+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Ephesians 4:4-6
Theme: Unity In God’s Love
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Christian teaching is never ambiguous or compromised by self-contradiction. We should expect this because the truth revealed in the Scriptures is a reflection of God Himself; His nature and His intentions. The incarnate Lord Jesus Christ- the infant in the manger who grew to become the victim of the cross- in His words, actions, nature, and essence are perfectly consistent in every way with the claims God makes in the Bible. Jesus was not some well-intentioned sage who began to identify as the Son of God over time. On the day of His resurrection He said, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”1 Sinners, on the other hand, are characterized by contradictions. We often vacillate back and forth and are led this way and that, depending on whose self-interests are winning the day.
Concern for consistent identity with the truth is what motivates St. Paul’s words in Ephesians today. He wants believers to understand clearly, not only their personal identity in Christ, but the unity they have in their fellowship together. Despite how it’s often been practiced in recent times, Christian faith is never to be understood as an individualistic religion. In fact, the New Testament (and even more so, the Old) knows nothing of a privatized practice of the faith that is so common today. We so highly value the privilege of idiosyncrasies and champion the right of independent self-determination in our culture that the notion of a common faith is nearly a foreign idea. “Who has the authority to tell me what I should or shouldn’t believe?” Well, that’s exactly the authority the Scriptures claim to have. They claim to transmit the tried and true wisdom of God. And they intend to do that for our ultimate good: Our salvation.
The unanimity we have in the faith is expressed by Paul in these words, “There is one body and one Spirit…one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”2 Christian truth is a unity. Every facet of God’s promises, purposes, and presence are related intimately to all the others. It is woven into one seamless fabric. Similarly, God’s people are also woven into one fabric, joined as living stones into one temple, complementary members of the same body. We have fellowship in holy things: The word of God through which the Spirit creates and sustains faith; baptism, through which we are made partakers of a common inheritance; and the Lord’s Supper through which we are strengthened by the Lord’s own power and life.
Unity in the faith has an antithesis. Falsehood always divides. It is a many-headed monster. Lies and liars may have some common goals, but they can never be in agreement with one another any more than a lie can be in agreement with the truth. In the end, power or cunning wins out and the execution of agendas pervaded by falsehood is often ruthless. God Himself sometimes commandeers such agendas to work His own good. Still, it’s no wonder the Scriptures so consistently warn about falsehood. The danger to our spiritual well-being is acute. God’s warnings intend to drive us to repentance. When that happens properly, our faith begins to bear fruit.
Today we find the crowds who had witnessed Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5000 wanting a deeper connection. His work was bearing fruit. They ask Him, “‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.’”3 The response of Jesus is remarkable. He doesn’t direct them to the Ten Commandments or rattle off a list charitable works. He directs them to the source, the power of transformation and godly motivation: Himself. We must assume these Jews were genuinely interested in being followers of God. We’d be mistaken if we characterized the spiritual attitude of all Jews as Pharisaical. Jesus’ response isn’t sarcastic or rhetorical. The starting point is as simple as it is profound: Trust God. Take God at His word. Rely on His promises. Don’t second-guess His intentions. Don’t speculate about His motives. Depend on Him for everything.
The hard part about Christianity is not the doing, but the believing. Satan works many successful deceptions here. He is happy for us to have a hollow lifeless faith, which is really no faith at all. Christ is God’s revelation to us. The devil is happy for us to believe in anything and everything that disregards the necessity of Christ. If I say I believe in God but I don’t actually depend on Him in time of need, if I don’t rely on His wisdom or follow His truth, if I don’t find ultimate security in Him in the face of death, then my faith is a charade. If I don’t cherish the forgiveness that comes only through Christ’s death and resurrection, then my faith is nothing more than a token identification with the name or idea of God.
Jesus certainly wasn’t trying to squelch people’s desire to do good works. The Scripture reminds us, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”4 But, the mere performance of actions does not guarantee the genuine character of faith. All sorts of fine-looking things can be done from selfish, false, and evil motives. False humility is a particular penchant of human nature. We love to be praised for things while pretending to be modest. God can see through us as through a spotlessly clean window. Usually others can too. Jesus warned about Pharisees who “loved praise from men more than praise from God.”5
Today the apostle earnestly desires that all believers would “reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature.”6 The importance of maturing in our faith is made very clear, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”7 If we don’t have an anchor we float around wherever the wind and waves take us. The church can be properly compared to a ship- we might think here of the ark that saved Noah’s family- carrying all the believers who are passengers. Only within the ship can we be protected from dangerous stormy seas. Only when we are anchored to Christ are we finally safe.
Maturity of faith is something that can only be gained by experience. While any true faith is saving faith, including the faith of a newly baptized infant, not everyone’s faith is of the same quality. However, we need not worry about comparing. We need only to cling to our God who promises to be faithful. The Scripture says Christ is the “author and perfecter of our faith.”7
God is consistent in His mercy. He is constant in His love. There are no contradictions in His nature, in His actions, or in His intentions. Jesus Christ was hung on a cross for you and for me. He rose again, proving His power over death. And even though we will continue to be plagued with self-contradictions, falsehoods, and paradoxes, His forgiveness reconciles us to a heavenly Father who already sees us as being holy through His Son. One day, in our resurrected flesh, we will understand that not by faith, but in experience. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost
5 August 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Luke 24:44
2 Ephesians 4:4-6
3 John 6:28-29
4 James 2:17
5 John 12:43
6 Ephesians 4:13
7 Ephesians 4:14
8 Hebrews 12:2
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