace allows us to maintain this unity.
Illustration
A Responsible Position.
2. Jesus gives us a calling to oneness.
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6
Paul uses seven one’s to emphasize the oneness we have in Christ that is reflected in the Trinity.
1. We have oneness in the Spirit.
There is only one Christ’s body. The oneness of that body is the heart of the book of Ephesians. There is only one Spirit that lives in every believer and unifies the body.
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
2. We have oneness in the Son.
As believers we have only one Lord and our allegiance is to Him alone, not to any other ruler, or cause. He saves us, redeems us, reconciles us and unites us under His banner.
” yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” 1 Corinthians 8:6
There is also only one faith and one baptism. Like a diamond that gets its beauty from its many facets, our faith comes from the many facets of God’s truth in His Word.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
3. We have oneness in the Father.
Jesus was once asked by a religious leader, “What is the greatest commandment”? He declared the ‘shema’, the faith that every Jewish child learned as their first lesson about God.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Deut. 6:4
God’s oneness is just as foundational for the Christian faith, yet the New Testament reveals the more complete truth that the one God is in three persons- Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Paul reiterates this truth about our oneness in his letter to the Philippian church.
“…conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.” Philippians 1:27
Illustration
We were just one.
3. Jesus gives us the gift of His grace.
“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” Ephesians 4:7-8
If you could take the gospel and reduce it to a one-word definition, it would be grace. On our own, none of us deserves anything but God’s wrath and we can do nothing to earn God’s favor. We are only deserving of hell because of our sins which are our rebellion toward God and His ways.
“There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.” Romans 3:9-11
Grace is that wonderful gift that is our ‘get-out-of-hell free’ card. God has made a way for us to be reconciled to Him through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. We can do nothing to earn it, but we can freely accept it because God has offered it freely to us. In the Bible, the word love is spelled G-I-V-E.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” John 3:16-17
That’s the heart of the gospel, the good news that God is for us and not against us. We can’t do it, but He can! He can save us, He can redeem us and He can give us a new life, all because He gives of the gift of grace!
Closing Illustration
Hush, Child. There’s no time for that. You’ll be late for the party.
Thoughts to consider this week: Being Grace Givers
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1. How would you describe the ideal life worth living? What would you include in it? What would you exclude from it?
2. Read Ephesians 4: 1-3. What qualities should characterize “a life worthy of the calling”? What happens when believers live out these qualities? How does each quality promote unity? Of the qualities Paul mentioned, which of these best describes your faith? Which one do you need to work on? What step(s) can you take this week to strengthen that quality in your life?
3. Read Ephesians 4:4-6 and Philippians 2:1-8. How does the picture of unity in Philippians reflect Paul’s thoughts in Ephesians 4:4-6? What does it add to what Paul is saying in Ephesians? Why is unity so important to the local church? How effective is a church in carrying out Christ’s work when there isn’t unity? What area(s) could you grow in that would benefit this church and the people of this church?
4. Read Ephesians 3: 7-8. Who gives us grace? Why is grace one of the essential ingredients of a healthy Christian life and church community? How does a proper view of grace contribute to the success of a local church? What effect has the grace of God had on your life? On the lives of people you have worked with, been in relationship with, or come in contact with? As God has freely extended grace to you, how effective are you at passing that grace onto others? Will you try this week to offer God’s grace to someone you encounter?
5. Pray for the grace of God to flow into you and out through you.
© 2025, Jim Danielson