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The Church as God’s Chosen Means of
Fulfilling His Eternal Purpose Ephesians 4:7-16 By Massimo Lorenzini Have you met the Tate family? Every church seems to have some members of the Tate family. Perhaps you have met some of them. There
is old man Dic-Tate who wants to run everything, while Uncle Ro-Tate tries to
change everything. There's sister Agi-Tate who stirs up plenty of trouble, with
help from her husband, Irri-Tate. Whenever
new projects are suggested, Hesi-Tate and his wife, Vege-Tate, want to wait
until next year. Then there is Aunt Imi-Tate, who wants our church to be like
all the others. Devas-Tate provides the voice of doom, while Poten-Tate wants
to be a big shot. Theme of Ephesians: The mystery of God’s eternal purpose was hidden in ages past, but is now revealed in and through the church. A mystery is a previously unrevealed truth related to God’s redemptive plan. 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him (Eph 1:9-10).[1] 1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles-- 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. 8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him (Eph 3:1-12). Ephesians helps us answer questions surrounding our identity and purpose in Christ: What has God done for me? Who am I in Christ? What is my aim? What should I be doing as a disciple of Christ? I. God has given us participation in His eternal purpose, Is our ultimate purpose worship or evangelism? John Piper said, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church, worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When people from all nations are before the throne, missions ends. Missions is a temporary necessity, but worship is eternal.” And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Rev 5:9). The purpose of the Great Commission is to be the means of gathering worshippers together in Christ to the praise of the Father’s glory. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory (Eph 1:3-14).
II. God has given us the structure for fulfilling His
eternal purpose. “The local church exists as God’s chosen vehicle for aiding believers in the fulfillment of the Great Commission.” And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Matt 16:18). Jesus, the King, is building His church on the confession of faith that He is the Savior-King. The church of King Jesus is manifestation of the kingdom of God in the present age. Local churches are really outposts of the kingdom. They are not just religious organizations that exist as one among many communities in the “global village.” No, a church is made up of kingdom citizens who will one day live in the fully-realized and established kingdom of God during the Millenial reign of King Jesus. God the Father has promised to Jesus, the Davidic King, the right to rule the world: “Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall [rule] them with a rod of iron” (Ps 2:8-9b; Cf. Rev 2:26-27). III. God has given us a calling to contribute to His
eternal purpose God’s plan for the growth of the church. 7 But to each one of us grace was
given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says:
9 (Now this, "He ascended"--what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ—16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love (Eph 4:7-16). 4:1 is the key verse. It makes an appeal based on all the blessings in ch. 1-3, and announces the emphasis of ch. 4-6. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called (Eph 4:1). v. 1 “walk” – describes the course of one’s life (cf. 1 John 2:6, “walk even as Jesus walked.”) “calling” – what are we called to? To holiness, service, sonship. “live the kind of life which proves that God has called you” (God’s Word). The apostle Paul details the various ways we are to live out calling in a worthy way in ch. 4-6. 1) In relation to the church (4:2-16). 2) In relation to society (4:17-5:21). 3) In relation to the family (5:22-6:9). 4) In relation to the invisible forces of evil (6:10-20). v. 7 “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.” – spiritual gifts are given to every believer. These are divinely granted capacities for spiritual service. The purpose of spiritual gifts is for mutual edification. These gifts are sovereignly and graciously given to individual members of Christ’s body. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Pet 4:10-11). v. 7 “to each one of us “ – No Christian can rightfully say that he or she has nothing to contribute to the life of the church. v. 8 “When He ascended on high” – This verse is taken from Psalm 68:18. Paul here identifies who the gift-giver is. The One who ascended is Christ because it was He who first descended to earth in His incarnation. Possibly, though not likely, it can refer to descent into the grave or Hades, in other words, the death of Christ, cf. Acts 2:27. v. 9 “lower parts of the earth” – possible meaning is “the parts lower than heaven; that is, the earth.” v. 11 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.” – the gifted men themselves are gifts, not just the gifts given them or the offices they hold. “apostles” and “prophets” – these appear to be limited to the first Christian generation as foundational to the church (cf. 2:20; 3:5). “apostles” – were those who had seen Christ (1 Cor 9:1-2); were witnesses of His resurrection (Acts 1:8, 21-23); and were immediately commissioned by Him to preach (Matt 10:5; Gal 1:1). In a broader sense, others closely associated with the apostles who were directly commissioned by Jesus are also called apostles (Barnabas in Acts 14:4,14; Timothy & Silas in 1 Thess 2:6). “Prophets” – performed a preaching function; they spoke under the direct inspiration of the Spirit of God. Through them, God gave guidance and instruction to the church when there was no written New Testament. After the writing of the NT, the offices of apostle and prophet appear to have been withdrawn. Evangelists and pastor-teachers are needed for every age and so continue to the present. “evangelists” – occurs only three times in the NT: Philip (Acts 21:8); Timothy (2 Tim 4:5); and here. It means “one who announces good news.” This is a special gifting and ability to preach the gospel clearly and effectively to the unconverted, often in an itinerant ministry. It also may be a special enablement to equip others to share their faith as this passage states the function of these gifted me is for the equipping of the saints for their ministry. “pastors and teachers” – signifies one office with a dual function. Note the text reads “some pastors and teacher” rather than “some pastors and some teachers.” When the modifier “some” is used with the conjunction “and” then it applies to both nouns. Rather than being itinerant, the emphasis of the teaching pastor is on shepherding and instructing in a settled ministry. This office is synonymous with bishop/overseer and elder. We find all three terms used together here: 1 The elders [elder] who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd [pastor] the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers [bishop/overseer] (1 Pet 5:1-2a, emphasis added). The pastor-teacher is to give himself to the teaching of the Word of God. He is to present every man perfect in Christ (Col 1:28). They are not to be distracted by other tasks than can be delegated to others (see Acts 6:1-6). Christ’s gift of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers are given for a specific pupose: v. 12 “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry” “equipping” – or perfecting; Gk. “to make fully ready.” Dictionary, “to supply with intellectual, emotional, and spiritual essentials.” “work of ministry” – is whatever role God has for you that either directly or indirectly fulfills the Great Commission. “ministry” means service; to minister means to serve. Every Christian should be “in the ministry.” And what is this work of ministry or serving to achieve? “for the edifying of the body of Christ.” v. 12 “edifying” – building up; growth in maturity. The process is this: 1) The gifted men equip the saints. 2) The saints then serve (using their own gifts, see Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12; 1 Pet 4:10-11). 3) The body is then built up or edified. Every Christian is to contribute to this goal. Am I really
qualified? To: Jesus, son of Joseph From Jordan Management Consultants Dear Sir, Thank you for submitting resumes of the 12 men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; we not only ran the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. It is our opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability. SIMON PETER is unstable and given to fits of temper. ANDREW has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, JAMES AND JOHN, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. THOMAS demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel it is our duty to tell you that MATTHEW has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. JAMES, the son of Alpheus, and THADDEUS definitely have radical leanings, and they registered a high score on the manic depressive scale. SIMON THE ZEALOT, having pronounced terrorist leanings, would blow apart the harmony of the team. One of the candidates however, shows great potential. He is a man of great ability, and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend JUDAS ISCARIOT as your controller and right hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory. We wish you every success in your new venture. Sincerely yours, God doesn’t need your
ability, but your availability. Vance Havner said, Every Christian is commissioned, for every Christian is a missionary. It has been said that the gospel is not merely something to come to church to hear but something to go from the church to tell—and we are all appointed to tell it. It has also been said, “Christianity began as a company of lay witnesses; it has become a professional pulpitism, financed by lay spectators!” Nowadays we hire a church staff to do “full-time Christian work,” and we sit in church on Sunday to watch them do it. Every Christian is meant to be in full-time Christian service . . . There is indeed a special ministry of pastor-teachers and evangelists – but for what? . . . For the perfecting of the saints for their ministry. The Ultimate Goal is the Growth of the Body The Goal Defined, v.
13. vv. 13-16 describe what this goal of building up the body of Christ looks like. v. 13 answers the question, “How long will this continue?” Until we all reach the goal of unity, knowledge, and maturity as measured by Christ Himself. You become like that which you love. We are to come to complete conformity to Christ as the standard of perfection. If there is a breakdown in this process of the gifted men equipping the saints for their ministry, where might the breakdown occur? Either the pastors and evangelists are not adequately teaching and equipping or the believers are not accepting their responsibility to serve one another. The Marks of Maturity,
vv. 14-16. These verses show us the results of attaining the goal of v. 13. 1. Doctrinal Stability, v. 14. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ (Col 2:8). in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:3). “cunning craftiness” = “ingenuity in inventing error” (Goodspeed). 2. Love, v. 15. “speaking the truth” – Can be translated “hold the truth; follow the truth, pursue the truth; live in the truth” Also, “let our lives lovingly express truth in all things—speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly” (Amplified Bible). 3. Service, v. 16. As we draw our life from Christ our head, the body is nourished and strengthened. The body grows as we are “joined and knit together by what every joint supplies.” What are you supplying to the body? Hopefully more than your mere presence. “according to the effective working by which every part does its share” – What is it costing you to worship God? Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver (2 Sam 24:24, emphasis added). True worship is costly worship. Seven Dangers to Guard Against:
No pain, no gain. No sacrifice, no joy. v. 16 “causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” -- the goal to which all of this points. How should you serve God? Wherever a need exists that you can meet; whether that’s a special niche that suits your uniqueness or wherever something just needs to be done. Do you realize that you are citizen of the kingdom of Jesus? Does your life show that you are preparing for life in that kingdom rather than living for this age that will perish? This is what a disciple does. The Need For On-Going Personal Revival
On-going personal revival is necessary to personal evangelism and disciple-making. If you aren’t actively following Christ and experiencing His life in you, then you cannot pass it on to someone else.
· Do you have intimacy with Christ? · Are you walking close to Him day by day? · Are you captivated by the glory of God? · Are you spiritually-minded? · YOU ARE SPIRITUALLY MINDED WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE THINGS OF GOD SPONTANEOUSLY AND WITHOUT EXTERNAL CAUSES. · YOU ARE SPIRITUALLY MINDED WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE THINGS OF GOD MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. · YOU ARE SPIRITUALLY MINDED WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE THINGS OF GOD WITH MORE DELIGHT AND ENJOYMENT THAN ANYTHING ELSE. · Do you regularly go to God in prayer? · In your prayers, do you confess your sins and receive from Him cleansing and imputed righteousness? · Do you preach the gospel to yourself daily? (Acknowledge and confess your sinfulness and find the basis for your forgiveness and acceptance with God by none other than the cross of Christ.) · Do you cast your cares upon Him trusting Him to work on your behalf to mold you into the image of Christ? (God seeks your holiness not just your happiness.) · Do you discipline yourself to grow spiritually? (Resist sinfulness influences, thoughts, and urges, confess and repent from sins committed, make time for daily intake of God’s Word, seek opportunities to serve others.)
If this doesn’t describe your present Christian experience, God wants to change that. Take some time in the coming days to get alone with God and just pour out your heart to Him in adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication (ACTS). Ask Him to change you to become a man after God’s own heart. Tell Him that you want to be a disciple; you want to be a learner and a follower; you want to follow Christ in His Great Commission. Conclusion I.
God has given us participation in His eternal purpose II.
God has given us the structure for fulfilling His eternal
purpose. III.
God has given us a calling to contribute to His eternal
purpose Closing Thought If the book of Acts were still being written, what would it say about you? To know, to do; the Head’s commands, For this the body lives and grows; All speed of feet and skill of hands Is for Him spend, and from Him flows. -- author unknown |
