What
does it mean to know something or to know someone? I don’t mean to know about them, but if you
were to say that you really know someone, what does that mean? When two people begin a relationship, the
entire process is all about getting to know that person on a deeper level. A man or a woman know instantly whether or
not they are physically attracted to one another. The entire process of dating is for them to
truly get to know each other, and then see if they love each other along the
way as they get to know them more and more.
You see, we all know about a lot of folks, but we really only truly know
a much smaller group of people. I bet
most of you in here can count on your two hands (doubtful you need all 10
fingers) the number of people who actually truly know you, at least beyond a
superficial or surface acquaintanceship.
Sure, you may know a lot of facts about someone else (where they grew
up, their family, birthday, and things like that), but you probably don’t know
what makes them tick, what drives that person, what their true desires are; not
like, say for example, your spouse if you have one. Your spouse can probably predict what you are
going to say, how you are going to react, and what you will do in any
particular situation without being given any hints. Maybe you have a few friends who fall into a
similar camp, but only a few. Why is
that; how do these folks know you so well?
Well, it’s because you actually really and truly know each other on an
intimate level.
In
our text for today, Paul is calling the Ephesians to go beyond knowing God in a
factual sense, and to come into a relationship with Him where there is a level
of closeness and intimacy that is beyond compare. Paul wants them to go beyond a mere
head-knowledge of God and get to something much greater. We might could say that he wants them to move
from head-knowledge to heart-knowledge. He
starts off by commending them in the first few verses about how well the church
is doing and how they seem to be growing rapidly since the time of Paul’s
planting of the church. Paul’s excited
by that, but he tells them that there is much more to it than physical and
numerical growth. He tells them that
there must be spiritual growth as well.
Paul calls them to grow in their “knowledge of [God], having the eyes of
[their] hearts enlightened, that [they] may know what is the hope to which he
has called [them].” You see,
it’s great that so many are professing Christ as their Lord and Savior and that
such numbers are being added to the church there, but that isn’t the goal. The goal is to bring them into a relationship
with Christ. The goal is to bring them to
a place where instead of simply knowing about Christ, they know Christ, and
know him intimately. You see, that’s one
of the problems that we face in the modern church. For so long, the focus was/has been on simply
growing churches in terms of numbers with little thought being paid to really
training Christians, or “to equipping the
saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” as
Paul says later on in this epistle. And
all of that led/has led to in Paul’s time and in recent history a group of
uninformed and apathetic members of churches who really show no impact of the
gospel upon their lives. That’s not what
the Christian faith is to be about. The
Christian faith is to be a relationship, a devotion, and an all-encompassing new
way of life. It’s not just
life-altering, but life-changing.
Paul
tells the Ephesians that he wants them to “know what is the hope to which he has called
[them], what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what
is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.” In other words, Paul wants them to know about
the hope they are to have in God, the inheritance that is to be theirs, and the
power that God bestows to those who believe in Him; and all of that is manifested
in the work of Jesus Christ. “According
to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him
from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.” Paul’s reminding the Ephesians what a great
opportunity we have to know God on such an intimate level because not only has
He revealed Himself to us throughout the ages, but He has given us the ultimate
revelation of Himself in Jesus. One of
Jesus’ titles, Immanuel, means God with us.
The second person of the Trinity took the form of a servant. Jesus, i.e. the Son, felt hunger like we do,
pain like we do, and temptation like we do (although not succumbing to
it). John 11:35 is a pretty popular
verse for a lot of reasons. Do you know
what they are? Yes, the most obvious is
that at only two words, it is the shortest verse in Scripture; Jesus wept. However, think about the power of those two
words. Jesus wept; he wept even though
he knew that in mere moments he was going to raise his friend Lazarus from the
dead. Even though Jesus knew what was to
come, the sheer emotion of the death of his friend was enough to drive him to
tears. You see, Jesus is a wonderful
chance for us to truly know God beyond head-knowledge and facts and commands
and laws. Now, Jesus is most assuredly
much more than a chance for us to get to know God. Jesus is most importantly the plan of our
salvation that had been unfolding since the time of the fall. One of the just mind-blowing things about the
Christian faith (and there are many), is that Jesus became man and died. In any other religion of the world, the Supreme
Being is held in such high regard that you can’t even begin to think about
relating to them, and in some cases even imagining or depicting them is a sin
or crime. Yet, when it comes to God, we
feel this intimacy and closeness that at times causes us to be too casual with
Him. The fact that Jesus Christ, God
Himself, took the form of man and lowered Himself to our level so-to-speak,
ought to cause us to be more in awe of God and not create a sense of flippancy
within us when it comes to our relationship with Him.
Paul
goes on to talk about Jesus being entrusted with all power and authority and
dominion. He talks about how the Son is
eternal, just as the Father is eternal.
He talks about what we’ve already mentioned several times in this
letter, that Christ is the head of the Church and that the Church “is
his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” One of the main responsibilities of the
Church is to help others grow in their faith, i.e. their relationship, their
intimacy with God. We do that by means
which have been instituted and commanded by Christ. We also know that we have access to God
through worship, singing, and prayer because of the atoning sacrifice of
Christ. I mentioned earlier that Christ
gives us a revelation of God. I
mentioned as well that that revelation is something that is unique to the
Christian faith that no worldly religion can claim. I also mentioned a bit about the failure on the
part of the church (for the most part) to adequately help Christians grow in
their relationships with the Lord. So,
where am I going with all of this?
Well,
I want to take two seconds and remind you of the purpose of the letter. Paul is teaching them about the Church. We said last Sunday, and have it reinforced
for us this Sunday, that Christ is the head of the Church. The Church is built upon Christ. So, what understanding about the Church can
we take from God’s being revealed to us in Christ? What can we take from Christ’s work that
speaks to the Church? As I’ve pondered
that question this week and read countless commentaries, it’s a question that
doesn’t have a unified answer. As I was
cleaning off our kitchen table the other day, I noticed a few marks in the wood
that weren’t there a few months ago. You
see, I know that table well because I built it.
I took these old canning shelves from Amy’s great-uncle’s house and
turned them into a very imperfect table (imperfect by design). I know every mark on there because I had Amy
inspect the thing to tell me whether or not to leave it or sand it out in the
making of that table. These new marks
weren’t there originally, but have since been put there by our kids. At first I got a little upset because I had
put a lot of time and work into this table and they were just treating it like
no big deal. And that’s when it hit me
that many Christians treat the Church just like my kids treat that table. Now, for me, it’s just a table and I’ll get
over it (and already have to some extent).
However, for God, I can’t imagine what it must feel like when someone
neglects or harms His Church, the very thing that is built upon the sacrifice
of His Son. Tim Keller once wrote,
“Relationships are costly. Whatever it
will cost you to be with God is nothing compared to what it cost Him to be with
you.”
Paul
is trying to tell the Ephesians that Christ died for the Church. God gave up His only Son for the Church. The Church is built upon the very one in whom
we have our hope for salvation. The
Church is built upon the one who willingly and voluntarily gave himself up for
us and bore the price for our sins upon the cross. Paul is reminding the Ephesians of the price
that was paid for them. They (as well as
us today) should want to get to know this God so intimately that we almost feel
as if there isn’t anything left to know.
You see, that ought to be our desire as a church. It’s not about bigger buildings and larger
gatherings, but about knowing God. It’s
about knowing God and coming to know Him through the work of Jesus. It’s about coming to know Jesus through the
Church, the body of Christ. That’s what
we’re here to do; that’s our purpose.
And we have to strive to make every effort to see that our true task is
accomplished each and every day, no matter the cost. Even when it’s difficult and even when it
causes us hardship, our goal is to know Christ and make him known to others.
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