Last week I introduced our journey through the book of Ephesians and what it has to say about being church. I will dive into this week’s topic in a moment, but allow me to give some background on Ephesians.
First, it is possible that Paul was not author of Ephesians. The language is different from Paul’s normal writing style and there is no mention of local issues or persons as in Paul’s other letters. Nevertheless, because it is the tradition, I will continue to refer to the author as Paul. Second, this might not be a letter at all. The ascription to the Ephesians does not appear in the earliest manuscripts. This means that Ephesians may be a tract or even a type of written sermon meant to be distributed to the churches. Some scholars see it as a baptismal tract to instruct believers in belief and practice. Whatever its origin, Ephesians has much to teach us about the church and how we are to live as Christians.
So what does it mean to be church? Last week I said it starts with the awareness that we are blessed:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Eph 1:3)
In one long sentence (vv 3-14), Paul says we are blessed by God, and he stacks verbs one after the other to describe these blessings:
God chose us in Christ to be holy (v 4)
God destined us for adoption as children through Christ (v 5)
God bestowed grace on us through the Beloved, Jesus Christ (v 6)
We are redeemed through Christ’s blood, having forgiveness of sin (v 7)
God makes known the mystery of his will (v 9)
God gather up all things in Christ, whether in heaven or on earth (v 10)
In Christ we have obtained an inheritance (v 11)
We are sealed with the Holy Spirit, a mark of our inheritance ( v 13)
Being a church starts with the recognition that God has blessed us. Moreover, it is not our doing; it is all by God’s grace. I encourage you to read Ephesians 1:15—2:10 (the lectionary skips this section in our cycle of readings) as important background to this week. That which begins with blessings in Christ builds on this foundation – Jesus is now the cornerstone, and we are all a part of a great house in which God dwells. Peter says it this way:
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.” (1 Peter 2:4-6)
How can we be church? Know that you are blessed in Christ, the cornerstone, and together let us grow into a temple where we give praise to God and minister to all people.
Jerry+
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