Being the Church 101 (Eph 4:15-16)

Being the Church 101: Ephesians 4:15-16 [take two] Pray & Intro: It’s interesting to me that sometimes the things we think we are battling the most from the world’s influence on us are not the things we should actually be most worried about. We feel scandalized somehow by the inevitable move of every self-satisfied “successful” society toward increased tolerance, degenerating even to embracing blatantly sinful practices. You would think we would expect this as a given. (Not that I advocate being silent in the public sphere. That’s not what I’m saying.) What I am saying is that some dangers are much nearer and more subtle—like the philosophical acceptance of relativism and individualism. It’s the 2nd one I’m after from our text in Ephesians. Western culture’s “every man for himself” mentality (even those who claim not to espouse it live by it) is a far cry from the Bible’s picture of Christ’s church. We are called to be Christ’s body, a unified, cooperative living organism in which the goal of varied parts is actually the growth and edification of the whole! Can you imagine? “Every body part for himself!”  The disease of individualism is so entrenched in our thinking that I am compelled to tackle Eph. 4:15&16 again to challenge us from Paul’s words to be the church God desires to grow up into Christ TOGETHER. Read Passage, Explain, and Apply: Getting this right means being the church God desires. (I know, I definitely feel the intense pressure of what I just said.) [outline] I. Targeting areas that need work. – You should know that I want to be balanced and fair in my discussions with you about who we are as a church and where we are going. But when it ever sounds like I’m playing the same tune in a given area, it’s deliberate. A. Using the body as a metaphor, or a building (both as Paul does), it’s perfectly reasonable for us to target a weakness when we find it. (Which muscle needs more work? The clearly dominant strong one, or the weak one that has been somewhat neglected? Which wall? The one that is 9 feet thick to drive chariots on, or the one with a crack you can put your hand through?) B. So please don’t hear me being unfair to us at BBC when I talk more about what we need to work on than I do complimenting us for getting the main thing right.  And I mean that. In this context especially, ministry of the Word is absolutely CENTRAL to what equips the saints and builds up the body. And if I were patting us on the back, I could honestly say that I think we do expositional teaching as well as anyone I know (the meaning of the text is the message that we explain and apply). And that is our big fat supporting wall, or our tree-trunk muscular thighs, if you will. C. Instead, please hear my heart of love for our church family when I say the part we need to apply from this isn’t really that side, b/c that’s our strength. We need to apply to ourselves the danger of “attending church” instead of “being the church,” of listening to deep teaching based on sound doctrine straight from the Bible and then allowing ourselves and one another to get caught in the rut of talking rescue missions we don’t actually take. D. And again, I don’t want us to wallow in guilt or shame. We need to be convicted and challenged by the truth of the gospel of grace that Christ is at work in us for his glory and we are privileged to be a part of it! The grace of Christ is the catalyst, the control, and the fuel for us to grow how we need to. (So let’s get after it again.) II. When Paul describes this every-member ministry as the “whole body,” with “each part working properly” to “grow” and “build itself up in love,” it means that the body loses something when you don’t do your part. [like a broken key or a dead note on a piano] A. What happens when you don’t serve? What happens when you don’t teach? What happens when you don’t encourage and challenge? What happens when you don’t express compassion and mercy and comfort? What happens when you don’t give generously? What happens when you don’t witness? What happens when you don’t pray for the salvation of a friend to a church family member? What happens when you don’t lead or administrate? What happens when you don’t share the wisdom and insight that God has given? What happens when you don’t share your conviction and confidence by faith that God will do as he has promised? B. [Attitudes] What happens when we consider ourselves more important than another? Don’t honor one another above ourselves (1 Cor. 12 & Rom. 12)? What happens when we are content to ride the pine and be apathetic about what God is doing and wants to do with us? What happens when we excuse our sin or don’t have a hunger for growing in the Lord? C. By contrast, what happens when we suffer with the one who suffers? (built together in love) And what happens when we honor one of our members? (we rejoice together, 1 Cor. 12:26) What happens when you come along side to help the one in need? What happens when we bathe the truths we confess in love, and when love is the lifeblood of our service and teaching in ministry to one another? (1 Cor. 13:4-8a, 1 Pet. 4:10-11 we grow and we glorify God) What happens when we lead with humility and courage b/c it’s the will of God? What happens when we are constantly rubbing off on each other what God is doing in us by His grace and for His glory? (together we desire holiness) What happens when we hold each other accountable that the “truthing in love” pervades all areas of our lives? (not conformed to this world but transformed by Christ renewing our minds – Rom. 12:2, “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” Eph. 4:13b) D. I’m convinced that Paul is talking about how the body of Christ plays out with real people in real relationships and in real-world situations. – Paul will get practical about “truthing in love” (living the truth in love) in the verses and chapters that follow – how this interdependence and mutual responsibility plays out in our growth toward holiness (putting on the new self) and in our normal real-life relationships (5:22-6:9). III. If we are obedient to the Head, it is not at all like we’re left to our own devices – As Christ is both the Head that leads and the glue that holds us together… and the one who generously supplies/provides (the power and transformation), makes the body grow. A. Following the Head’s leadership: Let’s play Simon says B. The emphasis is definitely on corporate growth to maturity, even while acknowledging that there are individuals (like various parts) who need to themselves be growing in maturity and active in the body for the good of the whole.  By God’s Spirit, Christ gives different grace gifts to each for the purpose of enriching the whole. He gives gifted leaders to ensure clear communication of the gospel and the foundational truths of doctrine that guard the gospel, so that the Word of God forms the basis of equipping for service, keeping us focusing on submitting to the Head. – But individual members must cooperate. (Horton – mayor’s arm) C. God doesn’t need you so that he’ll get all the glory he deserves, but He does want you and did choose you because he desires your whole heart. So Christ wants you to humbly and submissively behave as an indispensible part of his body, the church.  Local churches of true believers suffer when people congregate only with those who have the same passions and gifting as they do and are more geared toward their preferences and so on. What you have to offer to the church needs to be exercised, and it needs to be exercised in love. IV. Don’t be discouraged; be thankful. It is a process that we are being fitted together. It is a process that we are growing up in him.  To unity of faith (the gospel) and knowledge of the one who is Savior and Lord (living in the truth of the gospel). – always attaining to it, b/c there are degrees of unity and degrees of knowledge A. Listening to sermons isn’t enough. Letting a select few do most of the ministry isn’t enough. Conversely, healthy church leadership multiplies the ministries of others instead of monopolizing ministry. B. So, what do you need to do to help us live a life worthy of the calling we’ve received? 1. Grow in a desire for God. Run hard after Jesus to catch the supreme object of our love. (There is no substitute for this.) 2. Forsake individualism and personal liberty and blah blah blah. Instead embrace the community of Christ as a unified living organism of which you are an integral part. 3. Grow in a willingness to be less than perfectly comfortable in order to benefit others. Be willing to be real instead of being concerned that you always come off smelling like spiritual roses.  This goes hand in hand with a humble servant heart. 4. Actively seek ministry to others. [I confess, I aim to literally beat out of us the notion that attending services is the same as being the church.]  The church is a gathering of believers who are being transformed by Christ in ministry to one another and are actively working together to make and mature disciples of Christ. 5. When you’re doing this [see 1-4] (and many of you are), gently motivate others to do as you are doing. – Discipleship is life change toward Christ-likeness in the context of relationships. 6. Admit that as a church we need to grow, and pray for God to bless our renewed desire to work in faithfulness to Him. – We cannot afford the foolishness of trying to do away with everything that has been done. Neither can we be content with things as they are, or with doing some things well. In this sense we must always be reforming, knowing that our demonstration of love through obedience means that Christ is being formed in us. Ethan Holden to share his heart to being a missionary.