THE CHURCH BUILT ON MERCY
By Lay Pastor Kasieli Zebua
Johor, Sunday, January 7, 2018
Shalom,
Let’s step into this new year with a joyful spirit. Enjoy God’s mercy He has granted us because He is always with us and His help always comes in due time.
At the New Year’s Eve service 2017, the Word of God guided us how to confront and deal with this new year. God has provided us with His armor to stay on guard and ready to face off the spirits in the heavens. Our enemies are not our fellowmen, husbands, wives or anyone else, but the devil. Somehow, keep in mind that the devil can use anyone to fight against us. Therefore, stay alert. Never let the devil employ us as his collaborators. Rather, let’s submit ourselves to God’s control and put on the armor of God to be conquerors.
In the beginning of the Letter to the Ephesians, we find out that the Apostle Paul called them saints, and believers in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:1). This church had attained God’s mercy. They had been sanctified and saved through Christ. From Acts 18-20, we can learn the following:
Acts 18: 18-21:
On his second missionary journey around 50 A.D., the Apostle Paul stayed on in Ephesus along with Priscilla and Aquila. He made time to visit a synagogue where he had a talk with some local Jews. Then he continued his journey, leaving Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus.
Acts 18: 24-28:
A Jewish native of Alexandria, Apollos, came to Ephesus. He had the gift of the gab and a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He taught about Jesus but he knew only about the baptism of John. Having heard him teach in the synagogue, Priscilla and Aquila invited Appolo to their home and explained to him the way of God in detail. By the grace of God, Appolo was a great help to the believers. His teaching was centered on Jesus, the Messiah.
More or less two years later, Paul returned to Ephesus on his third missionary journey (Acts 19). Appolos was no longer in Ephesus when Paul lived there for three years.
During his three-year ministry in Ephesus, the spread of the Gospel made much progress. That period was the starting point of the church in Ephesus where great things took place, among others:
- Verses 1-7: Upon his return to Ephesus, Paul met with twelve disciples. Most probably, Appolos, Priscilla and Aquila had ministered to these people. Spiritually, these twelve disciples were still infants. They knew only about the baptism of John and had never heard of the Holy Spirit.
Paul told them that the baptism of John was meant to bring people to repentance and that it was to proceed to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. At the time, they let themselves to be
baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. When Paul lay his hand on them, they were baptised with the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle Paul knew well how to be a disciple of Christ. Baptism and repentance do not make a full-grown Christian. A Christian needs to grow to maturity. In other words, we are not only to leave the old life behind but also to be filled with and guided by the Holy Spirit.
- Verses 8-9a : Having taught in the synagogue for three months, Paul was eventually rejected by the Jews. Then he left them and took the disciples with him. He taught in the lecture hall of Tyrannus for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks living in Asia heard the Word of God (vv. 9b-10).
How the disciples showed their desire and enthusiasm for learning the Word of God during the two-year lectures is worth admiring. How about us? Do we desire to learn the Word of God? Supposing we have Bible study classes in church, are we ready to sign up? The believers in Ephesus were called disciples, meaning those who wanted to learn. In case you have difficulties studying God’s Word or understanding a sermon, don’t lose heart. Don’t give up but keep on learning. Ask the Holy Spirit for His guidance. As the learning process proceeds, we, as “disciples,” will undergo spiritual growth over time.
- Verses 11-12: Through Paul’s ministry, God performed phenomenal miracles, and even used the exorcists (the children of Sceva) to glorify His name. They tried to cast out demons in the name of Jesus whom Paul preached. But the devil laughed them in their faces because they were playing with the name of Jesus. Consequently, they were humiliated in public. Following this incident, fear came over the people living in Ephesus and the name of Jesus was praised even more (vv. 13-20). Later those practicing sorcery and black magic confessed their deeds and burned up their books. In the end, they believed in Jesus.
- Verses 21-27: A great disturbance came from Demetrius, a silversmith making Artemis shrine souveniers. The Gospel was a threat of his business bankruptcy. Then he provoked his employees and others running the same business to oppose Paul. Demetrius whipped them up saying that they would lose their jobs and that the shrine of Artemis would suffer the loss of her greatness. His remarks triggered their rage and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” A riot broke out. But the city secretary managed to take control of the situation (vv. 21-27). Later Paul sent for the disciples terrified by the uproar and encouraged them (Acts 20: 1).
- Acts 20: 17-38: At the end of his ministry in Ephesus, Paul called the elders of the Ephesian Church. He reminded them how he started the church in Ephesus with challenges and tears. Also, he reminded them how the Jews rejected him and wanted to kill him. Saying all these, he did not mean to rake up the past. Neither did he ask them for their pity. Rather, Paul reminded them how much the Lord loved them though his ministry.
Paul firmly stated that he strived to serve the church in Ephesus with total sincerity and without self-interest. Further, he reminded them of the “wolves” trying to mislead them (Acts
20: 26-27). Paul realized that the church in Ephesus belonged to the Lord who protected her day and night (Acts 20: 28-32). After his speech, he said goodbye to them.
Paul returned to Jerusalem where he was confronted with a tremendous challenge and later imprisoned for about two years in Caesarea (Acts 23: 23-39). He went to Rome because he wanted to appeal to Caesar. But in Rome, he was under house arrest in his own rented house (Acts 28: 30-31).
While imprisoned, he wrote a letter to the Ephesians expressing his joy when he heard (did not see it himself) that the church he had ministered to had been growing in faith (Ephesians 1: 15-17). This is a true servant of the Lord. He rejoiced not because he had gained something, but because he heard the church he had served had been growing in faith and love for the Lord.
All in all, the Letter to the Ephesians exposed how the Triune God brought us into intimacy with Christ as the Bridegroom. So, being a Christian is not just a matter of knowing the Lord but rather experiencing an intimate relationship with Him. Being gentiles, the Ephesians and we were all once dead in sin (Ephesians 2: 1). We were no partakers of God’s promise, hopelessly living in the world without God (Ephesians 2: 11-12). But, we were redeemed with the blood of Christ and brought closer to Him (Ephesians 2: 11-13). The writing of the Letter to the Ephesians reminds us how great our Lord is and how immense His power for us is (Ephesians 1: 19-20).
God‘s mercy for the church in Ephesus was great indeed. He himself redeemed them with His blood and made them His own. God wanted them not only to be His church and disciples but also to be excellent and victorious soldiers. Since following the Lord involves challenges and obstacles, God wants us to put on His full armor. If we stand firm in the Lord, we shall stand and win for sure (Ephesians 6: 13). Aren’t we currently living in the evil days and difficult times (2 Timothy 3: 1)?
Each of us goes through struggles and wars; with this in mind, remember God’s great mercy and stay humble under the Word and the Holy Spirit. Live out His Word despite the difficulties and burdens it may cost. Let’s support one another in prayer (Ephesians 1:16; 3:14-19; bnd. 6:18-20) so that we may become a robust church firmly built on the truth. Challenges and trials may come our way. But if we stand on a rock-solid foundation, we shall always stand and win. A m e n.