What's in a Name?

 Read Ephesians 3

Paul is not illiterate.  He is skilled in the written word.  He uses literary tools.  He could write in a terse voice as he did to the Galatians or with pleasant, grateful prose as was the case in much of his letter to the church in Ephesus. 

He wraps up this section with something of a prayer, but it begins with some food for thought.

Every family in heaven and on earth derives its name from God.

It could just be that everything created came from God to include our names or we could consider our the nature of our names.  When someone asks, “What is your name,” or “How are you to be called,” we would answer, “I am and our name.”

I am is the name that God told Moses to tell his people when Moses asked what if they want to know who sent me. When we answer with our name, we precede it with the name of God.

Paul’s prayer petitions God and encourages the Ephesian believers.  How so?

That out of his glorious riches, God strengthens you with power through his Holy Spirit. Why? So that Christ may dwell in your hearts.

Do you remember I am crucified with Christ.  Christ lives in me.

What’s the preexisting condition?  Why, the glorious riches of God are that condition.  What’s the outflow? Strength and power and Christ living in us.

How about another preexisting condition, this time in the Ephesian believers?  Try this on for size:  Being rooted and established in love.

What’s that mean.  It means that love is the whole deal.  Your life is rooted in love.  Your lifestyle is established by love.  Your geography is love.  Your destination is love.  

What proceeds from this love is knowing how great God’s love for us is? How wide and long, high and deep God’s love for us is.

Paul says that this love surpasses knowledge.  It’s more than we can understand.  Yes, it’s like the peace that surpasses all understanding. It should be comforting to us to know that there are aspects of our God that we just can’t comprehend.

If we could fully comprehend God, we might try to make ourselves gods.  That dog don’t hunt.

Paul said that there was some mystery here and that mystery is revealed in Christ and his church. The church must be at work in the world today being God’s love.  The world is lost without God’s love.  The church seems to have a knack for condemnation, but if Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, then we should stick to our assigned mission:  Love and good news.

We can be spectators and armchair quarterbacks or we can be the church.  I coined the term Christian Tourist a few years ago.  It’s someone who checks out the sights of Christianity but decides that discipleship doesn’t fit into their comfort zone.

We can point fingers or we can reach out with our hands and arms.  We can’t do both and we are called to be the church and take God’s love to the world.

I will conclude this short message as Paul concluded the chapter.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Amen.