Which
Part of the Building Are You?
Ephesians 2:19-22
Have you ever paid much attention to the things
that stand out when you enter someone’s house for the first time? At this time of the year you might notice if
they have air-conditioning. I feels so
nice when you first walk in on a hot day.
You might notice the color of the walls.
You might notice the furniture.
You might notice if the rooms are bright and inviting or dark and
forbidding. Think of how you would describe
that house to someone. The writers of
the Bible were directed by God to use some interesting word pictures to help
describe the Kingdom of God in ways that people could understand. Jesus was the master of the parable but there
are other fascinating word pictures in
other books of the Bible besides the Gospels.
Our text for today speaks of the church, the people of God, as a
building. The earlier part of our Epistle
lesson addresses the fact that the church of God is made up of all kinds of
people. Originally the chosen people of
God were the descendants of Abraham. Even
though God told them to welcome the stranger, in later years there were sharp
divisions made between the Jews and the non-Jews or Gentiles. Is was incomprehensible
to some people that God could ever include Gentiles among those who thought of
themselves as the people of God. Yet God
called the Apostle Paul to be a messenger of the Gospel to Gentiles. He rejoiced that all people could hear the message
of salvation through Jesus Christ and come to faith and the hope of eternal life.
In his letters to Gentile churches, Paul
wanted to make them feel that they were just as much a part of the true church
of God as were those who had been in a close relationship with God all of their
lives. That’s why he said in verse 19, “So
then you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with the
saints and members of the household of
God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone.” He uses the word picture of a building to
describe the whole church, the people of God.
It is a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. That word picture has some interesting
implications.
If we are all part of that building that
rises up and becomes a holy temple in the Lord, as Paul said, then which part
of that building are you? Where do you
fit in to this picture? A building has many parts. Some are essential. Some are very functional. Some are mainly there for decoration. As we think about this today, may you be
honest with yourself and assess your place in the building that is the church,
the people of God. May you be honest
about your short-comings, confess your sins to God and be assured of your
forgiveness through Jesus Christ. May
you take hold of the power of the Holy Spirit so that you can grow in your
faith and your understanding of the ways in which you can function in God’s
household.
As you look around a house, you will find
a number of spaces. Some rooms are meant
to be attractive and welcoming, especially to guests. Some rooms are meant to be private and comfortable
where you can be alone to get way from the stress of daily life. Let’s take an imaginary tour of a house and
see what parts might have some interest for us people of God. Hopefully you can begin to answer the
question, “Which part of the building are you?”
The first part of a house that is built is
the foundation. A house wouldn’t stand
very long without a solid foundation.
Paul spoke of this dwelling place of God being built on the foundation
of the apostles and prophets. That of
course is a reference to the teachings and proclamations of the apostles and
prophets. We have those teachings passed
down to us in the pages of Holy Scripture.
The Bible is certainly the foundation of the teachings of the church
because it is God’s Word. The church
needs that solid foundation to be able to stand against all the false teachings
and worldly philosophes that we face today.
Without the solid foundation, the rest of the house would crumble and
fall. As we think about ourselves now,
none of us could presume to be as important as the apostles and prophets who
wrote the Bible. Rather than thinking
about the walls of a basement, let’s consider the space in the basement. Unless you are careful, a basement can become
cold and damp. That’s an ideal environment
for mold to grow. That is the way some
people in the world see the church. They
have gotten the impression that the church is cold and moldy because of the
reception that they have received from some church people. When a guest in the church is treated as a
stranger and an outsider and is ignored by everyone, it can seem pretty cold. You
have to ask yourself if you have been guilty of being cold and moldy like an
old basement. If you find that you have,
perhaps you need a spiritual dehumidifier.
By the power of the Holy Spirit you can warm up and clean up some of the
cobwebs from the corners of your heart.
Another fascinating place in house is the
attic. An attic can be filled with all sorts of wonderful treasures. When I was young, I used to love to explore in
my grandparent’s attic. The only problem
with the attic is that it could get pretty hot and stuffy up there. That image can lead to another one of our
considerations of the church. Sometimes
you find yourself being hot and stuffy. When you get that way, you don’t have a
lot of patience for anyone or anything that gets in your way. You tend to be angry and critical about
everything. Basement and attic people in
the church really don’t help the church to carry out its mission. The truth is though that all of us have spent
some time as either an attic or basement person in the church. It is for those times that you need to come
to the Lord and repent of your sins and seek the spiritual strength to get out
of those cold and moldy or hot and stuffy places.
Another important part of any house are
the walls. Walls can serve two different
purposes. They can be walls that support
the building or they can be walls that divide the building into its different rooms.
How do you see yourself as a wall in this dwelling of the Lord? Are you a divider or a supporter? Often when you want to make sure that you get
your own way, you may be more of a divider than a supporter. You try to force people to take sides. You gather around you those who agree with
your point of view and you seek ways of dividing the church instead looking for
ways to support the whole church. For
those times when you have acted as a divider, you need to come to the Lord and
seek His forgiveness.
We can also think of the rooms in the house.
When you think about it, though, a room is nothing but an empty space until it
is filled with things that make it functional.
We are all that way to start with.
You are empty spaces that need to be filled with power of the Holy
Spirit. Through your Baptism and the
teaching of the Word, you are filled with all that you need to be useful parts
of the dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. Just like the various rooms of the house may
have different functions, so the people who make up God’s household have different
functions. Every room can be used for
something. Every person in the church has a function in carrying out the mission
of making disciples.
Houses also have windows. Windows allow people to look out but at the
same time they can also allow people to look in. People who function as windows in the church
are those whose lives allow others to see what it means to be a Christian. They are witnesses for the Lord and His love
and mercy. Windows are open to sharing
the love of God through Jesus Christ in what they say and what they do. Through the windows, the church carries out
its mission of making disciples in the community.
Another important part of the house is the
door. People come into the house through
the door. Those who are doors in the
dwelling place of God are those who bring people into the church through their
intentional and personal invitations.
They invite others to share in the blessings that are found in the Word
and the Sacraments. They welcome all who
come to the church and do all they can to make them feel at home and comfortable. The doors are certainly an important part of
the whole building that is joined together and grows to become a holy temple, a
dwelling place of God.
The church is made up of many different
people, just as a building has many parts.
Not everyone is a door or a window.
Hopefully there aren’t too many attics or basements. Hopefully there aren’t too many who are
merely decorations. When you find
yourself acting cold and moldy or hot and stuffy or just an empty space, you
can come to the Lord and confess your sins and be assured of the forgiveness
that is yours through the blood of Jesus Christ. You can then be strengthened by the Word and
the Sacraments to be able to function in a way that builds up the church and
helps it to grow. Which part of the
building are you. Amen.
