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SERMON
Talking with his disciples, Jesus asked them, "Who do people say
the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist;
others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
Then he brought it all home. "But what about you?" he asked.
"Who do you say I am?" In a sense that is the central
question of faith, and I encourage you to take that question very
personally. But think before you speak; because your answer to that
question can be as revealing as almost anything you could say about
yourself.
Karl Barth used to say, "Tell me who Jesus is to you, and I will tell
you who you are." Barth was saying that who you are, and therefore
how you act, is shaped by what you believe. So, having talked in the
first half of this letter about who Christ is to us, Paul will turn now
to who we are to him, and therefore how we are to act as his men and
women. Having talked doctrine, now it's time to turn to ethics.
So the letter turns from preaching to teaching, from praising God for
revealing the mystery of his plan for us, to exhorting us to live lives
that honor that plan. How, then, are Christians supposed to live? Well,
the first sixteen verses of chapter 4 describe the church at its best,
and it can be summed up in a simple formula: unity + diversity =
maturity. Verses 3-6 talk about our unity in the body of Christ. Verses
7-12 talk about the diversity of our gifts and functions. And verses
13-16 describe the maturity that can come of it.
Paul begins by urging us, in light of all that God has done for us, to
live a life worthy of our calling. Having told the drama of God's grace,
he asks us, in effect, "Therefore, given God's love, how then are we
to love? Given God's wisdom, how are we to think? Given God's intent,
how then are we to behave?" Paul urges us to live the kind of life
that God intends, and not to settle for anything less. And in verse 2 he
lists the virtues that make that kind of life possible. He says, "Be
completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in
love."
"Be humble," he says. What does that word mean? True
humility can only come from self-knowledge. You really can't be humble
if you don't admit who you are. And if you do admit who you are, you
can't help but be humble. Paul says here, "Be completely
humble." But for many people, self-knowledge can be a frightening
prospect. Set aside the idea of revealing ourselves to someone else. I
wonder how well we would handle a really thorough self-examination. If
you have ever taken a long, hard look at yourself without covering up
anything (I mean ruthlessly baring yourself, body and soul, to yourself)
you know what a traumatic experience that can be. Imagine what it would
be like to be that utterly transparent with someone else. That's a scary
thought. So out of a primal need for self-preservation we'll clothe
ourselves with a persona or an image we can live with – as well as one
that we think others will find acceptable.
But humility as it's used here is one of those Christian virtues that
gives us the courage to say, in effect, "Here I am, warts and all. I
may not measure up to your expectations of what I should be. I know I
don't measure up to mine – or to God's. And it's not that I'm proud of
what I am, or that I have no desire to improve. I'm a work in progress,
and I pray God isn't finished with me yet. But what you see is who I am,
and that's all I can offer you right now." That's humility, and it's
not a virtue for the weak. It takes strength of character to truly bare
your soul.
"Be gentle," he says. What does that word mean? Gentleness
is like humility in that it, too, requires strength of character.
Aristotle defined a virtue as the mean between two extremes. And so
gentleness, he said, was the balance-point between being too angry and
never being angry. For Aristotle, a truly gentle person could express
indignation at the wrongs suffered by others, yet maintain a capacity to
take personal wrongs with great self-restraint.
There's another sense in which gentleness is like humility. Just as true
humility can admit my weaknesses without becoming morbidly self-abasing,
so true gentleness can admit my strengths without becoming obnoxiously
egotistical. Have you noticed how genuinely gentle people have a
strength about them? They don't seem anxious about protecting their
territory. Elbert Hubbard said it so well: "The strong can always
afford to be gentle. Only the weak are intent on giving as good as they
get." We need gentleness, as well as humility, in the church.
Then there's
makroqumia - the Greek word translated "patient."
Makro means
"great" and qumia
means "burning." Loosely translated, it means having a slow fuse –
burning long and slow before exploding. That virtue of patience has all
sorts of applications. But in the New Testament it refers specifically
to patience with people. Chrysostom, the 5th Century saint, defined
patience as "having the power to take revenge without doing it." God
knows we need patience in the church.
Paul then adds another dimension to patience when he talks about "bearing
with one another in love." That phrase means much more than simply
putting up with others. It implies bearing a part of those persons'
burdens along with them. For some people that may be a radically new way
of looking at the business of "bearing with" someone.
Tim Hansel writes with great insight: One of the most common and
naïve sentences in the English language is the following: "If I can just
get through this problem, then everything will be all right." There
comes a time, and it may well be the birth of maturity, when we realize
that once we get through our present problem there will be another one,
slightly larger and a little more intense, waiting to take its place.
Problems are the litmus paper of the human story. How we respond to them
may well be a measure of our health.
Let's be honest. Every one of us carries burdens, many of which we never
allow others to know about, let alone bear with us. It doesn't have to
be that way. When we make that first tentative offer to share our burden
with another or to shoulder part of the other one's load, we're taking a
huge step toward the unity that Paul is talking about here.
That's why he goes on to plead with us to "make every effort to keep
the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." - "Make every
effort," he says. Those virtues of humility and gentleness and patience
and bearing with each other in love – they don't just "happen." They
have to be cultivated. So Paul tells us to make every effort
because it will take every effort to maintain that kind of
community that will put whatever strengthens the body of Christ ahead of
self-interest.
Then, at verse 4 Paul begins a sentence in which he uses the word "one"
seven times in a row to describe the unique character of the Christian
community. It's a kind of literary "tour de force" of the unity that is
ours in the body of Christ.
First, there is one body, he says – and that means the one body
of which Christ is the head. And it needs to be one, because it's
impossible for the head to manage a body that's fragmented.
Second, there is one Spirit. The Greek word that Paul uses here
means both "spirit" and "breath." Paul says that, just as breath is
utterly essential to life, there is no life in the church without the
Spirit.
Third, there is one hope to which we have been called. Despite
all of the vastly different ways Christians act and think and organize
and prioritize and express themselves, we all operate out of one hope:
that the world will come to Christ to be redeemed and made perfect.
Fourth, there is one Lord, says Paul – a name that means both
master and sovereign. Here we have a clear restatement of perhaps the
earliest confession of the Church: "Jesus Christ is Lord."
Fifth, there is one faith. The word here doesn't refer to one
creed or one doctrine. It means "one commitment." In this case you might
put it "there is one supreme loyalty."
Sixth, there is one baptism. Christians aren't the only ones who
have historically practiced baptism. What makes Christian baptism
one-of-a-kind is that it is the sign of a life that is claimed by God
and committed to Christ.
And seventh, there is one God. But this isn't simply a creedal
affirmation that there is only one true God. Paul says that this one God
is our Father who is not only in control, but is intimately involved in
our lives. Our unity is grounded in the conviction that we live in a
world that is created, controlled, sustained and loved by God.
Now, having made his case for our unity, Paul is ready to tackle our
diversity. So at verse 7 he begins to talk about the ways in which we
have been gifted so differently. But notice how, at the outset, he uses
that quotation from Psalm 68 to remind us that, like a conquering king
returning from battle and dividing the spoils of war, each of us is
given a gift "as Christ apportioned it." In other words, "When you start
talking about your gifts, don't ever forget who gave them to you."
That's why Paul goes on in verse 11 to say, "It was he who
gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets…" and so on. As we
review these assigned gifts, keep in mind that Paul's list here, like
his lists of gifts in Romans 12 or 1 Corinthians 12, isn't meant to be
exhaustive. He is simply making a case for the necessary diversity of
gifts in the body of Christ. To put it bluntly, we can't all be the
C.E.O. any more than we can all be workers waiting around for someone to
give us direction.
Paul says that Christ "gave some to be apostles" – that is, those who
were gifted with organizational authority from the start. There are
branches of the church where apostolic succession and authority are
still important.
He "gave some to be prophets." Whether in the Old or the New Testament,
prophets were those who spoke directly for God to specific situations
and needs. There's certainly a need for a prophetic voice even today.
He "gave some to be evangelists." Like the prophets, they were footloose
First Century prototypes of today's missionaries who take the evangel
(literally the "good news") to those who've never heard it.
And he "gave some to be pastors and teachers" – the twin category of
those relatively settled leaders in a community who were gifted to not
only teach but to shepherd. Of course, the critical question that wants
to be answered here is "Why – Why did he give some to be pastors and
teachers?" The answer comes clearly in verse 12: "…to prepare God's
people for works of service" (i.e., "with a view to equipping the
saints for service.")
Now, it may not have occurred to some of you that this is nothing short
of radical teaching to some Christians. In fact, I suspect there are
many people who hold the notion that ministry is the stuff that pastors
do, while the members and friends of the church are those who are
ministered to. In a society that puts a premium on consumer satisfaction
that idea may be particularly popular today.
Let me assure you that there's nothing wrong with that setup – as long
as it doesn't stop there. Paul clearly says that Christ gave some to be
pastors and teachers to minister to the flock. However, he is equally
clear that the purpose of this ministry of word and sacrament and
nurture and shepherding is to "prepare God's people for works of
service" – that is, to equip them for those ministries that they alone
can perform. This is the scriptural foundation of the Reformed doctrine
of the priesthood of all believers.
Paul goes on. He says that God's people need to be prepared for works of
service "so that the body of Christ may be built up." Here we have his
ecclesiastical body fitness plan. If a church has strong active leaders
who are doing all the work, the rest of the body is likely to be out of
shape. If only a part of the body is exercising, it will be lopsided and
ineffective. Which is why at verse 13 he says that this equipping and
building up has to continue until we have all reached that level
of spiritual maturity he calls "the fullness of Christ."
Now, notice how he's come full-circle. He began with a focus on unity.
Then he noted the need for diversity. But when we have unity in Christ,
we can embrace and celebrate each other's individuality. The bottom line
is this. When you have a healthy diversity that is grounded in
fundamental unity, the result is maturity.
And so, in verses 14-16 Paul gives us a picture of what a spiritually
mature fellowship looks like. In verse 14 he says that we will no longer
be infants, tossed back and forth by crafty teaching. He's talking about
a church that is innocent but not gullible. A mature Christian
fellowship will be teachable – in fact they'll be eager to learn. But
they will also insist on intellectual and moral and spiritual integrity
in the stuff they're taught.
In verse 15 he talks about "speaking the truth in love." A mature
Christian fellowship will be characterized by honesty and candor but not
brutality. You can speak the truth in a way that is devastating. It
takes spiritual maturity to say what needs to be said with true
agape love.
Finally, in verses 15-16 he talks about growing up into Christ. He says
that Christ is the Head, and he acknowledges that the church would be
lost without him. And yet he ends by saying that the body "grows and
builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." A
mature Christian fellowship is utterly dependent on Christ, yet it is
profoundly interdependent. Does that describe this church? In some
respects, yes. In other ways, we still have a long way to go. But the
Lord has given no indication that he's giving up on us. So I for one am
committed to stay the course and see us grow up in Christ. What about
you?
Paul has been talking here about how God expects us to behave
corporately. Now he will turn our attention to how we are to behave
individually. So your assignment for this next week is the last half of
chapter 4.
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