So many issues can divide us, but the Word of truth unites us as we arm ourselves with God’s armor.

James R. Huebner

The apostle Paul was unafraid to broach touchy subjects and to press the hot buttons of his day. Those buttons are still hot in our world, in our American culture, and in our synod. These subjects bring to light differences of opinions or differences in the way we approach issues, problems, and concerns. They can divide us. But they are also opportunities for us to demonstrate our common commitment to God’s truth. In other words, every generation needs to recapture the truths and principles of Holy Scripture for itself in order to be one in service to God and to each other.

THREATS TO UNITY

Paul addresses a very real threat to the spiritual unity in the Ephesian congregation, namely, Satan’s tool of sexual impurity. If you are unaware of the assault on biblical morals and values created by the efforts of the LBGT crowd to shift homosexuality from a moral issue to a political issue in the minds of Americans, you better pinch yourself to see if you’re still breathing. Has the availability of pornography through the Internet become a plague on our society and also affected our church members and called workers? Yes.

But people who fall prey to homosexual or heterosexual sin are not the enemy. They are victims of the enemy. They need to hear what God has to say about their sin and their Savior in an honest, compassionate, and winsome way. We help heal them and draw them to Christ and then their fellow believers as we speak the Word of truth in love. We do the same things in our discussions on the biblical principles of God-pleasing gender interaction and application of those principles.

When the apostle addressed the issue of parent-child relationships and as we observe the break-up of the family in our society, we value all the more the precious privilege of enhancing through Lutheran schools what children learn about Jesus in God-fearing homes. But how can we also make every effort to shift the purpose for a congregation’s early childhood center, preschool, and Lutheran elementary school from primarily “taking care of our own” to “reaching out to the lost”? How do we work together as one in Christ? We do that by speaking the truth in love.

How can we learn to care more about others than ourselves so that not only employers and employees interact in God-pleasing ways, but we also ask everyone we know, “How are you doing today” and mean it? We do that by speaking the truth in love.

In these areas, we may long for perfect unity and oneness, but that will not happen on this side of heaven. Yet, we can demonstrate oneness in service to God and each other in our approach, in our attitude, and in the way we interact with each other, submitting “to one another out of reverence for Christ” (5:21). So we put ourselves in a position to catch the blessings God wants to pour out to us, and we are “completely humble and gentle . . . patient, bearing with one another in love” (4:2). We do that by speaking the truth in love and waiting for the Lord’s blessings on our efforts.

STAND FIRM. WEAR GOD’S ARMOR.

Can you see Paul, sitting at his writing desk, quill in hand, writing this letter? Out of the corner of his eye he sees the Roman soldier assigned to guard him that day, all fitted out and geared up for duty.

Ephesians, like all Christians, are locked in a battle with evil. Paul describes the armor God gives his warriors for the fight. “Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (6:13). There’s the enemy. Here’s the armory!

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist” (6:14). You can see that Roman soldier with his belt holding his tunic in place and housing his weapons. A faulty belt won’t hold in place what it’s supposed to hold. So it is with the belt of truth. Mix in some error, and you’ll be in danger of having God’s truth slip off your hips and roll away. Strap on the belt of God’s truth.

Stand firm “with the breastplate of righteousness” (6:14). The Roman soldier’s shining metal plate protected his chest and midsection. In a similar way, Jesus’ rightness protects our spiritual heart and lungs. We are declared right by God even though Satan loves to accuse us. Put on Jesus’ rightness as a breastplate.

Stand firm “with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (6:15). That Roman soldier is ready to move forward and carry out his duty. The good news of peace with God through Jesus keeps us balanced and able to dodge temptations but also keeps us light on our feet, ready to take the first step in kindness for the needy, in comfort for the hurting, in forgiveness for the guilty.

“Take up the shield of faith” (6:16). The Roman shield isn’t just to display the emblem of the soldier’s legion. He can maneuver it for protection. Your trust in Jesus does the same. Your faith shields you when the flaming arrows of temptation come sizzling in.

“Take the helmet of salvation” (6:17). Any head injury knocks you out of the fight. You must keep your wits about you. What better way to do that than to have the assurance of God’s promise of salvation! We wrap our thoughts in his love so that we can make wise decisions when challenged by a fork in the road or the enemy before us.

Take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (6:17). Every Roman soldier needs an offensive weapon from the armory. It’s the sword. The Word of God is yours. And it works. Use it. You can slice and dice the devil and send him running. Wield the Word of God.

But God is not done. He has one more weapon in the armory for you to use so that we can be one in Christ. “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me” (6:18,19). Pray for your family. Pray for your pastors, teachers, and staff members. Pray for your district and synodical leaders. Pray for your synod. Pray for the lost, which means praying that God will unite us as individuals, as congregations, and as a synod in this glorious task to save lost souls.

No matter how old or young you are, no matter how tall or short you are, no matter what the amounts and distribution of melanin pigment in your skin, no matter where you live, we are one in service to God and each other. That’s what it means to be one in Christ.

James Huebner, pastor at Grace, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the first vice president of WELS.

This is the final article in a four-part series based on the 2015 synod convention essay entitled “One in Christ.”

Author: James R. Huebner
Volume 103, Number 5
Issue: May 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

Paul reminds us that, although we are all different, God draws us together in faith to work as one.

James R. Huebner

It is important to remember that God did not single us out to be his own because we are so wonderful or because we have such great qualities. No! He chose us by grace. He redeemed us to be his own dear children.

For the apostle Paul, redemption was not an abstract theological term dug out of an old, dusty doctrine book. Redemption is the only way out for people in prison because it involves two things: a payment is made, and then captives are set free. At the time he wrote to the Ephesians, Paul was under house arrest and had no idea whether someone would be able to make a ransom payment so that he could go free. But he did know that whether he was under house arrest or just walking the streets of Rome or Corinth or Ephesus, Jesus had already made the ransom payment for all the sins of all sinners. Jesus paid the ransom with his own blood. With that payment we sinners were set free from the prison of sin and the chains of guilt and declared to be one with God.

We are no longer corpses, nor are we scratching and clawing to get away from God like a trapped raccoon. We are God’s dear children, grateful for his love, wanting to do what he wants because all of what God did for us in Christ becomes ours personally through faith.

Faith is trust that what God says about us is true. Faith is passive. It is the empty bowl which God created in us by his powerful words of promise and love. It catches all the good things God pours into our hearts. It is not the reason he loves us. It is the result of his love for us.

But faith is also active. It is alive and produces the fruits of faith like an apple tree produces apples. “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

BUILT ON ONE FOUNDATION

One way to track the history of your congregation is to note the building projects. But you don’t want to overlook another building project that has been going on in your church, the building of the holy Christian church. And when we talk about the holy Christian church, we can’t help speaking about its chief architect, designer, and engineer, Jesus Christ. He is the foundation for our faith and the cornerstone of our faith. Jesus unites us in faith.

You don’t have to be an expert builder to know that a firm foundation is essential for any building. But what about your congregation? What about our synod? If our church body were built on human qualities and capabilities, it would have collapsed long ago. We make mistakes. We sin. Some days we do what God wants, and some days we don’t. It’s a good thing that God doesn’t build his church on sinners like you or me. Instead it is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20).

Martin Luther couldn’t sleep at night. In fact, he nearly killed himself trying to beat sin out of his body. He knew that “God is holy, and I’m not, and I have to be as holy as God is if he’s going to open heaven’s gates for me.” His superiors were afraid he’d go nuts. So, to keep him busy, they had him study to be a parish priest and also got him a job as a university professor. Of all things, they asked him to teach the Bible. For the first time in his life, he dug into Holy Scripture. What he found there astounded him.

What he found is what a young man in our Bible information class found. He said, “Pastor, the thought of judgment day scares me. I’ve tried to be as good as possible at home, at work, and with friends, but sometimes I can’t sleep at night because I’m going to be at the pearly gates one day, and St. Peter might not let me in.” Ever have a thought like that pass through your brain? I told him what I’m going to tell you. If we think we have to get in by being good, we’ll never make it because we can’t be good enough on our own. That’s why God sent Jesus to be perfect in our place. And here’s the incredible news of the Bible. God credits what Jesus did to your account and mine. He treats us as though we never sinned even though we do all the time, because we are covered by the rightness of Jesus. The young man looked at me and said, “Now I can sleep tonight. I’ve got the golden ticket.” That good news of Jesus’ rightness draped over us is the foundation for our faith.

PART OF GOD’S DWELLING

Buildings often have a cornerstone to mark the date of construction. In ancient times the cornerstone not only held up and supported the building, but it also aligned the walls so that they’d fit together just so. The Christians in the congregation of Ephesus weren’t fitting together. They had a hard time finding common ground and working together. My grandma used to say, “Es gibt allerlei Menschen in Gottes Menagerie” (“There are all kinds of people in God’s zoo”). She was actually saying what the apostle Paul taught: “You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of God’s household” (2:19). When the diverse people of Ephesus were filled with the good news of Jesus’ mercy, it didn’t matter whether they were Jews or Romans, Greeks or Egyptians. There could be harmony and oneness among sinners of all shapes, ages, and colors.

Are we any different than the Ephesians? Have there been disagreements among WELS Christians in the past 165 years? Of course. We have disagreed on building projects, mission efforts, where to build schools, whether or not to close schools. The list is long. How in all the world can a synod with people who have differing opinions work together?

The answer is that we are all parts of one spiritual building. Some of us are the bricks, some the mortar, some the light bulbs, some the doors. But we are all joined together to form one functioning building. The apostle looks at you and me today and says: “In [Christ] you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22).

No matter how old or young we are, no matter how tall or short we are, no matter what the amounts and distribution of melanin pigment in our epidermis, no matter where we live, we are one in faith, trusting in Jesus Christ. No disagreements or dividers here. That’s what it means to be one in Christ.

James Huebner, pastor at Grace, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the first vice president of WELS.

This is the second article in a four-part series based on the 2015 synod convention essay entitled “One in Christ.”

Author: James R. Huebner
Volume 103, Number 3
Issue: March 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us