FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS, volume 6, number 40, October 4, 2007

. . .in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places, Ephesians 3:10.

Your High Calling In Christ’s Church

Perhaps you come from a strong, nuclear, Biblical family in which you were taught how to live for and serve Christ in this world. But maybe you grew up in a dysfunctional family which has left you largely disconnected, fractured, fragmented. In either case you are adversely affected in some degree by modernity, the onslaught of a technological society which constantly turns up the speed on the treadmill of life. Most of us live far away from children, parents, or grandchildren and we are paying a price. Perhaps you sometimes feel strangely alone, not able to make sense of all that is happening in your life.

What’s the remedy for fragmentation, disconnection? Paul the Apostle makes a staggering declaration in the above mentioned verse. He says that the high calling of the church is to make known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies (Ephesians 1:21, 6:12, Colossians 1:16, 2:15) the manifold, multi-colored, variegated, beautifully diverse wisdom of God. All the commentators I read agree that the rulers and authorities mentioned in Ephesians 3:10 are angels in heaven. In other words, Paul is saying that you, a member of Christ’s body, a member of Christ’s Church are part of something glorious, far bigger than yourself.

Consider for a moment our high calling as part of Christ’s body. First, we are the purveyor of the covenant of grace. It is clear from Genesis 3:15, Genesis 12:1ff, Exodus 19, Jeremiah 31, and the unfolding of God’s plan of redemption through the covenant of grace that His intention always has been the salvation of the nations. In Abraham all the nations will be blessed. God promises to bear His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that the ends of the earth may see His salvation. We are instructed to let the nations be glad and sing for joy. The church is called to make known the glorious riches of God in Christ, the One who obeyed the Law perfectly, the One who kept the covenant of grace and thus purchased our pardon and redemption. Our job is to make known to the world this glorious administration, the plan of redemption. Second, we are the builder of Christ’s kingdom. Obviously Christ is building His church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it, but it is also true that God works through His people. We are to hallow God’s name, to labor for the propagation of the gospel to all the nations, and to submit to God’s will in every circumstance, learning to be content in all things. Our job as Kingdom builders is to bring to bear the presence, rule, and authority of Biblical faith in all the spheres or arenas of life- family, church, art and culture, economics, medicine, politics, sports, international affairs. Genesis 1:28 tells us to fill the earth, to subdue it, and to rule over it. Third, we are the disciplers of the nations. In Matthew 28:18-20 we are told that as we go out we are to make disciples (followers, learners) of all the nations (all the ethnic groups), ingrafting them into the body of Christ through baptism, and to teach them to observe all the commandments of God. There is no other institution on the face of the earth with this calling and by God’s grace you are part of it. And fourth, and most wonderfully, we are the revealers of God’s plan to make known to the angels the glory of eternal salvation. Zechariah 1:12, Luke 15:10, II Thessalonians 1:7, I Timothy 3:16, and Revelation 5:11 all refer to the vital interest angels have in the unfolding of God’s mighty plan of redemption. The angels seem to know all about creation and the unfolding of history, but they do not understand God’s plan of salvation. The church is to unfold, explain, and drive home to the angels the beauty of salvation as it is found in Christ Jesus. Dear Christian, you are part of something far bigger than yourself.

Then consider the manifold, variegated, multi-colored wisdom of God. It is like white light shining through a prism, bringing out all the colors of the spectrum. The context of Paul’s reference in Ephesians 3:10 is God drawing the Gentiles, these pagan Ephesians, into the church of Christ with Jewish believers. The angels were wondering, "How can this be? God has always worked primarily with the physical descendants of Abraham, but now He is working with Gentiles. What gives? What does this mean?" They were deeply interested but had no answers.

I must tell you, if I were God I would not have done it this way. The Reformers said that we cannot have God as our Father unless we have the church as our mother. The problem is that our mother is a whore. We love her but she is fraught with weakness, division, strife, unbelief, and whoring after other gods. The line of grace came through Abel who was murdered by his brother Cain; and God later raised another seed, Shem, and then Noah, a righteous man. The problem with Noah, however, is that he got drunk from his own vineyard and two of his sons mocked the old man in his naked drunkenness. Then there is Abraham who lied twice about his wife, jeopardizing her life and good name. Isaac, his son, did the same. Then there is Jacob who was a con artist, a slick talker, like a dishonest used car dealer. Then there is Moses who murdered a man and was barred from the Promised Land due to lack of faith. Then there is Solomon who started well but ended terribly, going after many foreign women. Then there is the divided kingdom and Israel’s continued recalcitrance and unwillingness to repent of sin. Finally the Savior was born in poverty, being rejected by the religious leaders of the day, abandoned by His closest friends.

But angels were present as Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden. They were ascending and descending a ladder into heaven in Jacob’s dream of the expansion of the covenant. They awed Isaiah and Ezekiel who saw the glory of God and were humbled to the dust. They informed Joseph of the birth of the Messiah, telling him to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife. They told Mary that she would conceive the Savior by the Holy Spirit. They ministered to Jesus after His temptation in the wilderness. They were strengthening Him in Gethsemane as He faced the cross. They told Cornelius to send for Peter who would preach grace to him and the Gentiles gathered in his house. They called for Paul to come over to Macedonia to preach the gospel in Europe. The angels are constantly having made known to them the wonder and glory of eternal salvation and God does it through His church. You may sometimes feel disconnected and you know people who are fractured and broken, who are longing for community. There is no better place to find it than the church of Jesus. You are part of something far greater than yourself.

FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS is a weekly devotional by Reverend Al Baker, pastor of Christ Community Presbyterian Church in West Hartford, Connecticut.

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