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Building The Body Study 7 - Thanksgiving for the Body

  • Aug 12
  • 16 min read

Ephesians 1:15-23 NIV 

[15] For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, [16] I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. [17] I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. [18] I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, [19] and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength [20] he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, [21] far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. [22] And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, [23] which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. 

The American festival of Thanksgiving has much to commend it to the world. The idea that we should gather in family groups for a communal meal and share the things for which we are thankful is a great idea from a number of perspectives.  


There are, of course, a couple of caveats. 


For one thing, I think the turkey in the centre of the table might be lacking in thankfulness. 


Secondly, the pressure to produce a lavish and expensive meal can destroy the entire spirit of the occasion and turn it into jealousy, one-upmanship and stress.  


Thirdly, the shopping traditions before and after the meal have meant that it’s a serene island of peace and gratitude in a dark sea of competitive capitalist consumption. 


The concept, however, is a good one, ruined by modern humanity 


Recalling the things for which we are grateful is always a good idea. It grants us resiliency and strength in times of struggle and distress. It raises our spirits. It increases our joy. It make us stronger. 


There can be little doubt that Paul’s situation in Rome was far from favourable. He was a leader of the renegade Christian movement. His own people were plotting against him and wanted him dead (Acts 23:12-22). They had levelled serious changes against him (Acts 24:5-6). He was facing an eventual death sentence. He was at least under house arrest, if not in prison. 


Yet Paul was thankful. 


And what was he thankful for? 


The church! 


In particular, the church in Ephesus. 


Let me ask you a serious question: when was the last time you were grateful for your church? 


The first time I noticed how serious an issue this is was during the Covid pandemic, when in-person church was taken from us for months at a time. It was then that I realised how much I missed something as simple as chatting with my friends over a drink and some biscuits after church. It was then that I decided to build up relationships that would be mutually beneficial at a time when we really needed each other. Those relationships are still strong today. 


Here we see a prayer Paul prayed continually that is steeped in thankfulness, at a time when his life was not going perfectly and neither was the Ephesians’. This prayer serves as a serious corrective for the negative attitudes that often exist in churches. I want to walk us through three simple points. 


The first is The Cause for Thanksgiving. 

 

The Cause for Thanksgiving 

Ephesians 1:15-16 NIV 

[15] For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, [16] I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.  

I would like you to imagine that a couple whose marriage is having problems appear before their pastor for guidance. He asks them to sit quietly and list ten things they appreciate about each other. The husband reads his list first. He eulogises at length and with no little enthusiasm about her character: her gentleness, tolerance, her housekeeping and household management skills, her spirituality, how her colleagues and friends appreciate her. 


His wife, however, has only one item on her list. She reads it aloud: ‘You have great taste in women’. 


Whether we like to acknowledge it or not, gratitude is a key facet to our mental and spiritual well-being. Without it we not only damage our own mental health but quickly contribute to the downfall of other people’s too. Not only that, but a negative, complaining attitude also has a profound effect on our physical health. Our immune system weakens. We become less resilient. 


We decline. 


There is a huge truth we must all deal with here, one that many people will not like to hear: 


Gratitude is not necessarily a straightforward response to our circumstances. We choose to be grateful. If we are ungrateful and unappreciative, the issue lies not with our circumstances, but us. We are responsible for our own gratitude. 


That is why Paul could say these words: 


1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV 

[16] Rejoice always, [17] pray continually, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 

Paul was putting this into practice. He was in jail in Rome. Yet he was thankful. 


Why? 


Look at the reasons for his gratitude. They are very simple, but have profound implications for us as Christians. 


The first reason is their faith in the Lord Jesus. Paul is thankful because they have believed in the Lord Jesus and have been saved (Acts 16:31 is an example of this from Philippi). As Paul taught the Romans: 


Romans 10:9-10 NIV 

[9] If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.  


This is the most basic element of Christianity, yet against the background of a pagan city rife with idolatry, Paul is grateful that these Ephesians have believed. 


The second cause of Paul’s thanksgiving is their love for all God’s people. 


This is also a basic, foundational element of what it takes to be a Christian, but one which is often overlooked. See what is taught elsewhere in the New Testament: 


Romans 13:8-10 NIV 

[8] Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. [9] The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [10] Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 

1 Corinthians 16:14 NIV 

[14] Do everything in love. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.16.14.NIV)


1 Peter 4:8 NIV 

[8] Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.4.8.NIV)


We cannot follow Jesus without loving because God is love. However, as we will see later, that wasn’t always something the Ephesians excelled at. 


The main point here is Paul’s focus for gratitude for this church. We are normally grateful for the music or the surroundings or the ministries or the welcome we receive at the door. All of these things are good and positive. 


However, Paul went deeper than that. He went beyond the surface and the superficial to identify the two fundamentals on which everything else is based: faith and love. Without them, everything we do in church, no matter how spiritual-sounding, is pointless and meaningless.  


Above all, there must be faith and love. And so, above all, we should be grateful for them. 

So we have seen, then, the cause of Paul’s thanksgiving, which may not necessarily be the cause of ours. 


Next we also see The Nature of Thanksgiving. 

 

The Nature of Thanksgiving 

Ephesians 1:17-21 NIV 

[17] I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. [18] I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, [19] and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength [20] he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, [21] far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.  

We all know that giving thanks is the right thing to do. What we don’t always know is how to do it.  


On a recent trip to Vietnam, I was so sure that I was thanking people in their language. However, due to family circumstances before our visit, I didn’t have time to learn basic Vietnamese. It turned out that instead of thanking them, I was constantly saying ‘Hello’ to them. 


How very British of me! 


How Paul expresses his thanks here is quite something: his thanks turned into a heartfelt prayer for them.


Paul desired three things for these Ephesians. 


Firstly, that they should know God. 


He is, of course, the God in whom they have faith, and the God whom they love, and whose love for them is refracted out to others. Knowing Him better would cause their faith in Him and their love for both Him and others to grow. Paul is not just praying for them to have a deeper theoretical, theological knowledge. He is instead praying for a knowledge that is practical – that has an ever-increasing impact on the way they live and relate to others.  


Increasing closeness with God should always have that impact. We cannot claim to be close to God yet remain distant and aloof from other people. Closeness with God ought to be transformational to our relationships, as we will increasingly see while we progress through this letter. 


Secondly, we see Paul’s prayer that they should know hope. 


This hope is based on knowing God: the more we get to know God, the more we know the surety and solidity of the hope we have in Him. The more we know God, the more our doubts and questions flee away.  


Note the nature of this hope, that it longs for the riches of the inheritance in His holy people. 


Imagine a child who does not understand the nature or the purpose of money. Imagine them in a store buying something they want, but reluctant to part with their money because they are unsure if what they want is better than what they already have. 


When we as Christians are not willing to part with worldly treasures or worldly behaviour in order to receive our inheritance from the Lord, this is where we find ourselves: clinging on to cheap, fading trinkets when the glories of Heaven await us. 


We also see His incomparably great power for those of us who believe. 


Have you ever come face to face with the awesome power of nature? 


Earlier this year, our journey to Cebu City, Philippines, was almost disrupted by two incredibly powerful forces of nature. A volcanic eruption on the neighbouring island of Negros had showered the airport runway with volcanic ash. Airport staff were battling to keep the airport open. 


At the same time, a super typhoon headed for Taiwan had disrupted shipping between Cebu and our next port of call, Ormoc City. At least one company had cancelled all their ferries. 


What can you do when things like that happen? Very little. These are enormous, unstoppable forces. What can we do against them? 


We were very grateful that our flight was cancelled until the next day, when everything was fine. 


The power of the resurrection is so much greater even than that. Death itself cannot stop it. There is no force of nature that can  curtail it or surpass it. There is nothing either man or science could do to replicate it or defeat it. 


There is not one thing in all creation mightier than it. 


Which is why Paul made it his goal to experience it: 


Philippians 3:10-11 NIV 

[10] I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 

If we seek to know Christ, then we seek to know that power. If we seek to know that power, then we know the power on which our hope is based. 


And we know it is indestructible. 


Therefore our hope is indestructible. 


As Paul said elsewhere: 


2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV 

[20] For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/2co.1.20.NIV)


Often people make promises and then renege on them because a force greater than them intervenes. There is no force greater than the resurrection power demonstrated when God raised Christ from the dead. So when God promises something, there is no force more majeure than Him. 


That’s how we know that He will deliver what He promises. 


That’s why our hope is secure. 


So we have seen, then, the cause of thanksgiving – their faith in the Gospel and the love it triggered, and the nature of his thanksgiving – how it formed into a prayer that their faith and love would be strengthened and grow. Lastly, we see The God To Whom He Is Thankful. 

 

The God To Whom He Is Thankful 

Ephesians 1:18-23 NIV 

[18] I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, [19] and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength [20] he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, [21] far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. [22] And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, [23] which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. 

Thanksgiving is a bit like a package: it needs to arrive at the right door. Years ago we ordered something for my daughter. We weren’t in the house when it arrived so the delivery man left it with a neighbour. Our neighbour tried to say she didn’t have it, but that lie was not convincing as it was sitting right next to her in her hallway. It was also clearly labelled for our address. 


It’s nice to be thankful. There are benefits for the person doing the thanking as well as the person receiving the thanks. 


But we have to make sure we thank the right person. 


Paul is clear who it is he is thanking, as well as His character and position. 


He stated three things here about Jesus – the One to whom He is thankful. 


He first said that God raised Him from the dead. 


This is a concept stated elsewhere in Scripture: 


Acts 2:23-24, 32 NIV 

[23] This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. [24] But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.  
[32] God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.  

It is a key cornerstone of church doctrine that God showed His approval of Jesus’ obedience unto death by raising Him from the grave and defeating death: 


Philippians 2:8-9 NIV 

[8] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! [9] Therefore God exalted him... 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/php.2.8-9.NIV)


So Paul was thanking someone who had received God’s full, final and irrevocable approval by raising Him from the dead. 


But that was not enough. God also put all things under His feet. 


Ephesians 1:19-22 NIV 

[19]That power is the same as the mighty strength [20] he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, [21] far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. [22] And God placed all things under his feet... 

Philippians 2:9-11 NIV 

[9] Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/php.2.9-11.NIV)


What this means is that God has made this Jesus ruler over all creation. Yes, this means we ought to pay Him deference and worship and obey Him – without question: 


Psalms 2:7-12 NIV 

[7] I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. [8] Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. [9] You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” [10] Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. [11] Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. [12] Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.2.7-12.NIV)


But more than that, it also was of tremendous encouragement to those who were being persecuted, as the Jewish leaders themselves noted in their own mealy, cowardly way: 


Acts 17:7 NIV 

[7]  They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/act.17.7.NIV)


The irony is that they too believed there was a greater king than Caesar – one called Yahweh – but they were using the similar belief that the Christians held as a stick to best them with. 


Unless, of course, they had already surrendered their key belief that Yahweh really was God. 


Instead, the Christians held to their belief that Caesar was not ultimately on the throne, that God was really in charge (see Daniel 4:17 for another example of this belief with another great ruler – Nebuchadnezzar), and that one day Caesar’s reign would end and there would be justice. 


How much more do we need this doctrine today? How many ‘great powers’ and ‘strong men’ try to rule with their biceps instead of their brain? How many of them boast like drunken braggards without realising that they are not in charge at all? 


Paul then continued to say something very important about the church that we all need to remember: God made Him head of the church. 


And this is not the only place where Paul taught this: 


Colossians 1:17-20 NIV 

[17] He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. [19] For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, [20] and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. 

This is of vital importance.  


There are many leaders who strut about like farmyard cockerels in the church, as if they owned it and as if it was all about them. Some of them are lauded and praised and worshipped as if they are gods. They have all kinds of rituals and reverence and rites that surround them. 


Yet it matters not one jot. 


Christ is the head of the church. Not Peter. Not Paul. Not anyone who claims to be their theological descendent. 


Christ. Christ alone. 


Which means it’s His business what He does with His church. Not ours. Because it isn’t our church. 


That is critical to our understanding and application of the truths contained in this book.

 

Paul is grateful to God because God could have done whatever He willed with the Ephesian church, because it was His. Yet He chose, at least for a time, for that church to flourish in faith and love, and to grow. 


I wonder, do we thank God for what He is doing in our church? 


Or are we too busy questioning it? 

 

Conclusion 

Ephesians 1:15-16 NIV 

[15] For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, [16] I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.  

Observing other cultures is sometimes a very interesting thing to do. In some countries, for example, it is customary to thank a bus driver when you get off. It’s considered almost mandatory where I live. 


In other countries, it’s normal to greet your safe landing on a plane by applauding the pilot. 


In many countries, that act is greeted with complete and utter indifference. 


I wonder, how do we approach the church and the fellowship we enjoy? 


Are we constantly complaining about things that are not to our taste? Do we grumble about music, or decor, or dress standards, or song choices? 


What we see here is the right approach towards any Christian community. We have to remember that Paul was a conservative Jew, whereas the church in Ephesus was majority Gentile. He had every reason to point out differences in worship and tradition between the two. 


But he didn’t. The cause of his thanksgiving was God’s work among them, and how it had produced the same faith and love that characterised genuine Christian communities across the globe. His thanksgiving then expressed itself in prayer that they would grow in faith and love and knowledge and experience of God.  


Of greater importance, though, is the One to whom He gave thanks: the One who rules over all and is the Head of the Church – the Ultimate Head by right, not by human design or democracy. 


When I was growing up, boys in my neighbourhood liked to play football. But sometimes they didn’t have a ball. So instead they would kick a stone or a squashed up drinks can. 


Now, there would have been no point in complaining that these things didn’t behave like a ball, because they weren’t a ball. 


In the same way, if you go into a church that does not have Christ as its head, where its members are negative and whiney and complainy about each other, where they have no regard for the Gospel or mission or Christ’s teachings and are instead more focused on campaigning or golf or tea parties or outings, we can’t complain when these so-called churches don’t behave like a church, because they are to the church what a squashed up drinks can is to a football. They are not the real thing. 


But when we seek out and find a group of people who are truly living for God, who place Him as their Head, who are driven by obedience and holiness and share the Gospel with those around them, then we ought to be grateful for that. 


Far too often we Christians have been captivated by the exterior and the superficial. Far too often it has been about the music and the lights and the sound and the intellectual stimulation and the comfort. 


Those are not the point of the church. The church does not exist to entertain. It exists to change. 


Paul stripped this church back to its essentials: faith and love. It is for them that he was grateful. 


Even while in prison awaiting the death sentence. 


There is a key lesson for us there. 

 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, help me to see beyond the surface to the faith and love beneath them and be very grateful for the community into which you have placed me. Teach me to respond with gratitude and to be done with complaining, I pray. Amen. 

 

Questions for Contemplation  

  • What are you grateful for when you think of your Christian community? 

  • What was Paul grateful for? 

  • To whom did Paul give thanks? Why did he do that? Why is this important? 

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