Weird Ideas: One Churchনমুনা

If the church is called to be one, how do you practically make that happen? This is what Ephesians is all about.

Ephesus was a major cosmopolitan center in the first century. Think something like New York City. People of every ethnic, national, cultural, economic, and belief system in one place. Out of this sprung a church. But with it came different values, different priorities, and different beliefs about how to live together in Christ.

Despite their differences, Paul writes to this church to show them why they are one, and then how to live as one.

The “why” is easy. We are all sinners, so when it comes to a relationship with God, we’re all in the same boat. None of us brings anything to the table by which God welcomes us into Christ’s body. We are saved strictly by his grace. The first three chapters immerse in this. (Consider doing a quick skim and pay attention to how much our salvation is put in God’s hands and taken out of our own.)

From there, Paul goes on to show how we can live this oneness out. He starts by inviting us to do a life-check. Make sure we’re living lives of love and free from sin so as not to hurt each other and cause separation. But then he goes one step further. He brings up a word nobody likes: submission. The key to oneness is found in submitting to each other.

Paul equates the church to marriage. Just like in a marriage where you have two different people with different values trying to live as one with each other, the church is a place made up of different people with different values also trying to live as one with each other. How do married couples do it? They submit to each other. They put each other first. They lower themselves before the other and prioritize the other’s needs and wants. Life in the church should look the same.

You’ll never find a church in this universe where all agree. You’ll never find a church where everyone thinks the same way or wants all the same things. That’s okay. And it doesn’t jeopardize oneness, so long as those in the body of Christ prioritize submitting to one another out of reverence for Jesus.