Be the Church

Be the Church - Ephesians 4:1-16 May 26, 2024 We're back in our series in the book of Ephesians. As is customary, Paul now shifts to the practical or application portion of his letter, beginning in chapter 4. A couple of weeks ago I opened with "I think most of us would agree that prayer is important." Well, this week, I'm going to open with these words: I think most of us would agree that church is important. But the question has to be, "why?" Or maybe to build on that, what's the purpose of the church? Or what does the church look like? I'd guess that several of you will have a different answer to these questions, and my hope today is that you'll have a clearer understanding of these important questions. Let's read Ephesians 4:1-16 to see what Paul has to say: 1 I THEREFORE, A PRISONER FOR THE LORD, URGE YOU TO WALK IN A MANNER WORTHY OF THE CALLING TO WHICH YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED, 2 WITH ALL HUMILITY AND GENTLENESS, WITH PATIENCE, BEARING WITH ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE, 3 EAGER TO MAINTAIN THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BOND OF PEACE. 4 THERE IS ONE BODY AND ONE SPIRIT-JUST AS YOU WERE CALLED TO THE ONE HOPE THAT BELONGS TO YOUR CALL- 5 ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM, 6 ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, WHO IS OVER ALL AND THROUGH ALL AND IN ALL. 7 BUT GRACE WAS GIVEN TO EACH ONE OF US ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF CHRIST'S GIFT. 8 THEREFORE IT SAYS, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH HE LED A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." 9 (IN SAYING, "HE ASCENDED," WHAT DOES IT MEAN BUT THAT HE HAD ALSO DESCENDED INTO THE LOWER REGIONS, THE EARTH? 10 HE WHO DESCENDED IS THE ONE WHO ALSO ASCENDED FAR ABOVE ALL THE HEAVENS, THAT HE MIGHT FILL ALL THINGS.) 11 AND HE GAVE THE APOSTLES, THE PROPHETS, THE EVANGELISTS, THE SHEPHERDS AND TEACHERS, 12 TO EQUIP THE SAINTS FOR THE WORK OF MINISTRY, FOR BUILDING UP THE BODY OF CHRIST, 13 UNTIL WE ALL ATTAIN TO THE UNITY OF THE FAITH AND OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD, TO MATURE MANHOOD, TO THE MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST, 14 SO THAT WE MAY NO LONGER BE CHILDREN, TOSSED TO AND FRO BY THE WAVES AND CARRIED ABOUT BY EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE, BY HUMAN CUNNING, BY CRAFTINESS IN DECEITFUL SCHEMES. 15 RATHER, SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE, WE ARE TO GROW UP IN EVERY WAY INTO HIM WHO IS THE HEAD, INTO CHRIST, 16 FROM WHOM THE WHOLE BODY, JOINED AND HELD TOGETHER BY EVERY JOINT WITH WHICH IT IS EQUIPPED, WHEN EACH PART IS WORKING PROPERLY, MAKES THE BODY GROW SO THAT IT BUILDS ITSELF UP IN LOVE. One of the primary things that Paul has been writing to the Ephesians about is their new identity in Christ. How these two strangers - the Jews and the Gentiles - are now one in Christ. He wrote to them the why in chapters 1-3, and now we see what that looks like in practice in chapters 4-6. But we do need to understand what it means to be part of the church. So, let's begin with our main idea: We can "be the church" by walking in a manner worthy of our call. Of course, I'm not suggesting that we alone can be the church, but as you'll see this morning, what we do together in the church should be done outside of the church as well. Paul begins with this idea of walking in a worthy manner. Walking indicates a lifestyle. But there are two other words in this opening verse that are very important. First is "therefore." This ties in the section with the preceding words. Again, with a focus on unity in Christ. The second important word is the word "urge." Paul says, in light of your calling to salvation, and the spiritual blessings that God the Father has given to you, please walk in a manner that is worthy of Him. Commentator and professor Peter O'Brien boldly stated that, "the unity of the church is the means by which the manifold wisdom of God is being displayed to the universe... and His people are the expression of this unity that displays to the universe His final goal." In other words, the people that make up the church, are ambassadors for Christ on earth until He returns. That's why Paul says, in these opening verses of this second half of the letter, how important it is to maintain unity and to be the hands and feet of Jesus. So, it begs the question ... WHAT DOES THE CHURCH LOOK LIKE? We're going to answer this question by looking at three aspects of the church. First, * The conduct of the church (vv.2-3) o Paul addresses this with a quick list of characteristics of the Christian. I'll be frank, there are a lot of lists in this passage. o Let's quickly run through them: * Humility * I think Paul defines humility best in Philippians 2:3, when he says: 3 DO NOTHING FROM SELFISH AMBITION OR CONCEIT, BUT IN HUMILITY COUNT OTHERS MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN YOURSELVES. * It's the opposite of pride, in fact, I read this week that pride was celebrated among the pagans, while humility was looked down upon. * For the Christian, however, part of our confession of faith requires the humble acknowledgement that we're sinners in need of a savior. There's a reason why Paul spent so much time reminding the Ephesians of this in the first three chapters. * The next characteristic is ... * Gentleness * Recall that the "therefore" in verse 1 ties everything from this moment forward back to the first three chapters. * If God's saving grace was a product of love, and Paul's prayers from chapter 1 and chapter 3 are connected to that love, then we too are supposed to walk in love. * Gentleness is a product of the love of Christ. * Even in Galatians 6:1 when Paul speaks about correcting a brother in sin, he says to do it with love. * The purpose of correction - in this context - is restoration. * Christians should be known by humility and gentleness, but also through ... * Patience * These first three characteristics are woven together. * Let's be honest, this one is hard. * So, I'm going to skip it. * Seriously, though. If the church are the hands and feet of Jesus, we must be patient, just as He was. More than that, we see the example of patience in the Father as well. * Peter said it this way in 2 Peter 3:9: THE LORD IS NOT SLOW TO FULFILL HIS PROMISE AS SOME COUNT SLOWNESS, BUT IS PATIENT TOWARD YOU, NOT WISHING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD REACH REPENTANCE * Next characteristic is that the church is to ... * Bear one another in love. * Some have called this tolerance, and I suppose that could work here. * This one and the next go hand in hand, as they both speak to the humanity of the church. There will be conflict, which is why Jesus spoke about it in Matthew 18, and Paul addresses it in 2 Corinthians 11. * Which is why Paul urges that we are to ... * Maintain unity. * The qualifier that Paul uses here in the ESV reads: "eager," which implies hard work to maintain unity in the body. * Note also that Paul speaks to the Spirit's role in this and what it produces, peace. * Paul is going to build on this idea of unity with another list. So, let's discuss now ... * The unity of the church (vv.4-6) o The idea of unity implies oneness. This does not mean that everyone will always agree with everything or everyone, but Paul hints at some non-negotiable beliefs that characterize the Christian. First: * One body. * In context, Paul is of course, speaking of the body of Christ, which we defined earlier in this series as the church, the household of God. * Chapter 1 clearly reminded us that God calls the church and offers spiritual blessings, to include salvation. * Chapter 2 clearly reminded us that we are one in Christ because of God's grace. * Chapter 3 clearly reminded us that we are to not only receive the spiritual blessings, but also to experience all that Christ offers. * Chapter 4 is now showing us how that is done - through unity in the body. * Next, unity is achieved through ... * One Spirit. * Once again, the Spirit of God is active in the church. The same Spirit that was promised to us by Jesus Himself who declared that we were better off without Him on earth, because He would send the Spirit who dwells in each believer. * The same Spirit that raised Christ from the tomb, is active in each of us. * Next, Paul speaks of ... * One Lord. * This is Jesus. * Again, the household of God is linked because of Christ. * Christ Himself reminded us that He is the only way to the Father, there is no other way. * So, if a teacher, preacher, or author teaches another way, they are not of God. * Next, in Christ there is ... * One faith. * This is what Paul argues about in his letter to the Galatians. * He warns against those who teach about Jesus AND, or Jesus PLUS ... * There is also ... * One baptism. * There are some disagreements on this phrase, some believe it speaks of the believer's baptism - which is the water baptism; while others believe it speaks of the baptism of the Holy Spirit - which refers to receiving the Holy Spirit when we believe. * It's probably the latter, as it seems to fit the context better. Water baptism, while a command, is an outward confession of faith. * Finally, Paul says that the church is unified by ... * One God (and Father). * I love this part. It's actually quite unique. You may have noticed the Trinity in this verse. But usually, the order is: God, Son and Holy Spirit. Here, Paul reverses the order. Why? I don't know. * But it may be to emphasize what he emphasized in the opening chapter that God is sovereign over all. God is the One who calls the church. * Now that we know what the conduct looks like, what unity looks like, now let's discuss ... * The purpose of the church (vv.11-12) o For the use of our spiritual gifts. * Paul effectively is helping us to see how Spiritual gifts are exercised in the body, and the purpose of those gifts. * We don't have time to discuss each of the gifts listed here, nor do we have time to spend a lot of time discussing spiritual gifts in general. * However, there are a couple of things worth noting: * There are five different lists of spiritual gifts in the Scriptures - I'll have them listed with the discussion questions in the bulletin. They are not all the same, nor do they emphasize the same, but that's the point. Here, for example, Paul lists gifts or roles that focus on the spread of the Gospel - apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. * Also noteworthy is that everyone is given a gift, Paul talks about that in 1 Corinthians 12. * Notice, however, all these gifts or roles have a specific purpose, which we'll see here in a moment. * Part of that purpose focuses on service. * Let's explore that more, as we see that these functions are for the purpose, first ... o For the equipping of the saints. * I worked at a hotel company for about 15 years, and every year we did an "employee satisfaction survey," so one of my strategies was to meet with my team regularly and know what tools they needed for the job. That was always a huge driver to their overall satisfaction. * For the church, when we gather, we need to be equipped, so that we can go out into the real world and still walk worthy of our calling. To not get sucked into the schemes of the world. * This is inside and outside of the church, and Paul touches on this next when he states that the purpose of the church gathering is also ... o For the work of ministry. * You see that? * We are all called for ministry. * Just as we spoke to earlier, we are all given a spiritual gift, and we're called to use it for others. * Don't miss that. * Our gifts are for others, not for ourselves. * A huge problem in the church (Paul's day and our own) is that many gifts are used selfishly. * The Apostle John warns about such a leader in his third letter. He notes that Diotrephes liked to put himself first. * There's no coincidence that Paul mentioned humility right away in this section. * So, when we serve, never should seek recognition or praise, rather we should strive that Christ is glorified, that people are served, and that the body is healthy. * Which leads to our next purpose ... o For building the body of Christ. * We see this in Hebrews 10. * Of course, this building is not related to quantity, but quality. * Recall, the body here speaks to each of the parts of the body. * Are we growing in our faith, both corporately and individually? * Are we using the gifts that God has given us? So, we've seen the purpose of the church is to use the gifts we've been given, to be equipped, to do ministry, and for the building up of the body. But there is one more question to address: Because, recall our main idea this morning: We can "be the church" by walking in a manner worthy of our call. HOW TO WALK IN A MANNER WORTHY OF OUR CALL I'm going to quickly run through five ways to walk in this manner. First, * I must be born again (v.1) o This is implied. o You are not - properly - the church unless you've been born again. o You can go to church, but you cannot be the church, unless you are born again. o To be born again means that you've recognized your sin and need for a Savior, and that you have confessed Christ as Savior. o Once that occurs, the rest of these are possible and expected. o First of these is that ... * I must mature (vv.13-14) o Notice again how Paul compares the growth of the Christian with the growth of a child. o He's effectively reminding us that children need to mature as they grow, as they cannot remain as they once were. o Part of that maturity is both knowledge based and spiritually based. o That happens through spending fruitful time in the Bible and in prayer. o When we know the truth, it's less likely for us to be deceived. o It's the example of the bank note. One does not study the counterfeit, they study the real thing enough to spot a counterfeit immediately. o Next, * Speak the truth in love (v.15) o Once again, the measure of truth is perfected in Christ. o Peter, in 1 Peter 3:15, speak about this when he says: BUT IN YOUR HEARTS HONOR CHRIST THE LORD AS HOLY, ALWAYS BEING PREPARED TO MAKE A DEFENSE TO ANYONE WHO ASKS YOU FOR A REASON FOR THE HOPE THAT IS IN YOU; YET DO IT WITH GENTLENESS AND RESPECT, o I read a book last year called "Thou Shalt not be a Jerk" which focused around the idea of disagreement and how the Christian should handle it. o Too many people - on both sides of the aisle - are too quick to argue and throw insults at one another. o Remember, the most loving thing we can do for someone is to speak the truth. That can be done in a respectful manner. That command is all over the New Testament. o Next, we walk in a manner worthy as we ... * Serve (vv.11-12; 16) o Jesus was the perfect example of this. o Last week, I mentioned the foot washing, which was a task dedicated to the servant of the host. o Jesus displayed a sacrificial love for us in His death, so why wouldn't we be willing to put others before ourselves in an act of service. o Then finally, we are to ... * Submit to the Head of the Church (vv.15-16) o Paul reminds us by reminding us that we are the body, and Christ is the head of the body. o We are connected to Him, and through Him we function. o Because of the work that Christ did, coming down to earth, living the life of man, to save us, He is able to grace us with the gifts to grow the body Christ. o That's effectively what Paul is saying in verses 7-10. You probably thought I skipped or ignored those verses, but I didn't. o The picture there emphasizes Christ's victory and His spoils of battle, which is the theme of Psalm 68 which Paul quotes in verse 8. I hope that this passage helps us to see what the church is supposed to look like, and how she is supposed to function. I know we've talked a lot about the church over the last several weeks, but I hope you can see here why it's an important subject. I want to leave you with this. It's very possible that you don't know what your gift is. Here's what I would recommend. * Find somewhere to serve. * Read your bible - especially those five passages that speak to spiritual gifts. * Pray - especially as you serve. * Ask those around you to help you identify your gifts. When we leave today, and as we are out in the world, be the church by walking worthy of our calling, exercising our gifts, equipping and building one another through ministry and service. Let's pray. 2