Don’t Trip: A C.R.I.P. Walk Tutorial – Part 1

Review

• Last week we continued our series on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
• We will continue with Ephesians today, but with a different title: Don’t Trip: A C.R.I.P. Walk Tutorial.
• For our purposes C.R.I.P. stands for Christ In
• In other words, this lesson is about how drawing close to Jesus affects our .
• In Ephesians and much of the rest of the Bible, walking is a metaphor for life.
• Your walk refers to how you .
• The first three chapters of Ephesians focus on what we , but the second three chapters focus on how we .

Ephesians 1:3-10  

• We are. . . .Blessed, Chosen, Predestined, Adopted, Sons, Redeemed, Forgiven, Wealthy, Wise, Heirs, Sealed, Seated, Poetry 

Sit Before You Walk

Ephesians 2:4-6

• In this context, seating represents authority, but also and completion.
• “Christianity begins not with a big do, but with a big done. . . .Ephesians opens with the statement that God has ‘blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. . .and we are invited at the very outset to sit down and enjoy what God has done for us—not to set out to try and attain it for ourselves” (Watchman Nee, Sit, Walk, Stand: The Process of Christian Maturity, CLC Publications, 2012, p. 9)
• We must first know that our identity, destiny and security are in heaven before we can walk with confidence on earth.

God’s Poetry

Ephesians 2:10

• Workmanship = poiema
• The sources of the English word poem.
• Ancient poets appealed to a muse for inspiration.
• Inspire = filled with the Spirit
• We are God’s.
• His breath gives us life, beauty and glory.

The Big Idea of Ephesians 2:11-22 and Ephesians 3

• The Ephesian church was multiethnic.
• The two biggest subgroups were Jews and Gentiles.
• God tells Gentiles that, as adopted children, they are children
• They have all the affection, rights and privileges of sonship.
• They are an official part of the royal family.

Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4:1-16

We Walk with Dignity

Ephesians 4:1

• Act like you are part of the family.

We Don’t Walk Alone

Ephesians 4:2-3

• You can’t say you love Jesus if you don’t love His .

We Walk Together

Ephesians 4:4-6

• We are one big family united by the .

We Walk with Resources

Ephesians 4:7

• We all receive some aspect of Christ’s ministry through .

Ephesians 4:8-10

• Paul revisits and rewrites an Old Testament passage to explain how Christ gives gifts to the church.

Ephesians 4:11

• Jesus is the head coach; ministers are coaches.

We Walk with a Purpose

Ephesians 4:12

• The laity does the work of the ministry, not the ministers.
• Athletes play; coaches coach.

We Walk Forward, Not in Place

Ephesians 4:13

• The purpose of ministry is Christian a, both individually and collectively.

We Stay in Our Lane

Ephesians 4:14

• This scripture paints a picture of the present spiritual condition of the social media community.
• When we isolate ourselves from the larger Christian community, we are being .
• When people leave the church to find spirituality in isolation, they think they are departing because they are , but their separation from their brothers and sisters in Christ is really a sign of immaturity.
• Depth of relationship with God requires depth of relationship with Christian .
• Cynical people think they “see what is ‘really going on” (Paul Miller, A Praying Life, NavPress, 2009, p. 78).
• Cynicism “feels real [and] authentic [,which] gives [it] an elite status since authenticity is one of the last remaining public virtues in our culture” (Paul Miller, A Praying Life, NavPress, 2009, p. 78).
• “To be cynical is to be distant. While offering a false intimacy of being ‘in the know,” cynicism actually destroys intimacy. It leads to a creeping bitterness that can deaden and even destroy the spirit” (Paul Miller, A Praying Life, NavPress, 2009, p. 79).

We Walk in Love

Ephesians 4:15-16

• Love implies a human community.
• If I love you, I don’t want to only engage with you through a computer screen.

© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2021