Rev. Stephen E.
Stults
Trinity VX1
Sept. 20, 2015
Examining St. Paul’s Epistle selection from Ephesians,
one comes to a shattering conclusion: our God offers to us something we can’t
get from anybody else. God offers us
something that is truly unique. What might that be, one might ask? After all, those of us Christians who are
truly committed to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ already trust in Him for our
salvation. Those of us who partake of
the holy mystery of the Eucharist already have a deep abiding faith in our
eternal life with Him. If we have this
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, what else need God give us? After all, this wonderful sense of our salvation
through Christ is really the “big idea” of Christianity. What else could God
give us?
First of all, Paul enjoins the congregation at Ephesus
to “faint not at my tribulations for you.”
This may refer to the trouble that he suffered at Ephesus spreading the
Gospel. Recall the Ephesus contained one
of the great worship centers to Diana, the Greco-Roman huntress-goddess. She was worshipped everywhere there. In fact, there was quite a lucrative trade in
silver Diana statuettes, shrines and necklaces flourishing in that city. In
Acts 19 we learn of the craftsmen’s concern that, with the appearance of Paul
and this “new” religion, their “craft is in danger to be set at nought.”[1] Thus, the
great uproar that caused Paul and his companions to be dragged into the city’s
amphitheater, where, the crowd cheered Diana for about three hours before the
town magistrate finally broke it up.
St. Paul mentions that his tribulations are “your
glory.” He actually rejoices in
suffering for the Lord Jesus! Paul then
follows this up with the wonderful statement, (Ephesians 3:15) “Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth
is named,”
This is
a key point. We mentioned that only God could give us something that nobody
else could. Could this be it? Could this be the one thing that only God can
give us? Yes, yes, and again, yes! Only God in Christ can give us the one thing
that will never pass away, a true, permanent and eternal family. Through Christ, we become members in the one
family relationship that is not tainted by death, decay or sin. Only God in Christ can give us the true
family in which there never will be any rancor or disagreement. Imagine that. Imagine a loving family that never passes away
and is never “dysfunctional”.
Is such
a thing even possible? Those of us who
have had some family friction simply shake our heads. How God could frame His heavenly organization
in such a fashion, knowing the failings to which all families are prone?
That is
true …yet, are we talking about the fallen families of man, with all the
nastiness, anger, greed and self-service that they imply, or are we talking
about the perfected, glorified company of the saints? In Heaven, we have the perfect, joyous group
of the Church Triumphant, contrasted with the faint earthly reflection of it
here. After all, the best things on
Earth are but a faint reflection of things in heaven. Thus, imagine the very
best family gathering you ever experienced, magnified to an infinite degree.
Another
corollary to this is the situation of the orphan. Consider those who have never had a
family. Those poor, isolated souls who
have never had the embrace of a family’s love, flawed though it is, will have
the fullest expression of familial love in its perfection.
Consider this: our growth in Heaven will be
eternal. We will know and enjoy God in all
His Eternality. Our growth in holiness,
however, begins here. John Calvin once said, “The highest perfection of the
godly in this life is an earnest desire to make progress. This strengthening,
he tells us, is the work of the Spirit; so that it does not proceed from
man’s own ability. The increase, as well as the commencement, of everything
good in us, comes from the Holy Spirit.”[2]
Calvin’s
point, and that of the Epistle selection, is really one of grace. Citing an
O.T. reading from Deuteronomy, the major realization we must make as Christians
is that God set his grace upon us, not because of our deserving, but because of
His ebullient Love for us.
This
brings us back to relationship and from there, back to family. Christ our Brother, God our Father and the
Holy Spirit the Sanctifier, all desire to have you for all eternity. This is
simply amazing. As the inspired Word of God tells us, God desires a close, personal
relationship with us.
How
does this happen? How can we enter into
such a relationship with our Lord and Master?
Once again, we ask, perhaps in stupefied amazement, how is such a thing
possible? Turning back to Calvin, he
says: “This
deserves our careful attention. Most people consider fellowship with Christ,
and believing in Christ, to be the same thing; but the fellowship which we have
with Christ is the consequence of faith.” Completely agreeing with this, St.
Paul says that he wishes that we all, ”according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the inner man;”[3]
This “might” of which St. Paul speaks is the power that comes from faith. This is the faith that we have a Heavenly
Father who, through the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Christ, always hears
our prayers, supplications, thanksgivings and praises. This is the faith that allows us to call upon
God for all our needs, big and small. Finally, it is the faith that allows us
to cherish a relationship with the Almighty that is both strengthening and
nourishing to our souls and spirits. What
is the result of this faith? Is it a
warm, fuzzy feeling that all will be OK?
Is it a vague, feel-good sensation that resembles a cosmic dose of
Valium or Librium?
By no
means! This is the faith that makes
alive. This is the faith that procures
strength when we think that we cannot go on.
It is the faith that allows us to experience real, life-changing
fellowship with God. Returning once more
to John Calvin, hear these words of wisdom and perception: “No man can approach to God
without being raised above himself and above the world. On this ground the
sophists refuse to admit that we can know with certainty that we enjoy the
grace of God; for they measure faith by the perception of the bodily senses.
But Paul justly contends that this wisdom exceeds all knowledge; for, if the
faculties of man could reach it, the prayer of Paul that God would bestow it
must have been unnecessary.”
The result of this faith is that Christ may dwell in
our hearts by faith, and that we are “rooted and grounded” in love. When we reach a realization of Christ’s love
for us, we too may “may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and
length, and depth, and height; 19
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be
filled with all the fulness of God.” In
other words, our faith will allow us get a handle on the immensity of God’s
love for us, as much as humanly possible.
It is my humble opinion that we flawed humans, so hopelessly marred by
sin and rebellion, cannot possibly understood the infinite degree of God’s love
for us.
Yet, we
must try. We must grab God’s love for us with both hands and hug it to our
breast, knowing that because God so loves us, we can love others and ourselves.
We are actually unable to love others until, through the Grace of God, we are
able to love ourselves completely in Christ. This overwhelming love of God for
us is then projected to others…
It is
at this point that we begin to grow into the person God wants. Not weak, but strong in faith. Not hateful,
but strong in love. Not faithless, but faithful in God through Christ. Not
sorrowful, but moving through the sorrow of this fallen world in joy and hope.
Listen
to this wonderful closing benediction from the end of the 3rd
chapter of Ephesians: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21
Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages,
world without end. Amen.”[4]
What more can be
said?
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