Title Unifying/Ephesians 4:13-16
Content Unifying / Ephesians 4:13-16 Daegu First Church
13 And we will all become one in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, until we reach the stature of the stature of the stature of Christ, 14 for we are no longer children, and we fall into the deceitfulness of men and the deceitful temptations of men. lest they be tossed and tossed by every wind of doctrine.
15 But speaking the truth in love, you may grow up into him in all things, who is the head, which is Christ.
16 From him the whole body, with the help of each joint, connects and unites, and works according to the measure of each part, so that the body grows and builds itself up in love. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Today is Machu Thanksgiving Day. We observe this feast in commemoration of the barley harvest and thanksgiving to God. Of course, we do not cultivate and harvest barley today, but we are continuing the tradition of being thankful that God provides everything we need.
Through the last World Cup soccer match, God allowed us to harvest something truly precious. This is pride. This made us all one. Many young people used to say out loud that they were proud to be Korean. In exceptional cases, some families have tried to immigrate and have decided to give up and live in Korea. Because I am proud to be Korean. This is truly the harvest that God has given to our country and people.
People of each age live with their own pride. Many adults who were active in the 1960s and 1970s are proud of their economic growth. I am proud that I have contributed to the economic prosperity of this country through the Saemaul Undong. Many people who lived as young people in the 1980s take pride in contributing to the democratization of the country. When men get together, they talk about the military and talk all night long. Why? This is because we take pride in serving our country based on our shared experiences.
We Christians should be proud too. It's a different kind of pride than the world has. What kind of pride is this pride? This is to become one in knowing and believing in the Son of God. We have nothing greater than our pride in knowing and believing in the Son of God. In this way, we become people of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and this is what makes us perfect. That is, we grow to the full measure of the stature of Jesus Christ.
Knowing Jesus Christ and believing in Jesus Christ are never separated from each other. One is first and the other is not last. These two are the same thing. That is why Jesus also says in John 17:8, "I have given them the words you gave me, and they have received these, and have truly known that I came from you, and have believed that you will send me." The parallelism is found here, the parallel between knowing that Jesus came from God the Father and believing that God the Father sent Jesus. This means that knowing Jesus and believing are the same thing. In this way, to know about the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is to believe.
However, 'knowing' in the Bible does not simply mean intellectual knowledge. According to Old Testament tradition, to know means to meet personally. So it is also used to describe a man and woman meeting and having a physical relationship with each other. For example, in Genesis 4:1 it is expressed that Adam slept with his wife Eve. Therefore, to know means to the extent to which two people reveal and show everything without hiding it. There has to be a personal relationship. This kind of relationship should be established between us and Jesus, the Son of God. Therefore, knowing each other never means perfect fellowship.
However, it is not so easy for a person to even know another person. There is a Korean proverb that says, 'I know ten roads in the water, but I don't know the people in one road'. In fact, it is very difficult to get to know people in detail. It is not so easy for a married couple to know each other inside out.
It reminds me of an old couple who once appeared on TV. The host once asked the grandmother if she would live with her grandfather even if she was reborn. Then Grandma replied that she would. Then, the host asked how well Grandpa would have given him such an answer. Then Grandma gave a completely unexpected answer. He said that there would not be a man in the world who was so stubborn and knew only himself. Then the host asked, even more puzzled, if he said he would be with his grandfather even if he was really born again. Then Grandma replied: Now that I've lived for fifty years, I can see what you're thinking just by looking at your facial expressions. If you live with another man again, won't you have to suffer another fifty years? So it was better to marry this grandfather again. Even as a married couple, it is very difficult to get to know a person's heart.
Likewise, believing in the Son of God is not an easy task. Bacon said that 'knowledge is power', but the Bible says 'knowledge is believing'. The Greek word for believing is pisteuw. This means giving it up entirely. As used in Luke 16:11, it is like a master entrusting his property to a steward. It means we entrust our everything to Jesus. It's like putting our body in the water when swimming. Why do you leave it to me? This is because we know that our body floats on water if we leave it to the water naturally without giving it any strength. I know, but a person who is afraid of water and gives strength to the body does not float but sinks. Likewise, to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is to entrust us to Him knowing who He is.
One of the things that moved us the most during the World Cup soccer match related to faith was the appearance of some players kneeling in the stadium after the feat and praying together. Among them, Lee Cheon-su, Lee Young-pyo, and Choi Tae-wook are included. Later, when I saw the interview of Cheon-su Lee, I was even more moved. "I'm a bad guy compared to Tae-wook. To be honest, I prayed for him to score every day. But Tae-wook said, 'At first, I was sad that I couldn't play, but I know that God takes great care of me. I prayed like 'thank you'" (Dong-A Ilbo 2002. 7. 5). It is really important to show your faith in God to the end.
Knowing and believing in the Son of God is what ultimately makes us perfect. eis andra teleion translated as 'a perfect man' in today's verse means 'to become a perfectly grown human being'. A person cannot be said to be perfect only in the physical and mental aspects. We become perfect when we have knowledge and faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Because it fills us spiritually. In other words, it fills the face of the eternal world. Jesus taught in John 17:3 that eternal life comes from knowing the only God and His Son Jesus Christ whom He has sent. In this way, we become perfect people and grow as much as Jesus Christ, the Son of God. That is why J rigen Moltmann, also called the theologian of hope, said, 'To believe means to live as a person who has come to face Jesus Christ.' It means that we are living like Jesus Christ.
In particular, what are the things that our church should know and believe about the Son of God, Jesus Christ? Don't we need to know more and believe in the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, did not die on the cross just for me? Not only for myself, but for my brothers and sisters next to me, I must have an attitude of knowing, believing, understanding, looking after, and caring for the fact that He died.
Dear saints,
We should all live with pride in knowing and believing in Jesus, the Son of God, as the Christ, our Savior. This is a blessing and grace given to us. As a confirmation of this, today we partake of the Lord's Supper. This is a ceremony to confirm and promise to become one with Jesus Christ, who gave His body for us on the cross. I earnestly hope once again that God's great blessing will come to you who become one with all the saints by becoming one in knowing and believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.