The Church in Exile

Why is the church in exile?

The church is not of this world - see Ephesians 2:11-22.

In the context of this passage, Paul turns his attention to who the bulk of the Ephesians were as Gentiles before they entered into the promise by faith. How God saves the individual leads into what it means corporately for those whom He brought into covenant relationship with Himself.

In his exhortation to remember where they started (separated from Christ), Paul makes clear that Christ’s work of reconciliation, that is, the destruction of the barriers between God and His people and between God’s people (Jew & Gentile), made manifest the barrier that has existed between God’s people (the church) and the world. The church remains in the world (v. 12) but now has hope in Christ.

The church’s citizenship is of the household of God and not of this world. There is no dual citizenship for the church. (19)

God’s people are no longer strangers and aliens in God’s kingdom, but are strangers and aliens in the world. God’s people are no longer outsiders of the household of God, but are outsiders of the world. The church’s identity is defined by the gospel. She belongs to Christ, and this relationship is described in the pages of Scripture. (19-20)

The church has been appointed to exile by God - see 1 Peter 1:1-2.

The adjective elect modifies the noun exiles

The fact that the church is God’s chosen people is why she is in exile in this world.

The church belongs to God and is set apart for for obedience to Jesus Christ and the sprinkling with His blood which is a reference to the ongoing work of His forgiveness and cleansing of His people.

That the church is a saved, sanctified and set apart people who are preserved by the the forgiving and cleansing work of Christ marks her as exiled in this world. The church is of the dispersion today in that she is an elect stranger and alien in this world.

How does the bible’s description of the world help us understand the church’s exile in the world?

The world reflects the rebellion of man. (Romans 5:12)

In Genesis 3, we see that though Adam and Eve were created in God’s image, they rejected God’s rule and chose to be self-ruled when they disobeyed God. As a result sin entered the world and death through sin.

There is therefore, no area of human personhood not infected by sin, even though we still dimly reflect the image of God.

All that is of the world, or came from the world’s posture of rebellion against God, rejects God and His word.

The church is commanded not to love the world or the things of the world. (1 John 2:15)

John goes on to make clear that loving God and loving the world are mutually exclusive, that is, these loves are incompatible with one another.

The world stirs up all that is rebellious against God in people.

The world will not last, but all that is done to honor God will remain.

Even what has been created by God for people’s good has been corrupted by sin

Sex, marriage and government are just a few examples of what has been corrupted by sin.

This corruption is what brings the church’s exile to the surface in that the church is to for example, be subject to the governing authorities (Rom 13:1), but the governing officials are often of the world and are therefore not seeking to honor God in their governing.

What are the marks of the church’s exile?

Consider some of Christ’s prayer in John 17:9-26 and Peter’s reminder in 2 Peter 3:1-7.

Hated by the world (17:14)

Jesus gave His disciples His word (truth) and His disciples of obeyed it (v. 8). The consequence of their obedience was the hatred of the world. The church, in other words, should expect to be treated with detest and scorn by the world as she obeys the word of God.

Targets of Satan (17:15)

Jesus recognizes that His disciples are in the crosshairs of the evil one as they strive to live faithfully in the world. Satan desires that followers of Christ disobey His word, so Jesus prays that they would be able to resist this temptation.

Burden (17:16-18)

Jesus send His disciples into the world in the same way that He was sent into the world. (18)

His prayer is that His truth, that is, His word would have a sanctifying affect on them as they go. Christ’s prayer was not that His disciples would be able to blend in better with the world, or that they would be protected or removed from the world. Christ’s prayer was and is that His disciples’ difference from the world would be increasingly obvious. While this distinction is good and should be celebrated by followers of Christ, especially in light of their acceptance and love from God, it does produce a challenging and burdened experience.

Marginalization (3:1-7)

Peter wants to encourage His readers to have sincere or pure thinking when it comes to the coming of the Messiah. Jesus claimed that the kingdom of God had come with His arrival to the world (Matt. 4:17), and scoffers were rejecting this claim by mocking anyone who believed that to be true.

The scoffers were claiming there was no evidence of Christ’s coming and were presuming that the culture would have radically shifted if He had come.

All of this, Peter says is the result of their following their sinful desires.

The point here is that the people of God were being mocked because they believed the truth. This is a sign of the last days. The truth, and all who believe it will be mocked.

A Current Day Consideration

Our culture’s current level of toleration

The church’s convictions regarding Christ’s incarnation, passion and resurrection may be tolerated in many parts of the world today, in that while these beliefs may be regarded as foolish and absurd, holding these beliefs does not result in any significant negative consequence to everyday life. Christian conviction regarding marriage and sexuality has come to be regarded as evil, and in some ways criminal.

The sexual revolution and the church’s exile

The more the agenda of the sexual revolution makes progress and is accepted by the culture, the more the church feels the reality of her exile in this world. Christian business owners are penalized for not affirming a gay couple’s desire to be married by providing their services to contribute to their wedding ceremony and/or reception. Medical professionals who refuse to participate in a gender reassignment surgery could be stigmatized as promoting hate and run the risk of losing their medical care credentials. Those who work in public education are dismissed as irresponsible educators and even fired fro their teaching posts if they refuse to promote agendas that contradict biblical truth in their classrooms. The sexual revolution has brought the church’s identity as exiles in this world to the surface more in recent years than has been experienced in the United States and many other countries around the world.

How should the church respond to her exile?

The church must embrace her distinction from the world as one that is the will of God.

Proclaim the word of God to ourselves, one another and the world. More specifically, we must remain committed to the faithful preaching of God’s word in the local church. Preaching is the mediation of God’s presence to His people. We should never underestimate the power of the preached word to strengthen our identity as God’s people and empower us to stand firm.

Recognize that until Jesus returns, His church will live in exile. We should not therefore be surprised when the world mistreats us. This mistreatment will show itself in the form of governmental abuse and political corruption. This is not to suggest that we should never disobey governing authorities. There are examples of civil disobedience (defined: a public, nonviolent, and conscientious act contrary to law, usually to bring about a change in the policies or laws of the government - John Rawls, “The Justification of Civil Disobedience) in Scripture. See Exodus 1:15-22 where Hebrew midwives refused to obey the order of the king of Egypt to kill the newborn male children of the Hebrew women. The text specifically states that God approved the midwives’ decision.