Ephesians: Tear Down These WallsSample

Church community can often be difficult. Why? Because it’s full of weird and messy people, like me! People with idiosyncrasies and annoying traits. 

People who pray with long pauses so you never quite know when they’re finished. 

People who clap loudly during the worship music. 

People who call out “That’s good!” during a sermon. 

People who never respond to their roster requests. 

People who eat all the brownies at morning tea. 

Of course, these trivial examples are easy to laugh at. 

But sadly too many of us have experienced real, deep, personal hurt in Christian community.

Paul is under no illusions that the theological vision he’s painted in Ephesians 1–3 will be easy to live out in practice. The historic animosity between Jews and Gentiles runs deep. 

But neither is he pessimistic! He calls the Ephesians to embody the reality of their one-ness in Christ. Be the church. Live this out. 

You’ll notice he says make every effort to keep or maintain your unity (4:3). Not create it. Jesus has already torn down the wall. He has already united people spiritually. Their task, and ours, is to keep the unity that Jesus has created.

How? In a thousand simple ways. 

Be patient with each other. 

Leave room for mistakes. 

Embody a culture of grace. 

Keep short accounts. 

Speak with gentleness. 

Assume the best of people. 

Use words that build up, not tear down. 

It’s all too easy in a world of consumer-Christianity to simply up and leave when relationships get hard. But the unity we have in Christ, and the power of the gospel ought to glue us together. 

Community requires effort. It requires Jesus-like, radical, other-centred love! When the imperfect, messy church lives this way, it’s often the very evidence a watching world needs to believe what we preach!

Do you have a relationship that needs repairing? Do you bear a grudge that needs to make way for grace?