Ken Armstrong
This letter began by making a huge claim: it spoke of God having blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. The Church is in an unassailably wonderful place through being united to and belonging to Jesus Christ. What is true spiritually is intended to be worked out at ground level. Or to put it another way BEC is intended to live a life that is worthy of the calling we have received. (1)
That is not an idea that carries much weight in our culture. It’s to do with obligation. It’s about words like ‘ought’ and ‘should’. We have just had Remembrance Day, something like 256,000 soldiers died in WW2. Speilbergs tribute to those who took part in the Normandy landings was “Saving Private Ryan” The punch line of the film spoken by the dying Captain Miller to the rescued James Ryan but also over his head to the thousands of film goers who benefitted from their sacrifice was, “James, earn it.” The signs are that not many feel they owe the previous generation much at all.
If you are a Christian what is going to shape your lifestyle? Will I succumb to the individualism that makes me look for the best bargain, the highest paid job, the coolest friends or will I be asking the question that God is going to be asking at the end: how have I responded to God’s gracious call?
We are being addressed not so much by an apostle as by a prisoner.
He is there because of his missionary activities among the Gentiles. As he remains in this prison cell what concerns him is not the unfairness of the whole thing, he is not bitter or full of self pity; he is not writing this letter to urge these people to petition for his release; he does want their prayers but only so that he will share the gospel
6:19,20
Its those last 3 words: as I should that are so telling. Not only has God shown Paul astounding grace he has placed a measure of trust in this man. He is keen to show that he is worthy of such trust and on the last day that he will have no need to be ashamed. The question that this passage answers is – what does the worthy life look like.
1. The worthy life meets unworthiness with grace.
V2
We are being alerted here to what to expect in the church, what you will need if you are going to join the church.
When Jesus returns from the Mount of Transfiguration he is met by a scene of failure. His disciples have proved unable to deal with a demon possessed boy. You can feel his exasperation as he says to them: How long shall I stay with you, how long shall I put up with you. It’s the same word – bear with. They are a great disappointment and trial to him. Wouldn’t it have been better if he had stayed put up the mountain with Moses and Elijah.
Now that is the story of the bible. People have proved a disappointment, they have tried God’s patience, he has had to endure breathtaking stubbornness and aching slowness. It was so with the nation of Israel, it was so with the disciples and I guess you and I could recognise these traits in ourselves.
And yet we know that God has not walked away.
I referred a moment ago to that idea of being worthy of someone or something and made the point that we don’t think like that. We don’t live in a shame culture – in such places people are taught that they must be worthy of the family name, worthy of their country, worthy of their heritage. We don’t live in a shame culture we live in a blame culture – and someone else is always to blame.
God’s bearing with us reaches the place where he takes our blame.
That is his gift to us: forgiveness enabled by the death of his Son.
2:8,9
Grace forbids boasting and calls for humility.
Its what you see in Paul 3:8. No one is beneath him. He has a duty to serve everyone.
The word translated gentleness is to do with being ready to waive your rights.
Patience is to do with having a long fuse with exasperating people.
We are being alerted here to what to expect in the church. We are being shown our obligations to remain loyal and committed to one another. – bear with one another in love.
Who knows why people stop behaving ‘normally’ why they seem awkward and maybe even spiritually rebellious.
One of the places this word ‘bear with’ crops up is in the 6th chap of the book of Job.
Listen to what Job says: (6: 14-17)
Job seemed like a rebel to these men; little did they know what was going on behind the scenes. Its not our job to defend God’s ways but it is our job to bear with one another even when others become difficult and unresponsive. This is the worthy life.
2. The worthy life maintains unity by pursuing peace.
Paul has laboured the point in chap 1&2
Great energy and effort has gone into the business of peace making.
You get those verbs in 2:12 separated, excluded, foreigners
And then the description of the awesome journey back
2:13 brought near through the blood of Christ.
We listen again to the anguished cry: My God my God …
The beloved Son has gone into the far country, into the place of despair and hopelessness to find us and bring us back to God
This is the journey whose prospect caused Christ on a night so cold Peter warmed himself at the guards fire to sweat as profusely as if he had gashed his head. The effort involved is enormous.
And then there is the work of demolition.
2:14,15
Why does he risk offending the Jews by breaking their precious taboos: touching lepers, healing on the Sabbath, taking tea with a tax collector? Because he is has come to sweep away these things.
And yet at another level his life is a long meticulous obedience in one direction – because he is dedicated to being a lamb without blemish or defect so that he would become the one who takes away the sin of the world. He makes peace not only with God but between races and tribes and families.
To be served in such a costly way cannot leave us unmoved.
V3
It means I am meant to aim to live in peace not to be right.
It’s the question Paul has asked the Corinthians Christians – why not rather be wronged, why not rather be cheated
It means I am meant to be helpful to you not to be right.
It means I am meant to limit my freedom for the sake of someone else’s conscience. Gentiles might feel absolute freedom about the food they are entitled to eat but for the sake of their Jewish Christian brothers they will avoid certain things.
This is the unity of the Spirit. It not unity merely in spirit.
It is expressed, its visible.
The clearest expression of the peace obtained at the cross was in the prayer meeting. v17,18
Its these two groups praying together and praying for one another.
My guess is that required some effort.
I doubt there was no little effort required for Peter to make that first trip over the threshold of a Gentile home.
I doubt there was no little effort required in Ananias making his way to Straight Street and greeting Saul of Tarsus with the words Brother Saul.
Paul confronting Peter over his reluctance to eat with the Gentiles – stopped making every effort
We expend effort on all kinds of things. What of pursuing peace to maintain unity. This is the worthy life.
3. The worthy life deals in and only in reality.
Look at v4-6
Having urged us to live the worthy life he now makes a series of statements. For some people Christianity is just fantasy – its like believing in fairies at the bottom of the garden. For others it describes life’s great rock solid realities. How you answer that question will shape what you invest your life in. Here are the convictions that ought to shape the life of the church.
1. There is one body, one Spirit and one hope.
The hope is expressed in 1:10
What is held out to us there is this fractured and divided world healed and renewed under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
And the church where men and women who previously despised and loathed one another now love and care for one another is the preview.
There have been no shortage of valiant efforts to fix our world.
William Beveridge spoke of slaying 5 giants: want (poverty) disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness. Beveridge gave us the NHS but he didn’t usher in Utopia
Barak Obama has been elected on an agenda that promises change and hope. Success is likely to be limited largely because of our differences and misunderstandings and old hatred’s. The spirit of Babel is alive and well
On the day of Pentecost Luke tells us there were 120 disciples present – 120 is the number required to establish a community with its own council. Here is a new kind of community where the effects of sin start to be undone as Jews and Gentiles begin to share together in the life of the Spirit.
Is this true? Are we committed to the life of one body, one Spirit one hope?
2. There is one Lord one faith one baptism.
In other words there is only one way to share in this hope.
The confession of the early church was Jesus is Lord.
To get baptised was to make that confession publicly.
Nothing has changed on that front.
The danger is we try to hedge our bets. The bible calls us to commit to our choices. He identified with us in our sin and judgement we are asked to stand with him in his victory.
3. There is one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
In other words there is only one life to be lived – the life of sharing together in the life of the Fathers family.
Paul has touched on each member of the Trinity here: The Spirit, the Lord Jesus, the Father and they comprise ultimate reality. They are the God in whose image we are made in. The Father is only the Father because he is in relationship with the Son.
Tim Chester writes: Yesterday I spoke on the phone to an old friend who is leaving his wife so he can find himself. But human beings made in the image of God find themselves in relationship with others.
What a lot this has to say to perhaps the student who thinks he can be a Christian without going to church. Or to the parents who leave their children in nursery all day so the can pursue their career. Or the teenager who feels trapped by her family. Or the family who are only together around the TV. Or the young person who wont commit to marriage for fear of losing their independence.
Do we need to make some changes
Read verses 2 & 3 again.
Filed under: Talks
