The Significance of Your Church Family

Who does the Bible teach us to turn to during times of distress, times of oppression, times of fear?

Of course, the Bible teaches us to turn to God. But, believe it or not, God is not the only one the Bible teaches us to turn to. The Bible teaches us to turn to our church family for support. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is a prime example of that. Ephesus was a city famous for its idols, especially for the temple of Artemis. When Paul and his companions preached there, it almost set off a riot, with the crowds shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” in unison for two hours! They had tried to drown out Paul, and the church Paul left behind was still in the middle of this spiritual darkness. Paul writes to the Ephesians with this spiritual battle in mind. He wants the Ephesians to know the power of God, but he also wants them to know the power of the church.

When it comes to significance, there is no more significant entity on earth.

And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1:22-23

Christ rules over all things, including the whole earth and all the spiritual powers described in the previous verses, but he doesn’t exercise his power and authority just for himself. He’s been given as head of all things to the church. As the Bible states it, he is head of all things “for” the church. A major reason of Jesus’ ruling for the church is that, through Jesus, the authority that Adam gave up to the devil is being restored. Jesus rules for the benefit of the church so we can take our God-intended place.

So, if Jesus is for the church, so am I!

Jesus is for the church because he so closely identifies with the church. Loving Jesus means loving his church. After Peter’s painful denial of Jesus just before Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter assuredly felt unworthy to be considered a disciple of Jesus. Yet, Jesus restores Peter. In the story of Jesus’ restoration of Peter, Jesus three times asks Peter if he loves him. Three times Peter replies in the affirmative. And each time Jesus says something on the order of, “Take care of my sheep.” In effect, Jesus tells Peter, “If you love me, then tend my sheep.” This message is not just for Peter. Years later, writing to the leaders of the church Peter says in 1 Peter 5:2:

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve…

And in verse 4 Peter makes this amazing promise: 

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 

This is the only place in the New Testament that “the crown of glory” is promised or offered. Why would God promise this crown of glory only in the context of caring for God’s flock? Because he loves his church so much! By the way, I believe this applies to leaders of small groups in churches, too. If you have a shepherding role, even if you aren’t technically an elder, you have a special place and promise.  

Our love for God’s flock isn’t just a matter of a reward in the life to come. It’s a key indicator of our spiritual vitality in the here and now, too. 

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16 

Laying down our lives for our church family sounds like a huge ask. But you are up for the task. 

We are anointed for this!

You, as a follower of Jesus, are spiritually gifted and empowered to serve the flock in the way Jesus has called you. 

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 1 Corinthians 12:7

Notice this about your spiritual gifts: they are for the common good. So in the Bible we see two major focal points for loving and serving God’s flock. First, your care for the church includes care for one another by tending to physical and material needs. Second, your care for God’s flock includes the gifts of the Spirit, the power of God. And that’s the main point Paul was making in his letter to the Ephesians; he wanted the church to know their spiritual power. That’s why he prays for them to know “his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Paul wanted the church to know that even though Jesus is the One who “fills everything in every way,” we are “the fullness of him.” We, as the church under Jesus’ rule, give expression to Jesus’ greatness. (See Ephesians 1:15-23.)

 It’s not about us as individuals.

Our value as individuals is affirmed in the church like in no other place on earth. Other than the death of Jesus, no greater value could be given to you than for you to be included in God’s family.  But the church is not about individuals. It’s not centered on individuals, even those as great as Paul. Praise God that he raises up leaders for the family of God, but the greatest leaders in the family of God know it’s all about the family, not the leader.

In Ephesians 3:8: Paul says, “I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people.” He does not make big claims for himself, but he doesn’t hesitate to make huge claims for the church. This is about who we are together.

Individuals will fail.

The evangelical world has been rocked by revelations of the moral failures of highly respected leaders. Yet, the claims for the church are still true. People get hurt in the church. Leaders hurt people; people hurt leaders; people hurt each other. In my first church appointment as pastor, we had a potluck dinner one evening. After dinner, a lady was in the church kitchen washing the disposable plastic cups so we could use them again. A man in the church saw what she was doing and said a little harshly, “Don’t wash those cups! That’s nasty!” I’ve drunk from plenty of washed and reused disposable cups, so I’m not passing judgment, but that was the last we saw of that lady at our church. It’s a shame she was hurt. It’s also a shame that’s all it took to separate her from her church family. And the situation in that small town was that she could only let that happen two more times, and she would run out of churches in that town! (There were only 3.)

When Paul is making his huge claims for the church, he’s not naive about human nature. He warned that there would be “savage wolves.” Jesus taught that weeds would grow up with the wheat, but we don’t pull up the wheat. The church remains precious because it was bought with Christ’s own blood. Unfortunately, sometimes bad things happen in churches and the reputation of the church gets hurt.

Still, God stakes his own reputation on the church!

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 3:10–11

Notice that Paul is not concerned only with God’s reputation here on earth. God has staked his reputation in the spiritual realms on how we live here on earth. The fact that God demonstrates his wisdom and power to spiritual powers through us means that we are the front lines in God’s battle against the enemy. The letter to the Ephesians assures them that the forces of darkness surrounding them are not going to overcome that church. We as the church live for the reputation and glory of God. We exist to show that God is greater than all forces, not just on earth but in the heavenly realms.

Paul wants us to know how much God stakes his reputation on us because he wants us to know that we are up to the task. We have the mission of spreading the Good News, and we have the power to do it. 

In our cultural environment, it seems like the church is less and less relevant.

In Ephesus, it would have been easy to think of the church as powerless and insignificant. In our own cultural climate, it would also be easy for people to dismiss the church as powerless, insignificant, and irrelevant. We in the church could be tempted to settle into a fortress mentality, with no sense of mission, with no determination to advance the cause of Christ in our world. While it’s true that we can’t always advance the way we like, Paul, at the end of his letter to the Ephesian church,  makes clear that in their spiritual battle they will stand. SO WILL YOU.

The church will stand—as a testimony to God, and as a witness to people who do not yet know God. In our battle with the enemy, it’s imperative that we are empowered to snatch people from the devil’s grip! That’s our role together, and God has empowered us, he has empowered you, for that purpose. When we are committed to God’s purposes, he will see that we stand. Praise God for a significant purpose for God’s significant family. 

Pastor Ed’s Notes:

Check out my last post, The Test of Prosperity, here.

Photo by John Price on Unsplash.