The Dwelling Place of God
Notes
Transcript
Call to Worship
Call to Worship
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Prayer
Prayer
Adoration: God of all wisdom, who has killed the hostility between You and us by giving up your Son to die; who has brought the far near...
Confession: We have not lived out unity/peace w/ eachother… We have forgotten to rest in our peace w/ you
Thanksgiving: The blood of your Son brings us near!
Supplication: Hearts near to you; faith that rests in your Son’s blood; peace between members; opportunities to evangelize; murder of the unborn/mothers involved; SCOTUS
Family Matters
Family Matters
Decorating after service! Wednesday night fellowship meal (theme?). Schedule: 9:30 prayer, 10:00 Sunday School, 11:00 Gathering.
Benediction
Benediction
Revelation 1:5–6 (ESV)
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Sermon:
Sermon:
(Eph. 2:19-22)
Introduction
Introduction
What is the Church?
When we as believers talk about “The Church,” we’re talking about all believers across time and around the world—the universal Church. But how we answer the question, “What is The Church?” will then tell us how to answer the question, “What is a church?” —and this is because a local church is simply a local expression of the universal church.
Or to put it another way: how we answer the question, “What is the nature of Christ’s universal congregation?” will greatly affect how we answer, “What is Scholls Community Church?” I mean, what exactly are we, anyway? A Christian Ted Talk center? A concert hall? A religious group-therapy clinic? A social club? A business, offering spiritual goods and services? Maybe we’re a mashup of all those things.
In truth, few Bible-believing pastors or church leaders would define a local church by any of those phrases I just listed for us. We know intuitively that that there is something wrong with those ideas. But the trouble is, at the same time, most Christians today still don’t have a clear picture of what a church actually is—what a local congregation, like Scholls, actually is. There is a vacuum in our understanding on this subject, and so those other things—those familiar models from other parts of our lives—tend to creep in and shape what we think a church is supposed to be.
And this kind of wrong thinking can very successfully take a congregation far off course—not necessarily to shut down and close the doors permanently—but sometimes, even amid great numbers of attenders and great material success, to quietly slip away from the most central part of its identity. And, with what we’ve seen so far in Ephesians about how important church is in the Christian life, that’s no small victory for the enemy. And it’s a wide-spread problem today.
So then, what do we do?
We must answer, from Scripture, the question: What, exactly, is the Church?—The universal Church. Then, we will be ready to begin answering the question: What is a local church?
We’ve already been studying the universal Church in Ephesians...
Church is the result of God’s saving work— (Eph. 1:1-14)
Father: chose us for adoption
Son: redeemed us through his blood for adoption
Spirit: opened our eyes/lives in us as down payment of inheritance
=> Church is the result of God acting in triune grace
Church is seated with Christ in heavenly places— (Eph. 1:15-23)
Christ enthroned far above all
Christ head over all things for the Church, his body
Christ fills all things through the Church
=>Church is enthroned w/ Christ in heaven, spreads his rule on earth
Church made of people once dead— (Eph. 2:1-10)
Problem: spiritually dead
Solution: made alive together with Christ
Result: a New Creation, created to display the glory of God’s grace
=>Church is newly created people, rescued from death, to display God’s glory
Church made of people once far off— (Eph. 2:11-18)
Problem: strangers/enemies to God
Solution: brought near by Jesus’ blood/one new man
=>Church is a united people, reconciled to God and each other through Jesus’ blood
In Summary: (notes) The Church is a people, created new by grace, united with God and each other by Jesus’ blood, to spread his glory throughout the earth. (x2)
All very nice… how does it help w/ understanding our identity as a local congregation?
Last Sunday examined:
Problem: strangers/enemies to God
Solution: brought near by Jesus’ blood/one new man
This Sunday:
Result—in many way climax of what Paul has been writing about the universal Church/what it is
Paul’s result will answer our question…
Will give us something both glorious + easier to wrap our minds around for practical implications…
So what, then, does Paul say is the result of being brought near by Jesus’ blood?
Citizens and Household Members
Citizens and Household Members
Look at verse 19—
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
“no longer strangers and aliens,” but, “fellow citizens”
Sounds good… full force requires context in Ephesus
Stranger = temporary resident in the city, w/ no guaranteed civil rights/privileges
Alien = resident alien, possibly had lived in Ephesus for generations, but not citizens with full legal privileges = most of the population of
Citizenship = small fraction of Ephesus = rare, elite privilege
=> phrase, “fellow citizens w/ the saints” = an astounding privilege in Christ/citizens of God’s Kingdom
“Members of the household of God”
Second phrase ups the game
Household members (this context) = adoption as sons = extreme privilege!
Remember… Philippian Jailer told Paul? “I bought [my Roman] citizenship for a large sum.”
If you were very rich… you could purchase the status/privilege… often how the world feels…
We have brothers + sisters worshiping… in slums/backwater places/refugee camps, who have nothing!
In Christ…/his blood, have obtained citizenship/sonship… have everything!
My worth is not in what I own
Not in the strength of flesh and bone
But in the costly wounds of love
At the cross
My worth is not in skill or name
In win or lose, in pride or shame
But in the blood of Christ that flowed
At the cross
=>Church is the citizen-body of God’s Kingdom/the members of God’s family
But here is where it starts to get very practical:
In verse 20 it says that this citizen body, this family, is:
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
Metaphor shift: people (citizens/family members) to building materials (built/foundation)
So what is the foundation of the universal Church?
Christ Jesus—
Work: redeeming the Church/bringing near w/ his blood
Cornerstone: first + most important stone, all other stones lined up off of it…
Apostles + Prophets—
Rest of foundation = those who spoke God’s word directly
Apostles = 12 + Paul
specially chosen to lay foundation for universal Church through authoritative witness/teaching
spoke/wrote directly from God
only one generation
Prophets = in NT church
Such as Agabus, daughters of Philip
Needed b/c early church did not have NT books right away
Seems from Church history, faded out as NT came together
Foundation = God’s direct word about salvation in Christ, spoken through the NT Apostles and Prophets
But… if those were only in first few generations… what is foundation today?
Foundation is always Christ!
Foundation today is Apostolic Word… Scripture (OT included… )
Application:
What we don’t do: build… (pragmatism, world’s expectations, tradition, etc.) and then check Scripture
not how a foundation works!
For example: we don’t chose our songs and our music style based on either “what we’ve always done” or “what will attract people”—fill the seats with a good concert. We chose our music according to Scripture: what will best cause the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly, together as a congregation (Col. 3:16). We leave the house lights on, because the main instrument here is the congregation, not the folks up front (though we thank God for their service).
We don’t chose our Sermon or Sunday School topics according to the world’s “felt needs”—we choose them according to Scripture, because we want to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Rom. 12:1).
***how about out in the world?***
We don’t rely on pop psychology—even the Christian version—to become better people. Rather, we trust in the power of the blood of Christ—the gospel—to do this transforming work in us.
We don’t rely on the world’s wisdom, or tradition, or even our own desires, for how we behave on the job, or in our families; we work as though Jesus was our immediate supervisor, and we learn from his Word what would please him.
What we do: build on the Apostolic word
in Eph. 2:20, that his how the Lord builds his church
Ps. 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”
So then: WORD is the foundation!!!
OK. So we are the building materials, and Jesus and his Word—the truth about Jesus—is the foundation… but what kind of building is it anyway?
A Holy Temple
A Holy Temple
Look at verses 21-22:
in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Being built => temple => strange image for us?
Temple = dwelling place of God, where God is known and worshiped
Temple in the Bible:
Creation:
“God made the world as a place where he would be known by and present with his creatures as they worship, enjoy, honor, and serve him.” - James Hamilton
Sounds like… original creation = temple
Moses, writing Genesis creation account + Num. instructions f/ priests and tabernacle (first version of temple):
Tabernacle priests:
They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle.
minister = work
Creation had priests:
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
These clues + others => first temple was Creation
But: biblically, temple = place of cleanness/no death; Adam’s + our sin => death => temple made unclean…
Land of Israel/Tabernacle/Temple:
Israel, like another Adam…
Israel’s land, like another creation, another temple:
You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
land of Canaan = place where God would dwell with them/be worshiped (sanctuary)
Tabernacle/Temple, center of this…
In 1 Kgs 6-8, read: pomegranates, palm trees, flowers, lily work, lions, oxen, tree-shaped lamp-stands, etc. = like creation
Cherubim with flaming swords guarded Eden; cherubim were woven into the fabric of the tabernacle and carved into the temple => telling us, same kind of place as Eden/creation
Place God would meet w/ Israel => they could know/worship him
B/c of Israel’s sin => temple destroyed; rebuilt, but…
Jesus:
Creation => failed: sin
Land of Israel/Temple => failed: sin
Word became flesh
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
About the Tabernacle:
And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
Also: when finished => glory of the Lord filled it
John says => Jesus is new tabernacle/temple, where God dwells in our midst and we behold his glory
Temple of his body
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
The Universal Church:
“In the old covenant, God indwelt the tabernacle[/temple], but in the new covenant God indwells his people by his Spirit.”—James Hamilton
But who is the new temple? Jesus, or us?
He is our head/we his body
As his body, we are the temple
True, Bible speaks individual = temple (1 Cor. 6:19) => more commonly it is whole people of God…
Universal Church is place where =>
God makes himself known
God’s people worship and serve him
Is a foretaste of the New Creation/=> (when creation will be an un-defiled temple to God again)
+ created new for good works… good works = a way to glorify God + display his grace to the world = temple worship
you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
believers referred to as both “stones” and “priests”
stones b/c temple is us, not a building…
priests b/c the whole idea of priests = worship
Conclusion: the ultimate reality of the universal Church = a temple where God is present, known + worshiped
=> You are not a stranger to God! Given intimate access and empowered for worship by blood of Christ…
The Shape of the Temple
What does our passage today tell us about this temple?
Look at:
in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
“in whom” = in Christ = temple is founded on Christ’s work and the truth about him (we saw)
+ these things in union w/ him
“the whole structure, being joined together” = based on Christ, etc. various different kinds parts, being joined together into unity
+ unity based on Apostolic truth = common faith in Jesus/belief in the gospel
+ unity of the Church not based on a common national/ethic heritage, but on Christ/his truth => empowers real unity among people who are very different…
grows “into a holy temple” = holy place, where God is worshiped
In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
“into a dwelling place for God”
+ place where God dwells/can be known
“by the Spirit” = indwelt by Spirit…
+ temple = for God, in Christ, by Spirit… our worship of God + access to God is trinitarian
Sum up: the Universal Church is a Temple for God, in Christ, by the Spirit’s indwelling; built on the foundation of truth; where God is worshiped and known
Thus: the result of Christ bringing us near to God by his blood is that we become a temple for God’s own glory.
Based on this: central purpose of the universal church is to know + worship God + glorify him
What Does this Mean?
What Does this Mean?
Non believing neighbor, you are
Spiritually dead/unclean = not fit for temple
Excluded from God’s presence
Unable to know, enjoy, worship…
But Jesus has made a way for you back to God
With his blood…
Turn from sin and self/trust
talk w/ one of us
Brothers/sisters:
What is a local congregation? = how the universal church is actually manifested on earth
Functions as a “local copy” of the universal church
Exists as a temple = place where God makes his glory known, is worshiped by his people…
Scholls Community Church—the people—are a temple for God’s glory! WE EXIST FOR HIS GLORY!!!
Thinking about coming to the Sunday gather = Lord, prepare me. I’m coming to seek your face with your people today. Prepare my eyes to look to you, my heart to worship you
Thinking about going back into the world = Lord, what I have seen of you, let me carry with me = make me the fragrance of Christ wherever I go THAT HIS NAME MIGHT BE GLORIFIED in the world through my good works.
Thinking: What do we write on our “welcome mat?” (present to world)
A common phrase: “all are welcome” = good! Blood of Christ sufficient to bring near… !
But… is that to be our whole posture? How about, “take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.” = We are sinners, but we are approaching a God of fearful power and total holiness. His grace will bring us to him—but this is a very serious undertaking.”
We are not inviting people to something lightweight; we are inviting them to be cleansed by the blood of Christ, and so to draw near to the God of infinite glory. Because that is exactly what we have already done, in Christ.
Prayer
Prayer
Communion
Communion
Ask those selected to come forward and prepare to serve the congregation
“Partaking in the Lord’s Table is an act of worship. This is because, in partaking of the bread and the cup, empowered by the Spirit, we proclaim the worth of the lamb who gave his body to be broken and his blood to be poured out for our redemption.”
“At the same time, the Lord’s Table is an act of fellowship with God. He has united us with himself through Christ, and in the bread and the cup we symbolize our union with Christ in his death and resurrection. By his blood—symbolized by the cup—he has brought us near to God. And so the Spirit uses these symbols to make God in Christ known to us, God’s temple.”
But because it is a symbol of true worship and fellowship, it is only appropriate for believers. And so, if you are a believer who has already symbolized the beginning of your Union with Christ through baptism, and are in good standing with your local congregation, we welcome you with joy to participate in this meal with us. And if you are not a believer, we welcome you to observe the bread and the cup, and contemplate their meaning: that Jesus opened his veins to give us entrance into his kingdom; that Jesus gave his body to be broken for our redemption.
Prayer
Passing out the bread + Cup
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “…the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.””
1 Corinthians 11:25-26 “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”