LIFE TOGETHER Pastor Robert Simmons February 19, 2017 Ephesians 4:1-16 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 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. 7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it [a] says: When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people. [b] 9 (What does he ascended mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions [c]? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his 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. 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 people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of 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. During the months of January and February, we have been considering some of the basic tenets of the Reformed Faith as spelled out by our denomination. Even our denominational name is intended to take us back to what constitutes original Presbyterianism. Originally the name was Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, but there is a very fine Christian denomination called the Evangelical Covenant Church and they asked our founders to please rearrange the name so that people would not confuse the two denominations. So the name was officially changed to Covenant Order of LIFE TOGETHER (#5 in the Series: A Firm Foundation: Essentials of the Reformed Faith ) 2.19.17 Page 1
Evangelical Presbyterians, and since Presbyterians love initials that are used for everything, the letters remain ECO since part of the idea was to be a spiritual eco-system to build flourishing churches. WHAT S IN A NAME: ECO? Now, everything in our name is important to Reformed people: Covenant reminds us that we are in a covenant relationship with God and with one another. This theological concept was so important in the early days of the Presbyterian movement that we were often identified as Covenanters. Order is pretty important to Presbyterians because we have always stressed that things should be done decently and in order. Evangelical comes from the Greek word for Gospel and reveals that we are gospel-centered people; which is another way of saying we are Christ-centered people. Presbyterians denotes where we align ourselves within the wider body of Christ. This morning I want us to think about what it means to live in covenant with God and one another, and ask the question: what does life in the Covenant Community look like? CHURCH CAN BE MESSY I read of a pastor in a large, prestigious Anglican Church in London, England, who preached a sermon on the subject The Church is Messy, But Welcome to the Club. We may chuckle at that designation or we may recoil at the idea of the church being messy, but the fact of the matter is that where two or three are gathered together someone is going to fail and frustrate, even offend, others. And that is because the church on earth consists of sinners who are in process but they haven t arrived yet. Someone penned this little ditty: To live above with saints we love, Oh that will be glory. But to live below with saints we know, well, that is a different story. And we laugh at that, and it is funny, but it points out the challenge to all of us. We have all discovered that the closer we get to some people the harder it is to get along with them and sometimes we are that person. Now, to be sure, this is not an excuse to go on hurting each other, but it is a recognition that even the Church is tainted and tinged with broken, sinful people trying to find their way. And, just in case you are wondering, pastors, are just as broken as everyone else. For this reason, we Presbyterians, at the very beginning of our worship services, place the call to and prayer of confession. We know, or should know, that we regularly need to cleanse ourselves from sin against God and one another so that our worship and life together can proceed with fewer distractions and disruptions. We never get it perfectly, but when we fail we LIFE TOGETHER (#5 in the Series: A Firm Foundation: Essentials of the Reformed Faith ) 2.19.17 Page 2
know to turn in repentance to one another and to our Lord. Every week we pray as Jesus taught us: forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us and we mean it, or at least should. WHAT DOES LIFE IN THE COVENANT COMMUNITY LOOK LIKE? Now, let s return to our question: What does life in the Covenant Community look like? Paul will answer that question for us in Ephesians 4:1-16. I would like us to notice four major points that Paul makes. 1. Paul reminds us: we have been called to a new life and we are to live worthy of that calling v.1-2. And then Paul outlines the character traits of this new life: We are to be completely humble and gentle. We are to be patient (with God and with one another). We are to bear with one another in love (and that isn t easy). When we look at that list we know that we are being reminded that we are called to become more and more like Jesus. Jesus perfectly embodies each and all of these qualities. Are we striving to live worthy of the designation of a Christian? Are we trying to live up to what it means to be a follower of Christ? That is our calling as members of the Covenant Community. 2. Next, Paul reminds us that we have been gifted to serve the Lord v. 7, 11-13. We have all been graced as Christ has determined is best for us. A few weeks ago we noticed that Christ is the one who has chosen us for salvation and now today we see that it is Christ who has chosen how we can best serve him. Notice carefully how Paul informs us that Christ has blessed the Church with apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors-teachers for the purpose of four things. a. That we might be equipped to serve God v.12. If we are part of the Covenant Community and are not being equipped to serve God in the way he has chosen us to serve him, then the Church has failed us, or we aren t paying attention. b. That we might be built up v. 12. To be built up is to be strengthened and made stable and strong. If the Church is not helping to establish you in your covenant relationships with God and others, then the Church is failing us, or we aren t paying attention. c. That we might reach unity in the faith v. 13. I will say more about unity in just a moment, so for now, put that idea on the back burner. d. That we might become mature, striving for the whole measure of the fullness of Christ in our life v. 13 The Church has a LIFE TOGETHER (#5 in the Series: A Firm Foundation: Essentials of the Reformed Faith ) 2.19.17 Page 3
responsibility to assist you to grow deeper and become mature in your faith. You have an important part to play, but the Church is to come along beside you and encourage and assist you. 3. We have been charged with maintaining the unity of the Spirit v. 3. Pay attention to the way Paul words this: make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. A couple of important observations are necessary and we will work backward with this verse. First, this unity that we enjoy is provided by the Holy Spirit. It is not created by you and me. It is not merely human unity because this kind of unity doesn t come naturally to us. It is the unity of the Spirit and that will become clearer in just a moment. The second observation is that maintaining this unity requires effort on each of our part. We actually have to work at this and it doesn t come easily. But it is of critical importance so we must continue to work at it. We cannot give up on this. With those two observations in mind, notice the seven unities that the Spirit has given to us v.4-6: a. We are all members of the same body (the Body of Christ). b. We are all partakers of the same Spirit. c. We all share in the same hope. d. We all follow the same Lord. e. We all embrace the same Faith. f. We all experience the same baptism. g. We all submit to the same God and Father (of all Christians). 4. We have a responsibility to help one another reach maturity. As you share how God is working in your life, and when you share some of your spiritual practices, we all are blessed and encouraged to open more and more of our lives to Christ. Paul tells us what this maturity will look like in our lives: a. We will strive to reach the fullness of Christ v. 13 b. We will become stable in the faith and not tossed about v. 14 c. We will love the truth and will lovingly share it with others v. 15 d. We will all seek to do our part to make the Covenant Community stronger and better v. 16 Conclusion LIFE TOGETHER (#5 in the Series: A Firm Foundation: Essentials of the Reformed Faith ) 2.19.17 Page 4
We are God s covenant people. We live together in a covenant community. It isn t always easy or fun, but it is God s call to us. The alternative is to try and go it alone which will lead to disaster. There is no such thing as Lone Ranger Christians. When we believe in Jesus Christ and follow him, he places us in his family and calls us to support and help one another. Some days we bless and encourage one another and some days we bruise and wound one another. But being part of the covenant community is well worth the effort because it is God s covenant community. LIFE TOGETHER (#5 in the Series: A Firm Foundation: Essentials of the Reformed Faith ) 2.19.17 Page 5