I love to listen to children when you ask them what they want to be when they grow up. If you listen closely, you can learn a lot about our society today. Children aspire to the things that seem the most exciting or the most glamorous – as they see it. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a cowboy, a fireman, or a doctor. Over the years, my direction changed many times, but looking back, I can see that God was gently moving me to where he wanted me to be. Every experience, every acquaintance, every roadblock was part of my training. I have been a work in progress all my life and I will be until he takes me home.
Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
Ephesians 2:20-21 (NLT)
Paul’s letter to the Ephesian churches is one of the most beautiful descriptions of God’s mercy and grace found anywhere in Scripture. Immediately after the salutation, he breaks into praise for the salvation that has been given us through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He points out the faithfulness of God evidenced in the plan that He prepared before time began – a plan to make everyone who is willing to accept the gift that Christ gave when He died on the cross for our sins – to make us a part of His family. We are joint heirs with God’s only Son. What we are experiencing when we read this book is the roadmap for worship. Worship is a dialogue of revelation and response: God speaks His Word into the heart of man and God’s Church responds, echoing the grace of God in word (through praise and prayer), and in deed (living a Christ-like life).
In this passage, we read part of a message to the believers in and around Ephesus. The audience is primarily non-Jews looked down upon by their Jewish neighbors as outsiders. He reminds them of the change that came about because of Jesus. No longer was it necessary to follow the Jewish laws and customs to experience fellowship with God. These Gentiles were now just as much a part of God’s family as the most pious of the Jews - maybe even more so. They all knew that Paul was a Jew. When he used the words, “We are His house” - it had significant meaning. They understood the process of building, and they caught the implication of Paul’s use of the inclusive “we”.
As Paul continued his description of God’s house, he started with the foundation. They all knew the importance of the foundation to the stability of the house and he told them that this House was built on all the work done by the apostles and the prophets of old, thus bringing together the teachings of those who prophesied the coming of Christ and those who were with Him on earth. Paul then described Jesus as the cornerstone of this structure – the block without which nothing could stand. He then explained how each Christ-follower becomes an integral part of the Church, carefully linked to all the other believers resulting in a completed Temple.
Notice how Paul words the last part of this passage – “becoming a holy temple for the Lord.” This House of God will not be completed on earth. It is a spiritual work in progress. As long as God gives us time on this earth, building will continue in the Church. That is an incredibly exiting concept. However, it puts the all churches in the position of asking themselves, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” If the picture that they see for themselves is just like what they see today, they should be afraid. Any time a church feels like they have arrived, Jesus Christ is no longer in control, which is evidenced by the number of congregations that are disbanding across our land.
What do I want to be when I grow up? I want to be a worker, using the tools God has given me to do my part to keep the Church progressing toward God wants it to be. I never want to sit back and say, “My work is done.”
We serve an awesome God!!!!
Paul’s letter to the Ephesian churches is one of the most beautiful descriptions of God’s mercy and grace found anywhere in Scripture. Immediately after the salutation, he breaks into praise for the salvation that has been given us through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He points out the faithfulness of God evidenced in the plan that He prepared before time began – a plan to make everyone who is willing to accept the gift that Christ gave when He died on the cross for our sins – to make us a part of His family. We are joint heirs with God’s only Son. What we are experiencing when we read this book is the roadmap for worship. Worship is a dialogue of revelation and response: God speaks His Word into the heart of man and God’s Church responds, echoing the grace of God in word (through praise and prayer), and in deed (living a Christ-like life).
In this passage, we read part of a message to the believers in and around Ephesus. The audience is primarily non-Jews looked down upon by their Jewish neighbors as outsiders. He reminds them of the change that came about because of Jesus. No longer was it necessary to follow the Jewish laws and customs to experience fellowship with God. These Gentiles were now just as much a part of God’s family as the most pious of the Jews - maybe even more so. They all knew that Paul was a Jew. When he used the words, “We are His house” - it had significant meaning. They understood the process of building, and they caught the implication of Paul’s use of the inclusive “we”.
As Paul continued his description of God’s house, he started with the foundation. They all knew the importance of the foundation to the stability of the house and he told them that this House was built on all the work done by the apostles and the prophets of old, thus bringing together the teachings of those who prophesied the coming of Christ and those who were with Him on earth. Paul then described Jesus as the cornerstone of this structure – the block without which nothing could stand. He then explained how each Christ-follower becomes an integral part of the Church, carefully linked to all the other believers resulting in a completed Temple.
Notice how Paul words the last part of this passage – “becoming a holy temple for the Lord.” This House of God will not be completed on earth. It is a spiritual work in progress. As long as God gives us time on this earth, building will continue in the Church. That is an incredibly exiting concept. However, it puts the all churches in the position of asking themselves, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” If the picture that they see for themselves is just like what they see today, they should be afraid. Any time a church feels like they have arrived, Jesus Christ is no longer in control, which is evidenced by the number of congregations that are disbanding across our land.
What do I want to be when I grow up? I want to be a worker, using the tools God has given me to do my part to keep the Church progressing toward God wants it to be. I never want to sit back and say, “My work is done.”
We serve an awesome God!!!!
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