Ephesians Devotionals
Bob Morris
Mission Exists Because Worship Doesn’t, Ephesians 1: 3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
John Piper (Let the Nations Be Glad!) has written provocatively,
Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Mission exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.
The first words Paul writes after his salutation is “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So it must be for all have a heart for mission. We must begin with worship and the longing to see the Triune God acknowledged and adored. It was what humans were created for, and there is an intimate connection between worship and mission. Those who worship this missionary God inevitably feel a compulsion to be involved in his mission in the world.
The prophet Isaiah wrote (43: 5-7),
Do not be afraid for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth – everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.
All those who have a heart for God and his glory long to see all God’s creation worship him in spirit and in truth, because they are the kind of people God the Father is looking for (John 4: 23-4). Some years ago I was traveling across the country of Bhutan by road, to visit various colleagues who were working in remote locations. At one point the driver stopped by the side of the road for a stretch, and I marveled at the scenery. Down the steep hillside on to the plains that connected with India there was lush vegetation alive with birds and other small animals. Looking above the road you could see snow-capped Himalayan Mountains that seemed to be guarding the country and pointing to a powerful and loving creator watching over the Bhutanese. I was overwhelmed with the sense that here was one of the most spectacular parts of God’s creation, yet there was none here I knew who were worshipping the God who had made it and them. My response was to stand in the place of the Bhutanese who were yet to worship and glorify the Father, and praise him on their behalf for the wonders of this tiny, beautiful country. From that day forward I prayed with renewed fervour for the people of Bhutan. They too must one day praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is no generically-named god who is worshipped by all religions of the world, but is specifically the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth lived among us, we could see and touch him, and even kill him at one point in time. We do not worship some vague deity in a particularly Christian way, but the one true and living God and his Son Jesus. We are not satisfied with a vague “spirituality” and belief in unattested myths which might be common to any number of religions, whether the Tibetan Buddhism of the Bhutanese or the Greek mystery religions of Paul’s day. What we believe is rooted in time and space and the One we worship chose to enter our space and our history to reveal himself and his incomparable love for us.
Nor is this a passive God who demands only that we fear and submit to him. He brings gifts and grace with him, blessing us eternally with blessings beyond our present imagining. Here is just a hint of what will be developed more fully in the rest of the letter – our lives and the challenges and blessings that are ours extend far beyond this life of “flesh and blood.” The blessings we have in Christ include our salvation and the abundant life here and now, and in the world to come. The life we live in Christ here on earth is the beginning of the life we will live in eternity.
Even our blessings are incentive for mission. God’s promise to Abraham (Genesis 12: 1-30) was that God would bless him and he in turn would be the channel of blessing to all peoples on earth. The blessings we have are intended for others, and God has blessed us beyond our needs precisely so we can bless others in his name.
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