-You all, the people there in Ephesus, this locally gathered assembly of believers in Christ, particularly Greek and Jew, are being built/brought/joined/united together, a holy temple, yes, becoming a place where God Himself lives permanently, and God’s Spirit is the One making it happen...
-Yes, almighty thrice-holy God Himself is living and dwelling in their midst, right there in Ephesus and the midst of every assembly of bona-fide Christ-followers. This New Testament temple (version 3.0) is holy not only because God has declared it so and set it apart but also because He. Is. Present. No shekinah glory this time round per se, but nevertheless I AM is here. The ground on which we conduct ourselves as a church is holy ground because God is present (cf Exodus 3.5, Joshua 5.15). It is ours to show off God’s breathtaking goodness to all those around us through the way we relate to one another (John 13.35), and we dare not bring the filth of the world into our midst, but that it should be washed and cleansed and healed by the blood of Jesus (which is what He do). We can be so flippant, so nonchalant, so unaware and disengaged and so casual in our disregard for assembly, for OUR own assembly and responsibilities thereto, for our mutual need and connectedness and of what God is growing and building us to be. And it’s not about me getting my fire insurance and getting a good enough weekly dose of ‘church’ to keep my faith intact until I can get another fix next week. The gathered Church universal and the localized expressions of it, the people to Whom God has entrusted His blessings and the Good News, we are His rescue plan, plan A for revealing and bringing Jesus to a lost and broken and dying world. We are, we must be that city on a hill, the light of the world (Matthew 5.14). Tag, we’re it - the mission now is committed to us, Good News being borne by a whole bunch of beautiful feet.
-As we will see later, all that needs to happen for this unity thing between believers to get cranked up is for them to be together, not merely in proximity but in relationship. But simply spend some time together, admittedly something more than sitting in a pew next to each other for an hour once a week. Share a meal (or two). Study, discuss, pray, serve together, play, do life together, go somewhere together (have you ever been on a mission trip? - it can literally happen in a week if you have the time). The potential is there, just waiting to be tapped, the possibilities are endless, and yet so are the distractions and excuses. So many things I think I’d rather do apart from God’s people, so much time I spend doing my own thing. Remember the words of Jesus: ‘where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.’ (Matthew 18.20) What will it take for God’s people to actually gather and BE together, spend time together, more than 18 inches of pew once a week? And how about STAY together? Definitely more on that in chapter 4...
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