SERMON SPOTLIGHT * 5/3/26
Nothing shapes our thoughts about the church more than Ephesians 3:7-11. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.
TEXT: Ephesians 3:7-13
TITLE: There is Nothing Like the Church
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Nothing is like the church.
POINTS:
I. The Gospel Creates the Church
II. The Church Reveals the Glory and Wisdom of God in the Gospel
SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.
ILLUSTRATION: My pastor—Move for a good church
“It may sound radical, but it’s not. Nothing compares to Christ’s Church. It’s imperfect, and we don’t worship it. But there is nothing like it on this planet.”
“Nothing is like the church. This is the key takeaway from our text today. Nothing compares to the church. In a society that idolizes individualism and distrusts anything organized, it’s good for God’s people to be clear-eyed about what God thinks of His church. Whether it’s planting a church on the other side of the city, faithfully serving year in and year out in the same church, or giving sacrificially to raise up new pastors, our thoughts about the church need to be shaped by God’s thoughts.”
“Church, make no mistake, our thoughts about the church are being shaped. Too often, they are shaped by our felt needs, past experiences, unmet expectations, and seasons of life. Our thoughts about the church need to be shaped by God’s thoughts. Nothing shapes our thoughts about the church more than Ephesians 3:7-11.”
“Paul begins 7, saying—Of this gospel. With these three words, Paul points us back not only to the first six verses of Eph 3 but also to the first two chapters. In Eph 1-2, Paul brilliantly unpacks God’s plan of salvation. Before the world’s foundations, God devised a plan to choose, save, and make sinners His own. Through the long-awaited sacrifice of Jesus, sinners who were once dead in their sin and alienated from God and His promises are now mercifully saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.”
“In these verses, Paul uses the word mystery when he speaks about the gospel. What does he mean? He does not mean something unsolvable. By mystery, he means something once hidden but now made known. What has been revealed to Paul?”
“The gospel was foretold in part in the Old Testament, but now, in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, it has been fully revealed—Jew and Gentile are made part of God’s people in Christ. Belonging to God and all the promises and blessings that accompany it are no longer confined to being Jewish. God’s people are now marked by their union with Christ, made possible through the Spirit’s regenerative work in the heart and Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross. The new covenant foretold by Ezekiel and Jeremiah radically changes the nature of God’s covenant people. They are no longer defined by nations, bloodlines, ethnicity, or rituals, but by a new humanity, one man, created by the gospel and called the church. This is the point of 2:11-22. I encourage you to read it this week for personal application.”
“Think about that. Once an enemy of God, you are now a beloved heir in Christ and a member of God’s heavenly family, represented on earth in just one place—the Church. This is the fruit and effect of the gospel—the Church. Not merely in the general sense scholars call the church universal, but in a very specific sense we know as the local church. If you’re visiting with us, we hold a robust doctrine of the local church.”
“Your pastors are grateful for your conviction about the local church. We pray that the Spirit grants each of us the grace to live with daily awareness of who we were apart from Christ and who we are now in Christ, not only as individuals but also collectively as His beloved Church.”
RUNNING APPLICATION: Are you struggling to live with a joyful sense of privilege in being part of the church, a privilege the gospel has granted you? Maybe, in your eyes, you have been burned by the church. For a variety of reasons, you are disillusioned with it. Allow me to encourage and challenge you today: Throw yourself into your church. Get ready, because as you do, God will grow your gratitude and sense of privilege in being part of it more and more and more.
“Paul didn’t want the Ephesians to be discouraged as his ministry grew difficult, and he doesn’t want us to be discouraged when ours does. Why? Because church work is the work of God’s eternal glory! And you have been saved to be part of it.”
“The claim in verse 10 is stunning: God makes His manifold, multifaceted wisdom known to the cosmos through the church. Just as a diamond’s brilliance is revealed in its multifaceted cuts, so the multifaceted wisdom of God is revealed in the collective people of God—the church.”
“God could have used any means He desired to make His glory and wisdom known—He’s God! He has endless resources. But He chose the church, you and I together, to make His wisdom known not only to mankind but also to (10) the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”
“Stunning! God intends for the angels He created to worship Him endlessly, to keep their eyes on the earthly church so they can witness the greatness and glory of His wisdom. The angels of Psalm 148:2 who praise God; the angels in Revelation 7:11 who fall on their knees before the throne and worship God; and the angels who cry out, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, in Isaiah 6:3 are better able to glorify and worship God as they witness all He is doing in His church. What they see is stunning. The gospel is preached, and sinners are saved. People are being transformed from one glory to another, living in unity, growing in holiness, and sharing the good news. In the church, the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places see God’s manifold wisdom in ways they could never otherwise perceive.”
“The angels aren’t waiting with bated breath for the midterm election results. The heavens aren’t on the edge of their seats for AI’s next big reveal. The angels aren’t laser-focused on the Middle East. They are fixed on and enthralled by the church. Not convinced? Turn to 1 Peter 1:10-12.”
ILLUSTRATION: Trophy Case in School
“The world isn’t impressed with the church. They aren’t impressed with our church-planting efforts. They aren’t enamored with the sacrifices you make to give generously to Mission Tucson. It’s all foolishness in the eyes of the world.”
RUNNING APPLICATION: What kind of investment strategy do you have? Here’s the truth. Here’s real value. Here’s the best return on your investment. Here’s the best use of your time. God has devised an eternal plan in which ordinary people like you and me, living ordinary lives shaped and informed by the gospel, together as a local church, reveal God's extraordinary glory and wisdom to the cosmos! Unfathomable! Unimaginable! Unmatchable!
“There is nothing like the church. All earthly things and institutions fade into insignificance when compared with the church. The church alone, including our church, represents the grandest of all His works. It is, in the words of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the most wonderful phenomenon in the universe, the most amazing thing that God has ever done.”
“This is why we are passionate about the church. This is why we prioritize the church. The church is Christ’s priority. He designed the church in eternity past. He left his place in the Trinity for the church. He suffered in this world for the church. He died for the church. His love for the church is so profound that he regards her as his bride. He is interceding for the church right now. Jesus is returning for one reason—the church. Jesus has one thing on his mind and in his heart—the glory of his Father through the church!”
RUNNING APPLICATION: Aren’t you glad and grateful to be part of His church?
QUOTES:
Martyn-Lloyd Jones - “There is nothing beyond the Church. She is the highest and the most supreme manifestation of the wisdom of God; and to look forward to something beyond the Church is to deny not only this verse but many other verses in the Scripture. The Church is the final expression of the wisdom of God, the thing above all others that enables even the angels to comprehend the wisdom of God.”
Sovereign Grace Statement of Faith - “As an expression of Christ’s universal church, the local church is the focal point of God's plan to mature his people and save sinners. Therefore, all Christians are to join themselves as committed members to a specific local church.”
Martin Lloyd-Jones - “The Apostle is asserting that what is happening in the Church is so stupendous, so glorious, that even the brightest angelic beings who have spent their entire existence in the presence of God, even they are staggered and amazed at what they see in and through the Church.”
SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION:
Romans 5:1-2
SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
We Are Yours Forever
God Is Faithful (Psalm 114)
Oh What High And Holy Privilege
Let Your Kingdom Come
As You Go
NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Romans 5:6-11
THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:
CLICK BELOW TO PURCHASE OUR BOOK OF THE QUARTER:
“Encouragement: How to See and Celebrate Evidences of Grace” - Jared Mellinger