A Church That Honors God, Part 1

“To God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever! Amen.”
Ephesians 3:21 (TEV)

What is the kind of church that honors God? This is essential if we are to fulfill the purpose God has for the church in our world today. Throughout the Old Testament, the church, as God would design it, remained a great mystery. It was kept hidden from ages past until Jesus came, and through the Holy Spirit gave birth to the church as we find it in the New Testament. In Ephesians 3:5 (NLT), the Apostle Paul wrote, “God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by His Spirit He has revealed it to His holy apostles and prophets.” What was that mystery that had been kept hidden about the church? In verse 6, he tells us, “The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of Him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.” Ephesians 3:6 (MSG) To most of us, this may not sound like such a big deal, but it was huge, revolutionary even, to the Jews, who had identified themselves as God’s elect people. The Church would include both Jews and Gentiles! Neither race could claim exclusivity in their relationship with God but would become one body in Christ! Jesus’ death on the cross accomplished much more than salvation for individual sinners. It reconciled Jews and Gentiles to each other and to God.

Paul describes this new union in Ephesians 2:14-16 (NLT), “For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in Himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of His death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.” This was historic! And the church that honors God treats everyone with respect and dignity. Its doors are open to all people from every race, recognizing that in Christ we are one body - a physical, visible expression of the invisible God. This is why the church that honors God is the only hope for the world today! In fact, the Bible says that “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Ephesians 3:10-11 (NIV) This means that both angels and demons “rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” are involved in this great mystery. God is educating both angels and demons by means of the church! They are learning “the manifold wisdom of God” from the church. They have known about the power of God from creation, but the wisdom of God as revealed in His church is something new to them. First Peter 1:12 (NLT) tells us that our salvation is so wonderful and the church so revealing of God’s mysterious plan that “even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.” They desire to know more about it! 

If the angels long to learn more about the church, how much more should we? For the next few days, lets examine the kind of church that honors God.