Ephesians 4:1-16 – Can I Believe in the Church?
I’m told that in a museum in Greenwich Village, Detroit, MI, there is a huge steam locomotive. Beside this complicated machine, there is a sign showing boiler pressure, size, the number of wheels, horsepower, lengths, weight and so on. The bottom line indicates that 96% of the power generated was used to move the locomotive, and only 4% was left to pull the load. Some churches are like that. It takes so much energy to keep the people within happy and “blessed”, that there’s no energy left to reach out to others.
Charles Dickens began his book A Tale of Two Cities with these words: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Could that be said about the church? You certainly don’t have to look far to see sickness in the church. The church is seduced by power, pride, and popularity. The majority of church -goers don’t tithe 10%, even 5%. We idolize sports and music, and the famous people involved in them. We cling to tradition out of fear and lack of faith. We are indifferent to people’s needs, we cater to please ourselves or others. We complain and criticize. We lack passion and compassion. We want to be blessed, but refuse to be a blessing to others.
And yet, some are faithful. Some tithe, even above and beyond the expected 10%. The church in places around the world takes the Great Commandment and the Great Commission seriously. That is, love God totally, love your neighbor, and go make followers of Christ. Some churches pray as if it all really depend on God. Some churches are obedient to the Holy Spirit in all things.
You see, the church is bigger than what you see around you. The Bible says the church is a radiant bride, preparing to meet her Lord. Sometimes she is less than sparkling, but she is still the church. And you are part of it. Tell me, do you add to, or subtract from the church’s radiance? Let me ask you this… if everybody in this church gave like you, attended like you, prayed like you, served like you, worshipped like you, or complained like you, what would this place be like?
Today, we’ll take just a moment to look at the church as we continue on in our series through the Apostles’ Creed. We read the phrase: “I believe in the church.” Do we? Do you? Is the church worth believing in? Let’s read what God says about the church. Paul paints a picture of what the church is supposed to be in Ephesians 4. The question is, are we helping or hindering this picture from becoming reality? Ephesians 4:1-16.
This passage gives us an idea of what God wants the church to do and be. V11 tells us that the Holy Spirit gave special abilities and gifts to everyone, so that, v12, we would all serve God in our own ways. That’s God’s plan: that we all serve Him, not just show up for Him. V13 tells us that He wants us to be unified and mature in Him.
V15 tells us that God wants us to grow up to be like Him. And v16 tells us that we are joined to each other. We are to hold each other strong. We are to grow and we are to build each other up. This only happens when each part does its part. Makes me think that perhaps coming to church isn’t about you. Maybe you rob us of a blessing when you’re not here.
We go back to the first part of the chapter. Paul tells us to live a life worthy of what God called us to. That is, be who you really are. God called you to be humble and gentle; do it! God called you to be patient; do it! God called you to be unified, not to stir up trouble; be unified! Be who God called you to be!
You see, God used different images to portray different jobs that the church is to do. And folks, if it’s the church’s job, who is the church? Is it this building? Is it the bunch of folks down the road? Is it the churches with a few hundred in attendance, even a few thousand? Is it the people overseas? No, it’s us. We are the church. If you call Jesus Lord, if He has forgiven you, you are part of the church. So what God says about the church, He says about you. What He says to the church, He says to you. God’s purposes for the church are God’s purposes for your life. And God’s description of the church is His description of you.
So what did He call the church to be and do? Of course we use the word RIVER to describe God’s purposes for us here. We believe that God has called us to Reflect God’s love to others, Increase in the knowledge and image of Christ, Value Christ highly thru worship, Encourage others thru relationships, and Reach out to others thru service. Taking this word RIVER, we’ll look at God’s purposes for the church. And we’ll match each purpose with an image from the NT of what the church is to be. Ready? Let’s go.
1) R - Reflect God’s love to others. This comes form the Great Commission, where Jesus told us to go and make disciples. He told us to bring lost people to Him. He told us to help others find the forgiveness and love that flow from the heartbeat of God. He told us to march like an army, determined and strong, making a difference in our world, bringing light into the darkness. He told us to put on all His armor because we’re in a battle. He told us to use the weapon of prayer, and the weapon of the Word, the Bible. And yet, so many are on the sidelines, avoiding non-Christians as much as possible, afraid of getting dirty. Folks, we are not called to live in a fortress, but to go where people are. These are marching orders for the church, for you and me. Is there even one way for you to show love to someone today? A phone call, a visit, an errand, a kind word? Will you be who God called you to be?
2) I - Increase in the knowledge and image of Christ. This also comes from the Great Commission in Matthew 28, when Christ told us to teach new Christians to obey Him. It’s not enough to be saved. God calls us on a journey of becoming more like Him. To grow (Eph.4:15-16) and mature (v13) are God’s plan for you. We expose ourselves to preaching and teaching and personal study. That’s like sticking dynamite into a rock. Then God lights the fuse, making the truth come alive. And our lives are changed. God calls us to be a flock, a group of sheep needing a leader to guide us to where we should be. Are you following God? Are you letting Him lead you? Or are you holding out on some issue, not letting Him deal with it? Let Him teach you, show you, guide you, lead you.
3) V - Value Christ highly thru worship. This describes how we respect and honor Him, how much He means to us. Jesus told us in the Great Commandment in Matthew 22 to love God with all that’s in us. This is praying, worshipping. This is putting Him first in our time, talents and treasures. God calls us the Bride of Christ, getting ready to meet our greatest love, completely faithful to Him for who He is and what He’s done for us. Is He your first love? Are you completely committed to Him and Him only?
4) E - Encourage others thru relationships. Jesus told us to baptize the disciples we make. This refers to helping them find their place and identity with other Christians. It’s about keeping them once we find them. It’s about helping others to be part of His family, for “family” is what we are called. We are all I this together. We are all important. We are to treat other believers better than we treat our own biological family, because the bond is with the blood of the eternal covenant. Folks, if we’re going to spend eternity with other Christians, we may as well start with the here and now.
5) R - Reach out to others thru service. Serving others flows from a love for them. Christ told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. We were each made to serve others, to take part in our community and in our church. That is why we are here. Each part doing its work. Tell me, are you serving Him? Do you set time aside to do a ministry, a service, to your community or church? If not, perhaps you are part of the reason people have such a hard time believing in the church.
On February 15 of this year, the Exploits River overflowed its banks and flooded the town of Badger, Newfoundland. The temperature quickly dropped to –30C, -22F, and encased much of the town, twisting and buckling walls and foundations. All of the town’s 906 residents were evacuated. And many people, needing places to stay, ended up in churches – 280 of the 906, about a 1/3 of them. Sleeping in classrooms and any other available room, with kitchen workers preparing 3 meals a day. Now, during that time, most regular programs of the church like kids club, prayer meeting, youth and so on were put on hold. But as one of the pastors involved said, “We’ve stopped coming to church, and started being the church.”
Are you coming to church, or are you being the church?
