Ephesians 4 vs 1-16

[0:00] David. Well, God, we give you thanks for all that you are doing in the world and in our lives.

[0:12] God, we give you thanks for Christ Jesus. We give you thanks that he has died for us to forgive us our trespasses and rose for our justification.

[0:26] That he has indeed risen from the grave and ascended into heaven to the right hand of God. We give you thanks for him who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

[0:39] We give you thanks for in his victory he has also taken us with him. The immeasurable greatness of his power to those who believe.

[0:50] Lord, we give you thanks. Give you praise and all glory in Christ's name. And we pray that you would open our hearts. Speak to us by your spirit as we open your living word.

[1:03] In Jesus' name and for his glory. Amen. Well, this morning we're in Ephesians chapter 4.

[1:14] We've reached the second half. And we're going to be reading from verses 1 to 16. Before that I want to ask a couple of questions.

[1:31] If Jesus himself, Jesus as we know from the Gospels, if Jesus was to walk in Bells Hill, say for 33 years, what kind of impact would that have on this place?

[1:50] Or if Jesus himself was to walk in Bells Hill even for a year or a month or a week or a day, if Jesus as we know him was to walk in Bells Hill even for a day, what kind of impact would that have?

[2:09] If Jesus was to walk in Bells Hill for a day or a week or a month, what would the reports be? What would people at the checkouts be saying or people at the bus stop when they were chatting?

[2:23] Did you see that Jesus fellow the other day? What do you make of the things he was saying and doing? What would the reports be if Jesus were to walk in Bells Hill? And perhaps you know your Gospels well enough to know that no one really said of Jesus, oh yes, Jesus, what a nice man.

[2:41] Anyway, miserable weather we're having, isn't it? What bus are you waiting on? Nobody really said that about Jesus. Jesus never left any room for people to think he was merely nice and then simply get on with their lives.

[2:57] If Jesus was merely nice, he wouldn't have been crucified. Did he attract people? Yes, by the thousands. But many of them, most of them, turned away as well.

[3:09] If Jesus was to walk in Bells Hill, he would definitely make an impact. But that doesn't mean the whole of Bells Hill would suddenly believe and be saved.

[3:20] Some would love him. Others would misunderstand him and yet others would hate him. Some would come to him and others would reject him. Some would believe that he is in fact the Son of God and others, they wouldn't simply have this mild notion that he was some ancient moral teacher.

[3:40] They would know what he claimed to be and they would reject him. If Jesus was to walk in Bells Hill, here are the two things. Number one, it would make an impact.

[3:52] And number two, it would be mixed. And the reason I say the first thing is ahead of this huge challenge to us all. And the reason I say the second thing is to encourage us in light of that challenge so that we're not tempted to despair.

[4:08] So here's the challenge. If this church, Bells Hill Baptist Church, is the body of Christ locally, then only counting this church, for example, Jesus has walked in Bells Hill for 127 years.

[4:26] Bells Hill Baptist Church founded in 1893, and as long as this church has been in Bells Hill, as long as there have been saints, true believers in this church, then Jesus has walked in Bells Hill for 127 years.

[4:41] As long as this church still is the body of Christ locally, then Jesus will continue to walk in Bells Hill. So the challenge is, what impact is this church as the body of Christ making?

[4:55] That's a huge challenge. But so that we're not tempted to despair, so that we're not tempted to despair, or be discouraged, we must remember that just like Jesus, that impact won't always look like success.

[5:10] A lot of people were against Jesus. A lot of people just plainly rejected Jesus. And many others who seemed like they followed him eventually turned their backs on him.

[5:20] Walking as the body of Christ has mixed impact on the community. And I'm sure many of you can think of times when someone has loved the church. Some have come, some have been with you, other times people have been against you.

[5:36] Other times people have just plainly rejected what you have to say. And other times yet, people who you thought were with you suddenly turned away. It's not unusual.

[5:48] It happened to Jesus. If you are the body of Christ locally in Bells Hill, you should expect to make an impact. That's the challenge. Yet if you are the body of Christ locally in Bells Hill, you should expect that impact to be very mixed.

[6:04] So don't be tempted to despair. Don't be tempted to be discouraged at how that impact should look. Being Christ-like doesn't necessarily mean being merely nice or liked or successful in the world's eyes.

[6:19] So the question remains, if Bells Hill Baptist Church is the body of Christ locally, then as a church, how do you walk? What are the reports when people see you walk as a church together?

[6:33] The way the church functions together, what does that look like to others? What manner are you walking in? And with that, let's read the passage.

[6:43] Ephesians 4, verse 1 to 16. I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.

[7:08] There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

[7:25] But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men.

[7:37] And saying he ascended, what does it mean but that he also descended into the lower regions, the earth. He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all things.

[7:50] And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes.

[8:24] Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head and to Christ from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped when each part is working properly makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

[8:45] Amen. Ephesus, I'm sure, we've been in the context before is a major, major city of influence. Ephesus, it's an impressive place with an impressive religion and we must remember this as it's likely in the minds of the Christians that Paul is writing to, how they compare, how the churches compare to this impressive religion of Ephesus with the impressive and massive temple of Artemis, the statues, the idols and all the trimmings, the business, the followers, the sensuality and all that, the church of Jesus to the unregenerate eye just seems to pale in comparison and there's a reason that the letter to the Ephesians is one of the most sublime books in the Bible.

[9:34] It hints at the kind of context it's written to, the kind of place that it's countering. Aside from Romans, Ephesians has been called the Rolls Royce of the Epistles, the quintessence of and the crown of Paulism, the divinest composition of man, the distilled essence of the Christian religion, the most authoritative and most consummate compendium of the Christian faith, filled to the brim with thoughts and doctrines sublime and momentous.

[10:05] Ephesians is the book that you go to for a high and proper view of ecclesiology. It's the epistle that tells us the truth about the church that is not yet visible to those human eyes.

[10:19] So when the Ephesian believers get a letter from the notable Apostle Paul, he's getting at something by calling himself a prisoner for the Lord.

[10:30] He's getting at something by saying that. See, there are certain things that just don't fit with the ways of the world. The ways of the world that Paul challenges.

[10:43] In a Roman culture, it doesn't fit that a husband should love his wife to the point of self-sacrifice and death. Or how children should be treated, how the family should balance.

[10:55] It doesn't fit how masters and servants should treat one another with respect. It doesn't fit with a Roman culture. Or that one chosen as an ambassador for a glorious kingdom, chosen to be a minister of a mystery now revealed, chosen to lay the foundation, should also be one who is a prisoner.

[11:16] That doesn't fit with the ways of the world. Now I'm sure there were rumours going about about Paul. There were lies about all his suffering, imprisonment, what that indicated about him, lies about what his situation said about his message and about his ministry, and lies about what that means for those churches like in Ephesus.

[11:39] But we already know from the previous chapters that Paul is not ashamed and that no one should lose heart over what he's going through. He says that he's not merely a prisoner but a prisoner for the Lord.

[11:52] And he's already said who the Lord is so he's not embarrassed or ashamed. He's not ashamed at all at what the world thinks are unimpressive or weak. And neither should we because the cosmic reality, the cosmic reality of all this is quite different to how things actually appear on the ground.

[12:13] See, the Lord has risen. The Lord has victorious, conquered the powers of darkness. Paul has been talking about this up until this point. Over every dominion, ruler, authority, Christ is head over all, over all things, the name above every name, Paul is not ashamed to be a prisoner for the Lord because he knows who the Lord is and the Lord is in control and he knows what the church is.

[12:42] But Paul says in that statement twice, I am a prisoner for the Lord. A prisoner for the Lord, Paul says, chapter 3, verse 1, and then in chapter 4, verse 1.

[12:53] Now you could read from the end of chapter 2 comfortably into chapter 4 but you would miss so much. It's supposed to follow that way. 2 into 4 but 3 is a vital addition to strengthen the connection between the first half of Ephesians and the second half.

[13:09] I want you to know as we've said before where all this is going is how we should walk. Paul says, I therefore as a prisoner for the Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

[13:25] So, let me just draw on the first three chapters of Ephesians to answer the question, what is the calling? if any of us are believers here, what's the calling to which we have been called?

[13:39] Who are we? What are we? How is that supposed to reflect on how we walk together? Well, this is what Paul says the church is. This is what Paul says the church in Bells Hill is.

[13:51] That you, you are saints in your locale, faithful in Christ Jesus, blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love, predestined by God for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, purposed in his will to the praise of his glorious grace, blessed in the beloved, redeemed through his blood, forgiven of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, knowing the mystery of his will, obtaining an inheritance in him, predestined according to his purpose, having hope in Christ, believing in him, sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, inheritance guaranteed, called to a hope, into a glorious inheritance of the saints, the product of the immeasurable greatness of his power, worked through Christ, who is raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, above every name, with all things under his feet, giving his head over all things to the church, which is his body, which you are his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all, that you, once dead in your trespasses in which you once walked, now loved and now made alive together with Christ, raised up with him and seated with him in the heavenly places, you are his workmanship, created in

[15:23] Christ Jesus by his grace, brought near by his blood, made at peace, broken down hostility, created in himself as a new humanity, made fellow citizens and members of the household of God, you are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ is the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

[15:52] Walk in a manner of that calling. That is who you are in Christ. That is who we are and that is how we should walk. Once you were this and you walked in that, now you are this, so walk in that.

[16:07] See, the body of Christ isn't just some nice metaphor. What Paul reveals about Christ in this letter is absolutely majestic and sublime. And what he reveals about the church is in a similar manner because the church is the thing that Jesus not only created but created in himself.

[16:26] And that's how the church is the body of Christ. And so when the church should walk, it should walk as Christ to the world. Now what does that look like? What does it look like to walk as Christ to the world?

[16:40] Well, by no means an exhaustive list, but Paul says with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain, the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace.

[16:55] When you have a proper view of who Jesus really is, you begin to understand the extent of his humility. You can only understand the extent of his humility when you really see who he is.

[17:07] That's what Philippians 2 says, isn't it? When you realize who he really is, then it's no surprise to see his gentleness and patience and love, is it? Because if we don't see the incredible gentleness, the unbelievable patience and the amazing love of God throughout the whole Old Testament, then we don't know God in the Old Testament.

[17:30] We totally miss him unless we see his incredible gentleness in the Old Testament, his unbelievable patience with his people in the Old Testament, and his amazing love towards humanity.

[17:43] That is God. And Jesus helps us see that because he is God in flesh, God embodied. the fullness of God, pleased to dwell in Christ.

[17:56] That's who we see. So it's no surprise that these are the qualities of how we should walk. This is what it should look like when we are Christ to the world. See, these simple characteristics might not seem out of this world, but they are the very characteristics of God himself, bearing with one another in love.

[18:16] I mean, who has done that more than God himself? Isn't that exactly what God does? Exactly what we see in Jesus, bearing with people in love, maintaining the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.

[18:29] Isn't that exactly what it is like for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Unity and peace. And we are brought into that. We are invited into that.

[18:42] In Christ. And Paul then reminds us of the unity that we have with each other. He says, there is one body and one spirit.

[18:53] Just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

[19:05] See, there isn't many paths to God. There isn't a second blessing. There isn't another baptism. There isn't another faith. There isn't another body or spirit or Lord or God. there is one that you are either part of or none at all.

[19:19] Our unity is in who we belong to, who we are called by, who we are made by, whose body we are made new by, and whose spirit made us new. We are one in who our Lord is, one Lord, and what our faith is, one faith, and who we are baptized into, one baptism, and by who our God and Father is, one God.

[19:48] We are one in him, all of us together in one body. This is where our unity is. Our unity is not in other things, it's in this, the truth of this. See, there is one body, and then Paul says, but grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

[20:07] And this is our diversity. See, both these things are part of what makes us walk as we should. Both these things are needed in order that we should walk as the body of Christ.

[20:20] See, the kind of unity Paul is talking about is not simply getting along together, or tolerance, like the world would have you think. Unity is not something irrespective of truth.

[20:32] All the more so, there is both unity and diversity. Truth cannot fit into both of these categories at the same time. Unless you have unity in the truth, you either have no unity or no truth.

[20:43] If you have a diversity of truth, then whatever your unity is, it's not a unity in truth. But what Paul is talking about is unity in something that includes truth. So the diversity isn't a diversity of truth, or views, or beliefs, or doctrines, all of which he'll make further clarification.

[21:02] See, the diversity is not in our views, and our doctrines, or understandings, or truths. We are united in truth, and one truth, and one faith, one Lord.

[21:13] But we are diverse in our function in the body as individual parts that belong to the whole body. That's our diversity. It's not that we all believe different things and get along.

[21:25] It's that we all function in different ways in the one body, and because of such, we function together in unity, and we can walk as we should. Paul says in Corinthians, does he not, that not all are ears, or eyes, or hands, or feet.

[21:39] Are all parts of the body the same? No. It can't be. It just cannot be. And are all parts of the body made to function the same way?

[21:50] No. But they're made differently, but to function together. Every single part with a function, but working together contributing to the whole. And that's the thing, how can the body walk unless all of its parts are working together to make it do so?

[22:06] How can we walk in a manner worthy of our calling unless we all, each one of us, as we are given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift? How can we do that unless we function as we are made together with the rest of the whole body to build up as the whole?

[22:23] Now, what is the grace given according to Christ's gift? Because every single person in Christ has it. There are not just a few elite gifted people in the church.

[22:35] Every single member of the body of Christ has this grace given by the measure of Christ's gift. Every one of us, a part to play. Every one of us being gloriously created and transformed into a part of his body.

[22:52] Participating with the whole, working with the whole to make the whole walk. What is it then? Well, it's not merely talents or abilities, though that might play a part, but rather something that Paul describes as supernatural, given by the Spirit, unique to each one of us.

[23:13] By something supernatural, I don't mean some thing like a particular supernatural ability, but rather that who you are and what you contribute to the body, you can only be and do by the work of the Spirit.

[23:27] So we don't necessarily need to all go searching to find what our label is. We don't need to find a label and say, yeah, this is me, I've got this supernatural gift. Now, we don't need to do that to know what our gift is or what we have or how we can use it.

[23:45] Certainly it would be wise to try and understand what we are and what we are not. But it's not always as simple as being labelled. Am I saying that there's more gifts than what Paul lists?

[23:58] I'm not saying that. Rather, I am merely trying to say, whether we know it or not, every single one of us has a function in the body. And whatever it is, whatever the grace given by the measure of Christ's gift, it's not supposed to function apart from the body.

[24:15] It's not given so that we can individually use or thing, but so that as part of the body we can work together for the body, so that we can walk together as Christ to the world. So the question is, if each one of us here, any of us in Christ, has been given grace by the measure of Christ's gift, do you know what that is?

[24:38] There's something to think about. And also, do you know that you are not an appendix in the body of Christ? You have a function.

[24:51] He has a function for you. He chose you. You're his. He wants you to hang about with him for all eternity.

[25:03] He values you so much that he would place you in his body as a functioning part to move his body in this world. Is that not amazing? Is that not encouraging?

[25:14] You know, a bystander, someone in the background of the body of Christ? A vital part of his body. The only way this church, as a body of Christ locally, can walk in a manner worthy of the calling is if every diverse part of the body functions in the unity of that body.

[25:33] And if you believe in Jesus, that he is the Christ, the Son of God, then he has made you part of his body locally and has given you grace according to the measure of his gift, so that you individually can help the body walk.

[25:47] How the walk of the church looks to the world is down to if and how all the diverse individual parts of the body work in unity as one, the body of Christ. That's how the body of Christ looks to the world is down to how each part works together to move it.

[26:05] And Paul does give specifics, doesn't he? He does. He says, Christ, who ascended on high and led a host of captives, he gave gifts to men. Christ is the one who gave the gift.

[26:19] We must always remember that, mustn't we? Paul says that in chapter 2, by grace you have been saved. By grace you have been saved. It's not of your own doing, it's the gift of God. Not a result of works so that no one may boast.

[26:32] See, we are as a workmanship, created in Christ for good works. Christ has given each one of us a gift to the body because he is the one that has the victory.

[26:44] He's the one that rose from the dead and ascended on high into heaven, to the right hand of God, seated above all authority, all dominion, all rule, all power.

[26:58] Christ is the one who leads a host of captives free, breaks them free. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that amazing in Colossians when he talks about that, putting them to shame, disarming them?

[27:12] The one who took, who rescued us, who took us out of a kingdom of darkness, the domain of darkness, transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son.

[27:24] Christ has the victory and he has given gifts. He's given apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. Now why does Paul specifically mention these ones? Not because these are the only ones.

[27:36] No, that's not why. But he mentions these ones because these are the ones that equip all the saints, the whole body. These are the ones who equip the whole body for the work of ministry.

[27:50] See, it's not these select few that do the work of ministry. It's the whole body, all the saints. These are not the only gifts. As earlier in the passage, he's talking about every single Christian, not just this group.

[28:03] These are the ones who equip. They're specifically tasked. Notice it. Notice each one of these apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. They're the ones tasked with truth.

[28:15] They're the ones who take the word of God and bring it to bear on the lives of all the saints. Why? To equip the saints for the work of ministry. That is to equip the saints for building up the body of Christ until we all attain the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

[28:39] Attaining the unity of the faith. See, our unity must be in the truth, specifically the truth of who Christ is and what he is doing and who we are in him. See, we can only walk in a manner worthy of the calling when each part, the diversity of the body, when each part functions with every other part in unity and the unity of the truth, the true faith, true doctrine.

[29:00] And that is what these apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers, they're the ones tasked and trusted with the truth to bring it to light, to bring it to bear on the lives of the whole body.

[29:18] So that we attend to the unity of that faith. So that we are in the unity of that truth. There's not many truths. We need people to bring the truth so that we're all in the unity of the truth.

[29:35] Otherwise, our unity is nothing at all. Otherwise, we will be always like children tossed to and fro by waves, carried about by every wind of doctrine, taken by human cunning, directed by craftiness and deceitful schemes.

[29:52] That's what will happen if we're not united in the truth. And if we don't have people bringing the truth to bear on the lives of each one of the saints. So that the saints can do the work.

[30:03] And it's not that these are the only ones that speak the truth. All the saints then bring the truth to bear on the lives of one another to build up the body. See, Paul says, rather speaking the truth in love.

[30:16] These specific people, apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers, they're the communicators of truth. The apostles and prophets having laid the foundation in Paul being one of them. Not that any one of us cannot speak the truth, but that it is Christ's gift to the church.

[30:33] See, that's a provision of Christ, a grace of God to give his church people who will proclaim the truth about himself to all the saints that they might be united, not confused, not taken away by human cunning or deceitfulness, but they might be firm in the truth of who he is, the saving truth of who he is.

[30:54] That is a provision and a grace of God that he would give gifts so that we are not in fear of any falsehood but the truth of Christ, that we would be united and built up in it, speaking the truth in love.

[31:08] And it's not merely about speaking true things to some issue, but doing it with love or trying to do it out of love like tough love. That may well be included, but the context here is rather about the unity of the faith, the true doctrine as compared with every other wind of doctrine.

[31:26] It's about speaking the true gospel and doing so in the same love in which it was delivered in Christ Jesus. See, this is how we will grow up in every way into Christ who is the head, from who the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped.

[31:44] When each part is working properly, each diverse saint functioning in unity makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. This is how the church matures into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

[31:59] This is how the church walks in a manner worthy of the calling. This is how when the church walks, it will have an impact, the same impact of Christ himself walking in this place.

[32:13] See, your individual function as a Christian is to help the whole church walk as Christ to their town. So what does that look like? What does it look like here, now, in 2020?

[32:29] Well, if you'll allow me a very brief clumsy example, I'm not sure it looks like this. I'm not sure that it looks like someone like myself leading an entire service because I think you'll probably all have noticed at some point previously that there's been times where I've looked like an ear trying to be an eye.

[32:54] Clumsy. I'm not, not one of us are given to do all things in the body. Not one of us are all parts of the body.

[33:07] It doesn't work like that. It's a grace of God that it doesn't work like that. Of course, the life of the church is more than a Sunday service. I know that. But I wonder if it's helpful to start thinking about what everyone's function is and that everyone indeed does have a function in the life of the church.

[33:25] Not necessarily on a Sunday, but the life of the church. Every single person has a function. Some might be more obvious than others. Some might be more upfront than others. And that's just the way it is with the body, isn't it?

[33:38] But I don't, but I do think when the whole body locally gathers together that we should see that diversity of the body working in unity. We should see something of that.

[33:49] Not just during the service, but before and after. Leading up to and leading out of. And again, I'm not trying to change things or shake anything up or anything. Having been invited a few times, I'm very thankful.

[34:01] And actually, I've had nothing but encouragement and grace and kindness. I've been greatly encouraged to see people working together and doing things. I love that you had that lunch the other time and I was sad that I couldn't stay and join you with it.

[34:17] But it was great to see people doing different things, serving one another, being Christ together. Great. I love it. I love being here.

[34:27] I'm so grateful and thankful for you and having me here. And I've been encouraged every time I've been here. So I'm not trying to do anything other than that. But I'm, you know, I'm quite unaware of how particular things work.

[34:43] I wasn't brought up in church. I wasn't brought up as a Christian at all. Became a Christian at 20. And have a very limited experience of church life. I didn't really know what was the norm here when I first came here.

[34:59] And I guess that became very apparent and quickly you all noticed that. But I'm just trying to encourage you all with the points that we started out with. If you, as the church, are the body of Christ locally, how does each diverse part function in the unity so that you walk as Christ in Bells Hill?

[35:19] How does that work? That's what we need to be thinking about. That's the challenge. Otherwise, the world might see a limping Jesus or one that is young like a child tossed to and fro and doesn't know where it stands on things.

[35:33] But the point is, whether you are one of the most up front or not parts of the body, what people would see is Christ. That's what we want. We don't want people to see me or you.

[35:44] We want people to see Christ when they see the church. It's not about the pastor. It's not even about the apostle. Not about Paul. It's about Christ. It will be, in this thing, it will be about one of us.

[35:59] That's what it will become. It will become about one of us if one of us is doing all the things. Then it will become about one of us. But when we walk together, when we all work together, in the diverse ways in which we have been made, the grace we have each been given, each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift, when we function that way together, people won't see one of us.

[36:29] People will see Christ. That's what people will see. That's an amazing thing. That's our tandem of unity of the faith and diversity of function. People will see something of Christ in us as we are his body locally.

[36:43] And like the Ephesian Christians we are reminded of, likewise, we should be encouraged and reminded that this isn't what we should do to become that.

[36:55] Rather, it's not that we should do this so that we can become this. It's about who we really are. And so we should walk in a manner worthy of that.

[37:06] Who we really are in Christ. We should grow up into that so that we can walk as such. So, if you don't yet believe in Jesus, don't be fooled by what is only visible to the human eye.

[37:22] And if you are, if you are in Christ, don't be discouraged by what's on the ground or what you see. There is so much more than meets the eye. Jesus is doing something absolutely amazing and sublime in himself with his people.

[37:38] With you. And me. With each one of you. He's doing something incredible. It's just not yet visible. We are hidden with Christ in God. When he who is your life appears, then so will you to the world.

[37:54] And you know that. You experience that, don't you? The world doesn't yet know that Christ really is the Lord. And we ourselves, we seldom realize how majestic Christ is.

[38:08] Or where he is seated above all things. We need to be reminded, encouraged, strengthened in our faith that we can trust Christ, what he's doing, where he is, who he is. He is above all things.

[38:21] He has all things in hand, David reminds me. David reminds me of that. I'm sure you remind each other, don't you? We need that encouragement all the time. He has it in hand and he is good.

[38:32] And he's above all things, reconciling all things to himself, in himself, making all things new, creating in himself a new humanity. He's amazing.

[38:46] He's absolutely incredible and the world doesn't see it and we don't physically see it but we trust it. We know it. by his spirit we are convicted of it and we should strengthen each other in it because it is true.

[39:00] There's more than meets the eye and my prayer is that we would be encouraged, that we would see that in the church, that he would come to know his power towards those who believe, to be created new, part of the new humanity in himself that we will live forever with him.

[39:14] So, as Paul says, let us walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called. And the encouragement is we have been called to this calling and it is absolutely astounding.

[39:32] And we are encouraged to walk in the manner of that by working together in the diverse way in which he has given us but in the unity of the truth for his glory so that in Bell's Hill and not to be discouraged because it brings a mixed, mixed impact.

[39:48] And you'll see that but that Christ would be walking in Bell's Hill and that people by seeing this church would see Christ in their midst. That's what we ought to be.

[40:00] That is who we are. And Christ is doing something amazing with it. So be encouraged. Walk in a manner worthy of your calling and work together in unity and diversity for his glory for his name's sake and we give thanks in his name.

[40:18] Amen. Well let's sing together. We're going to sing a few words