God's Purpose for the Church

Introduction

If you were to start a new country, what would you include? Obviously, our own experiences would weigh heavily in our thoughts. Things we would want to make sure were not a part of the new country and things that we wanted to definitely include. Whatever you chose, the ultimate end would be to bring about unity. This new nation would have a common identity and purpose. And that identity and purpose would serve as the means to unite people for a set of common goals and focus. Anyone who wanted to be part of this new nation would have to agree with the identity and purpose and would give up opposing thoughts, language, ideas, and concepts that would seek to create disharmony.

What if you wanted to unite people who come from all kinds of different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, and races? What would you do to try to allow for the differences while uniting under one newly established national identity? And what if this national identity had no geographical borders but instead any person from any country could become a citizen? Geopolitically it would be impossible. But not for God. 2:116, by the cross he abolished the necessity of Jewish law and welcomed non-Jews to be a part of him.

To put it bluntly, by the cross and the blood of Jesus, the Jews no longer could boast in their ability to keep the law and the Gentiles no longer had to prove their worth. By the cross, all people from every tongue and every tribe and every nation and every culture and every race all swear allegiance to Jesus. No geopolitical borders. No human constitutions. No power. No red or blue. Only Jesus. And every person coming to Christ speaks the same language---the language of peace; the language of reconciliation; the language of praise. Let’s speak those words now.

The Text

The point of today’s lesson is really very simple---our purpose it to make God look good. Whatever else you may hear today, this is the point. Our section is really a parenthesis. Paul begins in verse 1 with a prayer for the Gentiles, but quickly moves into a discussion about his role as a minister to the Gentiles. The prayer resumes in verse 14 which we will look at next week. Recall that at the end of chapter 2, Paul demonstrates that through the death of Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles are now brought together into one body. No longer are they Jews and Gentiles. Now they wear the name of Jesus only. The wall which divided them has been brought down by the blood of Jesus. Jesus has made the law inoperative through his death. No longer are the demands of law necessary for us to keep.

Paul then wants to offer a prayer for the Gentiles but as he begins that prayer in 3:1, he is reminded of his own role in bringing the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul understands that his role is to bring the mystery of Christ to these non-Jewish people. The mystery is not the gospel itself. But as seen in verse 6, the mystery is that through the gospel Gentiles and Jews are co-heirs. They are one body. This is the mystery. The Jews never could have imagined the Gentiles enjoying the position that they enjoyed with God. And the Gentiles could not imagine ever associating with Jews who too often appeared prideful and arrogant in their relationship with God.

The mystery was that Gentiles did not have to become Jews in order to share in God’s inheritance. Nor did the Jews have to maintain law in order to share in God’s inheritance. Both became sharers in the promise of Christ. Paul goes on in describing his role as preacher to the Gentiles that he was the least qualified for this privilege. But God chose him and Paul responded.

Then in verse 10, Paul gives us a glimpse into the mind of God. He describes that the plan of God in revealing this mystery through preaching was to allow the church (both Jews and Gentiles together) to be a testimony to the wisdom of God. Paul highlights that the testimony was intended to convince the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms that God was indeed wise. Paul says that from the beginning God’s purpose was that through Jesus the church would be established and then those associated with Satan would see that God is all wise. When the church functions as it is intended then God looks good. Paul then ends this section by calling on the Gentiles to remain encouraged because his sufferings are for them. He is in chains because of his preaching the gospel which resulted in their being a part of God’s family.

The Church

Paul’s use of the word church helps us to understand the language of this new spiritual nation. The church is not a building or a place to go, but it is the demonstration of God’s unity, love, and peace in this world. I think on some level we understand that. It isn’t that we are at church. It is in our day to day existence we are demonstrating the goodness and wisdom of God to those who are not part of God’s family. We are then not at church but we are the church actively engaging life daily to reveal the wisdom of God.

Sometimes we assume congregation and church are the same thing. They are not. A congregation is a group that has formed for a reason---to be a physical representation of a spiritual truth. Congregations have organization and structure. And because of that organization and structure, members get the impression that we are a business and that we exist in order to maintain the business. And in many ways this appears to be the case. We have budgets; individuals who are responsible for spending monies. We have employees, committees, and programs. It is very easy to view ourselves from a business model.

And with this model in mind, we function as a business. People are put in charge of things and everyone is encouraged to be a part of something. What may happen is that with this model in mind and the reality that certain “business” must be conducted, we become unbalanced in how we think about ourselves. We may see ourselves as a business where everyone is a general partner. We reduce the congregation to a democratic deliberation where the least offensive course of action is pursued or worse where power resides in a select few who make all the decisions. Either way the result is the same---the lowest common denominator of spirituality prevails. The congregation is reduced to a social institution where the needs and preferences of the members are its focus. But that is not Church! It is safe, but it isn’t the church.

Paul says the church---those whom God in his infinite grace and mercy have reconciled to himself through Jesus---is revealing the manifold wisdom of God to rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. There is a spiritual realm that is watching us to see the wisdom of God. The mystery revealed only through Jesus, these powers now wait to see if God knows what he is doing. Paul calls it the beautiful complexity of God’s wisdom. The only time in scripture this word is used. It means multi-colored or much variation. Only God could conceive a plan as he did for bringing people together.

We do a good job of getting focused on a building or location and then we fall into the trap of believing the church is a place rather than people. But this is not God’s plan. God’s plan is that the church will exist in this world to reveal his wisdom. That means it isn’t about us; it is completely about him. The heavenly realm is watching. We are actors on a stage. We are revealing to unseen spiritual beings that God knows what he is doing. Unless we understand who we are, we will focus primarily on the organization and structure thinking we are the church. Toscanini, the great maestro was talking to the orchestra in a rehearsal of a Beethoven symphony. He said: “Ladies and gentlemen, I am nothing---you are nothing---Beethoven is everything.” Saying that didn’t diminish their skills or their confidence in the least. He simply reminded them that their responsibility was not to draw attention to themselves, but to let Beethoven flow through them.

This is what the church is to be. This is what we are to be. We are to live in a community of believers who are interested in what others think---not about us, but about God. William Temple reminds us rightly that the church exists for the sake of its non-members. This text is about a number of things not least of which is to remind us that the way we grow is each person reaching out to those who do not know Jesus and telling them the great mystery. Our job is to demonstrate to the powers of evil that God is wise. When we do not live in hope and unity then we say God is unwise.

So let’s get practical. How can we fulfill this text?

First, our unity and harmony is not based on common political views nor are they based on agreement about all things cultural. Our unity and harmony are based on the cross. At the cross we understand the depth of our sin, the injustice in our own hearts, our selfishness and we take on a new identity that is plunged in the blood of Christ so that there is only one name that matters to us---Jesus. And it is that name that unites us and that we call all to unite with us. This is where peace lives.

Second, we exist to reveal God’s wisdom. We exist to share a message of great importance---Jesus is Lord. We exist to change the dialog. We unite as Paul writes in the next chapters under one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Spirit, one God and Father. The color of skin doesn’t matter; style of dress doesn’t matter; gender doesn’t matter; economic and social status do not matter. God calls us to lay down our lives. We are called to lay down our individual preferences, not simply for the preferences of the majority, but for the will of God. We’re called to submit to one another in the Lord. We are called to forgive one another, to love one another, to serve one another, to support one another, and to encourage one another. None of this can be done by our power, or wisdom, and it certainly cannot be done by employing worldly strategies. This is our purpose. This is our identity. This is our honor and privilege. This is our family. This is the church.

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