When we started the church a few years ago we knocked on people's doors throughout our community, asking a simple question: "If we were going to start a new church in this area, how can the church serve you and the rest of the community?". The overwhelming answer was: "You can serve us best by not starting a church in this area..." Probably at the root of this response there was a fear that a church will bring further division to an already fragmented society. It might even be that some of the respondents were believers who became tired of the church and decided that they would practice their faith on their own.
To some extent Paul speaks to this response in Ephesians 3:1-13. Read it and see if you agree.
Paul starts with the statement that he is a prisoner of Christ for their sake. He was in fact a prisoner of Nero, but Paul says he is a prisoner of Christ because he preached Christ's Gospel not only to the Jewish people (something the Roman empire tolerated), but also to the gentiles - that is everyone else. So, far from further fragmenting society, Paul's Gospel was one of blessing and joy to each and everyone in the Roman empire and in the world. Let me just make a list of these blessings Paul preached:
1. Verse 6: "Through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel,members together of one body, and sharerstogether in the promise in Christ Jesus."
2. Verse 8: He calls this promise "...theunsearchable riches of Christ"
3. Verse 9: In an empire that was driven by the search for wisdom Paul made "...plain to everyone... the manifold wisdom of God..."
4. Verse 12: Where meeting with God was difficult and onerous Paul preached that "...In Christ and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence."
This unity, wisdom and freedom that Paul preached wasn't something he did on his own without the church. No, in verse 10 we see the vehicle of these blessings to the world, our cities and our communities: "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known". That is how the church has been called to serve our communities - to make plain to everyone how in Christ God brings unity, wisdom and freedom to a fragmented, disillusioned and enslaved society.
Where do you fit into all of this? In verse 7 Paul calls himself "...a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power." Isn't that what you long for - a clear calling and purpose to your life - with the power to fulfill it?
Today this 'manifold wisdom of God' is made known to the world by a diverse, worldwide community called the church. We also become servants of the Gospel as we embody it in a community of people that love God, each other and our cities, towns, villages and communities. We don't need a special revelation to give us this knowledge - God has already given it to us in his word. It is as you make a deliberate decision to love God, your fellow believers and your community that you realise that the Holy Spirit has called and empowered you to do this. And being in step with God's Spirit is what makes us alive - enabling us to, like Paul endure severe sufferings and hardship to fulfill this calling and build God's church.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, with the apostle Paul we want to say that we are the least of your people. We too have been persecuting your church - perhaps not by openly imprisoning believers, but more often through our wrong understanding of what the church is and why it exists. We want to confess that your church is not a place we go to to consume what we need, but rather a community we are part of where we join in to serve. We ask that as we serve and love you, our fellow believers and the world that you will empower us to do it as worship to you - the one that laid down his life so that we can live life to the full. Amen
To some extent Paul speaks to this response in Ephesians 3:1-13. Read it and see if you agree.
Paul starts with the statement that he is a prisoner of Christ for their sake. He was in fact a prisoner of Nero, but Paul says he is a prisoner of Christ because he preached Christ's Gospel not only to the Jewish people (something the Roman empire tolerated), but also to the gentiles - that is everyone else. So, far from further fragmenting society, Paul's Gospel was one of blessing and joy to each and everyone in the Roman empire and in the world. Let me just make a list of these blessings Paul preached:
1. Verse 6: "Through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel,members together of one body, and sharerstogether in the promise in Christ Jesus."
2. Verse 8: He calls this promise "...theunsearchable riches of Christ"
3. Verse 9: In an empire that was driven by the search for wisdom Paul made "...plain to everyone... the manifold wisdom of God..."
4. Verse 12: Where meeting with God was difficult and onerous Paul preached that "...In Christ and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence."
This unity, wisdom and freedom that Paul preached wasn't something he did on his own without the church. No, in verse 10 we see the vehicle of these blessings to the world, our cities and our communities: "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known". That is how the church has been called to serve our communities - to make plain to everyone how in Christ God brings unity, wisdom and freedom to a fragmented, disillusioned and enslaved society.
Where do you fit into all of this? In verse 7 Paul calls himself "...a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power." Isn't that what you long for - a clear calling and purpose to your life - with the power to fulfill it?
Today this 'manifold wisdom of God' is made known to the world by a diverse, worldwide community called the church. We also become servants of the Gospel as we embody it in a community of people that love God, each other and our cities, towns, villages and communities. We don't need a special revelation to give us this knowledge - God has already given it to us in his word. It is as you make a deliberate decision to love God, your fellow believers and your community that you realise that the Holy Spirit has called and empowered you to do this. And being in step with God's Spirit is what makes us alive - enabling us to, like Paul endure severe sufferings and hardship to fulfill this calling and build God's church.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, with the apostle Paul we want to say that we are the least of your people. We too have been persecuting your church - perhaps not by openly imprisoning believers, but more often through our wrong understanding of what the church is and why it exists. We want to confess that your church is not a place we go to to consume what we need, but rather a community we are part of where we join in to serve. We ask that as we serve and love you, our fellow believers and the world that you will empower us to do it as worship to you - the one that laid down his life so that we can live life to the full. Amen
Comments