How does God view the city?

Micah Johnson

26 March 2010

City of Ephesus

Introduction

We find the early church stuck inside a flourishing society that seeks to find fulfillment in worldly pleasures. This scene is the same in any major metropolitan we witness today. Sure the architecture has changed, technology has evolved, but at its core, the city remains. There are simply some aspects of humanity that do not revolutionize. People will always find ways to survive in community. Humans will adapt into varying ways of culture.

The early church faced the same challenges that are present today. We will explore some of the major issues that were addressed in the epistles concerning the city of Ephesus. Many of the same problems can be used as a prototype for the modern church. In fact, many of the writings give specific information to issues that pastors are currently addressing congregations.

Pauline theology gives great insight to the culture and setting of the early urban church. Paul himself speaks in illustration of the current culture that he abides. Like Jesus, Paul makes a strong connection with the surrounding environment, in order to assist people in understanding godliness.

How Does God See the City?

God sees the city as the doorway to the world. Most of the larger cities in the early church were placed near the Mediterranean Sea. This is due to the lifestyle of trade and commerce. The city, even in modern culture, is the doorway to the entire world. The city is the center of our societies and cultures. All news and major events flow out of, or through the cities. Without a center of communication the world would be fragmented. Without the city there would be no way of connecting with or to the rural towns and keeping a connection with society.

The Lord understands the value of the city. Ephesus was placed in the heart of the economic and religious world. We read in Acts concerning the uproar the gospel brought. God’s vision was fulfilled in Ephesus because the citizens were given a choice. The city of Ephesus was home to many different deities, all of which were man-made gods, which Paul declared to pale in comparison to the true God. The people in Ephesus were just as concerned with losing their loyal customers, as they were their gods being discredited. The riot recorded in Acts 19 was a result of what happens when the Gospel is preached in the city. The people, who gain from a person’s wickedness, are the ones who will contest; it is not the ones being liberated. Sin is but an outcome of a wanting person. Not only does God see the city as a doorway, but He also sees a harvest. He sees people trapped by greed and the system, longing to be liberated.

It seems that God led Paul to Ephesus. Prior to Paul’s arrival in Acts nineteen, Pricilla and Aquila were the strongest of the faith. There was still much teaching to be done even among the followers of Jesus. Luke records that Paul stayed in Ephesus for three years before leaving the elders to run the church. God sees the city as the base of doctrinal operations. If the city is not teaching proper doctrine, then the rural areas will all be led astray.

This reminds me of the film “Valkyrie,” a movie set during WWII that depicts the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, and take control of the German forces using emergency protocol “Valkyrie.” Although unsuccessful their logic was sound. The allied forces did take Moscow and if it hadn’t been for a very sturdy table, Hitler would have been dead. Nonetheless, killing Hitler was simply the beginning, because without taking over the city, Hitler’s tyranny would have lived on.

The logic is still true today. Unless we (the church) take the city, we cannot change the world. The city is the doorway to worldwide revival. The Lord led Paul to Ephesus, straight into the heart of the religious world. The Lord knew without the city, the world would remain unchanged, and His logic is still strong today.

What Does God Intend for the City?

The lighthouse has been phased out of modern technology due to the cost and its functionality. However, the concept is still practical. The lighthouse gives direction and guidance to those who are trying to find their way. God’s intention for the city is to be a light on the hill for all to see. We know the city gives guidance to all major corporations and government; the same applies to the church. We see Paul combating false doctrine, not only in the church but also in the synagogues amongst other Jews. He saw the Gospel as his light, and he spread the light all throughout the city.

Somewhere we lost this concept. Somehow the church has become the light at the end of a tunnel rather than the light on the hill. God’s intention for the city has been overshadowed by our fear of danger. In Ephesus, and many other cities, the early church experienced much persecution and abuse. Although the church suffered these events, the gospel still progressed. The Gospel was preached in accordance with the laws. The church moved forward through touching people’s lives and giving them a way out. In Acts nineteen the people had no good reason to assemble against the believers. However, when God’s will is performed, it will always meet opposition.

Biblical Purpose of the Church

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." - Acts 1:8

The bible views the city as the catalyst. A catalyst is defined as “A substance or thing that causes an important event, or reaction to occur.” The city serves as the catalyst for the Gospel to reach the world. The first place Jesus mentions is the city of Jerusalem, the center of the religious world. Jerusalem served as the starting point for the Gospel in its region. From the city, the gospel was to spread to the rest of the countryside, from Judea and up to Samaria. Each city we see in the early church was a prototype of this model. The Apostles targeted the cities in order to broaden the story of Jesus Christ.

The Call to the City

The misconception of the modern church is this: buildings equal churches. The fact of the matter is that people equal churches. The people are the church. Therefore in order to understand the call God has for the city, we must understand what His plan and purpose is all about. The church is, and about, people. That has not and will never change. The call of God is simply for the people. Hence, we are called to the city, for it is in the city where the people live. When people are looking for water, they go to the ocean. When they are looking for trees, they go to the forest, and when they are looking for people, they go to the city.

Urbanization is thought to be coming to a close. After all, the percentages can’t really go much higher. However, the process began long ago. According to the bible, people have always urbanized. Through trade and government people have always found the opportunity to gather into communities. One of the first instances we see in the text of urbanization was Babel. The people were united with a purpose (although the intentions were wrong), God acknowledged the power of people in community. People united will always draw the attention of the Lord. He knows, in order to change the world, we must change the city.

How did the Church Interact with the City?

Somehow, the early church found a way to co-exist with the pagan culture. In the early days it was clear that there was definite tension between the world and the church. There was indeed a line between trying to propagate the gospel and simply living with the people. Paul said, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”- 1Timothy 2:1-2
Evidently, the elders that were excommunicated had been stirring up unneeded trouble with the authorities. Paul again and again asks for peace amongst the church and the city. Of course this is the wisdom of the apostle to a young minister. Still, we see a glimpse of the interaction between the church and the city of Ephesus. The church should not normally contrast the local government. Rather the church should be a compliment and a supporter of the authorities. Somehow modern religion has adopted the idea that everything the government does is carnal and wicked. On the contrary, the church should be assisting the local and federal government as much as morally possible. The church is not partisan. We, the church, need to find the union between, morally tolerable and common compatibility.

The church in Ephesus seemed to struggle with this concept. My observation is that the elders were getting so stringent with principles that were causing great conflict with the local government and community. So when Paul sent Timothy to organize the elders, he addressed these teachings at the core. Specifically Ephesus (as well as most all the early church cities) was infiltrated by apostasy.

Church and State

The concept of church and state is sound. Due to the history of humanity, it is the only way we (the church) could function in a democracy. However, it is still our responsibility to be in coordination with the state. The church today has so many opportunities to make an impact in the neighboring societies. Socially the church should be leading the way in feeding the homeless and cleaning up the community. We should be at the forefront of all humanity and emergency relief concerns; not to say the church is not doing any of these things, rather it is to say the church could be doing more. The cities in the world are in desperate need of assistance. How does the church claim to be salt and light, but never get involved in the issues plaguing the city? The church has a duty to the city, to partner itself and take action on behalf of the poor and needy in the community. True love for people will stretch us out of our zone of comfort and thrust us into a life of servanthood and sacrifice.

The key to understanding church and state is separating our duties as citizens of earth, and our duties as citizens of heaven. The fact that we are Christians does not mean we function outside the realm of society. Even though we look ahead to the life we will have, we cannot forget to live today in order to fulfill the great commission. Every person has a responsibility to society, no matter the religious beliefs or worldview. We all have a part to play in the world - politically, judicially, and civically. The Christian is not exempt from that duty; rather the followers of Christ should be leaders on this front.

Politically, the church should be active in the deciding who should lead in local and federal government. The modern church must be actively involved in the political process of democracy. This is an avenue the church can voice its opinion through choosing morally responsible individuals to lead. Instead of constantly talking about how horrible the government is the church should be doing their part to change or support local and general society.

Judicially, the church finds itself wrapped up in many ethical issues. Many churches find that individuals find the Lord after infracting the local laws. Churches are faced with the tough decisions of following the responsibility of the law and bridging the gap of relationships. In the end, the church must find a way to obey the local laws while still showing love to the individual. The easy way out normally will involve violating one of the two lines. However, the duty of the church is still to live, as Paul said, “peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” If he had omitted godliness and holiness, it would have been a lot easier. Nevertheless, the conflict will remain because we are living in an imperfect world, and we love imperfect people, both in and out of the family of Christ.

Many times the church focuses so much on things of the scripture, we forget to consider practical living. Often we abandon our civic responsibility due to focus on our spiritual well being. I am reminded of this fact when I am sitting in a restaurant with my “Christian” friends that treat the waiters and waitresses as slaves. How is it we can claim to love the Lord, but we cannot use the words “please” or “thank-you.” This mindset bleeds into other areas of our lives – i.e. recycling, water waste, trash disposal, and littering, just to name a few. The churches civic responsibility stretches from “Gifts of the Spirit” to the “Fruit of the Spirit.”

Why is it churches are constantly ducking and dodging the local authorities over building code regulations? The church should be the one entity the local government sees as a non-issue for following rules and guidelines. This is the duty we must fulfill in order for the church to have maximum influence in our cities.

The Model of the Church in Ephesus

It has been determined that Ephesus was a relatively large city. The churches influence was great in number. We cannot know the total population of the church, but we know it was significant. Whatever the number was, it was enough to cause the sales of idols to decline to riot proportions. If we consider this in modern society, it would be the equivalent of owners of pubs and bars coming together to riot against the Christians for taking all their business. Such conversions were happening in Ephesus that weakened or changed the economic situation of the city.

Church Growth

We can deduce from this event that the church was meant to grow in size. Part of the early model was to propagate the gospel and see conversion. The church was in the business of changing people’s lives. Although “growing” the church was not the sole purpose, simply, it was a natural outcome of the gospel.

The sense of family was never lost in the early church. We can conclude this from Paul’s language that the church gathered in family households. More than likely it was the easiest and safest place to congregate. This made the church a close community of believers that created a family. The early church was meant to be a close kinship. It was meant to have fellowship that went beyond just meeting once a week. It was indeed a family. The mega-church has stripped the idea of family and replaced it with organization. This is not to say the church should not focus on numbers, rather it is to say the main focus should be the relationship of the church body.

If we are trying to grow big buildings and draw massive crowds then we simply need to change the product. However, if we want to create stronger families, we must change the way we see the church body.

The Early Church Classroom

Another facet of the church was teaching. Paul went all over teaching the doctrine of God, and telling the story of Jesus. Teaching was a part of the early church. It is a prototype of what the modern church should be. Even in the qualifications of the ministry, we see “teaching” as the only duty. This quality of teaching is being lost in the modern church. How often do we really spend “teaching” a Wednesday night for a Sunday morning bible class? Teaching has been lost to the function of how we “do” church.

In Ephesus, Paul made a lifestyle of teaching, and he taught Timothy to do the same. “Command and Teach these things … set an example … in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” – 1 Timothy 4:11-12

Teaching was not regulated to a classroom or a lecture hall. Nor was it meant only done once or twice a week. Teaching was a lifestyle for the early church. Timothy was to teach in every aspect and action of life. Perhaps the inconvenience of this concept has forced it out of sight. The sacrifice of privacy and time is simply too much for the modern church to shoulder. We enjoy our lives of privacy and seclusion, only emerging twice a week to giving direction and then quickly retreat to our zone of comfort. This model of teaching covers areas of being open to people to attach themselves to our lives and learn through example.

Character Over Duty

In Ephesus, Paul finds that he needs to establish the qualifications for the ministry, due to fact there was a pollution of the leaders in the church in Ephesus. In Timothy, Paul spells out principles a minister should live by. The list was not things the minister should do; rather it was things the minister should be. This tells us the early church was more concerned with the character of a person, than their abilities.

The modern church could learn from this concept. How many leaders do we see in positions due to their charismatic personality, or their stunning talents? The early church modeled that a person’s heart was most important when it comes to leadership. The early church valued a person’s character over their ability to perform a duty.

Conclusion

We know that there were definite flaws in the early church. Nonetheless, we should always strive to follow the pattern the Word of God lays out for us. The early church understood all of these concepts. They knew the city was the doorway to the world. They knew God’s intention was that the church in the city was to be the lighthouse for the world. The early church grasped the fact that the purpose of the city was to be a catalyst to spread the story of Jesus. They understood the church is people. They also knew that in order to grow the “church” love must always be present. They turned the world upside-down with all these essentials. If the modern church can follow their lead, it too will experience the same result.