God's Upside-Down Community ~ The Core (part 2 of 3)

God's Upside-Down Community - The Core 
1 Corinthians 13

<Intro>

For the sake of those who were not here last week, lets do a really quick review.

Last week, we considered Eph 2:11-22. In that incredible passage we discovered that before we believed the gospel we not only had a judicial problem before God, we had a relational one. Our status was described as separated, alienated and without God. We also discovered that just as Jesus had resolved our judicial problem by taking on our sin and giving us his righteousness, Jesus had resolved our relational problem with God. He himself is our peace and he has broken down the wall of hostility and enmity and restored our relationship with God. But he did more than that. Jesus has brought people together into his body who, humanly speaking, have no reason to be together. He did this to demonstrate his wisdom, which is foolishness to man and to be a display of his glory. In fact, the picture we saw last week was that Jesus has joined us together to be a holy temple where God himself can dwell by his Spirit.
I subtitled last week's sermon "The Foundation" on purpose. I didn't simply want to dump on us a 12 point plan of how to live as God's upside down community. For one I don't think that is helpful and for another I don't see that approach taken anywhere in Scripture. Instead, I see the Biblical writers laying down strong theological pillars and then building upon those truths. That way the implications and applications flow not from one man's opinion, but from the worldview that Spirit has crafted in us by his word.


But now that we have these foundational truths in our hearts and minds, the next question that we should ask is what drives us to live this out? Certainly our desire to glorify God in all things is a driver (1 Cor 10:21) as is our desire to be obedient to Christ (Col 3:23-24)

And yet, the engine for all that we do, our evangelism, our giving, our behind the scenes service, our making of meals and serving in the nursery, our praying after midnight for wayward children and indifferent spouses is driven by something given to us by God. It is the love that Christ has placed in our hearts through the Spirit.

Before we dive into 1 Cor 13, I would like to set the stage with a couple of other verses. The first is [Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self- control; against such things there is no law.] I'm highlighting these verses as a simple reminder that love is not a gift like encouragement or teaching that some believers have and others do not. No, love is part of the fruit of the Spirit which is given to all believers.

Next, lets look at [2Cor 5:14-15 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this:

that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.] We have a union with Jesus, both in his death and inhis resurrection. Remember Dan's baptism sermon? Because of this union, the love of Christ (not just a love for Christ) controls us and compels us.


So that brings us to 1 Cor 13. This is what many call the "love" chapter and clearly for good reason. Unfortunately, the chapter is often preached out of its context. And while it makes for a wonderful, sentimental reading at a wedding, if we don't see God's intent for the magnificent love he is describing here, we really will misapply the truths this chapter contains.

<1 Cor 12 - context

The setup for chapter 13, of course is chapter 12, which is where Paul begins his teaching on the grace gifts. But, what's interesting about 1 Cor 12 is that Paul's inspired focus is not so much on the gifts, but on the purpose and use of those gifts. Look at [1Co 12:4-7 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. One God. One Lord. One Spirit. And, the gifts were given for the common good.]

Next, let's skip to [1Co 12:12-13 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.] One Jesus. One Spirit. One body. And, as we saw last week, our external distinctions are subsumed into something bigger; something better.

There is one more passage from 1 Cor 12 to set the stage for the "love" chapter. Here is [1Co 12:25- 27 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. ] You can see here the grace gifts have a purpose which is to build up the body. And Paul is laying down his cards regarding his holistic view on the function of the body of Christ. We really and deeply care for one another. When some one succeeds, we all rejoice as if we or our spouse or kids had succeeded. And when one suffers, the ache of our heart is just as grievous as we ourselves had suffered.


Yet, the question remains, how to do we get there? What is the engine, grace given to be sure, that allows us to begin to live and act the way God is calling us to? I submit to you that it is allowing the love of Christ to begin flowing in and through you for the glory of God and the benefit of others. This is without a doubt upside down and, I would dare say "unamerican", but I am convinced it is Jesus' call on all of our lives.

<1 Cor 13 - love vs gifts>

With this setting in mind, lets consider verses 1-3 of chapter 13. Paul is continuing his discussion about the use of the grace gifts. Tongues. Prophecy. Faith. Sacrificial giving. Martyrdom. These were some of the more spectacular, front office gifts in Corinth. And yet Paul reminds the Corinthians that without love even these prominent, seemingly more valuable gifts are worthless.

Remember Paul's point about why the grace gifts are given. They are given for the common good. How could any gift whether prophecy or working in the nursery or preaching or cleaning the church be done for the common good if it is not motivated by love. And if we are not motivated by love in our service to others within the body, our service is not having its intended affect within the body of Christ.

Remember also God's design of this body we are a part of. It is designed to be a single entity made up of many parts. It is designed to represent both the unity and diversity of the Trinity. So when we look to the Trinity what is the glue that holds the Father, the Son and the Spirit together, isn't it love?

<1 Cor 13 - love described>
Now consider what this love looks like. Verses 4 through 7 describe the love that Christ has for us and the love that should mark this upside down community that we are a part of. I am going to slowly reread these verses and I'd like you to meditate on two things. First, how are these true of Jesus? and second is how are these true of you?


[1Co 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.]

Can you see Christ in this description? Patience and kindness? Isn't that essence of the gospel? No envying or boasting or arrogance or rudeness? Wasn't that the nature of his earthly ministry? Not insisting on his own way? The garden of Gethsemane. Not irritable or rude? Every interaction with Peter or the pharisees. Not rejoicing at wrongs, but rejoicing in the truth. His teaching as well as calling people out of their sinful lifestyles both before and after the cross. Bears all things and endures all things. Isa 53 comes to mind. Believes all things and hopes all things. Jesus' prayer in John 17.

Now what about us? How do we measure up to 1 Cor 13? Quite frankly, I am the opposite of most of these. And the more I reflect on them the more I realize I don't even try to live up to some of them them. Which, I think is part of Paul's point. To really be the church, to really be the dwelling place for God by the Spirit, we need to be living not in a love we can produce, but in the love that Christ himself provides.

But living out this love is difficult, isn't it? Each of these aspects of love seem to be at war with what's inside of me. And to make it even worse, many aspects of our culture seem to push us away from this kind of love. Yet, it is these very realities that make this love the core of God's upside down community.
How else could we pray for those who persecute us? How else could we give without expecting anything in return? How else could endure rejection and ridicule. How else could we hope for restoration and repentance? How else could we place our rights as subservient to the rights of others within our body? It is all driven by the love of Christ.

<1 Cor 13 - gifts limitation vs love's perfection - affect>
But there are other aspects of this love that both overshadow and undergird how we serve and relate to one another. As we see in verses 8 - 12, there is a permanence and a completeness to love that our gifts will never possess. We know this don't we? The limitations of what we can do, even in the power of the Spirit. For example, if have the gift of giving, there is only so much I can give. Even if I sell everything I have, it would never match the need that is out there. Or, if my gift is encouragement, at some point I will be the one who needs encouragement (2 Cor 1). That is just the nature of how things are now. They are limited by time, space, and our own frailness. But the love of Christ is perfect and complete.

<1 Cor 13 - gifts limitation vs love's perfection - extent>
There is another limitation of these gifts that set apart love. The gifts won't always be needed, at least not for their purposes today. Consider each of the grace gifts, think about all the various encouragements Jesus and the other New Testament writers express about service within the body. What is their overriding purpose? Isn't it to build, strengthen and restore people in their faith. What is preaching and prophecying? Isn't it for calling us to faith in Christ or to live out that faith (or live up to it)? Encouragement and helps? Isn't it coming alongside people who have lost sight of the goal of Christ and need a hand or a boost? What about leadership or administration? Isn't that simply providing a framework where people can more clearly hear the word of Christ and respond in faith and repentance?

Now, picture the new heavens and the new earth. Streets of gold, city gates of pearls, etc. Which of the gifts are needed for the purposes we've listed? Will anyone struggle in their faith? Will any one's health, family or job situation be so overwhelming that the gospel is obscured? Will anyone be wayward or struggling with doubt? Will the followers of the Lamb not know when to gather before the throne? My friends the gifts are temporary, or at least their current purposes are temporary, because our current task is temporary. But a rejoice in this: a day is coming when all this will be unnecessary. We will see God face to to face. And we will know him, even as today we are fully known.

Can I be candid for a moment? I often wrestle with how best to express the truths contained within God's word. I see the immensity of it, the beauty of it and the power in it. And I know after 20ish years I am only beginning to begin to begin to grasp these things. Yet there is a compulsion in me to convey what I do see. To teach, to preach, to lead and facilitate bible studies. I'm guessing many of you don't have 1 Cor 9:16 highlighted, underlined or circled. Well, I do because of the reality of the middle sentence "Necessity is laid upon me". I can't not teach.

I share all of that to say this: a day is coming when this type of teaching will not be needed. We will know God better than we know our spouses or our closest friends today. In fact we will know him better than we currently know ourselves. We will see and experience him in his fullness. Everything that is shadow will on that day become substance. Blueprint will become completed building. Fuzzy tv will become dazzling reality. But in all that three things will remain. Faith. Hope. Love. And the greatest of these is love.


God through Jesus in the power of the Spirit has given us this engine of love to make the promise of Eph 2 a reality. But if any of you are like me, you are asking what does this look like? How do we put this into practice? God wouldn't just leave us hanging here, would he?

Those are really questions that I pray will be more fully answered in two weeks. But for now let me set the stage in two ways. First let's take a quick survey of where this is pictured in the New Testament. Here is my quick scan: Rom 12-15. 1 Cor 3-14, 2 Cor 1-9, Gal 6, Eph 2-6, Phil 1-4, Col 3- 4, 1 Th 4, 2 Th 3, 1 Tim 2, 5, Tit 3, Phm, Heb 12-13, Jm 1-5, 1 Pt 1-5, 1 John 2-5, 3 John. In fact, it is summed up well in [1Jo 5:1-3 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.]

<start of good Samaritan> <power point> <12 min>
But to drill into a more specific example, let's look at Lk 10:25-37. This encounter and parable will be familiar to most of us, but I think it really paints the upside down nature of God's community and models the kind of love it takes at the core of such a community. And, as you're turning to Luke, remember my comments from last week about loosing the awesomeness in the familiar. Lets read with fresh eyes. Listen with fresh ears. Engage with a fresh mind. Be affected with a fresh heart.

<good Samaritan setup>
The passage begins with Jesus interacting with a religious lawyer who essentially asks him how to be saved. Interesting Jesus doesn't answer directly, but replies by asking the lawyer what the lawyer thought. The lawyer's reply is to quote Dt 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind" and Lv 19:18 "love your neighbor as yourself.” Even more interestingly, Jesus says "yep, do this and you will live".

Without spending a ton of time on this part of the passage, Jesus is basically affirming what the entire Bible holds out as being the essence of true religion, loving and worshiping God and loving and serving others. Yet we must do this perfectly to be rightly related to God and failing just one point is the same as failing at all points. (Jm 2:10)

To read into this part of the passage just a bit, in the moment between the lawyer hearing Jesus' response and his opening his mouth, he had to be thinking, "what are the boundaries here? These verses are way too open ended. I may have to put this into practice." He could have just as easily asked about where or when. He could have addressed worship instead of service. You see, this lawyer was smart. He saw the implications if the verses he quoted were left unconstrained. It would turn more than 2 millennia of Judaism on its head. An unconstrained love of God and neighbor is beyond us. If that is what God requires for us to be saved, we are all doomed. (Which, of course, is part of the point)
In order to answer the lawyer's second question and actually highlight and intensify his previous answer, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. We don't have the time to look into the details of the parable this morning. Instead, we'll take a flyover and engage the parable at a more holistic level.

<parable rule>
The first thing we need to remember is that each parable has only one main point. Discerning that point is key to understanding the characters, settings and events within the parable itself. For this particular parable, the main point Jesus is trying to convey is that there is no set definition of neighbor. It is really open ended, just like the lawyer was afraid of. In fact, I would dare to say that Jesus intentionally pushed some racial and religious boundaries in picking the hero of his story.

<priest and levite>
Next, track with the first two characters who encounter the guy who was robbed and beaten. Since we know the "punchline" we see them and think "ooh they're bad boys". But if we're listening for the first time and we're in the cultural context of the lawyer, the first two characters are actually doing what you would expect. At least the lawyer would think so. After all, a lawyer obeys the law, doesn't he? Stay pure, keep to the letter of the law, keep your love and mercy constrained so it is manageable and within our grasp.

<Samaritan>
When the Samaritan arrives, Jesus' parable busts several paradigms wide open. However, I would like to note here that these paradigm busters are entirely consistent with what Jesus has been saying all along. First, the fact that he uses a Samaritan as his hero is a shocker. That would be the akin to retelling the parable today with a Catholic priest, a Baptist pastor and an Al-Qaeda terrorist.

The listeners would have had really no categories to place this hero in. <love connection>
Next look at the motive for the Samaritan's behavior. He was moved with compassion. Literally the word would be moved in his gut with compassion. It took him over. Sound like 2 Cor 5:14 to anyone? Also notice that this was an unconditional, unidirectional expression of love. There was no sign of a quid pro quo. What payback could he expect from a beaten up half dead guy laying on the side of the road. And then there is the extent of the Samaritan's care for the victim. It would be a stretch to say it was unlimited, but he certainly cared for everything that was in front of him and laid out some resources for any unexpected contingencies. To use a modern day phrase, he certainly went above and beyond the call of duty for someone who racially and religiously was his enemy.

But lastly, notice there was no connection between the Samaritan and the victim. This really feeds into Jesus' main point: there is no limit to the expectations for showing God's love. These guys weren't friends, they clearly weren't from the same town or synagogue. And yet the Samaritan lavished him with care, compassion and love.

<Jesus' punch line>
So Jesus asked and lawyer and he asks us: who was the neighbor to the victim? Don't just read the answer. Feel it in you heart. Feel it in your gut. The call of Jesus, the call for followers of Christ is not just to know the gospel. It is to live the gospel. And isn't that what the Samaritan did?

Unmerited mercy and grace. Gifts that we need but are unable to ask for and unable to repay. Care for needs that are leading to our death. A supply of resources that extend beyond our present need. All of this from one who before this we would have considered our enemy. (Remember the dividing wall of hostility? - Eph 2:14) By the way, if you are seeing Christ in the character of the Samaritan, that's a good thing.

<conclusion>
So, where do we go with all of this? In a nutshell, that's the question I'm trusting the Spirit to answer in two weeks. For now, let me leave you with some thoughts to meditate upon in your quiet time or while you are working out or while you are driving to or from work.

1) Why did God leave you behind, so to speak, after he gave you new life in Christ? (Couldn't we all have been like the thief on the cross?)
2) How does our satisfaction in Christ translate into our service for our brothers and sisters in Christ?
3) When you read the "weaker brother" passages (Rom 14, 1 Cor 8) on which side of the equation do you see yourself? Why?

4) If we are truly the upside down community of God, how do we reorient ourselves so we see the Father, Son and Spirit, plus the church Jesus bought with his own blood as right side up? In other words, what will it take to really, seriously and honestly change our entire worldview to align it with God's?

To God Alone be the Glory 

God's Upside-Down Community - The Foundation (part 1 of 3)

God's Upside-Down Community - The Foundation Eph 2:11-22

When I say the word "Church", what is the first word or image that comes into your mind? Is it building? Is it a denomination? Is it a group of people who barely know each other but get together once a week for an hour or so? How many you had as your initial thought about the church as the upside down community of God?
How about this: Think about the awesomeness of God. What comes to your mind? His power in creation? His sovereignty over all things? The fact he would send Jesus to die for the sins of all who would believe in him? Or maybe its the promise of a remade world where we will be able to see him face to face. How many of you thought what is awesome about God is that he gave us the church?

I'm asking these questions because they are the questions that have been pressing on me for some time. What is the church, really? And why does so much of the New Testament seem to drive us to the conclusion that the church is a really big deal to God? And, the more I have prayed and studied, the more convinced I've become that one of the major themes of the New Testament is that the church is amazing gift of grace and that no Christian was ever intended to live in isolation from the body of Christ.

It has also become obvious to me that there is more to say about God's awesome, gracious gift of the church than could be said in one sermon. At this point, I'm viewing this sermon as the first part of a trilogy. My goal today is to lay a gospel foundation for the awesomeness, the beauty and the necessity of the church. Lord willing, some day in the future I will be able to present the core of what drives the church and also what impact the church has on us, both as a community of believers, but also on a dark and dying world.

Its important to remember as we begin diving into Eph 2 that this letter, written to the Christians in the church at Ephesus, has a prominent Gentile focus. Dan spoke of the huge barrier of prejudice that Spirit had to overcome in the hearts of the Jewish Christians in Acts 10 and 11. But what barriers did the Holy Spirit need to overcome in the hearts of the Gentiles who were now coming to faith? More than that, how was God going to merge two cultures that had been diametrically opposed for millennia? I trust the 2nd half of Ephesians 2 will give insight into the answer.
In addition I think it is important to hear the relational words Paul was inspired to use and connect them to your own spiritual journey. The beauty and the power of God's word is that although these words were written for a specific audience with specific goal in mind, God can bring those same words and intentions forward and speak them directly to us today. So as we consider the impact of God bringing Jew and Gentile together under the cross, ask yourself what do these relational terms mean to us here in La Crescent, MN, in the year 2013.

Look with me again at verses 11 and 12. What do we do with these strongly negative relational words? Separated. Alienated. Strangers. No hope. Without God. It is almost as if Paul wants us to see that we were not simply any of these, but all of them. At one point we were completely and permanently separated and distant from God. How often do we consider these things when we think about where we were before Jesus invaded our lives?

I don't know about you, but I've spent more time and have heard more sermons on the first 10 verses of Ephesians 2 than second 12. Because of this, we may have developed a distorted view of the gospel. The first half of this chapter clearly and concisely address the judicial aspects of our sin and the redemption we have in and through Christ. And because its focus is judicial, its focus is on us as individual believers.

But, as Paul moves into the second half of this chapter, he wants his readers, both the Ephesians and us, to know that there were additional problems beyond the reality that we were dead in our sins and the we were walking in step with Satan. These things were true of each of us, to be sure, but Paul wants us to know there was relational divide as well as a judicial one.

Think about it. Did your sin and rebellion offend a holy God? Absolutely. But didn't that same sin also alienate you from your loving Father? When someone sins against us, we may be able to forgive the actual offense, but the relationship may not get restored so easily. And if this is true of us, how much more true is it of God as he regards the sins of those who are not believers in Christ.

Before I move on, indulge me for a moment. Let these words linger in your mind. Consider your relation to God before he reached out to you. And, if you are here and you have not trusted in Christ alone for your salvation, these words are painfully true of you today. Separated. Alienated. Strangers. No hope. Without God.

Brothers. Sisters. As Paul will make clear in the very next verse, this is what Jesus restored for us. We should be rightly in awe of the forgiveness that Jesus purchased for us and gave to us without cost or obligation. But we should be doubly in awe because he has also restored a relationship that has been broken since the garden.

Look with me now at verse 13. In a contrast that is every bit as profound as the one in verse 4, Paul lays on us the stunning relational reality of the gospel. Since we can so easily slide right by this, let's savor this magnificent truth: But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

And, to add to the awesomeness, this relational restoration is not limited to individuals. Paul intentionally uses group language to show this restoration is corporate as well. Its as if Paul wants to say, we all have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

It was here that I began to realize that maybe my familarity with these truths had deminished their awesomeness in my eyes. Thankfully, the Spirit brought me some passages outside of Eph 2 to highlight the grandure of what Christ has restored to us. Mt 6:9 to my mind: Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." and Gal 4:4-6 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” and Luke 11:13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

How easy it is to forget that without Jesus, God would not be our Father. Nor, would we be near him. Listen to the terrifying words of Mat 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? ’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. ’

How easy it is to forget that without Christ we would still have the veil of the Jewish sacramental system separating us from God. We would be like the Israelites in Ex 20 when they saw God engulfing Mt Sinai and told Moses “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” And the result was that the people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

But Paul doesn't stop with simple relational nearness. He is moving toward a major point in his letter to the Ephesians and he wants, in a sense, to overwhelm them by what God has accomplished and what Christ has restored. In verses 14 - 17 he talks of peace, breaking down of walls and the killing of hostility and the establishment of reconciliation. The centerpiece of the entire passage is that this peace and reconciliation, this removal of hostility was accomplished through the cross.

Please note that the peace that Paul is referencing is not the simply defined, shallow peace of the 21st century. If I would ask "is there peace in your home?" or "is there peace in that church?", the question you would probably answer would be "is there an absence of conflict?" This kind of peace is usually pretty easy to achieve. I can achieve this kind of peace with Sally by understanding what makes her happy and doing it. The same goes for my kids, my boss and my friends. But is this real peace? Is this really what Christ died for, to simply appease an angry sovereign? Some folks may think so, but the peace Jesus brings is so much more.

The peace Paul attributes to Jesus' death on the cross the peace of Shalom. According to one Hebrew scholar, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight--a rich state of affairs in which natural seeds are satisfied and natural gifts are fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. In other words, it is the way things ought to be.

This is the peace, the wholeness, the restored meaning and purpose that Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. And, if that isn't enough to bring awe into your hearts and minds, Paul states that Jesus himself is our peace. Jesus doesn't simply give us peace or somehow broker a peace treaty between us and God. He is the one who empowers the shalom and sustains it for all eternity.

But, starting in verse 14, Paul begins to weave in a secondary, yet very important theme. This theme is crucial for our lives not just as individual followers of Christ, but as a community of believers. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul's says that Jesus, who is our peace, has made us both one.

I don't know about you, but this raises a some questions for me. First, who are "us both"? In other words, who has Jesus made one? It seems pretty clear from the context of the prior three verses, Paul has primarily Jews and Gentiles in mind. We can only imagine how huge a statement this would have been to a reader from either camp. For a Jew with over 2,000 years of religious isolation as their heritage and sincerely believing that the only way to be right with God is to not only follow God's commands but theirs as well. To that, God says I have abolished, done away with, destroyed, that whole system. It will no longer appear to be a means of salvation, and it also no longer be a source of hostility.

And, to us who are Gentiles, the Spirit says basically the same thing, but on the other side of the equation. Because of Jesus, there is no need for circumcision. Because of Jesus, there is no need to follow the multitudes of extra rules that were added on top of the laws which were appended to the commandments. And, because of Jesus, we are no longer separated from God or from our Jewish neighbors.

That really leads to a second question from verse 14. What does Paul mean, "made us both one"? One what? Or more to the point, one in what sense? As we have seen so far, the main thrust of this passage, and I would dare say the entire New Testament, is that both Jews and Gentiles both can now be one with God through Jesus. The judicial payment for our sins, the giving of his righteousness to us, the drawing us near, the being our peace and so much more belong to all who trust in Christ, not just to those with a Jewish heritage. The reason this may not lead us to awe in part because it is too familiar to us. But to the Gentiles sitting in the church in Ephesus, these words would have been stunning.

But there's more implied in this oneness language. While Paul's main concern is that we grasp the vertical oneness we all have with God through Christ, almost by implication then, we have oneness with each other. If what kept Jew and Gentile apart was that the Jews were rightly related to God, but the Gentiles were not but now both are rightly related to God through the cross, what is there to separate them as brothers and sisters in Christ? If, in the past, the Jews were given rules and laws, not as means of salvation, but as mark of belonging to the family of God, but now those boundary markers has been replaced by faith and repentance, what barrier is there to fellowship between Jews and Gentiles?

My friends, this is an awesome reality that I think we often fail to grasp in significance. This is a fairly homogeneous church in a fairly homogeneous community in a fairly homogeneous part of the country. But, how do we view people who claim to follow Christ from say San Francisco, or New York, or Papua New Guinea or Ghana? I'm not asking do you think they are saved. I'm asking do you really think of them as brothers and sisters in Christ? Whatever barriers there were: racial, cultural, linguistic, economic or educational are broken down in the flesh of our savior.

As Paul moves through his statements about Christ's reconciling work on our behalf, the horizontal distinctions become less and less distinct. We've been joined in one body in verse 16. We are no longer strangers or aliens in verse 19. By verse 22 all Paul can see is the singularity of God's community. He expresses a very similar thought in Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

So what is Paul trying to communicate to the church at Ephesus and to us? First, I think this passage fits in the general euphoric tone that carries through chapters 1-3. Its as if Paul sat down to write about the greatness of Christ and simply couldn't stop. One layer follows another. First one aspect, then another, then another. Paul is simply in awe of Jesus.
Second, it seems clear that Paul wanted those who would feel rightly distant from God to know that in Christ, they have been brought near. He wants us to grasp that the hostility our sin has caused has been absorbed by Jesus. He wants us to grasp that we can truly call God our Father, even Abba, Father, because of the perfect obedience and sacrificial death of Christ. In fact Paul states verse 18 that through Jesus we all have access in one Spirit to the Father. Such a statement opens up the whole idea and topic of prayer, which deserves a whole sermon by itself. Yet, Paul's basic premise is that it is Jesus who makes our prayers possible and acceptable to the Father.

Because of all of this, our horizontal relationships can be restored. Christ himself is our peace. Later in the book Paul will call us to forgive as we've been forgiven by God in Christ. While our distinctions are not erased or diminished, they are subsumed into the greater glory of Jesus crafting one new man out of the two. 

But there is another awe inspiring aspect to what Paul is building toward. He starts verse 19 with "so then", which should clue us in that he is going to make is own concluding comments. The first conclusion he states is that we have gone through a change of affiliation. We are no long aliens and strangers; outsiders looking in. We are now fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Paul is drawing the connections between the ideas of nationality and family. Whatever our status before Christ, we are now citizens of the kingdom of God. And, when the earth is restored, there will only be one kingdom. It won't be Rome and it won't be America. It will be the kingdom of God.
Along side our citizenship, we are also in the family of God. Its awesome and amazing to think that we have been placed in the kingdom of God because of Christ, but it is another thing entirely to think we are in God's family. That level of intimacy seems almost too much, as if Paul went to the well of the glories of the cross one too many times. And yet here it is, with its manifold familial implications. God is tender and loving and patient with his children. He wants what's best for us and is not out to trick us or trap us. As Matt Chandler is fond of saying, God not only loves us, he actually likes us. Isn't this the implication from Jesus in Lk 11 that I mentioned earlier?

But Paul is still not done. As he uses this inclusive, expansive, relational language, he begins to weave in a building metaphor. First he states that Jesus is our cornerstone. The cornerstone of our faith, to be sure, and he is the source of our citizenship and the reason we are in the household of God. But he is also the cornerstone of a holy temple. But how are we to relate to this imagery?
Think back for a moment to the Old Testament. Consider the progression of how God met with his people. First it was in the vague generalness of Mt Sinai. Then it progressed to the more specific and ornamental, yet temporary and somewhat obscure tabernacle. Then, with Solomon, God

commissioned his temple. Given the reality that God is omnipresent, it is also true that there was a special manifestation of God's glory which dwelt in the temple. (For extra credit, read Ezk 8-11, noting the change between 8:4 and 11:23)
Now, in the New Testament, where does God's glory dwell? To be sure, it is still in the temple, but not a temple made with bricks and mortar. In one sense we individually are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19) But here in Eph 2 and in 1 Cor 3 as well as in other places, God has inspired Paul to declare the church, this collection of blood bought believers in Christ as his dwelling place by the Spirit.

As I reflect on this reality, I have to admit I'm a bit stunned. I can track with the Old Testament progression of mountainside to tent to building, each more concrete and glorious and representative of the nature and character of God. But the church? But the glory of God here, in this ordinary, mid- western collection of redeemed sinners? If we are honest, this is hard to track. It really seems antithetical to where God's glory should dwell and his honor should be displayed. In a word, it is upside-down.

And yet, recall Andrew LeClaire's sermon from a month or so ago. One of his main points and the main point of the second part of 1 Cor 1 is that God's wisdom and our wisdom are flipped. Jesus' birth in a stable? Foolish. Proclaim the message that will change all of history to twelve common men? Foolish. Allow mankind's only hope of restoration to a holy God to be captured by vengeful religious and political leaders of his day? Foolish. Permit the torture, execution, death of the innocent one? Foolish. Rise from the dead and appear not to the ones to killed you but to the ones who abandoned you at your time of need? Foolish? Entrust the good news of God's redemptive plan and Jesus' saving death to ordinary people who would tell ordinary people? Foolish. And dwell among those people as a demonstration of your glory and majesty and a manifestation of your multifaceted wisdom? Foolish. Foolish. Foolish.

And yet God has done all of these things. He has done them to demonstrate that his economy is different than ours. He has done this to show the immeasurable expanse of his love and grace. He has done this to declare that he alone is God and that to him alone belongs glory and honor and praise.

So, where do we go from here? Part of the impetus for this sermon was the growing realization in my own heart and mind of the incredible value Jesus and apostles had for the church. The more I read both the Old and New Testatments, the more I see God pouring himself out not just for you or for me, but for us. Do you recall Jesus' promise to Peter in Mt 16 after Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ? Jesus proclaims: "I will build my church".
On top of that, I think we need to be called back to the radical, upside down nature of God's community. Take a slow, reflective read through Rom 12-15 or 1 Cor 3-14. Even here in the book of Ephesians, I challenge you to make sense of Paul's heart outside of the context of the gospel working in the blood bought family of God.
And at the end, I come back to awe, which leads to worship. There is much I haven't even touched.

What drives and sustains this upside down community? How can we really be one in Christ if we are so different? What is my commitment to you and what is your commitment to me? Some of these questions may be addressed in future sermons as the Lord allows.

But today let us simply stand in awe of God. He has done something beyond amazing in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. And, he is doing something equally amazing by joining weak, frail clay pots into the dwelling place for his Spirit to be the demonstration of his manifold wisdom to a lost and dying word and to all principalities and powers in the heavenly realms. And we, by God's grace, are all participants in it.

To God Alone be the Glory. 

Extended Pentecost

Extended Pentecost

2013-09-15

Acts 10:43-48

43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

In Cornelius's house that day, a new chapter in Christian history was written.

·      The Gentile Pentecost displayed God’s acceptance of Gentile believers as Non-Jews into body of Christ making the church international & multi-racial.

Peter did not finish his sermon before everyone hearing repented & was saved.

·      Salvation was the result of Holy Spirit not a flashy presentation or human persuasion.

o   The Holy Spirit does the convicting/convincing & He changes minds, hearts, wills.

§  Acts 10:43-44, Gal 3:2, Acts 11:14-17, Rom 8:9

·      The Gentiles heard that forgiveness was available thru faith in Jesus & they believed.

o   This does not explicitly say “believed”, but saving faith results in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There is no such thing as Christian without the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit fell on these Gentile believers in the same way as on apostles @ Pentecost -- not by the laying on of hands & praying for Holy Spirit like the Samaritans; God just did it! 

·      This was not a new Pentecost but rather an extension of Pentecost to include Gentiles.

·      Gentiles were saved in same way, by same gospel, & baptized by same Spirit in same way as Peter/Apostles in Upper Room & Jews at Pentecost.

o   This does not teach speaking in tongues are normally to be expected w/coming of Holy Spirit. 1 Cor 12:30

§  This is not recorded in all Acts conversions…Samaritans at Pentecost & the Ethiopian eunuch.

·      Speaking in tongues was a confirming sign for the sake of the Jewish believers present. Gal 5:6

o   It was undeniable, irrefutable evidence that the same Holy Spirit was within the Gentiles— even w/o converting to Judiasm.

§  This truth overruled all Jewish prejudiced objections.

·      They must have been amazed: they knew they must fully accept Gentile believers as Gentiles into body of Christ.

The order here: believe in Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit, and be baptized by immersion in water.

·      In the New Testament, baptism follows salvation, & thus is not necessary for salvation.  Act 10:47-8, Eph 2:8-9, 1 Cor 1:17, Mt 28:19-20

o   You do not need baptized to be saved, but if you are saved you need to be baptized.  

·      Baptism, not an altar call, was the universal public declaration of conversion and proclamation of allegiance to Jesus & identity with the Christian community.

o   This is called "believers” baptism. Infant baptism reverses biblical order.

baptismos: to dip, immerse, plunge something underneath water. Dying cloth. 

• This is a beautiful picture of a Christian’s union with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. Gal 2:20, Col 2:12, 2 Cor 5:17 
• Going under the water celebrates Christ's death/burial for our sins & a Christian's death to sin and self. 
• Coming out of the water celebrates Christ's resurrection & a Christian's newness of life. 
• The sprinkling of water just doesn't portray these truths as vividly.

·      The Greek word implies Peter wisely ordered 6 Jews with him to baptize new Gentile converts. Act 10:48

o   Scripture not specify where or who can perform a baptism.  

• Just be sure the person being baptized is truly a child of God & understands what he or she is doing.

o   You need to be baptized if you have not been baptized since belief in Christ.

• LEFC baptism ceremony & celebration is Oct 20th…e-mail me.

Baptism brings blessing that comes with all obedience (1 Jn 5:2), joy of public profession of one's faith & many times builds up other Christian's that are present.

·      All this is possible for any Gentile because of Jesus' death, resurrection, & God’s gracious gift of the Holy Spirit first given to non-Jews @ the Gentile Pentecost in Cornelius’ home.

Religion Does Not Save

Religion Does Not Save

2013-09-08

Acts10:1-8

10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of ^wwhat was known as the Italian Cohort, ² a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. ³ About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” ⁴ And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. ⁵ And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. ⁶ He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” ⁷ When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, ⁸ and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

2^nd of 2 key individuals in watershed event: Gospel to Gentiles as Gentiles.

·      God revealed to Peter that the Gospel transcends centuries of the Jewish prejudice thinking that they were greater than the Gentiles.  

·      Cornelius: God showed Gospel is the same for all men, Jew or Gentile. Acts 10:1-2

Cornelius was a religious, praying, devoted, generous, respected, and sincere man, but nevertheless he was spiritually separated from God.

·      if they were already saved, they wouldn't need Peter to come share Gospel. Acts 11:13-14

Cornelius illustrated: fearing God & doing good does not necessarily equal being Christian.

·      3 classes of Gentiles; pagan, proselytes to Judaism, and God-fearers.

·      Cornelius knows there’s a God…general revelation.  Rom 1:18-20

o   human reason can ascertain God exists by cause/effect in creation.  

§  The Holy Spirit enabled Cornelius to believe Israel’s God was the true God.  

·      Fears Israel’s God because he realizes he’s morally accountable to Him.

o   so he tries obeying Jewish law (10 commands) to gain favor with God.

·      He also believed salvation thru Jews & knew about Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

o   It was common knowledge to Christians & the lost. Gal 3:16, Acts 10:36-44

·      But religious sincerity, earnestly believing in God, doing good as best you can & knowing about Jesus does not solve the problem of sin debt.

God-fearing, ethical, good people, must repent & believe to be saved.

·      What must we believe? That Jesus the Christ is God incarnate, lived a perfect and  sinless life of servant-hood, died on cross, was resurrected, ascended, and now sits at right hand of Father.

o   James Denney, “Do not preach mainly about...”

·      There is no salvation in any other way or any other person. Eph 2:8-9

o   GRACE alone thru faith alone in Christ alone.

·      Peter gave simple gospel message, they believed it, and were filled with the Holy Spirit (kind of a 2^nd Pentecost) & received access to God as adopted children.

o   Gospel presentation...feel distant from God

Cornelius and the Gentiles were saved by believing the same gospel preached to Jews, but today many leave out a crucial part of original Gospel…. repentance.  Acts 11:18

·      "Repentance" is hatred of sin; turning from sin & determination to forsake it.

o   True Repentance: If there was no hell, the repentant person still runs from sin & their desire is to live like Jesus.

§  Not like a child who hates the consequences of sin or regrets the fault before being punished.

·      Like a child it’s possible to confess sins & not truly repent.  Judas

o   Today there are those who preach that it is possible to keep your old precious sins & get new stuff on top of that such as forgiveness, health, no problems,100% return on any money given, and people say sign me up).

§  Jesus loves as we are AND loves us by not letting us remain in sin.

o   That’s why repentance is a continual, life-long act enabled by God’s grace. It is toward God & others.

Turning from sin & walking in obedience validates our faith as real & displays sincere repentance. Jn 14:15, Mt 21:28, Jam 2:14, 17 & 2 Cor 13:5

·      Our faith, repentance, & obedience will always be imperfect in this life, but as Cornelius learned, our basis for God’s favor is not sincere religious efforts or even human goodness, these fall short of perfection; rather it is upon the blood of Christ.