Proper 15 B - Eph. 1:12 - Your Church Can Thrive, Harold Percy

"...[T]he best answer I can give to the question of what it means to be the church is: The church is a community of people who are learning to live to the glory of God. Leith Anderson gives the best definition of the phrase 'living to the glory of God' that I have heard. He explains that to live to the glory of God means to live in such a way that we enhance God's reputation in the world. As the church, our calling is to live in such a way that we represent God well, so those who are estranged from God (whether through indifference, misinformation, or even hostility) will be attracted to and welcome God into their lives.

This is surely what is meant in the Epistle to the Ephesians when it says, in reference to the church, 'we [are] for the praise of his glory' (1:12)..."

Harold Percy, Your Church Can Thrive; Abington Press, Nashville, Tennessee; 2003; Pg 18.