Not Out There! - Ephesians 4:17-19

 

📖 Scripture

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.”
– Ephesians 4:17-19

🔎 Examination

Why are we here? What's our purpose? Those are questions people have sought to answer for thousands of years. Sadly, most people don't want the truth, so they suppress it in wickedness (Rom 1:18). They waste their lives on a philosophical fool's errand or religious wild-goose-chase. 

The truth isn't some elusive, subjective, or nebulous thing. The TRUTH is the clear, objective, sovereign, sufficient, and unchanging Word of God... which is NOT the same thing as what wolves, snakes, false teachers, priests, pastors, and prophets do with it. Those workers of iniquity will be held accountable for their deeds... and so too will be every fool who rejects God's Word based on them rather than what God has spoken and revealed in Christ Jesus as the eternal WORD.

The doctrine of Holy Trinity doesn't merely tell us who God is; it also explains who we are. In fact, one of the most profound implications of Holy Trinity is found in the biblical doctrine of humanity (anthropology). If we suppress the reality of God, we will never truly know ourselves.

Genesis chapter 1 reveals that humanity was created in Elohim's image and likeness. This truth establishes the foundation for all biblical anthropology. Human dignity, value, purpose, morality, relationships, marriage, family, work, church, and community all flow from this reality. Humanity isn't an accidental byproduct of processes of evolution. We aren't cosmic accidents. We are image-bearers intentionally created by God.

Before humanity existed, God (Elohim) already existed in perfect relational fullness (Holy Trinity). The Father loved the Son before the foundation of the world. The Son delighted in the Father. The Holy Spirit eternally glorified both. Because God is eternally relational, humanity was created with an inherently relational design... UP: as worship... DOWN: in dominion over creation... and ALL AROUND: in our relationships with one another.

This explains why Genesis 2:18 declares that it was "not good" for the man to be alone. Every previous stage of creation had been declared good. Yet isolation is the first thing declared "not good." Why? Because humanity was created to reflect the relational nature of its Creator.

This reality stands in direct opposition to the modern idol of radical individualism. Contemporary culture celebrates self-definition, personal autonomy, independence, and self-fulfillment. Scripture presents a radically different vision. Humanity flourishes not through isolation but through covenant relationships that reflect God's design.

Marriage reflects this reality. Family reflects this reality. The local church reflects this reality. Healthy community reflects this reality. Humanity was created neither merely to exist... nor for private spirituality... but to participate in God-glorifying relationships marked by love, service, sacrifice, and mutual care... UP, DOWN, and ALL AROUND!

Sin, however, corrupted everything. The Fall introduced a profound distortion into human nature. Instead of reflecting God's self-giving love, humanity's affections and worship warped inward. Eve evaluated the forbidden fruit according to her own desires. Adam willingly joined in rebellion. The result was alienation from God, fractured relationships, the corruption of every sphere of life, and the perpetual torment (death) that God warned (Gen 2:17).

The essence of sin is self-worship & exaltation. Fallen humanity seeks autonomy rather than submission. We desire self-rule rather than God's rule. Relationships become tools for personal gain rather than opportunities for sacrificial service. Communities become centered upon collective rebellion in consensus rather than collective worship in confession.

This corruption explains why human institutions always fail apart from God's abiding grace (John 15:5). Marriage becomes self-serving. Families fracture. Communities divide. Churches become consumer-driven hubs of demonic worship. Work becomes exploitation or laziness. Everything apart from faith bends inward toward self because sin has distorted the image of God within us.

Yet the Gospel proclaims restoration. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, came as the perfect image of the invisible God. Through His incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, He accomplishes what fallen humanity never could. Through regeneration, the Holy Spirit creates new life. Through union with Christ, the saints are progressively conformed to His image... to the glory of the Father.

This restoration is neither primarily nor exclusively individual. It is relational. The Father adopts sons and daughters. The Son unites His people into one Body & Bride. The Holy Spirit indwells the church. The redeemed aren't saved into isolation or autonomy but into covenantal GOSPEL community.

This is why the doctrine of Holy Trinity matters. It explains why we were created. It explains why sin is destructive. It explains why isolation is deadly. It explains why selfless and sacrificial relationships matter (Phil 2:3). It explains why the church exists (Eph 3:21). Most importantly, it reveals how Christ restores what humanity destroyed through rebellion and sin (Col 1:19-20).

The God of Holy Trinity created humanity for worship, fellowship, service, and communion with Himself. Every counterfeit vision of humanity inevitably collapses because it rejects the Creator's perfect will and design. Every counterfeit version of worship is rejected. Only through Christ and integration and ongoing devotion to God’s workmanship (Eph 2:10) can fallen image-bearers become who and what God created us to be.

The truth is NOT out there... not in UFOs, pagan religions, Christian cults, selfish pursuits, or worldly philosophies. The truth is in the Word of God, which compels the regenerate to devote ourselves to being devoted and functional members of Christ's Body (a legit local church), “Instead (of being infants), by speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head. From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the proper functioning of each individual part.”

🤺 Action

• Examine whether your identity is rooted in God's Word (devoted member of Christ’s Bride) or in conformity to the pattern of the world. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” – Genesis 1:27. Do you understand yourself primarily as an image-bearer of God, or are your identity and purpose being shaped by culture, feelings, accomplishments, or personal desires?
• Test whether independence has become an idol in your life. “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.” – Genesis 2:18. Are you pursuing biblical community and accountability within the context of a legit local church, or are you embracing isolation, self-sufficiency, and independence as virtues?
• Examine how sin may be curving your heart inward toward self. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Philippians 2:3–4. Do your relationships reveal Christlike service and sacrifice in the church, or do they primarily revolve around your own ideas, opinions, preferences, comfort, and glory?
• Evaluate whether you are functioning as a faithful member of Christ's Body. “Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it.” – 1 Corinthians 12:27. Are you actively serving under authority, protecting, encouraging, and building up Christ's church, or are you approaching the church as a spectator or consumer, i.e., effectively doing whatever you see fit to do in your own eyes (Judges 21:25)?
• Test whether Christ is truly restoring His image and likeness in your life. “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” – 2 Corinthians 3:18. Is there observable evidence that corresponds with God’s Word, demonstrating that the Holy Spirit is conforming you into the likeness of Christ through accountability, repentance, obedience, and faithful devotion to His church?

🧠 Reflection

The doctrine of Holy Trinity reveals far more than God's nature; it reveals humanity's purpose. We were created by an eternally relational God to reflect His glory through worship, service, and covenant community. Sin corrupted that design, turning our hearts inward toward self-worship and rebellion. Yet through the Gospel, Christ restores and redeems. The Father adopts us, the Son redeems us, and the Holy Spirit teaches and transforms us. Those united to Christ are being restored as faithful image-bearers who increasingly reflect the self-giving love, unity, and holiness displayed perfectly within Holy Trinity.

✝️ Study

• Q1: According to Genesis 1:26–27, what does it mean that humanity was created in God's image and likeness?
• Q2: Why does Genesis 2:18 identify human isolation as "not good" before sin entered the world?
• Q3: How does the eternally relational nature of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit provide the theological foundation for marriage, family, church, and community?
• Q4: How does the Fall distort humanity's function as God's image-bearers, and how does union with Christ progressively restore (sanctification) that purpose?
• Q5: Modern culture often teaches that personal autonomy, self-expression, and self-definition are the highest goods. How does the biblical doctrine of humanity, grounded in Holy Trinity and Genesis 1:26–27, expose the inadequacy and ultimate destructiveness of that worldview?

Blessings & love,

Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor

BigIslandChristianChurch.com

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