Be the part...Play your Part

Remember Mousetrap? Did you play it properly or just set up the trap and watch it go? Either way, you'll know that if one little piece of that game disappeared under the sofa, got eaten by the dog or was hidden by a cruel and vindictive older brother, the game was ruined and unplayable. To work properly, you needed every piece play it's part.

In Ephesians 4 Paul recognises that too - he urges every member of the Church to recognise their place as a member of the "body of Christ" and to play their part. This isn't about pretending - this is about a concerted effort and commitment to the Church to help it function properly.

Christians are all gifted people. Not in an X-Factor-this-is-all-I've-ever-wanted way, but because by that amazing grace that Paul tells us about in chapter 2 the ascended Jesus, who defeated Satan, sin and death, gives us gifts (4:8). Those gifts are given to equip us not so we can rest on our laurels, or celebrate our own achievements, but "so that the body of Christ may be built up".

The purpose of that building up? You've guessed it - unity and maturity (v13). Unity in the faith, and in our knowledge of the Son of God. Recurring pleas from Paul to the early Church, and recurring pleas from Paul to the Church today. What do we have in common with Christians from nearly 2000 years ago? Just like them, we're entirely dependent on Jesus - he took our debts (sin) and we're credited with his righteousness. Just like them, the gifts that the Church needs to stay united come exclusively from and through him.

Paul wants us to grow up, not to remain childlike (or childish). That takes effort - each part has to do its work (v16), but we've been given gifts and an instruction manual - the Bible - to help us grow. We've also been given each other. We don't have to go it alone. Our gifts are given in the context of the Church, to serve in the context of a Church, so we can grow in the context of a Church. If we're not growing - why? Are we trying to fly solo and squandering our gifts?

Not sure what your gifts are? Find a wise Christian - talk and pray with them. Study the Bible with them - listen, understand and apply God's word. Don't be bogged down with indecision and procrastination. Don't compare yourself with others and wish you could do what they do. Roll up your sleeves, and get serving. Be the part, and play your part.

A Church in tune - Ephesians 4

In an orchestra there's not a lot of room for playing freestyle is there? To let any member 'busk it' or do their own thing will have interesting consequences - if you don't believe me, check the video…

For an orchestra to be successful, and to fulfil the purpose they were brought together for, they need to be united in the way they play. In Ephesians so far we've seen that Paul thought that unity was really important for Churches too, and we see it again here in chapter 4.

So what kind of behaviour does unity inspire in a Church? Paul tells us in verses 1-3:

Firstly, to maintain unity we need humility, recognising that none of us can do anything to earn or deserve the skills, abilities or resources God has given us. We  are part of the church through the invitation and work of God alone, and realising that means we will be determined to live a life that  is similarly humble, loving and sacrificial to  others. There's no place for pride or superiority as far as unity is concerned.

Secondly, we need to be gentle. The word Paul uses here means being morally strong without being overbearing. Helping others, encouraging them, guiding them, helping the less mature believers, lovingly correcting those who are in error. If you want to see someone who did this 'gently', look at Jesus - he was morally strong and swift to correct his followers and others, but he also cared, showing great patience and love. Are we better at the morally strong bit than the caring? If so we need to work harder at grasping the essence of gentleness.

Thirdly, we're to be patient and bear with one another. Patience is about taking a long term view of our brothers and sisters, bearing with them, because we love them and because Christ loves them. It’s recognising that we are all a work in progress. No believer this side of Christ’s return is perfect. We will all say things that can end up hurting each other. We will get things wrong. We all have our blind spots. From time to time we hurt each other and we need to stop holding on to those hurts. Again, Jesus sets the example - are we as good at bearing with one another as Christ is in bearing with us?

God desires for us to be a united people. It’s what he saved us for. It’s his overarching purpose for us. But it takes effort to maintain the unity Christ died to create. If that wasn’t the case then we wouldn’t need Eph 4:1-6. It’s why Paul encourages in v3 to make every effort.

Unity is not an optional extra in church life. It should be at the core of what a church is. It should be part of our DNA. It’s what the world should see as they look at us. It’s the goal of our salvation. 

It is what Jesus died to achieve.

And when we're not unified, we're like the bad orchestra – we’re making the awful noise, we’re not doing what we were brought together to do, and we're dishonouring to God.  

So consider the behaviours of a united Church, the basis for our unity, and think about how great we can sound if we play our part and work together for God.

 

What's your big question this Christmas?

The Price of Unity

This month we remembered the fall of the Berlin Wall. Back on the 9th November 1989
the wall, a symbol of the great divide that separated, physically and ideologically, the people of East and West Germany, was broken and the people were united as one nation.

Thanks to YouTube we can look back at the wall being broken down, and enjoy(!) David Hasselhoff taking us on a whistle-stop tour of what it meant for the German people. Thanks to the Bible we can look back even further to see another great barrier that was broken down in the name of unity, and the enormous price that was paid to secure it. Our guide, rather than The Hoff, is the Apostle Paul.

In Ephesians 2, Paul asks us remember what we were. The original recipients of this letter were about as divided as they could be. The Jews had a fantastic heritage as God's chosen people with the hope of a glorious inheritance and a visible physical sign that they were part of that special community. The Gentiles had none of that. Half of the Church felt superior, the other half inferior. But Paul is keen to remind them that the barrier, the "dividing wall of hostility", has been destroyed. What's made the change? What's the great leveller in the Church of 2000 years ago with the same power to unite us as one today?

Jesus' death on the cross. There is no other way - we all need it as much as each other - we're powerless to save ourselves.

The cross deals with everything that keeps us apart from God, and apart from each other. Our unity is precious - it cost the blood of Jesus to secure it, and we need to treasure it, promote it, and protect it.

Deep down, Paul needed to write to the Ephesians because they hadn't quite grasped this. The message of unity hadn't quite embedded itself in the Church. Do we grasp this in the Church today, or are we just as guilty of harbouring attitudes of superiority and inferiority?

The Temple in Jerusalem was a glorious place where the best of everything was used and displayed. Paul says this is what we are today, as the Church that's built on the blood of Christ and nothing else. We have everything we need to be the people God wants us to be.

In Christ we have peace with God and each other. Let's not create barriers and division in the way we behave towards one another. Let's unite to be the people of God, where his glory dwells, and shines out to the world.

Face the fear and act in faith

Some choices in life appear easier than others. When we're faced with a jump into the unknown it's only natural that there's an element of fear.

Becoming a Christian is like that too. Accepting Jesus as Saviour and Lord is actually pretty simple, but there's no denying it's an act of faith.

 

If you're a Christian, you might be wondering exactly what it is that's happened to you. Maybe you've found this blog because someone you know has become a Christian and you are wondering what on earth is going on with them. Perhaps you're standing on the edge, about to take that leap of faith, and you're wondering what will happen to you if you leap.

 

In Ephesians 2, Paul tries to tell us a bit more about the unknown.

 

We find out what we're like:

•  We're 'dead in transgressions'. We fall short of the mark, and to be out of step with our creator makes us as good as dead.
• We're also dominated. None of us can claim to be completely free of influence, and Paul warns us that we're all followers - we need to be aware of who or what we're following.
• We're destined for destruction. God's wrath is right and fair, and entirely predictable. It's a uncompromising refusal to accept sin and evil.

This is us, but God...

 

The good news, or gospel, is that while that might be what we were like, we've been transformed. v5-6 - God made us alive in Christ. Paul writes that we have been saved. Theologically, we were saved before the beginning of time, because God has chosen us. Logically, we were saved when Jesus breathed his last and said "it is finished". Experientially we were saved when we received the Holy Spirit.

 

Whether you want to think about salvation theologically, logically or experientially, there's no doubt in Ephesians 2 it's absolutely a work of God - not of us. He's saved us because he loves us (v4-5) and is merciful in not giving us what we deserve.

 

Still teetering on the brink?

 

Becoming a Christian, being saved, is all from God and not something we can earn or deserve.

 

So in the words of Van Halen, might as well jump.

 

 

 

Half-hearted Discipleship

A depressingly familiar problem

On Sunday morning, during a break from our studies in Ephesians, we looked at the first two chapters from the book of Judges, back in the Old Testament.  Judges looks at the events that unfolded as the Israelites got to grips with living in the Promised Land and the other peoples who dwelt in the area.

Sadly we saw that the Israelites are much like us - half hearted disciples, all too easily turning away from God to chase after the tempting attractions of the world around us.  We identified 3 ways in which they (and we) are half-hearted:

(1) They’re Crisis-driven. Most of the time they’re content doing their own thing, and God only gets a look-in when things go wrong.  Even then, normal service is resumed as soon as the crisis passes.  You can’t grow as a Christian if you’re crisis-driven.

 

(2) They’re people of compromise, content to follow God up to a point, but after that choosing to do things their own way, thinking it makes more sense.   All too often, compromise is done out of fear of the reactions of other people.

 

(3) They’re short-sighted.  Instead of teaching their children and new believers about what it means to be God’s people, they neglected their spiritual legacy.  As a result, the next generation fell away into disaster.

 

All in all, it was quite uncomfortable to see how closely we resemble the Israelites at times.

 

But if there is one thing more powerful in Judges 1 and 2 than the foolishness of the Israelites, it’s God’s mercy towards his people.  Again and again he moves to help them, giving them every chance to embrace him as they should, live with him as they should, receive the blessings and joys that he longs to give them.

 

Will we do that, or will we keep up our half-hearted lives of discipleship: crisis-driven, compromising and short-sighted?  And miss out on so very much?

 

 

You had me at hello.

The Greeting - To whom it may concern

The words 'grace and peace' in Ephesians 1:2 might feel like the equivalent to today's ‘Dear . . . .’, but with Paul's words here Spirit inspired, and very quickly bring us to the heart of this letter.

Grace is God's free saving initiative. Peace is what God has taken the initiative to do.

God in grace takes the initiative to build his new community, by bringing to himself those who are
totally incompatible with him. Have you experienced God’s grace?

The peace of God is knowing we are now compatible with God. A peace from the guilt of sin, a peace from the anxiety of the future, and a peace from the righteous wrath of God, a peace from everlasting separation from the love and favour of God. Do you know peace with God?

If not hear these words of Jesus from Matthew 11:28-30:

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’