Jeremy Duncan: Paul's point here. Christ is a very different kind of victor, one who wins through self sacrifice and then who gives us a diverse multiplicity of gifts in response. All so that we can then build each other up. So we can weather the circumstances that buffet us, so we can protect each other from those who would do us harm. Essentially, what Christ gifts us with is community.
To be together in this kind of way is, I think I think it's probably a bigger deal than we sometimes realize. I know that you know this, but there are a lot of forces in our world that want to tell us that what separates us one from another is a lot bigger and more important and infinitely stronger than what holds us together. And at times, that is probably true. Politics and economics, even our theology and religion can often feel more like a wedge than a comfort. But a space like this, a room like this with different stories and different backgrounds, with different weeks that we've all just come out of and different weeks that we're about to head into, all of those very different experiences and perspectives gathered in one room around one story that transcends our individual narratives, that's a really powerful, but I think also an increasingly unique thing in our world.
And so today, as we work towards the end of the book of Ephesians, we're gonna close off this series, and we begin to prepare ourselves for the season of Lent ahead. We're gonna do that by looking at a passage where Paul reminds us of just how much we really do need each other. And so sometimes, just the simple fact that you are here sharing a space with human beings whose life is very different from yours, sometimes just that is sacred practice. So, thank you for being here. I did mention this, but next Sunday is the first Sunday of Lent, and Lent is the traditional season where we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter.
That season actually begins this Wednesday night. And so, Ash Wednesday is this week. We're gonna gather here in this space at 7PM. There'll be a very short service to reflect on the death that precedes resurrection. And that evening, we'll mark ourselves with ash in remembrance, but also in anticipation of what's on the horizon for us.
So, it's a very simple, also really beautiful service. We'd love you to have us join us this Wednesday, 7PM. It's gonna begin our journey toward Easter together. Now, that all said, we are also gonna finish off our if then series today. And for the past three weeks, we have been looking at the book of Ephesians.
This letter is absolutely packed, so we are definitely not trying to cover everything in this series. But we have been working to get a read on the major flow and theme of this letter. And Scott actually launched us into the second half of the letter last week as we talked about a few things that were, I think, really compelling. But one of the ideas that really struck with me this week was that if Christ is healing the world, that's the first half of the letter, then you and I, we need to learn to embrace change. Paul calls this the new self.
Scott called it learning Christ. But the core idea was that if Christ is healing the world, then you and I, we are going to need to develop new instincts about, like, almost everything. We need to learn to think differently about ourselves than we used to, and we need to think differently about our neighbor than we have in the past. All of our instincts about what we need and what we want and how we're going to go about pursuing that in the world, All of that now needs to be filtered through this conviction. In the words of Paul from chapter one that God's goal is to bring unity to all things under Christ.
And, he gets pretty practical with that in the second half of the letter, starting with how we speak to each other, and then diving into things like sexual ethics and family codes, how you think about marriage and children, how you think about sex. All of those relationships are no longer about who has the power to demand something from another, but now instead should be about finding a way toward our mutuality. Today, we have one last set of implications from Ephesians, a reminder about why we need each other, and then some clarification about exactly what it is that we struggle against together. First, let's pray. God of peace, as we come now to your word again, we ask that you would quiet the noise within us.
Where we're distracted, would you gather us? Anxious, steady us. Where we're defensive, maybe soften our hearts. If you're truly bringing all things together in Christ, then would you bring us together now in this space? Unify our hearts in humility.
Teach the patience to bear with one another. Form in us that new self that slowly begins to reflect your grace. And so as we open these ancient words again, protect us from hearing only what confirms us, but give us courage to be changed by you over and again. Help us grow in the way of Jesus. And as we listen, would you shape us into people who reflect your love in this world that surrounds us.
In the strong name of the risen Christ we pray. Amen. Okay. This is the last week of our if then series. If Christ reigns, then how should we live?
That's like the whole point of Ephesians. And And I'll give you a warning right up front here. We've got a lot of work to do and a lot of ground to cover to finish off this series. And today, we will hit, what's it there for? Misquoting scripture, relying on each other, and finally reframing our world around us.
But before we get to the end of the letter, which is really where we want to land today, we're gonna need to backtrack a little bit to the beginning of this second half. However, before we do that, I wanna frame this a little bit as well. I don't know if you've ever talked to kids before. I don't know if you've ever talked to my kids before. But if you try to ask my children to do anything, you will be invariably met with the response, why?
Can you get dressed, bud? Why? Cause it's 11AM, and you're still in your pajamas, and you haven't got off the couch. Can you eat dinner, please? Why?
Cause you're a living organism, and you need more calories than that to survive. Can you please put a coat on before you go outside? Why? Because you live in a part of the world that is inhospitable to human survival for large parts of the year. Just put a coat on.
I'll be honest. I always find this a little frustrating, but I've been trying to reframe this a little bit in my relationship with my kids. I don't think they're trying to be difficult. Although, let's be honest, probably a little bit. I think kids also instinctively know though that there's always a story behind the request.
There's a why. There's a meaning. A purpose. There's a reason for this. And if the why, if the story is not compelling, well, then maybe the action isn't justified.
Now, I'm not trying to say that Paul thinks we're children. Although, based on a lot of his writings, you might not have an unreasonable expectation if you thought that. But I do think Paul understands that it's the story that drives us, which is why Ephesians is structured the way that it is. It starts with the why. What's the story?
And then it moves to the implication, the request. And maybe I should start talking with my kids that way as well. However, it's also why we need to backtrack to the start of chapter four. Actually, the way back to exactly where Scott started last week, where Paul writes this, as a prisoner for the Lord then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you've received. That line right there for the record, that is our then statement in the series.
That verse, start at chapter four verse one, signals the shift into the second half of the letter. If all of this is true, well, then here's what's next. However, a more classical rendering of this verse would read, therefore, I, a prisoner of the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of your calling. Now, a year ago, when we planned out the teaching schedule, we decided to call this series if then. That was a little play on computer programming and conditional logic structures.
I thought that would be fun because I have a weird idea of what's fun. But, however, there was also a much older truism in biblical exegesis that says, whenever you read a therefore, you should ask what it's there for. That is essentially the same idea that we've been using for this whole series. Chapter four verse one is the start of Paul's response to the opening three chapters. Therefore, if you're with me on that, then here's what all of it means for us.
And this is what he says. I beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called. To be completely humble and gentle, to be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of your peace. That's his opening point here.
If all things are being brought to unity under Christ, that's chapter one verse 10, then unity, that should be a pretty big goal for all of us. But, he continues, there is one body and one spirit just as you were called to one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and one father of all who is overall and through all and in all. Now, it's kind of interesting here is that we think all of these little rapid fire little phrases, they almost feel like a liturgy to us. We think this section may have been part of an even more ancient earlier baptism rite.
One that was being used in the early church even before Paul was around, and so he picks up on that language, uses it here to make his second point, which is about oneness. Now, that sounds a lot like unity, but the way to think about the distinction here is that unity is about how we act toward each other. All that gentle humble patience he was talking about earlier. Oneness, the way he's using it, is about how we see each other, how we understand the value of another. In other words, the reason we work toward unity in the way we treat each other is precisely because we know that we're all one in the same in the end anyway.
So, we got unity and we got oneness. Paul's still going here. He adds, but to each of us, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says, when he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people. What does he ascended mean?
That he also descended to the lower earthly regions. Am I right? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens in order to fill the whole universe. Now, I know what you're thinking. What on earth are you talking about here, Paul?
First of all, super confusing language, veers off in a strange direction. Second of all, he just completely misquoted Psalm 68 here. So, what's going on? Well, the reference here is to Psalm 68, which is a song of war celebrating a victorious return to Jerusalem. And, I'll put Paul's quote from Ephesians back on the screen.
He ascended on high. He took many captives and gave gifts to his people. This, however, is what Psalm 68 actually says. When you ascended on high, you took many captives and you received gifts from your people, even from the rebellious. I mean, that is exactly precisely the opposite of what Paul says here in Ephesians.
So does he just get this wrong? Is this some kind of textual error? Is there maybe something that's been lost in the translation over the years? Who knows? Well, actually we do.
No. This mistake is in fact Paul's entire point. Jesus subverts our expectations. Jesus is the inversion of our story. Remember Ephesians one says, all things have already been put under Christ's feet.
Christ has already conquered the world through the cross. But does Christ demand tribute in that victory? Expect payment from both the faithful and the rebellious alike? No. This victor now gives gifts away, showers the world with grace.
Paul explains even how Christ conquers, not by ascending through war, but by descending instead into the human story all the way through death through resurrection only to fill the whole universe with love. What's interesting here is that Paul doesn't quote Psalm 68 to proof text Jesus. He quotes the Psalm to say, no wonder we didn't see Jesus coming. He's nothing like we expected a savior to be. This is a conqueror who wins through descending, through self sacrifice, a victor who gives gifts away when they win rather than demanding tribute.
And what does Christ give then? Well, Paul continues, and this is where he says, so Christ himself gave us the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and the teachers, all of these good gifts to equip God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up. Until we can all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and we become more mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. If that happens, we'll no longer be like infants, tossed back and forth by the waves or blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. So Paul's point here.
Christ is a very different kind of victor, one who wins through self sacrifice and then who gives us a diverse multiplicity of gifts in response. All so that we can then build each other up. So we can weather the circumstances that buffet us, so we can protect each other from those who would do us harm. Essentially, what Christ gifts us with is community. And that means Paul's therefore, everything that we're working toward given what we now believe about Christ from chapters one to three starts with unity, builds in our oneness, lands in the multiplicity of gifts that make up Christian community.
That means everything we talked about last week, from how you speak to each other to how you sleep with each other, all of that flows out of this idea. Preserving unity because you understand your oneness, and you celebrate and honor the unique contribution of every single person that you encounter. Paul even gives us an example of this. How we work it out after listing all these gifts, which, by the way, is not an exhaustive list. Like, you're not either an apostle or a prophet or a teacher, yada yada yada.
The list is illustrative, not exhaustive. But after providing this list of different kinds of gifts, he then tells us why we need all those so we're not passed forth and back by waves, so we're not blown here and there by every wind of teaching. And I like this. It's it's poetic, but it's also just really insightful. He says, look, we're here to help each other.
First, when circumstances beyond our control push us in places we didn't intend to be. That's the waves. Right? Like, maybe bad luck or health issues or an unexpected loss, even loneliness. Anything beyond your control that feels like it might sink you, that's when you turn to community.
But then, he also talks about the winds, about being blown here and there by every teaching and the cunning craftiness of deceitful scheming. In other words, some things aren't just beyond your control. Sometimes, I mean, sometimes you're taken advantage of. Maybe you made mistakes because someone gave you some bad advice. Maybe you found yourself in trouble because someone promised you something they didn't deliver on.
Maybe you were just deceived or defrauded, and it wasn't circumstance. It was ill intent. Remember, we are the small working model of a new humanity, but we're not the norm. And that said, let's be honest here. Even within the church, we're far from ideal.
Still got a little scheming going on. Paul's not naive about that. In first Corinthians, he writes to a church that's angry and divided and suing each other over all their deceitful schemes. So Paul's not out of touch with reality here. This is someone who's saying there's something to shoot for.
And the way that we get there, the way we look after each other, the way we mature each other, the way we guide and lead and care and support each other, all of that comes through acknowledge and celebrating all of the gifts that every single one of us brings into community. Or as he says in verse 16, from Christ the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament grows and builds itself up in love as every single part does its work. That's the basis of his therefore. Christ has subverted all of our expectations, and Christ now leads us into unity and oneness and the celebration of our unique gifts. And with that now established in our minds, we can move toward Paul's final image in Ephesians.
One of his most famous metaphors for the Christian life, the armor of God in chapter six. This is what he writes. Ephesians six in verse 10. We hear this everything in the light of what we've just been talking about. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Mighty power that's expressed how? The subversive self giving of Christ. And put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. Interesting here. Right?
We got that same word schemes popping up. Shows up in the opening of Paul's therefore section. Now, again, here in the closing image of letter. Almost as if Paul wants to say, hey, you remember those people that sometimes you need to protect each other from? Those people you need to recover from afterward?
Those people aren't actually your enemy. In fact, sometimes they're just as deceived as their schemes are. Remember again, all the way back to chapter one, we are only the first to put our hope in Christ. We're ahead of the curve of the universe. Let's not despise those who find their way home a little after us.
Because our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers and against authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Now, this translation here is a little bit tricky because Paul starts off by being pretty clear. Like, our struggle is not against flesh and blood. We're not talking about other people. They're not our enemy.
Then he starts talking about the rulers and the authorities, which very much sounds like he is talking about other people. And because of that, one of the ways that this verse has been read throughout history is then to assume that while those rulers and those authorities, all of those powers of this dark world, well, those must be demons and fallen angels and the sort of spiritual beings of some identified classification. And while that's possible, there's actually a much simpler explanation here. Because rulers and authorities, those are the words arche and exusia, and those can just as faithfully be translated rule and authority. In other words, our battle is against any rule, any authority, any power, any force that aligns itself with evil and imposes itself on God's creation.
Now, that doesn't mean there's no consequence for bad behavior or that the evil get off scot free. What it means is that you and I have to reframe our perspective to understand that even those who do evil are at some level victims of their own malfeasance. Now hear me when I say that. They are not the victims. Their suffering does not supersede that of the oppressed in any way, but there is no such thing as evil that benefits one and harms another, at least not in the long term.
Because when we choose greed for ourselves, when we choose to oppress another, when we choose to coerce or manipulate or force our agenda on someone, we are slowly but surely distancing ourselves from the grace that we need. We are damaging our very existence. And I'm not asking you to feel bad for the bad guy here. What I'm saying is that we cannot hurt each other without doing more damage than we realize to our soul. And you and I, we we might not be the villains of the story, but we would still do well to remember that when we contemplate even what might feel like a small decision to advantage ourselves at the expense of another, when we choose what is legal and what follows the rules, what we have the authority and the power to do to someone, none of those are the right question for a Christian to ask.
Because our battle is with all of those things if they stand opposed to the peace of Jesus. And when we choose them, ultimately, we damage ourselves. And so here we go. We can go into the image now. Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.
And after you've done everything to stand, stand firm then waist with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, which you can use to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, and the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. This is one of Paul's enduring metaphors, one that sadly, I think we have often missed the point of. So as a final image, let's talk about this armor in the light of everything we've discussed in this series. First of all, this seems to be an occasional metaphor.
For centuries, people have speculated about where the genesis of this image comes from. We think that Paul is writing this letter in prison, probably in Rome. It's very possible that Paul is just sitting there in a Roman cell, nothing to do but stare at a guard and riff on what he sees. After all that Roman guard is the physical embodiment of all the misshapen rules and authorities that have imprisoned Paul because of his convictions. Right?
And so Paul says, maybe as much to himself as anyone who's gonna read this letter, you're not my enemy. My battle's not with you. My battle is with all the trappings that have captured you and covered you with armor you think defines you. And therefore, my armor should be the opposite of all of that. Now that said, one of the mistakes I see sometimes in sermons and commentaries is we wanna get a little too fancy, little too specific with this metaphor.
Like, the belt isn't just truth. It's a Roman military belt, which had metal plates representing accountability partners and leather straps that represent your small group, dangling tassels that represent your quiet time consistency every day. And your shoes, those are limited edition gospel Jordans, high tops of evangelism, tread patterns that represent spiritual traction in a slippery cultural climate. Helmet of salvation, that's what guards your thoughts. That means you shouldn't watch that show or that one or that one.
Honestly, just cancel Netflix when you got home. Alright? We are doing way too much here. In fact, over in first Thessalonians, Paul uses similar imagery, except over there, faith and love are the breastplate, and hope and salvation are the helmet. So sometimes it's just not that deep.
It's broad image. The significance here isn't the details. It's not driving this down into allegory. It's about a contrast of worldviews. Your armor looks like war.
My armor looks like peace. And remember, that's what Paul's been doing all through the letter. Victory then peace. You support Rome's imperial ambition, eventually you'll reap its rewards. No.
Empire is insatiable. It will use you up on the promise of one day then spit you out. War is self perpetuating. Grace is the only way to peace. That's how Paul opens the letter.
Yet somehow, that grace and peace is the truth of the universe, but seems too good to be true. I mean, how can that work? And so Paul says, with all wisdom and understanding, God made known to us the mystery of this plan, which he purposed in Christ to be put into effect when the time reaches their fulfillment to bring unity to all things, all things in heaven and earth under Christ. That's how Paul continues the letter. It seems too good to be true, but it's the mystery of the universe.
Except that's not how we imagine God. Our stories tell us that God would be a conqueror just like us. And God would demand a tribute just like we might if we had the power to do it. But what does ascended mean? Except the first, he descended to the lowest regions.
To quote from another of Paul letters, this time to the Philippians, that he who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. But rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant. That's how Paul rounds the corner in this letter. And now we find him closed with the image of armor and weapons on display in front of him, keeping him imprisoned, also that we might be fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. See, everything about this closing image, everything in this letter, in fact, is all about saying that if you can believe that Jesus is the Christ, and if you can trust that through Christ the world is being healed, then everything about anything you've ever been taught, all of that will slowly need to be turned upside down.
Because what makes you unique and different from those around you, that's not a liability. It's a gift. And what makes you strong is not your independence. It's your reliance on the community that surrounds you. And the people around you, even those who might try to harm you at times, they're not your enemies.
It is the structures and the systems of injustice that have them trapped in their own cycles of violence. That's what you need the courage to oppose. And the way we do that is not by armoring up and weaponizing our faith against another, is by reimagining the very concept of victory as the path that sees peace, not as the outcome after war, but as the very way that we walk to achieve what we want to see in the world. See, if you believe that the way is Jesus, then slowly everything begins to change. Because Paul is saying is that peace is the way that we get to the kingdom of God.
And that is the beginning of good news in our lives. Let's pray. God, we are grateful for this journey through this letter to the Ephesians. This reminder that if it's true, that you are healing the world right now, drawing everything back to your heart, then there are implications for us in the path that we choose in the world. Peace isn't just something we hope for.
It's not just something we believe will come at the end of years and decades, millennia of warfare. We actually begin to believe the way of descent, the way of self giving, the way of making yourself nothing in the service of others, that this actually is the way that peace is achieved. And that as we move through the world, with your grace, with your peace, as we care for each other, as we celebrate the diversity of our gifts, as we engage the world around us with the courage to stand up to rules and authorities, powers that disadvantage those who are already vulnerable. Make it harder for some people to find their way in this world. As we do all of this with grace and peace and courage and strength that we will actually contribute to your imagination of heaven here on earth as it already exists in your mind?
God, might we actually believe that our choices, our steps, our acts of peace in the world can do more than we imagine to change our outcomes. And that when we align ourselves with your way, we will find ourselves slowly drawn back to the love that sits at the founding of the universe. The strong name of the risen Christ we pray. Amen. Hey, Jeremy here, and thanks for listening to our podcast.
If you're intrigued by the work that we're doing here at Commons, you can head to our website, commons.church, for more information. You can find us on all of the socials commonschurch. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel where we are posting content regularly for the community. You can also join our Discord server. Head to commons.churchdiscord for the invite, and there you will find the community having all kinds of conversations about how we can encourage each other to follow the way of Jesus.
We would love to hear from you. Anyway, thanks for tuning in. Have a great week. We'll talk to you soon.