BBC Sermon Cast

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.

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.

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 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?”

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.

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.

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.

The most momentous event that has ever occurred in human history is the crucifixion of Jesus and His subsequent resurrection. And the most important question with which anyone can ever wrestle is the significance of the crucifixion. Why did Jesus die? And why was the murder of the Son of God something that we call “good”? Isaiah 53 helps us to answer these questions.

Being a member of the church is an inestimable privilege. But no one has said it more clearly, more emphatically, more authoritatively and more persuasively than the apostle Paul. As he brings Ephesians 2 to a close, the apostle prepares to clang his exegetical cymbals to a crescendo as he uses three metaphors to describe the church of Christ: a kingdom, a family and a building (a temple).

Each of these are important designations, as we shall see. But perhaps the most stupendous description of all is found in the last phrase of the last verse: “a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”

As we bring our study of Ephesians 2 to a close, I trust that we will come away with a greater appreciation of who we are because of what God in Christ has done by the power of His Spirit.

Psalm 121 is one of the more familiar of the psalms and no doubt the favourite of many—probably because of the confidence that it evokes with the oft-repeated refrain of the Lord being our keeper. The psalm reminds us that there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God. He guides us and He guards.