FRIDAY January 26th
Ephesians 5:32
‘This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.’
As we continue to consider this mystery concerning the church, Paul describes it as ‘profound’. That is it is deep, its meaning and its expression as revealed here as relating to Christ and the church it is something we need to grasp hold of, and we need to seek to understand. Paul uses the analogy of the intimate and profound relationship of a man and a woman as they have become man and wife. The two become one, and this is what the mystery of the church is all about, as we come to know Christ through redemption we become united to him, we become as one with Christ, he himself being the head and we the church being the body.
You and I are members together of the church, which is the body of Christ. Paul speaks more of this mystery in 1 Corinthians 12 through to chapter 14, we belong together, we need to be with each other, we need to be there for each other, we need to do all we can to encourage one another and to build one another up, for we are not only connected to each other through reason of the new-birth, we are connected together to Christ the head, from whom we derive our spiritual health and strength.
Paul says that we should have the same care for one another, if one suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.
Can we see how wonderful this mystery of the church really is: God takes men and women from all types of backgrounds, and he brings us together into one body, united to Christ as the head.
Peter describes this mystery in this way, that Christ who is the cornerstone takes us and through new birth makes us into living stones, that are built up together as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
We are individually a part of the body of Christ, each an individual stone, but we have been joined together by the Spirit, to collectively be the body of Christ, a spiritual house.
May we learn to appreciate each other and to not be selective in who we choose to associate with or even to spend our time in conversation with, but to have the same care and the same appreciation and concern for each one, everyone that makes up the body of the local church as we gather at Emmanuel. There is always a danger in a local church setting of forming cliches and of always spending the time talking to the same few people every time we attend and never bothering to consider talking to others that we should also be making the effort to talk to. Can I challenge each one of us to mix well, to learn to appreciate one another in the body of Christ.