10/29/17-Eph. 4:1-16-In Christ: The Church: One, Equipped, and Ready

We are currently going through the book of Ephesians and looking at God’s desire for His church.

 

Right belief leads to right behavior, like a series of building blocks. What we believe about Christ affects what we believe about salvation which affects what we believe about church which in turn affects what morals and values and ethics we hold.

 

We spent the last few weeks focusing on grace (How God made the first move. He acts in love to us), then we asked, “What does grace require of me?” We saw “He (Jesus) became what we are” NOW this week we continue to see to “so we could become what He is”

 

This text is the how steps. And notice Paul addresses us as a body, not as a bunch of individuals.

 

Vs. 1-2-Paul is saying here that these traits display what it means to extend God’s grace. We have been shown grace by God & now must show grace to others.

 

This list is given in order to promote community. In the body of Christ, we must be humble, gentle, patient, and show tolerant love. Remember, all of us are works in progress 😉

 

Now comes the why (v. 3-11)-These here are not heady ideas, but a living reality. Our foundation for unity as a church is based on God Himself.

 

These verses show us the Trinity, 1 God in 3 Persons. First, look at the One here and the stressing on unity: “One Spirit, One Body, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all”

 

How many gods to we worship as Christians, not 3 but 1. 1 God the only true God. This emphasis on God’s oneness is meant to humble us. There is only one God, one gospel, one message of hope to the world, one truth as a foundation, one church.

 

That “one church” is not one denomination. Rather any who call upon the name of Jesus and believe that He has been raised from the dead constitute the one church, for it is built not on a denomination but on Jesus Christ Himself.

 

Vs. 6-”God is over all” (transcendent)-meaning He rules over all, and everything is under HIs control and His loving care. He is all-powerful

 

→ “God is through all”-(immanent)-meaning He is close to us, through us, and in us, constantly showing His active presence.

 

This is 1 God, but Paul mentions at the same time, 3 Persons: One Spirit (Holy Spirit), One Lord (Jesus Christ), and One God (Father). All these make up 1 God, 1 Being, yet they are different persons.

 

Paul writes that God is “of all, over all, through all, in all” AND also vs. 10-He says that Jesus Christ “His rule might fulfill the entire universe”

 

So, put it together, God fills all things and Christ fills all things. This is meant to show us that Jesus Christ is God and He is just as much God as the Father and Holy Spirit.

 

It is a unity with diversity, which is where we get our word “university” from. To believe the Gospel is to enter this unity with God and with other believers.

 

BUT, this unity does not mean we all lose who God made us to be, for that is where “diversity” comes in. We worship 1 God, yet Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Spirit, for they are different persons.

 

So, our unity is in Jesus, but we have a diversity of different gifts. I’ll explain below but first thing is first. What does vs. 7-10 mean? Christ is our General

 

The great part is that He has done all the work. He has fought the war and won! This section uses military parade language. Christ is the conqueror over sin and death, freed us from sin’s kingdom, and recruited us into His military.

 

And then He gave us the spoils of war, but these gifts are not silver and gold. They are the Holy Spirit, eternal life, and so much more. The Gospel is the celebration is Christ’s victory! All we are meant to do is not fight the war ourselves but declare to the world His victory and invite others to the party!

 

If you want to see an ideal model for the church, it comes from looking at the unity of 1 God and the diversity of 3 Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

 

As we turn to our final point, we now see the reasons Jesus gave us those gifts: The purpose is to build up the body, to live the truth in love, to push each other onward in our walks with God.

 

Last week, we saw the “endgame” and now we are going to see the path to get there, vs. 11-16. Each of us have different gifts, every one of us, (means you too 🙂

 

Gifts are given so that the living body of Jesus, the church (us gathered here) grows into maturity. We grow so that we will know and be secure in the truth.

 

The truth is Jesus Christ, we grow so that we would look like Him, do like Him, say like Him, think like Him.

 

This truth. Use it with you gifts. Let it be the power that empowers your gift. Don’t know what your gift is? Ask God, pray, ask one of us about it!

 

We all have a gift and with that gift comes a responsibility. We are all ministers and must use our God-given gifts, and don’t worry the Holy Spirit will help

 

Whatever you do, do it for Christ’s sake and for His kingdom. When we live the truth, not just individually in our lives, but as a body of Christ here, then the hurting will be healed, the lost will be instructed, the lonely will be loved.

 

This is how we show the world the gospel. It is by using our gifts in love toward one another.

 

Our Church is to be one, with all of us using our gifts, for God’s glory and for His truth. So be like Jesus in everything.