Bodybuilding Worship

Ephesians 4:1-16; Proverbs 27:17

Cascades Fellowship CRC, JX MI
January 23, 2005

The other day I was walking in Meijer and noticed a center-aisle display. I

had to smile, because I knew you would never see this stuff in the center-aisle at

any other time during the year. Only around New Years would Meijer go through

all the effort of putting these things on such prominent display.

Treadmills. Weight Benches. Dumbbells. A veritable cornucopia of

exercise equipment loomed over the center-aisle. All of them offered hope that if

you just purchase the equipment, the motivation for working out and getting the

washboard abs and biceps the approximate density of uranium will magically

come along with the price tag. And you know what the sad part about all this is –

we’re gullible enough to believe it. Meijer wouldn’t move all that stuff to the

center-aisle if they didn’t have statistics supporting the notion that locating it there

improves sales. They know that many will be looking to buy, hoping that it will

help keep New Year’s resolutions to exercise more and weigh less.

So if expensive equipment isn’t the answer for short-lived resolutions to

exercise, what is? In a study conducted at the Indiana University researchers

followed 64 people as they started a new exercise program – among them 16

married couples and 30 married people who started a program on their own.

One year later, 43% of those who went it alone quit compared with only 6% who

worked out with their spouse.i

 In an article titled “Going the Distance” Daryn Eller explains how a woman

in her mid-forties, self-described as “a little chunky” could finish a marathon, even

after two knee operations. The secret? Workout partners. The woman Eller

wrote about joined a training group. She quotes in the same article Ryan

Lamppa, researcher for the USA Track and Field Road Running Information

Center. Lamppa says he hasn’t heard of one training group that prepares people

to run a marathon with a success rate lower than 90%.ii

It would seem that the key to success in shaping our bodies into lean,

mean living machines is to buddy up. Apparently, it takes a village to get in

shape.

As Christians, this shouldn’t surprise us. We, possibly more than any other

group, recognize the importance of connection to other people. God made us for

relationship. He cast us in his image – able to love and receive love. To be truly

human, we need to be in community with other people. To us, it makes sense

that we are more likely to succeed when we have someone else along for the

ride. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens irons, so one man sharpens

another.” Which makes it all the more perplexing why it is so hard to get church

people to come out to more than just Sunday morning service. You would think

that we‘d realize our faith is augmented and our love deepened when we link

frequently with other believers.

The Apostle Paul had a favorite image that he used to describe the church

as a whole. The image he used clearly illustrated the need we have for one
another as brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, the image he used presented

the members of the church in a symbiotic relationship – an organic relationship

between two organisms that is necessary for both to survive and progress. The

image he used was that of a body. Each part of the body needs the other in

order to remain viable and useful. So it is, says Paul, in the church.

In our text for this morning, we look at one of the places where Paul refers

to the church as a body – Ephesians 4:1-16. But before we get too far along,

let’s take a moment to put a backdrop to this text so that we can understand what

the Word of God is speaking to us. It is important to remember that when Paul

wrote what we refer to as the Book of Ephesians is actually a letter – written to

be read all in one sitting. Contrary to how we often approach Scripture today,

Paul did not intend his letter to be read in pieces – a verse here and a verse

there. He wrote it as one, well-reasoned, tightly knit message for a church that

was struggling with divisiveness along racial lines. Getting the context of any

passage is a basic principle of interpretation necessary for us to hear God’s Word

to his church.

Paul begins by unfolding the vastness of God’s grace, emphasizing God’s

power and prerogative in salvation. Ephesians 1:4-6 sums it up this way, “For

he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and

blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons

through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the
praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he

loves.”

Paul then goes on to point out that it was not only Israel whom God chose

before the foundation of the world. He included Gentiles also – those who utterly

rejected God, were dead in their trespasses and separated from God without

hope. Just in case you are wondering, Paul is referring to us here. We are the

ones God revealed his love for by dying on the cross while we were still

determined to sin against him.

Now, let’s not miss the implications here. Until this time the Jews

understood God’s plan to mean he would free them once again from those who

had conquered and now ruled over them – in this case, Rome. All other peoples

were slated for judgment. Just in case you don’t understand what that means, it

means destruction; total annihilation. So in chapter 2 when Paul writes, “His

purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making

peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the

cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached

peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For

through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit,” he is

introducing a badly needed corrective in the way Israel thought about God. His

grace is so wide that it covers every square inch of creation, even those who

formerly rejected him and tried to destroy people. All creation belongs to him and

he will not concede even a fraction of it to the enemy. He then prays in chapter
three that his readers will get his drift – that they will follow in the footsteps of

Christ, being so humble in spirit that they seek to serve others, even before

pursuing their own desires.

It is against this backdrop of racism and reconciliation in Christ that Paul

writes his impassioned plea urging us “to live a life worthy of the calling you have

received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in

love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Last week we spoke about Scripture-guided worship. We saw then that

Scripture-guided worship is the realization of the great commandment, “Love the

Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your

strength.” And we show evidence of that love by loving our neighbor as

ourselves. In becoming the servant of all, we worship God in the most profound

way – his way. In other words, the heart of worship is service.

When we engage in worship that is guided by the Scriptures what we find

is that our lives become enmeshed, bound together by the bond of the Spirit and

a genuine love. We begin to sense that our success – if you can measure it that

way – in the Christian life is linked to those we share our lives with.

This was what Paul was trying to point out to the Ephesians when he said,

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in
his train and gave gifts to men.”
(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to
the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who
ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole
universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be
 prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and
teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the
body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and
in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to
the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Remember, Paul is dealing with a group divided along racial lines – a deep

divide that affects even the church today. And he is saying to them, “C’mon guys!

Can’t you see we need each other? God has gifted each of us uniquely so that

we can be useful for the maturity of others. If we are going to be everything God

wants us to be, we have to stop putting up barriers that Christ has broken down

and start using our gifts for mutual benefit. We have to team up! It’s the only

way to make it in the long run.”

There is a progression I want you to notice in Paul’s logic here, because it

speaks to the way we understand the role of the organized church and those who

serve – be they paid or volunteer.

The apostle says that Christ is the one who has given certain gifts to

members of his body – for what purpose? To prepare God’s people for works of

service. Last week we said the purpose of our corporate gatherings is to equip

God’s people to carry out God’s mission in the world. Now, I want to think about

that for a moment.

Do you realize what that means? The leadership and teachers of this

church have been given to us by God for the very specific task of instructing and

equipping us to carry the Gospel out into the world. God gave us teachers,
preachers, and evangelists specifically for that task. They prepare us for service,

which is worship – to teach us how to live all of life as worship.

Why? So that the body of Christ can be built up, leading to greater maturity

for all of us and as a body begin to fully, that is completely, mirror the character of

our Lord, Jesus Christ. In other words, God has gifted each member of the body

so that when it is used for the edification of the other members, our fellowship is

enhanced. The end result is that we all increase in our knowledge and

understanding of God and grow more fully into what God intends us to be.

Now, note what is necessary for this process to take place – what is

needed for worship to be fellowship-enhancing. We must be engaged in this

effort together. Each one of us must bring our gifts to the table and use them to

nurture, encourage and build faith into the life of our brothers and sisters in

Christ. We must work as partners if we are going to experience fullness in

Christ.

When I was in the Navy, I used to joke about how I was going to become a

millionaire by writing a book called, “101 Uses for the White Hat.” This is a white

hat – part of the uniform for an American sailor. [Demonstrate the uses] I figured

since pet rocks created a fad and sold well, why not something marginally

useful?

In the United States, we are gullible. Never has the proverb “A fool and his

money are soon parted” been more true than it is in modern America. One

glance at late night television will tell you that. Infomercials abound! And you
know what is fascinating about them? Most of them are geared toward self-help.

Guys like Tony Robbins and Tony Little try to convince us about how miserable

we are in our present circumstances and how we can get ourselves out of the

mess we are in by following their program. Get-rich-quick schemes, miracle

baldness cures, telephone date lines all promise us the ability to help ourselves

into a more exciting, more meaningful life. It seems we are always looking for a

new guru to teach us how to “do it ourselves.”

This is no less true in the Christian community. Browse any Christian living

section in a bookstore and you will find the shelf full of spiritual gurus promising a

new you if you will just follow their plan. You will be for faithful in prayer and

devotion, more powerful in witness, more obedient, more loving, more…

whatever it is you feel you lack in the Christian life. We can grow nearer to God

all by ourselves if we just follow these seven biblical principles for the successful

Christian life.

It seems that we are always looking for that elusive secret – that obscure

catalyst – that will convert our leaden faith into a faith of pure gold. We sense a

need for a deeper, more intimate relationship with God and with our brothers and

sisters in Christ. We want a relevant faith, so we read the book.

Now, I am not saying that reading Christian living books is a waste of time.

Most of them have reasonably good stuff in them worth reading. But what I am

saying is that we keep looking around for this magic key that is going to unlock

the secrets to spiritual growth. The reason the books sell is that they offer us the
hope of a shortcut to Christian maturity – success in the Christian life without all

the mess! A vibrant faith in half the time! We keep hoping that one day we will

stumble upon the magic bullet that will finally make us who we want to be in

Christ.

You want a vibrant faith? Let me share with you the only sure formula for

having one. Ephesians 4:15-16: “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will

in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the

whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows

and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” You want to

experience nearness with God? You want to grow deep in faith and love? Then

look at that last phrase again – “as each part does its work.” That’s the secret,

true worship is bodybuilding. When we work together to build up the body of

Christ – that is, work to build up the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ –

we engage in the very heart of worship. The truest worship happens in

community.

I want you to listen to me real carefully here. If feel like your spiritual life is

going nowhere, maybe it’s because you have been trying to do it on your own.

Just you and Jesus! That sounds great, but it’s not the way God describes the

abundant life he offers us through Christ. The life he offers is one of community

– us and Jesus.

Just like an exercise program, we are more successful in the Christian life

when we approach it as a group or community. If you falter in your prayer life or

devotional life, get a partner – get two or three partners. Surrender your pride

and become accountable to another for your spiritual disciplines. Find people

who are serious about their faith and each one do his or her part to build up the

others in faith.

If you want a relevant faith, enmesh yourself in the life of the church. True

worship is bodybuilding worship. Join a Sunday school class, come to Sunday

evening services, be part of a Bible study during the week. How about joining a

men’s or women’s group? Volunteer to teach, to watch kids, to lead in singing, to

read Scripture, to lead in prayer, to lead or host a Bible study, to visit the sick. If

you want to experience the abundant life that Christ came to give you, you’ve got

to give yourself away.

The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. It was meant to be

experienced – its joys and its sorrows – in the embrace of community. We are so

much more likely to stick with it, to live faithfully, when we share our lives and

faith with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

i
Chris Woolston “Exercise Buddies” p.1 http://blueprint.bluecrossmn.com/topic/buddies.htm
ii
Daryn Eller “Going the Distance” p.1 http://mywebmd.com/content/Article/13/1676_0536.htm