What is your idea of what a Christian should be like? I did a Google search using those words the other day and came with the most unbelievable site I think I have ever seen.
I won’t mention the name of the church but the page that came up was entitled: "How does God spot a Christian?" I thought - this should be good, talking about Christian character and having the Holy Spirit live His life through yours, etc.
But I want to read you parts of the quiz that followed:
(By the way - the byline of this church is: "the largest, most powerful assembly of worthwhile people to ever exist - the unsaved are not welcome.")
The site says: "The Bible teaches us that external appearances are VERY important to God. We must use extreme caution while grooming ourselves or God might not even acknowledge us! What is a True Christian? supposed to look like in order for God to be able to spot him?"
(read questions from the survey)
Suffice it to say that I don’t think that’s what God looks for - in fact:
1 Samuel 16:7 Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
So - how does God spot a Christian heart? Paul gives us some clues of things God is working into our lives, and out of our lives. The first 16 verses of this chapter can be summed up in three statements:
Live in humbleness, act in love
Be prepared to be used
Grow up!
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
I’m stuck under house arrest - Paul says - but you should "get out there!"
"Live a life" is literally in Greek: walk. Our life is not a sprint for Jesus - it is a marathon (sprinters tire easily and can only run short distances - you need to get set for the long haul - going slowly but surely forward)
"Worthy of the calling" Think about the kind of holy and vital life that exists with God - a life He invited you to enter in to - that’s the kind of life we are to lead - there is only one problem - its impossible for us to do it on our own - so as we saw in the first three chapters - God is doing it for us, and what we see in the first half of this chapter is the what of what He is doing.
2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Five characteristics of the alive Christian are described here. Paul starts them out by saying: Be completely? (all, any, thoroughly)
Humble: Neil Anderson in his book The Bondage Breaker says humility is "confidence properly placed." It is like meekness, which Anderson defines as "great strength under great control". Humility means we know the source of our strength - Jesus Christ. Humility is not self deprecation - putting ourselves down - but it is lifting Him up. We all then are of equal weight with each other - from Billy Graham down to the newest Christian.
Gentleness or meekness - bridled strength. Since we are all equal, "don’t be hard on one another" is one way to translate that idea.
Patient: "Being willing to wait." Don’t jump up so quick when things or people don’t conform to your expectations. God teaches us that often through trials: James 1: "The testing of your faith develops perseverance."
Verse 3 is very important for body life. So often the church picks each other apart, hurt feelings lead to divisions and major problems - Paul says "make every effort." This is the outworking of the characteristics the Spirit builds in us in verse 2. Unified is the fourth characteristic.
Verse 4 & 5 - We need to recognize the oneness we are a part of goes right to the top - two sets of three "ones" followed by a final "one" in the Father. This is why we should want to preserve this unity. Our problem is we sometimes make no effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit. It’s not robots God wants - "yes sir, no sir!" but it’s people who chose to put themselves aside for the good of others. So the final characteristic is selflessness.
So that’s how we are all joined - but we are also all different - with different missions and responsibilities and gifts - each one of us a vital part of building the whole.
This isn’t so hard when everyone is nicey nicey - but how do you maintain peace with those that don’t like you? It takes "effort" as Paul says.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:
"When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men."
This is "equipping grace" not saving grace. Jesus "apportions" or gives out to each of us just what we need to step out.
The quotation is from Psalm 68:18 and though not a literal quotation - it may be that Paul, who knew the Psalms by heart - may have amplified the true intention of the Psalm ("you received gifts from men.")
9 (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
Essentially this is reflected well in The Message rendering:
Eph 4:9-11 (The Message)
9 It’s true, is it not, that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? 10 And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, 11 filled earth with his gifts.
So what is this equipping?
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 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.
It is not an exhaustive list - but these in particular were given to the church
Apostles: having seen the risen Christ and personally commissioned by Him
Prophets: truth tellers
Evangelists: visited non Christian homes (these first three acted in general to spread the gospel
Pastor/Teachers - work in individual local churches.
While these roles are important - what is the purpose? "to prepare God’s people."
This verse is one of the founding principal of Living Waters
The Apostles helped form the church and passed on the gospel to us, prophets and evangelists help it spread, and pastors/teachers teach us from God’s truth in order to do five things:
Build up the body (until):
Unity in the faith
Knowledge of Jesus
Mature (and then we can)
Attain to the full measure
How does this happen? We share the truth of God’s Word, encouraging you to grow in your faith and let God have more and more control of your life - then as you mature and pray, God reveals your part in the body, and as you step out then you mature more and more - and its important because like an animals in the wild hunt for the young and weak - we need to be strong to take from the enemy’s kingdom the lost!
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
It’s kind of a scary picture - a small infant out on the ocean
Getting grounded in your faith keeps every new idea from swaying you
That’s why we study the Word of God verse by verse
Men are "cunning and crafty" - I know several cults who specifically train their people to prey on weak Christians who don’t know doctrine and are not mature
Another way to translate is "the tricks they invent" - there are people out there trying to trick you into leaving the gospel!
The best defense is to learn the Word - and the truth!
15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
So as all of us learn and reinforce the truth we weaken the enemy and strengthen the church (see why good teaching in the truth of the Word is so important?)
I love verse 16:
We do our work - but the being held together and the growing comes "from Him"
I have a weak knee - from an old football injury (no, really). Sometimes when I move a certain way it caves in. Its just a little tendon - yet it can cause me great problems. We are that in the body of Christ - you may feel like the smallest most insignificant part, not worth anything - so why worry about your own part in the body or your own walk with Christ. But all of us contribute. If one of us is having problems or immature - it affects the body as a whole.
Conclusions
1. Be at peace with one another
2. So that we can be in a position to receive our marching orders from Jesus
3. Working to find our place in the body, equipped and mature
4. So that the world will not weaken the church
5. Instead it matures to become more like Jesus.
This is important for understanding the rest of the chapter, which talks about not living any more like the Gentiles (like the world), in thought, word, and deed.
So what should you do in response to this?
1. Realize you are part of a larger organism - not a Lone Ranger - others depend on you to bring stability and growth to the body, so pitch in and take responsibility for your actions
2. Make it your aim to mature spiritually and find activities God wants you to do. I’m not saying wait until you have a double doctorate and a ThD beforehand - it might be as simple as visiting a sick person and taking them some soup!
For more Bible studies and an audio copy of this message, please visit:
www.CalvaryChapelNewberg.org.
