I’ll never forget the Sunday school teacher who asked the class, “What is gray with a long fuzzy tail, lives in the trees, and stores up nuts for the winter?”
A little boy in the back row waved his hand and yelled out, “Jesus!”
The teacher, caught off guard, said, “That’s a great answer, but it’s not really what I was looking for.”
And the boy explained, “I thought Jesus was the answer to all our questions in the church?!”
You’ll remember the theme of Ephesians is the church and it’s not surprising when we find the answers to all our questions about the church in Ephesians — who, what, when, where, why, and now “how.”
Paul begins by re-stating the first and most critical truth of the gospel in Ephesians:
“So the one who came down is the same one who went up, above and beyond the heavens, to fill the whole universe with his presence. Jesus is fully God and fully human.”
— Ephesians 4: 10
In fact, the answer to our question about “who came down” is Jesus. And the answer to the second question about “who went up” also is Jesus. He is “above and beyond the heavens” and he “fills the whole universe with his presence.” Jesus is fully God and fully human and it is he who:
“Gave gifts to people.”
— Ephesians 4: 10
He appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers.
Apostles call those outside the Christian faith and prophets call those inside the Christian faith. Evangelists call those outside the church and pastors call those inside the church — and teachers train us all!
Fred Craddock tells about a young minister just out of seminary arriving at a new church and he’s told an elderly woman is in the hospital. She’s very weak and the doctors don’t give her much hope. The church asks him to visit her, and he does.
One the way he begins to wonder what he’ll say to someone who is facing death. They have a pleasant, superficial visit and as he leaves he asks if he can pray for her.
She says, “Yes, ask the Lord to heal me. That’s why I wanted to see you.”
Without a shred of faith, he prays that God will heal her, and she says, “You know, I think it worked. I think I’ve been healed!”
Then she jumps out of the bed and runs down the hallway shouting, “Praise God, I’m healed! Praise God, I’m healed.”
Stunned, he stumbles out of her room and down to his car where he looks up to heaven and says, “Don’t you ever do that to me again!”
Many times, God answers our prayers and our questions in spite of us!
Charles “Buddy” Whatley is a retired United Methodist pastor serving Dawson Street Methodist Church in Thomasville, Ga.
