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The Ephesian Connection
...just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
God has called us to walk uprightly before Him. But too often our focus has been on how we appear before others. We like being esteemed by those around us. In fact, some have even taught us that such appreciation is necessary. As a result, we many times try to “put our best foot forward” to present ourselves in the best light possible.
But Jesus’ priority never seemed to be about making a good impression on people. It was not that He wanted to make a bad one; it was just that His focus was elsewhere. He sought to please His Father. His life was governed by the will of the One who had sent Him.
The most devastating consequence of being a man pleaser is that we could appear holy before others while being a failure in God’s sight. He sees in us what others cannot, even the motives of our hearts. And He desires truth there in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6). If we are to walk uprightly before Him, we must communicate in our prayers our true feelings, confessing our frustrations and failures as well as our victories. Clearly, He is impressed with reality, not religious camouflage.
Rather than just saying prayers, saying what we think He wants to hear, we must commune with Him. How foolish it is to try and hide. And how even more foolish it is to try and impress Him with pious words that do not accurately express our hearts. At such times, we may appear holy to others. And they may even be impressed. But God is not moved by what impresses men. And He is blessed by what men often think is unimportant (Luke 21:1 - 4). His value system simply differs from ours. And He wants us to learn His ways rather than to try and attribute our ways to Him. Herein lies a significant difference between authentic apostolic Christianity and religious tradition.
At the heart of genuine Christian discipleship can be found men and women walking in an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus. Religious tradition, on the other hand, is too often marked by believers trying to impose on God and others around them what they think is important. Sadly, in some Christian assemblies, it sometimes does not even matter what the Lord wants to say in a particular gathering because those in leadership have already decided what will happen. And while what occurs may seem to bless those who organized the event, the real question is whether or not God is blessed. What impresses Him will ultimately impact the world; what impresses the desires of self-focused religious people will ultimately impact no one.
Throughout history, the Church has too often sought the world’s admiration. She has taken society’s priorities and given them significance in her midst as though they were important to our God (e.g., the necessity for Church leadership to have recognized levels of education offered by honored institutions, expensive and impressive buildings, certain types of dress delineating one class of believer from another, etc.). As a result, when unbelievers look at the Church, they assume that what they see reflects God’s priorities. But because we have misrepresented Him, we have blunted our impact.
In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. And let not your adornment be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses, but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
This passage deals with how believing wives can influence their unsaved husbands for the sake of God’s kingdom. Peter uses the word “adornment” which means to beautify. Godly women should not primarily emphasize external adornment. True beautifying is an internal more than an external process and yields an attractiveness precious to God. His strategy for Christian women to win their unsaved husbands is that they should seek to become more attractive in His sight. As they submit to His work in their hearts, He will more fully form His character in them. And their resulting beauty will then have a greater impact on their husbands and on those around them than could any external adornment. And as they grow increasingly beautiful in God’s sight, all will see His glory in them.
Here is where Christianity has most misunderstood God’s strategy in evangelism. We have too often sought to attract the world to the Church, instead of seeking above all to become more attractive in His sight. We are first of all His bride. Secondarily, we are His representatives to the world. But what the world thinks of us has simply been too important in our eyes. Thus, we have adopted practices that, while not necessarily evil, are not Heaven’s priority. As a result, the Church has become camouflaged instead of adorned.
When a soldier camouflages himself, he is hidden from plain view. He accomplishes this by taking materials from his surroundings and wearing them in order to mask his uniqueness in the setting. Yet it is precisely the Church’s distinctiveness in the world that must be maintained at all costs. Jesus is not coming back for a bride who “fits in,” but for one who “stands out,” who expresses the values of Heaven. As she is conformed to His likeness, she will reflect His priorities and so ultimately reveal His assessment on true beauty. Today He is pouring out His grace upon us so that when we have been fully adorned with His character, He will then joyfully culminate Church history with a great wedding feast.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True.
Notice, the coming of the Lord in John’s vision was directly connected to the bride making herself ready. But notice as well that it was given to her (here is the operative grace of God) to make herself ready (here is the necessary human responsibility). She prepared for Him; she was His. Her focus was not on the vast human need around her, but on Him. On the other hand, the fine linen she put on were deeds of righteousness springing from her heart on behalf of the needy. And her service of others indicated her readiness for His return.
Today, we must respond to the voice of our God concerning human need. Generosity in our interpersonal relationships can be an effective gauge of the sincerity of our relationship with Him.
But remember, our first priority is not the world; it is the Lord Jesus. We are not primarily a people given to the nations, but to Him. Our ministry to human need will exhibit the unique identity we have in Him. Too often, Christian leaders have used guilt manipulation to motivate the Church concerning the prevailing needs around them. But moral obligation is not the motivating force in the Church’s ministry to the world; love is. The adornment of the Bride (our righteous acts) is put on for His sake. He is our focus and our goal. Our ministry to the world is to be a reflection of the grace He lavishes upon us to prepare us as a Bride for Him. Guilt manipulation can generate activity, but it will never bring forth the Bride or bring back the Groom.
Let us shed the camouflage we have to put on to impress the world and let us walk in our calling to be pleasing to Him.
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