Sunday, August 2, 2009: Family of Faith

Family of Faith
Ephesians 4: 1 – 16.

I. Introduction.

I grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi—in the Northeast corner of the state. In 2003, I was pastor of First Baptist Church, Canton, Mississippi—in the central part of Mississippi. As far as I knew, all of my relatives lived in Northeast Mississippi. I had never really thought much about it before.
In 2003, I started visiting a woman in our church in Canton who was in Hospice care. Over the course of our weekly visits, I discovered that her maiden name was Pittman. She started asking about my family. Eventually, we discovered that she was my grandfather’s first cousin. Does that make her my third cousin? Or, my first cousin twice removed?

Then, we moved to Lufkin back in 2006 and met Bruce Bain. One of the first things I told Bruce was that my mother’s family were Bain’s. Bruce had been researching the Bain family for the past several years—even before my family moved to Lufkin. But lately, he has been trying to find a common ancestor between the two of us. (I don’t know if I should be honored or offended that Bruce is looking for our common ancestor. On one hand, he might want to be related to me. On the other hand, he might be trying to make sure we are NOT related.)

About a year ago, Bruce found what might be our common ancestor. (I am confident that I am going to tell this story wrong. I am going to do my best. But, Bruce has all the facts.)

In 1801, Robert Bean moved from North Carolina to Mississippi. He brought his wife and their ten children. When the Bean family settled in Kosciusko, Mississippi, something happened to Robert. The same year Robert Bean arrived in Kosciusko, Mississippi, he died. His wife took eight of the children and returned to North Carolina. Two sons remained in Mississippi, but changed their names from Bean to Bain.

There is a possibility that Robert Bean is the common ancestor for Bruce and me. But, we don’t know why his sons changed their names from Bean to Bain. Bruce thinks it was because they spoke with a thick Scottish accent, or the sons were not literate. I have a more creative imagination…I think Robert Bean was killed in a duel, and his sons that remained in Mississippi were so ashamed that they changed their names.

The moral of the story…Don’t talk about Bruce in front of me. He’s family. And, Bruce…I expect you to defend me too. What does that make us? Something like fifty-second cousins? We could probably get married.

Families usually stick up for each other. Because, blood relations are strong relations. When I do premarital counseling with couples, I always tell the groom-to-be, “It’s OK for her to talk about her father. But, don’t you ever talk about her father.” Then, I tell the bride-to-be, “It’s OK for him to talk about his mother. But, don’t you ever talk about his mother.” Families stick up for each other.

Usually, the family members who have the strongest bond are the ones who grow up in the same household. In a traditional sense, this would be brothers and sisters. Increasingly, this includes step-brothers and sisters as well as cousins, nieces and nephews who live together.

Growing up in the same household usually means there is a close, biological relationship—same mother and father or at least one parent in common. However, growing up in the same household also affords other relational bonds. People from the same household share regular meals together around the same table—and there is something about food that brings people closer together. People from the same household share a family history—it could be a story of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, or a story of living in the same house on the same street for fifty years. People from the same household share the same values—these values might be watching the Cowboys play on Thanksgiving Day or a deep commitment to Jesus Christ.

It’s no wonder why the Apostle Paul used family metaphors to describe the church. No. Church members do not have a biological relationship…Well, Bruce and I have a biological connection. However, all of us share the other relational bonds of a family of faith. We share meals together—the Lord’s Supper, Wednesday night meals, the annual church picnic and other less frequent church fellowships. We share the same history—we were all sinners in need of a savior, then we accepted God’s offer of salvation through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We share the same values—Jesus is the only name by which humanity might be saved; the Bible is God’s word to us and the authority for all our faith and values; God has placed us in this church to grow in our faith and to introduce others to Jesus…

The book of Ephesians is a short letter. Yet, it contains an extended description of the church as a family of faith.

In Ephesians 3, Paul described his ministry résumé. He had preached the Gospel and had suffered as a result. He even reminded his readers that he was writing this letter from prison. But, according to Paul’s own testimony, all the sufferings were worthwhile. The Gentiles were responding to the “mystery of Christ.” It was worth it all to witness the number of Gentiles becoming Christians. It was also worth it all to witness another “mystery.” These same Gentiles who placed their faith in Jesus were worshipping and serving alongside Jewish Christians. The Gospel has not been stopped by racial boundaries. In fact, the Gospel has torn down the racial boundaries and created a new “family.” This family consists of men and women who are not related by biology. They are Gentiles and Jews, who are related to one another through faith.

Read Ephesians 4: 1 – 16.

II. What Christians Have in Common.

The heading for this passage in the New International Version reads, “Unity in the Body of Christ.” That is certainly ONE thing Paul communicates in the passage, but it is not all. Paul also emphasizes DIVERSITY in the Body of Christ.

Think of this like a family. Your family members do not always make the best decisions. You may have family members who have fallen into a sinful lifestyle. Some may be “running with the wrong crowd.” You might even have someone in your family who chooses to go to college at Texas A & M. But, they are family, and you “bear with them in love.”

Paul urges individual Christians to adopt certain characteristics that make us different from the rest of the world. Christians are to be humble, gentle and patient in our relationships. This applies to our relationships inside the church and outside the church.

Humility is a characteristic that obviously looks like Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God, yet he never used that to place himself above others. Jesus emptied himself of the glory he deserved in order to touch the untouchables, weep at the grave of a friend, wash his disciples’ feet and to die a horrible death on a Roman cross.

Gentleness can also be attributed to Jesus. I can think of three times when Jesus was angry—in Mark 3: 5, Jesus became angry when the Pharisees tested him by bringing a man with a shriveled hand to him on the Sabbath; in Mark 10: 14, Jesus became indignant when the disciples would not allow the children to come to Jesus; and in Mark 11: 15-16, Jesus angrily drove the money changers out of the Temple. But, in only one of these examples was Jesus harsh.

Jesus was gentle in teaching his obtuse disciples. I’m sure he was frustrated by their lack of understanding…Especially, after the miracles and teachings they witnessed. Yet, they never seemed to grasp the nature of Jesus’ ministry and work of atonement. And, Jesus dealt with them gently.

Jesus was gentle with the sick, the crippled, the dying and the grieving. He was always compassionate in his actions toward suffering humanity. Do we demonstrate the same kind of compassion toward the people of Angelina County who are suffering from grief, sickness, job loss or anything? Do we demonstrate compassion toward our brothers and sisters—the members of our own family of faith?

Jesus was even gentle in his dealings with sinners. This is where we often differ from Jesus. After all, Jesus was perfect. He didn’t struggle with sin like the other people around him. Jesus didn’t lie, steal, gossip or struggle with sexual sin. Yet he always demonstrated gentleness and patience with sinners.

Perhaps this is what Paul was writing about when he used the phrase, “bearing with one another in love.” It’s probably a good thing the translators of the New International Version did not use the word “tolerate.” Toleration means something different in the Twenty-First Century.

Toleration in our world today means to accept both the sin and the sinner. A perfect example is the unrepentant homosexual lifestyle. The world tells us that if someone wants to live an unrepentant homosexual lifestyle, that’s their choice. All I can do is accept the person and his or her choices. That is how the world defines toleration, accepting both the sin and the sinner.

Now, allow me to say at this point that homosexual behavior is clearly defined as a sin in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. However, it is not the “worst sin” in the Bible. It is just another sin, and all sin separates us from God. All sin can be forgiven. All Christians struggle with sin. And this is what makes homosexual behavior different from other sins. When Christians sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins. We feel remorse for what we have done. We feel guilty for rebelling against God’s commands. The Holy Spirit leads us to repent—or turn away—from our sins. We cannot be comfortable worshipping God while also cherishing our sins.

I don’t believe the church is supposed to tolerate sin and sinners as the Twenty-First Century world has defined toleration. I believe we are to reject sin and be patient with the sinner…Especially patient with sinners who are broken and repentant.

We can be patient with one another, because we share the same story. Paul does not actually tell our story in this Scripture. Instead, he gives us a list that reminds us of our common story: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God—the Father over all of our family.

III. What Christians Have that Is Different.

Verse 11, is one of three places where Paul lists spiritual gifts. The other two lists are found in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. But, the list here in Ephesians 4: 11 is different. On one hand, this is a list of different gifts—there is only one gift in Ephesians that shows up in Romans and 1 Corinthians. On the other hand, this is a list of people (or at least roles people serve) in the church. We might even say these gifts are the church’s ministers.

I would like to be able to describe distinct differences between these four persons or roles in the church. However, there are too many similarities.

Apostle—comes from the Greek word apostelo, which means “to send.” Therefore, we usually define an apostle as “one who has been sent by God,” usually sent to accomplish a specific task or mission. This specific mission is to share the Gospel with people who have not heard. If Paul was an apostle, then we can say that an apostle preached the Gospel and started churches for the new Christians.

Prophets—closely associated with the Old Testament practice of “speaking God’s word to God’s people.” We normally associate prophecy with predicting future events. However, that was not all the Old Testament prophets did. Actually, all they did was speak God’s word. And God’s word is always true. Therefore, when God spoke about future events, those events always happened the way the prophets said they would. This was not because the prophet could predict the future. This was because the prophet was speaking God’s word, which is always true.

Evangelists—comes from the Greek word euangellion, which means “good news.” Therefore, an evangelist is someone who tells other people the Good News about Jesus. Notice how similar this is to the role of the apostle. Both apostles and evangelists witness to non-Christians with a goal to bring them to accept Jesus’ offer of salvation.

Pastors and teachers—these two words should not be separated into two persons or roles. Grammatically, “teachers” is the only noun in the verse without a definite article. In other words, it reads, “the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers.” The Greek word we translate “pastor” is the word poimenas, which literally means “shepherd.” By using the word “shepherd,” Paul is implying that the pastor-teacher of the church is to be the leader of the church—just as the shepherd is the leader for the sheep. By using the word “teacher,” Paul is implying that one of the leadership roles the pastor undertakes is teaching the church. Again, notice how similar this is to the role of the prophet. The pastor-teacher has the same responsibility as the prophet—to speak God’s word to God’s people.

While I believe we can make a case that Paul is really only describing two roles in the church (apostle / evangelist and prophet / pastor-teacher), I don’t believe this is the most important part of the verse. The most important part is the purpose for these roles, which is “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”

IV. Conclusion.

Did you hear what Paul said the ministers are supposed to do? Paul didn’t say, “Call a good pastor and let him do all the work.” Paul didn’t say, “Hire a professional evangelist, so that you don’t have to witness to your friends and family.” No. Paul said the pastors and evangelists are supposed to equip God’s people in order to do the work of the church together. He repeats this same idea at the end of the passage.

Read Ephesians 4: 15 – 16…

Again, the church is like a family. We might have individual chores and responsibilities within the family. BUT, the family needs all members to work together. No one person makes up the whole family. Each person has a job to perform.