Dear Christian friends:

In our text St. Paul asked the congregation at Ephesus not to be discouraged by what they heard was happening to him. From a human point of view the Ephesians had good reason to be discouraged about their church situation. Their spiritual father and leader was imprisoned in Rome with little or no hope of ever being freed. They themselves were a small church in a grossly pagan city, and you can imagine the persecution, economic, and social deprivations they had to endure for the sake of their faith in Christ.

Our church situation isn't exactly like that of the Ephesians, however, we, too from a human stand point, have much to be discouraged about. Things are not going so well in the organized institutional church today. The institutional church has lost members and financial support and along with it its influence upon the comm- unity. The youth largely have given up on it as part of the corrupt and decadent establishment. Some authoritative people have prophesied that the organized church as we know it will no longer exist by the end of this century. To top it all off most American churches bodies are waging bitter factional fights within their own denominations. A vigorous, angry, conservative rebellion is challenging the liberals who have dominated Protestant churches almost steadily since the 1920's. Most of you know our Synod and our congregation has not been spared this battle.

So looking at the church as we usually do, we become discouraged indeed. What can we do? Where can we go to find wisdom and hope to carry us through this dreary time? I can't tell you in a practical way what you ought to do or which side to support but I can offer comfort and hope for both sides.

Perhaps our main trouble whether liberal or conservative is that we over emphasize the institutional church at the expense of the Holy Christian Church or as some term it the "Invisible Church." We put too much hope and trust in infallible men and their organizations and not enough confidence in our heavenly Father and in our Lord Jesus Christ who really builds the Church that really is and the church that really counts.

When the Ephesian congregation was discouraged Paul wrote them the letter which we call his Epistle to the Ephesians. This letter is a beautiful and precious gem, the seat of doctrine regarding the Holy Christian Church. In our text which is part of that letter St. Paul encourages and comforts by reminding us of The Greatest of Christ's Church. St. Paul reminds us of the great size and scope of Christ's Church. He writes: "I kneel before the "Father", from whom every group in heaven and on earth gets the name of "family."

Christ's Church is made of all believers in Christ all whoever were, all who ever are and all whoever will be. His Church transcends the barriers of nature, it is found in heaven and on earth, and in every land and continent. It reaches across the denominational walls that fallible men erect either for good reasons or bad, and members of it are found in every denomination, liberal or conservative, orthodox or heterodox wherever the Gospel of Christ is still read and preached, even in a church where a ordained woman may be the Gospel preacher; it integrates Christians of every race in spite of the disgraceful fact that many white, Anglo- Saxon protestants in their institutional churches have segregated them, de facto or facto and in some extreme cases as in the southern Bible belt even claimed it was spiritual.

Christ's Church unites every believer regardless of age, place, race, or denominational label. We are all brothers and sisters and God is our dear heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is our elder Brother our Savior, Lord and King. We are Christ's Body, His heavenly Bride. We are the greatest and dearest family in all heaven and earth and forever.

Let us dwell on these precious truths when we become discouraged by the sad state of affairs in our visible churches. Don't count on them too much; don't value them more than they deserve. Remember men don't build the real Church, Christ does. We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and Christ Jesus Himself is the Cornerstone. In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows to be a holy temple in the Lord. In Him, you, too, are built with the others to be God's home in the Spirit.

It is true that Christ works through evangelists, pastors, teachers and various denominations, and they are necessary, but they are only tools of Christ and they have been known to err. Christ himself is the Builder. How does Christ build His Church? What does He call progress? A new church building? A Net gain of 50 members in one year? A 20% increase in church attendance? A 5% increase in financial giving? Not necessarily, maybe, maybe not. Christ doesn't figure progress and success in His Church as we often do in ours. He doesn't have these kind of goals. How does Christ build His Church? What are His goals? St. Paul tells us in the next verses of our text. He writes "I pray the Father, as He is rich in glory to give you this:that His Spirit will inwardly strengthen you with power Christ will live in your hearts by faith etc." (verses 16-19 read)

So Christ builds His Church by the Holy Spirit working through the Gospel and His goal is that His members everywhere grow in love that they understand little by little more and more the tremendous love of God for them, and then that they practice this love on each other. That's what it means to have Christ live in our hearts. As Paul said in another letter, "It is no longer I who live (my old corrupt, perverse proud flesh) but Christ who lives in me and the life which I now live I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me."

"He died for me! I am a debtor!" Paul said over and over again he just couldn't get over the fact that God loved him. He the chief of sinners. He never tired of telling of God's great love to him and of his conversion on the road to Damascus. He felt the joyous obligation of telling of God's love to other sinners, even to those of other despised races. Not only did He preach it but he lived it. He actually loved the people, tenderly and gently. This is how Christ builds His Church: by the Gospel, by God's love, by Christ's love active in us.

If left to ourselves our own methods and goals Christ's Church wouldn't get built at all. We don't even know how to pray. Paul says, "He can do far more than anything we ask or imagine." (verse 20) In order to save us from our spiritual pride and the perverse leading of our flesh which causes us to over-emphasize our visible churches and material things and to take ourselves too seriously. God hast to run ahead of our prayers. He must go beyond our highest best prayers. It would be tragic if God did not outrun our prayers. If we were limited to our capacity to ask and to think, we would be trapped in our lack of goodness and wisdom. Our prayers would destroy us instead of help us. But God is not "hemmed in" by our prayers. He hears them and sifts them giving gifts according to His measureless mercy rather than dealing with us on the basis of our power to ask and to think.

See what a Great Church we have: such a grand and glorious Father: such a dear and precious Brother and Savior who sends His Spirit to give us every good and perfect gift in spite of our selves and the crummy job we've done with our so-called churches. See the Greatness of Christ's Church and you won't be so discouraged by the churches of men. You won't take them to seriously and you won't take yourself too seriously, but you will take Christ and His Church seriously. God help us.

Amen.