Throughout life we become used to the different standards set in order to be a part of an organisation or community. Some years ago I was a part of a Christian Bible College which had certain standards which were required to be met - if I did not meet those standards then I was not allowed to be a part of the college.

Likewise, if you or I wanted to be a part of a club like the Lions club or Rotary Club, then we would need to fulfill certain obligations and keep to certain standards in order to remain being a member of that club. In the same way, if we are employed, we need to keep to certain standards set by our employer. Also, as citizens in our community we need to live by certain laws, rules and standards set to protect us and others - once we move outside of these laws or standards we subsequently break the law. Our society needs these laws and standards as they undergird the social order of human society.

As Christians, we are not only a part of our human society, but are part of a new society founded in Christ, as Paul has taught in the first 3 chapters of Ephesians. This new society has certain standards, loyalties, and ethics that undergird its belonging to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

We have seen in these earlier chapters of Ephesians how we have a new positions, coupled with new privileges in the terms of our identity in Christ. But equally, there are obligations and requirements of this new society that come with the privilege of being a part of it.

So what does this mean today in terms of membership in the Body of Christ, and membership in a local church.

Firstly, today, we live in a mobile society - Many of us no longer live in the towns we grew up in - statistics tell us that many of us will move from here to another place. I guess for the Burdekin the turnover is about every 3 years. Because of this many refuse to sink roots or only sink very shallow ones because it is easier to leave if we have not formed deep and meaningful relationships.

Secondly, we live in an "Instant Gratification - Feel Good" society where we move from place to place looking for something instant that feels good and when that doesn't happen we go to another place and another and another. This is not just true of the church but also in marriages, jobs, and other personal relationships. Because of this we have lost any sense of permanence and we are suffering for it. We are wandering lost and alone searching for meaning.

This is not the attitude Christ wants for us.

There is a story of an officer named Peter O'Hanlon. He was patrolling on night duty in northern England some years ago when he heard a person sobbing. He turned in the direction that it came from, and saw in the shadows a little boy sitting on a doorstep. With tears rolling down his cheeks, the child cried, "I'm lost. Take me home." The policeman began naming street after street, trying to help him remember where he lived. When that failed, he repeated the names of the shops and hotels in the area, but without success. Then he remembered that in the centre of the city was a well-known church with a large white cross towering high above the surrounding landscape. He pointed to it and said, "Do you live anywhere near that?" The boy's face immediately brightened. "Yes, take me to the cross. I can find my way home from there!"

As we spoke about last week, God has chosen the Church to fulfill His purposes. Therefore it is through the ministry of the church where we can find stability and meaning for life.

The purpose of membership to a local church is to serve to encourage people to commit themselves to Christ and His work. That means it serves to promote ministry, accountability and discipline, which are all central components to a true commitment to Christ. Church membership is a means through which we encourage people to work towards the purposes of the church that Christ has set down, and which we find in this passage we are looking at today.

So let's read together what these purposes are in Ephesians 4:1-16

The first of the purposes God has for the church has to do with our character.

1. Live by the fruits of the Spirit

The first phrase Paul uses here is to urge us to live a life worthy of the calling we have received.

Paul isn't saying here, "Hey guys, it would be really good if you lived your life in a manner pleasing to God. I mean, I know you're under a lot of pressure, and I know that you've got the mortgage on your house and property, plus support a family. I want you to know I really empathize with you a lot. But in the midst of your struggles, then could you please at least consider being committed to Jesus. I mean you are a Christian and all that, and you might even find being committed to Him will help - so there are some benefits for you too in all this."

You know, Paul isn't interested in the excuses and mumbo jumbo of this world that people use not to be fully committed to Christ. Too often we blame our circumstances for lack of commitment, but often those circumstances only come from the choices we have made. God isn't interested in excuses either - He wants us to be committed to Him and His call. His call, through Paul is that we DO LIVE A LIFE WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL - no matter what the cost or personal sacrifice it takes for us.

And it is here that Paul then tells us what our characteristics should be as people belonging to Christ. If we are to be a witness to society of the grace and love of God, then our lives need exemplify that love and grace, not just by what we say and do, but how we live out that truth in our inner being. So Paul tells us there is only one way for this to happen - that our lives demonstrate true humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, love, diligent, and peace to our lives. What do these mean?

Humility means seeing one's self right. It means being honest with yourself.

Gentleness could also be translated "meekness." Meekness is not weakness and gentleness doesn't mean being wishy-washy. The idea behind gentleness is "power under control." In the Greek language, the word was used of wild horses that were broken and trained.

Patience is sometimes translated by "long-suffering."

Humility and gentleness combine to produce patience.

Forbearance is also a product of humility, gentleness, and patience. The idea here is to hold one another up, or to sustain or support one another. We are told this operates in love.

2. Work Hard to be Unified

All of these are characteristics of Christ and they are the characteristics that combine to produce the nature of Christ in us. Only as we have these characteristics do we find ourselves in a place where unity is possible. And this unity is what God wants for us Paul says in verse 3, "make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Our unity is to be based on biblical principles. The ground of our unity is what God has done as revealed in His Word. You can attempt to have unity on grounds that are not biblical. Some people may say: "We are not interested in biblical doctrines, but in love. Let's forget our doctrines and just love one another! Then we will be united." Outwardly that may sound well and good. But Paul did not begin his discussion of unity until he had first laid a biblical foundation. What he mentions here in verses four through six is merely a recap of what he has already established in chapters one through three.

So Paul says there is one body. Every believer is placed into the Body of Christ when they are born again. And this one body has its expression in the local church.

There is one Spirit. The same Spirit dwells within each believer. It is this Spirit who produces unity.

There is one hope of your calling. This is the hope we have of Christ's return to take us all to heaven. Those who are expecting Christ to return will tend to be peacemakers rather than troublemakers. A firm hope in the return of our Lord Jesus will turn our thoughts from earthly things to heavenly things.

There is one Lord. As believers, we all serve the Lord Jesus Christ. If we serve the same Lord, then we should be able to walk together in unity. But if our lord is our own preferences, desires or opinions, then we will be divided.

There is one faith. This is the central body of truth that Christ has given to His church, and revealed in His Word. Jude calls it "the faith which was once delivered to the saints." If you depart from "the faith," then you bring about disunity within the Body of Christ.

There is one baptism. Here Paul is probably referring to the baptism discussed in 1 Corinthians 12:13. This is the baptism whereby the believer is baptized into the Body of Christ at conversion.

And finally, there is one God and Father. This may be another way of simply saying that we are all in one family. It is the family of God. Those who have been born again can now refer to God as their Heavenly Father. In the Lord's prayer we do not pray "My Father," but we pray "Our Father." In the family of God there is a sense of community.

So we see that the ground of our unity is not simply that we all agree, but it is that God has made us one by placing us together in Christ. We have a positional unity in Christ which we are expected to maintain in practical ways.

The way we maintain this unity is by living by the fruits of the spirit: God has chosen us to be Christ’s representatives on earth. In light of this truth, Paul challenges us to live lives worthy of the calling we have received—the awesome privilege of being called Christ’s very own. This includes living by the characteristics by being humble, gentle, patient, understanding, and peaceful. People are watching yours and my life. Can they see Christ in us? How well are we doing as his representative?

As these fruits permeate our lives, then we will live in harmony and love and unity. But we don't do this in our own strength. And here Paul reminds us that It is by the Grace Christ has distributed to us that these things can become true for us as we obey Him.

1. Grace Given by Christ

These next four verses contain in them the richness of God's love to us. And if these verses don't amaze and excite us - I don't know what will.

Here we find that he led the captives in his train when He ascended. Paul uses this picture to teach that Christ, in his crucifixion and resurrection, was victorious over Satan. When Christ ascended to heaven, he gave gifts to the church, some of which Paul discusses later in this passage which we will look at soon.

Paul reminds us that Christ came to us - He descended from Heaven to the lower earthly regions. Now, the "lower, earthly regions" may be (1) the earth itself (lowly by comparison to heaven), (2) the grave, or (3) Hades. However we understand it, Christ is Lord of the whole universe, past, present, and future. Nothing or no one is hidden from him. The Lord of all came to earth and faced death to rescue all people. No one is beyond his reach.

Not only is Christ's presence and influence and infilling in the earth, but we read in verse 10 that He "ascended in order to fill the whole universe). God is limitless. So often we try to limit and fit Him into the boxes of our limited understanding. Other times we even go as far as to try to place upon God our own desires, wants and expectations - we even go as far as to tell Him how He should run the show. We forget he is our creator, we forget He is our Lord, and so we go off on our own tangents dishonoring God and His rightful place in our lives. Here we find God is do powerful that He has filled the entire universe. We need to always remind ourselves of the awesomeness of God and the awsomeness of the demonstration of His grace and love.

I find it incredible that here is an awesome and powerful God who desires to be intimately involved in us. Not only is He interested but He is actively involved in our lives so that we may be equipped to fulfill the purposes He has for us. In verse 13 we discover that Christ's desire is that we be mature and that we "attain the fullness of Christ". This isn't some kind of lameless hope of Christ's for us, but He ensures these things will happen by giving us gifts to fulfill His purposes.

2. Leaders are to Equip People Towards the purpose

These gifts are given to each one of us. And all of us can function in diversity for the common good of the Body of Christ. This distribution of spiritual gifts is for the benefit of the Body of Christ - the whole church. In 1 Corinthians 12-14 we find that the gifts of the Spirit are given so that the whole church can be built up. Unity is enhanced by spiritual gifts because we come to understand that we need one another. We cannot afford to live individually and separated from one another.

In verse 11, Paul mentions several equipping gifts. These are not gifts given to individuals, they are gifted individuals who have been given to the church. He mentions apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.

The purpose of these gifted individuals is to "prepare God's people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ".

Therefore, the purpose God has given me, as your pastor, and those in our church gifted in the areas mentioned in verse 11, is to prepare you for:

• works of service

So that we as a local church may be:

• Built up in Christ
• Reach unity in our love for Christ
• Grow in depth in our love for and commitment to Christ
• Mature
• Attain the full measure of the fullness of Christ

How is this achieved?

Obedience! That is obedience to Christ and His purposes for us.

This means then that the work of ministry within the church is not done only by a few, but everyone "prepared for works of service" does the work. Every single one of us who belong to Jesus Christ has been called to serve. As in Paul's words then, as your pastor, I urge you to make yourselves available for works of service. That is, use the abilities and gifts God has given you, and as you serve, don’t serve out of an attitude you are doing everyone a favor by serving, but have the attitude that you are responding to Christ out of obedience. There are still quite a number in this church who are willing to let everyone do the work - if you are one of these people you are not being obedient to Christ. You may not like what I am saying, but I am only sharing with you the Truth of God's word and the Truth of the Purposes God has for the Body of Christ. Let us together work together, and function as a church who has purpose, who passionately love Christ, who willingly give and serve Christ and one another. So that together we grow in a depth of love for Christ demonstrated by our unity in love, that we grow mature and that we attain the fullness of Christ in our individual lives and in the life of our church.

Again, I return to the question of membership in our church. The purpose of membership is to commit ourselves to the principles and purposes given by Christ Himself. Now we might say, I don’t need to commit myself to a local body as I am already a part of the Body of Christ. Yes, you are a part of the Body of Christ - but that on its own does not ensure growth in Christ. This passage makes clear that we are not to be an array of people who are lone rangers, but instead we need one another to function according to our giftedness and that we need to function in unity and love. Paul emphasizes the inter-relatedness of all the members in the Body of Christ. We need all the gifts and all the gifted individuals God can supply. We need one another. And our inter-relatedness is based on the activity of the Spirit in our midst. It is not based on tradition or style. It is based on the life of the Spirit in the community of those who have been made alive by the Spirit.

These things then serve to equip and prepare us to fulfill the cause of the Church.

1. Grow in Christ

Paul says that as a result of the proper working of these gifts mentioned in verse 11 we are "no longer to be children." But hang on; doesn’t Jesus tell us to be like children?

Yes, Jesus says unless we "become like children, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3) So, is Paul contradicting Jesus here, are we to be like children, or unlike children?

As in so many cases, to get a full understanding and handle on this phrase we need to consider the context. Jesus says we must have the faith of a little child, a simple faith, a genuine belief in Him. Little children can be completely trusting, and we are to trust Jesus with a similar faith. Also, we must have the humility of a little child, knowing that we are weak but our Father is strong. These are desirable qualities for Christians; we should imitate little children in these ways.

But anyone who has been around children knows that they have undesirable qualities in addition to these desirable qualities. And with two children of my own, I've had a lot of exposure to both! Here are some of the undesirable attributes of children:

(1) Children tend to follow the crowd.

Children can tend to follow their peers in both positive and negative ways. And we as Christians can do the same, chasing fads, following the latest "new" teaching. Paul calls this being "carried about by every wind of doctrine," every new teaching that comes along. But the truth of God’s word does not change as some people are apt to portray. When the leadership exercises their gifts properly, the church is protected from the fads of teaching that tend to sweep over the various churches.

(2) Children are easily diverted and distracted

There are times I am reading a book with Samuel or Joshua and they are soaking up the story when all of a sudden they see someone walking by, or a dog barks, or there is a noise in the kitchen. All of a sudden they lose concentration and go and see what the noise is about, leaving a waiting and frustrated parent behind because this is the seventh time in two minutes he has walked away.

In the Christian life, if we are not built up we too are easily distracted from the truths of God’s word and our specific calling. Paul says the equipping of the leaders keeps us from being "tossed here and there by waves," keeps us from being distracted, keeps us from losing our focus. Our leaders teach us these truths again and again, reminding us of what we already know, and then live out these truths in their lives so that we might not lose focus.

(3) Children are easily deceived

Unfortunately, we have to warn children that not everyone who looks kind and nice is kind and nice. Children are naive -- and can place themselves in danger because of that naivete. Paul is very explicit about the dangers here, saying the leaders must equip the saints so that they are not taken in "by the trickery of men, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming."

Satan is subtle, appearing even as an angel of light, and he tries his best to deceive us. If he can’t get us to reject the Bible outright, he will try to twist our doctrine in subtle ways, or try to change our emphasis. We only avoid these problems if we have leaders who teach the whole counsel of God, who know the Word, teach it faithfully, and live it out in their lives.

So we are to have the simple faith of a young child, but we are not to follow the crowd, we are not to be distracted, and we are not to be gullible. The proper use of the leadership gifts protects the church from these childish errors. But the leadership gifts also serve in a positive way to cause us to move up from childishness to full maturity; the leadership gifts build up the church, as discussed in verses 13, 15, and 16:

 

2. Be Filled with Christ

As we obey Christ, and as we dwell upon His truths, His guidance, and His purposes for us, then we a re filled with Christ because our lives are sold out for Christ. He is our greatest priority, our greatest desire, and our greatest love. When these things are true for us an individuals then He continues to fill us to the full measure He desires.

3. Be Built Up in the Love of Christ

Not only are we filled with Christ, but we are built up in the love of Christ (verse 16a). Because of this we are united in the bond of love that is made possible through Christ. Look at the words here in verse 16. It says that we are "held together by every supporting ligament" growing and building itself up in love.

4. Continue the Work of Christ

How is it that these things come about?

They come about "as each part does its work", verse 16.

So, as each of us do the work Christ has apportioned for us, then we will grow into maturity, we will be filled with the fullness of Christ, and we will be built up in the love of Christ.

So the purpose Christ has for the church is that we grow in maturity, and those who have the gifting spoken of in verse 11 equip and prepare people for the work of Christ. His purpose is that we be available for service, that is using the gifts He has given us and respond to His call upon our lives. His purpose is that we love one another and keep a bond of peace and unity of love. You see, we cannot afford to treat God's Church as a mere organization - but we need to not only acknowledge, but make ourselves available to function as an organism together. That means everyone's availability and everyone playing their part in order that we fulfill Christ's purposes for us.

By Scott Douglas, Pastor, Burdekin Baptist Church, 14 February 1999

Portions of this sermon have been adapted from sermons by David Hoke (Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church, 2303 Evesham Rd. Voorhees, NJ. 08043) and C.M.Wylie (Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church, P.O. Box 7403, Amarillo, TX 79114-7403).