First Mennonite Church
April 6, 2025
The Church Series II
Text: Ephesians 1:15-23
Last Sunday, we began to consider the nature of the church. We described the church as a community, with a heritage and history; as the community where we find support and guidance. We described the church as the body of Christ, where each member works together with others seeking and securing the wellbeing of the entire body. We also talked about the church as the place where we learn and practice God’s love and forgiveness; where together we worship and serve God and neighbor.
Today, I want us to focus on the first description we made about the church: it is a community—a people. Last Sunday, we said that the church being a community means its members hold various things in common: a common faith, purpose, identity, and spiritual practices. In that sense, the church as a community has a culture. Yes, every community has a culture and every congregation has a culture whether healthy or not. And the culture of a congregation impacts everything about it, whether for its well-being or to undermine its mission.
Now, when we speak about culture we are talking about several elements that define a group of people. These elements include: language, behaviors, values, customs, expectations, practices, rituals, etc. So, how would you define the culture of FMC? What elements define us?
Every person is a cultural being and has cultural traits, whether he or she is aware of it or not. If you ask someone to define his or her culture, the person being asked might find it difficult to answer the question. That is because everything he or she is or does is natural to them. It often takes another person from a different background to notice the cultural elements in others.
In the case of the church, its culture is a determining factor. It can be what attracts people or what repels people. It can be what motivates people to work together or what discourages volunteers. It can be why people choose to minister there or why people do not want to serve there. When we talk about the church’s mission we are talking about the foundational purpose of the existence or life of the church. When we talk about a church vision, we are talking about the ways a church works to achieve its mission. And when we talk about the church’s culture, we are talking about the way the church lives and feels about itself. Culture is what gives life, of what sets the mood—joy, gratitude, openness, approachability to outsiders; it is that sense of being according to its fundamental purpose—its mission. Culture is, per se, the psyche of a people, and in our case: the church. The psyche is what defines how we feel about ourselves and what motivates us to do and be who we are. It is what and how we think about ourselves as a community.
But here is the thing: culture is a human construct. It is a way of life handed down from generation to generation. And this is what we need to understand about the church’s culture because the church, although it is a group of people, its identity is not derived from human tradition. Its identity is derived or should be derived from Jesus who is the head, creator, and sustainer of the church; ultimately, the church is the Lord’s glorious bride.
So, again quoting Jesus’ words in Matthew 16, verse 18, “And I tell you that you are Peter (Petrus–pebble) and on this (petra–a large mass of rock) I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (KJV). It is Jesus who builds the church. But as we mentioned last Sunday, Jesus’ followers during his earthly ministry were never called “church.” They were called disciples. It is but until chapter five of Acts, that the community of believers is called “church.” There in chapter five, Luke gives the account of Ananias and Sapphira’s death. This husband and wife sold a property and wanted to pretend to be generous, thus they offered the proceeds of the sale to the church to distribute among its needy members. And when Peter asked Ananias if the money he was giving was the whole amount of the sale Ananias said it was. Peter confronted Ananias and said to him, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” And Ananias dropped dead. A while later came Sapphira, Ananias’ wife not knowing what had happened to her husband. And Peter asked twice regarding the money of the sale. Peter asked her two times giving her opportunities to correct herself, but she insisted too. And she too fell dead on the spot. Then Luke says in verse 11, “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.” This is the first time the group of believers is called the church.
Therefore, the church belongs to Jesus, therefore, our character is shaped by his example and how we feel about ourselves is based on what he has done for us and has given us.
Our Passage:
If Paul cannot stop giving thanks to God for the Ephesians’ response to the gospel, he neither could stop asking God on their behalf. Verse 17: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.” So, Paul gives thanks to God for giving the gift of faith and the sealing with the Holy Spirit as the guarantee to the Ephesians of their final salvation. Yet, he realizes the Ephesians’ need God’s resources to enable them to play their part in securing that final end. Thus, Paul prays that God would give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they may know God better.
This means that even when God’s salvation is complete when someone first believes and surrenders to the Lord, knowledge of God might still be very limited. (Not that anyone will ever come to know God in his fullness). That is why the apostle Peter said to the churches he wrote: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1Peter 2:2, 3). The spiritual milk Peter is talking about is the word of the Lord.
Paul’s prayer for spiritual wisdom and revelation will become a reality when the Ephesians’ “eyes of their hearts are enlightened.” This is the only place where this expression is found. Enlightened eyes of the heart refer to the ability to discern moral or ethical conduct proper for those who belong to Christ in light of the hope of the “glorious inheritance [among] his holy people” (v. 9.) Enlightened eyes of the heart are also needed to comprehend and to believe God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe.”
As of chapter one, we see that Paul is introducing what the ultimate goal is for the church to achieve. He will speak more about this in chapter four and will also tell the means by which God has enabled this to happen.
Paul clarifies that the power God has given the church is the same power with which he raised Christ from the dead. However, God not only raised Jesus from the dead, he also seated him on his right in the heavenly realm far above all spheres of rule, dominion, or authority, no matter their name. In fact, God submitted every power under the feet of Christ and appointed him, head of the church. In other words, when God raised Jesus from the dead, he made him absolute Lord of all, so that at his name every knee in heaven and on earth and under the earth will bow down and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. God’s glorious power to exalt Jesus has also been made available to the church.
Conclusion
Paul was moved to praise God and to intercede on behalf of the Ephesian church when he heard about their “faith in the Lord and their love for all of God’s people.” It is clear that the Christian church in Ephesus had a very positive word-of-mouth reputation. Those who knew this congregation spoke well about it.
How do we become known for our faith in the Lord and our love for God’s people? Today, news spreads faster than ever before. What happens in one corner of the world does not take long before it is also known in the farthest end of it. In Paul’s times, people could go for weeks or even months without hearing anything from family or friends living in distant places. Today, information spreads rapidly. Who we are and what we do or not do get to be known far beyond the people and places we can imagine. Is our faith in the Lord and love cause of praises and thanksgiving to God?
The impact of word-of-mouth reputation is more powerful than self-publicity blitz. In the business world, word-of-mouth publicity brings more customers than advertisement does. That means, we as a congregation must see that every person who comes to the worship service, to the Sunday school, Bible study, or to our potluck, and outdoor services, must be welcomed, appreciated, and treated with respect, not for the sake of putting a good face in church, but for the sake of Christ. We must act under the conviction that Christ also died for our guests who have not surrendered to Christ yet. We, therefore, must treat our guests with respect and compassion because Christ’s love compels us.
Paul also prayed that the eyes of the heart of the Ephesians be enlightened to comprehend the power and hope they have in God. We are a people who have a goal and destination. We are hoping for something that we cannot see yet. We are looking forward to something exceedingly beautiful, eternal, and complete. This hope fills us with joy, peace, and gratitude. This hope keeps us singing to our God and loving our neighbors. However, when our understanding of this hope is not clear or taken lightly, we then are tempted to set our eyes on earthly things as our source of hope. We rely on things that give us temporal peace, joy, and satisfaction. It is of great importance for us who minister the word of God to constantly remind God’s people about our destiny and that we are just sojourners on this earth. We have an inheritance in heaven with God’s holy people and from where we are expecting the Lord.
On the other hand, as sojourners that we are and because we have one glorious Lord who is Lord of all powers, we should not give in to the temptation to believe that we need earthly saviors to secure our ability to live our faith. Jesus is Lord and all powers and authorities “not only in the present age but also in the one to come” have been placed under the feet of Christ. And yet, Christ who has everything under his feet, is the head of the church. Christ leads, protects, and nourishes the church which is his body, therefore, our reliance should be on him alone. Amen!
Pastor Romero