RE-IMAGINING THE CHURCH

Ephesians 6:10-23

Eugene Peterson [in The Message Bible] gives us a fresh look at a familiar passage.  He removes the ancient references to Roman armor and weaponry – which some will miss and even criticize – but he sustains the intensity of the battle that rages daily in our lives between the Devil and God!  Sometimes a fresh rendering gives us a renewed awakening!

^10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

^13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Wouldn’t it be great if Christians could get together once a week to share how the battle is going, where they’re weak, where they’re strong, to what extent we need help and how, and to pray specifically for and resource one another in these areas? 

Okay, okay, I’ve got my tongue in my cheek.  We do get together weekly – to a large extent – but there’s very little sharing about our struggles, weaknesses, failures and needs.  Instead, we fulfill a structured form of worship and listen to the results of one person’s study and reflection on the Word.  [I was that person for over forty years.] 

Two decades into the twenty-first century, I'm thinking that it might be time for a new reformation that sends the church back into the home [where it started in the first several centuries].  I’ve said for many years that one government decision could immediately close well over fifty percent of our churches.  That decision would be to tax the church!  We are vulnerable in a liberal, socialism-drifting culture!  The unimaginable has become the expected! 

The ‘underground church’ has met for centuries in secret in homes and other hidden places.  It still meets this way in many countries.  In reality, we might be wise to begin to reorganize the church in America to survive even tougher times that might lie ahead! 

Either way, we need to recapture the kind of environment that Paul portrays in this chapter!

·         Decreased formality

·         Increased intimacy

·         Consecrated and focused, specific prayer

“Be prepared.  You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own.  Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet…Pray hard and long.  Pray for your brothers and sisters.  Keep your eyes open.  Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.”