Format with book as reference (1/14/10)

Jesus' Two Great Commissions
Part Two

The epistle to the Ephesians may be viewed correctly as "the call to spiritual maturity." In the first section of Ephesians (chapters one through three), Paul did the following: (1) He emphasized the phenomenal spiritual blessings available in Christ. 1 (2) He prayed that the Ephesian Christians would understand God's achievements in the crucified Jesus.2 (3) He informed them that they had been made alive by grace to do God's work.3 (4) He stressed that God in Christ erased all spiritual distinctions between Gentile and Jewish Christians.4 (5) He revealed his responsibility to unfold the "mystery" of God's plan to save Gentiles as well as Jews through Christ. 5 (6) He prayed for their spiritual development.6

At the beginning of the second section, 7 Paul beseeched (urged, implored, or begged) these Christians to walk worthily of their call to be Christians. The word translated beseech, urge, implore, or beg conveys a mandatory request. He was urging them to do that which they were bound spiritually to do--¬the request was not optional!

The point was clear: if they understood what Paul said in chapters 1-3, then they had to comply with the teachings of chapters 4-5. This transition statement would have been appropriate between 3:21 and 4:1: "If you understand who Christ is and what He has done for you, you must live in the following manner." The life Paul urged them to accept was a life of spiritual maturity.

Walk Worthily of Your Calling

The second section declared when one understood God's spiritual accomplishments in the crucified, resurrected Jesus, that person must live a life worthy of the call to be a Christian. All of Paul's following instructions characterized the Christian who lived in a manner worthy of that call.

A Christian who was living in a spiritually worthy manner would be committed to two primary responsibilities8• First, through love, he would be forbearing. When he had to endure the faults and mistakes of his Christian brothers and sisters, he would be understanding and helpful. Rather than becoming their judge, he would seek to rescue and sustain. Second, he would accept responsibility to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. He functioned within his Christian commitment and responsibility to preserve unity. He sought to preserve unity by pursuing peace.

While these two responsibilities were to be accepted by each Christian individually, they also represented a mutual Christian commitment to be assumed by all within the congregation. Being forbearing in love and preserving unity by pursuing peace was both a "my" responsibility and an "our" responsibility. In that mutual commitment, each Christian was to live in a manner which was becoming to his call to be a Christian.

These two responsibilities cannot be separated. Unity cannot be preserved through the pursuit of peace unless genuine Christian forgiveness and acceptance characterizes congregational relationships. There can be no dedication to forgiveness and acceptance if there is no concern for the preservation of unity. Commitment to one demands commitment to the other. Only by commitment to both do Christians walk worthily of their call.

Such should be a self-evident truth. It would be ludicrous for one Christian to say to another, "I want to live in peace with you as a spiritual brother, but I want you to know that I will never, never forgive you for what you did to me!" It would be equally ridiculous for one Christian to say to another: "I want to forgive you and accept you as my Christian brother, but I have absolutely no desire to live at peace with you." Both these statements are in such contradiction that no one would accept either as a sincere effort to seek peace or to extend forgiveness.

Three attitudes are essential (a) to walk worthy of one's spiritual calling, (b) to accept responsibility to be forbearing, and (c) to pursue unity. Attitude one: There must be humility or lowliness. Arrogance, pride, and self-centeredness must not be given a place in one's heart and mind.

Attitude two: There must be meekness. Basically, one expresses meekness by being under control. His drive and spirit are always under control--not merely under his control, but under God's control. Being under control enables one to be gentle with those who have made mistakes.

Attitude three: There must be patience. Forbearance is patience expressed over a long period of time. Time is essential in the sincere pursuit of unity and peace. God's patience is evident in His tireless efforts from Abraham to Jesus' cross which produced salvation. Since God is the example of patience, then Christians must seek to be as patient as God.

God is Revealed through Oneness

God has revealed Himself to mankind through oneness.

God has spiritually expressed Himself and His will through oneness. If the Christian comprehends the centrality of oneness to God's work, his essential commitment to the pursuit of congregational unity is self-evident. There is one body, one spirit, one Christian hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. All of that being true, an aware Christian cannot miss the fact that a congregation belonging to the God of such oneness must itself be committed to oneness.

As a gift from Christ, each Christian has received a full measure of grace. Through that unmerited kindness, the ascended Christ enabled first-century Christians to receive and use a gift. In context, the gifts Paul spoke of were roles and tasks Christians fulfilled in God's earthly kingdom. Christ "gave" to different persons the opportunity to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors (shepherds)/ teachers (the structure of the Greek makes pastors and teachers refer to the same person). .9 Only by Christ's grace did anyone serve in those roles.

Occupying any role of work or service in God's kingdom was not to be looked upon as compensation for personal merit, a personal achievement through hard work, or verification of one's superior importance and worth. Each had the opportunity to minister and function in his capacity by the grace of Christ. They were to view their roles and ministries as gifts, not as achievements.

The Objective of Their Ministries

For what purpose did Christ "give some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers"? That question is not as simply answered as it might appear.

Answer the question purely in the context of the point Paul was making in this epistle. Paul's answer in 4: 11-16 was presented in three segments: the purpose of the ministries, the immediate objective of the ministries, and the end result of the ministries.

Concerning the purpose of these ministries, Paul gave his answer with three emphases in verse 12: "for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ." These ministries existed to perfect ( equip¬-RSV, NEB; prepare--TEV, NIV) the saints. The objective of each of these ministries--apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors/teachers--within the church was to prepare or to equip Christians.

What were Christians being prepared or equipped to do?

They were being equipped for two purposes: the work of ministering and the building up of the body of Christ. Please note it was for the work of ministering, not to produce ministers (i.e., preachers or evangelists). This statement also is translated "for the work of Christian service" (TEV), and "for works of service" (NIV, JB). The idea is clear: In regard to the church, these four ministries had the purpose of preparing or equipping Christians to serve.

These four ministries also had the purpose of preparing or equipping Christians "to build up the body of Christ." In context, this passage is not talking about the numerical growth of the church. It is not, in this context, talking about increasing the effective evangelistic outreach of the church. It is speaking of preparing or equipping Christians to help the church mature spiritually. Building up the body of Christ focuses on the internal spiritual development of Christians within the church, not on the evangelistic thrust and numerical growth of the church.

For How Long?

How long was this process of equipping the saints to do the work of ministering and to build up the body of Christ to continue? Chapter 4:13 delineates the time in these terms: until (a) they achieved or reached unity in the faith; (b) and they achieved or reached unity in the knowledge of the Son of God, resulting in the maturity which was to be measured by stature of Christ's fullness. Obviously, this was a continuing commitment.

Attaining unity in the faith signifies that Christians grow to the point that they live in unity because of their common faith in Christ. Common agreements, common judgments, common conclusions do not produce this unity. Common confidence in Christ as the Savior unifies them.

Attaining unity in the knowledge of God's Son is not merely coming to the agreement that God sent Jesus, and that Jesus is God's Son. Paul was not speaking of knowledge of a fact; he was speaking of knowledgeably comprehending the significance of Jesus. Unity in knowledge of God's Son would include two fundamental commitments. The first commitment would be to know and understand Jesus the person. Since he is the standard and the example of perfect commitment to God's will, there must be an earnest hunger to know the man. The second commitment would be to understand the redemption, the forgiveness, the atonement, the justification, and the sanctification God made possible in Jesus' death and resurrection. Stated simply, the congregation has a common, specific understanding of (a) Jesus the person, and of (b) Jesus the divine sacrifice.

Confidence in Christ as Savior and comprehension of Jesus as the man and the divine sacrifice will produce spiritual maturity. This maturity is not to be measured by any set of human criteria. No group of elders, preachers, or devout persons can be permitted to use their personal convictions about what is or is not mature to create a "maturity checklist." This maturity is measured by comparing the attitudes, feelings, heart, mind, and deeds of the person to those of Jesus in His life and death.

Just as the commitment to evangelism is unending because there are always more people to be taught, the commitment to edification is unending because there are always immature Christians who need to continue their spiritual growth and development--spiritual infants who recently have been baptized; spiritual adolescents who need more knowledge and experience; and the weak, the troubled, and those who need greater maturity. Until Jesus returns, Christians will be pursuing unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son. They will always need to grow more completely into the fullness of Jesus' own stature.

How is Progress Measured?

What results can exist as honest criteria for determining progress in the pursuit of unity and maturity? Christians will no longer be spiritual children who are easily swayed and easily deceived. Because they have attained a common confidence in Jesus as the Savior, because they have an accurate understanding of Jesus the man and Jesus the sacrifice, they cannot easily be persuaded to follow every unscriptural teaching which arises, nor can they easily be victimized by crafty teachers who are experts in deceit.

Rather, they will become men and women who speak truth in love as they grow more Christ -like in every area of their lives. Christ's leadership is accepted without question. Christ is permitted to join and bind them together into a sound spiritual body. They understand that Christ supplies all their needs as His body. They are at work as His body, growing and building themselves up in love as the church.

These Christians are not merely "in contact" with each other. They are not merely acquainted. They are knit together in the manner that ligaments bind the joints of the body together. This congregation can work, grow, and develop as a body because of the genuine love which exists.

The Proof

What proved this was occurring in the church at Ephesus?

First, they would not be living the ungodly pagan's lifestyle characterized by futile thinking, a darkened understanding, and alienation from God--all of which were the result of ignorance, hard hearts, and self-abandonment to sensuality and greed.10 Christ did not teach them to live such an existence. Christ taught them to put their former ungodly, lust-filled lives behind them, to renew their minds in the spirit of Christ, and to put on the new person which was created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Second, the following were the evidences that the ungodly life was behind them, and that they had put on the new person.11 Lying had ceased; they spoke truth. Anger was not permitted to turn to sin. Instead of stealing, they worked to support themselves and to help those in need. Evil talking ceased; they spoke things that built up and encouraged others. They did not grieve the Spirit by resisting God in their lives. Bitterness, wrath, loud insults, slander, and malice were replaced with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.

Ephesians 5 and 6 were a continuation of the evidences of change. They consciously imitated God. Sexual sin and greed were rejected. They bore the fruit of light as they proved what pleased the Lord. Time was used wisely, thoughtfully, and carefully. Drunken boisterousness was replaced by praising God. They restructured their family relationships and servant--master relationships, and they put on the whole armor of God.

An Observation

In context, the total emphasis placed by Ephesians 4:11¬16 on the work of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors/ teachers is upon the internal development of a congregation as it pursues unity and spiritual maturity. This passage clearly charges these four ministries to care for the church's internal development while saying nothing about the church's expansion.

Does this mean that Acts' emphasis on the evangelistic expansion of the church is in basic conflict with Paul's stress on edification to the church in Ephesians? Absolutely not! Acts documents the fact that Christians understood the need to share the gospel with all who had not heard it. Its author revealed how a local congregation in Jerusalem became a worldwide movement.

The epistle to Ephesian Christians was written to a congregation which existed because of the expansion recorded in Acts. They had heard and responded to the gospel, but that was merely the beginning of their Christian existence. If they were to achieve God's purpose in their lives, they had to attain a higher level of spiritual development.

Unfortunately, some of today's New Testament Christians confuse part of the truth for the whole truth. In the desire to motivate the church to accept its responsibility for world evangelism, proof text upon proof text is used to declare that the primary, most important work of the church is evangelism.

The church's responsibility to evangelize the world is undeniable. However, that is neither the only responsibility of the church nor the most important responsibility of the church. Nowhere does the text declare evangelism to be the primary, most significant responsibility of the church.

Many preachers, teachers, missionaries, and church leaders insist in sermons, classes, and print that the reason the New Testament church is not growing today is its lack of commitment to evangelism. Unquestionably, there is a lack of commitment to evangelism. However, a powerful case can be made by documenting an equally critical truth: The greatest barrier to evangelistic effectiveness in too many congregations is the pitiful, deplorable spiritual condition of that congregation.

Too frequently, congregations who hear first principles taught 80% of the time in the pulpit and in adult classes have the least response and least spiritual influence in their communities. Many of these congregations suffer from: ( a) enormous spiritual immaturity (the "issues" which alarm them often document their shallow understanding of the text and Jesus); (b) too little Christ-likeness in its members (jealousy, pride, and resentment exist in place of compassion, forbearance, and forgiveness); (c) no unity (they cannot build a classroom or replace a carpet without intense argument and hurt feelings); and (d) little or no love (visitors sense the cold, impersonal relationships on their first visit).

Such congregations would be well served to cease first ¬principle preaching and teaching in the pulpit and adult classes for a year or more. In place of first principles, they should focus adult "in congregation" instruction on learning to forbear in love, seeking unity in the bond of peace, equipping members to minister in spiritually building up the congregation, and seeking to become mature spiritual adults measured by Christ's fullness.

These brothers and sisters may be 100% correct in their understanding of first principles, but they are dead wrong in their concept of what God willed for a congregation to be. As a congregation, what they are totally destroys the credibility of their evangelistic efforts. Their community may not be rejecting the gospel; their community may be rejecting that immature, quarreling, jealous, cold congregation. The congregation itself blinds the community to the good news of Jesus.

Could it be that the church's lack of commitment to evangelism is the direct result of the church's spiritual immaturity? Could the church's failure to accept responsibility for the edification of the church result in its failure to be evangelistic?

QUESTIONS
1. According to Ephesians 4:2, 3, what two responsibilities does the Christian accept if he lives in a spiritually worthy manner?

2. Can these two responsibilities be separated? Explain your answer.

3. What 3 attitudes are essential if one walks worthy of his calling, is forbearing, and pursues unity? Define each attitude.

4. Read Ephesians 4:11-16.
a. What four ministries are noted?
b. What were the "in congregation" responsibilities of this leadership?
c. For what purposes were the Christians to be equipped/ prepared.
d. How long was this process to continue?

5. In context, to what does "the knowledge of God's son" refer in verse 13?

6. As Christians pursued unity and maturity, how was their growth to be measured?

7. Is the emphasis in Ephesians 4:11-16 on the internal development of a congregation in conflict with Acts emphasis on evangelism? Explain your answer.

8. In many congregations, the greatest barrier to evangelistic effectiveness is what? Explain that answer.

Thought Question

Why have so many Christians failed to learn and understand the critical, essential responsibility of spiritually maturing congregations?


ENDNOTES

1Ephesians 1:3-14.
2Ephesians 1:15-23.
3Ephesians 2:1-10.
4Ephesians 2: 11-22.
5Ephesians 3:1-13.
6Ephesians 3:14-2L
7Ephesians 4:L
8Ephesians 4:2, 3.
9Ephesians 4: II.
10Ephesians 4:17-23.
11Ephesians 4:25-32.










 

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