Living In The Body of Christ (Ephesians)
Ephesians
When we open up the book of Ephesians, we see that this is Paul’s goal for the Ephesian church. He wants them to be a united team that is the undisputed champions of the world. This book is the most extraordinary explanation of the church. In it, Paul gives them ten truths intended to explain all of that.
An illustration found throughout this book helps Paul explain all of this. He says, “You are the body, and Christ is your head.” All of these truths revolve around this reality.
Blessed and Sealed (Eph 1:1-14)
Ephesians 1:13--14 (ESV) --- 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
The beginning of this book is all about God blessing us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. He has adopted us as his children, forgiven us of our sins, and lavished us with his grace. But, in verse 13, he breaks down what God had done to say that when we heard the gospel and believed, the Holy Spirit sealed us (in baptism) so that our inheritance is guaranteed to us until we acquire possession of it.
These words describe who the Ephesians are. They are men and women who have accepted the blessings and are now sealed. They have a mark on them that says they belong to God. Paul starts with the reality that they have. His goal is to blow their minds and shake them up. They need to see that this is not a fairy tale. This is reality. God has blessed them and sealed them so they can’t quickly lose that blessing.
With A Calling (Eph 1:15-19)
Ephesians 1:16--19 (ESV) --- 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
Here Paul starts to relay his prayers for them. He wants them to be enlightened and to understand the hope they have is not just forgiveness. It’s also the hope for a glorious calling. He wants them to understand that God’s power is at work in them so that they can dominate those who are against them. God has put a spark inside us that gives us the power to overcome darkness.
The Fullness of Christ (Eph 1:20-23)
Ephesians 1:22--23 (ESV) --- 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
This is an important couple of verses. When he talks about our calling and God’s power working in us, he uses this illustration of the church. The church is Christ’s body. As Christ was raised from the dead and given an eternal body, we were raised from spiritual death and added into Christ’s new body. This is our calling and our purpose. As our brain orchestrates the movement and working of the body, the church’s movement is orchestrated by the head, and Jesus is the head. He is the one who guides the church on how to live and act.
This illustration is supposed to make us wonder, what would the body of Christ do? He has a plan and a work that the body is supposed to fulfill. As God’s power was working in Jesus to shine a light on the world, God’s power is working in the church to shine a light on the world.
Temple of God (Eph 2)
Ephesians 2 is all about going backward before moving forward. The first nine verses remind the Ephesians how they have entered into the body of Christ. He wants them to think about how Christ has saved them and reformed them before discussing what they must do. It’s not a matter of self-achievement. They didn’t save themselves. This happened because God loved mankind enough to provide the blood of Christ as our sacrifice. The tremendous grace shown to us is enough to give us peace with God and peace with one another.
Verse 10 connects us again with the calling that we have as the body of Christ.
Ephesians 2:10 (ESV) --- 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
God wants us to live and work as Christ worked. He didn’t just save us because he loves us. That would be kind of boring and pointless. He gives us a purpose to live for. What kind of work does God have for us?
In the next section, he goes into an illustration of the church as the temple of God. Not only did God save his people, but he also made them into his temple. The temple was where Jews and the nations would go to glorify God. That is the point of this calling. Jesus called his body the temple. In some way, our bodies are God’s temple. God forms his image-bearers into a temple to help the world see how glorious he is. He wants to fill us collectively and individually with his glory so that the world knows how great he is. Our salvation and transformation are the results of our head’s sacrifice.
Sources of Strength (Eph 3)
In Chapter 3, he still holds off on explaining what the body of Christ does. First, he wants to explain how knowledge of this relationship is supposed to empower the body to glorify God in the spiritual realm. This is essential information. Before he tells them something complicated, he tells them where they can find the strength to do it.
Ephesians 3:8--12 (ESV) --- 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
He is preaching the gospel to help the church share God’s wisdom and glory. That’s the whole purpose.
But, he is not just preaching to bring this about. He is also praying for God to work inside the church, strengthening them to live as Christ lives.
Ephesians 3:14--19 (ESV) --- 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith---that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
The second source of strength comes from the Spirit working inside of the church to help them find the love and faith of Christ. Without the Spirit’s help, they will not succeed.
Unity (Eph 4:1-16)
Ephesians 4 begins to describe the work of the body. It’s a work that can only be accomplished by every part joining together and equipping one another to become as spiritually mature and glorious as Christ’s body should be.
Molding Minds (Eph 4:17-5:21)
In verse 17, he starts to explain the mature thought process of Christ. It’s not about this world and the temporary things that are here. Life is about renewing our minds to focus on the nature of God.
Ephesians 4:22--24 (ESV) --- 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
This new mindset is the mind of God and Christ. It makes sense for the body of Christ to be like God and Christ.
Ephesians 5:1--2 (ESV) --- 1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
This new mindset and new heart change the way we live. We don’t do what we want. We aren’t focused on sexual immorality, impurity, or greed. We don’t join ourselves to those who are corrupted by the world. Instead, we expose their evil and focus on living by the will of God. As Christ subjected his body to whatever God’s will for him would be, we are subjected to whatever God’s will for us is.
Molding Relationships (Eph 5:22-6:9)
The body of Christ considers Christ in every interaction with godly or ungodly men and women. This manifests itself in our everyday relationships. As Christ loves us, so we love our spouse, our parents, our children, our bosses, and our employees. In every relationship, we seek to infuse God’s love and provide the healing people around us need.
Protection (Eph 6:10-17)
We can expect resistance as we approach this work of being transformed and infusing God’s love into others. Satan is working to deceive us and those around us. So Paul tells us about all that God has given us and explains how these gifts protect us. We aren’t weak in the Lord. He wants his body to be armored with truth, righteousness, faith, readiness, salvation, and the word of God. We can be strong. We can stand firm against temptations and trials.
Prayer (Eph 6:18-20)
God’s power is needed for us to be the body of Christ and to do the work God has given us. Finally, he encourages them to join him in prayer. Then, he closes the letter.
What Do We Learn?
This book is intended to help the Ephesians understand who they are, what they are on earth to accomplish, and how they can accomplish it. The goal is glory. Glory for God, glory for Christ, glory for the church, and for that glory to constantly increase through the power of God working in us.
Is this what we see the church as today? Why doesn’t the body of Christ represent Christ adequately? This book encourages the church to study, pray, equip one another, renew their thinking, focus on relationships, and find protection from Satan through God’s blessings. We need this book to be our handbook and way of life.
“What would Jesus do?” should be the mission statement of our congregation and each of us individually because he is our head. His thoughts need to be our thoughts.
Application
Christ’s glory is found in our transformation individually and collectively. This letter shows us our purpose and gives us a mission. The question we must ask ourselves is, “What could we do to help our congregation resemble Christ?”
One of the biggest things this text tells us is that we need to help one another fully transition into Christ’s body. Look around. Is anyone here losing sight of who they are or what they are supposed to be doing? Maybe they are new to Christianity or disconnected from brethren in some way. We might have several fringe members who could be core members if one person acted interested in encouraging them. We want to help because their success is the success of the whole body. God gave us one another to help with the difficulty of being like Christ. We aren’t in this alone. We are a spiritual family, so we need to act like one.
Are you an active member of the body? If you aren’t doing anything, why not? Are you scared? Do you think you don’t know how? Over the holidays, my mom showed me a tape of me playing in the Morgan County Championship Basketball game. We didn’t win that game. We were up by eight at the half, but it seems like the coach just told us to shoot a bunch of threes and stop rebounding in the second half. Before the third quarter was over, they were up eight, and they ended up winning by fourteen. The sad part is that I played the whole game and didn’t do anything. I had one great pass the whole game. Other than that, I just caught and passed the ball. I was wide open one time, but I just passed it to someone else. I think I was terrified. As I watched, there was this overwhelming desire to go back in time and tell myself to do something! I wonder how we would feel in ten years if we could watch ourselves from an outside perspective. Would we be frustrated, wondering, “Why don’t you do something, anything?!?!”
But remember that renewing our minds and hearts to be like Christ takes study and prayer. It’s not something that will randomly happen or happen if we will it to happen. We won’t be hit by the godly bus. We must set aside time to develop a new way of thinking and feeling about evil and the will of God. We need to train and practice acting like Christ in every relationship.
Conclusion
Ephesians is a mission statement book. It tells us why we are here and what we are supposed to do. If we believe what Paul says in this book, we will move from the life of the spiritually dead people around us to a life full of life, peace, and joy. We will feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment as we lead others to the joy of Christ-like faith.