This week I came across an interesting quote that was recently posted on an internet blog by a lady who identified herself as “Eva”. Here it is, exactly as she wrote it:
You are so right about the church today. We are a catholic family, but I can’t even remember the last time we went to church. My feeling is if you believe in Jesus, read the bible, try to display grace to others .I don’t think the churches are teaching the right message. It’s not easy in the way the world is today. My belief is that satan is loose and has control of what’s going on.
It seems that Eva has come to the conclusion that the church is no longer relevant, that it really doesn’t matter. And Eva is certainly not alone in her thinking. A couple of surveys conducted by the Barna Group about this time last year reveal some alarming trends:
• One-third of American adults had not attended a regular church service in the past 6 months
• 62% of the unchurched consider themselves to be Christians and ¾ of those people claim they are at least moderately committed to the Christian faith.
• Fewer than one out of every five adults firmly believes that a congregational church is a critical element in their spiritual growth and just as few strongly contend that participation in some type of community of faith is required for them to achieve their full potential.
• Only 17% of adults said that “a person’s faith is meant to be developed mainly by involvement in a local church.”
To much of the world today, it seems like the church doesn’t really matter. In fact, I’m amazed at all the excuses that people come up with in order to justify not being part of the church.
This week I came across this tongue firmly implanted in cheek article titled “Pastor Quits Sports”. Here is why this pastor quit going to sporting events:
1. Every time I went they asked me for money.
2. The people with whom I had to sit didn’t seem very friendly.
3. The seats were too hard and not at all comfortable.
4. I went to many games but the coach never came to call on me.
5. The referee made a decision with which I could not agree.
6. Some games went into overtime and I was getting home late.
7. I suspected I was sitting with some hypocrites – they came to see their friends and what others were wearing rather than to watch the game.
8. The band played some numbers that I never heard before.
9. It seems the games were scheduled when I wanted to do other things.
10. I was taken to too many games by my parents when I was growing up.
11. I recently read a book on sports and I now feel that I know more than the coaches do anyhow.
12. I don’t want to take my children to any games because I want them to decide for themselves what sport they like best.
But as we come to the end of Ephesians Chapter 1 this morning, Paul makes it clear that the church really does matter. It matters because it matters to God.
I hope that God has touched your heart like he’s touched mine as we’ve journeyed through the first chapter of Ephesians. I’ve been blown away by the whole idea of all these spiritual blessings that God has made available to me through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m amazed at the fact that it gives God pleasure to have chosen me and predestined me to become part of His family. I’m in awe of the fact that Jesus would give His life to redeem me from my sins. I’m astonished that the Holy Spirit is my personal guarantee that God will give me all that He has promised. And I’m completely taken aback to have God’s resurrection power at work in my life.
And as we come to the end of the chapter, Paul kind of wraps this all up in verses 22 and 23. Let’s read those verses out loud together:
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Ephesians 1:22, 23 (NIV)
I’ve had a couple of weeks now to wrestle with this passage and I’ve really struggled to decide exactly what I wanted to present to you here this morning. Frankly, there is so much here that we could spend several weeks mining the riches of these verses.
I could have focused on the supremacy of Christ. That idea is certainly present here. In fact, that concept really began in verse 21 when Paul described how Jesus was raised to the right hand of the Father, “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come.” Unfortunately, a couple of weeks ago when we discussed God’s resurrection power, we didn’t have a chance to focus on that part of our passage in much detail. And combined with verse 22, we can certainly see both the superiority of Jesus over every other power known to mankind as well as the fact that all those powers have been subjected to His authority.
But as I read this passage over and over, it seemed that I kept begin drawn back to three words – “for the church”. Although this is the first time Paul has used the word “church” in his letter, it is clear from what we have already studied that this is not the first time he has thought about it. The church mattered to Paul because it mattered to God. And it ought to matter to us for the same reason. So this morning, I’d like us to think about…
WHY THE CHURCH MATTERS:
1. It is God’s people
As I mentioned before, this is the first time Paul has used the word “church” in this letter. So we probably ought to spend just a moment to take a look at the word itself.
The Greek word that is translated “church” is “ekklesia”.
ekklesia = “called out ones”
So when Paul writes about the church, he is referring to all those who have been called out, or chosen, by God to be part of His family. Although the word can sometimes be used to refer to a local body of believers, here Paul seems to be referring to what we would call the catholic (with a small “c”), or universal church. In other words the church consists of all of those who have been chosen by God and who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ alone for their redemption and salvation.
Here in Ephesians, as well as in his other letters, Paul often uses the analogy of the body to describe the church. He pictures the church as a collection of God’s people who join together in a body in order to accomplish what none of the individual body parts could accomplish on their own. Here’s how Paul describes that body in Romans:
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Romans 12:4, 5 (NIV)
Every person who has received all the spiritual blessings Paul has written about beginning in verse 3 is a member of that body. We’ve already seen just how much we matter to God in order for Him to have poured out all those spiritual blessings in our lives.
So the church matters to God because it is made up of people that matter to God.
2. It is God’s presence
In Old Testament times, although God wasn’t limited to being in one place at one time, His presence, or His glory, was made manifest in the holy of holies in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple. And the Bible describes that the Tabernacle was filled with the glory of God:
Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Exodus 40:34 (NIV)
Notice that last phrase of that verse. The glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. That is how God chose to manifest His presence among the people of Israel. It’s interesting that we find very similar language used by Paul when he describes the church. He writes that the church is
…the fullness of him who fills everything in every way
I think it’s quite likely that Paul had the Tabernacle in mind when he wrote those words. And if that’s true, then Paul seems to indicate that there is some parallel between the Tabernacle under the old covenant and the church under the new covenant. The Tabernacle and the church are both earthy manifestations of heavenly realities. They are physical representations of the presence of God here on this earth.
But there is one huge difference between the two. The church is very clearly the representation of God’s presence as a result of an intimate relationship with God. As the body of Christ, we are inseparable from our head, who is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. When Paul describes Jesus as the head of the church, he seems to have two different attributes in mind. That is even clearer if we look at a similar passage from Colossians:
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Colossians 1:18 (NIV)
As the head of the church, Christ is the:
• Origin
Notice that Paul writes that as the head, Jesus is the beginning and the firstborn. That really fits in with everything that we have read so far in Ephesians. The church exists because it was originated by Jesus through His death and resurrection.
In this sense, the head is used similarly to the way we would describe the place where a river or stream originates. What do we call that? That’s right – the headwaters. So Christ is first of all the head of the church because he originated it.
• Ruler
Jesus is also the ruler of the church. As Paul writes in Colossians, He has supremacy. That’s consistent with the idea that God has placed all other rule and authority under the feet of Jesus. All other power is in subjection to Him. But the rule of Christ over his church is not one of an iron-fisted ruler who has no concern for his subjects. In fact, it is a rule that is built on relationship. There is a sense in which the head cannot function apart from the body, just as the body cannot function without the head.
I really like what Kenneth Wuest wrote in his exposition of Ephesians:
The relation between Christ and the Church, therefore, is not an external relation, or one simply of Superior and inferior, sovereign and subject, but one of life and incorporation. The Church is not merely and institution ruled by Him as President, a Kingdom in which He is the Supreme Authority, or a vast company of men in moral sympathy with Him, but a Society which is in vital connection with Him, having the source of its life in Him, sustained and directed by His power, the instrument also by which He works.
The church is the earthly manifestation of God’s presence because it was originated by His Son and it is ruled through a relationship with His Son.
The church matters to God because it is made up of people that matter to God. The church matters to God because it is the earthly manifestation of His presence.
3. It is God’s plan
Throughout chapter 1, we have seen that everything that God has done for us is in accordance with God’s pleasure and will. And the same is certainly true for the church. Perhaps we can see that even more clearly if we look at a passage we’ll come to a little later on in Ephesians:
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 3:10, 11 (NIV)
Let’s examine this passage for just a moment. The first thing that we notice is that revealing his manifold wisdom through the church is part of God’s eternal purpose. The church is not just an afterthought on God’s part – it was part of His plan from the beginning of time.
The second thing that grabs my attention is a little three letter word – “now”. What Paul seems to be saying is that the church is only one part of God’s overall plan, a part of His plan that was just coming into existence here on earth to as Paul was writing, even though it was part of God’s plan from before the foundation of the world.
Prior to the origin of the church, God had chosen to reveal Himself in a number of different ways. For instance, we’ve already seen how God revealed Himself through the Tabernacle and the Temple. We also know that God had previously revealed Himself through His creation, particularly through the heavens:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalm 19:1 (NIV)
There is a school of thought that God’s revelation in the heavens goes beyond just the immenseness of the stars in the sky. Its adherents, the constellations of stars in the sky actually tell the gospel message. For instance, the constellation Virgo points to the virgin birth of Jesus. I’m not sure how much credence to place in those ideas, but it does give a whole new perspective to what Paul wrote in Romans:
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Romans 1:20 (NIV)
God also revealed Himself through his chosen people – Israel. And of course, God primarily reveals Himself to us today through His Word.
But since the resurrection of Jesus, God has chosen to use the church as a conduit to reveal Himself to the world. He took a small group of mostly uneducated, unimportant, common men and gave them the responsibility of spreading the message of the resurrection to the entire known world. And today, as the spiritual descendents of that small group of Christ-followers, that responsibility has been passed down to us.
So it’s no wonder that church matters so much to God. His entire plan for reaching the world with the gospel message depends upon its continued existence and effectiveness.
The church matters to God because it is made up of people that matter to God. The church matters to God because it is the earthly manifestation of His presence. And the church matters to God because it is a crucial part of His plan for this world.
4. It is God’s place
Even though Paul has not previously used the word “church” in this chapter, he’s has certainly had it in mind throughout. Think about all the pronouns that Paul has used. Everything is “we” and “us” and the plural of “you.” Paul has been unambiguous in showing that all these spiritual blessings that we have in Christ are not just for our own person benefit. As I’ve said before, God is not in the business of creating “Lone Ranger” Christians. All of these spiritual blessings are intended to be experienced within the body, in connection with other believers.
There’s also one more really fascinating observation about a verse that we looked at several weeks ago.
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened…
Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)
Do you see anything unusual in that verse? Look carefully at the two nouns – “eyes” and” heart”. It seems to me that it ought to read “the eyes of your hearts” (plural). Did Paul just make a mistake in his grammar or is there a reason he used the singular “heart”? I think Paul is making a point here – he wants his readers to all have the same heart. He wants the eyes of their corporate heart to be enlightened.
In other words the process of having their hearts enlightened occurs in the body, the church.
Let’s go back to a passage we’ve already looked at this morning:
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Romans 12:4, 5 (NIV)
Since we are all parts of a body, our participation and interaction in that body is crucial both to the health of the body and our own individual health. We know that no organ in our body can survive apart from the rest of the body. And the same thing is true for us spiritually. But, as we’ve seen from the statistics I shared with you earlier, we live in such an individualistic society that a lot of people who call themselves Christians are trying to live out their faith apart from the church.
I read this week about three pastors got together for coffee one day and found all their churches had bat-infestation problems. "I got so mad," said one, "I took a shotgun and fired at them. It made holes in the ceiling, but did nothing to the bats." "I tried trapping them alive," said the second. "Then I drove 50 miles before releasing them, but they beat me back to the church." "I haven’t had any more problems," said the third. "What did you do?" asked the others, amazed. "I simply baptized and confirmed them," he replied. "I haven’t seen them since."
We chuckle at that, but like most good humor, the reason that we find it funny is that there is a degree of truth there. With the proliferation of various media, including radio, TV, and the internet, in the U.S. more people now get their religious information and experience from those media sources than from church. [March 2005 Barna study]
But that is not the way God planned it. Certainly there is nothing wrong with all these forms of media. In fact, I regularly use my computer and the internet to study and prepare my messages. But if that’s all I did and I didn’t come here on Sunday and share what I’m learning with you and interact with you, there wouldn’t be much point in what I’ve done during that time.
The church is the place designed by God for His people to grow together in their faith. And when I say it is a “place”, I’m not using that word to designate a physical location. This building we’re in this morning is not a church. Remember, the word church means “called out ones”. The church is people, not a building. So I’m using the word “place” here to represent the coming together of the various parts of the body for the purpose of encouraging each other and growing together in our faith. And the Bible is clear that God has designed the church for exactly that purpose.
Again, let’s take a quick peak at a verse we’ll look at in greater detail down the road:
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)
This passage makes its very clear that God intends the church to be the place where believers are built up in their faith and become more mature. It is where they are prepared to serve God.
5. It is God’s passion
So far we’ve looked at four really good reasons why the church matters to God:
• The church matters to God because it is made up of people that matter to God.
• The church matters to God because it is the earthly manifestation of His presence.
• The church matters to God because it is a crucial part of His plan for this world.
• The church matters to God because it is his place for us to grow and mature in our faith.
And if that’s all we had, that would be enough for us to know why the church matters. But to be real honest all those reasons are somewhat intellectual or rational. There’s not a whole emotion there. And while our faith is based on fact and a decision of our will and not merely emotion, it’s important for us to understand that God is passionate about His church.
We know that God is passionate about His church because we know what it cost Him. Here’s how John described the price that Jesus paid in order to establish the church:
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us…
1 John 3:16 (NIV)
In 2004, Mel Gibson released his blockbuster movie, “The Passion of the Christ”. That movie was a graphic depiction of what Jesus Christ suffered in order to establish God’s church. It’s interesting how the word “passion” has come to describe the sufferings that Jesus experienced in laying down his life on the cross. Most likely that description has come from the way the King James Bible translates the word that is translated “suffering” in almost every other translation in Acts 1:3.
To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion…
Acts 1:3 (KJV)
But perhaps the word “passion” really is better here because it describes for us just how much God values the church. He has so much passion for the church that He was willing to sacrifice the life of His Son in order to bring about its inception. But God’s passion for the church didn’t just end with the death and resurrection of Jesus. God still has a passion for His church. One last time, let’s take a look ahead to a later passage in Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus:
Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness…No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That’s how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body.
Ephesians 5:25-27, 29, 30 (Message)
Isn’t that awesome? I love how Paul describes Christ’s love for the church. It’s certainly more than just a love of duty. It’s a passionate, intimate love. God is passionate about feeding and pampering church in order to bring the very best out of her.
In spite of what Eva and a whole lot of other people like her think, the church is still relevant. It does still matter.
• The church matters to God because it is made up of people that matter to God.
• The church matters to God because it is the earthly manifestation of His presence.
• The church matters to God because it is a crucial part of His plan for this world.
• The church matters to God because it is His place for us to grow and mature in our faith.
• The church matters to God because He has a passion for His church.
And because the church matters to God it needs to matter to us, too.
