Ordination Sunday

Open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 3.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

! We're taking a break from our series in the Gospel of Matthew

!

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father,

Father,

we are your people,

the sheep of your pasture.

Where else can we turn but to you?

You have the words of eternal life.

We come to you to learn about the office of elder.

We come to you to learn about the ministry of the Gospel.

We come to you to learn about what we should be as a church.

We ask that you will speak to us.

We ask that you will make your priorities our priorities.

Your marching orders are our drive and passion in life.

Impress deeply upon us

with the love of Christ

by which we might be strengthened and filled with more and more of you,

with your fullness.

Amen.

in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Please stand to honor God

as we read from His Word,

Ephesians chapter 3, verses 1 to 21.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

For this reason,

I, Paul,

a prisoner for Christ Jesus

on behalf of you Gentiles,

assuming that you have heard

of the stewardship of God's grace

that was given to me for you,

how the mystery was made known to me by revelation

as I have written briefly.

When you read this,

you can perceive my insight

into the mystery of Christ,

which was not made known

to the sons of men in other generations

as it has now been revealed

to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

This mystery is that the Gentiles

are fellow heirs,

members of the same body,

and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus

through the gospel.

Of this gospel,

I was made a minister

according to the gift of God's grace,

which was given me

by the working of His power.

To me,

though I am the very least of all the saints,

this grace was given

to preach to the Gentiles

the unsearchable riches of Christ

and to bring to light for everyone

what is the plan of the mystery

hidden for ages in God

who created all things,

so that through the church,

the manifold wisdom of God

might now be made known

to the rulers and authorities

in the heavenly places.

This was according to

the eternal purpose

that He has realized

in Christ Jesus, our Lord,

in whom we have boldness

and access with confidence

through our faith in Him.

So I ask you not to lose heart

over what I am suffering for you,

which is your glory.

For this reason,

I bow my knees before the Father.

from whom every family in heaven

and on earth is named,

that according to the riches

of His glory,

He may grant you

to be strengthened with power

through His Spirit

in your inner being,

so that Christ may dwell

in your hearts through faith,

that you, being rooted

and grounded in love,

may have strength

to comprehend with all the saints

what is the breadth

and length

and height

and depth

and to know

the love of Christ

that surpasses knowledge,

that you may be filled

with all the fullness

of God.

Now,

to Him who is able

to do far more abundantly

than all that we ask

or think,

according to the power

at work within us,

to Him be glory

in the church

and in Christ Jesus

throughout all generations

forever and ever.

Amen.

Please be seated.

We begin by addressing

the role of elders

in the church

before I dive into this text.

The elders of the church

are called upon

in the Bible

to govern the church

and to labor

in preaching and teaching.

That's why in

1 Timothy 5, 17,

it says,

Let the elders

who rule well

be considered worthy

of double honor,

especially those

who labor in preaching

and teaching.

Every local church

that you see

in the New Testament

is governed by elders.

The church in Jerusalem

is governed by elders.

The church in Ephesus

is governed by the elders.

And at the end

of his first missionary journey,

after having preached

the gospel in Cyprus,

Pisidian, Antioch,

Iconium, and Lystra,

it says in Acts 14,

20 through 23,

that Paul and Barnabas

backtracked their way

through those very cities,

strengthening the souls

of the disciples,

encouraging them

to continue in the faith,

and saying that

through many tribulations

we must enter

the kingdom of God.

And when they had

appointed elders

for them

in every church,

with prayer and fasting,

they committed them

to the Lord

in whom they had believed.

I should also note

that every instance

of elders being mentioned

in the New Testament,

it's in the plural,

which is intentional.

The plurality provides

more wisdom

and accountability

and protection

and mutual encouragement

for the eldership.

After many years of trying,

we are finally going to have

a local plurality of elders.

By God's grace,

we're becoming

a more biblical

and healthier church today.

So if that's what elders are,

why do we speak

of ordaining elders?

What does that mean?

That's not a word

we use often.

The word ordain

comes from a Latin word

that simply means

to appoint,

to put in charge

or to invest with authority.

Paul does this

for his protege Titus

and he calls upon him

in Titus 1.7,

this is why I left you in Crete

so that you might put

what remained into order

and appoint elders

in every town

as I directed you.

So that word appoint

is what we mean

by ordain.

When we ordain an elder,

we as the congregation

are attesting to his fitness

for eldership

and we are appointing him

to the office of elder

and thereby setting him apart

for the ministry

of the gospel.

And that's what Paul speaks

of here in Ephesians 3.

And the main point

of this passage

is that God makes

gospel ministers

according to his grace

so that through their preaching

and prayer,

he might fill his church

with himself.

So I'm going to break this down

into two main roles

of elders.

One,

to preach

the unsearchable riches

of Christ.

Two,

pray for the unknowable

love of Christ.

The first response

we mentioned here

is to preach

the unsearchable riches

of Christ.

It says in verse 7,

of this gospel,

I was made a minister

according to the gift

of God's grace

which was given me

by the working

of his power.

It says,

of this gospel.

It doesn't say

of a gospel

because there's only

one gospel.

An elder

is a minister

of this gospel,

this particular gospel

that Christ proclaimed

and his,

that is,

his apostles

preached

2,000 years ago

and has been handed down

faithfully to us

in our generation.

Paul just told us

what this gospel is

in verses 1 to 6.

It's the mystery

that was hidden

in the previous ages

but has been revealed

to us in the coming

of Jesus Christ.

That's what we celebrate

in the Advent season.

The gospel is the message

of Christ crucified

and risen.

And because Jesus,

the Messiah,

died on the cross

for the sins

of God's people

and because he was

raised from the dead

in triumph,

now both Jews

and Gentiles

are reconciled

to each other

in God

and saved

and adopted

into the household

of God.

Not by their own

observance of the law,

not by their own

righteousness,

but by the grace

of God

through faith.

Paul spoke

of his own eagerness

to preach

the gospel

in Romans 1.16.

He says,

for I am not ashamed

of the gospel

for it is the power

of God

for salvation

to everyone

who believes.

No other message

in the world

saves.

Only the gospel.

So he says

in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 2:2

chapter 2,

verse 2,

I decided to know

nothing among you

except Jesus Christ

and him crucified.

There is an

ever-present pressure

from the world

for pastors

to be about

many things.

They need to be

leadership

and management

gurus.

They need to be

a therapist

conversing

with the latest

psychology.

They need to be

political activists.

They need to be

social media influencers

and know the power

of images

and angles

and product placement.

They need to be

masterful presenters

and motivational speakers

that can galvanize

a crowd.

But Paul says

in 1 Corinthians

1.17

that he

intentionally

avoided

the eloquence

of the Greek

orators

because he feared

that by using

their principles

of eloquence

he would empty

the cross of Christ

of its power

and make it seem

as though it's

human eloquence

that saves people.

What saves people

is not

our eloquent

turn of phrase

or clever

witty sayings

or a viral

marketing principle

from successful

businesses

or the latest

insights

from the modern

world

or the creative

programming

or our own

personality

or charisma

it's none

of these things.

There's only

one

gospel

and only

the gospel

is the power

of God

for salvation.

And so my prayer

for you Ed

this morning

is that you

would be a man

of one thing

and preach

this one thing.

19th century

British pastor

Charles Spurgeon

once told

one of my

favorite stories

of a Welsh

minister

who offered

constructive

criticism

to a younger

preacher.

After his sermon

he said

it was a very

poor sermon

and the young

man replied

will you tell

me why

you think

it was a poor

sermon?

because

said the Welsh

minister

there was

no Christ

in it.

Well

said the young

man

starting to

regain his

confidence

Christ

was not

in the text.

We are not

to be preaching

Christ always

we must

preach what

is in the

text.

The exchange

continued

don't you

know young

man

that from

every town

and every

village

and every

little

hamlet

in England

wherever

it may

be

there is

a road

to

London?

Yes

said the

young

man

ah

said the

old

divine

and so

from

every

text

in

scripture

there is

a road

to the

metropolis

of the

scriptures

that is

Christ

and my

dear brother

your

business

is when

you get

to a

text

to say

now

what

is

the

road

to

Christ

and

to

preach

a

sermon

running

along

the

road

towards

the

great

metropolis

Christ

and

said he

I have

never

yet

found

a

text

that

had

not

got

a

road

to

Christ

in

it

and

if

I

ever

do

find

one

that

is

not

a

road

to

Christ

in

it

I

will

make

one

I

will

go

over

hedge

and

ditch

but

I

would

get

at

my

master

for

my

sermon

cannot

do

any

good

unless

there

is

a

savor

of

Christ

in

it

so

find

the

way

to

Christ

in

your

ministry

of the

word

from

this

pulpit

in

this

church

or

in

your

private

office

chair

as

you

counsel

others

find

your

way

to

Christ

crucified

the

enemy

will

sow

doubt

in

your

head

and

tell

you

that

the

gospel

is

not

enough

people

will

not

be

impressed

by

you

unless

you

offer

them

something

more

than

the

gospel

people

will

not

grow

or

change

unless

you

offer

them

something

more

leave

the

gospel

behind

find

something

else

find

something

new

and

exciting

but

don't

deviate

from

the

road

to

Christ

we

preach

the

unsearchable

riches

of

Christ

he

says

in

verse

eight

the

riches

of

Christ

in

the

gospel

are

inexhaustible

and

unsearchable

a

person

who

thinks

that he

already

knows

all

there

is

to

know

and

appreciate

about

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

is

like

someone

who

looks

at

a

fish

tank

in

his

living

room

and

declares

confidently

I

have

seen

all

there

is

to

see

of

the

ocean

the

glorious

riches

of

Christ

in

this

gospel

our

justification

and

sanctification

and

glorification

our

redemption

and

liberation

our

regeneration

and

reconciliation

and

adoption

and our

cleansing

and

purification

it's

bottomless

of

this

gospel

Ed

is

being

made

a

minister

today

the

word

minister

means

servant

ministers

are

servants

of

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

yes

ordination

confers

authority

of

the

office

of

elder

but

it

is

a

Christ

like

authority

our

Christ

who

came

not

to

be

served

but

to

serve

and

gave

his

life

as

a

ransom

for

many

so

it's

an

authority

that

is

wielded

not

for

the

sake

of

self

advancement

but

in

the

service

of

others

the

gospel

ministry

is

not

for

the

advancement

of

our

personal

agendas

or the

promotion

of

our

personal

reputation

the

gospel

ministry

is

not

a

means

of

gain

it

is

no

mere

profession

it

is

an

entrance

into

servitude

of

Christ

and

his

gospel

we

are

a

!

possession

!

the

movable

property

of

our

master

Jesus

has

absolute

rights

over

our

services

he

and

he

is

our

exclusive

preoccupation

to

please

him

and

him

alone

and

notice

that

every

verb

in

verse

7

is

passive

of

this

gospel

I

was

made

a

minister

according

to

the

gift

of

God's

grace

which

was

given

me

by

the

working

of

his

power

God

is

the

one

who

makes

us

ministers

and

gives

us

this

gift

no

one

but

God

makes

ministers

of

the

gospel

it

is

according

to

the

gift

of

God's

grace

and

by

the

working

of

his

power

Ed

has

studied

diligently

has

prayed

earnestly

He has

served

tirelessly

to get

to this

point

he has

passed

all his

exams

with

flying

colors

and

our

church

has

deemed

that

he

is

qualified

to be

an

elder

as

delineated

in

1 Timothy

3

1-7

but

even

after

all

that

in

the

final

analysis

Ed

did

not

earn

this

it

has

been

given

to

him

as

a

gift

by

our

sovereign

God

he is

being

made

a

minister

not

according

to his

many

wonderful

qualities

and

giftedness

but

according

to the

gift

of

God's

grace

this

is

why

Paul

can

say

that

this

grace

was

given

to

him

in

spite

of

the

fact

that

he's

the

very

least

of

all

the

saints

how

can

he

call

himself

that

in

verse

8

the

word

translated

very

least

is

a

comparative

form

of

the

superlative

word

least

so

it

literally

means

something

like

less

than

the

least

or

least

!

you

say

you're

the

least

well

I'm

leister

it's

kind

of

a

one

up

man

ship

from

Apostle

Paul

may

have

coined

the

word

for

this

particular

occasion

because

he

deemed

that

the

simple

superlative

least

was

not

strong

enough

and

all

true

Christians

share

this

sense

of

wonder

you

remember

who

you

were

I

remember

who

I

was

I

was

once

a

lying

and

cheating

and

gossiping

and

slandering

and

fornicating

insubordinate

Gentile

dog

that's

what

I

was

why

should

God

love

a

sinner

such

as

I

but

that

wonder

of

God's

grace

goes

even

a

step

further

imagine

a

clumsy

child

with

butter

fingers

that

tends

to

trip

and

fall

and

drop

and

break

everything

she

has

shattered

many

precious

treasures

in her

father's

house

a

gracious

father

might

forgive

her

even

though

she's

broken

many

of his

things

and

still

love

her

and

embrace

her

but

when

it

comes

moving

day

he

sensibly

would

not

ask

her

to

carry

the

family

heirloom

the

fine

china

that's

been

passed

down

to

generations

I

love

you

daughter

but

I

can't

trust

you

with

something

as

precious

as

that

you

understand

right

leave it

to your

older

sister

but

God

doesn't

treat

us

that

way

he

doesn't

say

I

love

you

you

are

forgiven

but

stay

put

over

there

in

that

corner

and

don't

touch

any

of

my

precious

things

don't

touch

the

precious

people

of

God

don't

touch

my

precious

gospel

no

he

entrusts

to us

the

pearl

of

great

price

he

entrusts

to us

the

treasure

of

the

ages

and

tells

us

to

go

and

proclaim

it

to

all

the

world

he

calls

gospel

ministers

to

oversee

and

care

for

the

church

of

God

that

he

obtained

with

his

own

blood

it

says

in

Acts

20

28

how

can

God

give

such

an

entrustment

to

the

very

least

of

all

the

saints

it's

an

evidence

of

God's

grace

in

Ed's

life

that

he

does

have

this

sense

of

wonder

pray

for

him

that

he

never

loses

it

we

steward

a

greater

wealth

and

treasure

than

the

world's

richest

billionaires

and

what

is

the

purpose

and

effect

of

preaching

the

unsearchable

riches

of

Christ

verse

10

tells

us

so

that

through

the

church

the

manifold

wisdom

of

God

might

now

be

made

known

to

the

rulers

and

authorities

in

the

heavenly

places

what

do

you

think

reveals

the

manifold

!

wisdom

of

God

maybe

you

think

of

the

Niagara

Falls

with

the

largest

waterfall

in

North

America

with

164

feet

vertical

drop

and

more

than

5.9

million

cubic

feet

of

water

falling

every

minute

it's

pretty

awe-inspiring

reveals

to us

the majesty

of God

maybe

you think

of the

Grand

Canyon

277

miles long

18

miles wide

and a

mile deep

which dwarfs

all of us

as we

stand

in front

of it

geologists

claim that

its

variegated

rock layers

have the

appearance

of 1.6

billion years

of earth's

history

surely

that reveals

the manifold

wisdom of

God

right

maybe you

think of

the 200

billion

trillions

of observable

stars in

our universe

with no

two stars

exactly the

same

all of

these are

amazing works

of God's

creation

and we

are supposed

to learn

something of

God by

observing

them as it

says in

Romans 1

19 to

20

they reveal

to us

his invisible

attributes

his eternal

power and

divine nature

but interestingly

as we see

in our passage

this morning

God is not

pointing to

these marvels

of creation

to show

his divine

nature

to show

his manifold

wisdom to

the rulers

and authorities

in the heavenly

places

instead

what does he

point to

God reveals

his manifold

wisdom to

these angelic

heavenly

awe inspiring

beings

through the

church

it's hardly

believable

when people

visit the

United States

they go

tour the

Niagara Falls

and Grand

Canyon

they don't

come to

tour Trinity

Cambridge

Church

yet

God's

ultimate

plan

for revealing

his manifold

wisdom

God's

end game

we might

say

is the

church

the church

is the

culmination

of the

mystery

hidden

for ages

in God

it is the

fulfillment

of God's

eternal

purpose

in Christ

Jesus

our Lord

and at

the end

of history

the new

Jerusalem

that comes

down

from heaven

from God

the bride

of the

lamb

that comes

down

from heaven

above

in Revelation

21

is the

church

of Christ

God

wasn't

kidding

when he

said

that his

people

are his

special

treasured

possession

it's easy

to forget

this truth

a pastor

sees

the pride

the sin

the suffering

and brokenness

of people

in the church

up close

and personal

destructive

choices

and their

consequences

relational

conflicts

and fallout

doctrinal errors

and the wayward

ways that stem

from them

persistent

patterns of

sin

unrepentance

there are

many sighs

and groans

and laments

and tears

in ministry

not only that

the church

of Christ

has its own

fair share

of the world's

critics

that malign

and belittle

the church

and the devil

never stops

whispering lies

in your head

what's the point

of serving

the church

what difference

does your ministry

make

you should pursue

other more

glorious

more lucrative

careers

but it bears

to remember

that the church

is God's

ultimate plan

for revealing

his manifold

wisdom

when the

United Nations

and the

World Health

Organization

and the

World Bank

are no more

when Harvard

MIT

and Oxford

are no more

when Apple

Microsoft

and Amazon

and Google

are no more

when China

and the United

States of America

are no more

the church

of Christ

will be standing

in all her glory

for all eternity

I believe

with all my

heart

there is no

vocation

more glorious

than to be

a minister

of the gospel

to be a

pastor

of the church

of Christ

to me

to become

the president

of the United

States

will be

a demotion

despite all

its present

and temporary

imperfections

and weaknesses

and infirmities

in the church

the church

is the eternal

bride of Christ

and a pastor

gets to serve

as the friend

of the bridegroom

a groomsman

of sorts

who rejoices

greatly

to see the bridegroom

united with his bride

the other main

responsibility

of an elder

is to pray

that the church

grows to know

the unknowable

love of Christ

it says

in verses

14 to 15

for this reason

I bow my knees

before the father

from whom

every family

in heaven

and on earth

is named

why is Paul

driven to his knees

in prayer

at this point

the phrase

for this reason

continues Paul's

train of thought

from verse 1

where he began

with for this reason

before digressing

to talk about

his ministry

so the reason

that Paul

is alluding to

goes back

to chapter 2

verses 11 to 22

when he spoke

of the glorious

reality

that the Gentiles

are now no longer

strangers and aliens

but are 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 cornerstone

in whom the whole structure

being joined together

grows into a holy temple

in the Lord

a dwelling place

for God

by the spirit