Building the Church

The church is the assembled people of God, not the building they assemble in. However, Paul compares the church to a building, a temple for God, and he tells us to build well. How do we do that?

We know that there is a way that leads to death and destruction through sin, and we see that there is a way of following Jesus that leads to life described at length in scripture. Is there another option, one that involves faith and a gift of eternal life without requiring any change on our part? Can one not be a disciple of Jesus Christ and still be saved by faith? 

Following Jesus is hard, especially if we really do it the way Paul describes. Satan will oppose us learning to do so, making it even harder. That's why Paul wraps up Ephesians with a discussion of spiritual warfare. Every day is a battle, but we are guaranteed to lose if we fight the wrong battle with the wrong objective or neglect to use the tools of war God has given us. 

Paul says that part of walking wisely, walking worthy of our calling, is that we must submit to each other. What does that mean? Paul uses three examples to explain, but the concept isn't limited to these examples. We must submit to one another in every human relationship if we are to be what Jesus created us to be. 

What's the point of theology? Paul begins to answer that question in Ephesians chapter 4. Because we are called, we are told to walk worthy of our calling. What does that look like? He begins to answer that question here, and he continues through the remainder of the letter. 

Theology is great, but it's only useful if we can live it out. Paul gives us a lot of wonderful theology at the beginning of Ephesians, and he spends the second half of the letter telling us how that works out in life. That's not automatic; we have to learn to do it, and we have to grow into it. God gives us gifts to help us do that together, and we need them all if we are going to be what he created us to be. 

The basis of the Protestant Reformation is that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. What does that mean? How does it work? Paul gives the short answer in Ephesians, the same thing he writes in greater length elsewhere. Truly understanding this is key to us living out the Christian life, and Paul prays that God would help us understand. 

The gospel is the glorious truth of our salvation, but the details sometimes seem a little unclear. After all, theologians have argued for centuries over topics like predestination, so how are we normal people supposed to understand what the Bible says? If we can manage to set aside modern ways of thinking and look at Ephesians like it's first readers did, predestination actually becomes rather simple. 

The apostles spent three years with Jesus, learning, modelling, and even preaching. They still didn't fully understand his work, even at the ascension, where Jesus told them that they would receive the Holy Spirit and be Witnesses. They soon figured it out at Pentecost. What does it mean to be a Witness, though? How does it apply to us today?

Even after they had been told that Jesus was risen, his disciples didn't understand. They also didn't recognize him, even when he began teaching them about what had happened. Why were they so blind?