Being an ambassador for Christ, Final Part

The final chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians gives us a blueprint on how to live our lives. It teaches us how to relate to each other, treat each other, and serve each other.

Service is key in St. Paul's writings, serving God, that is. While literally speaking to servants of his day, he also speaks to those of us who are followers of Christ, who are children of God. "Children, obey your parents in the Lord" he writes (Eph 6:1). "Honour thy father and mother," (Eph 6:2). Fathers are to bring children "up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Eph 6:4). Servants are to "be obedient... in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ" (Eph 6:5). All are to serve the Lord, Christ Jesus, and be obedient to God, good.

Service is equivalent to doing the works Christ Jesus teaches. It is to do good, be good, see good. It is to practice the Golden Rule. It is to prove the power of the "mystery" of God and man. It is to rely on God in times of trouble.

Paul isn't naive, either. He's well aware of evil in the hearts of mortals. He admonishes us to "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph 6:11). The whole armour is spiritual understanding. It is not only an awareness of God and His power, but using God and His power in times of trial. Then, with unceasing prayer we persevere in truth. This strengthens us, and we are able to be bold in our practice of Christianity, of Christian Science, and in voicing the "mystery of the gospel" (Eph has 6:19). Remember, the "mystery" is the spiritual understanding of God and man's relationship.

Paul calls himself an "ambassador" for this mystery, an ambassador in bonds. He's one who has been forced into accepting this mystery, through his conversion, and so he understands the necessity of spreading and practicing the laws of God, of Christian Science.

In just six short chapters, Paul teaches us about church, Christ’s body, as he calls it; and he opens our eyes to understand that this "church," this body, this "ekklesia" is an assembly of the called (Eph 1:22). This idea, being new to the Ephesians, must have strengthened them to accept, even bit by bit, the idea that to practice Christianity is to be a part of Christ Jesus' mission. This is really a trumpet horn, unifying them, sending up the call to serve and be part of this holy work. Paul reminds them that each have been called, “before the foundation of the world” to be holy and blameless, pure (Eph 1:4). Each is predestined as the child of God. Christ Jesus has redeemed us, opened our eyes to reality through his crucifixion, in proving life to be eternal.

This inheritance is our salvation. This is the "mystery of Christ" (Eph 3:4), and the "fellowship of the mystery" (Eph 3:4,3:9). It reveals our "inner man" (Eph 3:16). And for all that Christ Jesus has done he is “head over all things to the church, which is his body" (Eph 1:22-23). These Christian thoughts turned the heads and thoughts of the Ephesians to contemplation of something they had never heard before. It was truly revolutionary!

Church, for St. Paul, wasn’t limited to rites and rituals, in fact, all rites and rituals are set aside, and the spirit of the heart is examined. How one lives one’s life in accordance with Christ Jesus’ teachings is what matters. How one follows the great Master is key. But, because we are “an assembly of the called,” as followers of Christ, we have a Christian duty to uphold his church. We are in position to bless all humanity with the spiritual understanding of what this true body really is, what it does, and why it exists.

The great St. Paul is clear: no matter what one's past may hold, one is saved by Christ. And "Christ is the divine idea of God - the Holy Ghost" (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key tothe Scriptures 332:19). As St. Paul puts it, “by grace ye are saved” (Eph 2:8). And in this grace, or ineffable love from God, each is uplifted to a higher sense of at-one-ment with God. St. Paul tells us why, “and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” This gift of God is the spiritual understanding of absolute faith. Absolute faith is not mere hoping or wishing. It’s not just holding out for something better and higher. It is the deep, penetrating spiritual sense that knows the power, presence, and allness of God.

This spiritual sense is a spiritual understanding of God and man’s relationship. It is not “of ourselves," but of God, whom each idea, creation, reflects. So, each one, each expression of man in God’s likeness, is His workmanship, His masterpiece.

If we have ever felt far-off from God, disconnected, (certainly the Ephesians may have felt so, as well), now we can understand our relationship with Him, the All-mighty. We can grasp the truth that we are close to God – as close as an original is to its reflection. This is true because as God's child we are His immediate offspring. Any sense of disconnection can be mended. The “wall of partition between us” can be dissolved with this new-found spiritual awareness of our relation to God, good. In this action we find we are a new man, the old is put off. The new man is forever with God, good (Eph 2:14). He dwells in God’s kingdom. This new man, then, with this spiritual understanding, is a “fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Eph 2:19).

When our "rubber hits the road" and we're called to practice Christian Science more thoroughly and effectively, we can choose to turn to God, yield to His power, and feel the divine care that is rightfully ours. Individually doing this unifies us as one body of Christ. It strengthens Christianity as a whole, and us individually.

Christ Jesus being the “chief corner stone” is our foundation (Eph 2:20). And now, each one fits together in like-mindedness, in structure, in purpose, in practice. Each has a place and position in the holy temple, body of Christ - just as St. Paul taught the Ephesians. And, so each is “builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph 2:22).

What does this mean to you, to me, to the body of Christ, to church? One thing it can mean is to uphold Christianity, and specifically Christian Science, the law of God. It can mean that with all things we look through the lens of scripture. It can mean that equality, discipleship, servant leadership is biblically based and spiritually inspired.

It can mean we put on the new man, seek the treasures of Truth, armor ourselves for when the rubber meets the road, and walk the talk!