Grace

"I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of His power. Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, Who created all things." -Ephesians 3:7-9

How we view God's grace plays a monumental role in what our churches look like and how they function. Whether we realize it or not, we have an ingrained idea of what grace means for us and what its purpose is. Most of us would agree that grace is an undeserved gift from God that we receive because of the blood of Christ and our faith in Him. From there, the paths diverge greatly and they impact how we see the church.

The first way of viewing grace is seeing it simply as a gift of God that we receive and hold onto. When we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we receive salvation (Romans 10:9). This is all good and true but the first view of grace ends there. When we see grace as something we receive, it becomes about us. We see ourselves as the recipient of a fantastic gift, which we hang onto. Church is then a place to hang out with other people who received the gift where we praise God that we're going to heaven someday and it ends there. Grace and God's gifts are simply for us to enjoy and feel good about.

The second way of viewing grace is, as Paul says, something we receive and then pass onto others. Paul says that God's grace was given to Him but it doesn't end there. The grace he received is for someone else. It comes with direction and purpose. Why did Paul receive grace from God? To preach to the Gentiles and to make known the mysteries of God which are revealed in Christ. The astonishing truth is that God's grace was not just for Paul, it was for Paul to pass along to those he was ministering to. The grace of God cannot be contained because it comes from the overflow of Who God is. God's grace is so wide and deep and long that we could never use it up or ask too much of Him (Ephesians 3:20) It is not meant to be hoarded. Grace is given to us so that we might give it to others.

When we see grace as simply a gift for us, we become self-focused. We gladly receive God's grace, then are unwilling to extend it to others. This causes us to become resentful, judgmental, unaccepting, and secluded. We start seeing forgiveness as simply accepting an apology while continuing to harbor bitterness and anger in our hearts. We see other people as not deserving grace because of how much they've wronged us. We become the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18 who is unwilling to forgive the debt of a man who owed him a day's wages when he was forgiven a debt of 18 year's wages by his master. When we freely receive but don't freely give, the poor and needy become unimportant and this life is seen simply as a holding pattern before heaven.

But God calls us to something far bigger than ourselves. Salvation in Christ is just the starting point of receiving God's grace. He gives us His grace so that we will then share it with others. Grace means reaching out to those in need, accepting without judgment into the church those who are lost and seeking, truly forgiving without fear of being wronged again because we are eternally forgiven by God. The pouring out of grace allows us to act as a pipeline through which God achieves His purposes and blesses the world. It allows us to constantly be full of God's grace and goodness while passing it on to others.

How we view grace radically shapes our churches. Will we hoard it and turn Sunday mornings into an hour of feeling good about what we received from God while doing nothing for others? Or will we freely give it to all, gathering as a missional community of broken people who deserve nothing, yet have everything in Christ?

One Body

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called-one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." -Ephesians 4:2-6

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." -1 Corinthians 12:12-13

Before I go any further with this blog, it's important to acknowledge that it is incredibly easy to criticize and critique our brothers and sisters in the Church. The line between encouragement/exhortation and judgment/criticism is very easily blurred, especially with the ease with which modern technology allows us to share ideas and opinions. What starts as a genuine desire to correct easily turns into an attack to prove one's correctness. Now, I am not at all saying that we should not correct each other or hold each other accountable. These are very good, essential qualities of a healthy Church. What I am saying is that it is becoming more and more common to see brothers and sisters in Christ taking shots at each other. Instead of confronting false doctrine or incorrect actions in love and gentleness, we often demonize the other person or group. This can also lead to a widespread denunciation of the Christian Church as a whole for some perceived error. In my experience, it has been incredibly rare to hear someone talk about how they love the Church and are thankful to be a part of it. The closest it usually gets is someone saying they love the particular church they attend.

Let me reiterate that I think that one of the Church's main functions is to help those who are a part of it to grow. This often means correction, confrontation, and accountability. These very good functions, however, are often twisted to become attacking, gossip, and bitterness. How does this happen?

Throughout the book of Ephesians, Paul's language is heavily Trinitarian. He emphasizes the vital role of the  Holy Spirit in causing unity among believers in Christ. We are not made to be at odds with each other. In fact, when we receive the Spirit through the "one faith," we are bound together by the "bond of peace." Paul explains earlier in Ephesians 2 that Christ Himself is our peace. In some mysterious, unfathomable way, God becomes our peace and our unity because of Christ through His Spirit. We are made into one body and share in common the Spirit of the Most High God. This body is the Church, of which Christ is the head. He loves His church and gave Himself up for her. How then could there ever be a lack of unity in a body which Christ Himself holds together?

Because of our sinful nature, we are sometimes taken over by our desire to have our way and to be correct. This led the apostle Paul to exhort his readers to be humble and gentle, to correct those in error but to bear with them in love. This takes effort and is difficult but is important if we are to honor Christ as His body. The body is a unit. We are each an individual part of the body but we contribute to the whole. When we criticize, judge, lack grace, and demean each other, we are hurting ourselves.

Of course there are and always will be exceptions to all of these (and I am limited to an American perspective) but it is worth encouraging one another:

I love the Church for caring about sound doctrine and being committed to seeking and learning God's perfect Truth and how we ought to live to glorify Him.
I love the Church for caring for the orphan and the widow and those in need.
I love the Church for acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.
I love the Church in parts of the world that are hostile to them for their patient suffering and example of hope in the midst of extreme trials.
I love the Church for being missional and taking the hope of Christ to the lost and broken.
I love the Church for being able to admit its flaws and mistakes and for its willingness to grow in love and unity.

May we, as the Church, be marked by the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace, Who is Christ Himself and bear with one another in love and grace.