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I need not take much time away from the Word of God this morning to convince you that we live in a faithless generation—you know full well that we do. Nevertheless, a few reflections on our culture are useful. This present generation is not prone to contemplation; meditation; or critical thinking. We live in a media-saturated age in which pop culture has been mainlined into our youth like heroin into the bloodstream. As a result, for the most part, Americans embrace values and worldviews that are unexamined. The consequences have been deadly. When polled recently, 66% of high school boys argued in favor of cohabitation as wisest preparation for marriage. And the vast majority of evangelical teens believe that there is more evidence for evolution than biblical creation.
Evangelical adults are not immune to this erosion of truth. Pastoral counseling rooms are overflowing with cases where professed believers are living in rebellion against God. This has become an epidemic—a mental acceptance of the truth which doesn’t translate into godly living—it’s truth disconnected from faith and life. Deep down we know why this is happening. The ‘culture of self’ has been silently assimilated into Christendom—it has slipped through the back door of the church. Countless professed believers have started with self in their spiritual quest and they have insulated themselves from the knowledge of God in the process. New domesticated gods have arisen in place of God Almighty. There is a pantheon of Jesus’ today—church members pick the version that suits their perceived needs. In American Christianity, Christ has gone from Monarch to mascot.
The battle to transmit the faith to the next generation is for the most part not being won. A startling statistic came out recently—79% of high school students from SBC will deny the faith by the time they graduate from a secular university. The physical eyes and ears of our Christian youth are so tuned to the culture that they have become convinced that the temporal is more enduring than the eternal—and the physical more real than the spiritual—material wealth far more significant than eternal wealth. In making a play for the billion dollar teen market, corporations have been shameless in their promotion of immodesty, group sex, and perversion. Is it any wonder our young people are starved for mentors who stand for decency and are animated by the hope of glory? Young people who are truly born again are eager for someone to show them how to develop unshakeable Christian convictions which will stand up to the relentless tide of our culture. Will you stand in the gap and be one of those mentors?
READ THE TEXT: 2 PETER 1:1-4
V. 1 – Peter writes this epistle during a time when false teachers were taking advantage of wide spread confusion, uncertainty, and troublous conditions. It has always been that way; unbelief takes root—takes advantage of doubt, discouragement, insecurity, and tiredness. Peter is writing this epistle to stabilize his readers—giving them needed ballast in the pitching seas of the age. The Apostle’s aim—to make certain his readers understand their foundations so that they can deepen their faith and grow in grace.
Peter identifies himself as the Lord’s BONDSERVANT. To speak of oneself as a “bondservant” was socially demeaning; but for the believer it is honorable spiritually because of the infinite worthiness of Christ Jesus. The bondservant was duty-bound to obey his master whatever the cost. Every true believer is a bondservant of Christ—we are God’s possession. We live to do His will—our rights are surrendered to the One who died on our behalf.
Our text says, “Who have received a FAITH of the same kind as ours.” Peter is stressing that faith is a gift of God—a gift of divine grace wherein the sinner takes hold of redemption and accepts the finished work of Christ on his behalf (Eph 2:8-9). “Faith breathes the breath God’s grace supplies.”
It is a FAITH of the same kind—there are not degrees of Christianity—Peter as an Apostle has the same precious faith as his humble readers—a faith equal in validity. Peter’s point is that believer’s share the equal gift of salvation because God’s righteousness is imputed to them. True faith looks up from the just displeasure of God to hear the voice of mercy from Christ. True faith contemplates Christ our Redeemer; our righteousness; clothed in our nature; sitting at the right of God. True faith sees unseen things—desires to do His will. It is impossible that this faith not produce good works. True faith is the experience of every one of God’s people—they are made recipients of illumination which reveals the glory of God, their own unworthiness, and the plan of salvation in Christ Jesus.
Our text says, “By the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS is the source of salvation; His righteousness is not a static ‘holy standard’ written on a tablet of gold enshrined in heaven—His righteousness is active and dynamic. His righteousness is His zeal for His Name—it is God graciously giving His righteousness to us in Christ—it is the righteousness of God to us through Christ.
It is God giving guilty sinners right-standing with Himself through the righteousness of the Son of God. This is the amazing glad tidings of the Gospel—God is clothing unrighteous sinners in a God-provided God-approved righteousness—He is hiding them in the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor 5:21).
Through the incarnation of Christ and His substitutionary work—God in Christ has prepared a perfect place of refuge for all who believe. We have right-relatedness to God’s righteousness by faith in what God has done in Christ (Rom 3:22)—in the Son of God we truly attain righteousness in the sight of God! (EX. Catholic evangelism and God’s grace; not a method, a mechanism, or a material—God’s grace is who God is—He makes Himself known in His acts of saving grace—He provides a refuge for sinners who come to Him for forgiveness.)
God speaks His magnificent promises to the faith He creates—that’s the theme in our text. God’s riches in Christ are addressed to our faith so that we might grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. We come to perceive what is ours spiritually—not by understanding bare propositions; but by growing in the knowledge of the Giver Himself! That’s the appointed avenue of our understanding—we come to understand what we possess spiritually knowing God in Christ (vs. 2)—knowing Him who has called us by His own glory and excellence (vs. 3).
V. 2 – ‘GRACE’ is the Father’s favor and acceptance of us. BUT, we perceive this grace of God’s infinite favor ONLY in proportion to our measure of faith. No wonder we are constantly enjoined in the N.T. to excel in faith—for by faith in Christ the love of God is confirmed to your hearts; and, the more happy, holy, and useful you will be (Rom 15:13).
The Christian faith is founded upon the true KNOWLEDGE of God (that He is just, loving, merciful, holy, and wrathful—and that these attributes are only reconciled in Christ and His cross—thus God is just, and He is the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus).
The knowledge of God is only through the knowledge of Christ (Matt 11:27). The object of saving knowledge being—God’s self-revelation in Christ (2 Cor 4:4-6). Salvation (eternal life) is the knowledge of God through Christ (Jn 17:3).
The N.T. word for knowledge here is the strengthened form (epiginosko)—it implies larger, thorough, intimate knowledge—to know exactly, completely, through and through in a more personal relationship. This means that the believer knows Christ personally rather than just knowing about Him (i.e. the ‘facts’ of His life, death, and resurrection—our knowledge of Christ must be personal—knowing indeed that His saving work and intercession are directed at me in particular).
So many believers today have second-hand convictions. They’ve gleaned spiritual truth ‘second-hand’ from the work that others have done in the Word of God. The use of epiginosko (intimate knowledge) by the Apostle presupposes that your knowledge of Christ and the precious things of God is first-hand; not second hand.
The more you progress in the knowledge of God, the more every kind of blessing increases along with the sense of God’s love.
The deeper and wider one’s knowledge of the Lord; the more grace and peace is multiplied to the believer. This is what God desires—that the substance of salvation (grace and peace) be multiplied to His children. (Grace answers the just condemnation of God’s law. Peace replaces the fear; guilt; and alienation from God our sin has produced.) The better you get at matching your spiritual poverty with Christ’s willingness to be your spiritual wealth and completeness—the more grace and peace will be multiplied to you.
Growth in the knowledge of God (of God; not about God) is dear to Peter’s heart. You’ve heard it said, “knowledge puffs up; love builds up,” but the pursuit of the knowledge of God never brings pride; in fact growing in the knowledge of God is how God makes us like Himself (2 Cor 3:18). Peter ends His epistle with this command and exhortation to Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18). The Apostle John uses the word ‘abide’ to refer to an intimate growing knowledge of Christ that comes from fellowship and communion with Him (1 Jn 2:28).
And the Apostle Paul speaks of pursuing the knowledge of Christ as his highest purpose—counting all as loss compared to the infinite privilege of knowing Christ (Phil 3:10: 2 Cor 3:18).
APPLICATION: Keep a book about the Person of Christ on your nightstand. Study the saving work of God toward you. Meditate upon Christ’s offices. Meditate upon all that God is toward you in Christ. Investigate what your riches are by union with Christ. Contemplate God’s saving work toward you—meditate upon the passages which describe how God sees you in Christ—joined to Him.
II. Everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him . . .
V. 3. – Christ’s POWER is the source of the believer’s sufficiency (2 Cor 12:9). (Christ is our source of power to persevere in Christian living.)
He grants us everything pertaining to LIFE and GODLINESS. Salvation is the bestowal of spiritual LIFE. ‘Christ in you’ is the essential organ of spiritual life—He conveys life and grace. True salvation is the impartation of a life that is to be lived in a godly manner. Godly living is God-ward living that is obedient, loyal, and reverent. (In Christ there is total sufficiency available for life and godliness—you are complete in Him. Peter exhorts us on the basis of this well-founded assurance—he builds the foundation; then exhorts to growth.)
This “LIFE” is bestowed through the TRUE KNOWLEDGE of Him who CALLED us. (EX. One believing ‘look’ at Christ will save you for all eternity—because that believing look gives you the knowledge of God. Where faith is there is a wonderful high prizing and valuing of Christ.)
“Knowledge” (of Him) is a key word in Peter’s epistle implying intimate knowledge—as of your own marriage partner. Thus the KNOWLEDGE of Christ here is anything but superficial or casual. It is not a surface awareness but knowledge of Christ by ‘revelation’—beholding the glory of God in the face of Christ. (When speaking of our growth in the knowledge of the Lord; Paul prays for a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him (Eph 1:17). It is a knowledge of our personal sharing in life with Christ (Gal 2:20).
Jesus Christ, our GOD AND SAVIOR (vs. 1b)—it is His deity that is in view—He is our “Source Person”—the Fountain of Life. He has all the things needed for the successful completion of the Christian life. He has everything needed for growth, development, perseverance, sanctification, and service.
There is a breakthrough of faith and obedience when you realize that the virtues of Christ are made available to you the believer—His love; courage; perseverance; humility; grace; service; power; single-mindedness; His heart affection. (God uses our weakness as a staging area to teach us the infinite difference between self and Christ. He does this to show us our daily need of Christ.)
How we need to hear this! For we know what we were in our state of nature; in the spiritual state in which Christ found us. In that state life and godliness are foreign to us; but now they are freely granted to us in/by UNION with Christ. They belong to us by virtue of the fact that He has CALLED us. That calling is a ‘spiritual resurrection’ in which we are “begotten of God” (1 Pet 1:3). God’s CALLING us is the means of the bestowal of these gracious resources.
We were called by His own GLORY and EXCELLENCE. The Lord’s GLORY and EXCELLENCE placed the promises of the Gospel in our hearts. As we will see in a moment in verse 4; these promises are mighty because God’s attributes stand behind them—these promises will take us all the way from dust to glory.
God has lavished these divine resources upon us (everything needed for life and godiness)—our resources in Christ are sufficient to meet all of life’s demands (Phil 4:19). (EX. God is glorifying His grace—dispensing His grace not with an eye-dropper sparingly—but in an unending Niagara Falls of grace with endless installments. He is willing to do beyond what we could ask or think—Eph 3:20. The morewithdrawals of grace; the more He is glorified in our lives.)
Think about how essential it is to know about our resources in Christ. What resolve, stability, and comfort in our setbacks, our sins, our declines, times of unfruitfulness, battles with indwelling sins. Christ’s divine power as God never fails—He keeps restoring us—He is the Lord of 10,000 times 10,000 restorations in the life of the believer. In Him, you have received everything pertaining to life and godliness. In Christ you have the resources necessary to pursue godly living—to persevere to the end and finish well.
And it is THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM that we experience the fullness of our resources in Christ—power to persevere in trials, set-backs, difficulties, inadequacies, and struggles. Some of our failure and unfruitfulness is due to self-reliance. The Father is teaching us Christ-reliance. The more you know Him; the more you will see Him as your sufficiency and therefore utilize your resources in Him (we gradually learn our resources are in Him).
When Paul says he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him; or, it is no longer I who live; but Christ lives in me—he is speaking of the exchanged life. Our adequacy in Christ is not immediately experienced—one does not normally rise out of bed saying, “Wow! I feel Christ’s power in me today!” In fact you may feel something much different—your own inadequacy—Paul did. In fact he said that Christ’s power is perfected through our personal weakness.
You see, to strive according to Christ’s power involves reckoning by faith that He desires to live His life through us. We do not have to overcome any reluctance on His part to live through us. No, He took our place when we were enemies—helpless—the exchanged life began when He traded places with us on Calvary and His redemptive work was applied to us by His Spirit. Christ now desires to manifest His moral character through us by His indwelling Spirit. Do you draw close to Christ in fellowship conscious that He is eager to be your all-sufficient resource for the Christian life?
APPLICATION: Verses 3-4 are in reality a description of the Christian life—literally the N.T. standard of normalcy in the Christian life. Do you see how much these promises are intended to stabilize the believer? You may find yourself saying, “Oh, I’ve always believed these things—this is not revolutionary for me.” But what does it mean to really believe that in Christ we have everything pertaining to life and godliness? It means death to our excuses for not serving God. It means death to our excuses for living with bosom sins. It means death to stagnancy and mediocrity. If we really believe these things then our life turns upon Christ and these promises. It means we cease to behave as if God is telling us half truths. If we really believe these things; then our faith will feed upon Christ with more gusto than our flesh does when diving into a tri-tip at the Outback Steakhouse.
V. 4—For BY THESE He has granted us His precious and magnificent PROMISES. By “THESE” is meant by His own glory and excellence (v. 3b). God’s calling of us in salvation has put His own glory and excellence on display (when we are blind to that; we tend to be preoccupied with self—stuck in patterns of defeat and joylessness).
God has, in effect, poured His perfections; excellence; glorious attributes into the mould of Gospel promises. Lord, let this sink in—the specifics of the Gospel came out of God’s own glory and excellence. He hasharnessed His infinite perfections and attributes and put them to work in saving and perfecting the saints. The cause of your salvation is found totally in God—in His perfections; excellence; attributes; and character. Therefore; His cause to shine forth His glory has become your cause for in making your salvation His cause—He has joined our cause and His in the Person of Christ. When that sinks in—it will make you want to shout!
(EX. These precious and magnificent promises were ‘cast’ in the foundry of His divine attributes—your salvation puts God’s perfections and excellence on display! How He is taking you from dust to glory is a subject of endless fascination to the holy angels.)
This transforming truth is essential to the maturation of your faith. This must not remain in the realm of the theoretical; it must be personalized—from the general to the specific—for an intimate knowledge of Christ will produce the conviction that God is exerting His attributes in my particular case. This is the adventure of the Christian life—it is learning to live on the strength of Another—upon Christ.
Now, let’s look at our text again (v. 4) the intended outcome of these promises is that we might be PARTAKERS of the divine nature. The promises in Christ and the Gospel are the means by which we become partakers of the divine nature. (Every part of our salvation has been thought out by our all-wise Father.)
By the indwelling of God’s Spirit, we are PARTAKERS of the divine nature—not little ‘gods’; but sharers in the moral nature of God. Sharing in God’s moral nature means that we are destined to be conformed to the image of Christ—Rom 8:29; Eph 1:4—we are being developed into this new life after the image of the One who created him—Col 3:10. Christ is the Architect; the Contractor, and the Blueprint for the new man—you are being constructed into His likeness—that is what these precious promises are able to accomplish—because God’s mighty attributes stand behind them and energize them.
God has harnessed His attributes (power; wisdom; glory; majesty) and cast them in a foundry so to speak to make the promises of the Gospel. Now He has done this in order that your life might be poured into the mould of the Gospel (promises). Gospel promises give form and shape to the Christian life. God is forming (constructing) a new humanity around the Person of Christ by means of the magnificent promises of the Gospel.
Now back to the concept of partaking in the divine nature. This sharing in the moral nature of God enables us to have communion with God and to ultimately to be a unified with God in glory—as much as a creature could possibly be! (We will share His holiness—Heb 12:10.) (And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ—2 Thess 2:14.) God is speaking these magnificent promises to your faith.
A true Christian is one who is a PARTAKER of the divine nature (are you conscious of this incredible spiritual reality; that the divine life has been communicated to you in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit—you are the eternal habitation of God’s Spirit—Eph 2:22. And this fact determines you identity, purpose, mission, and destiny).
The bestowal of the divine nature in the believer demands that you continue in communion and obedience. The elect are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ (Eph 1:4). Brethren this promise is a source of resolve—to be done with the evil remnants of the old life; to turn your back on the immoral filth and pollution of the world. When God contemplates you in Christ; He sees you as HAVING ESCAPED. You live in a different sphere now—because CORRUPTION is the very opposite of the divine nature. (When Scripture commands us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ it means that you are to regard yourself as God does—as in Christ as your realm—your dwelling place—Romans 13:14.)
By the divine PROMISES you have been delivered from the tyranny of evil cravings and lusts. They once held you in their grasp and ruled over you—you could not free yourself. But by God’s sovereign grace in Christ, you have ESCAPED. You have been radically identified with Christ—His death was your death to sin (Rom 6). His resurrection is your resurrection to newness of life in Him. How can we go back to the cesspool we once drank from? Notice the text describes what is in the world by lust; it is CORRUPTION—that is decay, death, dissolution.
When a person serves sin the “death meter” is running. If he does not repent; it is but a matter of time before corruption catches him—for sin pays an unavoidable “wage” or paycheck of death and corruption. But by God’s precious and magnificent promises; you have escaped! God’s glory and excellence have constructed precious and magnificent promises which have made you partakers of the DIVINE NATURE.
Therefore our only logical, reasonable response is to renounce the WORLD entirely—there is not a thing in the world for your regenerate soul to feed upon. Therefore by faith smash your heart idols; trample the world’s lying offers. Press on; answer the upward call—pursue an experiential heart knowledge of Christ—for the image of God has been “reborn” in you. This is nothing less than God’s plan to permit you to share in His blessedness; to glorify Him self by making you eternally happy in Him.
Do you see the Spirit-inspired logic here? Sharing in the eternal life of God of complete blessedness is set against the spurious offers of this world in which are nothing but corruption. The two are mutually exclusive.
CONCLUSION: We have been called to a supernatural life. We’ve seen that the knowledge of God is the ‘door’ to holy living. But here is the wealth promised to us—what God requires; He has promised. He has imparted a new divine life to us. We are joined to God the Son. The full sufficiency of His divine resources are there to mould us into His likeness (He is exercising His power toward us—Eph 1:19-20.) God’s glory and excellence have moulded gospel promises which shall surely mould us to the likeness of God’s Son. If your faith is to move to maturity—then the mindset of our passage will become your mindset. Your faith must go from “How am I doing?” To—“What is God doing?”
Everything we need we have through a true knowledge of God in Christ. LUST is what I was by nature. But now the divine nature lives in me—this is not only a heavenly promise; but a present reality which is to characterize my entire life. Professing Christians who genuinely manifest the DIVINE NATURE—by their very lives they convict the world of sin, lust, and corruption.
God’s glorious attributes drive these Gospel promises—the Lord intends that your faith be invigorated by them—that you step out in faith. You know what the alternative is—we tend to settle back upon our duties and performances and gradually lose the big picture. “Lord, raise me up out of stagnancy and doubt to the divine viewpoint that I might see that you have moved heaven and earth in order to give me infinite resources in Christ. You have harnessed your own excellence and glory in order to plant in me the divine nature. God is speaking to the faith He has created in you. Admittedly our faith is often weak and assaulted. But we bring a weak faith to promises that are infinitely powerful because God’s glory and excellence stands behind them. As you learn to live upon Christ (go out on a limb with Him—attempting things beyond your natural strength) your intimate knowledge of Christ will grow—your ability to live the exchanged life will increase.
Would you do anything differently in your life if you believed that the Second Person of the Godhead left His throne in order to make you like Himself in order to glorify God? And that in Christ you lack nothing for life and godliness and that the Gospel promises that are yours cannot fail to take you from dust to glory?
“Lord, raise me up out of stagnancy and doubt to the divine viewpoint. Let my faith feed on your promises that I might see that you have moved heaven and earth in order to give me infinite resources in Christ. You have harnessed your own excellence and glory in order to plant in me the divine nature. Lord, by your promises you are speaking to the faith that you created in me. I want to know you more and more—I’m willing to step out upon my infinite resources in Christ to do your will.”
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The Role of the Corporate Body in Sanctification (Part II)
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I. When our resurrected Lord ascended on high, He bestowed gifts to His church by His Spirit (Eph 4:8). A. The Holy Spirit was given to the church in all His varied ministries which serve to build up the life of the church (4:11-12; 1 Cor 12:7). Christ’s enthronement over the universe is the guarantee that nothing needful for His church is lacking (Ralph P. Martin, The New Bible Commentary, Leicester: Intervarsity Press, p. 1116).
B. The Holy Spirit has bestowed spiritual gifts so that all of God’s people may be equipped (4:12). The gifts function in a complementary fashion so that the church body may be edified/built up (ibid.).
C. The gifted men (4:11) comprise a ‘channel’ through which the ministry of the Word, the divine influence, flows from Christ the Head to all the members of the body. Where the ministry of the Word fails, the divine influence fails, or miscarries (Charles Hodge, Ephesians, Carlisle: Banner of truth Trust, 1856, p. 176).
II. God’s pattern for the body through Christ has a very specific purpose—to build up the redeemed unto the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God—out of which flows spiritual maturity (4:12-13) (John MacArthur, N.T. Commentary on Ephesians, Chicago: Moody Press, p. 156). A. The unity of the faith is the content of the gospel in its most complete form— especially as it is lived out ‘incarnationally’ by believers who are properly taught to faithfully carry out the work of service (4:12) (ibid.).
B. The church’s path to maturity involves the unity of the Spirit as the church’s present possession (Ralph P. Martin). The unity of the Spirit is a gift to be guarded. Paul tells us in Philippians 2:2-11 how it is to be guarded (4:3; Phil 2:2ff.).
III. The redeemed are to be built up unto the true knowledge (epiginosko) of the Son of God (4:13). This is the knowledge of Christ Himself as the embodiment of God’s treasure, and as the Source Person/Supplier of all the church needs (Col 2:3; Eph 1:18; 3:8) (Ralph P. Martin). A. The deep knowledge of the Son of God is only attainable by prayer, study of the Word, fellowship with Him, and obedience (John MacArthur, p. 157).
B. Paul yearned for an ever greater ‘heart knowledge’ of the Son of God. The Apostle’s testimony was of a growing cognizance of union with Christ. In Philippians 3:10-16, Paul gives three ‘access points’ to personal growth in the experimental knowledge of Christ (Harry Walls, Chapel Service, Southern Baptist Seminary, Louisville, KY):
C. The unity of the faith will be ultimately reached by the true knowledge of Christ (4:13).
1.) Why does the church appear so fragmented at times with the unity of the faith seemingly out of reach? In part, it is because the true knowledge of Christ is so imperfect at present.
2.) It is vital to the goal of unity that we understand that the true knowledge of Christ is a corporate as well as a personal experience. Only in this way will the church ‘come of age’ and become full grown as a ‘mature man’ (4:15) (A. Skevington Wood, NIV Commentary, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994, p. 769).
Discussion: What is the ‘corporate experience’ of the knowledge of Christ? Or, how does our mutual edification impart the knowledge of Christ? What is the role of the Word of grace in the corporate experience of the knowledge of Christ?
3.) Individualism and private piety without close ties to other believers is a mark of immaturity (ibid.).
IV. Christ is the ‘standard’ of the mature man. We are to ‘grow up’ in all aspects unto Him (4:13, 15).
A. The unity that Christ prayed for in John 17 implies that perfect knowledge of the Son of God and perfect holiness are yet to be perfected. The church will someday attain unto ‘a perfect (mature) man’—complete in glory and complete conformity to Christ (Heb 12:23) (Charles Hodge, p. 167).
Discussion: The question remains, “how much should this ultimate goal of conformity to Christ control us now?” And, “how do we order our lives and fellowship in order to cooperate with this controlling purpose of conformity to Christ?”
B. Growing up ‘in all aspects unto Him’ calls for comprehensive Christ-likeness. Christ is both sovereign Ruler and organic Head of His body, the church. He is the source of the body’s power and functions. In order to grow into His likeness, the members of His body must be subject to His controlling power in obedience to His will, and submissive to His pattern for His church (MacArthur, p. 160).
C. The growth of the body is from Christ; He is its cause. Growth, life, and power depend upon intimate union of the parts of the body with the Head, Christ (Hodge, p. 173).
V. The fact that Christ causes the growth of the body in no way negates the efforts of the believers in building the body (MacArthur, p. 161). A. Yes, the church grows by the action of Christ on its behalf, but we must understand that Christ is working to accomplish this end through the activity of each member.
B. Christ exerts a unifying action by means of His working through ‘every joint which He supplies’ (4:16). As each ‘joint’ (member of the body) exercises Christ’s gift for ministry there is a “chain reaction” produced by Christ among His servants. The whole body is built up, and love becomes the atmosphere (Martin, p. 1116-1117).
C. In the process of mutual encouragement and the responsibilities of edification exercised, each part is playing the role for which it was appointed. Love becomes the air that is breathed. Christ imparts His risen life within the congregation (ibid.). It is in this manner that the body engages in the corporate experience of Christ.
D. The phrase, ‘every joint supplies’ conveys a much needed truth about the function of the body. Christ holds the body together. He makes it function ‘by that which every joint supplies.’ The Spirit of Christ, working through the gifts, provides a flow of ministry that produces growth (MacArthur, p. 162).
1.) The above description of the function of the local church is glorious and desirable; but it requires that the members of the body embrace Christ’s pattern for the church with whole-hearted enthusiasm. (Obedience.)
2.) In order to realize Christ’s pattern; each individual part of the body must come in close enough contact with other members that their gifts result in growth. Christ facilitates the effectiveness of the gifts in mutual ministry; but the gifts cannot work EXCEPT by close relationships of genuine spiritual ministry (ibid.).
3.) This is a revolutionary truth. God cannot work where relationships are not intimate. No genuine progress in the growth of the body takes place unless each member in union with other members responds to the direction of Christ the Head who rules the body by His Word. An obedient response to Christ means that each part of the body is doing exactly what it was designed to do (ibid.).
E. In summary, in order to experience growth unto a mature man; the body must hold fast to its Head and the body must be committed to the pattern of mutual ministry set forth by Christ (Col 2:19).
1.) Every individual member is to stay close to Christ and faithfully use his or her spiritual gift in close contact with every other believer. Through this commitment and ministry, the Lord’s power will flow for the building up of the body in love (4:16) (ibid.).
2.) The process of the church growing and consolidating itself in love is dependent upon the interrelatedness of the parts of the body. When each part works properly; the body receives what it needs (Wood, p. 771). This is the glorious truth of Christ’s sufficiency in His body—a truth that is all too rarely understood and practiced.
3.) In support of this truth, John MacArthur brings out an emphasis in the Greek. The use of ‘growth’ in the middle form (4:16) means that the body under Christ’s direction and empowerment produces its own growth. In other words, growth takes place through “resident dynamics” and not through outside forces. The vital power within causes growth as the church builds itself up in love (ibid.).
Discussion: How may we more fully adopt this mindset above—that the body produces what it needs through the sufficiency of Christ working through its members? How would this mindset overturn the tendency to look outside the church for professionals and programs?
VI. The church before the watching world is now the ‘incarnate body of Christ on earth’ (MacArthur, p. 157). A. We are to radiate Christ’s perfections, reflect His virtues, and walk as He walked (1 Jn 2:6; Col 4:12) (ibid.).
B. Christ’s power, through the individual members, causes the church to build itself up in love, THEN the world will know that the church truly is the body of Christ on earth. Our gospel witness must stay joined to our demonstration of true community (Jn 13:34-35) (ibid. p. 161).
C. “Pastors, is everything in your public ministry designed to communicate that Christ is the Head of His church and that the members His body are His ministers and priests?”
1.) Human nature and the state of affairs in a fallen world all conspire against the truth that Christ owns His church. This is the situation in which the pastor finds himself—his congregation and his own ego pull him like a magnet toward pastor as a ‘superstar’ as the norm (Tillapaugh, p. 91).
2.) No small amount of energy is required to step aside and keep elevating Christ. So strong is the pull in our culture toward the ‘cult of celebrities,’ all a pastor has to do to fall into the celebrity trap is nothing at all (John Owen, Triumph Over Temptation, James M. Houston, Ed., Colorado Springs: Victor Books, 2005, p. 186). 3.) The pastor is taking a huge risk when he stops speaking regularly of Christ’s relationship to His church. The reason is our fallen natures, and the world’s standards (with its cult of celebrities) will tend to seduce both the minister, and God’s people—making the pastor the centralized point of ministry.
4.) If the pastor does not resist these forces which conspire against Christ’s true place in the church; then the pastor will be tempted to become possessive of the body of Christ. If the pastor yields to that temptation; he will find himself usurping the role in the church that Christ has reserved for Himself alone (Tillapaugh, pp. 114-115).
5.) Pastors who are better at attaching church members to them selves than to Christ will give an account of that activity on the last day. By contrast, the godly pastor burns with a desire to ‘part the heavens’ in his preaching so that the people entrusted to his care might ‘see’ their glorified heavenly King.
If you are not parting the heavens in your preaching so as to display the Lord as Mediatorial King and Head of the body, then you are failing to kindle affections and reverence for Christ. The godly shepherd is not content UNLESS he serves as spiritual ‘midwife’—overseeing the nurturing and strengthening of the bond between the redeemed and their Head. VII. The believer as “a new creation” is perfectly equipped for true community. A. Deep in our humanity is the desire to know and be known—to love and be loved to belong, to matter, to contribute. In his excellent book, Come Home Forever, Tom Wells opens up the theme of God as the Father of the only “true home” that will last forever (Tom Wells, Come Home Forever, Durham: Evangelical Press, 1992).
1.) The yearning for community is part of our humanness. The world wants oneness and true community WITHOUT Christ. The world, in its narcissistic optimism, attempts reconciliation, fulfilling relationships, racial harmony, and global oneness apart from Christ. The world will fail at true harmony because Christ alone is the source of genuine community to the glory of God.
2.) God’s provision for true community is not just to satisfy our social longings. As we’ve seen in our study, true community in Christ is designed to be a revelation of Christ and a manifestation of the communal life of the Holy Trinity. True community in Christ exists to reflect the character of God and to perfect the saints.
B. The redeemed are equipped for true community.
1.) They have a new nature with the law of God written on their hearts; they have an alien righteousness; they have the indwelling empowerment of God’s Spirit.
2.) The believer may accurately say, “Christ is my Source Person, my identity. I am complete in Him; not in myself. I am clothed in His righteousness. He is my right to be in heaven; He has cleared away every obstacle to the reception of God’s love. By union with Him, He has taken my liabilities and given me His assets. All I need for life and godliness is in Him (2 Pet 1:2-4). As He is, so also am I in the world (1 Jn 4:18).”
VIII. What are some of the implications of the “new creation” for true community? A. The cross is the great ‘leveler’ of men. The cross is the equalizer—sweeping away human distinctions. Redeemed men cannot appeal to their worldly rank, wealth, influence, or charisma (as an argument for their position in the body) without violating James 2:18. Therefore the cross sets up a new ordering principle for community—altogether different from the world. An over-under, hierarchal pecking order based upon human distinctions is the very opposite of living out our common life in Christ.
B. The believer is complete in Christ, accepted in Christ, and alive in Christ. Therefore the believer does not carry or ‘manage’ his own identity. This is profoundly liberating for true community. If Christ carries my worth and identity (and not me), then I may rationally prefer my brother, yield to him, consider his interests as more important than mine, defer to him—all WITHOUT being diminished in the slightest (Phil 2:2-4).
C. Christ has exchanged my sin for His righteousness. He has imputed to me His own moral perfection—placing it on my account. Therefore, I am not in charge of my own ‘lovability.’ I am liberated from the legal formula that says, “The more perfect I am; the more love I receive.” I have a perfect status and righteousness in Christ. I can take off my masks, be transparent. I can stop pretending. Being justified and yet a sinner means that I can afford to hear the worst things about my self WITHOUT hitting back with defensiveness. I can welcome correction and admonishment with gratitude. I can experience healing and liberty by confessing my sins to my brethren (James 5:16).
D. Joy is the result of having Christ’s love pass through you to others. The world’s formula for happiness is the reverse. The world says that joy comes from self-seeking. Christ teaches me that joy takes place when I care for others and make their burdens mine. Joy comes at the points in which my self-sacrifice intersects with the lives of the saints who are also making sacrifices for the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom.
E. When the believer is captivated with Christ, he is receives the ability to love others supernaturally. Christ does not give out His virtues as commodities which have an existence apart from Him. The fruit of the Spirit is a byproduct of abiding in Christ. The believer who beholds Christ’s glory and who is ‘staggered’ by Christ’s supremacy is in the best position to love the brethren. The saint amazed at the love of Christ will look for an outlet so that he may express that love to the brethren. (He puts off the old man and puts on the behaviors of the new man—the ‘garments of grace’).
F. Believers captivated with Christ love those whom Christ loves. The world is intimidated by differences. It is worldly wisdom that seeks alliances with those who do not differ from us. When the world’s wisdom entered the church of Corinth; it manifested itself in a party spirit with cliques, sects, and factions. By contrast, those cognizant of their common life in Christ are best equipped to accept the brethren who a different in race, maturity, and lifestyle (Rom 15:1-2).
IX. How does the Word of Christ, applied corporately, advance our sanctification? A. Genuine mortification of sin must stay joined to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel alone grants the courage necessary to deal with sin privately and corporately. The reception of forgiveness vertically is the preparation for horizontal forgiveness (Col 2:12-13) (Lane/Tripp, p. 217).
1.) The gospel gives the ability to look sin in the eye as our worst enemy. If you remain ignorant of your enemy (sin) you will justify yourself and behave defensively and impatiently toward those who correct and admonish you (Owen, pp. 191, 193, 198). The gospel consistently applied increases our hunger for holiness and deepens our willingness to be admonished by our brethren.
2.) To be immersed in the gospel as a body convinces us that God’s grace includes His commitment to complete the process of Christ-likeness in His children (Lane/Tripp, pp. 48-49). The cross is the source of honesty needed to deal with our sin individually and corporately. A constant diet of the gospel is necessary if the body is to move from respectability to transparency to mutual admonishment.
B. “Precept Christianity” divorced from the gospel of Jesus Christ implies a ‘gospel less’ view of change and sanctification. We must preach Christ and the gospel if we are to successfully expose the impotence of self-reliance (ibid. p. 27).
1.) A new record in Christ and a new power go together. All real advances in holiness start with the gospel of Christ. Legal methods of mortification suggest that our struggle with sin defines us.
2.) By contrast, the gospel says that Christ defines me—my identity is bound up in Him. Therefore, Christ (and not self) is the ‘bridge’ that spans the gap between my struggle with sin and real forward progress and change (ibid. p. 32-36).
C. Lasting change must be rooted in the cross and the promise of a new transformed heart through Christ. Ongoing repentance is not just sin oriented. Nor is it reducible to behavior modification. Repentance is the restoration of Christ to the prominent place He deserves (ibid. p. 231-232).
1.) Sin blinds to the glory of Christ. Progress in the Christian life is tied to beholding Christ as one’s power and wisdom. Only when I am cognizant of Christ’s assets (available to me through union with Him) will I be realistic about my weakness. And only when I keep feeding upon Christ as He is offered in the Word of grace will I live upon His assets and live upon His Person.
When this is experienced individually by those who make up the corporate body—then redemption is played out in our relationships (ibid. pp. 64-68, 76).
2.) John Owen’s counsel is timely. The Puritan divine urges us to raise our expectations of what Christ can do for us. Heighten your expectation of what His power may do through the Spirit in mortifying sin. The Spirit, says Owen, reveals the fullness of Christ and His cross in sin-killing power. As our faith looks to Christ in holy expectation, Christ’s life replaces the old sinful self as a controlling principle (Owen, pp. 234-237).
D. The church has a tendency toward ‘gospel amnesia’ on a corporate level. The flesh resists the gospel and wants the lie that we can change without God’s grace (Land/Tripp. pp. 238-240). ‘Gospel amnesia’ can be as subtle as defining ourselves by our orthodoxy. But, when Christ is supplanted, broken struggling people will feel unwelcome and out of place, and the corporate gospel dynamic for sanctifying change is lost.
1.) The managerial, institutional approach to organizing the church is only displaced when the cross-centered gospel is allowed to define the form and the purpose, and the mission of the body.
2.) Because the gospel is so ‘counter-intuitive,’ it is incumbent upon church leaders to explain with patient repetition that the gospel perfectly matches our condition. Without this repeated explanation, the gospel suffers reductionism—and is shoved through the die of self-sufficiency and man-centeredness. Christians desperately need to see the present power of the gospel (ibid. pp. 14-15).
X. The reasons God has saved us ought to control the shape and the design of our fellowship with the Lord and with one another (the reasons He redeemed us form the “mountain peaks of the epistle to the Ephesians”). A. He saved us to the praise of the glory of His grace (1:6).
B. He saved us that we might know the Lord through the sovereign mercy He has exercised toward us (1:18-21).
C. He saved us for good works that we might walk in them (2:10).
D. He saved us to be a holy habitation for the Spirit of God (2:19-21).
E. He saved us that He might make known through us the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places (3:10).
F. He saved us that Christ might feel completely at home in our hearts through our faith in Him (3:17).
G. He saved us so that we might comprehend the dimension-less love of Christ (3:18-19).
H. He saved us so that by our consideration of the loftiness of our calling we might be willing to walk in lowliness and humility in our relationships (4:1ff.).
I. He saved us to grow up into a mature man—into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ our Head (4:13).
J. He saved us so that the love, grace, and truth of Christ might pass through us to our brethren unto their edification in love (4:13-16).
K. He saved us that we might put off the old man and put on the new man—that is, the ‘garments of grace’ in our relationships. In this way we imitate God (4:17-5:1).
L. He saved us that He might present us before Him totally conformed to Christ-likeness—without spot, or wrinkle, or blemish (5:27).
Discussion: Explain how each individual reason for Christ redeeming us listed above may be translated into Christian practice.
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