「基」本教會 Christi-Unity Church 8-12-2007
Introduction
What kind of church is SLCCC? Has someone ever asked you that question? When I work in the church during daytime it is not unusual to receive phone calls or has someone knocked at the door asking for information about our church. How would you answer that question? Our church was established some 34 years ago – that is the historical aspect. We have about 75 % Chinese speakers and 25 % English speakers – that is the composition of our regular attendees. We have Sunday worship and Friday fellowship meetings – those are our regular activities. I once read a small story in a Christian journal. (To the interpreter: I apologize to you and the English speakers because this story can only be understood in Chinese.) A guy was visiting his Christian friend in a Chinese community. He was amazed to see so many different Chinese churches in that area. He couldn’t help but asked his friend, “You Christian people sure have various brand names for your church. I see there’s a Baptist church, Lutheran church and Presbyterian church. There is even a 保證教會. But what kind of church is that?” This Christian friend was puzzled too. But later he figured out that it was an advertisement sign posted by a driving school. The institute guarantees that everyone who pays the tuition fee will eventually learn how to drive.
Indeed nowadays we see churches everywhere. Are they all true churches? To set the record straight the Bible never tells us to attend a particular church, for what we believe in is not a church or a set of dogmas but we believe in our Lord Jesus Christ. But throughout history God did establish His church in different parts of the world so that believers of Jesus Christ can meet together to worship Him, to study His Word and to spread the gospel. Therefore, there must be some signs 特徵/標記 to help us distinguish a church that belongs to God. This is what we need to find out as we study our passage in Eph. 4:1-16 today. Very often a preacher has high hope that his audience will remember every single thing he says. There are three main points in the sermon and two sub-points under each main point. But I will lower my expectation today. If you forget everything I say today please just remember one thing – ONE! There are many “ones” in this passage. Let’s go find out!
MP 1 – Different Background But One Foundation 不同背景但同一根基
First of all, Paul reminds his readers that they have the same foundation in their belief. When you read vv. 4-6 you can’t help but catch attention on the word “one.” There are seven of them – one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God. The body refers to Christ’s church. A corresponding passage can be found in 1 Cor. 12:12. The church is one body and each believer is one part of it. Which church is he referring to? On a broader scale there is the so called universal church, which is the total collection of all the Christians in the human history. But in a narrow sense it also refers to all the local churches in different parts of the world. SLCCC is Christ’s local body in this area, and He is the head of this church.
Paul stresses that his readers are built on the same foundation because there was a dichotomy between the Jews and the Gentiles (non-Jews). The Jews are proud of their faith heritage which can be dated back to the time of Abraham beyond 2000 B.C. and they despise the Gentiles because they are ceremonially unclean. The Gentiles take pride in their sophisticated philosophical thought and look down on this incarnated Christ who was even killed on the cross. But Paul emphasizes that regardless of their national background or social status they are one in Christ because of the same foundation. Gal. 3:26-28 points out clearly that no matter what our background is we are one in Christ.
I once attended a mission conference in Hong Kong. There were Chinese missionaries who served in various countries and also missionaries who came from other nations. I remember a little song we sang together. Not only did we sing it in Chinese and English the different missionaries also taught us to sing it in other native languages. We did not pronounce the words perfectly but it was such a beautiful snapshot of the fact that God’s Kingdom is made up of people from various nations. In our church there are people coming from different parts of the world, even though most of us are Chinese. But no matter you came from the east side or west side of the China Strait, the north side or south side of the great river, you like to eat spicy or mild food, prefer to eat rice or noodle, as long as you believe in the same Christ we are one in Christ.
Since we have the same foundation Paul urges us to maintain the unity in Christ. How? Verse 2 says with all the humility, gentleness and patience we have to bear with one another in love. Someone who has nothing does not need to be humble. But he who has a lot and knows a lot and choose to submit to another person, that is humility. Gentleness is not a description of your college lover, especially when he or she was not talking. In its original meaning it refers to a wild animal being tamed and is under the control of its user. It is power under control. Patience can be applied to situations where someone is being offended but he chooses not to make even for the wrong being done. All these virtues have one thing in common – they are all related to interpersonal skill. The reason for treating one another with humility, gentleness and patience is to preserve the love among believers. Then verse 3 says we are to maintain the unity of the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace. The phrase “make every effort” means to be eager or diligent.
Paul knows that it is natural for us to love those who are similar to us but to isolate those who are different from us. If we meet someone who comes from the same hometown as us, graduated from the same school as us or have worked in the same firm as us we may treat each other like old friends. That is perfectly normal. But here Paul reminds that no matter what our background or social status we are one in Christ because we have the same foundation in our belief. Someone says in the eyes of God there are only two groups of people – those who believe in Him and those who don’t. It is sad to see that sometimes we let man-made reason interfere with our unity. Just last week a family told me that they went to Chicago. Because they did not have their own car they just joined the church that met in the hotel they stayed at for Sunday worship. It was an all African-American church. It did not take long for the regular attendees to notice that they had this group of Chinese visitors. But despite their difference in skin color or the different way in their worship services they enjoyed the presence of one another because they shared the same foundation in their belief, for they believed in the same Christ. They belong to the same universal church in Christ. Therefore, sometimes when we hear scandal coming out from another church instead of drawing a line and say to ourselves, “Thank goodness it happens in someone else’ church.” We should feel the pain because we belong to the same family. When another local church of Jesus Christ suffers we suffer with it too. Just a few weeks ago there were 23 Korean Christians being kidnapped by terrorists in Afghanistan. For news like that it may create our curiosity to chase after the development. It can easily become one of topics we chat with our colleagues over coffee break. We forget that they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should be pleading to God on their behalf so that they may be released soon.
MP 2 – Different Gifts But One Purpose 不同恩賜但同一功用
Paul continues to tell us that within this united body of Christ God gives each of us different gifts. By spiritual gifts we are referring the special talents 才能God gives to His people to serve in the church. Verse 11 mentions a few of these gifts. Apostles and prophets were those who helped set up the early church. Apostles are typically understood as the twelve apostles of Christ. They were hand-picked and trained by Jesus and later established the first church. Prophets were those who received special revelations from the Lord, and in particular those who put the messages they received in writing and later compiled into the Bible. Therefore, most people believe that the gifts of apostles and prophets do not exist anymore. Then there are the evangelists. They spread the gospel to different places. Evangelists go around to make disciples and to build churches. Pastors and teachers are those who serve in local churches to provide spiritual nourishment to the local congregation. So you can see the progression in these gifts. From the first century church the gospel was received, then preached to other nations, then local churches are established. Notice how Paul phrases it in this verse. He says “He gave some…” (the word “some” is not translated in our Chinese Bible). All these different gifts are from God. He freely gave these gifts to different people, just as Paul puts it in v. 7. God gave some people with certain gifts and He gave others with different gifts. We can draw some quick applications here. It is God who gave different gifts to various believers according to His will. We should not be jealous toward one another if we received different gifts. We can certainly ask the Lord for a particular gift but it is up to Him to decide what to give to whom.
But in v. 12 Paul goes on to tell us that even though God gives His people different gifts they are to bring about the same purpose – it is to build up the body of Christ. The word “prepare” 成全 means to make fully ready. A few English translations of the Bible render it “equip” 裝備 which makes perfect sense. When God’s people are fully prepared and equipped they can participate in various ministries of the church to build up one another. Of course there are other passages like Rom. 12, 1 Cor. 12 and 1 Pet. 4 that mention other spiritual gifts. Here in Ephesians Paul highlights those gifts which God gave to the pioneers 開路先鋒and spiritual leaders of the church to bring out the fact that it is God’s desire to work through these people to facilitate every believer in the church to discover and use their gifts to the work of the ministry.
I once knew a couple who moved to elsewhere because of job relocation. A while later I met the husband again. He lamented to me that they worked very hard during the weekdays, but on the weekends they were even busier because of the church ministries. I felt upset with them for the fact that perhaps there were not even coworkers in their church to share their workload. But at the same time I realized that indeed it was God’s will and plan for us to get busy when we come to our spiritual home. For if every one of us becomes a spectator who will be serving?
God puts you here in this local church for a purpose. He has already given you the spiritual gifts as He sees fit. Your responsibility is to find out what your gifts are and to use them in the church ministries. Very often in the process of trying out different ministries you can discover your God-given gifts. Our Joint Board has just begun a new term. All the church departments and responsible deacons are listed in the worship bulletin. I can guarantee you that every one of them will be delighted to have people come to them and ask “How can I help out?” If you look at the service roster you will notice that we need more than 150 people to serve on Sundays over a three month span. For those who are not currently on the roster can you help out? When we talk about church ministries those are the services restricted for Christians only. I have to say this very carefully lest I may be misunderstood: we can find people who are inside the church to do the work outside of the church, but we cannot find someone from outside to do the work inside of the church. There is the so-called 20-80 phenomenon where in some churches 20 % of the people do 80 % of the ministry work. In our church I believe is about 30-70. But the most important thing is to have people fulfill the ministry needs. God’s desire is to put every believer in the church to where He wants them to serve. It is exciting to see new people joining our church and participate in different ministries. A few weeks ago we had the Vacation Bible School. I was deeply encouraged to see that many of the teachers and helpers were VBS kids a few years back. After all these years these children have grown up physically and spiritually, and they are now ready to serve others. That is a very positive sign. But where are those people who were serving in the past? Very often I hear people saying, “I have been around long enough it is about time for me to step down and let the new people take the lead.” It is true that after serving in the same position year after year one’s enthusiasm or creativity may diminish. But the experience you have is a great help to the person who succeed you. Also, by stepping down should not mean that you will become idle and unproductive. God may have reserved another niche for you to put your gifts to service.
MP 3 – Different Ministries But One Goal 不同事奉但同一目標
We have different background but the one foundation. We have different gifts but the one purpose. Paul continues to say that we have different ministries but the one goal. He indicates in v. 13 that our goal is maturity in Christ. The verb “reach” 歸 can be used to describe a traveler arriving at his destination. What is our goal? Paul says there are two aspects of it. First, it is our unity in the faith. It does not mean that different belief systems from different religions can come to a consensus and compromise in what they believe. But this unity should tie back to the seven “ones” Paul specifies in vv. 4-6. As a church matures all the believers have to come to a unity in their faith. Secondly, our goal is to attain the knowledge of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. In Phil. 3:10 Paul stresses that his life-long pursuit is to know Christ. This is not just a head-knowledge but a deep relational understanding. Here in Ephesians Paul desires to see the church of Christ pursue the same goal. This is a growing process for the whole church. Paul continues to say in v. 13 that when we come to that stage we will be like a mature man and will attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Christ’s church will then reflect His glory. When people come into the church they can sense the presence of Christ in the believers.
How does a mature church look like? Paul uses two metaphors to illustrate it. On the negative side he says in v. 14 that a mature church should be like a grown-up child who would not be led astray easily by false teaching. When we bring up a child we can tell him every falsehood in the world so that he can be aware of that. But ultimately we have to teach him what is true and right so that as he grows up he can make the correct discernment.
My wife’s oldest sister has two daughters. They grew up in a mature Christian family. At one time when they were still small kids the whole family came to United States for sight seeing. They visited a natural history museum. In one displays it showed the theory of evolution. Before long the older kid asked her parents, “The Bible says God created human. Why does the display say that man was evolved from monkey?” This little child knows the truth, and so when she saw something that was contrary to the truth immediately a red flag was raised. That is a sign of spiritual maturity. When a church matures it should be able to distinguish the truth from heresy.
On the positive side Paul continues to say in vv. 15 and 16 that a mature church has to have all the individual members functioning properly as God so ordained. Very often when we quote v. 15 we use it in the context of how we should confront 指證 those believers who do something wrong. We say indeed we have to point out the wrong-doing, but we have to do so in love so that we may not hurt other people’s feeling. But this verse actually means “practicing the truth in love.” If we carry the flow of thought from the preceding verse Paul is saying that rather than being manipulated by false doctrines a mature church should be living in the truth with love. In doing so, a mature church can function properly. Just like different parts in a human body submitted to the control of the brain all the believers in the church of Christ should be submitted to the leadership of Christ Himself.
I wonder if you have seen those car manufacturer commercials. I am always amazed by the precision of the robotic arms. They are coordinated by the central computer to do all the assembling and wielding works. Imagine what the products will be like if one of the robotic arms swings a few inches to the desired position or it moves just a few seconds later than it should be. Things may end up in chaos.
God’s desire is for His church to function like a coordinated manufacturing plant. No matter what ministry we are doing we have to be directed by Christ Himself. In my church ministry experience there are two kinds of people whom I admire most. The first kind is those who do things behind the scene. No one knows what they did and when they did it. Even their spouses might have thought that they have gone somewhere to shop. The second kind is those who are older than me in terms of physical and spiritual age. But they never said it in my face, “Who are you to direct me to do this and do that?” The common point between these two groups of believers is that they serve under the headship of Christ. They willingly submit to the leadership of man because they submit to the leadership of Christ. Very often we may transfer the mode of leadership from outside into the church. Somehow we think that since people call us bosses in the workplace people should listen to us in the church as well. We forget that the people we serve together are our brothers and sisters in Christ. They are not our subordinate! Sometimes we may also become performance-oriented in our ministry. We evaluate “success” by numbers and efficiency. But Paul reminds us that we should emphasize whether or not we can experience spiritual growth as we serve. Without that perspective in mind we can easily fall into the temptation of serve for the sake of serving. After one program is done we then simply move on to the next one. Rather, we should stop and keep asking ourselves whether we and the people we serve can experience growth in the process. Do we undergo a deeper sense of unity in our faith? Have we gained a greater understanding of Jesus Christ? Those are the key questions in our evaluation process.
Conclusion
From the passage we have studied today I wonder if you can see a progression in the flow of thought. God calls His people from different background to form His church. We are built upon the same foundation. According to His good will He gives different believers various gifts. We are to use the gifts we received to serve the Lord in His church. Even though there are many diverse ministries in the church we work together toward the same goal of attaining maturity in Christ. When a group of people come together they can work toward a constructive goal but they can also work together for a destructive purpose.
A few weeks from now we will once again remember the tragedy of 9-11. A group of terrorists extended a stern challenge to this mighty nation called America by blowing up the twin towers of the World Trade Center. They were crazy but at the same time they were very smart. They understood that it might take tons and tons of explosive to destroy the foundation of the towers, not to mention the challenge in planting the bombs in secret. They figured if they could create a big hole in the building then eventually the structure would be damaged and could not sustain its own weight. They succeeded. Throughout history the church of Christ suffered many attacks. Those attacks from the outside were not able to destroy the church because our foundation is rooted in Christ. But very often it was the attack from the inside – disharmony between the believers – that brought the biggest damage. That is why Paul encourages us to make every effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit. Whereas the terrorists worked together in unity can bring about tragic damage when the believers of Christ work together in unity we can build up the church. If you are a believer God invites you to come and join this building project.
Shall we come back to the question I asked at the beginning: what are the signs for a church that belongs to God? From this passage we studied today a church that belongs to God is one that is rooted in Christ – that is how I derived the Chinese title of the message. Also, Paul tells us that a church that belongs to God is one that unites in Christ – that is the English title of our message. Let us review again the one take-home message we can learn from this passage – our oneness in Christ. If you remember that you can be dismissed.