Unlimited Grace

Guest (Male): It's not running water or still water. It's not magic water. It's not the amount of water. It's the recognition that you are made right by the work of Jesus Christ. His blood cleanses your sin. You have a Lord whose commandments you have not met.

So you have to have faith in his work in your behalf and you acknowledge that when before the world you say it's Christ's cleansing that I acknowledge in my baptism. And that one baptism identifies that we have one Father.

So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. In today's episode, Pastor Bryan shares a lesson from Ephesians 4. Dr. Chapell highlights how, despite all our differences, God unites us all as one body, for Christ is all in all.

You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. And while you're there, look for Pastor Bryan's commentary on the book of Ephesians, which he wrote for the Reformed Expository Commentary series. Dr. Chapell reveals how when we lift our eyes beyond ourselves to share Paul's expansive vision, then we too will join his doxology for God's amazing grace that transforms the world. Let's hear now from Dr. Bryan Chapell as he shares the lesson, "The Same, Only Different."

Bryan Chapell: It was a different time in many ways, reflected in our own era, as we think of aggressor nations taking over parts of the world that we never would have thought would have happened even a few years ago. But the year was 1805. And the aggressor at that point was the Emperor Napoleon.

He had taken over much of Europe and had his sights set on England. And to stop him was a man named Horatio, Admiral Horatio Nelson, sent to meet Napoleon's navy off the coast of Spain. It seemed highly unlikely that any great victory could occur. After all, France had at that point aligned with Spain.

And as Admiral Nelson looked at his own small fleet, he recognized he was outmanned two to one. How could they have any hope of victory? They recognized in the strategy sessions that they had that the Franco-Spanish ships were large. They were heavy. And while their armaments far exceeded that of the English, the Spanish ships could be faster.

And so the battle plan was simply to take advantage of the wind. For months they trained, equipping the English ships with even more sails, counting on the wind to now enable them to divide the French and Spanish armada in such a way that the large ships, now divided without the advantage of speed, could be overcome.

Great plan. And as the day came in 1805, and the smaller English ships sailed right toward the French and Spanish armada, it looked like a great plan until the wind died. One of the sailors on an English ship later put in his journal, "There was now ample time for meditation," which meant they were going, "Oh, no! The wind has died. What will happen to us now?"

Well, there was just a little wind that came back. And what they did not anticipate was that little wind gave the English ships such an advantage because the large French and Spanish ships could not maneuver at all. And in the great Battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Nelson became a hero and you and I were determined to speak English instead of French where we are right now.

It was a great victory, but there was a time in which, of course, panic was spreading. When the wind had died, when men wondered, "Can we have any chance of success?" there was a famous message that went up on the signal ship of Admiral Nelson. As men had ample time for meditation, he sent them this message: "England expects every man to do his duty."

The Apostle Paul is saying something quite similar here. "I expect," he says, "that through the work of the church, the spirit of God will be so powerful and active that ultimately the message of Christ will fill all in all." Christ himself will at one point be known and cover this earth as much as the waters cover the sea. Christ will triumph.

But of course, when the wind is out of our sails, when we just look at the few of us, when we look at nation after nations that seem to oppose the gospel, we wonder how could this possibly be the case? How could God possibly use us and give us the means to ultimately fill all in all as the body of Christ?

In order to unite us, the Apostle Paul has a simple message to begin. He says, "Listen, if you are going to fulfill the calling that Christ has given you, you must remember something: you're all the same." In order to play on the same team, in order to work together, you need to remember you're all the same.

Just think of the opening words of chapter 4. "I, therefore," Paul says, "a prisoner for the Lord," he's in prison elsewhere, but he urges those at Ephesus, "I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called." First thing to note, the "you" is plural. For those of us raised in the South, he's saying, "I am saying to y'all."

To all of you to walk worthy in the manner worthy of your calling. What is that calling? Look at chapter 1, verses 22 and 23. In chapter 1, verses 22 through 23, the apostle's reminding us who our savior is. It says in verse 22, "God put all things under his feet and gave him, that is Jesus, as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."

Christ is the head of the church. But he has been given to the church so that ultimately his church, his body, fulfills his purpose of filling all in all. That ultimate victory, ultimate triumph is in Christ, but through the church. Now the apostle says, "I'm saying to you all, if that is your calling to be part of the great gospel work of Christ in all the world until he fills absolutely everything, then walk in a manner worthy of your calling."

Now, he has to say, "all of you," to remind everyone that you can't check out of the battle. After all, when Admiral Nelson sent up that famous message, "England expects every man to do his duty," he wasn't just talking to English sailors. There were sailors from Scotland and Ireland and Wales as well as England.

But if you'd done that many signal flags, you'd be sitting in the water waiting for the message to go by. So everyone is grouped under this the pattern of England. We're all in this together. We're all under the same sail, under the same banner. And that banner's expressed here when we are told we all have the same calling.

But if it's to fill all in all, you know everybody just goes, "How could we possibly do that?" And the message is that you can't do it by yourself. So verse 3 says, "Be eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." Hey, if you're in this great battle, if there's so much to be done, you need to be eager to work together.

This is more than any single person or single group can do. You're going to need each other. So be anxious to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. How will you do that? Verse 2: "With all humility and gentleness and patience, bearing with each other in love." What's the hard part of that verse? I've got to bear with you.

And you've got to bear with me. Because if we are going to move forward into the great battle for Jesus Christ's purposes, we recognize we are made different. Even as those at Ephesus were from different backgrounds, some of them had been former ethnic enemies, they're certainly from different races, they are different ethnicities, they are different demographic categories—young, old, rich, poor—and he says, "You're going to have to learn to get along here."

Because the battle is too great for you to think that you can operate separately and accomplish the purposes of God. So be eager to bear with one another, keeping the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. What will keep that happening? Verse 4: "Remembering there is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope that belongs to your call."

There's one spiritual body. And that body we are all part of. And we are all indwelt by the spirit that has brought us together so that we have one hope of fulfilling the purposes of God, which is fulfilling that calling. It's a simple reminder as we start: there are no independent Christians.

You were baptized into the body of Christ. We are called together for a purpose that we cannot fulfill individually. We become part of a church not because we want to fill up the membership rolls—not the purpose—but rather to say, "Who's on board? Who is here for the purposes of God? Are you in here to say I'm part of what God is accomplishing?" Because listen, I can't do this by myself. You can't do it by yourself. We need each other.

And so every now and then we take assessment and say, "Are you on the team? Are you part of this?" And our identifying ourselves as members of the body of Christ is simply saying this is too great a task either to check out or to think that we can do independently.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians to declare God's plan that the gospel of Jesus Christ would reach the world through weak and sinful people like you and me. He writes that God has redeemed us to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

When we lift our eyes beyond ourselves to share Paul's expansive vision, then we too will join his doxology for God's amazing grace that saves individuals, empowers the church, and transforms the world. Yes, such grace really is possible and Pastor Bryan's commentary on the book of Ephesians clearly teaches the details of this amazing truth.

As a thank you for your support of our ministry here at Unlimited Grace, we would like to send you a copy of Dr. Chapell's commentary, which he wrote for the Reformed Expository Commentary series. You can request your copy of the commentary on Ephesians when you donate online at unlimitedgrace.com or by calling 844-41-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223. And now, more from Bryan Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.

Bryan Chapell: This is too great a task either to check out or to think that we can do independently. We are called to affect all in all. That is not a question about whether or not we are going to be a great church, whether or not we have enough people or enough funds.

The question the apostle's asking us to consider is, is our city going to be changed? Is Christ going to be all in all? Is our state going to be changed? Is our nation going to be changed? Is our world going to be changed by the way in which we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace?

Are we functioning together as we have been called to be the body of Christ so that everything is changing, not just so that we get bigger and better? That's not the purpose. The purpose is so that the world would be changed by the purposes of Christ as we recognize we have a calling to be such a body.

Ruth Haley Barton in her book *Strengthening the Soul of Leadership* spells it out clearly. She says this: "Life in Christ is not about the next brilliant career move. It is not about security. It is not about personal success or failure. It is not about anything else that the ego wants. The life in Christ is about the spirit of God setting us on our feet and telling us, 'This calling is yours to do.'"

You have been called together as the church of Jesus Christ to accomplish the purposes of filling all in all. Now, to do that, to work together, we recognize is difficult and surely the apostle recognizes it is difficult. And so he reminds people of the basis of their unity. Verse 5: "There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all who is over all, through all, and in all."

There is one Lord that you are all responsible for. Remember, Jesus we are told was the head of the church. And so we are to be responding to live by his commands, to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. One Lord calls the shots. I don't call the shots. Society doesn't call the shots. You don't call the shots. Jesus calls the shots. There's one Lord.

Then there's one faith. That all of us who recognize what Jesus calls us to do to live holy lives to honor him is beyond us. And so there's one faith. Paul has already described it. "By grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." My faith is not in what I do.

My faith is in what Christ has accomplished. I look to him. His grace is what makes me right with God. I walk under his commands and even as I do so, I recognize my inability, my shortcoming and the necessity of my faith in another. And so as I recognize there is one Lord, one faith, I recognize there is one baptism.

Now just to be clear, you know we covered this a couple of weeks ago for a very important purpose. When the apostle says there is one baptism, we would just be naive to think that our baptism issues were not going on in the time of the apostle. Right? We already know even in the time of Jesus there were people saying, "Well, should I get Jesus' baptism or John the Baptist's baptism?"

In Paul's time, "Well, I was baptized under Paul. Well, I was baptized under Apollos. Which one's better?" We know from the Old Testament there were various forms of baptism ceremonies. It's just silly to think that even in Paul's time people were not arguing about baptism. So Paul says, "Listen, there's one baptism."

That baptism is the one whereby you acknowledge it's the cleansing of Christ's blood that makes you right with him. It's not running water or still water. It's not magic water. It's not the amount of water. It's the recognition that you are made right by the work of Jesus Christ. His blood cleanses your sin. You have a Lord whose commandments you have not met.

So you have to have faith in his work in your behalf and you acknowledge that when before the world you say it's Christ's cleansing that I acknowledge in my baptism. And that one baptism identifies that we have one Father. Isn't that precious? That we have one God and father of all. When we have been cleansed by the recognition of what Christ has done in our behalf, God says, "You're mine." Now and forever, you are mine.

Do you recognize what the apostle has done? Even as you look at verses five and six, he has explained the gospel in a nutshell to these people again. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all. There's one Lord, he's given commands. But you haven't kept them. Not perfectly, not as a holy God requires.

And so you have to have faith in another. One faith in his grace, not in your works. And because you have faith in that, you look to his cleansing in your baptism, claiming for yourself and as a testimony to the world saying, "He makes me right with him. I can't do that." And as you claim the baptism of Jesus Christ as the signification of your own faith, then God says, "I'm your Father. You're in the family now. You're mine. I love you."

We face holiness with a need for humility, which follows with a need for cleansing and comes finally with the promise of the hope of heaven given by a great Father. That's the gospel. And it ultimately unites all of us. We are one under that banner. Some of you will go with me and some others to the Holy Land this spring.

And when we go, one of the places that we are going to visit is the Church of the Nativity. A great castle, virtually, built over the place supposedly that Jesus was born. You can't prove it, but it's where it's honored. And as we go to that great church, it's going to surprise some of you because we're expecting a church to look like this or maybe like a big European cathedral.

But the Church of the Nativity was built during the Crusader era. And therefore, it looks much more like a fortress. Think of the Alamo, right? Church and fortress at the same time. And because it was a fortress, it was built to withstand the armaments and the military of that age.

So as you walk up to the Church of the Nativity, you walk to this great kind of stone wall and to get into this majestic place honoring the birth of Jesus, you have to walk through this humble little small door. You can't stand up and go through it. Why was that? Because horses couldn't go through it either.

Because men in armor couldn't go through it either. Because to go through that door, every single one has to bow and expose his head and neck to the people inside first. It was defense, but a great message. When you come into the realm of Jesus Christ, every single one of us is the same.

We have to bow to the one Lord, to our faith in him, to our recognition of his baptism is what cleanses us. His blood washes us, not our works. And because of that, we have a father in heaven who holds us. It's the gospel. Not what is in us, but what he has provided makes us right with him.

And it's that unity that is our message that makes us one before Christ. We are one, says the apostle. One in Christ, one by his work, one by his gospel. We are one. Are you ready for whiplash? After saying all this about we are one, we are the same, what's the apostle about to say?

By the way, you're different. You're the same, only different. How are you different? We're actually told the ways in which this happens. Look at verse 7. "But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift." Now, this is not talking about the volume of grace that is given to us. It's not like some get a little grace and some got a lot of grace.

But rather the kind of grace that is given by the different gifts that come. Verse 8: "Therefore it says, 'When he, that is Christ, ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men.' In saying he ascended, what does it mean but that he also descended into the lower regions of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all things."

When Lord Nelson went into that great battle, he needed signal ships. He needed some ships with cannons. He needed some ships to command. He needed different kinds of ships. But for one great purpose. Now we are being told by the Apostle Paul there are different kinds of gifts that have been made available through another battle.

When Jesus ascended, says the apostle, that is after his death and resurrection, after he had defeated the demons of earth, he ascended. And when he ascended, he gave gifts to men. Think of the picture: if you were an ancient king or general, as you came home from a great battle, you might have captives in your train. You might have those in ropes or chains behind you.

But at the same time, you would have the spoils of battle. And so to celebrate the great victory, you would not only show the subjugation of the enemy, you would be distributing the gifts—not candy like at Thanksgiving Day parades, but wealth and gold and riches that you would be distributing as the city or the nation cheered.

And now, says the apostle, Satan has been defeated. The forces of evil have been put down. God is now going to accomplish his great battle. It's not that there are no guerrilla warriors left back on the field, but God has had the great victory through Jesus Christ. And now as he ascends to heaven, he is giving gifts to his church. And they're different kinds of gifts.

He describes how they are different. Remember, he says in verse 11, "He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds." Hey, it's okay to be different. There are different kinds of tasks, so there are different kinds of people.

And as the apostle begins to say, listen, here's just the example first. He gave gifts to men, different kinds of people who do different kinds of things. That is the recognition that we have the same calling of filling all in all, but we are called to do it in different ways. That means everyone in Christ's church has a different purpose for your personality, for your giftedness, for your talents, for your situation, but all to be given to the purposes of Christ.

Guest (Male): That's Pastor Bryan Chapell, and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If this message has been an encouragement to you, you can find a collection of more valuable resources at unlimitedgrace.com. Please be sure to join us next time as once again we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by his unlimited grace. This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace Media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.