Ephesians 4:1-16 26.10.14 When trying to describe their team s contrasting fortunes during a match, football managers frequently trot out the line, it was a game of 2 halves! Paul s letter to the Ephesians is a bit like that! That s partly why we had a half time break last week when we looked at 2 Samuel 5. Although Ephesians is one letter, there are 2 distinct halves. The first 3 chapters are all about God s great plan of reconciling rebels to himself and to one another in the church, through the cross, under Christ. The last 3 chapters are all about how we are to live as reconciled rebels in the church, through the cross, under Christ. Chapters 1-3 the new life we ve received. Chapters 4-6 the new lifestyle we live. Now although the 2 nd half of the letter is different in its practical application from the 1 st half, we mustn t disconnect them. Otherwise we turn Christianity into a series of rules and regulations and that s not what it is. It s about what God has done to bring us into his family and what it now means for us to live as members of his family. That s why Paul says 4:1, which is the turning point of the letter Read 4:1. The word for live is literally walk. Paul uses the same word 5 times in the next 2 chapters to emphasise that living as a Christian is not about making a one off decision, but about walking in a particular direction. Paul urges them to walk worthily. And it s striking that he urges them, not as a superior lording it over them, but as a prisoner suffering for them. We saw in chapter 3 that Paul is the Lord s messenger he does have authority. But he is also the Lord s prisoner he has the scars to prove his authority. And it s as a prisoner that Paul urges the Christians in Ephesus to live out the new lives they ve received. And central to this new life in Christ is the church. I ve just joined a tennis club. I like tennis, but one of the things I miss about playing football is being in a team. Well it s been said that Christianity is not an individual sport, but a team game. More like football or rugby than tennis or golf. And that s because, as we ve seen in the 1 st half of Ephesians, Jesus death doesn t just
bring us individually to God, but binds us corporately together in Christ. Which is why in chapter 4, Paul talks about living a life worthy of the calling you have received in the context of the church. When most people talk about church in our culture, they are referring to a building. But in the Bible, church is not a building, an institution, or an event, but a people. A gathering of God s people. That s the meaning of the word church in the Bible. There are a number of different pictures of church in the Bible, and one of the most common is of a body. That is, Christ s body. So the gathering of God s people, make up Christ s body. We saw this in 1:22. We ll see it again in 5:23. So the church, the gathered people of God, are the spiritual body of Christ. And that s important because Paul uses that body image throughout chapter 4 because you can t think about living as a Christian without understanding that you are now living as part of Christ s body. In v12 it s as God s people do works of service that the body of Christ is built up. In v16, it s as all the different parts of the body do their work that the whole body grows. We do, of course, need to be slightly careful in how far we push this picture of the body. A preacher was speaking on this passage once and began pointing at different members of the congregation and saying, some of you are the hands, you do the practical work in our congregation. Some of you are the heart; you re the compassion of our fellowship. And he should really have stopped there. But he continued, some of you are the appendix. We didn t know we had you until you gave us so much trouble! Some of you are the false teeth. Sometimes you re in, other times you re out! And some of you are the tonsils. Frankly we d be better off without you! We can t push the image too far, but we must recognise that to live/walk as a Christian is to live as part of the body of Christ. One body made up of many different parts. That s what we are at King s. And to help us live that out, I want us to think about and do 3 things from these verses. Preserve the unity, prepare for ministry and progress to maturity.
Preserve the unity Have you seen the British Gas advert which shows a family living in a house which is on its own little planet? When something goes wrong with the gas it s as if their whole world has been turned upside down and British gas come and turn it the right way up again. But it s actually a very graphic picture of our world and society. We re all on our own planets, operating our completely individual existences. We seem to be living in very confused times because on one hand we ve never been more connected. We have the internet with email and Facebook, mobile phones with calls and texts, and travel with its speed and availability allows us to connect with people anywhere, anytime. We ve never been more connected. Yet we ve never been more isolated and individualistic. It s as if everyone is living, like the British Gas advert, on their own little planet. But Christianity cannot be lived out like that. Church is not a group of isolated little planets, but one united body joined together in Christ - 4:16. Being joined to Christ means we are one in Him. That s why Paul writes v4-6. Did you spot the repeated word?! One! There is only one Holy Spirit, who has called us into one body of the church, through the one hope of eternal life in Christ. There is only one Lord, Jesus Christ who we encounter through one faith in him and experience by the one baptism of the spirit, that every believer has when they put their trust in Christ. And there is only one God and Father of all, who planned this unity through the gospel and accomplished it by sending His Son. And so, brothers and sisters, we already have unity. We don t have to create it. Our job is v3. If you want to live a life worthy of the calling you have received, preserve the unity. It s worth saying that Paul s focus here is unity within the local church. He is not concerned here with the wider partnership of God s people, such as locally with other churches in Guildford, or regionally with gospel churches in the South East or nationally with other Anglican churches. It s not that we shouldn t partner with other churches or enjoy unity
within other networks but Paul is talking here about relational unity within each local church. That s because whilst the church is spiritually in heaven it is physically expressed in local churches, like ours. We are the body of Christ. And notice that a united body does not mean a uniform body. We don t have to all dress alike or speak alike to preserve the unity. We don t have to all like the same style of music, agree on every single theological point or become part of the same denomination to preserve the unity. We don t have to stop being Chinese or English, rich or poor, male or female. No, the body of Christ is a united body not a uniform body. It s striking isn t it, that instead of achieving unity by making us all the same, God achieves unity by making us all different and giving different gifts to each one of us for the building up of the one body. The question is: how do we preserve the unity we already have in Christ? Well, living out v2 would be a great help Read v2. Notice how all of those things are to do with how we treat others in the body. Being humble means valuing others above yourself. Being gentle, is not about being week, but meek. That is, it s about treating others with tender care. Being patient is about a compassionate long-suffering of the faults of others. That means continuing to love someone who often lets you down, or Paul says at the end of v2, bearing with one another in love. I must confess, if I was asked to describe myself in 3 words, humility, gentleness and patience would not be at the top of the list! But those words were used of the Lord Jesus. He humbled himself to death for our sake. He was utterly powerful and yet beautifully gentle and tender. He was patient with his opponents in the gospels and with us now. So he continues to love even though we mess up time and again. Humble, gentle and patient is what Jesus is like and it s what we re to be like, now that we re in Him. And with the help of His Spirit living within us, we can become more like our saviour. So if we want to maintain the unity we have in Christ here at King s, we must display the family likeness of Christ. I mean, who wouldn t want to be part of a church family where we look to the interests
of others first, not ourselves. Where, we tenderly care for one another in real practical ways. And where, even if I mess up, you are going to be patient with me and love me. Preserve the unity - because that is part of what it means to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. Preserve the unity. Num 2: Prepare for ministry Now we re thinking particularly about v12 here, but before we get to the heart of this point, we need to see how Paul gets there. In v7, Paul moves from talking about the unity of Christ s body to talking about the different gifts that Christ has given within the body. And to make his point, he quotes Psalm 68 with its picture of a conquering King returning from battle with all his captives chained up behind him. And all the plunder he has won from the captives. And as he comes back into his home town he starts handing out the plunder to the people. Read v7-10. See Christ, not only descended to earth and to death on a cross, he also ascended as risen, conquering King. So He is the one who can and does give out gifts to his people. But notice what type of gifts the victorious Christ gives. Not wealth or land, as other conquering kings might have given - but people. People with the responsibility for proclaiming God s word v11. Who are these gifts and why does Christ give them? Well we ve met apostles and prophets earlier in the letter, in 2:20 where we read that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. We also met them in 3:5 where Paul speaks about the mystery of Christ that was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God s holy apostles and prophets. When Paul speaks of apostles and prophets in Ephesians he s referring to those who first received the revelation of the gospel. In other words they are foundational gifts on whose testimony and teaching the church is built. Then there are the evangelists. Those Christ gives to his church throughout history to herald the gospel. And then pastor teachers, which is one role not two as a pastor, pastors by teaching. It s not that a pastor does
the counselling and a teacher does the preaching. Sometimes we hear that a Vicar is a good pastor but not much of a teacher or the other way around. But pastor is actually the word for shepherd and the way a shepherd shepherds the flock is by feeding the flock the words of The Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus. See what all these gifts have in common is that they are all people given the job of proclaiming the word of God. Apostles and prophets did it once for all, evangelists and pastor teachers now teach what they taught. But why does Christ give these gifts to his church? The answer is v12. To prepare God s people for works of service - or more literally, ministry. I don t know what your view of Christian ministry is. Some people think of it rather like a bus. The congregation are the passengers who get on the bus and sit passively in rows of seats, simply enjoying the ride. The Vicar is driving the bus and the only one really doing any work, except perhaps the person who goes around collecting the money! That is the view of Christian ministry in many churches. It is something done to you by the minister. But a better picture of Christian ministry is more like a football stadium! Imagine Wembley Stadium and in the stands are our non Christian friends, family and work colleagues, watching what is happening on the pitch. Playing on the pitch are not the Bishops, Vicars and Curates but you, the congregation. You are the ones living out your lives in front of a watching world. Evangelists and Pastor Teachers, we re like player coaches, whose roles are to stand on the touchline, encouraging and equipping the congregation to play. But here s the issue, we are all involved not just the paid staff. Have a look again at v11-12. Word gifts are a kind of catalyst that lead to the ministry of the whole people of God. Prepare for ministry. This should radically effect our view of ministry and our involvement in the body because it shows us that ministry is not done to you by the Priest in order to make you a comfy passenger. Ministry is done for you by the Pastor in order for you to become a gospel partner. So can I ask you if you think of yourself as a minister? If you re a Christian, you should, because it is as we each do
our works of ministry within the body that the body of Christ is built up. I heard of one church that had a sign outside their building: Pastor Rev Smith. Ministers the whole congregation! And that is exactly right. So what does this look like in practice? What are these works of service or ministry that Chris and I should be preparing you for? Well I take it that these works of service are very broad. For some it will be leading Life Groups or King s Kids. For some it will be speaking with people after a Sunday meeting to make them feel welcome. For others it might be hospitality so you regularly have people round to encourage them. Others might do things more informally, by simply phoning a Christian friend up, going for a coffee and talking about the sermon they heard on Sunday. Others might be devoted prayers, praying regularly for things. Others might have time to help with a crèche so that mum s can study the Bible together. The list is massive! And every Christian is involved. Prepare for ministry. That is what it means to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Finally, number 3 Progress to maturity How is King s Church Guildford going to grow? Not just in number of people, but in depth of maturity. Well it s as Christ gives the gifts of word ministry to his church that His people preserve the unity, prepare for ministry and grow up to maturity. Or as someone once said to me: unity in ministry for maturity. Have a look at v13-14. I take it that none of us wants to be infantile in our faith! It s tragic when you meet someone who has been a Christian for 25 years, but has the spiritual age of a child. We all want to progress to maturity don t we? We all want to know more of the life we ve been called to and to live it out. We re going on a boat to France tomorrow and I hope we re not blown about by the winds in the English Channel. Even worse is to be blown off course spiritually by the latest fad or deceptive teaching that we hear. But you can t have stability, if you re not progressing to maturity. So how do you progress to maturity? Well we ve seen already that it is as evangelists and
pastor teachers equip God s people for works of service that the body of Christ is built. But have a look at v15 as we close, because we all have a part to play again. Read v15. So when you speak to someone after the service and say, I was really struck by v4 the unity we have in Christ do you realise that you are growing them as a disciple of Christ? As you phone a friend in the week and remind them of God s faithfulness, you are helping them progress to maturity? Wouldn t it be lovely if we could be increasingly be marked by speaking the truth in love to one another. That s why we have insights & questions after the talk, so that we can do that. That s why we have things to talk about with one another on the service sheet. That s why Life Groups follow the sermon series, so that we can speak the truth to one another. So although we are united in one body here at King s, we are made up of many members all with a part to play for the good of the body. And together, we live lives worthy of the calling we have received by preserving the unity, preparing for ministry and progressing to maturity.