The church, as God has intended it, is a supernatural community. But sometimes there is huge gap between theory and practice. “The church must be the church” is a popular expression but is more easily said than done. But it must be done, and this was Paul’s burden for the church at Ephesus.

He was concerned that the Ephesians come to appreciate the glory of being the church. And he was concerned that they express the glory of the church as they lived together as the community of faith. He wanted the doctrine he taught about the church to be put into practice. And so he turns, in the closing verses of chapter 3, from exposition to intercession.

The ability to form and retain memories is a wonderful thing. It must be a terrible thing, on the other hand, to lack this ability. Psalm 126 speaks to us very clearly about the importance of remembering God’s past mercies, but it also exhorts us to not live in the past, but to look ahead for more of God’s mercies in the future.

As we have seen, Paul, in Ephesians, is glorying in the power of the gospel that has made outsiders into insiders and insiders truly insiders (2:18). Those who once did not belong now believe and therefore they do belong. Those who were at one time alienated from both God and one another now share in the life of Christ. There is great common ground shared by all believers, regardless of any superficial differences.

In our third study of Ephesians 3:1–13, we will consider this common ground, with particular emphasis on v. 12, where we see at least three explicit truths concerning the common ground shared by believers.

Christians are not immune from difficulties; we are not given some kind of protective bubble that repels all trouble. In fact, becoming a Christian can actually attract afflictions and hardships. The real test of Christianity is neither the absence nor the presence of troubles; it is our response to troubles. Do we respond by faith or by feelings, by confidence in the Lord or by desertion? This principle is brought to light in Psalm 125.

Previously, we took a bird’s eye-view of this passage and concluded that the church is the greatest thing in the world. In this study, we will dig further into this theme of the greatness of the church by highlighting the type of church that is the greatest thing in the world; namely, the gospel-centred church.

The church is central to the gospel, and it must remain so. Conversely, the gospel is central to the church, and it must remain so.

In Psalm 124, David reflects on an event in which, had it not been for the Lord’s faithful preservation, Israel would have been no more. He calls the people of God to reflect on the question, “What if the Lord had not intervened?” He does so in order to drive them to hopeful worship as they are strengthened by future grace.

When you are faced with daunting circumstances, this psalm exhorts you to ask the important question, “What if the Lord had not been on my side? What would have happened and where would I be?”

The church is the greatest thing in the world. It is so great that God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to willingly die for it. It is so great that multitudes have literally given their lives for it throughout the ages. It is so great that, to this day, sacrifices are made worldwide for its benefit. And when you properly understand Ephesians 3, it’s no mystery why this is so: Jesus and His church are worthy. In fact, for the Christian, the only thing that remains a mystery for us is why more people, including many professing Christians, do not see the church as the greatest thing in the world.

In Philippians 1, Paul seems to be sitting alone, quietly, reminiscing about his time at his favourite church. It reflects the tenderness between a church and one of its missionaries. The apostle is thankful for the church and the encouragement it has been to him over the years, and he offers prayers to God for it as a means to encourage it.

When a church sends its own to another culture in the cause of the Great Commission, it is a big deal. Sending missionaries to the field, like marriage, is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly but rather soberly and in the fear of God. To put it another way, we want to make sure that the missionaries we send are God’s missionaries. And if they are, then we need to prayerfully and practically and passionately embrace them as our missionaries. We have a wonderful example of this in the opening verses of Acts 13.

I have always seen Acts 13 as a divine template that is to guide the local church in sending and supporting and supplicating for missionaries. In this message I want to remind and instruct us what God’s missionaries look like. There are several characteristics we will consider of God’s missionaries, which help us to claim them as our missionaries.

The resurrection proves Jesus’ power over sin and death. It proves the veracity of His prophecies. It proves that Jesus is God. And it empowers God’s children for faithful and fruitful Christian living. The crucifixion is central to the gospel, but the fullness of the gospel must include the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If we do not focus on the resurrection, we lose out on the power of the gospel to save souls. The gospel is only good news if the resurrection is true.