For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:1-6).

Most Bible scholars believe that, with verse 1, Paul intended to begin his prayer which concludes the chapter. But he interrupts himself to write about the role he’s been given in God’s great work of redemption. Because of this role, he has become a prisoner in a Roman jail. Imprisonment is no big deal for him, it simply offers a different venue by which to carry out the mission he has been given.

Paul’s role of administering God’s grace is his concern in these verses. He calls it “the mystery of Christ.” This mystery is what all those saints in the litany of faith from Hebrews 11 were looking forward to. It is something that used to be hidden, but which now in Christ has been revealed.

This ‘mystery of Christ’ has to do with these Gentiles (non-Israelites). What God has revealed is that in Christ these Gentiles are now included in God’s great work of redemption. That is, the work begun in and through Israel as recorded in the Old Testament. To know what God is doing in Christ, we need to be familiar with that story.

But, of course, the fact that the Gentiles were going to benefit was already known long ago. God had promised Abraham, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). So, what new thing did Paul learn?

The very same thing that all of us learn at the heart of the Christian faith: that in the cross of Christ, all things are reconciled, including Jews and Gentiles. When Paul says the word “mystery,” he very often means “the cross of Christ.”

When Christ tore down the “dividing wall of hostility” through his cross—he not only took the penalty for our sin and defeated death—he also joined once disparate peoples together. In his cross, he overcame great divisions. The people of God is now composed of both Abraham’s descendants and everyone else who believes. They all become “the church” together.

In an age in which division perforates the church, it is important for us to hear this message of the gospel. The divisions we feel are not primarily about Jews and Gentiles (though that has recently arisen again as a point of contention)—but about politics, ethics, and national identities.

But no matter ones’ politics, ethics, or national identities—all those who come to Christ in faith are nevertheless made into one body. Through the gospel of the cross of Christ, we all become “heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”

We are, therefore, to live unity. We are not asked to like other Christians, to be like them, or agree with them—but simply to recognize that humbling fact that we are one with them as sharers of the same Lord and the same benefits. This is indeed a great mystery. But it is the mystery of the cross, the mystery we have been given. May God’s kingdom come and will be done—even in this, on earth as it is in heaven.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

In Christ Jesus the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit (Ephesians 2:21-22).

What images come to mind when you hear the word ‘church’? For many, it’s a building, such as the one at 61 Mohawk Road West, Hamilton, where the Immanuel congregation, which I pastor, gathers to worship God on Sundays, where we go for mid-week ministries and meetings. After all, we often refer to such a building as ‘our church’. We invest ourselves into that building and the things that happen there. Time, money, talents are all committed to ensure that things continue to run as smoothly as possible.

For others, the word church summons up images of people. The ones who sit around us on Sundays. Those that we have become friends with over the years, maybe some we grew up with. Some have walked with us in tough times. Others were our teachers in spiritual things. They nurtured our faith; they helped us grow as Christians.

Yet for others, church conjures up difficult images. Disappointment from being neglected in a time of need. Rejected because we walked away at one time. Shame for not measuring up. Or deep hurt from being used or abused by those in authority. Though it may seem all put together on the outside, often the church has dark stains hiding underneath the carpet.

Such are the things that the word church suggests to us. Yet in today’s text we are invited to view the church from a different perspective. To see what lies behind the building, beyond the people, deeper than the dark stains that deeply damage the church’s witness.

We are often tempted to believe that our time, talent, and treasure are what hold the church together and keeps her going. As useful and necessary as these are, it is Christ Jesus that binds and sustains the church. It is not primarily the preachers that bring in the people, it is Jesus. It is Jesus who builds his church. Even though we will continue to say, ‘my church’, and ‘your church’, we must recognize that these phrases are inaccurate. The church, the congregation, does not belong to us, nor to the pastors. People may come and go from our fellowship and church buildings will continue to be built and sold for other purposes. Despite the apparent transitory nature of things, Christ holds his church together.

In our text, notice that we Christians are not doing anything. All the action belongs to Christ, and to God. The church is not primarily what we do, but what God does to us and for us, she is the grand work of God. Five passive verbs are used to tell us how we get included in the action: we are brought near (13), the Spirit gives us access (18), we are built upon the foundation (20), we are joined together (21), we are built together (22). When we are pulled into the action, it is God who pulls us in. Already now, despite all our imperfections and distorted power plays and wrangling over the most minor issues, we are being gathered as the temple of God; the Holy Spirit already lives within the church.

The church is much more than what meets the eye, it is more than the building and more than the people. It is the work of Christ, who is ‘growing up’ a people who worship him, a people who are learning to follow his Word and Spirit, a people who increasingly live under the sway of his kingdom. People who are not static, but people who are maturing, who begin as acorns and grow to be oak trees.

It is not our actions but God’s that are most important in the church. There is far more to the church then what we see. Like an iceberg, we only see the tip. We see the people, the buildings, the programs, but underneath, far larger and for more important and influential is the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church is not a building. Rather, we are the building material Christ is using to build his church. It is the place where God welcomes us home. Next time you hear the word church, imagine that.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:19-20)

If you recall from last week, Paul reminded these gentiles in Ephesus of how they were once defined by all the things they were not: “Not-Jews” “Uncircumcised.” “Separate from Christ.” “Excluded from citizenship.” “Foreigners to the covenants of the promise.” “Without hope.” “Without God in the world.” Seven negative identity markers covering all the things that the Ephesians were not.

How many of us define ourselves this way—by our deficiencies, by what we are not or by what we do not have? “Not skinny enough.” “Excluded from the property market of our peers.” “Not part of the group.” “Don’t belong.” “Not enough money.” “Not what she has.” “Not what he can do.” “Not happy.” “Without the right job.” Many of us do this. It is much easier to see what’s lacking in our lives than to see all the things we do, in fact, have.

How many of us define our experience of church the same way? By what it isn’t? “Not welcoming enough.” “Not my style.” “Not progressive enough.” “Not conservative enough.” “Not loving enough.” “Not serving enough.” “Not enough money.” “Not enough volunteers.” “Not the right programs.” “Not diverse enough.” “Not doing enough.” “Without all the people who used to attend.” “Without hope.”

Our eyes get good at seeing the things we pay attention to. And what we human people tend to pay the most attention to are all the things that aren’t there. The things that should be better, fuller, faster, more pleasing, and more aligned to our values, but aren’t. As Christians, this simply is the wrong way to see the world. It is an immature way of using our capacity of attention.

Paul will have none of it. In Jesus Christ, neither we nor the church are defined any longer by what we are not, but instead, by what we are. We are defined by what he has made us to be. So Paul now begins rattling off the positive identities we have received in Christ through the peace and salvation he has given. We are “fellow citizens.” “With God’s people.” “Members of his household.” “Built on the foundation of those faithful ones who have gone before throughout the generations, including Jesus Christ himself.”

We are to train our attention on the unseen things, yes. But not the unseen things that are missing. Our eyes are to be trained for the unseen things that are there: reality as it really is. Like a Holy Spirit stirring about, forming Christ in us. A God who has always provided and will continue to do so out of his Creation of abundance. A living Lord who beckons us to see his gifts that are abundantly more than all we could ask or imagine.

If we are to live Christian lives, we need to know who and what we are, not what we aren’t. And we need to know what the church is too, rather than what it isn’t. The church is the place where we citizens of God’s household and Kingdom gather to train our eyes to see the unseen reality of a living God at work, making us ever more fully into who we already are in Jesus Christ: giving us every good gift with which to bless this world along the way.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)