The United Community

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:11.439 Be Seated. Well, as I mentioned earlier, Carly and I love coming 2 00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:15.759 here. You know that it's UH. It's a privilege to bring God's words 3 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:21.480 you this morning from e Fesians, chapter four versus one through sixteen. So 4 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:25.719 please take up your bibles and turn there. We'll stand in just a moment. 5 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:31.559 I want to say a few words first, though. This morning I'm 6 00:00:31.559 --> 00:00:37.119 going to preach on the importance of the Church of Jesus, Christ, being 7 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:46.399 a united community, a community living together in the bond of peace. You 8 00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:50.280 know, in Paul's letter to the Church in Ephesus, from which I take 9 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:54.280 my text this morning, it's been a it's been a major concern of his 10 00:00:55.640 --> 00:01:02.280 to explore how it is that the good news about Jesus transform human lives and 11 00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:10.799 brings people, diverse people, some cases desperate people, individuals who otherwise might 12 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:18.920 have no earthly reason to be together, to enjoy a profound spiritual unity with 13 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:26.120 one another. How does that happen? Well, God is in the business 14 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:32.120 of building a new community, the church, and that that's the major focus, 15 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:36.920 I'm sure you know. It's the focus of the book of Ephesians and 16 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:42.599 this morning, as we explore these opening sixteen verses of Chapter Four. What 17 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:49.319 we're doing is we're moving on from Paul's theological exploration of that theme, the 18 00:01:49.480 --> 00:01:55.159 doctrinal foundations for the new community that God is building. Actually, that's chapters 19 00:01:55.200 --> 00:02:01.680 one through three of Ephesians and now, as we begin chapter four, Paul 20 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:08.120 Turns to tease out some of the practical implications of these truths that he's laid 21 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:13.120 out for us in these first three chapters of Ephesians. Now, if you 22 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:17.599 look at verse one of Chapter Four, you'll see it begins with an exhortation 23 00:02:17.639 --> 00:02:23.599 that really could function almost like the heading for the remaining three sections of Ephesians. 24 00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:28.039 Here's what Paul's trying to do in light of what he's been saying in 25 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:32.639 the first three chapters of Ephesians. I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, 26 00:02:34.599 --> 00:02:38.719 urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to what you've 27 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:43.280 been called. I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to 28 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:46.479 walk in a manner worthy of the calling to what you've been called. That's 29 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:53.080 Paul's concern here. That's what he's gonna try to explain and apply in our 30 00:02:53.159 --> 00:03:00.680 church life, in our home life, in our professional lives. In the 31 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:06.919 context of our experience of spiritual warfare, and that's what he does in chapters 32 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:14.199 four or five and six. What does it mean to walk worthy of the 33 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:19.599 calling into which we have been called? You know, Paul's already used that 34 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:23.560 little phrase to walk back in chapter two, verse two, that before we 35 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:30.159 were converted, what what happened? We once walked in trespasses and sins. 36 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:34.439 That was the course, that was the direction, that was our habit, 37 00:03:34.680 --> 00:03:39.520 that was the trajectory of our life before we were Christians. But Chapter two, 38 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:45.199 verse ten, when we were made alive together with Christ, we were 39 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:52.240 created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk 40 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:57.439 in them. And so chapters four through sixth of Ephesians are about explaining what 41 00:03:57.560 --> 00:04:03.520 that should look like for us. What is it mean to walk worthy of 42 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:11.000 the calling that we've have received? You and I have been called into union 43 00:04:11.080 --> 00:04:16.240 with Christ. Now Paul is going to explore for us the implications of that 44 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:20.279 new life in union with him. And, as we're gonna see here in 45 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:28.079 verses one through sixteen of Chapter Four, they're focused on unity. You know, 46 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:31.360 the first thing Paul wants us to understand about how to walk worthy of 47 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:38.680 the calling with which we've been called, is Christian unity and the unity of 48 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:43.920 the Church under the Lordship of Christ. So, before I read these verses 49 00:04:43.959 --> 00:04:47.360 and we see how that's so, let's pray that God would help us understand 50 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:50.839 his holy word. Please stand with me, if you would. Let's let's 51 00:04:50.839 --> 00:05:00.120 pray our father, as your word is read and preached, we you, 52 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:03.839 please work by your spirit that by your words mighty power, we might grow 53 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:08.720 up into Christ, who is the head, and attained to the measure of 54 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:13.639 full maturity to what you have called us. Would you so work in our 55 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:16.959 hearts, by the Gospel, that, as a congregation of your church, 56 00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:24.360 we might become a visible demonstration to the world of the loving unity of the 57 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:28.560 people of God, that by our love for one another, all might know 58 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:32.079 that we are Christ's disciples before we ask it, in Jesus name. Amen. 59 00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:42.720 So epasians, Chapter Four, reading verses one through sixteen, I therefore, 60 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:46.360 a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy 61 00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:51.720 of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, 62 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:57.959 with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to eager to 63 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:02.160 maintain the unity of the spirit it in the bond of peace. There is 64 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:06.279 one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope 65 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:13.439 that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 66 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:17.600 one God and father of all, who is over all and through all and 67 00:06:17.720 --> 00:06:23.720 in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the 68 00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:28.680 measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, it says when he ascended on high, 69 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:33.680 he led a host of captives. He gave gifts to men. In saying 70 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:40.000 he ascended, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the 71 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:45.519 lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended 72 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:49.560 far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he 73 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:54.879 gave the Apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 74 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:59.519 to equip the saints for the work of Ministry, FOR BUILDING UP The body 75 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:04.040 of Christ us, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and 76 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:10.079 of the knowledge of the son of God, to mature manhood, to the 77 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:14.680 measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no 78 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:19.399 longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every 79 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:27.120 wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes, rather 80 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:30.480 speaking the truth and love. We are to grow up in every way into 81 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:34.959 him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, 82 00:07:36.279 --> 00:07:42.000 joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when every 83 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:46.920 part is working properly, makes the body grow up so that it builds itself 84 00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:50.800 up and love every one's this is the inherent word of God. Please be 85 00:07:50.839 --> 00:08:01.120 seated. You know, I think we understand that unity is vital to the 86 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:07.759 well being of the church. It's basic. Our Savior, you will remember 87 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:13.879 in his uh great high priestly prayer, he asked his father that the disciples 88 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:18.680 maybe one, and he and the father are one. When we recited that 89 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:22.680 the apostles creed. We confess together, don't we, that we believe in 90 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:28.600 one holy Catholic, universal and Apostolic Church. The unity of the Church, 91 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:37.919 the unity of Christians, is an article of faith. And yet the long 92 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:43.399 history of the church, you know, not to mention the painful personal experience 93 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:48.679 perhaps of many of us, teaches us that our unity is in fact very 94 00:08:48.759 --> 00:08:54.879 fragile. It's easily shattered. You know, we're supposed to be one, 95 00:08:56.960 --> 00:09:03.879 we ought to be one, but the truth is sometimes we hold grudges, 96 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:11.159 don't we? You know, the truth is, sometimes we speak hartily to 97 00:09:11.240 --> 00:09:22.039 each other, sometimes we fight, sometimes we even divide. How, then, 98 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:28.679 shall we live together? How can we begin to see answered? You 99 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:33.159 know, even in in this fellowship covenant, O Pc, our saviors great 100 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:39.360 prayer for Christian unity. And answering that question, I think, is the 101 00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:45.480 burden of these sixteen verses, and I want us to consider this its message 102 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:50.639 under three headings. The first of them, in in verses one through six, 103 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:58.399 is the call to unity. The call to unity in verse two, 104 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:05.200 I think Paul is as a straightforward, clear exhortation to practice five core virtues. 105 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:09.799 Five, I think, five building blocks of unity. We're to walk 106 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:15.240 worthy of our calling, how with all humility and gentleness, with patience, 107 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:22.120 forbearance and love, five building blocks of unity. You know, humility here 108 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:31.080 means that we're to thank others better than ourselves. I think humility means modesty. 109 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:37.879 It's the opposite of self esteem, self conceit and pride. You know, 110 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:41.039 if we're saved by grace, through faith, not by works, so 111 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:50.720 that no one can boast. It follows that Christians cannot be proud. Gentleness 112 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:56.320 means to restrain and sometimes, I think, even to deploy our strength for 113 00:10:56.399 --> 00:11:03.360 the nurture and welfare of others, I think, particularly the weak and defenseless, 114 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:09.559 such as the unborn. Patience means that were to quietly wait on God's 115 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:16.440 timing, God's agenda, ahead of our own, I think, in any 116 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:24.799 given circumstance. I think another valid translation of patience is long suffering. That's 117 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:31.840 what God does with us. He suffers long with us. If he didn't, 118 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:39.720 everybody no Christianity. Forbearance means to cut other people the same slack that 119 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:45.639 we hope that they'll cut us. And I think love is the sum and 120 00:11:45.720 --> 00:11:50.320 crown of all the others combined here. You know, it's a compelling picture, 121 00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:58.559 isn't it, of a community marked by humility and gentleness and patience and 122 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:03.679 forbearance and love. Now, who wouldn't want to belong to a community, 123 00:12:03.720 --> 00:12:09.440 to a church like that? But, as attractive as it is, I 124 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:15.679 hope you see, and I know you do, how profoundly challenging Paul's list 125 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:20.120 is. Here now, how are we going to live these things out? 126 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:28.320 Humility, gentleness, patience forbearings and love. That's hard. I think none 127 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:33.480 of us find it easy. How will we begin to obey the exhortation? 128 00:12:35.639 --> 00:12:39.000 Well, I think there's some help here in verse three. Look there. 129 00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:45.919 Be Eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. 130 00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:54.000 Do you see Paul's wonderful balance here? On the one hand, unity is 131 00:12:54.000 --> 00:13:00.000 our call, it's our obligation, it's our duty, it's our responsibility. 132 00:13:00.919 --> 00:13:07.600 We must eagerly pursue it, seek to maintain it, were to guard it, 133 00:13:07.799 --> 00:13:11.720 to hold it fast, to preserve it, the unity of the spirit 134 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:20.000 in the bond of peace. And yet ultimately, our unity is sourced in, 135 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:28.480 it's enabled by and it's created by the Holy Spirit himself. It's his 136 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:33.639 work, his great project to make us of us, one new community. 137 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:41.480 And there's help there, you know, as we hear Paul's ex exhortation to 138 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:48.440 these lofty virtues, humility and love, patience and gentleness and forbearance, the 139 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:56.519 Holy Spirit is it work in us. He's killing our sin, he's dissolving 140 00:13:56.519 --> 00:14:03.960 our prejudices, evaporate reading and eradicating our intolerance for one another, teaching US 141 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:11.240 patience, helping us love and I think there's still more help. If you 142 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:20.240 look down in verses four through six, note carefully there how Paul interweaves his 143 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:26.080 doctrine of the trinity with his understanding of Christian experience. It's wonderful. It's 144 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:33.159 as if he wants us to understand how every aspect of our Christian lives is 145 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:39.559 encompassed by and encircled by the three persons of the blessed God him. Look 146 00:14:39.559 --> 00:14:45.639 at the text versus four through six, which, by the way, it's 147 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:50.080 interesting, is just one sentence. It's a fact which may be important in 148 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:56.360 itself. It's a unity, Paul says here. There's one body, that's 149 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:01.720 the church, and it's the creation in the dwelling place of one spirit, 150 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:09.399 the Holy Spirit. We have one calling and one hope of our calling. 151 00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:13.440 But that calling is the work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit by which we're 152 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:20.039 incorporated together into the body of Christ, and there's no division in that body. 153 00:15:22.200 --> 00:15:28.120 If one member suffers, all the members suffer. One member is honored. 154 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:35.120 I think all the members rejoice in that. You know, we have, 155 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:39.720 Paul says, not many lords but just one Lord, the Lord Jesus 156 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:46.080 Christ, who we are told is the object of our one faith, and 157 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:48.759 the great sign of our union with him, with our common Lord, is 158 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:54.120 our one baptism. You know, it's interesting that Paul would include baptism in 159 00:15:54.200 --> 00:16:00.279 his list of unities, because opinions about baptism have certainly divided churches in the 160 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:07.679 past. But Paul is not concerned here with modes of baptism. Modes of 161 00:16:07.720 --> 00:16:15.639 baptism divide. He's concerned primarily with what baptism signifies. Baptism signifies identification with 162 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:25.360 Christ, and that's what brings unity in the church. We have, Paul, 163 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:30.759 says, one God who is the father of all believers, making us 164 00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:37.240 one family adopted into his household, one spirit, one Lord, Jesus, 165 00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:47.879 one father underpinning giving shape to the unity of the church and our shared Christian 166 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:55.039 experience. One or our unity, in other words, is founded upon and 167 00:16:55.159 --> 00:17:02.200 reflects God's unity. In the church. Were United, were one in a 168 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:06.119 way that is designed to mirror the way that God is one. He's three 169 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:14.680 yet one. We are many yet one in Christ. Well, how do 170 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:18.519 you live out of Christian unity when, and let's just be honest for a 171 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:23.680 moment, how do you live out Christian unity when sometimes living together is really 172 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:30.359 hard? Work Right. How do you become more humble and gentle and patient 173 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:36.640 and forbearing and loving? Well, I think actually Paul is telling us here 174 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:42.920 that the answers of that to that question is profoundly theological. The answer he 175 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:47.440 tells us has to do with God. And I think here's how that works. 176 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:55.359 Paul's calling us, in verses four through six, to a god centered 177 00:17:55.519 --> 00:18:00.279 life, to see the Christian life surrounded by, in habited with, the 178 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:07.079 work of all three persons of the godhead. And a God centered life like 179 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:14.039 this is a life that will find the glory of God more valuable than self, 180 00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:19.440 so that self promotion begins to shrivel. And what happens? In we 181 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:26.119 begin to learn humility. A God centered life rests more and more in the 182 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:30.480 infinite power of God's grace and is therefore more and more set free from the 183 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:36.880 need to assert its own power. So what happens? We learned patience. 184 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:42.640 A God centered life drinks in the wonder of forgiveness, and the need therefore 185 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:48.480 to be right all the time crumbles. And what happens? We learn forbearance. 186 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:53.400 A God centered life is captured by the love of God, demonstrated for 187 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:59.039 us in this that while we were yet centers. Christ died for us. 188 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:03.000 And think as we see his love for us in Christ our Self, love 189 00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:08.799 starts to look ugly and we begin to love others the way Christ had first 190 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:21.920 loved us, dear ones, the flowers of humility and gentleness and patience and 191 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:30.319 forbearance and love they bloom best, and the fertile soil, soil of a 192 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:37.440 heart absorbed with knowing the Tribune God, one spirit, one Lord, Jesus 193 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:42.440 Christ, one father of us all, and to the degree, I think, 194 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:45.799 that we know him and the unity of his being and the glory of 195 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:52.960 his three persons, to that same degree, we will love and serve one 196 00:19:52.000 --> 00:20:00.279 another in unity, celebrating our difference, celebrating our diversity in the way that 197 00:20:00.359 --> 00:20:04.839 mirrors and reflects the God that we love. So I think that's Paul's call 198 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:11.359 to unity. And I think secondly, if you look there at versus seven 199 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:18.880 through twelve, gifts for unity, you know it's not enough that we're called 200 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:25.039 to practice humility and gentleness and patience and forbearance and love. Christ also supplies 201 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:29.319 the resources to help us get there, to help us live it out. 202 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:36.119 Notice Verse Seven. Grace was given to each one of us according to the 203 00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:40.680 measure of Christ gift. Paul wants us to understand that the unity is thinking 204 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:47.480 about here isn't some sort of flat, sterile sameness. It's not. It's 205 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:52.319 not some drab generic uniformity, but it's the unity of a human organic body. 206 00:20:55.279 --> 00:21:00.680 It's a body containing diverse but essential and contributing parts. We've been given 207 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:07.240 gifts, grace, gifts, it says, to use in the service of 208 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:15.920 the unity of the whole. Without the things all Christians share the common experience 209 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:19.240 of their being joined to Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit, there 210 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:26.240 is no church at all. Without a diversity of gifts, the church is 211 00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:30.680 not healthy. We can't function completely, any more than a human body can 212 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:36.680 function completely without certain body parts. And I think to back up his point, 213 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:42.079 in Verse Eight, Paul Quotes Psalm Sixty eight, verse eighteen, and 214 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:47.440 then he explains how he understands these verses. In Verses Nine and ten, 215 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:52.880 just look there at a moment. For a moment, Paul says that each 216 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:56.799 of us have received gifts from Christ to use in the promotion of Christian unity 217 00:21:56.880 --> 00:22:02.640 in the church. When he ascended on high, he led a host of 218 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:08.279 captives. He gave gifts the men and saying he ascended. What does it 219 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:12.000 mean but that he has, he had also descended into the lower parts of 220 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:17.119 the earth. He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all 221 00:22:17.160 --> 00:22:19.559 the heavens, that he might fill all things. Now, Psalm Sixty eight 222 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:26.519 is interesting. It's actually a psalm of triumph. It pictures the Lord God, 223 00:22:26.599 --> 00:22:36.440 Almighty Yahweh Jehovah, and it's probably picturing him in the exodus as having 224 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:44.000 been victorious over his and Israel's enemies and of now ascending his throne to receive 225 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:47.440 gifts and praise from all men. It's a marvelous psalm. It's written by 226 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:56.599 David and by citing this Davidic Psalm, Paul puts the Lord Jesus Christ into 227 00:22:56.640 --> 00:23:02.839 that same role. And they're by he puts Jesus on the Same Level as 228 00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:08.279 Jehovah God. In other words, he's affirming Christ's Deity. Here, the 229 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:15.279 same God who came down at the exodus came to us in Jesus Christ, 230 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:22.440 actually in a far more glorious way, a far more wonderful way. Says 231 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:26.200 here he came all the way down to the lower regions. That is he 232 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:33.599 came to the earth, all the way down into our humanity, obeying for 233 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:42.640 US helpless sinners, dying in our place and then rising in victory having secured 234 00:23:42.680 --> 00:23:48.000 our salvation. He reigns at the right hand of God and like a mighty 235 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:55.559 conquering king, he distributes the spoils of his victory to his people. He 236 00:23:55.640 --> 00:24:00.039 gives gifts to the church and to individuals in the church, and those gifts 237 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:04.559 are to be used for the unity of the church. And what are those 238 00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:10.400 gifts? Well, how does the Exalted Christ work for Unity Within the body 239 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:17.359 of Christ? By giving gifts to US verse eleven. He gave the apostles, 240 00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:22.200 the prophets, the evangelists, shepherds and teachers. Now, the apostles 241 00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:27.880 and prophets, of course, are foundational to the Church, given by Christ 242 00:24:27.960 --> 00:24:33.799 to provide the inherent word of God, so that now that our scripture, 243 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:37.880 the Canon of Scriptures, complete, we no longer need their ministry. Their 244 00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:41.559 work is done. We no longer have apostles and prophets, but they still 245 00:24:41.640 --> 00:24:49.079 witness to US powerfully today through the pages of scripture. Evangelists. Well, 246 00:24:49.079 --> 00:24:56.440 there there are only four brief mentions of the office of evangelists. And the 247 00:24:56.480 --> 00:25:00.759 New Testament. So we don't know a lot about them, but it seems 248 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:07.240 that an evangelist in the New Testament was somebody, someone sent into a particular 249 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:12.319 church with authority delegated to them to bring stability and good order in a needy 250 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:18.519 situation. Think of Timothy. Timothy called to do the work of lovangelists. 251 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:23.359 He was sent to Ephesus by Paul, the aid in the settlement of that 252 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:29.839 church. And then there's shepherd and teacher. It's two titles for one office. 253 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:37.079 They actually should be hyphenated pastor teacher, shepherd teacher. Paul's talking here 254 00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:42.039 about a minister in a local congregation. He's talking about an elder whose work 255 00:25:42.119 --> 00:25:51.160 is to Labor in word and doctrine. The shepherd shepherds his flock, he 256 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:55.279 keeps the sheep in order, directs them where to go, where to feed, 257 00:25:55.599 --> 00:26:00.000 brings them back to the fold, looks after their safety guards against enemies 258 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:04.759 liable to attack them. Now, I think the key thing to notice about 259 00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:10.160 all four of these offices, all four gifts given by the Exalted Christ to 260 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:12.440 the Church for our unity, is, after all, word, ministers, 261 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:19.200 ministries. They all relate in some way to the Ministry of teaching to the 262 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:25.160 Proclamation of the Gospel. You See, Christ is aiming at our unity, 263 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:32.400 and at the heart of his strategy for accomplishing our unity is deploying men of 264 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:37.640 God equipped to preach the word of God to the people of God, and 265 00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:45.200 I think verse twelve is critically important because it helps us understand how that works 266 00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:48.880 in the life of all churches, this church. How do these word ministers 267 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:55.920 fulfill the goal that Christ has for them and bringing unity to the Church by 268 00:26:55.960 --> 00:27:00.680 preaching the word? Look at what verse twelve tells us they do. Christ 269 00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:04.400 gave these pastor teacher's gifts to equip the saints for the work of Ministry, 270 00:27:04.519 --> 00:27:10.880 for building up the body of Christ. You know one writer on this passage 271 00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:19.559 named Simon Austin. I think he identifies a common problem in our churches today. 272 00:27:21.559 --> 00:27:26.839 He talks about a church as a bus and he talks about the church 273 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:33.119 as an orchestra. Now, in the church as a bus, analogy, 274 00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:40.240 the congregation are simply passengers and the minister is the driver of the bus. 275 00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:45.440 Now, some of the passengers May, I don't know, occasionally helped clean 276 00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:51.160 or maintain the bus, and some always want to sit in the same seats. 277 00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:59.079 Of course they all appreciate good driving. Some never talked to new passengers. 278 00:27:59.559 --> 00:28:03.519 Well, there's they're really hoping that certain passengers get off at the next 279 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:08.519 stop. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? It's a common way to experience life 280 00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:14.200 in many churches today, but it's not the biblical picture of what the Church 281 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:18.079 should be. No, this writer, I think he rightly says that the 282 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:23.839 church should be more like an orchestra. The conductor helps the whole orchestra play 283 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:32.039 in tune and in concert, with each member performing their role well. He 284 00:28:32.039 --> 00:28:37.200 helps them understand the composer's musical score correctly. And the score, of course, 285 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:44.319 is the Bible. It's the word of God. Although the conductor is 286 00:28:44.359 --> 00:28:49.839 the preacher, the whole congregation responds to the score together, each party engaged 287 00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:56.759 in ministry, as the conductor, the pastor teacher interprets Christ's instructions in holy 288 00:28:56.839 --> 00:29:02.200 scripture, so that the whole orchestra makes the sound that the heavenly composer intended. 289 00:29:03.880 --> 00:29:07.400 See, that's what Paul says in Verse Twelve. And when it's done 290 00:29:07.480 --> 00:29:14.720 properly, see the church produces a beautiful sound, beautiful in God's sight, 291 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:22.799 and so useful to him in this world. WHO DOES MINISTRY IN THE LOCAL 292 00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:27.880 CHURCH? Not The one with the title minister. His role is to equip 293 00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:33.640 the saints. It's the saints who do the work of ministry. How does 294 00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:38.279 word ministry help us live in unity? It does it by equipping US and 295 00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:45.599 encouraging US and moving us to service. See, that's how we're to respond 296 00:29:45.640 --> 00:29:49.039 to the word of God, you know, not to be mere consumers of 297 00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:55.960 it. Rather, the response Paul is calling us to here is the response 298 00:29:56.079 --> 00:30:02.359 of service. So I pressed the question on us to warning. Who are 299 00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:07.720 you serving? You don't need a title and an official recognized ministry. That's 300 00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:14.240 not what he's talking about here. How are you serving? That's the call 301 00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:17.759 of Jesus Christ, I think, to us, and as we begin to 302 00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:26.359 serve one another, unity is the great fruit of that service. The call 303 00:30:26.440 --> 00:30:30.240 to unity, then the gifts Christ gives the Church for unity. And then 304 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:36.039 finally, in verse thirteen to the end, just notice quickly the contours of 305 00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:40.480 unity. I think Paul gives us a wonderful picture of what that unity will 306 00:30:40.519 --> 00:30:47.920 look like here in verses thirteen through sixteen. Notice in versus thirteen and fourteen. 307 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:53.680 Paul tells us clear, very clearly, that unity and maturity go together. 308 00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:02.079 We will maintain attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge 309 00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:06.400 of the son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the 310 00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:12.039 stature of the fullness of Christ. Unity and maturity are connected. In others, 311 00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:18.640 Paul says that you haven't grown in Christian maturity, however your knowledge other 312 00:31:18.680 --> 00:31:26.000 scriptures may be, however deep your theological awareness may be, if you're not 313 00:31:26.119 --> 00:31:33.119 also grown in humility and gentleness and patience and forbearance and love. You know, 314 00:31:33.319 --> 00:31:40.720 I heard someone say that the other day, that uh, he was 315 00:31:40.759 --> 00:31:47.640 talking about Christians who look as though they've been baptized in vinegar. And you 316 00:31:47.680 --> 00:31:52.319 know the type. Surfaces, a standoff, ease, distance, Sura, 317 00:31:52.440 --> 00:31:56.960 unmoved, unloving, uncaring Christian, I think, is at best and infant 318 00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:02.039 in spiritual things. But, as verse fourteen exhorts us, we are to 319 00:32:02.200 --> 00:32:07.480 mature, we are to grow up, no longer children tossed to and fro 320 00:32:07.640 --> 00:32:13.400 by the waves, carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, 321 00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:20.240 by craftiness and deceitful schemes. So you know, for Paul, right 322 00:32:20.359 --> 00:32:24.880 thinking, getting your doctrine right, what you know, and Christian maturity only 323 00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:31.200 fit together as cause and effect when knowledge, understanding, doctrine is married to 324 00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:37.319 love. And so he says in Verse Fifteen. Speaking the truth and love, 325 00:32:37.599 --> 00:32:43.960 the body begins to grow and as each part is knit together, each 326 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:50.880 part does its work, it builds itself up and love. Well, let 327 00:32:50.920 --> 00:32:58.680 me conclude, I want to conclude this morning by him by emphasizing again that 328 00:32:58.799 --> 00:33:07.359 Paul's vision of our individual Christian maturity, it's not an individualistic vision. In 329 00:33:07.400 --> 00:33:14.359 fact it's very much a corporate vision. ECCLESIOLOGY, the doctrine of the church, 330 00:33:15.240 --> 00:33:20.039 is absolutely supreme in Paul's view of the Christian life. And it's supreme 331 00:33:20.079 --> 00:33:24.759 in Paul's thought because it's supreme in Christ thought. Christ said I will build 332 00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:30.279 my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. He didn't 333 00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:35.440 say I will build up each individual believer and let them live for me as 334 00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:42.960 he or she will. That's the Bible's viewpoint from start to finish. You 335 00:33:42.400 --> 00:33:45.119 know, I don't get me wrong, the Bible recognizes the place of the 336 00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:51.079 individual, to be sure, he and he furnishes US lots of rich portraits 337 00:33:51.079 --> 00:33:58.519 of individuals. You No, from believers, from Noah to Abraham, Moses, 338 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:02.799 you know, David, Peter, Paul, Barnamas, many other individuals. 339 00:34:02.839 --> 00:34:08.559 But most of the time, most of the time, when the Lord 340 00:34:08.559 --> 00:34:14.440 addresses his people in the Bible, he addresses them together as a unity. 341 00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:21.639 Let's just Paul does right here in Ephesians. Look there to Phesians Chapter Two, 342 00:34:21.760 --> 00:34:25.960 verses eighteen through twenty two. That's Paul's Marvelous view of the church, 343 00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:32.599 for through him we both have access in one spirit to the father. So 344 00:34:32.719 --> 00:34:37.760 then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with 345 00:34:37.880 --> 00:34:42.960 the saints, members of the household of God, built on the foundation of 346 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:49.400 the Apostles and Prophets, Christ, Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the 347 00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:54.760 whole structure being joined together, grows into the Holy Temple in the Lord. 348 00:34:55.599 --> 00:35:00.960 In Him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God 349 00:35:00.519 --> 00:35:07.280 by the spirit. To Paul, it's the church, not the individual Christian, 350 00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:12.679 who is the bride of Christ. It's interesting Peter picks up on that 351 00:35:12.760 --> 00:35:16.400 same theme in his first letter, Chapter Two, verses four and five. 352 00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:23.440 As we come to him, Peter says a living stone rejected by men but 353 00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:28.199 in the sight of God, chosen and precious. You, yourselves, like 354 00:35:28.360 --> 00:35:32.400 living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a 355 00:35:32.440 --> 00:35:39.000 holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifice, is acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 356 00:35:40.599 --> 00:35:45.760 Now, to be sure, Peter is describing an individual Christian here, 357 00:35:47.440 --> 00:35:53.559 but he's describing him as a living part of an entire household, and what 358 00:35:53.679 --> 00:36:00.159 he's saying is that, as living stones, the meaning of our lives is 359 00:36:00.199 --> 00:36:06.679 determined by our relationship to the whole, to the entire body of believers organized 360 00:36:06.679 --> 00:36:10.559 into the House of God. Now, notice Peter doesn't, he specifically doesn't 361 00:36:10.639 --> 00:36:19.880 call US priest he calls us a priesthood. We're a spiritual house, a 362 00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:23.679 holy priesthood, and later he says we're a chosen people, we're a holy 363 00:36:23.800 --> 00:36:29.679 nation. You know, Peter looks at us from this vantage point, not 364 00:36:29.880 --> 00:36:35.159 as individual believers, in our distinctiveness, but in our unity as a priesthood, 365 00:36:35.519 --> 00:36:42.159 a nation, as the church, and he views individual believers as stones, 366 00:36:43.159 --> 00:36:45.480 each of which takes his or her place in a house, a temple 367 00:36:45.800 --> 00:36:52.440 that's being built. We're individual stones being pieced together by Christ. And how 368 00:36:52.519 --> 00:37:00.119 is how is Christ doing that? Well, we're chosen and shaped for our 369 00:37:00.199 --> 00:37:06.920 individual position by God himself, were placed into position by Jesus Christ himself, 370 00:37:07.880 --> 00:37:14.760 and all the stones in this temple are not identical, they're different. The 371 00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:21.239 stones are chosen, they're shaped, they're placed not to draw attention to themselves 372 00:37:21.239 --> 00:37:27.559 but to contribute to a building in which God dwells, and the placing of 373 00:37:27.639 --> 00:37:32.880 each stone is only part of a work begun thousands of years ago and which 374 00:37:32.880 --> 00:37:37.800 will continue until the end of the age when Christ returns. Each stone is 375 00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:42.880 important, you know. Peter isn't saying that they aren't, but he is 376 00:37:42.960 --> 00:37:50.639 saying that the purpose of each stone can only be realized in its union with 377 00:37:50.679 --> 00:37:55.440 all the other stones. He's saying that you and I are building blocks how 378 00:37:55.519 --> 00:38:00.480 to putch together. When properly arranged, a spirit virtual house can be built, 379 00:38:01.280 --> 00:38:09.039 a church can and will be built with great impact for Christ. I 380 00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:13.679 think Peter says here that the Lord is not as interested in you as a 381 00:38:13.719 --> 00:38:20.559 priest as he is in you being part of the priesthood and as a priesthood, 382 00:38:21.599 --> 00:38:24.639 he looks upon the Church as the great agent of his work, his 383 00:38:24.880 --> 00:38:30.840 cause, his kingdom in the world. So I think all of this is 384 00:38:30.880 --> 00:38:37.599 to say that that's one of the great themes of the Bible. Paul here 385 00:38:37.639 --> 00:38:45.000 in Ephesians, Peter, the Bible sees every Christian as a vital part of 386 00:38:45.039 --> 00:38:52.920 this spiritual house, contributing to its life and work and, together in concert 387 00:38:52.920 --> 00:39:00.119 like an orchestra with all other believers, powerfully and beautifully proclaiming the name and 388 00:39:00.159 --> 00:39:05.199 the glory of the Living God in Christ, his son, to a dying 389 00:39:05.320 --> 00:39:14.639 world. And Paul reminds us here in this text that our spiritual maturity is 390 00:39:14.719 --> 00:39:19.760 measured by the extent in which we come to see our lives precisely in that 391 00:39:19.800 --> 00:39:25.519 way, in terms not of ourselves but the life of the body of Christ, 392 00:39:27.599 --> 00:39:34.159 the Church of God. It's welfare, it's happiness, it's it's fruitfulness, 393 00:39:34.519 --> 00:39:38.639 it's faithfulness, now becoming the measure of my life, in your life, 394 00:39:39.880 --> 00:39:47.239 dear ones, I want to remind you there is but one institution and 395 00:39:47.360 --> 00:39:52.440 one family that exists in this world that will also exist in the world to 396 00:39:52.519 --> 00:39:59.559 come and forever, and it's not your biological or your nuclear family, precious 397 00:39:59.599 --> 00:40:05.480 as that is. It's this family, this family right here, it's the 398 00:40:05.599 --> 00:40:12.519 Church of Jesus, Christ, his body, his fullness. You know Jesus. 399 00:40:12.559 --> 00:40:16.320 Christ may have saved you in your biological or nuclear family or, contrarily, 400 00:40:16.559 --> 00:40:21.079 he may have saved you out of your biological or nuclear family, but 401 00:40:21.199 --> 00:40:28.159 he saved you for this family. When you live for this family, when 402 00:40:28.159 --> 00:40:31.280 you are a faithful son or daughter of this family, when you employ the 403 00:40:31.280 --> 00:40:37.039 gifts God gave you for the benefit of this family and Paul and the Bible 404 00:40:37.320 --> 00:40:43.039 says, you are a mature Christian. You have grown up into the fullness 405 00:40:43.039 --> 00:40:47.320 of Christ. When you live for this family, you are living as Christ 406 00:40:47.400 --> 00:40:52.639 would have you lived. You are living the life he shed his blood that 407 00:40:52.719 --> 00:40:59.159 you would live. When you invest your life in his body, in this 408 00:40:59.360 --> 00:41:07.079 family, in God's Household, the Lord Christ who descended and then ascended, 409 00:41:07.159 --> 00:41:10.679 looks down on you with a heart of Thanksgiving and fulfillment and pleasure and with 410 00:41:10.840 --> 00:41:16.800 his smile because you are more completely and perfectly a part of himself, his 411 00:41:16.960 --> 00:41:22.679 body. That's what he lived for, that's what he died for, that 412 00:41:22.800 --> 00:41:27.960 you should live in it, and for the unity and the holiness and the 413 00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:35.719 happiness and the fruitfulness and the harmony of his people. Dear when this is 414 00:41:35.760 --> 00:41:42.639 an amazing way the Bible speaks about us, about US Christians. We are 415 00:41:42.679 --> 00:41:45.440 still, more and more profoundly, a part of Jesus Christ himself, a 416 00:41:45.480 --> 00:41:52.880 member of his body. We're no longer strangers, were no longer aliens, 417 00:41:52.199 --> 00:41:57.840 but were fellow citizens with the saints, were members of the household of God. 418 00:41:58.400 --> 00:42:00.599 May God make it so in all of our lives and all of our 419 00:42:00.679 --> 00:42:07.519 churches. Let's pray our father, we praise you that the Gospel makes enemies 420 00:42:07.599 --> 00:42:15.760 friends, takes takes outsiders brings them in, takes centers and makes them saints, 421 00:42:15.880 --> 00:42:21.760 Takes Aliens and Strangers and adopts them into your family, and thank you 422 00:42:21.800 --> 00:42:25.360 that we have tasted that reality. Please teach us how to live out, 423 00:42:25.599 --> 00:42:30.760 to walk worthy of the calling to which we have been called and to begin 424 00:42:30.800 --> 00:42:36.239 to practice, between us and among ourselves, the supernatural gift of love, 425 00:42:36.360 --> 00:42:43.800 with humility and gentleness and patience and forbearance. Lord, Build Your Church to 426 00:42:43.920 --> 00:42:45.719 the praise and glory of your name. Amen.