To Him be glory in the church

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3.20-21

To God be glory in the church, through Jesus Christ, forever and ever.

It is clear that Paul saw the importance of the church, the body of Christ, the universal body of all believers of all time. The church is how He functions today and it is the church whose purpose it is to glorify God.

We can’t forget though that the church assembles in local groups to do its work. The church is not millions of believers wandering about working on their own to do God’s work. After all, Paul wrote these letters to local churches telling them how to function and how to do His work. God planned for the church to meet in local assemblies and for us to not forsake regular assembling so that we can carry on His work.

Yes, the entire body of Christ must give glory to God in every age and place, but in order to do that our local churches must also bring glory to God through our witness and our testimony and our actions before our communities.

As pastor of a small local church tucked away in this little town in Ireland I need to strive to make sure that all we do is not to make a name for me or our church or anything else. Our purpose is to bring glory to our God in our small town, our country, and in the world at large.

Our church is to be a light to the community trapped in darkness. We may be the only picture of Christ that they ever see. We have our generation to whom we must show the glory of God.