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Sunday, October 1, 2017

Knee Bone Connected to the Thigh Bone (Ephesians 4.1-16)


Sermon by: Robert Austell; October 1, 2017 - Ephesians 4:1-16

:: Sermon Audio (link) ::
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:: Scripture and Music ::
Come as You Are (Crowder) - call to worship
Jesus, All for Jesus (Robin Mark)
How Beautiful (Twila Paris) - offertory duet
The Church's One Foundation (AURELIA)
 
:: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) ::
This "manuscript" represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose.

Paul is writing to Christians in the ancient city of Ephesus. He has been there several times, has served as their pastor for several years, and longs for them to experience the blessing of being a mature church full of truth and grace. We’ve studied the story of Ephesus before and our “truth and grace” banner is one artistic outgrowth of that study.

First, Paul “implores” the Ephesian Christians to live out their calling faithfully as one because God is one (vv. 1-6). Over their history as a church, they experienced disunity and conflict, and Paul’s particular word to them was to urge them towards unity, not just as a remedy in itself, but because faith and the character of God is marked by that kind of unity. But note that it is not an isolating kind of purity and unity, but something that is to draw them TOGETHER as one. It is no wonder that Paul lands on one of his favorite metaphors for the Church: the Body of Christ. There is just one body and one Spirit (v. 4). So whatever else Paul is going to write to the Ephesian Christians about giving themselves to Christ as disciples and followers, it is rooted in them doing it TOGETHER.

Well, it is not something they should or even can do on their own steam. It requires God’s help. And that is the good news Paul shares next! God has given them gracious gifts to accomplish calling together: God has given Christ for salvation and leaders who equip them to serve Christ together (vv. 7-13). Paul describes what that looks like with a continuation of his body metaphor. It looks like “growing up” from childhood to maturity. Just as the parts of the body grow in strength, coordination, and function from infancy to childhood to adolescence to adulthood, so too does the Church as believers live out their calling (obeying God) and increasingly work and live and serve together as followers of Christ (vv. 14-16). God has saved us and desires for us to FOLLOW CHRIST TOGETHER. That’s what the Church does; that’s what the Church is. It’s the Body of Christ and Christ is the head.

There is much time and space between us and Ephesus in the 1st century. But while the centuries have passed and cultures have changed, I can’t think of anything in these 16 verses that doesn’t apply to us as the Church today. This is all core theological truth that cuts across time and culture. It is rooted in the character and nature of God. What we can do is take these important but generalized truths and think about them more specifically in our own context.

Be the church faithfully together (vv. 1-6)

All that Paul wrote to the Ephesians about being the church faithfully together applies to us as well. It is not easy to “walk in a manner worthy of our calling” in this day and age. Church so easily becomes one more extracurricular activity. It becomes one more consumer-driven thing, a product to market to different demographics: older adults, young families, young adults, white collar, blue collar, suburban, urban, white, black, Latino, and more. And sometimes marketing ourselves does result in growth… for a while, if you do it really well.

But Paul’s model for being the church is of a different kind altogether. He roots church faithfulness and health in the one God – Father, Son, and Spirit. He describes the thriving church in terms of faithfulness, humility, gentleness, patience, love, and a diligence about “unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” He challenges us, in all our differences, to draw together not around demographics, economics, politics, or shared interests. Rather, we are to draw together around our “calling” – our response to Jesus. We are to draw together around a common Lord, faith, and baptism. So we prioritize God’s Word; we preach Jesus Christ for salvation and for following; we listen together to the Holy Spirit’s leading; and we ask first where God is leading and then how we might follow.

Even among Christian people and churches, this is an uncommon organizational strategy. But we believe, with Paul, that this is what health and faithfulness looks like in Christ’s Church.

God has given us all we need (vv. 7-13)

Even then (perhaps especially then) we’d be in over our heads except that God has given us what we need to thrive. And what we need most is not money or strategies or location, but God’s grace in Christ. I realize that phrase is abstract, so let me explain it. Specifically, Paul reminds us that Jesus fought Hell and death for our sake and emerged as a victorious warrior with us “captives” set free and following behind him. He leads us, not only as ‘head’ but as Victor! So the one we are called to follow after isn’t just a wise teacher, but is our actual Savior – the one who delivers us from death and destruction. And he ever goes before us!

Paul also reminds us that Jesus gave the released captives leadership for the work of following him into the world. While you see “pastor” in the list in v. 11, it’s not just literal pastors, but a whole host of people who have guided, taught, challenged, urged, proclaimed, cared for, and otherwise walked alongside you in following after Christ. None of them were given by God to serve themselves, but only to point on after Christ. All their authority comes from and returns to him. I think of Sunday school teachers, youth group advisors, faith-filled school teachers, those friends who are willing to speak truth into your life. I think of counselors and prayer warriors (especially grandmothers!) who constant lift loved ones and others of us up before the Lord for protection, blessing, and bold witness. I think of older Christians who are such a witness and encouragement to younger Christians. And I think of younger ones who sometimes inspire and challenge us older ones!

What do all these who lead us on behalf of Christ work toward? It is for the equipping of one another to serve Christ. And like someone who works with their body all day long, another result of participating in that work of service is that the Body of Christ becomes strong in the process… “built up” and strong.

What does it look like? Growing up, growing in, growing out… (vv. 14-16)

Paul spends a few verses describing what this looks like. He extends the body metaphor to physical growth and describes the process of maturing from being children to being adult. So also we can mature as Christians and as a church. I’d like to describe one specific example (of many) of what it looks like at Good Shepherd as we grow up in understanding, learn to speak truth in love, and increasingly work together as a healthy Body of Christ.

I have described this health before with the words UP, IN, and OUT. We focus UP in worship, IN through spiritual development, and OUT in mission and outreach. And this health and growth is individual AND something we work on TOGETHER as the Body of Christ. And it’s all three that combine for spiritual growth and health. It’s like rest, food, and exercise for our physical bodies – all are vital and necessary to live and thrive. Those don’t correspond perfectly to the UP, IN, and OUT of spiritual development, but it’s the same point. If you or I only worship, we might be focused on God, but we don’t grow deep through spiritual education, relationship, and development. If you stay home and read your Bible all the time, you may learn quite a bit about God and the Bible, but you miss something essential that comes in gathering together in community for worship. And if you help others but miss the connection with God, you are doing good work, but missing something essential and eternal. This passage in Ephesians reminds us that it’s all part of spiritual health and life and maturity.

So the vision of our elders and ministries are to provide ample opportunities for all these things: worship that connects with God, but also invites spiritual development and sending out into the world with a mission; Christian education opportunities for all at various times and places throughout the week; opportunities (and invitation) for mission and outreach and a basic understanding that YOU are the church out there, not just in here.

A Final Picture: following Christ together

I want to end with my own illustration of a healthy church, of following Christ together in the way Paul talks about in Ephesians 4. Last week I used a musical illustration to talk about consecration. This week I have a different illustration altogether! Get ready; I’m going to use a football illustration!

I want to compare being a Christian and being the Church to football. Here’s how we go about church and faith most of the time: it’s like practicing our throwing, practicing our running, learning plays, watching football, and even dressing in football gear. But you know what? It’s not really football unless you play in a game and on a team. Being the Church is like that. It’s not really Christian faith and discipleship unless we engage in God’s mission and do it together. THAT is being the Church! Yes, we must trust and follow Jesus. But where he leads us is to a team and a mission. Anything else is missing the point! I’ll even press that analogy a bit further. You might think, “Well isn’t worship important? Is this mission together the only thing?” You will not find someone with a higher view of the importance of worship! But listen; worship is like the work, faithfulness, obedience, responsiveness, trust, and regularity a good player gives to the coach. You can imagine that right? That faithful player shows up to all the practices, trains hard, listens well, trusts that coach’s leadership, and finally is sitting there in the locker room before the game primed and ready to go. The coach gives the big pep talk and runs out onto the field. And… the team sits in the locker room? That’s what so much of the church has become: a well-trained team sitting in the locker room while the coach is out on the field. Worship leads us to the heart of God; and the heart of God is for the world God loves!

God has loved you in Christ, but not just for a one-on-one relationship in private. God’s desire is to knit you into the community He calls the Church, a community of Christ-followers who follow Jesus out into the world God loves with the Good News of God’s love embodied in our lives and our own love. May it be so!

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