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Feb 1, 2019
reflection on Ephesians
I few years ago, I studied Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians in depth, not exhaustively. Then I focused on several passages that resonated with me. 1:10 (God's eternal plan to unite all things in Christ), 3:14-21 (prayer for spiritual power to be able to grasp the gospel), 5:22ff (marriage) , 6:10-20 (spiritual warfare).
Yesterday as I re-read through it, two distinct verses stood out. 3:10-11 and 4:15-16. I will try to summarize them like this;
God uses the church to declare the wisdom of his eternal plan, realized in Christ Jesus, to the world, even to the rulers of heavenly places (i.e. demons?) He does this through the church as we speak the truth in love and grow up in every way into Christ as the body which when working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
There is a lot to unpack in those two sections.
What strikes me most is that the church in all of her weaknesses is God's chosen method to reveal his wisdom. I wonder why he says that the audience of this communication is the rulers of the heavenly powers. Who are the rulers of heavenly powers? Is that Satan? God is showing off to the demons? Perhaps. They rebelled against him and are doing everything they can to destroy his plan and purpose for mankind. Presumably because they don't want mankind to enjoy communion with God, since they lost it in their rebellion. God is showing them that he has accomplished his eternal plan through his Son, Jesus Christ. Mankind is now made secure in relationship through Jesus. The demons have nothing on us because of that. God is making all this known through the church.
Secondly one of the ways that he is accomplishing this is through us speaking the truth in love and growing up in Christ, as we do this we are being joined in with the bodily growth and when the body is healthy and growing, it builds itself up in love. What is the take away here? When the church is speaking the truth in love, she is maturing and the members naturally grow up on their own. A pastor's role is overwhelming when he is constantly putting out fires. But if, the members are healthy and being fed, they grow up and help him feed the others. This can sound lazy, and can be taken wrongly but it also can be taken well and applied well to cultivate a healthy and strong church where the truth is spoken in love and exponential healing happens as a result of healthy bodily growth. This merits much more thought and discussion, of which I don't have the time now.
More to come...
Yesterday as I re-read through it, two distinct verses stood out. 3:10-11 and 4:15-16. I will try to summarize them like this;
God uses the church to declare the wisdom of his eternal plan, realized in Christ Jesus, to the world, even to the rulers of heavenly places (i.e. demons?) He does this through the church as we speak the truth in love and grow up in every way into Christ as the body which when working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
There is a lot to unpack in those two sections.
What strikes me most is that the church in all of her weaknesses is God's chosen method to reveal his wisdom. I wonder why he says that the audience of this communication is the rulers of the heavenly powers. Who are the rulers of heavenly powers? Is that Satan? God is showing off to the demons? Perhaps. They rebelled against him and are doing everything they can to destroy his plan and purpose for mankind. Presumably because they don't want mankind to enjoy communion with God, since they lost it in their rebellion. God is showing them that he has accomplished his eternal plan through his Son, Jesus Christ. Mankind is now made secure in relationship through Jesus. The demons have nothing on us because of that. God is making all this known through the church.
Secondly one of the ways that he is accomplishing this is through us speaking the truth in love and growing up in Christ, as we do this we are being joined in with the bodily growth and when the body is healthy and growing, it builds itself up in love. What is the take away here? When the church is speaking the truth in love, she is maturing and the members naturally grow up on their own. A pastor's role is overwhelming when he is constantly putting out fires. But if, the members are healthy and being fed, they grow up and help him feed the others. This can sound lazy, and can be taken wrongly but it also can be taken well and applied well to cultivate a healthy and strong church where the truth is spoken in love and exponential healing happens as a result of healthy bodily growth. This merits much more thought and discussion, of which I don't have the time now.
More to come...
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