Moe Bergeron

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  • 8. Walk in Love, as Christ Loved Us

    8. Walk in Love, as Christ Loved Us

    Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

    But among you, as is proper for saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed. These are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

    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. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.

    For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—for everything that is made visible is light. So it is said:

    “Wake up, O sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

    Notes

    This section reveals the shape of the Spirit-filled life: a walk of love, light, and resurrection clarity. To be “imitators of God” may sound impossible, but Paul grounds this command in our identity: we are beloved children. In Christ, we are not slaves striving for approval—we are sons and daughters, already accepted in the Beloved
    (cf. Ephesians 1:5–6; 1 John 3:1).

    The model for love is Christ—not sentimentalism but sacrificial giving. His death was a fragrant offering, echoing the pleasing aroma of Old Covenant sacrifices (cf. Leviticus 1:9), now fulfilled in His once-for-all offering. Walking in love, then, is not self-expression but cross-shaped obedience.

    Paul contrasts this walk of love with a life of darkness. Sexual immorality, impurity, greed, and obscene speech do not fit the identity of those who are holy. These behaviors are not simply forbidden; they are incompatible with the kingdom of Christ and of God. To continue in them willfully is to deny the inheritance that Christ secured.

    We are warned against deception—empty words that minimize sin or erase judgment. But the wrath of God remains real for the sons of disobedience. Paul does not write this to condemn saints, but to exhort them: do not be partakers with them. The New Covenant has rescued you from darkness—walk as children of light
    (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9).

    To walk in light is to walk in truth, transparency, and transformation. The fruit of light—goodness, righteousness, and truth—is what pleases the Lord. The light does not merely expose darkness; it transforms what it touches. The call to wake up, rise, and be illuminated by Christ is the call of resurrection life. It is a summons to live as those who have been raised with Christ and now shine with His life.

    This is the New Covenant ethic in action: not behavior management but heart transformation. The old is gone, the new has come. Walk in love, because Christ gave Himself. Walk in light, because you are now light in Him. Wake up, live risen, and let Christ shine through you.

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  • 8. Put Off the Old Self, Put On the New

    8. Put Off the Old Self, Put On the New

    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 sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a desire for more.

    But that is not the way you learned Christ! Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him, in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

    Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are members of one another. “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger, and do not give the devil a foothold.

    The one who steals must steal no longer, but rather must labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one in need. Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may give grace to those who hear.

    And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and rage and anger and clamor and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as God in Christ forgave you.

    Notes

    The New Covenant calls for a new walk—and that walk flows from learning Christ. Paul doesn’t say “learn about Christ,” but rather “learn Christ”—a phrase that communicates personal relationship and transformation. What Sinai revealed in types and shadows, Christ embodies in fullness. And now, those united to Him are called to live as new creations.

    The old self—rooted in Adam, corrupted by deceitful desires, dead in sin—must be put off. This is not self-improvement but death and resurrection. Paul had already declared: you were dead, but God made you alive in Christ (cf. Ephesians 2:1–5). Now, he calls believers to put on the new self—not just a better version of themselves, but a self created after God, righteous and holy through union with Jesus
    (cf. Colossians 3:9–10; Romans 6:4–6).

    This transformation begins with the renewing of the mind, not by external law but by the indwelling Spirit. The behavior that follows—truth-telling, working honestly, speaking grace, forgiving others—is not legalism, but the fruit of a new identity. It is not “act holy so you can be holy.” It is “you are holy in Christ—now live as one who is.”

    Paul roots this entire ethical framework in relationship: we are members of one another. We are sealed by the Spirit. We are forgiven in Christ. This is not mere morality; it is new creation living—Spirit-produced, Christ-centered, and love-shaped.

    We are warned not to grieve the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is not a force but a Person who indwells God’s people and seals them for the day of redemption. Bitterness, rage, and slander grieve Him because they deny the gospel we profess. But kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness display the gospel we’ve received.

    This is the New Covenant ethic: put off what belongs to death, put on what belongs to life. Walk in the new self. Speak truth. Work in love. Forgive as you’ve been forgiven. And let the Spirit shape you to look more and more like Jesus.

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  • 7. Live Worthy of Your Calling in Christ

    7. Live Worthy of Your Calling in Christ

    Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and making every effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

    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, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

    But to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away and gave gifts to men.” What does “He ascended” mean except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

    And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God—as mature people, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

    Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow up in all things 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 working of each individual part.

    Notes

    This section marks a Spirit-led transition from identity to practice—from what God has done to how the Church must walk. Paul urges believers not to strive for calling, but to walk worthy of the calling already received. This call is grounded in grace, not performance. And the character of that walk—humility, gentleness, patience, and love—flows not from self-effort but from union with Christ.

    At the heart of the walk is unity, not manufactured but preserved—because the Spirit has already created it. This unity is grounded in deep, unshakable truths: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. This sevenfold unity is a complete theological framework for the New Covenant community
    (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:13; John 17:20–23).

    Yet unity does not mean uniformity. Christ, the ascended Lord, has given gifts to His body. These gifts are people—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers—not to control, but to equip the saints. The purpose is not hierarchy but maturity. The body builds itself up when every part works properly, and the measure of maturity is not behavior but conformity to the fullness of Christ.

    The Church grows by speaking the truth in love—this is not cold doctrine or sentimental affection, but gospel-shaped words lived in gospel-shaped relationships. Truth and love are not opposites in the New Covenant—they are companions.

    The result of this life together is stunning: no longer infants, the Church becomes a body fitted and held together by Christ Himself. Each ligament matters. Each part contributes. And the whole grows up into Christ, the Head, from whom the body derives life, direction, and strength
    (cf. Colossians 2:19).

    This is the worthy walk of the New Covenant Church: unified by the Spirit, gifted by Christ, shaped by love, and growing into His fullness. The Law never produced this. But grace does. And it does so through Christ, who descended, ascended, and now fills all things.

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