May 16, 2021 - One in Christ: The Church and Its Members

18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 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, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

What we see here is Paul really pointing now to TWO results of this newfound PEACE...

And we’ll DIVE INTO both of them...

Let’s circle back around...

Ephesians 2:19 ESV

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,

The first RESULT of this new PEACE that we’ll look at is mentioned here in this verse...

Paul starts out by POINTING directly at the Gentiles...

and saying - You are NO LONGER strangers…aliens..

NO LONGER - FAR OFF...

BUT NOW - you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of - -

The household of God

THE Household of God - THE CHURCH itself

NOW - let’s look at some aspects of the church - in the text...

Ephesians 2:20 ESV

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

What do we see here?

We see the CHURCH (the UNIVERSAL church)…God’s collective people

BUILT upon - God’s TRUTH - with Christ as the Cornerstone...

NOW - the cornerstone was always the FIRST stone that was set during construction...

Every other stone was measured in relation to that CORNERSTONE...

And so By Paul calling Jesus - the Cornerstone...

He’s saying that the church itself is CONFORMED to the image of Christ

NOW - let’s linger here a bit...

Because as we know - there are many issues in the - quote - “Christian arena” today...

Willow Creek Community Church, a mega-church near Chicago…adheres to a Seeker-Friendly model of church...

What is a “Seeker-Friendly” model?

It’s a model that says - “reach-the-lost-through-whatever-turns-them-on”

This is the approach that Willow Creek Community Church has taken - and it has spared no expense in its mission to attract the masses.

Looking past the swans gliding across a mirror lake, one sees what could be mistaken for a corporate headquarters or a very upscale shopping mall.

Just off the sanctuary is a large bookstore and an extensive eating area supplied by a food court with five different vendors.

A jumbotron screen allows an overflow crowd or those enjoying a meal to view the proceedings in the main sanctuary.

The sanctuary itself is spacious and high tech, complete with three large screens and state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems for multimedia, drama, and musical presentations.

But Willow Creek isn’t alone in this...

Mega-churches across the country have added bowling alleys, NBA regulation basketball courts with bleachers, exercise gyms and spas, locker rooms, auditoriums for concerts and dramatic productions, and Starbucks and McDonald’s franchises—all for the furtherance of the gospel. Or so it is claimed.

SEE - Another aspect of Seeker-Friendly churches is to -

Shorten The Sermons

12% of people say they don’t attend church because they don’t have time. And they’re probably right! Think of it this way: when you’re busy, would you rather watch a movie or an episode of a show. Probably the latter.

People want the FAST FOOD version...

Come on! We’re busy here...

Drive-Thru sermons is what they want...

Other features of this approach??

These are from publications on the matter:

Write your sermons in one day. Senior Pastors who brag about spending endless amounts of time on their sermons are blowhards. Your sermons won’t be any better with twenty hours of sermon prep instead of eight.

Keep email replies to 3 sentences. When someone emails you wanting a 10,000-word answer, respond in no more than 3 sentences and tell them to see you Sunday between services to talk further. 95% of the people who had a life and death urgent question that had to be answered on Tuesday will forget they even emailed when Sunday rolls around. Another thing that helps is to craft 2-3 page policy papers that answer the top 10 questions you get on a regular basis. Having those ready to send will save a ton of time and energy. (the thought being - pastors WASTE time by answering people with long - THOUGHT OUT emails…)

VIP Parking for newcomers: If it's difficult for newcomers to get to your church, they won't.

Give away things for FREE: People like - FREE

And so - if we think through what’s at play here...

I think there are 2 options at play...

These churches - these leaders - EITHER:

Underestimate the Gospel

They don’t care about the Gospel and are just in love with Popularity / Prestige

Let’s look at some symptoms of - Underestimating the Gospel....

Underestimating the Gospel plays itself out this way - CHURCH SUCCESS?

SLIDE: Underestimating the Gospel: Church Success: Numbers, Numbers, Numbers

Underestimating the Gospel

We went to the July 4th parade in the area, and a church was in the parade and they were handing out flyers...and on this flyer it read - "Come Join Us - We'll Be Handing Out $100 every Hour!"

When we OFFER to people to come to Jesus ON THE BASIS of what they ALREADY WANT as NON-CHRISTIANS...you're NOT preaching the Gospel...

When we drive by a LARGE church building, and we see the parking lot full...SO MANY people - that you see SHUTTLE services taking people to and from the building...VIP parking sections...

When we drive by...we think - WELL they MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT!

They KNOW what THEY'RE doing!

I wish OUR church looked like that!

We should DO what they do!

Listen - If we view CHURCH SUCCESS as NUMBERS, then we'll pursue CHURCH SUCCESS...We'll pursue NUMBERS...

We'll walk in the parade and say - COME JOIN US - We'll GIVE YOU FREE MONEY!

AND- we'll be - satisfied in that.

So by and large - we view CHURCH SUCCESS by the Numbers....

But how about - Church Growth?

Slide: Underestimating the Gospel: Church Growth: Numbers, Numbers, Numbers

Underestimating the Gospel

No different!

I get this question most often...."Is your church growing?"

And when I hear it....I know what they're asking.

I know they're not at all interested in whether or not you, or you, or you....are growing Spiritually!

They're not!

They don’t want to know if the church is growing vertically….just horizontally…

They want to know - Are your NUMBERS increasing?

Why do they want to know that?!!!

BECAUSE that's how we DEFINE CHURCH SUCCESS!

And so it's interesting to think that we've come FULL-CIRCLE!

Remember how we talked about the 1st Century Jews...and how they MISSED the Messiah...

Because they were so FOCUSED on the PHYSICAL that they missed the Spiritual?

They were looking for the Messiah to bring PHYSICAL freedom...when instead Christ brought Spiritual freedom.

They were looking for the Messiah to set up his earthly kingdom...and INSTEAD Jesus died.

What was their conclusion?

Well then that's NOT the Messiah!

We do the same thing with THE CHURCH

We LOOK at 2 churches - 1 - a MEGA church....1200-1500 members... and we say -

They've got it figured out!

that other - 100 member church... and we say - Dead church!

We're so focused on the physical that we MISS the Spiritual!

And so if you want to mess with people - you ask them - Oh, so is your church growing?

And WHEN THEY start responding by saying - Oh, well 10 new families came last month...STOP them and say - NO, I was wondering about the type of GROWTH that MATTERS....

Spiritual growth!

Is your church growing Spiritually?

Because if THAT is HAPPENING.....then whether your church GETS ANY new members or not,

what we DO know is that those people who ARE growing Spiritually...are being FAITHFUL!

And THAT is what we should be satisfied in!

Paul – here in our text – describes the church as being founded on God’s TRUTH…

With Christ as the Cornerstone…

Ephesians 2:19–21 ESV

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, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

· The UNIVERSAL church – built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ being the cornerstone…

· IN WHOM, the whole structure, being – WHAT?

· JOINED TOGETHER – grows…

· I think THIS HERE is something that the church AT LARGE could do a better job of…

· This idea of the UNIVERSAL church – being JOINED together…

· We are SO divided today – EVEN WITHIN the true church…

· We see what’s going on around the world…

We see 23 Christians marched onto a beach a few years back – to be slaughtered….

We see a pastor in Canada arrested for preaching God’s word…

· …ANNNDDD what do we think… I THINK we think – “ehh…well that stinks”.

And I think that’s the extent of it for us…we’re so divided – and SO FOCUSED ON THIS BUILDING….and WHAT GOES ON IN HERE…

That we end up having this mindset…

SLIDE: I love MY church

· When we REALLY SHOULD have this mindset…

SLIDE: I Love THE church

· And I think that when we truly EMBRACE THIS idea (here)…

· …the UNIVERSAL church will be closer to being – JOINED together…

· …in PURPOSE…and in MISSION – HOW it was meant to be.

· So if we think about where Paul has brought us to – in focusing on being IN CHRIST…

· We’ve gone from – BEING iN CHRIST:

Bringing PEACE between all men (between Jew and Gentile)

Bringing PEACE with GOD (to ALL men)

And today – we see the RESULT of all of it

· We see The CHURCH grows into a Holy Temple…on the CORNERSTONE of Christ!

· BUT – as you know – WE are PIECES of that structure!

· You – and I – IF WE BELIEVE in Christ – IMPACT the GROWING of that Holy Temple – the church!

And it’s AWESOME to think about how each of us – UNIQUE – IN CHRIST…make up the universal (larger) church…the INVISIBLE church…

· And Paul speaks to this in our text today…

Ephesians 2:21–22 ESV

21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

· The whole structure – grows into a Holy Temple..

· AND YOU ALSO – Paul says – are being built together as a dwelling place for God by the Spirit…

· WE ALSO – are a part of this GROWING in the Lord…yet EACH of us - UNIQUE

• If you were to visit any Christian church in this country, you no doubt would come across ministries that look similar to ours...

• food ministry

• women's ministry

• men's ministry

• children's ministry

• Awana

• BUT there's also no doubt that we'd come across completely different ministries...

• At Grace Church in Middleburgh you'd find small groups that focus on:

• Adults 50+

• College Age

• Disabled

• Home-schoolers

• Marriage & Family

• Singles

• Our friends at the old Cross Point Church in Lakewood had ministries involving:

• Life Groups

• Worship Outside the Walls

• Christmas Store

• Various Men and Women ministries (luncheons, breakfasts, Ladies Nights)

• Mission Trips

• All churches look a little different...

• Ministry is approached from MANY different angles...

• There's:

• Counseling

• Training

• Outreach: International - Local

• Fellowship groups for: Young Married Couples, Older Married Couples, Divorced couples, Songwriters, Athletes, Book clubs, Cooking groups, and on and on and on

• The possibilities are endless...

• WHY??...

• BECAUSE we are each – UNIQUE – IN CHRIST!!...

• SEE - Regardless of what the ministry looks like, there is a FOUNDATION that all it rests on...

· The CORNERSTONE of CHRIST

- And so – EVEN with each of us BEING UNIQUE – IN CHRIST…

- There are still some COMMON principles we can all BANK ON…when it comes to us LIVING out our text today…

· …of us BEING built together…

· And it’s going to be good for us to actually dive into Paul’s 1st letter to Timothy…

· Who was Timothy….?

He was a PASTOR…

· What church did he pastor?

The church in – Ephesus…

And what we’ll see is Paul talk about how Christians ought to BEHAVE within the – Household of God…

· …which he mentions today in our text…

Let’s go to 1 Timothy 3:14-15

1 Timothy 3:14–15 ESV

14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

• Paul wants Timothy to know...how a Christian ought to behave in....

• ...the household of God.

• Literally means - the family of God

• How Christians should operate within the family of God

• NOT as a ONE-TIME event

• but literally as a PATTERN of LIFE...

• What does it say....

15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God

• The family of God IS the church of the living God...

• THE LIVING God...

• Did you know that God is ALIVE?

• We might laugh at the question....but so often the world looks at us...

• ...and is NOT CONVINCED IN THE LEAST that God is ALIVE

• Does my life...amongst my friends and family point to the reality that God is alive?

• Or, when they look at my life...are they more convinced that God's dead?

Psalm 42:1–2 ESV

1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

Psalm 84:2 ESV

2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

1 Samuel 17:26 ESV

26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

Matthew 16:16 ESV

16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Acts 14:15 ESV

15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

• We serve a LIVING God, and it's no mistake that Paul made this point here in 1 Timothy...

• Remember, Timothy is a pastor of a church in Ephesus...

Well - the people of Ephesus worshipped - FALSE Gods…!

We even read about it in Scripture...

Acts 19:23–28 ESV

23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.” 28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

And so it’s clear why PAUL - says what he says to the CHURCH at Ephesus...

1 Timothy 3:14–15 ESV

See - the LIVING God - the God we SERVE - is the God of TRUTH

Couple [THIS] with our text today - and we see Paul highlighting that the CHURCH and the people of God are founded on TRUTH!

Ephesians 2:22 ESV

22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

We GROW - IN THE LORD - when we THE TRUTH (Jesus Christ) is our CORNERSTONE.

And so let’s close looking at ways we can continue to GROW - TOGETHER - IN THE LORD...

SLIDE: One in Christ: We Grow Spiritually by Hearing Truth

One in Christ

We know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God...Jesus says -

Matthew 13:9 ESV

9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

And so this just elevates the importance of being here on Sundays...Being here on Monday nights...

We're learning scripture...We're hearing the Word

We can't GROW in the Lord if we don't hear the Word...

What else?

SLIDE: One in Christ: We Grow Spiritually by Memorizing Truth

One in Christ

We GROW in the Lord - when we memorize God’s TRUTH...

Bible Study - Jeff Durbin (memorizing scripture)*

If we don't memorize scripture, and someone asks us a question.......and we don't have any verses memorized...We're basically unable to use the sword....

SLIDE: One in Christ: We Grow Spiritually by Meditating on Truth

One in Christ

Colossians 3:16 ESV

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

And so Christian meditation is to FEED the mind with the Word of God, and digesting it slowly...

To contemplate the truths of Scripture...and to delight in that truth

See this world wants to OCCUPY your mind...

We fight that through Meditation, and meditation is shaped by the Scriptures...

SLIDE: One in Christ: We Grow Spiritually by Studying Truth

*SLIDE - Penny

How many pennies do you think you've handled in your lifetime?

And yet - have we really studied what they look like?

I think around 40% of people guess the right penny...That means about 6 out of 10 people get it wrong

How about the Scriptures?

We come to church...We hear sermons...But have we studied it?

Those 6 out of 10 people DO NOT hold up the truth about what a penny really looks like...

And it's not because they...

have never seen a penny - they have (lots of them)

don't know what color a penny is - they know

don't know the size of a penny - they know

WELL, if they know that information....why do they get it wrong??

Because they don't know the details...AND here's the problem with that...

When they're shown something that looks similar to a penny - BUT IS NOT A PENNY......They can't tell the counterfeit from the REAL THING.

If we don't STUDY the Word......When we hear something that SOUNDS SIMILAR to Christianity...but yet is NOT Christianity...We WON"T be able to tell the difference!

2 Timothy 2:15 ESV

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

We're called to KNOW the difference!

And WHEN WE DO - we’ll GROW in the Lord!!

SLIDE: One in Christ: We Grow Spiritually by Obeying Truth

One in Christ

We've seen what Paul said in Romans...

Romans 1:4–5 ESV

4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,

Paul (God) is after our obedience...Obedience matters to God.

And this plays a part in our GROWING - together - IN THE LORD!

What would be the point of reading the Word, hearing the Word, praying the Word, memorizing the Word, meditating on the Word.......only to NOT pursue obeying the Word?

Luke 11:28 ESV

28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

We're called to obey the Word...which points to the importance of us KNOWING the Word...

SLIDE: One in Christ: We Grow Spiritually by Defending Truth

One in Christ

Philippians 1:15–16 ESV

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.

Paul was sitting in prison...KNOWING that he was PUT THERE...by who?

He was PUT THERE FOR the defense of the gospel.

Think of how this REORIENTS your life....when you can grasp this...

Paul knew that God put him in that circumstance...SO THAT the gospel would be defended....ON DISPLAY

So when we find ourselves in HARD circumstances...

If we can view THAT circumstance through the lens of - God has a purpose in this FOR ME...then I think we can find comfort and strength in those times...just as Paul did...

When we NEGLECT to defend the truth...We are NEGLECTING to defend Jesus.

Jesus says - I am the way, THE TRUTH, and the life...

Matthew 16:15–16 ESV

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

HERE - Peter defending the TRUTH...to what?

Moments later - DENYING Jesus 3 times!

From defending the TRUTH....defending Jesus...TO Denying truth....denying Jesus

If we're going to GROW in the Lord...we must DEFEND TRUTH...

SLIDE: One in Christ: We Grow Spiritually by Proclaiming Truth

One in Christ

Why do we do it?

Remember back to the Abrahamic Covenant in the OT...? Why was Abraham blessed?

Genesis 12:2 ESV

2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

And so God's plan for Abraham is not that Abraham would receive all these blessings from God merely for Abraham......

BUT that Abraham would be individually blessed, for the purpose that now thru Abraham, this blessing would extend to the whole world.

Abraham was blessed...to be a blessing

And this is OUR calling....to BE a blessing

We don't Grow in the Lord- by HOARDING TRUTH to ourselves...

We PROCLAIM the truth we have to bless others...

SO...we GROW in the Lord by:

Hearing the Truth

Memorizing the Truth

Meditating on the Truth

Studying the Truth

Obeying the Truth

Defending the Truth

Proclaiming the Truth

EACH of these things - a part of yours and my - job description!

You ever work out alone?

How much better is it when you work out with someone else?

We’re called to do this - TOGETHER!

Let’s close with this:

Philippians 1:27–28 ESV

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

SUMMARY

Today we’ve seen Paul highlight for us- what happens when PEACE with God and PEACE between men is a reality in our lives - the life of a BELIEVER!

SLIDE: One in Christ: The Church and Its Members Grow

One in Christ

BUT ONLY - if we keep our eye to Jesus Christ - the CORNERSTONE!

Let’s Pray!!

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