Tag: church

Last week we talked about the prayer of Paul for the Ephesians, that they would be strengthened in their faith and better know the love of God. Today, we look at what Paul specifically called the Ephesians to do and be.

It begins with a “therefore,” which calls back to all the context Paul created in chapters 1-3.

“Walk in a manner worthy of the grace you received,” Paul urges – though we know that we are not ourselves worthy of that grace, but our walk should put effort towards being so.

Paul uses forms of the word “call” numerous times in this passage – and that word is also the root of the Greek word for “church” – “the called out ones.”

The word walk here means “going about” suggesting everyday life, going here and there. The word worthy here means either “of equal weight” or corresponding appropriately.

So how do we do this, walk in a worthy manner? Paul spells it out in the next verse: humility, gentleness and patience. Note that there is nothing here about agreeing with each other – in some ways, that would actually be easier.

Humility is considering others before ourselves, following in the way of Christ in how he went to the cross for us. It also means recognizing that we are not as smart, holy or strong as we think we are. We aren’t even as humble as we think we are.

Gentleness is being mild and temperate, living in a way that only uses anger when and where appropriate.

Patience is “long suffering” with a long view of birth the world around us and even our own desires. It ties perhaps the most directly to the next phrase “bearing with one another.” That’s not something we have to worry about doing if there was nothing to bear with, but in real life something always comes up.

We will always have disagreements and conflicts and frustrations with each other. When we do, though, we are called to approach each other in a way that builds each other up – the Greek word suggests holding someone up physically.

That bearing up is itself supposed to be a reflection of our eagerness to maintain our unity in the spirit. This narrows our unity – we can’t have unity in the spirit with those who do not have the same spirit.

What does that unity mean? We are united in one body, one spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism – but that does not mean we are all in agreement over the secondary issues of the faith.

We are unified in one church, one body of Christ across all racial, ethnic, linguistic even denominational lines. There is one spirit that ministers to all of us. There is one Lord we all serve. There is one baptism, the baptism of the heart that is the salvation offered by that Lord who gave up his life for us.

We should be praying for this sort of unity, and for the humility, gentleness and patience, because it is through this unity that we stand against the powers and principalities, both our spiritual and physical enemies. Because it is beautiful to God. In Psalm 133 we read…

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!

It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

Psalm 133

Unity is the blessing of God, while disunity is the goal of the devil. Unity will build us corporately up into a mighty force for God in our community and world, while disunity will destroy our church. Let us seek it diligently.

– Sermon Notes, Bart Hodgson, Seed Church, Lynnwood WA, October 18, 2020

Paul here is taking about the church, moving from a metaphor of the family of God, into a metaphor of a building, and the construction of a building.

But to understand what Paul is saying hehe, it is important to understand the methods of construction that Paul is referencing, which are different than those that are used today. He is using the language of stonecutters and masons. The terms he is using, “joined” and “built together” are trade terms that are not used elsewhere in the bible.

“Joined” in particular means to fit or pile together – the stones had to be worked significantly, by hand, to make them as smooth as possible, with as much surface area as possible between any two stones.

The “cornerstone” also is a specific thing, not the decorative stones you’ll see today, but the first stone of a foundation – every stone placed afterwards are placed in alignment with the cornerstone. Jesus is called a cornerstone also in 1 Peter, which quotes the prophecy of Isaiah 28. Isaiah is warning those who had rejected his own teaching that God was going to play a stone that they would have to come in alignment with. God goes on to say, “And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.” In 1 Peter, Peter warns that, for those who reject him that cornerstone will be a “stone of stumbling.”

Paul calls the structure being built a temple, or a “naos”. In his letter to the Corinthians, he also refers to the church, corporately, as a temple. As we gather in Christ’s name to worship him and hear his word, that itself is a holy place, separate from the walls and floors and ceiling of the actual church.

God is in a building process here at Seed. Just as if we were building a new sanctuary or remodeling a parsonage, we worked need everyone involved, so too do we all need to be involved in this building process. God is the one who builds the church, but he does it through people like Paul, like Lydia, like the Ephesian jailer. Elsewhere, Paul call us all to “build with care” upon the foundation he has given us.

To do that, first we must work internally to conform to the alignment of the cornerstone. That is an individual task but it prepares us for the next, corporate tasks. We must “grow together” by letting the prophets and apostles speak into our lives, building connections and settling us into the wall like well-hewn rocks. And third, to serve one another, both by calling people into the body and by doing the practical work of teaching, operations and administration.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians, notes that all the gifts God gives us, are there for the building up of God’s church. What is God calling you to do to build up His church?

-Sermon Notes, Bart Hodgson, Seed Church, Lynnwood WA, September 20, 2020