The Church in a New Reality
Eph. 1:16-23 from the Message
All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
The global pandemic caused by COVID19 has been brutal. The disparity between safety in terms of the North America and other parts of the world has again been emphasized. And yet, America continues to suffer record numbers and deaths at the time of writing..
1000s of families have lost loved ones too soon.
Life has been altered. Many feel irrevocably because social distancing will continue to be apart of life going forward as will mask-wearing, and the cognizance we now have for being germ leary.
We have brought to the place of doing things very differently. To a place of a new reality. Over the course of our lives we are often confronted by new realities, be they more on the positive side of life:
Falling in love
Getting married
Having children
Graduation
New Job
There are may more examples that you or I could think of. All of them change the way we do life, but none of them change the truth of who we are.
Our realities may change in big ways, as we are presently experiencing, or in small ways. But the truth does not change. That means that while we may feel the chaos of our times we can depend on the truth of who Jesus is to remain the same.
The same is true for the Church: no matter what reality exists in society; the truth of who the Church is never changes
However, just as the reality of this global pandemic has changed the way in which we do life, it has also has changed the way in which we do church. The expressions of the Church are changing and adjusting to our new reality.
That’s the way it is supposed to be.
But this is where the difficulty is for the Church when dealing with change: we do not want the expressions we are comfortable with to change. Expressions that have become traditions are particularly difficult to let go of.
In these times we have to remember that the church is established on the truth of God’s word not the traditions we have established, or the trends of society. Traditions are important, but they are not more important than the truth they point to: Jesus.
We are not defined by traditions or the trends but on the truth of who Jesus is and Him saving us by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8).
When we are more shaped by trends and traditions we begin to trade-in long-term spiritual significance for short-term secular success.
If we stay focused on the truth of who we are as the Church we will minimize the risks of the new reality we are facing and we will adapt quickly:
1. The church is alive and Jesus is the head.
The church is alive it is not an organization so much, it is an organism. The writings of Paul help us to understand the church as living and breathing (Eph. 1:23, Rom. Ch. 12).
2. The church is the Body of Christ
The bible speaks of the church as a body in which each part or ‘member’ is dependent on another. Eph. 1:22-23; Rom. 10, 12).
3. The church is the fullness of Jesus Christ.
“…the church is his body intended to express him in the world; more than that, the church is intended to be a full expression of him by being filled by him whose purpose it is to fill everything there is…
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Eph 1:23 says clearly that the Church is the fullness of Jesus Christ. That's a significant mandate. So how are we doing with that?
What we have to also consider, as followers of Christ and leaders in the Church is that our new societal reality has exposed the disparity between the church of the New Testament function as the fullness of Jesus and how the broader Church in the west functions.
So with that understanding let me encourage us to respond to the new reality around us in three ways:
1. Embrace Change
Jesus said that we need to put new wine into new wine skins (Luke 5:33). The new wine is not new truth; it is a new experience.
Truth doesn’t change but the expression, the methodology will change:
2. Create Opportunities.
Jesus created opportunities for people to connect with God and He asked us to do the same (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19).
But even for Jesus, creating opportunities didn’t alway produce the hoped for results:
John 12:36-37
36 When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself fromthem. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him.
3. Rediscover discipleship,
Jesus exemplified discipleship; laying down his life for us and for the twelve, the three (Peter, James and John) and the one (John). The cost of discipleship is high but worth it:
Mark 8:34-35
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.
I believe if we look to Jesus to help us stay focused on the truth, and not traditions; and if we approach this season with an openness and willingness to change we will experience more spiritual growth personally and within the Church than we might expect.