The Messenger 9
Introduction
In chapter 3 verse 10 Paul has highlighted for us the vital role of the Church as God’s appointed instrument in making His wisdom known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. Whatever struggles we may have with the Church, and however flawed it may appear to us, the Church has never ceased to be on centre-stage when it comes to the fulfiment of that plan.
Before we move on with today’s Reflection, however, I want to refer to something Carlo Correto wrote in his book “I Sought and I found.” What Correto so eloquently and movingly expresses here touches deeply on this ambivalent feeling so many sincere Christians seem to have today towards the Church:
How much I criticize you, my Church, and yet how much I love you. How much you have made me suffer and yet how much I owe you. I should like to see you destroyed and yet I need your presence. You have given me so much scandal and yet have made me understand holiness. Never in the world have I seen anything more obscurantist, more compromised, more false, yet never have I touched anything more pure, more generous or more beautiful. How often have I felt like slamming the door of my soul in your face – and how often have I prayed that I may die in your arms! No, I cannot be free of you, for I am one with you, even though not completely you. Then, too, where should I go? To build another? But I cannot build without the same defects I bear within me, and again if I build it will be my church, and no longer Christ’s. I am old enough to know that I am no better than others.
Seeing through a glass darkly
In his letter to the Corinthians Paul writes “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror…” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Eugene Peterson in The Message puts it so expressively – “We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist”.
Nowhere do we find ourselves more challenged by our inability to see clearly than when we try to comprehend Paul’s exalted view of the Church and its divine mission. In vain we look for some earthly example of the Church that will, at least to some degree, match our expectations of the Church that Paul has raised in our minds. What we have to understand, however, is that in this life there is no single, concentrated, all-embracing expression anywhere on the earth of the glory and majesty of God in His Church. There is no single denomination nor single community anywhere that is able to express the fullness of what God has purposed for His Church. That does not mean it isn’t there or that the message of Ephesians 3:10 has no practical relevance or application in this life What we have to understand is that in this world God’s people and God’s gifts are scattered among a myriad local fellowships and denominations. God’s glory, so focused in heaven, is obscured on earth by the many conflicting cultures, biblical viewpoints, human expectations, traditions and theologies that seem to typify the earthly expressions of the Church. From time to time, however, we are given the wonderful privilege of catching a fleeting glimpse of God’s glory and wisdom in His Church as “we squint through the fog”.
The challenge of 3:10
We may be limited in our vision of the Church but we cannot avoid the challenge of Ephesians 3:10. Working out that challenge as imperfect people in an imperfect local fellowship of believers is never easy, especially if we keep our focus only on the Church as we know and experience it. We have to look beyond what we can see and direct our attention to what God says about His Church even when our experiences appear to run counter to everything God has said.
I see TWO important challenges arising from the revelation we are given in Ephesians 3:10:
1. Learning to live in a state of holy dissatisfaction.
I cannot recall who coined the phrase “holy dissatisfaction” but it a phrase that stuck in my mind. Its antithesis is an unholy dissatisfaction. An unholy dissatisfaction is a state of mind that leaves us always complaining, never satisfied and inevitably moving from local church to local church in search of something better. God does not want that in His children. It does not honour Him. It is unhelpful to the local fellowship of believers. It can be destructive to the individual and to the fellowship. It does not build up but rather pulls down.
In contrast, a holy dissatisfaction recognises our and the Church’s imperfections yet holds fast to the truth that God is at work in us and in His Church. We remain at peace even as we continue to press on towards the goal, seeking after better and higher things. To borrow from Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13:12: “We may not see things clearly. We may be squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But we know and are inwardly persuaded that it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!” And that, dear friends, is a holy dissatisfaction – knowing that we and the Church are not there yet, but in God’s time we and God’s Church will arrive there and see the beauty of God’s plan and design.
2. Only God can produce the change
We are not God and therefore it is God alone who is able to bring about the change that will transform a local fellowship. However, while only God can produce the change He does use human instruments through which to effect His purposes on earth. While our contribution may often seem insignificant, only God can see and evaluate the effectiveness of what we have done in His name. Everything that is offered to the Father in the name of Jesus is gathered by the Master tapestry-maker and woven into the perfect design of His tapestry. No gift, no prayer, no struggle made in Jesus’s name, however small and seemingly insignificant it may appear to us, is ever wasted. These are the threads that God is weaving into His tapestry. And one day we shall see the beauty of the design and hear Him say “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
Never in the world have I seen anything more obscurantist, more compromised, more false, yet never have I touched anything more pure, more generous or more beautiful. (Correto speaking about the Church).
If you have a question or a comment about this series please feel free to write to me, Brian, at
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