Day 16: Ephesians 3: 10-13: God's Wisdom Displayed Through the Church

The church is God's living testimony to His wisdom and grace.

God's wisdom is being made known through the church. Through ordinary believers united in Christ, God's redemptive plan becomes visible to the world and even to spiritual powers and heavenly places.

Reflection: What qualities make a church community beautiful and compelling?

Transcript

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Welcome back, everyone, and happy Monday. Today we start week four in our Ephesians study. We're in day 16 together, and our topic is God's Wisdom Displayed Through the Church. Excited about today because we started getting to this a little bit last week when we were talking about being citizens and family and all a part of one family in Christ. Our passage is Ephesians chapter 3, verses 10 through 13. Let's start reading together. This is so that God's multifaceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens. This is according to his eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him we have boldness and confident access through faith in him. So then, I ask you not to be discouraged over my afflictions on your behalf, for they are your glory. Amen. The church is God's living testimony to his wisdom and grace. Let's dig deeper. This is a big statement in Ephesians. God's wisdom is displayed through the church. It's not through Rome, it's not through armies or kings or temples. It's through the church. And just for those who are new here, when we say church, we're not talking about one building or one denomination of believers. The church is comprised of every single believer on earth. All of us make up the whole body of the church. The church is the body of Christ, and we are his body. We are his church. Think about Ephesus. People admired the temple of Artemis. Its columns stretched nearly 60 feet high. Pilgrims came from around the empire to visit it. It symbolized wealth, beauty, power. But God is saying, my masterpiece isn't that temple, it's my people. These people who are in house churches, people who were former idol worshipers, widows, merchants, slaves, Jews and Gentiles, people who otherwise would never sit together. And somehow when they gather around Christ, heaven itself takes notice. I'm not sure I've ever realized that about this verse. Paul mentions rulers and authorities in heavenly places. And I think it's important to remember that Ephesians lived in a culture fascinated with spiritual powers. They were part of amulets, magic scrolls, incantations, protective charms. People feared unseen forces. And Paul is saying something extraordinary. The church itself proclaims to spiritual powers that Christ has won. Every act of forgiveness, every display of unity, every reconciliation, every transformed life declares God's wisdom. Today we often ask ourselves, what can church do for me? But Paul is asking a different question. What is God displaying through his church? Because the church is not simply a gathering, it is God's witness to heaven and earth. The church is God's living testimony to his wisdom and grace. As we head out today, let's reflect on this question. What qualities make a church community beautiful and compelling? What qualities make a church community beautiful and compelling? This is a great question. Tomorrow we meet. I'm so excited. Love you guys. Talk to you tomorrow.