 What is God telling us in Ephesians 4 about His Church?  The Layman – Volume 41, Number 2 – Posted April 14, 2008
The Lord made clear to us in Ephesians 4 how He expects His church to function and how we, as His followers, are to behave. If we know God, we would expect His church to be based primarily on what He has taught us – love one another. We are to be humble, compassionate and forgiving, just as Christ forgave us. We are to be united in the Spirit, knowing that there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God the Father who is over and in all. Sadly, most church institutions of today that claim to be Christ’s church have multiple lords and faiths. If we were united in our belief of the “ones” as proclaimed in God’s Word, we would be united in the Spirit on the essentials of our faith. We would still have our disagreements over non-essentials, but those varying opinions would not divide us. God tells us in Ephesians 4 that His church is to be a church that uses the gifts He has given to us individually so the members of the body are built up to be mature Christians. It is to be a church led not only by pastors, but also by those who have the gifts to be apostles, prophets, evangelists and teachers. The priests and the laity together are to use their gifts to prepare the Body of Christ for works of service. God does not see His church as a priest-driven, priest-dominated institution, but a body of all believers who abide by the teaching of the one true high priest, Jesus Christ. The peace, unity and purity of the church rests on believers having a common understanding of the foundations of our faith, once for all delivered by the saints. As long as the Body of Christ is unclear on what those essentials are, there will be disharmony, disobedience, disaster and disaffiliation. Further, the Lord instructs us in Ephesians 4 to not live as non-believers for they are separated from God due to a hardening of their hearts, a loss of sensitivity and a continual lust for sensuality. We are to renew our minds and be like God, speaking truthfully to our neighbor, to be rid of bitterness, anger and slander. A life full of compassion and forgiveness should be our goal. Certainly there are numerous churches within the various denominations that have the attributes of Ephesians 4, but only a few denominations can claim to be living out God’s will as an Ephesians 4 church. It is reasonable to conclude that any church institution that is not accountable has a greater chance of falling away from a traditional view of Scripture. Churches and denominations that foster mutual accountability between clergy and laity have an enhanced opportunity to abide by the Lord’s commands. We at the Presbyterian Lay Committee will be placing greater emphasis on the Ephesians 4 church in our mission to inform and equip God’s people. We believe God is calling us and other organizations to assist in building up of the laity to be mature Christians as one of the keys to renewal of the Church Universal. Our immediate plans call for developing and publishing resource materials that will help churches empower the laity to do the work of ministry. Please continue to pray for the PLC, and in particular, please pray for God’s blessings on our mission to strengthen the laity across denominational boundaries, which will in turn strengthen the Church Universal. Our blessings to all of you. Stephen G. Brown is a member at First Presbyterian Church in Haines City, Fla. A Presbyterian elder, he is the chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of the Presbyterian Lay Committee. |
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