"Healthy Bodybuilding”
Text: Ephesians 4:1-16
8-4-2024
In the name of Him who is the Bread of eternal Life, dear friends in Christ. What do you think of when you hear the term “bodybuilding”? Most likely an image comes to mind of some guy with bulging, sculpted muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger. And I suspect that many people would also think of this as the picture of ideal health. I worked with a cop in Omaha who had won both the state and the national title for bodybuilding. While he was in training, I can assure you that his was not a healthy lifestyle, neither for his body or his relationships. Every free moment was consumed with working out, eating a strange diet, and working out some more. There were rumors that he had “bulked up” rapidly with the help of steroids, which he denied. He also had an enormous ego to go with his enlarged muscles. Anyway, I’m not trying to pick on the guy. Instead, I’m trying to eliminate this definition when you hear St. Paul talk about building up the body of Christ in our Epistle Lesson. The illustration that he’s using is the normal growth that takes place in a human body as it matures. However, as you well know, this kind of healthy bodybuilding doesn’t just happen. It requires diligence to ensure that good habits are established along with good nutrients being consumed. Which ends up being a perfect description of healthy bodybuilding in Christ’s Church.
Before we look more closely at how that affects us, it would be good to know the circumstances of the Ephesians who Paul originally addressed this letter to. He had founded this church on one of his missionary journeys and it was his headquarters when he was spreading the Gospel in that region. That makes sense because Ephesus was the most famous and populous Roman city in Asia Minor at the time. It was an important coastal town with lots of trade. And their culture was deeply immersed in black magic. People purchased scrolls that contained magical incantations for casting spells and tapping into the supposed secret powers of the spirit world.
When Paul showed up, he spent 2 years teaching about the one true God and the Savior Jesus Christ. Along with that, God had given him the ability to perform miracles and heal people. Like we saw with Jesus, healing sometimes even occurred just by touching a garment or handkerchief that belonged to Paul. As you might imagine, some of the folks thought Paul had a new, powerful kind of magic. Amazingly, some Jews who had their own business of casting out demons decided to try out this new kind of wizardry. It’s funny in a sad sort of way to read what happened. One day, the seven sons of a Jewish priest named Sceva tried to invoke the name of Jesus to drive out an evil spirit. Now keep in mind, THEY didn’t believe in Christ but were using His name as magic. The evil spirit responded, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”(Acts 19:15) The demon-possessed man then proceeded to beat the living tar out of those 7 men. When people heard about it, they realized that Paul’s Gospel and his God-given powers were different and not to be trifled with. It caused many of them to confess their dabbling in black magic and to burn their secret scrolls of incantations. Instead, they began to put their faith in the Jesus that Paul was preaching.
That put a real crimp on the business of the people who sold religious items and it made them angry. Especially one group of silversmiths. Ephesus was home to the temple of the goddess Diana which was a popular deity in Greek religious culture. In fact, there was a booming business of selling trinkets and images of the goddess. The silversmiths felt threatened by Paul who was driving people away from worshiping Diana. So, they stirred up their fellow citizens and caused a near riot. Thankfully, the town clerk brought calm by speaking sense to the crowd which eventually dispersed.
So that’s the background of the Ephesian Christians that Paul was writing to. They had left behind the worship of false gods and black magic. They were now firmly grounded in Christ and growing in their faith. Interestingly enough, unlike other letters that Paul wrote, he didn’t need to correct any errors or trouble that was going on in the Ephesian Church. Rather, he wrote to encourage their continued growth in Christ. The dangerous doctrines were still all around these folks and Paul was urging them to stay on the path of healthy bodybuilding to maturity in Christ. He says in verse 15 that they are to “grow up.” In other words, stick to the pattern of pure doctrine they had been taught because in this way they would mature in their faith rather than fall back into the damning practices of their past.
There’s a vital lesson in all of this for us. Paul admonishes us to also “grow up” in our faith. Now maybe you’re thinking that things are different for us today. Oh sure, there are some people in our society who dabble in magic and fortune telling and such, but nothing of the magnitude of what happened in Ephesus or a huge temple dedicated to a mythological goddess. Oh really? Even though the false doctrine comes in a different package, we still have plenty of it today. The problem is that it’s more subtle and many times it even comes from within the Christian Church. Unfortunately, we often act like the helpless children that Paul describes in verse 14 who are, “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”
The picture there is of a rudderless boat. There is nothing to direct it and keep it on course. It’s at the mercy of the wind and gets pushed this way and then that. And that’s what will happen to us if we don’t have the pure doctrine of God’s Word to guide and direct our growth. Lord knows there are plenty of new winds of doctrine that are blowing around us every day. Here's just one of many examples: Some of you have heard me mention the name of Joel Osteen who pastors a mega church in Texas. Trust me, this is not professional jealousy. But his is truly a new wind of doctrine because he avoids preaching about sin and repentance. In his way of thinking, that’s too negative. Only happy thoughts are allowed. Be warned, that’s dangerous for souls! Now maybe you don’t think his message affects you up here in the heartland. Think again. He’s all over television and his books are sold up here. You probably have friends and family who have watched his services or read his books. You see, that wind of false doctrine is blowing all around you.
But it’s worse than that. The Greek word in verse 14 that’s translated as “human cunning” literally means “dice.” And the reason Paul uses it is because people would sometimes use loaded dice in order to cheat when they were gambling with an unsuspecting schlub. It’s intentional deception by evil, greedy people who want you to think that you can trust them.
A prime example of this subtle deception can be seen in the whole abortion debate. Ever since 1973 when the Supreme Court ruled that abortion is legal, we have been fed a steady diet of lies. We were told that it’s all about a woman’s right to good health care and to do what she wants with her body. Oh, and the child in her womb? Doctors were trotted out to tell us it’s just an unviable blob of tissue. Planned Parenthood stepped up and offered to help women “safely” remove that unwanted tissue. They claimed to be doing it for the sake of women’s “health.” In recent years though, they’ve been caught on video admitting that they’ve been selling body parts from aborted babies. It’s sickening to listen to them haggle over the price with a prospective buyer. Folks, you’ve been lied to about their motives. Even though the Supreme Court recently reversed Roe v. Wade, the lies remain and people believe them. All along, they’ve been gambling with your minds using a loaded pair of dice. It is intentional deception by evil, greedy people who want you to think you can trust them. Some within the Christian Church fell for it. Others of us have fought for more than 50 years to expose the truth. Not because we’re smarter than everyone else. But because God’s Word says that life is to be respected and protected, not cannibalistically sliced and diced for profit.
Christian friends, there’s only one way for you to prevent from being blown this way and that by the winds of false doctrine. There’s only one way for you to see through the deceptions of human cunning and schemes. And that is, as St. Paul says, to grow up. The Holy Spirit gave you spiritual life in your Baptism and daily builds up our faith. But just as we saw with the Ephesians, dangerous doctrines are swirling all around us. Paul urges us to get back on the path of healthy bodybuilding to maturity in Christ. There is only One true faith, he says, and not a variety of equally valid belief systems. This One true faith is not based on our feelings because those change constantly. This One true faith is not based on human logic because it can be fooled. Rather, this One true faith is based solely upon the pure and reliable doctrines found in the Scriptures. Maturing in your faith will keep you from falling back into the damning beliefs and practices of our sinful world. Growing in Christ, you will know the assurance of your forgiveness and salvation in Him. And in this way, the Body of Christ, the Church, will be built up together in His love. May God grant it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!