{"id":10148,"date":"2024-07-30T05:58:24","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T12:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=10148"},"modified":"2024-07-30T05:58:24","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T12:58:24","slug":"ephesians-41-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=10148","title":{"rendered":"Ephesians 4:1-16"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Click here for a pdf version.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people think that going to church is like going to the dentist. It\u2019s one of those things you should do, but don\u2019t necessarily want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s a big difference between the two. Some parents say to their children: \u201cYou are to go to church with us as long as you live in our house. When you\u2019re on your own, you can decide what to do.\u201d But you would never say that about your teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another way that people think of church is like a social group one enjoys but, in a take-it-or-leave-it sort of way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The message of the text for today is a hard one: Outside of the church there is no salvation. Church is serious business, because without the church, there is no salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next question is: Where is the church? Again, people make up their own idea of the church, just as they make up their own idea of salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does Scripture describe this? The last few Sundays we\u2019ve had texts from the Letter to the Ephesians. It says there that God has a plan that is being realized. This is not a new plan. Rather, God has prepared it before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Though God\u2019s purpose was operative in the past, it was shrouded in mystery. Now it is revealed in Christ.  What was hidden is now revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One becomes \u201cin Christ\u201d through Baptism. The church is like a family into which we are adopted. Our place in the grand plan is already secured by his action in Christ. The Lord has \u201chas blessed us\u201d (1:3); \u201che chose us\u201d (1:4). In Baptism we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit\u201d (1:13) and have the downpayment (1:14) of our full inheritance to come. As it says in Romans 8 and Galatians 4, we are all adopted sons and daughters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we look at what is he doing in the church, and where is the church?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Luther\u2019s Small Catechism his explanation for the Third Article of the Creed begins like this: \u201cI believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith . . . . \u201d That means he\u2019s done it and he\u2019s made me his own. Then it goes on: \u201c. . . . just as he calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.\u201d It\u2019s in the church this happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Luther wrote his Small Catechism, was he just making stuff up? No, all that Luther is doing here is following the Book of Ephesians. His Small Catechism is not made up out of his own head. He is simply following the way the Bible goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in this text in Ephesians 4:3-5 it says \u201cone body, one Lord.\u201d It then goes on to talk about the church as the body of Christ. We say these are all metaphors, pictures, ways of speaking, but it\u2019s really the case that the church is<\/u><\/strong> the body of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have to go back to the baseline. It\u2019s spelled out in John 1:14: \u201cThe Word became flesh.\u201d God became truly human. That\u2019s not a way of speaking, not a metaphor, not a general idea. People make it up to be that way, but this is definitely in the Gospel of John. God truly became human died and rose again. He became just like us and remains like us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we turn then to Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17: \u201cIf anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creature,\u201d we see how we are a new creation in Christ. His body continues. He doesn\u2019t become something else after the Ascension. He continues to be truly human and truly divine. We are in him, not as a metaphor, but as that which continues. This is stated variously about the body, for example in 1 Corinthians 12:13: \u201cFor by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. . . .\u201d Then in 1 Corinthians 12:27: \u201cNow you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The church is the body. This means there is no private religion, no individual Christianity, no Christianity on my own, by myself. The Small Catechism says (paraphrase): \u201cI cannot believe, the Holy Spirit calls me through the Gospel.\u201d It comes to me in the preaching and the sacraments, the proclaiming of the Word, that is, the proclaiming of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Augsburg Confession, Article 7 it says: \u201cThe church is where the Gospel is proclaimed purely, the sacraments are celebrated according to that gospel.\u201d That raises the question of living in the Christian faith and the Christian church. What is it like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is like receiving a transplant. If you have an organ transplant, then for the rest of your life, you have to go to get checked out, and you have to have anti-rejection drugs. You have to be under the care of the clinic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not possible for you to say after a transplant: \u201cYou know, I feel O.K. I think I\u2019ll just skip the medicine for a few weeks, and I\u2019ll skip my regular check-ups. I feel fine. I\u2019ll come back to the clinic when it\u2019s convenient, when I feel I need it, but I don\u2019t need this regular check-up business because I can make it on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you were to say and do that, you\u2019d be done. And there are among us, as far as Christianity is concerned, the walking dead. Loosely called zombies. They are those who say: \u201cI\u2019m Christian, but I don\u2019t need to be connected to a body.\u201d When you\u2019re baptized, you are part of the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ephesians 4:1-16<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people think that going to church is like going to the dentist. It\u2019s one of those things you should do, but don\u2019t necessarily want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s a big difference between the two. Some parents say to their children: \u201cYou are to go to church with us as long as you live in our house. When you\u2019re on your own, you can decide what to do.\u201d But you would never say that about your teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another way that people think of church is like a social group one enjoys but, in a take-it-or-leave-it sort of way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The message of the text for today is a hard one: Outside of the church there is no salvation. Church is serious business, because without the church, there is no salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next question is: Where is the church? Again, people make up their own idea of the church, just as they make up their own idea of salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does Scripture describe this? The last few Sundays we\u2019ve had texts from the Letter to the Ephesians. It says there that God has a plan that is being realized. This is not a new plan. Rather, God has prepared it before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Though God\u2019s purpose was operative in the past, it was shrouded in mystery. Now it is revealed in Christ.  What was hidden is now revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One becomes \u201cin Christ\u201d through Baptism. The church is like a family into which we are adopted. Our place in the grand plan is already secured by his action in Christ. The Lord has \u201chas blessed us\u201d (1:3); \u201che chose us\u201d (1:4). In Baptism we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit\u201d (1:13) and have the downpayment (1:14) of our full inheritance to come. As it says in Romans 8 and Galatians 4, we are all adopted sons and daughters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we look at what is he doing in the church, and where is the church?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Luther\u2019s Small Catechism his explanation for the Third Article of the Creed begins like this: \u201cI believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith . . . . \u201d That means he\u2019s done it and he\u2019s made me his own. Then it goes on: \u201c. . . . just as he calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.\u201d It\u2019s in the church this happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Luther wrote his Small Catechism, was he just making stuff up? No, all that Luther is doing here is following the Book of Ephesians. His Small Catechism is not made up out of his own head. He is simply following the way the Bible goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in this text in Ephesians 4:3-5 it says \u201cone body, one Lord.\u201d It then goes on to talk about the church as the body of Christ. We say these are all metaphors, pictures, ways of speaking, but it\u2019s really the case that the church is<\/u><\/strong> the body of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have to go back to the baseline. It\u2019s spelled out in John 1:14: \u201cThe Word became flesh.\u201d God became truly human. That\u2019s not a way of speaking, not a metaphor, not a general idea. People make it up to be that way, but this is definitely in the Gospel of John. God truly became human died and rose again. He became just like us and remains like us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we turn then to Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17: \u201cIf anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creature,\u201d we see how we are a new creation in Christ. His body continues. He doesn\u2019t become something else after the Ascension. He continues to be truly human and truly divine. We are in him, not as a metaphor, but as that which continues. This is stated variously about the body, for example in 1 Corinthians 12:13: \u201cFor by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. . . .\u201d Then in 1 Corinthians 12:27: \u201cNow you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The church is the body. This means there is no private religion, no individual Christianity, no Christianity on my own, by myself. The Small Catechism says (paraphrase): \u201cI cannot believe, the Holy Spirit calls me through the Gospel.\u201d It comes to me in the preaching and the sacraments, the proclaiming of the Word, that is, the proclaiming of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Augsburg Confession, Article 7 it says: \u201cThe church is where the Gospel is proclaimed purely, the sacraments are celebrated according to that gospel.\u201d That raises the question of living in the Christian faith and the Christian church. What is it like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is like receiving a transplant. If you have an organ transplant, then for the rest of your life, you have to go to get checked out, and you have to have anti-rejection drugs. You have to be under the care of the clinic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not possible for you to say after a transplant: \u201cYou know, I feel O.K. I think I\u2019ll just skip the medicine for a few weeks, and I\u2019ll skip my regular check-ups. I feel fine. I\u2019ll come back to the clinic when it\u2019s convenient, when I feel I need it, but I don\u2019t need this regular check-up business because I can make it on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you were to say and do that, you\u2019d be done. And there are among us, as far as Christianity is concerned, the walking dead. Loosely called zombies. They are those who say: \u201cI\u2019m Christian, but I don\u2019t need to be connected to a body.\u201d When you\u2019re baptized, you are part of the body.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost<\/p>\n

Many people think that going to church is like going to the dentist. It\u2019s one of those things you should do, but don\u2019t necessarily want to do.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a big difference between the two. Some parents say to their children: \u201cYou are to go to church with us as long as you live in our house. When you\u2019re on your own, you can decide what to do.\u201d But you would never say that about your teeth.<\/p>\n

Another way that people think of church is like a social group one enjoys but, in a take-it-or-leave-it sort of way.Select here<\/a> to read more or here <\/a>for a pdf document.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10148"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10154,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10148\/revisions\/10154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}