Behind today’s message are two books, written centuries apart, both key influencers in Pastor Ben’s drive to pursue his ministry calling: The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter, and Brothers, We are Not Professionals, by John Piper.  Baxter challenges pastors to examine their lives, to lead by example and to labor tirelessly for the spiritual growth of others, while Piper exhorts pastors to put away all worldly measures of success, abandon a corporate, performance-driven mindset and focus on the eternal impact of their work, embracing the simplicity of their Christ-centered calling for Gospel ministry.  The premise behind both of these books could be summarized by the thought, “never evaluate your ministry based on the response of the people”.

What seems troubling across the modern church in America is that many pastors want to speak about the number of people within their churches before discussing the eternal impact of their work.  Rather than make their churches a reflection of Gospel ministry and the ordinances, some pastors focus on self-promotion and the building of their own brand, while other pastors seem more validated by recognition, the response of the people, and achievements over the care of their people’s souls.  Pastors should be faithful to their calling, faithful to the needs of the people and allow God to work as He sees fit.

Paul was not a professional nor did he look at the response of the people to evaluate his ministry.  Absolutely great in his ministry, Paul had a heart for people, not seeing himself as elevated above them but, as a normal man working as a servant of God.  Each believer is set apart to be used by God in a unique way, as like no other.  While he had weaknesses like everyone else, lived his life striving for holiness, like everyone else, what set Paul apart, and what should be true of every believer. was his love for the Gospel. We only need look at Romans 9:1-3 to see the breadth and depth of Paul’s love.  His gratitude for his own salvation ignited a deep longing for others to experience the same joy he daily experienced, finding his validation in his Savior.  Just as Paul set his mind on Christ and his walk toward heaven, so should we.  This is our calling!

All through the pages of the New Testament, we find Paul celebrating people’s unique role in Gospel ministry, always ready to serve others, never using them for his own advantage.  He understood that Gospel ministry is not a solo act.   The church had Paul’s supreme affection, as the church had the affections of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27).  Paul loved the church and all the people of it.  The church is Christ’s sheep, the people of God.  In John 10:11, we see that Christ is “...the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”.  The people of God redeemed by Christ define the church.  The weaknesses and the strengths of the church, as well as the personality of the church, come from the people, not the pastor/leader.

All of this matters because as Paul closes this letter, we find a list of names and a simple truth, easily overlooked: Paul desires to reflect on the people in the fellowship because the people are the church.  The people are the body of Christ, the bride of Christ and the ones doing the work of the Gospel ministry.  The same is true of Southside in that its personality, its impact in the community, its heartbeat is the people.  As we read this list of names, we should see not a historical record but, the heart of what the church is meant to be:

1. A Source of Learning
2. A Community of Co-Laborers
3. A Tapestry of Grace for the World to see

The church is not made up of professionals but, people loved by Christ and empowered by His Spirit working together for God’s glory.

I. The Church is to be a Source of Learning (v5-7)

It is God’s desire that people be won to Christ through the verbal communication of the Gospel.  God created and designed language so that we could communicate with one another and that we could receive His word, understand and know Him.  It was God’s method to use people to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14).

From creation and throughout Scripture, we see that God has a specific way in which He wants His people to understand, learn and discern His truth.  The Great Shama (Deuteronomy 6:6-9) is a significant passage that accentuates this.  (“Hear, O Israel!”). Seeking, knowing and communicating God’s truth to the people around us should be ongoing, nonstop, ever-increasing.

Why does God want His people to do this?  Obedience is not to be ritualistic, it is to be relational.  As we grow in our knowledge of God, obedience should become a desire based on the love He has for us.  As we study and grow in our understanding, by God’s Spirit, we naturally respond to God and to receive His love in the right way.  This is the thought Paul had on his heart when he wrote, “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and (constantly) increasing in the knowledge of God:” (Colossians 1:9-10).

When we examine Acts 2:42, we see that the early church prioritized learning from the teaching of the Apostles, which included formal times of instruction, the study of doctrine, the examination of biblical practices and practical obedience.  We see that this learning happened in formal gatherings, smaller house churches, in the marketplace, while they were at work.  The people were doing with the word of the Lord the commandments of God as written in Deuteronomy 6.

As this learning was taking place, Epaenetus, the first convert to Christ in Asia (Romans 16:5), heard the Gospel and came to faith, probably hearing it from Paul.  He was the first fruit among many in Rome.  Paul was acknowledging God’s provision and ownership (Leviticus 23:10).  Also, he was highlighting the beginnings of spiritual work (I Corinthians 15:20) in that region, a testimony of the great harvest of God that would follow.  The conversion of Epaenetus was evidence of studying and of learning truth through relationship.

Moving forward, we encounter a married couple, Andronicus and Junia, students and teachers, fellow Jews and relatives of Paul.  Remember that before Paul was converted he was a persecutor, a hater, a murderer of the church. Yet Andronicus and Junia were in Christ before him.  Because they were “well known by” (or seen as “supremely notable”) to the Apostles (v7), we can surmise that they were teachers of the Word.  This couple was a lighthouse for the Gospel.  They were not notable in any other way in Scripture; but, here we see them as being outstanding among the Apostles, Paul’s fellow prisoners, functioning well in ministry and in the church.  “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God.  Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith (Hebrews 13:7).  The church always benefits from mature believers who are pouring into other people in the church, faithfully teaching and modeling Christ’s likeness.  This is how Paul wants us to see this couple.

They are mentioned because this is the climate of the church: it was a hub of learning.  Any church that prioritizes learning, teaching in this way, should naturally produce learning through discipleship.  For clarity, a “disciple” is a follower who accepts and assists in the spread of the Gospel to others.  Discipleship is a philosophy by which you live, it is not a box you check.  As you live life, you teach others what you know.

Also, in this list of saints to be greeted, Paul mentions Mary.  Paul tells us that Mary worked hard for us, demonstrating that the philosophy of discipleship was being lived out…which included principles such as putting Christ first in all things (Mark 8:34-38), following after Jesus’ teaching (John 8:31-32), bearing fruit (John 15:5-8), loving other disciples (John 13:34-35), making disciples of others (Matthew 28:18-20).

From all of this we see that discipleship is a relational investment, which defined Mary, who sacrificially worked to the point of exhaustion.  There was nothing casual about her service.  From her, we learn that discipleship goes well beyond teaching doctrine: it is relationally investing in others, it is laboring in love, it is fostering spiritual growth within the body for the sake of Christ, it is helping someone understand the love of Christ as you love them.  This is the understanding John had in mind when he wrote, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

Mary worked hard for them but, her work was not isolated: she worked in the midst of believers, others in the church, having a shared mission of God’s glory, coming together to create a vibrant fellowship, complimenting each other, and for the building up of the body (I Peter 4:10-11).  While discipleship is individually mentoring, it is done in a collective effort to equip and encourage the entire church; therefore, discipleship is done in a corporate mindset, a corporate desire for the entire body to be grown and built up together.  We see from 2 Corinthians 3:18 that the Holy Spirit is the agent of change within us but, we also see from 1 Thessalonians and Ephesians that it is discipleship within the body that is the means of growth.

Discipleship is a relationship that is centered around a shared mission only cultivated in an environment of learning, everyone within the body participating.  We grow together.  We learn from each other.  “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (I Corinthians 15:58). Know that with regards to learning, relationships or our effort, our labor is not in vain in the Lord!  To grow, build relationships and work, we must always be learning about God, ourselves and others so that when we come together, “...we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine”(Romans 1:12).

II. A Community of Co-Laborers (v8-13)

What we can see in this detailed list of cherished people is that everyone’s contribution matters, everyone has value in the sight of God.  Behind every name is a gift and a role given by God with each believer listed being essential to the body of Christ.  Here, Paul takes the time to highlight the specific roles and contributions of each as a reminder that no one in the body of Christ is insignificant.  “...The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty” (I Corinthians 12:22-23).  Every believer is essential in God’s design for the church, valuable to God and important to the Gospel ministry.  Each believer is more important than the role the believer holds.  Every contribution made matters to the Lord!  We know because God made certain these “insignificant” people were made known to everyone who reads His word.

Such is true for each believer at Southside.  Every member has a role to play, a gift to give, to bring harmonic balance to our body, our community.  Every aspect of what you bring, every conversation had, every work performed, every passage of Scripture treasured and hidden within your heart, every word of encouragement given another, has benefit and God sees all of it!  The power that each member brings to the congregation comes into play through diversity, where individuals with varied abilities, backgrounds and gifts work together to glorify God and build His church.

With the list of names Paul gives, we see the truth of I Corinthians 12:4-6 in that the strength of fellowship is always in the diversity within the body, one Spirit and one Lord working through many people.  This diversity is significant, important to God, because this is how we come to know Him better!  “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied (manifold) grace” (I Peter 4:10).  As we interact and learn from each other, we learn more of God’s manifold…varied, multi-faceted, many forms of expression…grace.  To understand all aspects of God, we must be actively engaged together in this ministry.  We cannot live in isolation.  Each gift of God, each child of God, is a unique expression of His grace, suited for the edification of the church.

Our unique gifts are purposeful and essential because as they are exercised, we have…

III. A Tapestry of Grace for the World (v14-16)

Art creates within us a certain curiosity to understand what the artist had in mind when the art was created.  Art has an aesthetic beauty, having meaning and truly tells some kind of story.  Tapestry is art and like tapestry, the church is a tapestry of grace, made up of unique threads, each vital to the whole.  When our lives are woven together by the Gospel, the church becomes a beautiful, visual testimony of God’s grace, which causes the world to look at it with wonder, as one wonders with curiosity at a piece of art, giving thought to its Creator and the story the church has to tell.

This is God’s design for the church.  Individual believers coming together to create a unified picture of the church, a tapestry made of individual threads, held together by tied and hidden knots, woven together to form one, unified picture of God’s grace.  We should note that these knots are tied together with a holy kiss (v16), truly welcoming and accepting each other, regardless of societal, economic or cultural standing, with great value as a member of the family of God. “...All are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).  We are to greet each other, to pause and acknowledge each other’s presence, and then to remind each other of their acceptance and membership within the family.

God values the personal connections we have with each other.  We are to celebrate the contributions each person brings to the family and to build cross-cultural (relationship) bridges, as/when needed, to produce God’s tapestry which is the church.  The manner in which we greet one another weaves new threads into the tapestry of fellowship, tying each strand securely within the fabric of God’s work.  As we step back, we behold the beauty of His sovereign design unfolding before us and to the world.  In John 17, we have the Lord’s prayer, that His church would be God’s tapestry for the world to look on and wonder and to create in individuals the desire to know our God and Lord.

Let us truly give thanks to God for our church, and the significance of each individual God divinely weaves into our tapestry.  May God’s love and glory be on display for the world to look upon and wonder!

Selah

• Is the gratitude for your salvation obvious in the way you daily live your life and in your longing for others to hear and receive the truth of God’s offered salvation?
• As Paul offered his prayer for the people of the church in Colossae (Colossians 1:9-10), do you offer the same prayer for your brothers and sisters at Southside?  (Is not the proof of our faith and love for God, and for others, found in the prayers we offer from our hearts?)
• If the love Jesus wants his disciples to have for one another (John 13:35) to be a visual witness to the unsaved world depended on your witness alone, would the world see the love Jesus desires?
• Has the Lord made known to you that your life is  being lived in isolation, with the need to bring your life and the gifts you have been given  into the community of Southside for the benefit and strengthening of the body (I Corinthians 12:4-6)?
• Can you truly say you have allowed your life to be woven into the tapestry of the Southside family?  (The church is to be visually on display for the glory of God and the visual is incomplete without your thread woven into its fabric.)