Who God Says the Church Is

The church is not an organization. It is a living organism.

The church is the people. In Ephesians 4 Paul talks about the church.

In Ephesians 4:1 Paul identifies himself as a prisoner for the Lord. Paul was in prison because of his faith in Jesus. He saw this not in a negative sense but in a very positive way.

In Ephesians 4:1-3, four characteristics of followers of Jesus are given.

Ephesians 4:1b
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

We are to live in such a way that our lives reflect the truth of who Jesus really is.

In Acts 1:8 Jesus says that His followers will be witnesses for Him. When we claim the name of Jesus, every area of life will either reflect the true picture of who Jesus is or a false picture of who Jesus is.

Paul is encouraging us for our lives to reflect the truth of who Jesus is and thus honor Him. Our lives as followers of Jesus are to show how worthy He is.

Ephesians 4:2a
Be completely humble and gentle

We who are followers of Jesus are to be humble and treat other others with gentleness.

Humbleness is our attitude and actions before God.
Gentleness is our attitude and actions before people.

Humbleness is when we acknowledge our struggles and come before God and seek His mercy.
Gentleness is seeing each other as fellow strugglers, then loving, not condemning each other.

Notice it says be completely humble and gentle. We are not to try and fake these characteristics.

Ephesians 4:2b
Bearing with one another in love
Being humble and gentle then leads us to the practical aspect of bearing with each other in love.

Judging each other is easy. It takes no effort or discernment. Judging is looking solely on the outward appearance and making no effort to understand or help.

We as followers of Jesus are called to encourage, support, and love - not judge.

Ephesians 4:2b
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

There is to be a unity among the followers of Jesus.

Unity in this passage means to be one.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is the Holy Spirit manifesting the character of Jesus in us as His followers.

What areas are we to be one in?

Ephesians 4:4-6
There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism , one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all, and in all.

We are to be one in:
The Body of Christ
The Holy Spirit
Hope
The Lord Jesus
Faith
Baptism
God and Father.

What allows us to be in that kind of oneness? The fact that God the Father is:
Over All
Through All
In All

The unifying factor is not our:
Style of Worship
Church Structure
Church Ministries
Name of Church

The unifying factor is God the Father.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls  is God the Father uniting us as one with Him and each other.

The church also experiences the gift of grace from God.

Ephesians 4:7
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned.

Grace is God loving us, not based on us but based on Him.
Grace is God loving us all the time regardless of our behavior.
Grace is God never abandoning us.
Grace is God sending His Son, Jesus, to die for us.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing the grace of God every day.

Ephesians 4:8-10
This is why it says, “When he ascended on high, He led captives in His train and gave gifts to men.” (What does “He ascended” mean except that He also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)

God is higher than us. His ways and His thoughts are higher and better than ours.

But the awesome thing about God is that His being higher and better than us does not stop Him from loving us and being present with us. God the Son, Jesus, became one of us. He took on our limitations, our struggles, our temptations, and eventually our sins.

We are shown a picture of that in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 57:15 tells us who God is, where He dwells, and what He does.

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls  is knowing and experiencing God’s presence in our life every day.

God the Father envisioned the church.
God the Son established the church.
God the Holy Spirit energizes the church.

The living organism called the church is all about God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit working in and through His people.

Displaying Jesus’ Character While Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
                                                      Joe