The following in an excerpt of Part IV of our series, What Good is the Church? A complete audio version can be found here.
1 John 3:8 says Jesus has come to destroy the works of the devil. Linked with that statement is a statement on sin. Scripture tells us that sin has come into the world. Sin has come into the world through Satan, the accuser, who tempted us to sin. As a result of humanity’s willful disregard for God’s good, brokenness entered the world.
Broken relationships, broken dreams,
Broken lives and the sounds of screams,
Pieces of life all around
All because in man fault can now be found
Can anything be done to save us from sin?
Only the One in whom the name of God is
Can restore creation to the way things should have always been.
As we glean through Ephesians, we consider an aspect of the church that speaks right into our moment of brokenness. Racial disharmony is a symptom of a greater underlying condition. Political unrest is a symptom of a greater underlying condition. Divisions all around are a symptom of a greater underlying condition. Humanity’s condition is sin. Legislation can’t fix it. Rioting won’t solve it. There is no vaccination for it. The only remedy is Jesus Christ.
The providential benefit of coming to Ephesians 2 is how it focuses our attention on the new humanity the Father is forming by the Spirit in the image of Christ. The current climate tempts us to focus on external factors to build community. The Gospel creates an identity that undergirds all other identities. Because of redemption through the blood of Jesus, we have been reconciled to God.
The fracture of a broken vertical relationship plays itself out in horizontal dimensions. Because we can’t lift up our heads, we cannot see what is right in front of us, and so we stumble our way through life.
To illustrate how our broken relationship with God (the vertical) impacts how we relate to each other (horizontal), consider the Ten Commandments. The first four commandments are focused vertically: No other God’s before me. No idols. Do not take the name of God in vain. Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. While what follows has to do with how we relate with one another: Honor father and mother. No murder. No adultery. No stealing. No bearing false witness. No coveting.
Inevitably, what has been restored vertically will have implications for the horizontal relationships we experience. Because God has loved us from above, we can love one another here below. Since God has overcome the barrier between him and us, we can overcome whatever barrier between one another. Through Christ, God has lifted our heads. We now have a clear line of sight.
God’s solution to end alienation was the sending of the Son so that the Spirit could seal. Thus, through redemption, God was able to exact a reconciliation that resulted in the creation of one humanity. Where there were once two – those alienated and hostile – now there is one humanity made (and being made) in the image of Christ. These are the redeemed who are both reconciled to God and towards one another. The community the redeemed shares is called, Church.