“To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ephesians 3:10-11)
The wonder of the church is not that we are a perfect people, but that we are a “purchased by the blood of Christ” people (Acts 20:28).
We must worship as those who recognize
- the greatness of the church,
- the awesomeness of the Lord,
- the wonder of His grace,
- and the wonderfulness of salvation found in Christ!
The ‘winds of change’ are blowing around the world among God’s people … and like it or not … there must be a ‘line in the sand’ between what we want and what God wants.
The more the church becomes like the world, the more difficult it is to distinguish between the real and the counterfeit!
What we see in a local body of Christians is a mixture of good/bad, wheat/tares, strong/weak.
All of that being said, with all of her spots and wrinkles, the church is still the “body of Christ” in this world (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:23-32; 1 Corinthians 12:27).
And make no mistake about it … He delights in our worship.
We are spending less and less time worshipping our God because we seem to have more important things to do … you know … going to the movies, sports events, get-togethers, or any number of activities that we choose.
I just wonder how much more of the Lord’s Day we are going to cut out to address other interests in our lives.
Some Christians still seem to think that in the spiritual realm man is central. We persist in emphasizing what God can do for men, rather than dwelling on man’s duty toward God.
While no local congregation is perfect … it can at least strive to be “true” … to the Lord … to His Book … to His Will.
And when the world sees us bending over backward to faithfully worship our God, we should be able to explain the why … and the joy … and the blessings associated with serving the One True Living God!
When was the last time you found yourself on your knees in prayer?
In appreciation of this mystery, the apostle Paul said in Ephesians 3:14-18 “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fulness of God.”
It is my earnest plea that our Father in Heaven finds us often bowing on our knees, praying for victory in everything pleasing in His sight and defeat in everything that would lead His church in a direction not pleasing to Him.
“For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.” (Psalm 149:4)
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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