Our speaker this afternoon is David Short, the Rector of St John's (Shaughnessy) Anglican Church in Vancouver, BC, and a leader in the Canadian evangelical Anglican community. He is speaking on Christ’s Authority: The Authority of Jesus Over the Church and the World. His text is Ephesians 1:21-23, which as Rev. Short observed, are among the densest verses in one of the densest passages in Scripture.
Our Assistant Worship Pastor Andy Frew led off with the singing including a moving rendition (personally moving for me, anyhow) of How Great Is Our God. Senior Pastor John Neufeld then introduced Reverend Short, and led us in prayer.
Introduction
Rev. Short was born in Africa, and grew up near a diamond mine. The tribe that lived nearby was abounding in diamonds—kids would be playing with them in the street as if they were nothing more than cheap plastic toys. They couldn't appreciate the riches, the wealth, in their midst. Similarly for us, the infinite wealth and richness of God is all around us, though we may not necessarily see it.
He started off by reading from Ephesians 1:17-19, in which Paul prayed...
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might....
The purpose of the Church is to be part of all things to the glory of Christ. The aim is not to fill our heads with knowledge, but so that the world would be filled with Christ. Building on this, Rev. Short will elaborate upon two themes: the power of God, and the purpose of God.
The Power of God
Consider Ephesians 1:20-21, in which Paul prays for the working of God's great might "that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come."
The resurrection is not just an event in history, but the decisive event in the history of the cosmos, and a decisive stage in salvation history. It is Jesus Christ's enthronement. Rev. Short referred us to Psalm 110:1 ("The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstoool.'"), used by the incarnate Jesus in reference to Himself (Mt 22:44; Mk 12:36; Lk 20:42), and by Peter in his Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:34).
What God is doing in history—what He is doing in the world today—is placing all things at the feet of Jesus Christ. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me," said the resurrected Jesus to the disciples in the Great Commission (Mt 24:18).
Rev. Short then referred us to Ephesians 6:12: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities [or 'principalities,' the word used in the KJV and Revised Version], against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
Principalities and powers are behind every sinful, rebellious act we commit. They are real, and they are evil (Eph. 6:12). And they can be subtle and insidious. In Genesis 3:4, what's the first doctrine that Satan openly denies? The doctrine of judgement: "You won't die. You can't possibly die."
The real purpose of principalities and powers is not to cause us to sin, but to vandalize the body of Christ. The most subtle and successful way of doing that is through deception and false teaching.
There are three ways the church can be assaulted:
- From outside;
- From inside by sinful behaviour;
- And from inside by deception and false teaching.
The principalities and powers manifest themselves through institutions they domineer, and structures they manipulate. When a church chooses their own word over God's word, their own authority over that of Christ, then the principalities and powers have gained control.
But the power of God in Jesus Christ is infinitely superior to any other power. Look at Eph. 1:21: Christ is not merely above all, but far above all. God the Father has given Him unqualified, unrestricted, absolute authority over all creation: angels and archangels; demons, principalities, and powers; Satan himself; and every tribe, religion, and person. All without exception are under the dominion of God the Father, which he in turn placed at the feet of His Son.
The Purpose of God
All that God has done through Jesus Christ is for the sake of the Church. All power and authority belong to Jesus Christ, and all His dominion and rule is now for the benefit of the Church (Ephesians 1:22-23).
In v. 23, Paul gives two definitions of the Church: the body of Christ, and the fullness of Christ.
The Body of Christ
Where did Paul get this idea from? On the road to Damascus. Jesus Christ asks Paul not "Why are you persecuting my disciples," but "Why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 9:4). And if the church is the body of Christ [with Christ as its head, as Paul wrote in Eph. 5:23, e.g.], then it follows that if the authority of Jesus Christ is not taught and obeyed, it's not a church. You can have theologically correct statements, synods, media, and all the rest of it, but if Jesus Christ is not acknowledged as Lord, it's not the body of Christ.
The Fullness of Christ
Also in v. 23, Paul says that the Church is the fullness of Christ. It is as the Church is filled by Christ, that Christ fills the world. The body of Christ is the vehicle through which Christ is going to fulfil all things. What is fullness? It comes from the OT, from passages such as Exodus 40:34-35. After the Israelites built the golden calf and God redeems them forgives their sins, He commands them to build the Tabernacle, and He fills it with His glory. The shekinah (the Hebrew term) is the presence of God: the glory and fullness of the Lord—which in the OT is always literally awesome, and fearsome. Whenever the veil is pulled back (as it were), He is revealed to be a consuming fire of heartbreaking loveliness burning with purity.
Rev. Short then read from Eph. 4:8-10, in which Paul quotes from Psalm 68:18, and writes, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men," with the captives being the principalities and powers brought under the subjugation of Jesus Christ, having first "descended into the lower regions, the earth," before ascending "far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things."
It is through the Church today, by which the fullness of Christ fills all things. The way that God extends His heavenly rule and brings to bear on this world is through the Church.
Consider Eph. 3:8-10. God wants to reveal his multi-coloured wisdom, particularly to the principalities and powers. And through what vehicle? The Church. That little group that clings to "the faith that was once for all delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3), that tries to understand the "unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph. 3:8), is His glory.
Implications
There are three big implications of all this:
1. The "Big Gospel."
Rev. Short is concerned that when he listens to evangelical sermons, he hears a "little Gospel": it's me and Jesus, with me at the centre. This is an attempt to make the Gospel relevant to people, but it's a wrongheaded attempt (my paraphrase: I can't remember exactly how he said it).
The biblical Gospel is very, very big. It's not me and Jesus. It's that God has appointed Jesus Christ Lord over all things, and through the new creation, has bequeathed this to the Church. Consider how the Apostles preached the Gospel to non-believers in Acts, for example chapter 2. On the day of Pentecost, notice first of all that Peter's sermon is actually an expository sermon on the Psalms. In vv. 32-33 he says: Christ is resurrected and therefore exalted at the right hand of God. David did not ascend to the heavens, but he wrote Psalm 110, which foresaw the exaltation of Christ.
Consider what Paul wrote in the opening verses of Romans: "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead..."
The Gospel is not about my felt needs. It is about the the Father's making Jesus Christ Lord, so that every knee will bow and every tongue
2. The "Big Mission."
The mission of God is to fill all things with Christ; to place all things under His feet. What does it mean for the Church to be filled with the fullness of Christ? See Eph. 4:12-13...the fullness of Jesus emerges as we "attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God." Rev. Short then spoke on the new life in Christ, reading from Eph. 4:25-32.
It doesn't matter if the pews are small or your church's heating doesn't work in the winter, but if God is present and at work, your church will be filled with "contagious glory." We take a passive view of God as if it is we who do the work, but tat is nonsense: it is God who does all the work.
We perceive the Church as being under threat these days. But if the end of Eph. 1 is true—if God is filling the world with the glory of Christ through the Church—it is not the Church that is under threat, but the world.
3. "Big Church."
Let's face it. Churches are often boring: music too traditional or too groovy; congregants too cold or too cliquish; elders and pastors dysfunctional. But the Church is so much more than these mundane details. It is the glory of God is revealed to the world through the Church. His giving all authority to Jesus Christ, who gives all things to the Church.
After the Session
Pastor John Neufeld closed off the session, and concluded with a prayer.
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