The Ecclesiology of Ephesians, Part 5: Eph 4:25–32; 5:21–6:12

In chapters 1-3 Paul has taken us on a cosmic journey from the eternal counsels when the church was elected in Christ before the foundation of the world, to the ultimate eschatological goal when the church is completed as God’s perfected and eternal temple. The first three chapters have caught us up into the great drama of God’s eternal purpose in Christ Jesus. We have been seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. Christ is exalted at God’s right hand as Head over all things for the church. The church is the new man, the new humanity formed on the cross and born anew at the resurrection.

But then we come to chapters 4-6 and we hit the reality of the church’s present existence between the times. There we are confronted with the fact that worldwide unity of the church on the basis of her identity as the body of Christ is not visibly expressed as it ought to be. There we are reminded of the fact that in the local expression of the body of Christ, there is potential for unreconciled relationships, for brethren to lie to one another, for unwholesome words to be spoken, for there to be a lack of forgiveness and mutual forebearance. The church on earth is composed of former Gentiles, who once lived in debauchery and sin, enslaved to the lusts of the flesh and the shameful deeds of darkness. And though these former Gentiles who are now cleansed in Christ and judicially set apart to the status of being holy ones, saints in God’s sight, yet it is still possible for saints to act in ways that are inconsistent with their status in Christ and to manifest the remnants of their former pagan ways.

In 5:25-27 Paul also reveals his awareness of the fact that the church is a work in progress. Christ, as the church’s Head and Husband, continues to cleanse the church by the washing agency of his word, with the goal of presenting her to himself in all his glory having no spot or wrinkle, but holy and blameless before him. The implication is that at the present time, prior to the second coming of Christ, the church is not yet there. She is imperfect. She is full of spots and wrinkles.

In 6:12 Paul further expands on the nature of this time prior to the consummation. It is not only a time of progressive sanctification for the church, but a time of spiritual danger. We are in a cosmic conflict. The gospel is going forth to the ends of the earth, but the enemy is also trying to hinder the gospel, as evidenced for example in Paul’s imprisonment. The church must therefore be spiritually alert, equipped with the full armor of Christ, and watching unto prayer.

There is this tension between the ideal church in the heavenly places in Christ as presented in chapters 1-3 and the real church on earth as presented in chapters 4-6.

The way in which this distinction has been expressed traditionally is the distinction between the visible and the invisible church. The visible church is the empirical church that we see on earth, with its actual professing members. It is imperfect. It contains a mixture of wheat and tares. The invisible church is the ideal church, the total number of the elect who are known only to God.

The weakness of this distinction between the visible and the invisible church is that it gives the impression that we are talking about two separate churches. John Murray tries to correct this by saying that we are really talking about one church, viewed from two different perspectives. Murray therefore prefers to speak of the church as visible and as invisible.

Another way of getting at Murray’s concern is to take Paul’s two-age construct - the already and the not-yet - and apply it to our doctrine of the church.

The empirical church that we see now, the church with all its warts and foibles and even apostasy in large sections of it, is the church in its pre-consummation form, still waiting for the glory of the not-yet. That is the church as visible. The church from the perspective of her present participation in Christ’s death and resurrection, the church as already raised with Christ and seated with Christ in the heavenly places, waiting only the public vindication at the last day - that is the church from the point of view of the already, the church as invisible.

Both of these perspectives must be kept together. Only as we keep the proper balance and tension between the already and the not-yet will we be properly motivated to be involved in God’s great cosmic plan for the exaltation of his Son in and through the church. On the one hand, if we downplay the not-yet, and allow our minds to be so captured by the spell of the already, we will not be motivated to get our hands dirty by being involved with the actual church as she exists on earth. On the other hand, if we allow ourselves to be consumed by the deplorable condition of the visible church seen from the perspective of the not-yet, then we will be discouraged and paralyzed. We will only focus on the church’s sins and failures, and thus feel like giving up, as if it is of no use to be involved in the continuous work of the church. Ironically, both extremes lead to inaction, lack of practical involvement in the life and work of the church.

These two problems, then, form the two points of the message from God’s word this morning: (1) a non-committal attitude toward the visible church caused by a romantic view of “the already” and (2) a defeatist attitude about the visible church caused by focusing only on “the not-yet.”

I. A non-committal attitude toward the visible church caused by a romantic view of “the already”

The first problem is that some Christians have a non-committal attitude toward the visible church caused by a romantic view of “the already.” Such Christians often claim that they are members of the invisible church, so they don’t need to become members of a particular visible church.

In chapters 4-6 Paul is very practical. He won’t let us stand their gazing into heaven, as we meditate on the glory of the heavenly reality of the church seated with Christ in glory. He pulls us down to the empirical realities of the church as she exists in this present age. He commands us to apply the heavenly vision in extremely practical and often difficult ways.

In 5:21 Paul introduces his exhortations to wives and husbands, to children and parents, and to slaves and masters with the command to “be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.” In each of these relationships, Paul detects something of the relationship between Christ and his church. The Christian wife, for example, expresses her faith and her subjection to Christ, not in some abstract way, but in the very real context of having to submit to her husband. Likewise for children and slaves.

The converse is also true for the authority figures. For example, Christian masters must not threaten their slaves or treat them as mere property for the satisfaction of their desires, but must treat them with humanity and fairness, knowing that they themselves are slaves of a higher Master, who will judge impartially without showing favoritism. Paul won’t let these authority figures off the hook, just because they are in the position of authority. He shows that they too must learn how to submit to authority, that is the authority of Christ. And they can only learn how to submit to Christ in the context of real relationships, as they learn how to sacrificially love their wives, children, or slaves.

What about those of you who are single and don’t own slaves? In 1 Timothy 3:15, Paul says that the church is the family or household of God. We get an idea of what this means in practical terms when we look at Eph. 4:25-32. Here we see that all Christians are to lay aside falsehood and speak the truth, for we are members of one another. We must not let anger and bitterness fester in our hearts. Instead, we are to be reconciled quickly with our brother or sister, so as not to give the devil a foothold. We must not steal but instead work hard so that we can share with those in the church who are in need. We are to watch our speech, making sure that no unwholesome words proceed from our mouths, but only words that edify and build up and give grace to those who hear. We are to be kind to one another, tender-hearted, and ready to forgive those who have wronged us.

Paul refuses to allow anyone in the church get away with a general or abstract obedience that is not tied to the concrete realities of obedience to human authority, with all of its foibles and shortcomings in this present age. Christ disciples his people by placing them in human relationships.

Only when Christians live together in relationships within the family of God, do we begin to appreciate what this thing is that God has created, this thing called the church, with Christ as the Head, and we who are many being one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Working hard at these very practical things is an act of faith by which we show that we really believe in the lofty theology of the church.

Membership in the invisible church won’t teach you how to submit to one another in Christ, won’t teach you how to live as a member of the community of Christ’s blood-bought people. Sometimes you meet Christians who claim that they are members of the invisible church and don’t need to join a particular congregation. Such people sometimes come to us and say that they want to partake of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper with us. To them I say, “The invisible elders of the invisible church will come by later on with the invisible bread and the invisible cup.”

The person who says that they do not need to join a particular fellowship of God’s people, placing themselves in a position of spiritual accountability to their brothers and sisters, and to the elders and shepherds of the church - such a person may claim that they believe in the church, but their practical behavior belies their claim. If you really believe what Paul has been telling us in Ephesians about this lofty cosmic plan of God to sum up all things in Christ and in his body which is the fullness of Christ - if you really believe that the church is central to God’s eternal purpose, then you must, you must get your hands dirty by getting involved in real relationships in the visible church with visible Christians - which by the way, are sinners just like you.

Paul is no escapist who flees from reality to the noumenal Platonic realm of abstract ideas. Let this be a reminder to us those who are committed to the redemptive historical way. Often we are accused of being escapists or Platonic idealists. We are often told that we seem to want to avoid the hard realities of concrete application and Christian obedience. Although I am convinced that many of these criticisms are caricatures, I think there is a measure of truth to the charge that we need to work harder at application. Let us take heed. Let us take our cue from Paul. Let us make sure that we apply the great and glorious doctrine of the church’s union with Christ, bringing out the rich applications of it to our real Christian existence here on earth, in the context of our concrete relationships with one another in the visible church.

II. A defeatist attitude about the visible church caused by focusing only on “the not-yet”

The second thing that can happen is that we can develop a defeatist attitude about the visible church caused by focusing only on “the not-yet.”

There are many areas of potential discouragement that we face today in the current ecclesiastical scene. I’ll name three that stand out:

The lack of unity in the visible church. When we look at Christendom, the vast variety of the visible church around us, we see only a dizzying array of denominations, sects, and independent congregations, each with their distinctive practices and doctrinal viewpoints.

The doctrinal error that pervades the visible church. Many ministers of the gospel are good men. They teach the Word of God in purity. They are building on the apostolic foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones. But there are many, many ministers who are building with wood, hay, and stubble. There has never been a greater time of crisis today, when the gospel of free grace has needed to be defended, not only before the world, not only against liberals and Roman Catholics, but within the evangelical church.

The false priorities that occupy the visible church - whether it is the political agenda of religious right and Christian Reconstructionism, or the church growth movement, which too often sacrifices faithfulness to the pure teaching of God’s word on the altar of numerical success, or the Charismatic movement with its emphasis on experience. These are misplaced priorities, because they turn God’s people away from Christ and him crucified.

Paul’s lofty theological reflection on the nature of the church does not mean that we must close our eyes to the reality of the problems that the church faces in this world. Paul did not give us the lofty theological reflection in order to avoid facing up to the concrete struggles and problems.

Yet, while we cannot escape these realities of the visible or already church, this side of heaven, by faith we can and we must lay hold of the eschatological reality that has been given to us in Christ. Indeed, the glory of the church united with Christ the Head is a theological reality that can only be grasped by faith. In the visible church, as a historical and sociological phenomenon on earth, we do not see a glorious bride without spot or wrinkle. Therefore, we must look not to the empirical church on earth, but to the objective reality of the church’s existence and identity as defined by Christ himself in heaven.

If we are to be actively involved in the struggles of the visible church without losing heart, then the glorious picture of the church, as God sees her in Christ - the picture Paul presented in the first three chapters - must always be kept before our eyes. The doctrine of the church is just as much an article of faith as the doctrine of Christ himself. We cannot see Christ exalted in heaven. We must lay hold of his present victory at God’s right hand by faith, for we walk by faith not by sight. Therefore, also the church, which is Christ’s body.

This is why Paul says in Eph. 1:18 that he is praying for the church of Ephesus that the eyes of their heart will be enlightened, so that they might know and see the fullness of what God is doing in Christ and his church.

By faith we must believe that just as there is only one Lord, so there is only one church. That is why we confess in the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church.” It is an article of faith, confessed with the same faith that we confess the invisible reality and secret empowerment of the Holy Spirit himself.

Not only is the unity of the church a spiritual reality perceived by faith, it is also an eschatological reality that will be unveiled when Christ presents the church to himself arrayed in all his glory. Then God will perform a miracle in the hearts and minds of all his people, so that we will all come to perfect unity and agreement in our faith and doctrine. And together we will with one mouth and one heart worship and adore Jesus Christ to the praise of the glory of his everlasting grace.

We know with absolute certainty that Christ’s work has been accomplished, that he will perfect his church, and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. The reality of the already/not-yet as applied to the church is exceedingly practical.