a report live-blogged by Andy Naselli

March 24 and 26, 2009 | Dr. Greg Waybright | Lake Avenue Evangelical Free Church, Pasadena, CA

The Center is pleased to welcome Trinity’s former president back to campus.  Dr. Waybright will cover the subject of ecclesiology through consideration of two passages in Ephesians. His talks are entitled “The Dream Church.”  His first sermon will cover Ephesians 1:3-14 and is entitled “God’s Idea–Not Mine,” while his second will cover Ephesians 2:11-22 and is entitled “From Dream to Reality.”

Introduction

Eph 2:11–22 is one of the greatest texts in the Bible about the church. Contrast George Barna’s conclusions about the local church, which he calls “a much more privatized spirituality.” God’s vision for his church is much bigger than a privatized spirituality can ever bring about. God has called us into his unexpected family in order to worship him, serve him, and declare his glory together.

1. What did God have to do to begin his masterpiece (Eph 2:11–18)?

Note that 2:11 begins with “therefore.” Remember that we were dead (2:1–3) and that God has rescued us (2:4–10). We are God’s masterpiece. “Therefore” (2:11):

  • Relationship 1: Sinful people had to be reconciled to a holy God.
  • Relationship 2: Hostile people (i.e., Gentiles and Jews) had to be reconciled to one another (cf. Rom 15:5–7).

2. So then, what is the church, this masterpiece of God (Eph 2:19–22)?

Three powerful images (that go increasingly deeper):

  • The church is a new citizenship (2:19).
  • The church is a new family (2:19b–21). We have a Father who ties us all together.
  • The church is where God “lives” (2:22). Just like the tabernacle and temple were the locus of where God lived in the OT, the church is the locus of where God lives now.

Conclusion

When Dr. Waybright preached this sermon last fall at his church (Lake Avenue Evangelical Free Church in Pasadena, CA), he told them about his dream for them. He wants people to see their unity in diversity and wonder, “How on earth they all get together?” and “So that’s what God is like. God must be in that place.” Waybright is dreaming and praying that Lake Avenue Church will look like Eph 2:11–22. We “are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (2:22). May it be so to his glory. Amen.