Task of the church

Human strategies are based on limited human understanding and the best assessments people can make. On the other hand, God's strategy, his call in our lives, is based on an absolutely perfect understanding of the fundamental and ultimate reality. This is indeed the glory of Christianity: things are presented as they really are. The Christian diagnosis of all diseases in the world, from the conflicts between nations to the tensions in the human soul, is true because it reflects a true understanding of the human condition.

The letters of the NT always start with the truth, we call it "doctrine". The NT writers always call us back to reality. Only when this basis of truth is laid out, do they go over to hints of practical application. How foolish it is to start with something other than the truth.

In the introductory chapter of Ephesians, Paul makes several clear statements regarding the purpose of the church. It's not just the purpose for eternity, some misty future fantasy, but the purpose for here and now. 

The church should reflect God's holiness

"For in him he chose us even before the foundation of the world, that we should stand holy and blameless before his face" (Ephesians 1,4). Here we see clearly that the church is not just an afterthought of God. It was planned long before the world was created.

And what is God's first interest in the Church? He is not the first interested in what the church does, but what the church is. Being must precede action, because what we are determines what we do. To understand the moral character of God's people, it is essential to understand the nature of the Church. As Christians we should be moral examples of the world, reflecting the pure character and holiness of Jesus Christ.

It is evident that a true Christian, whether archbishop or ordinary layman, should clearly and convincingly exemplify his Christianity by the way he lives, speaks, acts and reacts. We Christians were called to stand "holy and blameless" before God. We are to reflect his holiness, that is also the purpose of the church.

The church is to manifest God's glory

Paul gives us another purpose for the Church in the first chapter of Ephesians "He ordained us in love through Jesus Christ for sons who were to be his, according to the pleasure of his will to praise the glory of his grace" (v. 5). "We should serve in praise of his glory, we who have put our hope in Christ from the beginning" (v. 12).

Remember! The sentence: "We who from the beginning put our hope in Christ," refers to us Christians who are destined, called, to live for the praise of his glory. The first task of the church is not the welfare of the people. Certainly our well-being is also very important to God, but that is not the primary task of the church. Rather, we were chosen by God to praise his glory, that through our lives his glory might be revealed to the world. As the “Hope for All” puts it: “Now we are to make God’s glory visible to all with our lives.”

What is God's Glory? It is God himself, the revelation of what God is and does. The problem in this world is its ignorance of God. She doesn't understand him. In all of her searching and wandering about in her quest to find the truth, she does not know God. But God's glory should reveal God to show the world what he really is. When the works of God and God's nature are shown through the church, he is glorified. Like Paul in 2. Corinthians 4: 6 described:

For it is God who commanded, "Let the light shine out of the darkness!" It is he who has caused the light to shine in our hearts, to make the knowledge of the glory of God shine forth in the face of Christ.

People can see the glory of God in Christ's face, in his character. And this glory, as Paul says, is also found “in our hearts”. God is calling the church to reveal to the world the glory of his character found on the face of Christ. This is also mentioned in Ephesians 1:22-23: "He laid all things at his (Jesus) feet and made him the preeminent head of the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all things in all .” That is a mighty statement! Here Paul is saying that all that Jesus is (his fulness) is seen in his body, and that is the church! The secret of the church is that Christ lives in her and the message of the church to the world is to proclaim him and to talk about Jesus. Paul describes this mystery of truth about the church again in Ephesians 2,19-22

Accordingly, you are no longer strangers and strangers now, but you are full citizens with the saints and God's housemates, built on the ground of the apostles and prophets, in which Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. In him every burrow, fixed together, grows up into a holy temple in the Lord, and in this you too are built up into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Here is the sacred mystery of the Church, it is the dwelling place of God. He lives in his people. This is the great vocation of the Church, to make the invisible Christ visible. Paul describes his own ministry as a model Christian in Ephesians 3.9:10: “And to give enlightenment to all as to the fulfillment of the mystery which was bent from time immemorial in God, the Creator of all things, so that now the manifold wisdom of God may be made known to the powers and authorities in the heavens through the church.”

Clearly. The work of the church is that "the manifold wisdom of God be made known." They are made known not only to human beings but also to the angels who watch the church. These are “the authorities and powers in the heavenly spaces.” In addition to humans, there are other beings who pay attention to the church and learn from it.

Surely the above verses make one thing very clear: the call to the church is to declare in words and demonstrate by our attitude and deeds the character of Christ living in us. We are to proclaim the reality of the life-changing encounter with the living Christ and illustrate that transformation through a selfless, love-filled life. Until we do this, nothing else we do will work for God. This is the calling of the church that Paul is talking about when he writes in Ephesians 4:1, "I urge you then...walk worthy of the calling that has come your way."

Notice how the Lord Jesus Himself confirms this calling in the opening chapter, verse 8 of Acts. Just before Jesus ascends to his Father, he says to his disciples: “Yet you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth .”
Purpose No. 3: The Church should be a witness to Christ.

The vocation of the church is to be a witness, and a witness is one who explains and portrays vividly. The Apostle Peter has a wonderful word about the testimony of the Church in his first letter: "You, on the other hand, are the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, the holy community, the people chosen to be your property and you are to proclaim the virtues (deeds of glory) of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1. Petrus 2,9)

Please note the structure "You are.....and should." That is our primary task as Christians. Jesus Christ dwells in us so that we may depict the life and character of the One. It is the responsibility of every Christian to share this call to the Church. All are called, all are indwelt by God's Spirit, all are expected to fulfill their calling in the world. This is the clear tone that resounds throughout Ephesians. The witness of the church can sometimes find expression as a group, but the responsibility to witness is personal. It is my and your personal responsibility.

But then another problem comes to light: the problem of possible false Christianity. It is so easy for the church, and also for the individual Christian, to talk about expounding the character of Christ, and to make a grand claim that you do it. Many non-Christians who know Christians well know from experience that the image that Christians present is not always the true biblical image of Jesus Christ. For this reason, the apostle Paul uses carefully chosen words to describe this genuine Christlike character: “With all humility and meekness, with patience as those who endure one another in love, and be diligent to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace .” (Ephesians 4:2-3)

Humility, patience, love, unity and peace are the true characteristics of Jesus. Christians are to be witnesses, but not arrogant and rude, not with a "holier than you" attitude, not in hypocritical arrogance, and certainly not in the filthy church dispute where Christians oppose Christians. The church shouldn't talk about itself. She should be gentle, not insist on her power or seek more prestige. The Church cannot save the world, but the Lord of the Church can. Christians are not to work for the Church or spend their life energy on it, but for the Lord of the Church.

The Church can not hold up her Lord while she exalts herself. The true church does not seek gain of power in the eyes of the world, for it already has all the power it needs from the Lord who dwells in it.

Further, the Church should be patient and forgiving, knowing that the seed of truth needs time to sprout, time to grow, and time to bear fruit. The church should not demand that society suddenly make rapid changes in a long-established pattern. Rather, the Church should exemplify positive social change through her example by avoiding evil, practicing justice, and thus spreading the seed of truth, which then takes root in society and ultimately brings forth fruit of change.

The outstanding sign of genuine Christianity

In his book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, historian Edward Gibbon attributes the collapse of Rome not to invading enemies but to internal decay. In this book is a passage which Sir Winston Churchill memorized because he found it so pertinent and instructive. It is significant that this passage dealt with the role of the church in the declining empire.

"While the great entity (the Roman Empire) was being attacked by open violence and undermined by slow decay, a pure and humble religion crept gently into the minds of men, grew up in stillness and lowliness, was buoyed by resistance, and finally established the standard of the cross upon the ruins of the Capitol.” The pre-eminent sign of the life of Jesus Christ in a Christian, of course, is love. Love that accepts others as they are. Love that is merciful and forgiving. Love that seeks to heal misunderstanding, division and broken relationships. Jesus said in John 13:35, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." That love is never expressed through rivalry, greed, boasting, impatience, or prejudice. It is the very opposite of abuse, slander, obstinacy and division.

Here we discover the unifying power that enables the Church to fulfill its purpose in the world: the love of Christ. How do we reflect God's holiness? By our love! How do we reveal God's glory? By our love! How do we witness the reality of Jesus Christ? By our love!
The NT has little to say about Christians engaging in politics, or defending "family values," or promoting peace and justice, or opposing pornography, or defending the rights of this or that oppressed group. I'm not saying that Christians shouldn't address these issues. It is obvious one cannot have a heart filled with love for people and not also be concerned about such things. But the NT says relatively little about these things, for God knows that the only way to solve these problems and mend broken relationships is by introducing a whole new dynamic into people's lives - the dynamic of the life of Jesus Christ.

It is the life of Jesus Christ that men and women really need. The removal of darkness begins with the introduction of light. The removal of hate begins with the introduction of love. The removal of disease and depravity begins with the introduction of life. We must begin to introduce Christ, for that is our vocation to which we have been called.

The gospel germinated in a social climate similar to ours: It was a time of injustice, racial division, rampant crime, rampant immorality, economic uncertainty, and widespread fear. The early church struggled to survive under relentless and murderous persecution that we cannot even imagine today. But the early church did not see its calling in fighting injustice and oppression or in enforcing its "rights." The early church saw its mission as reflecting God's holiness, revealing God's glory, and bearing witness to the reality of Jesus Christ. And she did it by vividly demonstrating boundless love for her own people as well as for those outside.

The exterior of the mug

Anyone looking for Scriptures that support strikes, protests, boycotts, and other political actions to address social deficiencies will be disappointed. Jesus called this, "The washing of the outside." A true Christian revolution changes people from within. She cleans the inside of the cup. It doesn't just change the keywords on the poster that a person is wearing. It changes the heart of the person.

Churches often slip astray here. They become obsessed with political programs, either the right or the left. Christ came into the world to change society, but not through political action. His plan is for him to change society by transforming the individual in that society by giving them a new heart, a new mind, a reorientation, a new direction, a new birth, a new awakened life and the death of self and selfishness. When the individual is transformed in this way, we have a new society.

When we are changed from within, when the inside is purified, our whole view of human relationships changes. When confronted with conflict or mistreatment, we tend to respond in an "eye for an eye" sense. But Jesus is calling us to a new kind of response: "bless those who persecute you." The Apostle Paul calls us to such a kind of response when he writes, "Be of one mind among yourselves.....Return no evil for evil.....Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good". (Romans 12:14-21)

The message that God has entrusted to the Church is the most sweeping message the world has ever heard. Should we put this message back in favor of political and social action? Should we be satisfied that the church is merely a secular, political or social organization? Do we have enough faith in God, do we agree with him that Christian love lived in his church will change this world and not political power and other social measures?

God is calling us to become responsible persons who spread this radical, disruptive, life-changing good news of Jesus Christ throughout society. The Church needs to re-enter commerce and industry, education and learning, art and family life, and our social institutions with this powerful, transforming, unparalleled message. The risen Lord Jesus Christ has come to us to implant in us his own never-ending life. He is ready and able to transform us into loving, patient, trustworthy people, so we are strengthened to cope with all the problems and challenges of life. This is our message to a tired world filled with fear and suffering. This is the message of love and hope that we bring to an unruly and desperate world.

We live to reflect God's holiness, to reveal God's glory and testify to the fact that Jesus came to cleanse men and women inside and out. We live to love each other and to show the world Christian love. That is our purpose, that is the vocation of the Church.

by Michael Morrison