Ephesians
begins with blessing the God who blesses. Giving back to God what God
gives to us. God giving us what we give God in return. A circle of
blessing; a circle which keeps on rolling, keeps on giving and moves
us forward, always going round and round, never stopping always
revolving. In this passage, this circle seems to be at the heart of
Paul’s understanding of adoption, redemption, and salvation, for
all these things are done for the purpose of praising the God of
glory. All these gifts are freely given so we may live lives of
praise, lives of blessing and being blessed. The image presented in
this passage, is one in which we are continually moving, constantly
living the praise. Breathing, moving, acting out the blessing always
in motion toward God as God is always in motion toward us. God
blessing us, us blessing God, living, breathing praise; cycling
around and around, no beginning, no end. Not just singing praise,
not just being receptacles of blessing but moving in it, living it,
allowing it to affect our words, our actions, our interactions;
allowing our praise of the God of glory to infiltrate every part of
our very being so that it completely alters how we live our lives as
we then give it back to God.
The
God whom we bless, the God who blesses us, is the God who chose us.
Chose US,
not merely you and me. It is our tendency to read Paul as if he is
talking specifically to individuals but he is primarily speaking to a
church as a unit, in passages such as this he is speaking to all of
us together, to us as the Church. God chose the existence of the
Church, God chose the people of God. When Paul speaks of being
chosen before the foundation of the world, Paul is speaking of the
Church. God did not specifically chose the who’s the individuals
before the foundation of the world but God chose the Church, the
body, the Community of Christ. God did not specifically choose you
and me before the dawn of time but he chose US (truly is it God’s
choice that all accept that all are a apart of the Church but many
choose differently). He chose for there to be a people of God. God
chose to be in relationship with humanity. God chose the Church to
gather. God chose for the body to live.
And
what did God chose for us? To what are we chosen? We are chosen to
be in Christ, to be the Body, to be the Church. The church is chosen
to BE in Christ and as that which resides in Christ, as that which is
the make up of Christ; we are to be holy and blameless before God in
love. Holy and blameless not merely in actions but in love, the
greatest commandment given by God being for us to love God with every
part of who we are and to love our neighbors as well. The church is
called to be holy and blameless. Together we are to be Christ,
together we are to reflect Christ and his dieing love to our
community and our world and that reflection should be as clean, as
new, as pure and as holy as the one whom we reflect.
As
those who are set aside, destined, chosen to be the body in Christ,
we are children, adopted, loved, accepted, brought into to the inner
circle. We have been brought in freely, not because of anything we as
individuals did to gain acceptance but because by believing, and
accepting the truth of Christ we become apart of a great whole which
is in turn accepted and adopted. We have become the family we have
become those chosen for the blessing of God and to be blessed by God.
We are the Community who praises.
Those
who are redeemed, those accept the truth of the Word, who is Christ,
who are believers in the gospel and receivers of salvation are those
who are apart of the chosen, accepted and adopted. We believe and
are accepted; we accept the truth and are redeemed; we receive the
gospel and become a part of the Community. We are in Christ; we are
the body; we are the family.
We
are adopted and accepted and as a part of the family we are receivers
of the inheritance. When we think of an inheritance from God, this
probably makes most us think of immediately of Heaven, that place out
there to which we will go some day. This idea of and an inheritance
makes us think of eternal life, or the life here-after, the life
beyond the grave. But the inheritance spoken of here is NOT heaven.
When we start to think of an inheritance as something that we get
when we die, we really have the concept of what an inheritance is all
backwards. We don’t receive an inheritance when we die, we receive
and inheritance when someone else dies. Our inheritance as children
of God, is contingent not upon our dieing but upon Christ dieing.
The
inheritance spoken of here is bigger and better than Heaven. It is
the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, it is Jesus Christ
himself. Our inheritance is the truth. Our inheritance is the gift
of grace of which Paul speaks. Our inheritance is exactly that which
we accepted which brought us into and made us a part of the body; our
inheritance is that which drew us into the family in the first place.
We were outside of the family. God offered us the inheritance, the
gift of grace the truth of the gospel. God showed us Christ in his
life, death and resurrection. We accepted the truth, we took the
gift, we believed in Christ. We received the inheritance. That
which brings us into the family, that which allows us to be adopted
is the inheritance we receive as children.
The
glorious thing about this inheritance is that this inheritance is not
something which is suppose to be merely received, saved for ourselves
and horded away in a bank vault somewhere. When the inheritance is
given it is to be received and shared, passed around and passed down.
We receive the truth and are to in turn pass the truth on. We
accept the gospel and in turn are to share the gospel with others, so
they too might received OUR inheritance so they too might be apart of
the chosen, the destined, apart of the family, the body, the
community. So that We, not merely me, are apart of all which is
gathered unto God.
And
that brings us full circle, back to the circle. We are gathered, are
apart of the family, apart of the inheritors so we may be God’s
people praising God, living lives praising God. Who are we; we are
the people of God, chosen. Who are we? We are the community of God
set aside for God’s good pleasure. Who are we? We are the body of
Christ pure, blameless and holy. Who are we? We are children, a
part of the family who are receivers of the inheritance, who is
Christ, sharing the inheritance, spreading the truth, giving to
others the gift we have been given. Who are we? We are the Church.
Adopted to bless and be blessed; adopted to share our inheritance;
adopted to praise and live lives of praise.
Now
I begin to think what does it mean to live lives of praise? What
does it look like when you and I live out this circle of blessing and
praise? As we move through our days, as we go to work, manage the
kids, clean our houses, go to the grocery store. The circle of
perpetual motion is a beautiful mental picture but as we go out from
here at the end of the service what do we do with that image. How
are our lives any different when living THIS way as opposed to the
myriad of other ways which each of us may choose to live our lives?
It
begins with the choice. It begins with our choice to believe; our
choice to be apart of the family, our choice to accept the truth of
the Gospel. We can not live in this way unless we have accepted the
gift of grace. We are not in Christ, we are not adopted, redeemed,
gathered in, unless we have first moved toward God in response to the
move God makes toward each and every one of us. We first must see
ourselves as having accepted Christ, having accepted the truth of the
resurrected Savior; see ourselves as in the family, a part of the
body, a participant in the chosen community, a member of the Church.
In
essence the “rules of the club” only apply to those who are in
the club. If we are not IN the community and apart of the family it
is simply and utter impossible, to live the holy, blameless life
those who are in Christ are called to live. As a side note it is
therefore unreasonable and unfair to expect this kind of lifestyle,
expect any kind of holiness, or righteous living, to expect a
reflection of the likeness of Christ, of anyone outside of the chosen
community, anyone who has not yet chosen to be apart of the family,
of anyone outside the Church. But within the community, as a part of
the body, when we are IN Christ, we are holy and blameless before our
God, redeemed, brought into the family, adopted so that we might live
lives of praise, of holiness and blessing.
Those
of us who have chosen the Community, those of us who have chosen the
gift, chosen to accept our adoption and are apart of the family are
so focused on the glory of the Father, so thankful for the gift of
the inclusion, that we look only to God. Seek only God. Love God
first. Love our neighbors habitually. We rejoice in God’s
choosing. We celebrate the gift. Our lives are so focused on the
glorious, amazing wonderful thing, which has been done for us, that
all we are and all we do reflects the Father to whom we are thankful,
reflect the Son in whom we believe and reflect the motivations of the
Spirit which flows through and lives in us all. And we live lives
centered on praise and live lives which reflect the very character of
the God whom we praise.
But
not only are we living lives of praise but we are living lives which
are blessed. Blessed with the glorious inheritance of the gospel, in
which we believe. That which we believe, is the blessing which is
given to us, and that which is given to us, we must give away. As
children we gain this inheritance and we are to share it, we are to
pass it on. Our gospel inheritance compels us to move beyond the
family, beyond the body, beyond the community, widen the circle,
reach out and draw others in. Share the gift we have been given, so
that others might also believe, so that others might participate in
our adoption, so that others may belong to the Community, be apart of
the body. So THEY might be US.
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