A huge lesson learned from Ephesians

I was recently teaching a group of young men and women who were training to be missionaries a class on the book of Ephesians. While we were discussing the book, something hit me that opened my eyes to another layer of Ephesians. Having taught through Ephesians several times I had gotten to the point that the familiarity of the book had caused me to stop learning from this very rich and profound book. While I was in a discussion with some students on chapter 3 I was asked a question, “Why was it so difficult for the Jews to accept the reality of the Gentiles into the promises of God?”As I was answering this question a thought came to my mind—a thought that I am sure was influenced tacitly by many of the books I have read, but I cannot pinpoint which ones. The thought was: “Hey, wait a minute, the need for the book of Ephesians emerged because the gospel was going forth to the furthest regions of the world!”Here is the “Ah-Ha!”for me: If the gospel had stayed in Jerusalem then the very tension that caused Paul to be arrested would have never occurred. It is the mission of God that caused the tension for the church and thus the need for the epistles to give theological perspective to that tension.

The take home point for me was that once I placed the book of Ephesians in the context of missionary expansion I realized that when Paul talked about the body building itself up in Ephesians 4, and people being subject to one another in chapter 5, he was not just talking about a single culture issue. What is being talked about here is the unity of people and cultures that by worldly standards could never get along, yet now because of the cross those who were enemies can function as one body. The power of the gospel is that it can unite what cannot be united on earth; this is what brings the glory to God (Eph 3:10). This is why God included the Gentiles in the His promises when He made them (Eph 3:6).

With this new found paradigm in mind I began to ask myself: what would happen if I looked at the book of Romans as a book written by an Apostle, who sought to ensure that the gospel was established in Rome so that it might expand to Spain? How would that change my reading? What would happen if I looked at the whole of the New Testament through the lens of a dynamic gospel rather than a static gospel? How would I understand the importance of forgiveness, unity, and love in the body of Christ in light of the true intention of God in the gospel: which is to unite all things in Christ (Eph 1:10)?

These thoughts began to challenge some of the assumptions in the culture in which I dwell. In our Western culture we have many churches that one can attend. Therefore, if someone no longer likes the youth group in one church they can start to attend the youth group in another church. If someone is bothered by someone in one church they can change to another church. We no longer have to work at being one; loving, forgiving, bearing with one another. In our culture we can treat the gospel as a static truth in which all I have to do is affirm, and then find the church body that holds to that belief that makes me and my family the most happy. With that in mind, if I have a problem with my church, I just find a new one. My only commitment is to a creed and my own self interest.

Once I see that the gospel is about expansion that leads to unity I no longer can view the church in this manner anymore. The truth of the Scriptures cannot be for me just abstract doctrines that I keep reaffirming over and over again. The truth of the Scriptures must drive me to understand that God is reaching out to the far reaches of the world and bringing me into relationships that without the gospel I could never be one with these people, but with the gospel I can be one with them. This is the manifold wisdom that shows the angelic world the power of God (Eph 3:10).

Where does this leave me? I am now reading the Scriptures through the lens of God uniting all things in Christ, reaching out to the far regions of the world, building his church so that I can be one, in Christ, with those whom God has put in my life. If I have nothing in common with the body, or if I have been hurt, I will not see that as my cue to leave but to show the angelic world how powerful the gospel really is. This has opened my eyes to the depth and the power of the gospel and to see this power unpacked in the pages of Scripture.