Stewardship: Intro to foundational relationships — Bruce Rodgers

I thank each one for coming along tonight. If you have an outline we'll be looking at the material on the first page of the outline and some of you have already been peeking in the rest of it, looking at personality studies.

That's what we're going to be taking up tomorrow night so you can have a chance to look it over and brace yourself for what you're going to be looking at tomorrow night. Tonight I want to speak to you about the importance of relationships.

Humanity Created for Relationship

Why relationships are so important? Trying to put it into perspective. So we'll look again at Genesis chapter 1. We're just going to draw attention to what we already have spoken a little bit about, being created in the image of God and the relationship that we have because of him.

So Genesis chapter 1, when it speaks of the creation of man, it says in verse 26, and God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. And then we have God's blessing upon them. Now in chapter 2 verse 18, it says, and the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone.

I will make him and help meet or suitable for him. And out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field, every fowl of the air, brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them. And whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

And Adam gave names to all the cattle and so on. The last part of the verse says, but for Adam, there was not found and help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam. And he slept and he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof.

And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh. Now maybe we could read in Ephesians chapter 3, Ephesians chapter 3, and we'll be looking at what God's ultimate plan really is.

Stewardship and God’s Eternal Purpose

Ephesians 3 and verse 8, unto me who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery.

Now I'll just point out that the word fellowship there is, could also be translated stewardship. According to my bottom notes in my Newberry Bible, that word is that word dispensation or stewardship. What is the stewardship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by or through the church, the manifold wisdom of God.

According to the eternal purpose which he purposed or accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Now drop down into the last section from verse 14 down we have his prayer and it is to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that ye being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end.

Amen. I'll just make reference to chapter 5 where it mentions verse 25 husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word that he might present it to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Now we have the great mystery mentioned there's a reference made back again quotation from Genesis chapter 2 and it's interesting that we are really being given in Ephesians 5 a new foundation for marriage that is Christ and the church.

And then it says in verse 30 for we are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife and they too shall be one flesh.

This is a great mystery but I speak concerning Christ and the church nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Now when we look back into the beginning Genesis chapter 1 Genesis chapter 2 and we think again about the reality of what it means to be designed and created in the very image of God himself this is our fundamental dignity.

In fact Genesis chapter 9 after the flood when capital punishment was instituted it's based on this dignity of man as the image bearer of God. So it's a very very serious thing to harm an image bearer of God and that includes fallen humanity.

Every human life is sacred has dignity has nobility despite our fallen condition because of being created and designed as God's image bearer representing him in this world. That same truth is the basis of the teaching of headship in first Corinthians chapter 11.

It's also taught in James chapter 3. It's important when you pick up on a key term in the word of God follow it through the scriptures and it will be very rewarding to see how much truth is tied together by one vital concept.

The Trinity, Human Nature, and the Importance of the Physical

What I want to emphasize tonight is that that sense of being in the image of God involves relationship. And I'm really looking at part b as well. I'm going to link together under foundational relationships God as eternal trinity the idea of oneness of love and life and headship of rule and function.

What God is determines the meaning and value of everything else that exists. And so we have been given that unique place in all of God's creation. We are spirit. We connect to the spirit realm. We are soul we are body.

We are integrated from the spirit realm to the physical partaking of the dust of the earth itself. And so we have a unique place in the universe a unique relationship to God and to the creation as being that which connects the invisible realm to the physical.

And if you want to understand the importance of the physical you have to go back to the spiritual. Sometimes Christians have the idea that the physical really doesn't matter it's only the spiritual that matters.

That's not how God sees it. If that's what God thought he would have made us all just angels spirits and left it at that he created us as physical beings because everything that we express through our physical being is a manifestation of his glory.

That's what it's intended to be. And so when we look at these principles why are relationships so important is because God himself is plurality in unity. Let us make man in our image after our likeness.

And as i pointed out already i think on lord's day that great declaration that is still given by the orthodox jews of the declaration of belief in one god deuteronomy chapter six i think verse three or so the lord our god is one lord.

That word one means compound unity. And so the very nature and being of god is expressed in these terms. And so we can say that god is one. We can also say from the new testament first john chapter four.

God is love and god is light. God is lord. These various expressions tell us something about the essential nature and being of god in who he is in himself and how he relates to everything else. And so as those who are the direct representatives of god those who have this direct immediate correspondence to what god is we in our relationships are meant to express what god is truly like.

And so that is why i have put an emphasis upon relationships in this stewardship series. Because very simply i'm afraid we have the tendency to take relationships for granted. But especially as parents who have raised children those of you who are my age or so will remember those years and you can't believe how fast it all passed by.

When we brought those little children home from the hospital we basically thought this is it this is the way it's going to be for the rest of our life. And now they've almost been gone as long as they were with us.

That's how fast it goes. And so children are entrusted to parents as a very very precious yet temporary stewardship. What about a husband a wife. That is a very very significant stewardship. If you're married here tonight you have the biggest impact and influence on your partner of anyone else in life.

What kind of influence is it going to be. Is it an influence for god. Does it recognize god. Does it put god at the center. Do you draw each other towards god and his things. Or do you take each other away from god.

That's why getting married is one of the most serious choices you could ever possibly make in your life. There is nothing that will have such an influence and impact upon your happiness and well-being as that choice that life choice.

And so relationships whether it is the natural realm of relationships of family marriage or christian relationships fellow believers there is a tremendous influence. But if we can recognize that it is a stewardship god has entrusted me with influence so that i might minister to others in relationship.

The Church as Christ’s Bride

And so primarily what i have read with you already relates to god's ultimate plan and to me it's a tremendously thrilling thing to recognize that the final reason why god made us why he made the universe is so that he could be revealed finally in his son in relationship with the church as his bride.

And so yeah there is something to this strange human fascination with romance as warped as it often is. There is something within every human being that responds to that idea of love. God has made us for love because that's what god is.

And so the ultimate story of the universe is a bride and a bridegroom. And so when we go back to genesis then and think of god when he created that man he had something bigger in his mind and in his heart.

And that is the day when god himself would be manifested in flesh when an incorruptible man would stand upon the earth who would be the full expression of god. You know it's going to be a thrilling thing when the lord jesus returns because when he comes he's coming in manhood and yet he's coming in all the glory the awesomeness of deity.

And when the world first sees him we're going to be with him. We are actually going to be revealed with him in his splendor in his majesty in his glory in his awesomeness. You know it's important for us to realize that that what is going on now in god's purposes of building the church preparing the bride is not a stop gap measure until the kingdom gets back on track for the earth.

It might look like that but that's far from the truth. When that kingdom is established and the kingdom of god is asserted in all its authority over the earth there is going to be a special jewel of that kingdom that will be the bride of christ to share with him everything that he possesses everything that he has and we will be his special treasure.

So we have been privileged to be brought into the very deepest thoughts of god his eternal purposes his greatest reasons for creating the physical universe and everything that exists it is that he might be known fully eternally through his beloved son and a bride made out of not out of the dust but out of a broken fallen humanity that he has recovered that he has redeemed.

And as i think of genesis chapter 2 where we have that unique formation of the woman i guess the ladies can take pleasure in this recognition that you obviously are special. There is no one who has ever been created like a woman has been created formed out of the man.

You know i guess the lord was pretty merciful he put him to sleep he didn't even feel the pain. What a contrast with god's ultimate plan where the savior consciously experienced the full cost the full suffering of us being formed to be his bride out of a wounded side.

There's many beautiful imageries and pictures from genesis chapter 2. But just as in chapter 1 there was a greater plan in god's heart. So in genesis chapter 2 we see clearly in the book of ephesians that god had a greater vision and when he made the man and then formed the woman out of the man and then presented her to him to be his unique helper answering to him corresponding to him for his joy and completeness god had us in mind in relation to christ.

And so christ is looking forward to a day above all days when he is going to present us to himself for his special joy and relationship. So when we recognize this i want to just draw one more issue to light that has affected every one of us.

Sin’s Destruction of Human Relationships

And that is what happened in genesis chapter 3. Things fell apart so quickly instead of that beautiful perfect unashamed relationship that is given to us at the end of chapter 2. Genesis chapter 3 introduces the deception of the evil one of that grasping for the one thing that wasn't theirs and losing everything that was theirs.

What has sin done to us. Well in terms of relationship we can think of sin has caused us to be disconnected broken relationships destroyed relationships marred relationships. Sin has caused a corrupting of that love.

So that love is turned inward and we love ourselves first desire has been turned downward towards the physical. And the basic corruption of sin is that instead of us having desires godward we are more controlled by the physical and the sensual.

And today what we have are people who are corrupted who worship the physical and ignore the spiritual who enter into physical union and sexual relationships without regard to the spiritual meaning and impact of what that act means.

And i'll be looking at that a little bit in first corinthians chapter 6. But that is the tragedy of what sin has done. And when we have instead of repenting and turning back to god have denied god instead and tried to form a new world a new reality that leaves god out of it and seeks to find meaning and satisfaction from the physical first.

That's where we have gone wrong as human beings. And so looking at then these issues. The third question what are the two greatest commandments. Well in matthew chapter 22 we'll just read these quickly.

Loving God and Loving Our Neighbor

Matthew chapter 22 we have the lord jesus asked this question. Actually this lawyer asked him what is the great commandment in the law. And the lord told them what the two most important ones were. The lord always gives more than we ask for.

Verse 37 jesus said unto him thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart with all thy soul with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

When these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Now today psychology has substituted a different law a new commandment. And that commandment is that we must love ourselves first. In fact i almost brought it with me i i i left it at home.

There is a number of years ago when we were having meetings in a public school happened to go into the library where we were holding our meetings and there was this placard up. This was a senior public school grade seven and eight.

And it's my declaration of self-esteem. And it was quite a manifesto of self-love and self-worth and self-affirmation. And it was all just wrapped around how i can get to know me and i own me i am the master of me i'm the i can engineer me and so on and so on and so on.

And it was all based on this concept that i am the center of everything and i must love myself first to be equipped to love other people now that's kind of an odd thing isn't it. When you know the word of god what god has given to us is something far far better far greater it is that god is love and god loves us.

And god's first commandment his great commandment is that we would love him first. Do you know that this is the most important relationship that you have. And every other relationship that you will find yourself in is meant to be lived out of this relationship.

And so his first command is that we would love him with all our heart with all our mind with all our strength that we would receive his love and love him in return. But the second commandment the two great commandments the second one is to love our neighbor as ourselves.

And if the first is a response to his love the second is the reproducing of his love to others. And so again the greatest responsibility that god has given to us as human beings is to love him to respond to him as he is and then to love others just as he loves us.

And so in that connection then we find our fulfillment. And really if you want to know what love is it's not simply emotional attachment to another person that's a facet of love. But love is essentially an interest in a concern for a desire for the blessing of another person.

It is putting the other person first. And so just as it is the great commandment to love god so the command to love one another is built upon this reality this is the nature of love. And if love is in control relationships will flourish relationships will be healthy they will bless every life that is influenced by it.

And so the two great commandments to love god to love others as ourselves and we find we discover that this is where true meaning and fulfillment comes in life. If you're hoping to find your security or your satisfaction in life from being financially secure and having a good career those are elements that are significant in life but they're not the essential thing.

The essential things of personhood are derived from relationships the experience of relationship. Now question number four which is what is necessary to build and sustain relationships it shouldn't be any surprise that love is at the center of that as well.

Truth, Love, and Respect in Relationships

I'll just take you to another verse in ephesians chapter four. Not only do we have what we've read already in ephesians chapter three about christ indwelling us and being rooted and grounded in love. But in ephesians chapter four it mentions in verse 15 in contrast to the deception of men it says.

But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him that is into christ in all things who is the head even christ from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part makes increase of the body under the edifying of itself in love.

When we come down a little further in the chapter we learn in verse 20 in contrast to the depraved kind of life of the gentiles it says in verse 20. But you have not so learned christ if so be that you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in jesus that you put off concerning the former conversation or behavior the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind that you put on the new man which after or according to god is created in righteousness and true holiness.

And that expression true holiness is literally the holiness of truth. So these verses would bring us to confront this this reality. What does it take to build and to maintain to sustain relationships love and truth.

And i would include a third one from the end of ephesians 5 which we also read concerning love and respect. I could guarantee you that in every conflict that happens every time there is warfare going on in relationships somebody has stepped over the boundary of respect.

Somebody has violated another person's right or honor. And that is sensed and recognized and resented. And we begin to put up the barriers and conflict begins. And so respect is absolutely fundamental.

I believe that that is one of the essential characteristics of love itself. But when we look at these principles we see what is wrong in our world. What is the feature of our time what is the characteristic of our day.

It's broken relationships. It is wrong relationships. It is abusive relationships. It is relationships that don't last. You know that the average lifespan of a common law relationship is about five years.

And so if you're going to invest your heart and soul in another person you'd want it to last. Wouldn't you more than five years. That's that's average. There are those that last longer. There's a lot that lasts less.

And sadly there are many people today who are even giving up the hope of having a permanent relationship and they simply go into this revolving door serial relationships where the persons involved are continually being devalued by every additional relationship.

We need love genuine care genuine concern genuine interest in the other person. And we need honesty. We need reality. We need sincerity. Nothing permanent can be built on falsehood. Now i want to just draw attention to part b.

Stewardship as Ministry Rather Than Manipulation

Question five is quite simple. How do you look at your relationships. Is basically there's basically two ways to look at your relationships. One is what do i get out of it. The other is what can i give what can i contribute to bless other people that i am in relationship with.

One is the principle of ministry which is the recognition of stewardship that every person that i come into connection with in relationship with in whatever sphere i am to minister to them i am to serve their need to seek their well-being.

The opposite is that i would manipulate people to serve my need. One is a self-centered self-seeking. The other is really to serve god's interests and care and express god's true genuine love for them.

Just looking quickly at foundational relationships which lead to priorities. What i want to establish in this it should be self-evident again. But if we can properly relate foundational relationships we should be able to set the priorities of our life.

God is the foundation of everything god in his eternal being who he is what he is eternal trinity including oneness including headship. Now point number two in connection to that is my relationship to god my relationship to christ.

Christ as the Foundation of Christian Life

I hope that you are seeking to cultivate your own appreciation of god as god. Getting to know god as he really is and getting to know him as your father. Let me just give you back in ephesians chapter one.

One of the most beautiful expressions we have in chapter one and verse three is blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ who has blessed us with all or every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in christ.

We've got a great god we've got a wonderful father. But he relates himself to us today in this twofold way as the god of our lord jesus christ and as the father of our lord jesus christ. Now i don't know if you can think through the distinction that there is in that as the god of our lord jesus christ that is thinking of christ in his manhood as the redeemer who has gone to the cross and established the foundation for blessing he is raised out from the dead.

He's the new head over creation and all of god's blessing for humanity flows through christ. And so if god connects himself to me as the god of our lord jesus christ i am in a place of blessing and security.

God has always wanted to pour out the riches of his blessing that we might experience the wealth of his goodness in our lives. Now he has a perfect foundation for it an unfailing foundation for blessing richly our lives as the father of our lord jesus christ.

This just heightens the wonder that man is the son of god and we by the new birth have become sons and daughters of god. And just as he is in all his perfection in his manhood is god's son we also are headed for perfection.

We are going to be manifested with him as the sons of god and there's not going to be any faults or defects in us. We're going to be complete. We're going to shine with his beauty. And you're not going to have to be ashamed of yourself again.

You will never have to be disappointed. You will radiate with the joy of being everything that god wants you to be. And so as the father of our lord jesus christ there is such future potential. But coming back to ephesians chapter 3 let's not short change what god wants to give us now.

What does he want to give us. He wants to fill us with all the fullness of god. And how does he go about doing it. Well first of all it's the power of his spirit that he has given to us his holy spirit that divine power that divine person has come within our beings in order to prepare our beings for the indwelling of christ so that the lord jesus in all his perfect character might be at home in my heart enthroned in my heart if you think about it this way what god intends for christ for the whole universe to set him over to control and rule everything.

That's what he's doing in you and in me today. Christ in me is not just a visitor that i can welcome or ignore at my whim he comes into my life as sovereign lord as well as savior. And my response to him in faith will determine the success or failure of my christian life.

We all have our circumstances we all have our backgrounds we all have our external influences around us that we could blame for not being able to live the christian life. But if we can face and confront this wonderful reality the indwelling god that power that works in us is there to form the character of christ within us.

And how is it going to happen. Well it says very simply if christ is indwelling you if he is at home and enthroned in your heart you are going to be rooted and grounded in love. That is the character of life that is going to flourish and develop.

You as a spiritual person being rooted and grounded in may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of christ which passes knowledge that you might be filled.

Each one of these clauses are what we call purpose clauses. In order that in order that in order that this may be the outcome that you might be filled with or unto all the fullness of god. Now if there's one thing that this should mean for our lives is that we should not be living empty dissatisfied defeated lives.

Isn't it sad how we live if we're honest we're often or at least sometimes not living really on any higher level than the people around us. Except maybe we're not going as far as they go into their sin.

We're living in the constraints of what it means to be a christian more or less. But we're not living in the enjoyment and the power and the satisfaction of this love relationship that is the most satisfying most filling most ennobling influence that we could ever be exposed to.

This is what equips us to be godly husbands and wives godly parents godly children godly believers with one another. The living christ indwelling us and us responding to his love to know his love. So basically knowing the lord jesus as savior and lord is the foundation for living life.

Bodily Holiness and Sexual Union

Now i want to get to first corinthians chapter six for a few comments. It's amazing. What context. Sometimes some of the most wonderful things are taught to us in the bible. First corinthians chapter six in some ways is a pretty very sad chapter because it's a rebuke to believers who are not living above the level of the world but are living just like people of the world fighting quarreling taking advantage of each other defrauding one another.

Going to court with one another doesn't sound very high. And noble does it. And then he starts talking about morality in the sense of sexual relationships. Corinth was famous for its immorality. The spiritual worship that these people once knew was a worship that linked idolatry and prostitution of every kind.

So their spirituality was linked with sensuality. It was corrupted desperately. And so he challenges then from verse 13 down that the body is not for fornication but it's for the lord. My body exists to honor and manifest the character of the lord to serve his values.

But then it says also the lord for the body. Now that's an astounding statement. The lord is for my body. So in other words my body itself carries a tremendous dignity to be the vessel in which the lord himself indwells and seeks to be served with.

Now he goes on to say that the as god has both raised up the lord verse 14 and will also raise up us by his own power. So that means that my body has an eternal purpose. So resurrection matters. God has a design a purpose for me as a physical being into the ages to come.

And then he goes on to emphasize our relationship to christ. Know you not that your bodies are the members of christ. Shall i then take the members of christ and make them the members of an harlot. God forbid.

What know you not that he which is joined to in harlot is one body for two saith he shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the lord is one spirit flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body.

But he that committeth fornication sins against his own body. What know you not that your body is the temple of the holy ghost which is in you which you have of or from god. And you are not your own for you are bought with a price.

Therefore glorify god in your body and in your spirit which are gods. I'm especially interested in that verse 17. But he that is joined unto the lord is one spirit. Now just to make a comment about the tragedy of fornication what is so wrong with it.

According to the standards of people in our culture today there's really nothing wrong with it and there's no harm done as long as it's mutual. It's nobody else's business. And the slogan that would fit over this chapter for the thinking that even some of the christians were lapsing back into is my body my rights.

But the challenge that he puts upon it is this my body his rights god's rights the rights of christ. And he uses this marriage analogy to say that i have no right to use my body for something that is a contradiction of his love.

What is wrong with fornication. It's because the true act of sexual union is really the act of marriage. That's one of the best definitions that i know. It really means the uniting together the commitment of two persons to be for each other permanently.

That's what it means. That's the meaning that god has given to it. And that is why god has no other standard or provision for sexuality to be expressed except in marriage between a man and a woman. And that makes hard choices in christian lives we are to be holy.

We are to express the purity and love of god in our relationships. And the reason that he expresses this as he as he makes the contrast is he that is joined to the lord is one spirit. And that means that i am in relationship with christ on an even deeper level than marriage to my wife.

And just as just to give an illustration in the lord's work i'm spending about half of my time away from home. But that relationship with my wife must dominate and control me wherever i am. That controls my life that dominates every other relationship.

And my relationship with christ is eternal and even deeper. And so it must be the supreme relationship that dominates and controls everything else in my life. I cannot do anything that does not involve christ even in my mind.