: Chapter 3:1-7 Studies in Ephesians 1. Introduction a. Church life. It is something that all Christians are part of. There is no escaping the reality that we are in this together. b. But also make no mistake about the fact that we are better for it. Having to walk with others in community has the potential to one of the most powerful things in a believers life. Done right and its positive force is second only to God Himself working in a person s life. c. We were created in the image of our Father who dwells in community within Himself. He is three-in-one. He is the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God, in a sense, does not dwell alone but dwells in infinite fellowship with Himself. i. We were fashioned in the likeness of a communal Father not a solitary higher power. Therefore we need community. Not only that but we were created to live within the structure of community and do not function properly when isolated. ii. An isolated Christian is in danger simply because they are living in a such a way that goes against their original design. iii. This is why humans are social creatures. We make friends and start families because it is in our DNA to do so and something within us simply works better when we are surrounded by others in a healthy way. d. But the power of community and relationship can also be harnessed and unleashed in a very damaging way. When trust is broken, hurtful words are spewed, and boundaries are crossed within the context of personal relationships or a church community the damage that can be done is enormous. e. The challenge of walking in community is that people are going to be hurt simply because no one is perfect and everyone has issues and those issues are bound to touch others and cause hurt from time to time. i. Church life can be very difficult if for no other reason but that people are broken and imperfect and my problems are going to bring pain to you at some point and time. ii. But the call of Christ is to push through, learn together, grow together, and do life together. f. The question that haunts many people is simply: How do different people do life, faith, church, and family together? g. This is a massive question that we must get right. As we will see throughout this series our walk with God hinges, in many respects, on getting this right. There are certain 1
things that we cannot get outside of healthy community, friendships, and relationships that are founded in Christ. i. The question becomes how do different people with different gifts, talents, opinions, pasts, future outlooks, desires, goals, etc. operate in love and humility towards one another for the betterment of the community? h. We cannot afford to miss out on the blessings that come from belonging to a healthy community. You cannot do Christianity alone! We need each other. You need me and I need you. i. In our last session Paul introduces the topic of church life by using three adjectives and the analogy of a building. We, the church, are like pieces of a building that are: i. Being fitted together - our gifts and talents work together ii. Growing together - we learn from one another iii. Built together - we are connected in love and humility j. The net result of these three realities that we, as a community and church family, become a dwelling place for God. A church that loves another, learns from each other, and serve together is like a magnet for the presence of God and for the power of the Holy Spirit. 2. All Are Welcome a. After introducing the concept of the church through the metaphor of a building Paul continues to elaborate on the mystery of Christ that was revealed to him; that they gentiles are now brought into relationship with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. b. Salvation is no longer based upon ethnicity but upon faith. All can belong to the family of God if they will only believe on Jesus. This is good news because it opens the way for every person to encounter Jesus. i. It doesn t matter what you have done, where you have been, what has happened to you, who your parents are, or any such thing. No, salvation belongs to all in Christ Jesus. ii. The walls have been broken down (Eph. 2:14) and those who were afar off can now come near to Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:13). c. We can all belong to the family of God and church of Jesus Christ. All are welcome. Nothing excludes anyone from coming. i. This is not to say that you can do whatever you want, live however you want, or conduct yourself in any manner you want once you belong to Christ. No, He requires repentance. ii. He requires us to give our lives to Him and obey Him. He does not demand perfection or performance, but He does require sincerity and honesty. iii. Christ is full of patience. He will work with us as long as it takes. He is not afraid to get His hands dirty in the process of making us look like Him. iv. What Christ does not have is tolerance for selfish unrepentant living. He requires us to honestly and sincerely walk in love and obedience to Him to the best of our ability. 2
d. This truth is huge because it liberates us to be honest about who we are in church. If Christ is full of patience and gentleness for me in my weakness and brokenness then it frees me from feeling like I have to hide who I am for fear of being rejected. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty - Exodus 34:6-7 e. Jesus demonstrated this over and over again by forgiving sinners, loving the unlovable, and ultimately by giving Himself into the hands of sinners to be crucified for the very ones nailing Him to that tree. f. During His ministry Jesus instructed us that the issue of accepting God s forgiveness and mercy for ourselves and then releasing that same mercy to other broken people is something that must be learned. Those who are will have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. - Matthew 9:12-13 g. Mercy is not natural. Neither is patience. This is why we must learn it. Our mandate as the church is to call sinners and show them love, mercy, and patience as long as they are willing to be honest and sincere. i. Once someone is not able to be honest or sincere about their need for Christ it becomes very difficult to function within a community in a healthy way because that person is not teachable, correctable, and will not extend mercy to others. ii. It does not mean we throw them away at this point but even Jesus couldn t do much with someone who was not willing to honestly assess their life and recognize their need for a savior. iii. Jesus had all the time in the world for those who were needy, broken, and sinful. Who He didn t have time for was the self righteous who thought they had no need for Christ. 3. Like a Body a. Continuing to talk about the church and the community of faith Paul uses one of his most famous analogies to describe what the church is and how it is meant to function. b. Paul likens the church to a human body:...that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel - Ephesians 3:6 c. This metaphor is used numerous times in the New Testament. In fact one of the names for the church is the Body of Christ. 3
d. Here is Ephesians Paul says that everyone who believes in Christ, who is honest and sincere in their love and obedience to Him, belong to the same body. That is that we are one, connected in the most intimate way, to the point that our lives are woven together like the organs and limbs of the human frame. e. This analogy of a body is an important one because it is something that is so simple yet so complex that it does a masterful job of describing what the church is and how we were meant to function. i. We Are a Body: 1. First we must understand that we are a body. This is a picture of what we actually are. Christ is our head (Eph. 4:15) and we are His body. 2. This means that we are one. We are distinct but not separate. We are unique but unified. We are individual yet part of something that is much bigger than ourselves. 3. This oneness should be evident in all that we do just like a body does everything in unison and harmony so we were meant to live and love in unifying harmony. 4. This was Jesus prayer at the end of His life: I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. - John 17:20-23 ii. 5. It should say something to us that the last prayer of Jesus with His disciples was one centered around community. All of the language in the last part of the prayer was communal in nature. 6. We were meant to be one with each other in Christ just like Christ is one with the Father and Spirit. That is a mind blowing statement. Again, He is speaking about the community not individuals being one with Christ like He is with the Father but the church being one with each other in Christ as Christ is one with the Father and Spirit. We Function Like a Body: 1. Not only are we a body in our structure and formation but in our function. We act like a body in that we have different roles and functions within the community. 2. Paul addresses this at length in 1 Corinthians 12-14 in relation to the gifts of the Spirit. Our purpose here is simply to realize that each person has a unique set of gifts, talents, and graces. Not everyone is good at the same thing and we need to be okay with that. 3. We need to be okay with the uniqueness of the body. We cannot force others, or ourselves, into a particular mold or pattern. 4
4. Rather we need to recognize our differences, celebrate them, learn from them, and find out how they work best together for the furtherment of the gospel in our city and generation. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. - 1 Corinthians 12:12 5. Christ has made each of us special and unique. One of the most damaging things we can do in church life is try to force someone the become someone or something they are not. Rather we should celebrate who God made them to be and find out how we can serve each other and our city with our gifts and talents. But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. - 1 Corinthians 12:18 5