The stalwart apostle, Paul, once penned, “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the multicolored wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:8–10).

With these words Paul exposes one of the great marks of the church and, by so doing, one of the great purposes of its head, Jesus Christ. All the personalities of the created order are watching—both human and angelic. They are looking to see if Jesus really does have the power to restore what is broken. The eternal claim is that God “has caused us to be born again to a living hope” through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3).

Through the work of Jesus Christ, we sinners are reconciled to God. But a dramatic proof of this reconciling power is that people divided by ethnic, cultural, tribal and language differences with all of the complexities these imply can, in the name of Jesus and by the power of His shed blood, come together as one. This is the mystery that God has revealed in and through the church to a watching world desperately wanting to know if Jesus is real and worthy of anyone’s attention.

This is the mystery that God has revealed in and through the church to a watching world desperately wanting to know if Jesus is real and worthy of anyone’s attention.

This reconciling power makes up our purpose at New Hope Church, a Christ-centered community for all-peoples, moving toward Jesus and taking others with us. We are to be a visible testimony to a watching world, demonstrating the reconciling power of Jesus Christ.

It really does matter, this commitment to be a vibrant community for all peoples. Being so glorifies our Savior and, in the end, there is nothing nor no one worthier of such glory than Him.

Pastor Matthew St. John is senior pastor at New Hope Church. He nurtures a deep passion for telling stories that share God’s Word so that those who are spiritually hungry may experience and proclaim the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. He and his wife Christa love sports, unique restaurants and long walks. Follow him on his blog, Twitter or Facebook.