©2005 Larry Huntsperger Peninsula Bible Fellowship

02-27-05

One Body, One Faith

2/27/04 One Body, One Faith

If you have been with us during the past month

as we have made our reentrance into our study of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians

you already know the words

with which Paul begins the second half of his letter.

EPH 4:1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called...

And you know, too,

that those words are used by Paul

to point our minds two directions.

They point us back to the first three chapters

in which he revealed to us

both the new identity

and the high calling that comes to us through Christ.

After calling us to Himself,

recreating us in spirit,

filling us with His Holy Spirit,

and uniting us forever both with Himself and with one another,

He then tells us that we have become the physical body of Christ here on this earth,

the means through which the manifold wisdom of God

is now being made know to all of creation.

That’s what we see when we look back at the first three chapters.

And then, as we look ahead to the verses that follow,

we have the assurance that what we will find there

is a perfect description of how we can “walk in a manner worthy”

of this remarkable calling that has come to us through Christ.

In other words,

Paul explains to us

how our practical daily living

can clearly and accurately reflect the truth about who we really are in spirit.

And of course this is all backwards from what we would naturally expect.

We just naturally assume

that change begins with our actions,

and that we should change our actions

so that we can then become holy.

And our Lord tells us

that the whole thing works exactly the opposite.

He tells us

that we have already become holy,

and that our calling now

is to allow our actions to reflect the truth about who we really are.

And as we have moved back into this passage

we have already seen

that what we will hear from Paul

sounds nothing like what we hear from so many of the religious folk around us.

He doesn’t talk with us about religious kingdom-building,

he talks with us about developing an approach to one another

that actually teaches us how to build positive,

supportive,

encouraging,

healthy relationships.

Simply put,

he teaches us how to love one another.

The greatest evangelistic tools we will ever have

are the relationships we build

with the people God has entrusted into our care.

It’s the relationship a Christian man builds with his wife,

the relationship a wife builds with her husband.

It’s the relationship a father builds with his son or daughter,

the way a mother relates to her children,

the way each of us relates to one another within the Body of Christ.

JOH 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

What a truly remarkable statement!

That is our Lord

establishing for us HIS goals for our lives, of course,

but He’s doing far more than just that.

He is revealing to us

the only truly effective way we will ever have

of convincing the world around us

that something huge really has changed in our relationship with our Creator.

He doesn’t say that all men will know we are his disciples

because we go to church every week,

or because we quote lots and lots of Bible verses,

or because we have a strategic grasp of Biblical prophecy,

or because we wear a cross around our neck,

or because we have Christian posters on our walls,

or Christian bumper stickers on our cars,

or Christian music blasting out of our radios.

He says that the clearest window the world around us will ever have

into the true nature of the work that our God has accomplished within us

is through what they observe,

and what they experience in the way we relate to those around us.

But learning how to love one another is just that - a learning process in our lives.

I like the way Peter said it in his first letter.

He says, 1PE 1:22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart...

He says, since the recreative work of God within us

has finally made it possible for us to have the ability to love one another,

we should now go ahead and do it.

Since we CAN love, DO love.

But it doesn’t just happen.

It begins with that cleansing process accomplished by God within the human spirit when we turn to Him,

that process through which we finally remove ourselves from being the center of our world,

bow before our God,

and allow Him to take His rightful place

as the center of our universe.

But then, from there, it takes a whole lot of reconstructive work in our thinking

before that longing within our spirits

becomes a living reality in our relationships with those around us.

And probably the best example I could ever offer of what I mean

is found in the next few verses that follow Paul’s call that we, “... walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which (we) have been called...”.

For, the next thing he says is this -

EPH 4:2-6 ...with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

OK, Paul begins by listing four crucial qualities

that we will probably return to before we leave this passage - humility, gentleness, patience, and tolerance.

And then, in a single statement, he does two things for us.

First, he lays out for us the central goal - being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

And then he goes on to reveal to us

the reasonable basis upon which he offers us that calling.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

Now, for this to make sense,

keep in mind that these opening comments about the worthy walk,

and in fact this entire letter

is very much a “closed circuit” communication to the family of God.

He is talking to Christians

primarily about our relationships with other Christians.

And, as he begins his description of this worthy walk,

the very first thing on the agenda

is our conscious choice to fight for the preservation of the unity of the Spirit

in our interactions with our fellow believers.

Now, is there anything about those comments that troubles you?

Well, I’ll tell you

there are some things that trouble me.

Paul is not just writing to one isolated group of believers,

he’s writing to all of God’s people everywhere.

And he’s not just talking with us

about the way we relate to one another within our local fellowship,

he’s talking about an attitude that he wants us to bring

to our relationship with every fellow believer we will ever meet,

no matter what local fellowship they may be involved in,

no matter what doctrinal system they may adhere to,

no matter what style or form of worship they may prefer.

And the basis upon which Paul makes this request of us

is not presented to us as something we should strive for,

but rather as something that is an inalterable fact of our lives.

He doesn’t say,

there SHOULD BE one body and one Spirit, having one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism...

He doesn’t say that we should strive to create these things within the family of God.

He says they already exist,

and because they do already exist

we are now called to act in a way that is consistent with that truth.

Now, honestly, how can Paul say that?

How can he tell us

that there is just one body?

I flipped open the phone book for our tiny community this past week

and counted more than a hundred and forty separate “churches” just in this area,

and there are some, like us, that aren’t even in there.

And if I’d used the Anchorage phone book

I’m sure the number would have been in the thousands.

And yet Paul says there is just one body,

and one faith.

How can he do that?

He can do it

because he is telling us what really is true,

whether or not we believe it,

whether or not we act as if it is true.

And this strong tendency to divide ourselves up into divisive groups within the Family of God

is not just something that came into the Body of Christ hundreds of years after Paul wrote his letters.

It was there almost from the very beginning.

Listen to some of his comments

in his letter to the believers at Corinth.

1CO 1:10-13 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and "I of Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

There’s your first three Christian denominations right there -

The Paulites,

the Appollosites,

and the Cephasites.

Now, before I run the risk of being completely misunderstood,

let me explain what is

and what is NOT being said here.

And we’ll start with what is not being said.

When Paul says there is one body

he is not telling us

that we should expect or attempt to create some sort of world-wide

structural, organizational unity within the Body of Christ,

some sort of one-world church organization to which all Christians belong and submit.

Even in its infancy,

when the Body of Christ was as structurally simple,

and straight-forward,

and uncomplicated as it would ever be,

Paul and Peter and the other New Testament leaders

made no attempt whatsoever to establish an Empire-wide external organizational structure.

The pattern we see Paul following is fascinating in it’s simplicity and it’s effectiveness.

He and his fellow Apostles

would enter an area,

preach the message of redemption through Christ,

stay long enough to teach the new believers the basic principles of life with Christ,

and then either Paul, or more often one of his traveling companions

would remain on long enough

to appoint local leadership within that distinct local body.

But never do you ever see him then telling that local leadership

that they are in some way structurally tied to

and under the authority of one central governing body.

And the reason is clear.

In fact, we’ve seen Paul referring to it repeatedly in this letter we’re studying.

EPH 1:22-23 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

In fact, when there were those within the Colossian church

who attempted to move themselves into elevated control positions even within that one local fellowship,

Paul pounces on them like a lion on his prey.

COL 2:18-19 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

And look at the basis upon which he attacks those

who seek structural power within the Body of Christ.

He says they are...

...inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together...

And let me see if I can simplify what I want us to see here.

The Body of Christ is designed by God to operate under the direct,

personal,

second-by-second leadership of Christ Himself.

Not just the teachings of Christ,

not the just the example of Christ,

not just the traditions of Christ,

but literally Christ Himself.

Do you remember a few months ago

when we were talking about the way in which God works in our lives personally in the area of morals?

Do you remember how we saw Him handing each of us

in clear, broad stokes,

that basic moral framework that defines the protective boundaries of our lives.

And then He places His Spirit within us

and takes those broad principles

and applies them day-by-day

and situation-by-situation to our unique, individual lives as His children.

What does it mean for me to establish a truly moral personal relationship to the internet,

to alcohol,

to my entertainment options,

to my money,

to my business transactions,

to my relationships with co-workers?

And on and on...

There is no list of religious do’s and don’ts in the world

that can answer those questions

because the answers frequently change from situation to situation

and relationship to relationship.

And the entire reconstructive work of God in our lives

depends upon the living reality of Christ Jesus within us,

and without that

there is nothing but religious systems and legalistic imitations.

Well, the same exact principle applies to the church as a whole.

The whole thing depends upon the living reality of Christ Himself as the head.

And any time we attempt to replace the literal headship of Christ in the Church

with any governmental structure,

or doctrinal statement,

or human leadership system,

the result will always be

the degeneration of the church into a stagnate, lifeless religious exercise.

Now, this whole thing is just a little bit tricky

because, even though Christ is the designated head of the church,

He does His work through His people,

so that what we see on a daily basis is not Christ Himself,

but rather the men and woman through whom He is doing what He is doing.

But when it is working as God intended

what we bring to this whole thing

is an attitude of dependance upon

and submission to the Spirit of Christ within us.

I understand this process well in my role as a Bible teacher.

Each week I begin my preparation for our times together

with the assumption that there is something specific Christ wants to say to us.

Most of the time when I begin preparing

I have no idea what it is.

And then I pray, “Lord, give me food for your people this week.

Unless you give me eyes to see where you want us to go

we are just wasting our time.”

And, on a broader scale,

it is that same basic attitude

that each of us are called to bring

to each day of our Christian life.

“Lord, this whole Christian life You’ve called me to

rests on the assumption that You both can and will live Your life out through me.

I’ve got another 16 hours ahead of me today.

I’ve got some ideas, and some commitments, and some plans, and some responsibilities

that I believe you’ve established for me.

But most of all what I have is You with me, in me,

assuring me that You will once again give me eyes to see what I need to see,

and a heart to respond to those you want me to love,

and the courage to follow You,

especially when You lead me someplace that wasn’t in my blueprint for the day.”

You see,

when the church is operating as God intended,

if Christ’s Personal leadership were ever to be removed,

the whole thing should collapse in utter ruin.

And anything that would continue on without the direct personal supervision of Christ

is simply man’s religious substitute to the living reality.

And if Christ were ever to withdraw from the individual Christian’s life

the same thing should happen.

Now, my point here is simply this -

when Paul tells us that there is “one body and one faith”

he is not telling us that there is (or that there should be)

one massive world-wide structural organization that is the CHURCH.

Even at the time of his writing

there were literally hundreds of isolated groups of believers

scattered throughout the Roman Empire,

with each on operating under the direct leadership of the Spirit of God

as He worked through the men and women within that local fellowship.

Certainly there were those apostles who traveled throughout the Body,

men who brought with them a divine authority in their interaction with those local groups,

but even there Peter, Paul, and John all warned the local churches

to never blindly submit to any human authority within the church

without first testing those men and women to see if they were truly of God.

Nor is Paul’s proclamation that there is “one body and one faith” suggesting that

somewhere within this religious maze of countless thousands of church organizations

there is just one of them that is the “true church”

and we are all suppose to somehow search it out and find it.

Now, certainly we must not be naive

about what is taking place

under the Christian banner here on this earth.

There will always be many

who use the name of Christ

for their own selfish ends,

men and women who are driven by ego,

or by greed,

or by lust,

people who know that, if they play the Christian game skillfully,

they can use the people of God

for their own fleshly ends.

And there are countless groups in our world

that use the name of Christ,

and bear the name “Christian”

yet that are anything but.

But my point in all of this is simply that,

when Paul tells us that there is “one body and one faith”,

he is not suggesting that there is one correct human organization on this earth that is the “true” church

and all the others are fakes and frauds.

What he IS saying

is that there really is only one body of Christ on this earth.

It is made up of all true believers,

no matter what human group we may associate ourselves with,

no matter what denominational label we may have selected,

no matter what doctrinal system or form of worship we may have chosen.

Let me put it this way.

When God looks at Soldotna, Alaska,

what He sees is His people.

The fact that His people gather in more than a hundred different groups throughout the week,

and that some of His people don’t involve themselves in any of those groups

doesn’t change anything.

There really is only one Body.

And in the same way

there is only one saving faith.

We may have heard it in a thousand different ways,

but the message our spirits received and responded to in simple trust was identical -

“My God, I choose to believe that the death of Christ

really is full payment for all of my sins.”

And when Paul begins to talk with us

about this worthy walk

the first thing on his list

is a call to all Christians

that we consistently choose to look beyond all those things that would divide us,

beyond our doctrinal differences,

beyond our cultural differences,

beyond our traditions

and we focus on and build upon the true unity of spirit

that has been given to us by our God.

And, then let me end with just one practical suggestion

that I have found works well for me

when I am with other believers

who clearly have very different doctrinal perspectives than I do.

It has been my experience

that, whenever I am with another Christian

who holds a different doctrinal perspective than I do,

and our conversation moves into those doctrines on which we differ,

if I allow the conversation to continue

it always ultimately creates stress and division in our relationship with one another.

So, for years now,

I have followed a simple principle.

If I am with a fellow believer

and discover that he or she holds to a different doctrinal position than I do in some area,

unless they are honestly seeking my input and guidance in understanding,

I simply do not discuss doctrine with them,

(no matter how convinced I may be that their ideas are wrong.)

There have been times

when I have had to say something like,

“I care far too much about my friendship with you to risk destroying it over doctrine.”

And please know that I really do understand how difficult this may be at times.

Several years ago

we had a man who attended our fellowship for a number of months.

Shortly after he started coming,

each week following my teaching

I would receive from him long, intricate e-mails

pointing out the doctrinal errors in what I’d taught the past Sunday.

This went on for a several months.

It wasn’t long before I’d find myself tensing up when I’d open my e-mail,

waiting to see if it contained another attack.

I briefly tried to dialogue with him,

but soon discovered that it only made things worse.

So I finally just stopped reading or responding to them all together.

But still they kept coming.

So one Sunday, following the service,

I caught the fellow before he ran out

and offered him a free lunch if he’d be willing to talk.

We met later that week

and I told him that I felt bad knowing that my teaching troubled him so much,

but that he needed to know that what I teach

is not just what I believe,

it is who I am and as such it isn’t going to change.

It isn’t stuff I’ve learned out of a book,

it is most of all my explanation of what I experience in my own daily walk with the King

in the light of the Word of God.

When he realized that I wasn’t going to change,

and I wasn’t going to debate,

it wasn’t long before he decided to leave our fellowship.

But before he left I told him that I couldn’t help but think that

if doctrine had not gotten in the way

he and I could have ended up very good friends.

And it helped me to hear him say that he agreed.

There really is only one body, and one true faith.

Well, I didn’t get as far as I’d hoped to,

but we’ll pick it up here next week.