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The Ephesian Connection
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. 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 fulness of Him who fills all in all.
Jesus presently reigns as King with all authority in heaven and on the earth and His intent is to bring all His enemies under His feet. At this very moment He is joined spiritually to those who make up His Church, His spiritual body on earth. It is not an organization but a spiritual organism made up of members who are alive spiritually and joined in spirit not only with each other but with Him who is the source of their spiritual life. They are corporately the body of which He is the head. And neither is complete without the other. The body of Christ as an entity has an identity greater than its individual parts. Amazingly, the Lord who is far above all, who is the supreme ruler of the universe, has stepped into a relationship with a company of people where He is part of them. Jesus not only rules as Lord of lords and King of kings, but as one part of His body, contributing to the whole, giving it direction, identity, and cohesiveness.
Today, the Church’s task is to demonstrate and proclaim Christ’s lordship to the world. But we have undermined that message by our failure to recognize His headship in our midst. When Jesus was exalted as the King, the Father then gave Him to be head over all things to His body. Thus, His ministry as head of the Church is established on the basis of His kingship. As a result, the Church ought to be characterized first of all by a willing obedience to His will. To disobey is to reject His authority.
Of course, the Church has always declared that Jesus is Lord and King. But while it is easy to talk of His lordship, it is something else to live accordingly. Many say that they are obeying God. And how can we disagree with them unless they are doing something obviously sinful? But if God’s people were truly walking in His will, His body would not be so divided. If it is true that all who say they are walking in obedience really are doing His will, if the Church is indeed expressing the mind of Christ, then it seems that His thoughts are scattered. The current lack of visible love and cooperation in the Church depicts Jesus as not having a sound mind. We have portrayed Him as incompetent, a failure as head of His body. How often have believers declared that they have heard from God on the same issue, come to different conclusions, and then divided from each other with hard feelings? No wonder unbelievers often do not respect or reverence God. We have misrepresented Him and we have done it under the guise of doing His will while testifying to His lordship and headship.
Again, Jesus’ ministry as head of His body is based on the established fact of His lordship. Therefore, if in fact we do walk in submission to His authority (lordship), there will emerge a true expression of His headship (a corporate, unified, cohesive people moving with the mind of Christ). His lordship, walked out in people’s lives, will bring forth a united company, speaking with one voice out of a single heart to express His burden. When we justify our divisions while still proclaiming that Jesus is our Lord and the head of His body, we undermine the very message we proclaim. We must repent for our failure to hear and obey Him and then for implying that He is the cause of our present condition.
Jesus’ lordship will only be visibly manifested to the nations when it is first established and then walked out among His people. One initial evidence that we are truly walking under His authority will be a recognition of our need for all of our brothers and sisters. No local church or fellowship of churches is self-sufficient; we need each other. And together we must come to one mind. A unified people on earth will reflect the singular mind of Christ in heaven. A unified body of believers reveals the oneness that exists in God. Notice how Jesus prayed.
that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.
Our unity is key to the world’s believing the gospel. In effect Jesus said, “Father, I pray that all who believe on Me would walk together with such oneness on earth that it reflects the oneness I have with You – so that the world may believe.”
God has determined to have a people on earth whose lives and service to Him so reflect the reality of heaven that the world cannot ignore them. And He has a plan to bring this about. His body is the fulness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:23). But for this to be so in practice, the Church must come to the stature that belongs to that fulness (Ephesians 4:13). In other words, we must come to a corporate maturity in character, vision, and unity that accurately completes on earth our head who reigns in heaven. Clearly, the Church continues to fall short. We are divided over doctrinal differences, ambitious leaders seeking to establish a name for themselves, and a failure to trust each other. And so, competition abounds. But God has a plan. His prayer in John Chapter Seventeen will be answered.
He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.
Some errantly claim that there are no longer apostles and prophets in the Church. But the Scripture says that Jesus gave these ministries until we come to the unity of the faith and to the stature of maturity that belongs to the fulness of Christ. Today the Lord is raising up these two ministries and is giving them insight into His plan. He is anointing them to lay the foundation of Christ in local churches so that His prayer might be answered. Indeed, He will have a full grown, many-membered, corporate man standing on earth and moving in the mind of Christ. The world will see and marvel. And in that day, they will have no excuse for failing to believing that the Father sent His Son to die for their sins. Let us lift up our hearts in thankfulness for His great love and mercy toward us. Let us give ourselves to Him and participate in His plan as He brings this age to an end.
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