The Pattern of Christ for His Church (PBC) Ephesians 4:12-16
INTRODUCTION: When you think of the grace of God, you probably bring to mind forgiveness and the hope of heaven. But the grace of God includes transformation—those born again are “new creatures” made for true community (restored ability to reflect the Creator—the sphere in which that takes place is relationships). We have something that the world is hungry for— TRUE COMMUNITY. A group of individuals committed to one another where it is safe to know and be known—a place where you belong, are missed when absent, and where you make a significant contribution. (The world wants this, but not on Christ’s terms.)
Because of the grace of God there is no one on earth better equipped for true community than a believer. Consider our equipping: true believers have died with Christ and are now controlled by Christ’s love so as to no longer live for self but for Him who died and rose on their behalf. They are alive in Christ and joined to Him in an immutable covenant of love. They have the very righteousness of Christ imputed to their account (a new identity).
They are indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit who is eager to produce the fruit of the Spirit.
Their relationships with the brethren are held together supernaturally by Christ. They have the living Word of God which spells out God’s will for their relationships. They can be endlessly generous with forgiveness and acceptance because they have received both in infinite measure from Christ.
God the Father through the Son has formed a new humanity (‘Christ in you’). By union with Christ we are complete in Him (all the benefits of His Person belong to the believer). Our supernatural union with Christ also means that believers are supernaturally joined together into a social structure called the ‘Body of Christ.’ This is how Christ sees us—as His body on earth. This makes a world of difference in how His church is to function.
Because by nature, the Church is a living organic body by virtue of union with Christ; our relationships among the brethren no longer exist for social reasons alone. a.) God intends the relationships in the body exist for mutual edification. b.) God intends that collectively we are to manifest the character and disposition of Christ. c.) God intends that our body life (fellowship) as ‘true community’ is to reflect the very communal life of the Godhead.
But, in order for the church to reveal Christ, her glorious Head, she must live upon Him and live out her vital connection to Him AND live out her connection to the brethren. READ EPHESIANS 4:11-16. (This is Christ’s ‘pattern’ for his church—not ours to design and engineer as we please.)
Our text (v. 12) says ‘Body.’
I. God intends that the church function as an organism; not as an institution. (By organism I mean that a living body is composed of interdependent parts, each taking its orders and instructions from the “central nervous system” which emanates from the head. When you think about groups such as Elks Club, the PTA, or the L.A. Dodgers—you’re dealing with something that is an organization; not an organism.
A. The ‘secret’ of the living body of Christ is that all parts share life together in Christ. The members of the body possess supernatural connectedness by mystical union with Christ through the Holy Spirit. The members of the body are vitally connected to Christ and to one another for the purpose of fellowship (1 Jn 1:1-10). (Institutionalism tends to organize the church in such a way that the very nature of the body as a living organism is denied in practice and obscured.)
C. Organism refers to the body of Christ experiencing Christ’s life as a group of individuals who are united together in the reality of the indwelling Spirit. According to 1 Corinthians 12:7, “each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (Christ sent His Spirit laden with gifts so that the church would have all she needs to fulfill her mission on earth.)
V. 13 -- I want you to see that the spiritual gifts are given for a purpose:
D. “Ministries (gifts) have been given by Christ . . . to enable the body of Christ to attain its ultimate goal, that is, ‘the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’” (4:13) (Peter T. O’Brien).
E. If you are to see your part in the Body as Christ sees it; then you must see the body as a true community of interdependent people who are committed to doing spiritual good to others. This is how God intends the body to function. Now when the body functions in this manner—the church reveals something that a natural organization could not (she reveals the glory and wisdom of God – Eph 3:10).
II. God intends the local church be a corporate display of His glory and wisdom.
A. The body of Christ is the corporate expression of the grace of Christ. The gifts in the body at work are each a facet of Christ’s character reproduced and made visible (it is Christ’s virtues produced in us by Christ’s Spirit.) The Holy Spirit produces Christ’s personality and virtue in us.
B. God’s character is known by both the truth of the gospel and by the church’s organic union with Christ as her members function in harmony—showing collectively the character of Christ. In this way, the church reveals the character of God. It does so ONLY when it incarnates the disposition of Jesus.
D. The fellowship of the members of the body is proof of the divine power of Jesus— “that they may be one” (Jn 17:21-23). The unity of the brethren is evidence to the watching world that Christ came from heaven—that He is divine. In His High Priestly prayer the Lord declares His ministry to be that of binding men together by indissoluble bonds (Jefferson).
III. God intends that (we) believers follow Christ’s pattern for the body (4:7-16). And, the whole direction of that pattern is edification:
A. Christ is building His church; He commands every member to build with Him. To edify is to build up. We are commanded to “build up” (Rom 15:2).
(EX. In a healthy physical body each cell contributes to the overall vitality of the organism.) When I encourage my brother or sister in Christ, I am able to see their faith increase; their hope developed; their vision clarified; and their service unleashed—all to the glory of Christ (Heb 10:22-25).
B. The church is a body with Christ as its Head (Eph 4:7-16). Every member of the body is ruled by Christ and nourished by Christ so that the growth from Christ is mediated through particular persons (O’Brien, p. 315). This is exciting because Christ’s pattern for the body He has created reveals the “pathway” along which spiritual nourishment flows. To be true to His pattern is to think this way.
C. That “pathway” of ministry and nourishment in verse 12. The members of Christ’s body are to do the “work of service” of building up the body. That means that church members are responsible for the major part of the transmission of the transforming Word of God to one another. This activity, carried out by its members, is to be the normal function of the church! (Col 3:16). (Colossians 2:19 helps us interpret what Paul means in Ephesians 4:16—Christ communicates His nourishment through each ligament, joint, member of the body.)
D. Regarding our mutual serving—the very unity of the body depends upon a deep and practical appreciation of the diversity of gifts in the body (1 Cor 12:14-31). It is the diversity of the body contributes to the unity of the body according to 1 Corinthians 12 (O’Brien, p. 317). (EX. Peter, “You won’t wash my feet.”)
A deep appreciation of the body’s diversity means that we ought to be willing to be on the receiving end as others exercise their gifts. Through the action of complementary gifts; the body is built up. “I need your gift and your ministry in my life and you need mine in your life as well.” World organizes itself around common interests, achievements, values—the body of Christ is different—it is organized around DIVERSITY of the giftedness of the members.
V. 4:13 IV. God’s intends that His pattern for the body accomplish a specific purpose: to build up the redeemed unto the unity of the faith and the KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD—out of which flows spiritual maturity (4:12-13) (John MacArthur, N.T. Commentary on Ephesians, Chicago: Moody Press, p. 156).
A. In this passage, the “unity of the faith” is the content of the gospel in its most complete form—and our text has in view especially how the unity of the faith is lived out ‘incarnationally’ by believers who are properly taught to faithfully carry out the work of service (4:12) (ibid.). Believers must be properly taught otherwise the church regresses into an institution and ministry becomes centralized in the pastoral staff.
B. The redeemed are to be built up unto the true knowledge (epiginosko) of the Son of God (4:13). This is the knowledge of Christ Himself as the embodiment of God’s treasure, and as the Source Person/Supplier of all the church needs (Col 2:3; Eph 1:18; 3:8) (Ralph P. Martin). (EX. Andrew Young quote)
The deep knowledge of the Son of God is only attainable by prayer, study of the Word, fellowship with Him, and obedience (subjection to Him)(MacArthur, p. 157).
C. The unity of the faith will be ultimately reached by means of the true knowledge of Christ (4:13).
- What may be new to you in today’s message is that the true knowledge of Christ is a corporate as well as a personal experience. Only in this way will the church ‘come of age’ and become full grown as a ‘mature man’ (4:15) (A.
Skevington Wood, NIV Commentary, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994, p. 769).
- The ‘corporate experience’ of the knowledge of Christ is imparted through mutual edification. The reason why is because each joint and ligament and member is a channel for Christ’s nourishing of the body. Individualism and private piety without close ties to other believers is a mark of immaturity (ibid.).
E. Growing up ‘in all aspects unto Him’ is a call for comprehensive Christ-likeness.
He is the source of the body’s power and functions. In order to grow into His likeness, the members of His body must be subject to His controlling power in obedience to His will, and submissive to His pattern for His church (MacArthur, p.
160).
V. God intends that His pattern for the body of Christ be your mindset.
T H E M I N D S E T (‘mindset’ is another word for obedience.):
A. I am a steward of God’s grace (1 Peter 4:7-11). We are “stewards of God’s grace,” we are to care for something that we do not own. We are accountable to the Lord for our care of what is entrusted to us.
B. My sanctification is to take place within the context of the body of Christ. The Christian community (the local church) is the context for change. Individual redemption is played out in our relationships (Lane/Tripp, pp. 76-79).
- Relationships reveal character. Relationships amplify what we are. Relationships involve risk—we risk being offended and offending.
- The community is a mirror—our self-absorption shows up. Community is the very thing we need to move us out of self-centeredness. The corporate body is needed to make me like Christ. Are we in the habit of thinking about our relationships as the context for sanctifying change? (Lane/Tripp, pp. 83-86).
Vv. 14-15 ‘Speaking the truth in love must be my habit (checks instability in others). C. I am a channel of the grace of Christ to my brethren: “My brothers and sisters need the ministry that Christ died to accomplish through me” (Stabbert, p182).
V. 4:16 -- VI. God intends that each believer stay close to Christ his Head and faithfully use his gift. The fact that Christ causes the growth of the body in no way negates the efforts of the believers in building the body (MacArthur, p. 161).
A. Yes, the church grows by the action of Christ on its behalf, BUT we must
understand that Christ is working to accomplish this end through the activity of
each member.
B. Christ exerts a unifying action by means of His working through ‘every joint which He supplies’ (4:16). As each ‘joint’ (member of the body) exercises Christ’s gift for ministry there is a “chain reaction” produced by Christ among His servants. The whole body is built up, and love becomes the atmosphere (Martin, p.
1116-1117).
C. In the process of mutual encouragement and the responsibilities of edification exercised, each part is playing the role for which it was appointed. Love becomes the air that is breathed. Through Christ, the body generates love like a rain forest generates oxygen. Christ imparts His risen life within the congregation (ibid.).
It is in this manner that the body engages in the corporate experience of Christ.
D. The phrase, ‘every joint supplies’ conveys a much needed truth about the function of the body. Christ holds the body together. He makes it function ‘by that which every joint supplies.’ The Spirit of Christ, working through the gifts, provides a flow of ministry that produces growth (MacArthur, p. 162). Christ’s pattern for you is that you bring grace down and funnel it to one another—this is not exceptional—it is the content of normal Christianity (Piper).
VII. God intends that you draw close enough to your brethren to bless them, and be blessed by the ministry of the gifts Christ has given them.
A. Here is where Christ’s pattern is most likely to break down in a solid, Bible-believing church. Cultivating close relationships in the body of Christ as first
looks like it may be more trouble than it is worth. (“I’m shy, private, over-scheduled, etc.” Nevertheless, we must build a case for obedience—telling
ourselves, “this is good for me!”)
B. In order to realize Christ’s pattern; each individual part of the body must come in close enough contact with other members that their gifts result in growth.
Christ facilitates the effectiveness of the gifts in mutual ministry; BUT the gifts cannot work EXCEPT by close relationships of genuine spiritual ministry.
C. This is a revolutionary truth in a religious world drawn to institutional thinking.
God cannot work where relationships are not intimate. No genuine progress in
the growth of the body takes place unless each member in union with other
members responds to the direction of Christ the Head who rules the body by His
Word. An obedient response to Christ means that each part of the body is doing
exactly what it was designed to do (this is an immense source of joy).
D. We need to get into relationships of mutual encouragement; mutual edification;
mutual dependence; mutual ministry, and mutual prayer.
As this evil age moves further into darkness, we must tell ourselves that the way Christ keeps us safe is by putting us in the kind of groups that will sustain our faith—the need for this kind of genuine fellowship is going up not down.
E. We need to repent of our choice to be alone from our brethren. In order to obey Christ; you must whole-heartedly make His pattern for body life and soul care yours. Don’t miss being a channel of power and blessing. Christ has sanctifying, maturing grace He will only give you through close relationships.
Spiritual gifts and ministries are discovered in close fellowship with others—not in the woods alone while reading the works of St. Francis of Assisi.
The glorious enablement of the Spirit means that we will find ourselves ‘anointed’
and gifted in the moment we make ourselves available to the Lord. I wish to ask
you today, “ have you stepped into a lifestyle in which you continually put your
self at the disposal of Christ the King to bless His people?”
CONCLUSION: We’ve seen that in order to embrace Christ’s pattern for his body; we must adopt a particular mindset. Namely that living out my vital connection to Christ and the brethren gives the shape, purpose, and goal to all my fellowship—that goal being maturity and conformity to Christ.
If the church is to be obedient to Christ’s pattern, the individual members must become convinced that it is their responsibility to (through the exercise of their gifts to present every man complete (or mature) in Christ (Col 1:28-29). We won’t recover organic body life UNTIL we are deliberate about building up our brother and sister.
I am to exercise my spiritual gift in the context of people caring, praying, ministering, and getting close AND understanding that the grace Christ gives comes through others— through mutual edification; mutual ministry. This causes the body to grow to the glory of Christ.