Ephesians 4,1-6. 17. Trinity

Ephesians 4,1-6          5021 

17. Trinitatis 062

Cyprian of Antioch, Turkey. Martyr in Nicomedia (Izmit), Turkey, 304 (Emperor Diocletian)

26. September 2021

1. O Lord God, Heavenly Father, we beseech You so to guide and direct us by Your Holy Spirit, so that we may not exalt ourselves, but humbly fear You, with our whole hearts hear and keep Your word, and hallow the Lord’s day, so that we also may be hallowed by Your word; help us, first, to place our hope and confidence in Your Son, Jesus Christ, who alone is our Righteousness and Redeemer, and, then, so to amend and better our lives in accordance with Your word, so that we may avoid all offenses and finally obtain eternal salvation.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich) 

2. »I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.« 

3. Paul begins his Epistle to the Ephesians by saying: »In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will« (Ephesians 1,7-11)

4. In today’s lection, Paul emphasizes that unity we have in Christ: Christians have the unity of the Holy Spirit, are one in body, hope, faith, Baptism and God the Father. Luther expounds on this in the 3. article of the Creed in his Small Catechism where he writes: in the same way the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps her with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. Paul, Luther and every great theologian describe κοινωνια (fellowship) by starting with Jesus Christ and working out from Him. 

5. Jesus is the solid foundation, but if you get Him wrong then the structure will fall. This is what Paul feared in Galatia. There was the solid foundation of Jesus crucified and risen that he had preached, and then there was the other Jesus some men from Jerusalem were trying to lay down as the foundation, namely: Jesus and circumcision and dietary restrictions of the Mosaic covenant. Paul accuses these Jerusalem men of preaching a different gospel, a gospel that taught you need more than Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Paul would have none of that: there is only one Jesus and one gospel: the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. That is the Church’s only Gospel and her only foundation. 

6. But throughout the Church’s history people have tried to add to this gospel. In Paul’s day it was circumcision; in Luther’s day it was indulgences; in our day it is Jesus but the gospel is replaced with a generic religiosity that is comfortable across all religions: one example being: God is love, but that love is not defined or derived from God’s love showcased in the gospel. These are all Christ plus something more as evidence to show that Christ really works (Nagel 159.).

7. To add to the gospel of Christ is to nullify the grace of God; then Christ died to no purpose (Nagel 159). If that is the Christ being talked about – Christ where His crucifixion is not enough – then they fallen away from grace (Nagel 159), for eventually the gospel will be minimized or lost.

8. There is only one grace, one gospel, for there is only the crucified and risen Christ. We were baptized into Christ, and He has set us free (Nagel 160). There is one baptism – it is in the Name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is one faith – Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. In all this oneness there is unity and fellowship. What links those who partake of the Lord’s Supper is that which they share together (Elert 4). The Apostolic Church confessed it by praying: „as this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and being gather together became one, so may Your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom“ (Didache 9,4). The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper binds its participants together (Elert 27). Chrysostom says: „Communicating (κοινωειν) involves not only partaking but also being made one, for as the body is united with Christ, so are we made one with Him through this bread“ (Elert 27).

9. Cyril of Alexandria summarizes it this way: We are all one body together in Christ (Dial. de Trin.: PG, 74, 560 d.). If Christ is indivisible, then in no circumstances whatsoever will He let Himself be divided (Elert 30). In Christ we are all one (Dial. de Trin.: PG, 75, 697 b). We many are one in Christ and in the Holy Spirit (PG, 57, 697 c.). The Lord’s Supper makes us bodily one; it unites all Christians with Christ and all Christians with one another (Elert 30). From this flows Paul’s admonition to bear with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace. Unity, love and peace are from Christ, are grounded in Him and thus bears fruit with fellow Christians. 

10. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippines 4,7).  Amen. 

11. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Your steadfast love endures forever; send to us the Holy Spirit to enable mouths to make known Your faithfulness and fellowship to all generation.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

Elert, Werner. Eucharist and Church Fellowship in the First Four Centuries. Copyright © 1966 Concordia Publishing House.