| Introduction Ephesians 1 ends with this wonderful statement that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church and that he was given to the Church and that the Church is his fulness. From this point of the epistle on to the end, the Church will become the focal point of Paul's thought. Because the Church is so important in Paul's thought, and in God's mind, we will take the time today to think about it. I. The Bible uses the Word Churchto Describe Several Things. A. The collection of all true believers through the ages – Invisible, Eschatological, or Triumphant Church (that's the way Eph. 1:22 uses it). 1. When we talk about the church in this way, the church equals the total number of the elect. 2. It includes every person who has been saved and who will be ever saved. B. The collection of professing Christians and their children at a point in time – Visible, Historical, or Militant Church. 1. When we talk about the church in this way, the equals the total number of church members in the world at a moment in time. 2. It potentially includes unbelievers. C. The gathering of believers in the same place – Local Church. D.The organization that holds our membership. 1. Another way to refer to the local church. 2. We think this way when we are not talking about the gathered church. E. The collection of several local churches in a geographical area Acts 9:31(ESV) – So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. F. The Church as an organism emphasizing the people in it a la 1 Cor. 12-14 – Organic Church. G.The Church as an institution to which the sacraments were given, which exercises church discipline, to which corporate worship was given, which is called the ground and pillar of truth. 1 Tim. 3:15– …but if I am delayed, I writeso that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. H.Most of the time when we think of the Church, we think of it in terms of this last definition though these categories are not completely mutually exclusive and there is some overlap. II. Why Is the Church Here? A. First and foremost, to glorify God, 3:21, 5:27. B. To be the presence of Christ in the world. Mt. 18:20– For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. C. To disciple the nations. Mt. 28:18-20– And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, evento the end of the age." D.To be set apart, sanctified by and for Jesus Christ. Eph. 5:26-27– … that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. E. To help its member grow into the fullness of its Head. Eph. 4:11-16– And He Himself gave some to beapostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. 1. This is done through the regular means of grace. d. Fellowship of the saints 2. This is done through counseling. 3. This is done through all the one anothersof the Scriptures. III. Other Than Glorifying God, the Primary Role of the Church Is to Disciple the Nations. Mt. 28:18-20– And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizingthem in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teachingthem to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, evento the end of the age." A. Back in the garden, humanity was commanded to fill the earth with God's presence and the blessings that come with his presence. Gen. 1:28– Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." B. The first Adam messed that up by sinning. C. So, the second Adam now executes the creation mandate through his Bride, the Church – we find that in the Great Commission – Mt. 28:18-20 D.The Great Commission is the mission of the Institutional Church (baptism and the magisterium were given to her). IV. When We Speak of the Role of the Church, We Are Referring to the Mission What of the Church – the Reason It Was Established. A. The mission of the Church is grounded on Jesus's authority 1. Jesus had always had authority, but it was veiled because of the nature of his ministry. 2. But now the resurrection has unveiled all his authority, he has indeed been declared the King of kings and Lord of lords. 3. The Church can confidently follow him because he has the authority to lead it. B. The mission of the Church is global – all nations C. The mission of the church ends with the return of the Lord – till the end of the age. 1. Till the consummation of this present age at the coming of Jesus Christ. 2. This means that the church is to carry on this commission till she sees her Lord face to face again. D.The mission of the Church is comprehensive – teaching to obey all things Jesus has commanded (by implication the whole Bible). E. The goal of the commission: make disciples 1. This is the only command in the passage. 2. Though in English the word gois translated as a command, in the original language it is a participle that describes when they should start making disciples. a. We could properly translate this clause as "having gone [implies from here], make disciples…" b. Or, "When you go [again implied from here], make disciples…" c. The idea, then, that Jesus is getting across is, "When we are through here, make disciples. 3. So, the goal or the command of the commission is to make disciple, or to disciple the nations. Discipleship– The constant process in which a Christian is helped by the covenant community to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ so that he becomes progressively conformed to the image of Jesus Christ and can in turn disciple others. F. The manner in which the commission is to be carried out: baptizing and teaching. 1. These two words describe the making disciples. 2. The question arises, "How do I make disciples by baptizing people?" a. The wrong answer to this question has caused missionaries to trust in massive water baptism for the salvation of unreached peoples. b. It is easier to understand this passage if we let the word baptizingstand for what the sacrament signifies and not the act itself. c. What baptism signifies. WCF 28:1– Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible church, but also to be to him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life: Which sacrament is, by Christ's own appointment, to be continued in his church until the end of the world. d. All these things are the result of the work of the Spirit of God through the gospel. e. Thus, baptizinghere stands for evangelism. f. The first element of making disciples is introducing the ones who are not disciples yet to Jesus Christ, the Lord, whose disciples they will be. g. It is also important that Jesus did use the word baptizinginstead of spelling out what it signifies because it tells us that the disciple making ministry is a ministry that needs to take place in the context of the visible church since baptism is one of her sacraments. G.The Great commission is restated in Acts. Acts. 1:8– But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. H.So, the mission of the Church is not primarily to feed the poor – the Diaconate was instituted so that the apostles could carry on the misison of the Church, Acts 6:1-5. I. The mission of the Church is not to find spouses to people; it is not to parent; it is not to provide adoption services, etc. 1. These things may be means to make disciples, but they are not the mission of the Church. 2. They are important, but no the mission. 3. It is important that we really get this established in our minds because if we don't, we will get distracted from what God calls us to do. V. How Do We Make Disciples Right Here? A. It starts with the pastor and elders – it is my job to disciple you so that you'll be equipped to minister to one another. Eph. 4:11-12– And He Himself gave some to beapostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping [related to making complete]of the saints for [unto]the work of ministry, for [unto]the edifying of the body of Christ,… B. It moves over to the entire body Eph. 4:13-16– 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Eph. 5:15-21– See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.18And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another in the fear of God. [don't seek ecstasy from alcohol, you can get it from discipling one another] Eph. 6:4– And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. 1. The home is a strategic location for teaching disciples how to love God and others. 2. We want to equip fathers so that they can lead their households in the solemn duty of family worship. D.It crosses generational lines Titus 2:1-8– But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: 2that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; 3the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— 4that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5to bediscreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. 6Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, 7in all things showing yourself to bea pattern of good works; in doctrine showingintegrity, reverence, incorruptibility, 8sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. 1. Humility that is characterized by willingness to grow in Christ and receive instruction Jam. 1:21-22– Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 2. Humility in the one discipling so that the instruction may be done without pride or hypocrisy. Phil. 2:3– Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. F. It requires building up relationships where growth centered around the gospel can take place. 3. It takes emotional risk. 4. It takes opening up to others. Phil. 2:4– Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Lk. 14:26-28– If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enoughto finish it… H.It requires knowing how the Lord has gifted you and using those gifts to help others grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Rom. 12:3-8– For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himselfmore highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5so we, beingmany, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them:if prophecy, let usprophesyin proportion to our faith; 7or ministry, let us use itin ourministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. VI. If You Are not Convinced Yet about This Idea of Making Disciples as the Mission of the Church, Let Me Give You One more Reason – Why Disciple? For Your Joy! A. It may strike some folks as odd to say that a primary motive for our discipling of others is the joy that we receive from discipling. 1. Sounds selfish, doesn't it? 2. But while there may be many ways that we could potentially pursue this joy wrongly, the fact remains that Scripture presents our joy as a legitimate motivator for Christians disciplers. B. Listen to what the Scriptures say concerning joy in discipleship. Phil. 1:3-5– I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now…. Phil. 2:1-2– Therefore if there isany consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, beingof one accord, of one mind. Phil. 4:1– Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved. Rom. 16:19– For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. 1 Thess. 2:19-20– For what isour hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is itnot even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy. 2 Jn. 4– I rejoiced greatly that I have found someof your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. 1. In all these verses Paul and John wrote about their own joy. 2. God intends to produce joy in you when you are used to help others prosper and grow. a. From these texts we see that Paul and John are taking special encouragement from the knowledge that THEY were personally used by God to help build up the Christians to whom they wrote. b. Does this at all surprise you? 1) This is a biblicalreason that we should not be ashamed to cultivate. 2) Christians can very naturally find great pleasure in seeing other believers grow and prosper. 3) Paul would often refer to his hearers as his "children in the Lord" and he seemed to take appropriate pleasure in seeing them prosper through the fruit of his ministry and the ongoing work of others. 4) John's joy is that his children are walking in the truth. C. So, is this sort of joy selfish? Does a joy in personally helping to mature disciples lead us to be man-centered or is this a good thing? 1. If this was the sum total of what Paul and John (and others) took pleasure in, then yesit could lead to a wrong dependence. 2. But that's not the picture that we get. 3. They were delighting to see themselves as the means used in Christian discipleship specifically because it then brought glory to the God they supremely loved. D.Christians rejoice in seeing other believers grow, and they take special joy in seeing that growth occur as a result of their involvement. 1. This pleasure of laboring to see other people prosper spiritually through your involvement in their lives is one of the most foundational joys in the heart of a true Christian disciple. 2. Watching believers grow as a fruit of your ministry is a part of your glory and reward before Christ. E. Our pleasure in seeing God use us to encourage and build up other believers is an important and biblical motivation, but it is not the ultimate motivation. Can you imagine a church like this, where every member and regular attendee is thriving in Christ? That is what God wants our church to be. As we disciple ourselves and follow the Master Jesus Christ, we will be ready to disciple the nations. A few years ago, our Session formulated a vision statement for the church. One of the things that the Session envisioned for the church was a spirit of discipleship. We desire, then, that equipped and creative saints go out into all the world and minister in various ways according to God's providential allotment and measure of the love of God that they have learned to apply to their own lives.
O Lord Jesus, give us grace to do so. Amen.
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-church-ephesians-122-23.html
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