11 comments

Kimberly Wagner

The Great Mystery

Posted on 06.12.09 by Kimberly Wagner | Twitter: @KimberlyWagner7
Topics: Relationships with Others

I'm going to ask you to do something a little difficult for the next few moments. As you read this post, set aside your preconceived ideas or prejudices. Let go of resentments from past church experiences which left you disillusioned or disappointed. Ask God to allow you to see the Churmagnifying glassch from His perspective and fill you with hope for His purpose in this "Great Mystery!"

I encourage you to read through the book of Ephesians as we focus on the church this month—perhaps read chapter 3 after finishing this post. Today we're only scratching the surface of this great topic.

"By revelation there was made known to me the mystery ... the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men ... this grace was given, to preach ... the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery ... so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church ..." (Eph. 3:3–10).

Please don't miss the significance of that last phrase—"that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church!"

Hmmm ... I'm a little inspired and overwhelmed at the same time as I read those words. What do you think it means?

To help answer that question, let's take a rapid-fire look at the Church:

What is it?
  • The community of true believers from every age for all time, the purchased possession of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:11–16; 5:25).
  • His Body (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 1:23; 4:11–16).
  • The Redeemed; those chosen to bear the identifying marks of redemption in order to display God's glorious power (1 Pet. 2:9–12).
  • The "great mystery" of Gentiles and Jews comprising the Body of Christ—the Church (Eph. 3).


What is its purpose?

The Church exists to glorify God (Eph. 1:4–6, 12, 14)!

How does the Church do that? 

John Piper describes the powerful role of the Church:

"Most of us go through day after day and seldom feel the impact of the magnitude of what we are caught up in by belonging to Jesus Christ....  And we don't take enough time to meditate on how our jobs, our home life, our leisure, our church involvement—how each of these fits into the cosmic significance of the church."1
 
So perhaps displaying God's wisdom through the Church has something to do with how we live out the
Gospel in our daily lives through:
  • Worship—our daily actions of obedience.
  • Being salt and light—others seeing God's grace and power at work in our lives, reflected by our unity, love for one another, proclamation of truth, and selfless devotion to Christ and others.
  • Producing disciples—leading others to a relationship with Christ and then nurturing them as they grow spiritually.
  • Demonstrating mercy to the needy—practically applying the mercy of Christ to those who are truly in need.


How do you think we can display the "manifold wisdom of God" as the Church? Please share some practical examples.

1http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/sermons/bydate/1981/289_The_Cosmic_Church/

Comments

  1. Participation in a small group and a discipling group is giving me the opportunity to be more transparent in my relationships with other believers. Relationships that are open and honest provide a place for us to discover our blind spots.
    As believers we need each other. We can help each other gain more of God's perspective. We can share the evidence of God's work in our lives and worship God together.
    posted by Carol Van Der Woude
    on Friday, June 12, 2009 at 10:43 am
  2. Amen, dear Kimberly! How wondrous is the church of Jesus Christ. It is a privilege to be a part of it.

    I am no expert, but thought your list (or John Piper's) was very good. Prayer comes to my mind as a way in which we can display the wisdom of God -- as people know we are praying for them, and see the results of those prayers, God is glorified. We can pray as individuals, and corporately (as a local church, or even as believers at large).

    Also in relationships -- as those who are peacemakers -- I believe we glorify God as His church. The love of God flowing through us to others -- and its healing effects -- is like nothing that the world knows.

    You probably covered all this anyway in your points above; surely they presuppose prayer and right relationships. Thought I'd mention them anyway, as things that are dear to my heart (and that I'm still learning).

    I've just been thinking about God's wisdom, having recently reheard/seen Nancy's "From Him, Through Him and To Him" teaching from TW08, and also noticing the glory of the concepts of His wisdom, knowledge, understanding and riches mentioned in Provergs 3+4.

    "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"...(Rom. 11:33)

    In His love,
    posted by Leslie S.
    on Saturday, June 13, 2009 at 9:50 am
  3. Producing disciples.......I am in the process of making disciples of the six children God has given me. Daily we spend time in the Scripture together at breakfast before we start our school day at home. This summer we are memorizing Colossians 3; My aim is to impress on them the importance of seeking things above rather than things on the earth, to set their affections on Christ. I know that more importantly than just teaching them this, I have to live it.
    posted by Vivian
    on Sunday, June 14, 2009 at 10:32 pm
  4. Watch out here folks...the spirit of religion is alive and well and has varying degrees of control in many churches today. What is it when some churches are places of division and suffering, barely making it, fruitless and dysfunctional? What is it when churches would rather honour traditions of man than welcome the Lord's breath of change and renewal? Are we longing for renewal and revival on our own terms, in our churches and in our lives? Oh dear Jesus, give us hearing and seeing and truly loving hearts....forgive us for what we've made church into!
    Carmen
    posted by Carmen
    on Monday, June 15, 2009 at 12:07 am
  5. Thank you Kimberly! I read your post late Saturday night, then John Piper's article on Sunday - it all just really gave me special worship/thoughts on Sunday. I think our relationships/attitudes are so important. People have such a negative view of Christians. Some unfounded, so not.. but what if people thought "nice" or "loving" or "helpful" when they heard the word "Christian". For me - I need to be sure to keep the right goals, but also the right balance of how to spend my time. If I run around too much and am too busy, I know I don't take the time for the people around me. Then again - if I stay home too much, what good would it be if I was the most wonderful, giving person on earth if nobody in the 'world' could ever see that..
    posted by Annie
    on Monday, June 15, 2009 at 9:01 am
  6. Carol,

    Thank you for sharing how God is using the venue of "small groups" within your church body to help you in developing deeper relationships with other believers.

    You touched on a very important aspect of the body of Christ -- living in community!

    Just as a close family is able to more clearly see blind spots in each member's life, when we are closely involved with one another in community as the body of Christ, we have more opportunities for transparency and objectivity. When we operate out of selfless love and for the purpose of encouraging one another in godliness and spiritual growth -- we are able to, not only discover our blind spots, but to watch more mature believers and learn from them as we work on our blind spots!

    Thanks for sharing this word!
    posted by Kimberly Wagner
    on Monday, June 15, 2009 at 10:59 am
  7. Thank you , Leslie!

    Yes!!! Prayer and living as peacemakers -- both are very important ingredients in the church. In fact, Jesus strongly addresses the lack of prayer in the temple in Jerusalem (Matt 21:13) and I believe God wants His church to consist of local "houses of prayer."

    Also, to function within the body of Christ in a godly manner -- we must operate as peacemakers (Matt :9).

    Thank you for highlighting these 2 critical issues!

    Blessings on your day!
    posted by Kimberly Wagner
    on Monday, June 15, 2009 at 11:04 am
  8. Yes, Vivian!!!

    You are fulfilling the most important function within your season of life -- making disciples of your children!

    Only eternity will reveal the tremendous impact of your dedication and faithfulness to the ministry of your family. Who knows what God is going to raise up from the seed of your family in the coming generations. And you may have an Amy Charmichael or a Charles Spurgeon sitting at your breakfast table even today!

    Blessings dear sister!
    posted by Kimberly Wagner
    on Monday, June 15, 2009 at 11:08 am
  9. Carmen,

    I amen your prayer.

    Father, forgive us for what we've made the church into! May we repent and surrender our agendas to your control. Purge and purify your church, O Lord. We need your refining and reviving work.
    posted by Kimberly Wagner
    on Monday, June 15, 2009 at 11:11 am
  10. Thank you for your kind words, Annie. I'm so glad the Lord used these things to minister to your heart this weekend.

    You mentioned several important issues that can contribute to a negative perspective on Christianity. Your comment on "being so busy" is something that I'll be addressing in two posts coming up in the next few weeks . . . so please stay with us for more! :-)

    Blessings!
    posted by Kimberly Wagner
    on Monday, June 15, 2009 at 11:15 am
  11. I just found this website, I listen to Christian talk radio a lot and became of aware of this site. My family of now 3 children just recently changed church homes and we have not yet fully committed to the church we currently attend, although we have not missed a service, any day of the week, we are faithful to the house of God. My question is this, I know that a church is made up of all different people, with many different convictions and we accept that that is to always be, but what do you do when people in leadership do not share that same convictions?
    posted by Jody
    on Monday, June 15, 2009 at 11:49 am

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