Christ's Work of Unity
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TEXT: Ephesians 4:11-16
Illustrate: From an unknown source comes an article titled,
"How To Be Miserable." It says,
"Think about yourself.
Talk about yourself.
Use "I" as often as possible.
Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others.
Listen greedily to what people say about you.
Expect to be appreciated.
Be suspicious.
Be jealous and envious.
Be sensitive to slights.
Never forgive a criticism.
Trust nobody but yourself.
Insist on consideration and respect.
Demand agreement with your own views on everything.
Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them.
Never forget a service you have rendered.
Shirk your duties if you can.
Do as little as possible for others."
Daily Walk, June 29, 1993.
Affects of social media on “Self” Article from Florida Atlantic University found.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND HOW IT AFFECTS OUR SELF IMAGE
Often, many of these individuals with a follower count post specific content to meticulously curate a self-brand around their particular niche. Apps such as Instagram and TikTok enable this self-promotion by making it extremely easy to achieve a lot of attention in a short amount of time. However, only seeing these carefully selected positive moments in an influencer's day has ended up causing many consumers of this content to question their own identity and worth. In a study done by Scope, almost half of the 1,200 18-34-year-old's felt unattractive when they looked at their social media feed, and in another study, around 60% of those surveyed "felt their own achievements were inadequate when compared to the posts of others." (Rundle)
Even more concerning is that other research has shown intensified exposure and overuse of social media has contributed to several psychological disorders, mental health risks, and physical health risks such as: Depression Anxiety Jealousy Loneliness or feeling of isolation Self-harm Poor body image Eating disorders such as anorexia Disrupted sleep
https://www.fau.edu/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/ourselfimage/index.php
Yet our American Christianity has a greater and greater focus on the self. We have a Consumer mindset in the west that allows us to take or leave the very entity that is meant to drive Christ likeness. The western Christian has come up with a theology that allows for him to divorce the very body that Christ gave his life for.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
We have silly notions of the Mystics that ran into the wilderness and remotely have charasmatic experiences unknown to the world around them. We westerners have our lone rangers and superman. Each person disconnected and standing on their own takes on the totality of evil and plays the man character of our story.
FCF: Humans like to be autonomous and struggle at interdependency.
Reality of Scripture:
Connection to the local church is God’s grace to fallen Sinners for the work of being like Christ.
Connection to the local church does not purify all sin but it is the tool God uses to demonstrate Grace in the lives of Christians.
Moral Christianity is not enough.
(the later part of the chapter is highlighting the various forms of moralism.) Gentile vs Jew.
You can hear the person who has it figured out…
“God loves me just as much when I’m at the lake or in church.”
- Yes
“I can worship God at the lake, I can worship him better out here than in a church.”
Maybe, but I think that says something about how fervently you are worshipping in the house of God.
“I can be just as good as a Christian as when I’m at church”
Well, no actually Christ has a grace that comes through the local church. This is why the context is so important to this passage.
This is a prescription...
Unity of Faith
Knowledge of the Son of God
Measure of Christ
Solid Doctrine
Avoiding false teachers
Following the headship of Christ
Unity then comes from the Christ that joins us together. We look and say I don’t fit in. Heres the problem Christ does the fitting while you do the submitting.
We like to outline for Jesus the part we want to play instead of seeing that Unity is a by-product of Christs Grace in loving Christians.
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
The problem arises when we think that the church is this location that we go to on Sunday morning for the purpose of getting my spiritual bump.
Paul discusses the body when in I Corinthians 12.12
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
We find out some really important truths from this passage and they can just fly by us.
Paul likens the church to a body that is fitly joined together. Which I said last week is why we approach this letter as dealing with the local church not some universal body floating out there in the ether. Someone said Preacher don’t you believe in the body of Christ of course I do. This is the body of Christ at South Knollwood Baptist church in Topeka.
Dangers to your Christian Growth.
A mis understanding of the local church can hold back your spiritual Growth. There is also hope because some of us don’t understand the powerful grace that God has put in our lives.
I. You may not connected to the Body.
Worship
We come to the house of God to collectively call out to the name of God and lift our voices in praise. We regularly stop and take time for the humbling of the heart and collective adoration of God and his word.
Take time each Sunday and Wednesday for the work of Worship.
Enroll
We join LifeStages so you can grow and in Bible study and connection. We show mutual respect, understanding forgiveness, and help.
Participate
We join in ministry together. We serve along side each other we give our time, our attention, and our love to each other in ministry.
God uses these moments of connection to apply his grace of Christ likenss in to the lives of his people.
II. You may have forgot God’s plan for you in the church.
Till we all come to the unity of the faith: This is the first goal of God’s work through the gifted offices and equipped saints. This is consistent with both the ultimate purpose of God (Ephesians 1:10) and the mystery of God revealed through Paul (Ephesians 3:6).11 David Guzik, Ephesians, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Eph 4:13–16.
Pauls explanation of God’s purpose is to draw Jew and Gentile alike into the Body. Where the church is not made up of Religious right and Cultural leftovers. But a people fully submitted to the Headship of Jesus Christ.
That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
III. You may have grown complacent in your part.
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
We are drawn to a crackling fire in a fireplace on a cold winter night because it provides both light and warmth. And such is the perfect combination of truth and love. Truth without love is like the light of a fire without warmth. Love without truth is like the heat of a fire without light. Truth without love makes people cold in the light. Love without truth makes people stumble in the dark. Thus, we need both.1
1 Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 1251.
Unity found in the person of Jesus Christ.
We can gratefully look to the first church. When Jesus was walking this earth he spent 40 days in the wilderness and came out victorious. He gave the devil three shots of reality and sent the devil slinking away.
He needed no one else. He needed no companions no disciples he was set. But God’s plan has never included a believer that was only into isolation.
Instead he called out twelve and from them Gave us the great gift of the local church.