Study in Ephesians by Jim Roberts

Ephesians 1 (Part 1) - Bible Study Time 3-20-05

2008-02-22T06:30:00.000-08:00

Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians are Paul’s prison epistles to the churches. We refer to them as prison epistles because they were written while Paul was imprisoned at Rome, and they stand apart from Paul’s earlier epistles which we call the pre-prison epistles or the Acts period epistles.

The prison epistles are unique in that they were written after Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom program was set aside. They are, therefore, written exclusively to the Church which is the Body of Christ, the church of our present age.

During the Acts period, God was still offering the New Covenant Kingdom to the nation of Israel. As a result, many of the aspects of Israel’s kingdom program are detected in Paul’s Acts period epistles. In these epistles we see miracles, wonder and signs as well as the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord's Supper. All of these things are conspicuously absent from Paul's prison epistles.

In the book of Acts, we read that Paul first visited Ephesus at the end of his second missionary journey, but he was able to stay for only a short time. After a quick visit to Jerusalem and Antioch of Syria, Paul went right back to Ephesus where he spent nearly 3 years, preaching and teaching the gospel of the grace of God. Paul saw many people come into a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ while he was in Ephesus, and he was able to help them grow in grace and in their knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

Ultimately, Paul left for Macedonia and Greece, but on his way back to Jerusalem, he stopped at Miletus and called for the elders of the Ephesian church. When the elders arrived, Paul told them that they would see his face no more because he was going to Jerusalem where he would be greeted with chains and tribulation. The Bible says that before Paul said his final farewell to these precious fellow-laborers in Christ:

Acts 20:37-38 NKJV
37 . . . they all wept freely, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him,
38 sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

When Paul got to Jerusalem, he was arrested and ultimately taken to Rome where God declared through Paul His final judgment upon the Jews of that generation. In the last chapter of the book of Acts, Paul said, "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles," and this signaled the end of God's kingdom offer to the Jews of that generation.

With Israel's New Covenant Kingdom program set aside, God gave Paul the freedom to reveal the full truth of the mystery concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ, and these great truths are spelled out for us in Paul's letters to the Ephesians, the Philippians and the Colossians.

In Ephesians, Chapter 1 we read:

Ephesians 1:1 NKJV
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

Paul considered it a great privilege to be called as an apostle of Jesus Christ. This was a very unique privilege for Paul because he never walked with the Lord Jesus while Jesus was ministering on the earth. However, he did personally see the risen Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, and shortly after that Paul receive his calling as an apostle.

There on the road to Damascus, Paul asked the Lord, “What do you want me to do?” In response, the Lord said, “Arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.” Then the Lord told Ananias to go to Paul and encourage him because God had called Paul as a chosen vessel to be God's witness to Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

Well, Paul did consider it a privilege to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, but this book of Ephesians does not focus on Paul; it focuses rather on God and on all that God has done for the faithful in Christ Jesus. In this first chapter, we find the following:

In verse 2, Paul reminds us that our grace and peace are from God.

In verse 5, Paul says that all believers were predestined to be the adopted sons of God.

In verse 7, believers have redemption and forgiveness according to God’s grace.

In verse 9, believers now have the opportunity to understand the mystery of God’s will.

In verse 11, God works His master plan in accordance with the counsel of His own will.

In verse 12, the calling of believers is to the praise of God’s glory.

In verse 18, believers are called to know the hope of God’s calling and the riches of the glory of God's inheritance in the saints.

In verse 19, Paul prays that we might know the exceeding greatness of God’s power.

Indeed, this first chapter is all about God and what we as believers have as a result of God’s grace.

This epistle is written to the saints at Ephesus, and it is clear that a saint is one who has been sanctified or set apart by Jesus Christ. A person becomes a saint by exercising his or her free will. Those who chose to believe in Jesus Christ are set apart from the rest of humanity. We are justified and sanctified by faith in the cleansing power of the shed blood of Christ.

If a person is not a saint in this life, they have no hope of becoming a saint in the next life. To be set apart by God and given eternal salvation, one must chose to believe in Christ at some point before they die, for it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment.

This epistle to the Ephesians was written not only to the saints at Ephesus, but to all of the faithful in Christ Jesus for it is written to the Church which is the Body of Christ. In the Church, the Body of Christ, there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rich or poor, young or old. Today, all saints belong to the Church which is the Body of Christ, and the position of each member in that body is significant.

To all the faithful in Christ Jesus, Paul says:

Ephesians 1:2
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace is the free and undeserved love and favor of God. In this expression “grace to you” we see the apostle’s true concern for the welfare of his dear friends at Ephesus as well as for all the faithful in Christ Jesus. He wants only the very best for them as they experience all of God’s blessings. He wishes them grace and peace from God for there can be no peace apart from grace, and there can be no grace apart from God. Romans 5 says:

Romans 5:1 NKJV
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

And we know from the book of Philippians, Chapter 4, that:

Philippians 4:7 NKJV
7 . . . the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard (our) hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The peace of God is a powerful offensive weapon, but it is also part of our defensive armor. When people see someone who has genuine peace, they become curious. They want to know what it is that gives that person peace even in the midst of trials and difficulties. When the demons of Satan see genuine peace in a believer, they start looking for other victims. They know that they have no weapon that can compete with the peace that surpasses all understanding.

The peace of God is powerful enough to give us direction in our lives. Colossians 3 says:

Colossians 3:14-15 NKJV
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts . . .

When we let the peace of God rule in our hearts, Satan cannot discourage us. He cannot lure us into sin. And he cannot draw us into an attitude of arrogance or pride. The peace of God will lift us up when we are discouraged. It will convict us when we are tempted. And it will bring humility to resist the snare of pride.

In verse 3 of Ephesians 1, Paul says:

Ephesians 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

When we study the book of Ephesians, we are walking on high and holy ground. This is the first of five times that Paul alludes to the heavenly places in this short letter. In this verse we see that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. In verse 20, Christ is seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly places. In verse 6 of chapter 2, believers are raised and seated in Christ in the heavenly places. In verse 10 of chapter 3, our witness is to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. In verse 12 of chapter 6, we battle against the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

The book of Ephesians sets the members of the Church, the Body of Christ, apart from the church which we see in the Old Testament scriptures. And it also sets us apart from the church of the New Covenant which had the hope of Israel's earthly kingdom. Our realm of blessing today is in the heavens, and our promised blessings are spiritual in nature.

We have no claim to the physical health and wealth that was promised to the church of the Old Covenant Law. Nor do we claim the miracles, wonders and signs that were given to the church of the New Covenant during the Gospels and the book of Acts. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. We, therefore, press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:14)

There is nothing in this world that can compare to the spiritual blessings that we have in Jesus Christ. Money can't buy them, and outward miracles can't guarantee them. Seven of our spiritual blessings are laid out for us here in this first chapter of Ephesians. In verse 4, we have been chosen in Christ. In verse 5, we have been predestined to adoption as sons. In verse 6, we have been accepted in Christ. In verse 7, we have been redeemed through the blood of Christ. In verse 9, we have been instructed in the mystery of God’s will. In verse 13, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. In verse 14, we have been given an inheritance in Jesus Christ. These are blessings are a gift from God to all those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:4
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

As members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. God alone is all knowing and all powerful. Therefore, only God would be able to give all people absolute freedom of choice and at the same time know exactly what each person’s choice would be. As we look at scripture, we see that this is exactly what God has done for us. Whom He did foreknow, He did also predestinate to be the Sons of God.

This points to the eternal nature of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was with the Father in the beginning before the creation of all things, and we were chosen to be in Christ at that time. There is no holiness within us, and the guilt of our sin cannot be laid off onto anyone else, but by God’s grace, we were given a position of holiness because we were positioned in Christ before the foundation of the world.

This does not, however, excuse those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ. John said that Jesus Christ gives light to every person that comes into the world, and it is God’s desire that every person should be saved. John 3 says:

John 3:17-21 NKJV
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and those who come to the truth are challenged to walk in the light of Christ. I John 1 says:

1 John 1:6-10 NKJV
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Those who see the light of Jesus Christ and accept the blood of Christ as that which cleanses them from sin can look back to the beginning of time and see that they were chosen to be in Christ before the foundation of the world so that they might be holy and without blame in the sight of God.

Ephesians 1 (Part 2)

2008-02-21T20:38:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1 (Part 2)
Bible Study Time 3-27-05

Last week we started a study of the book of Ephesians where the Apostle Paul used the term saints to refer to all the faithful in Christ Jesus. The scriptures repeatedly confirm for us that all believers are saints for they have been set apart by God and for God. Paul expressed his desire to see all believers experience the peace of God which has been given to us by God’s grace. Ephesians 1:3 says that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ, and verse 4 says that we were chosen in Christ even before the foundation of the world.

Foundation in the Greek is katabole which means disposition, while the word for world is kosmos which means order. Therefore, in a literal sense, we were chosen in Christ before God gave the “disposition of the order.” Well, what order was Paul talking about?

Many times in the New Testament scriptures we see the word kosmos used for the physical universe. Romans 5 says that by one man sin entered into the kosmos. Isn’t that interesting? Sometimes people think that the Bible has an antifeminine bias, but who did God blame for sin. God placed the blame for sin squarely on Adam, even though it was Eve who was first deceived by the serpent.

Gentlemen, God holds us responsible for the spiritual well being of those we love. It would be a grave mistake to think that all God expects from us is to make enough money to send the kids to college. Oh no. God expects us to provide an environment for our family, for our wife and for our children, where the name of the Lord is uplifted and glorified and where His Word is actively taught.

But it was through Adam that sin entered into the world, and someday the curse will be lifted from the world because of what the man, Christ Jesus, accomplished upon the cross of Calvary. But that curse will not be lifted until the people of the world choose to trust Jesus Christ for their salvation. When Christ returns to the earth at the end of the tribulation period, unbelievers will be sentenced to death, and the believers will enter into Israel’s promised kingdom. Of coarse, the believers of our present age, as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, will be taken out of the world and up into the heavenly places with Christ before the tribulation period begins.

John 1 speaks of Jesus and says:

John 1:9-10 NKJV
9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.*
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

Jesus Christ came into the physical universe which He had created, but because it was under the curse of sin, it did not know Him.

The phrase “foundation of the world” is often used in the New Testament to refer to the creation of the physical universe. Matthew 13 says:

Matthew 13:34-35 NKJV
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them,
35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world."*

In Luke 11 Jesus said to those who questioned His authority:

Luke 11:50-51 NKJV
50 . . . the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,
51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.

Now, as we go back to Ephesians, Chapter 1, we read in verse 5 about God:

Ephesians 1:5
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

This says that we were chosen in Christ before the creation of the world, and furthermore, we were predestined by God’s decree to be adopted by God as sons.

Why would God do this? Why would God choose us by His own election? Did He see something in us that made us worthy of this special grace?. Not at all. It was according to the good pleasure of God’s own will. It was God’s desire to take pleasure in us as His own sons.

The angels of heaven are God’s servants, but God wanted to delight in us as sons. He could take no pleasure in us while we were dead in trespasses and sin, so He made it possible for us to be seen in Jesus Christ as holy and without blame. When a person believes in Jesus Christ, he or she is baptized into the righteousness of Christ, and by God’s decree the believer becomes holy and without blame before Him in love. Completely engulfed in, completely surrounded by the love of God.

Mankind lost the privilege of access to God’s love when Adam sinned, but now through the redemption that is ours in Jesus Christ, we are surrounded by His love. In Romans 5, Paul said:

Romans 5:5-6 NKJV
5 . . . the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Ephesians 1:6 goes on to say that we were adopted as sons:

Ephesians 1:6
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

The fact that God has separated us out from among the masses of humanity to be accepted in Jesus Christ is something that brings praise to the glory of God’s grace. This is one of those areas which is for all intents and purposes a litmus test.

If you are listening today as I tell you that God has predestined some to be accepted in Jesus Christ, and if that causes resentment and a sense of injustice within our heart, if it creates a feeling that God is unfair and cruel, then that is a pretty good indication that you are not one of those who has been called.

If, on the other hand, as you hear about the truth of God’s predestined calling, you feel a deep sense of gratitude and love toward God for His beautiful plan of salvation, then that is a good indication that you are one of those who has been chosen, and your heart will experience blessing upon blessing as you meditate upon God’s perfect plan.

If you hear the word of God, and you realize that you are not one of God’s children, and you walk away saying, “I am not saved and there is no way that I can be saved because God has already chosen the people who are going to be saved”, then that is a good indication that you were not called to be saved.

But if you hear the word of God and you say to God, “God, I want to be one of those who is called to be accepted in Jesus Christ. I want to be one of those who is called to be holy and without blame in Jesus Christ. If you then confess your sins, God will be faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness, and then you will know in your heart that you were called even before the foundation of the world because the Holy Spirit of God will bear witness with your spirit that you are a son of God.

When we take God at His word, He is able to do miracles which by definition, we cannot understand or explain, but we know they are real. How does God take a poor lost sinner, dead in his trespasses and sins, and make him a new creation in Christ? And then give him the assurance in his heart that God called him even before the universe was created? We have to say with the Psalmist, Great is the LORD, and His greatness is unsearchable. (Psalms 145:3)

In Ephesians 1:7, Paul goes on to say:

Ephesians 1:7
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Here we find that our identification with Christ and our baptism into Christ result in our redemption through His blood. According to Barnes’ Notes, the root of the Greek word for redemption specifically refers to the price or the ransom which is paid for a prisoner of war, and thus we see that the blood of Jesus Christ was shed as a payment to set us free from the bondage of sin.

We were at war with sin and sin was winning. By nature, we were held captive by sin, unable to free ourselves from its chains, but the blood of Jesus Christ was sufficient to pay the required price for our freedom. As we experience the salvation of God, we are able to say with the songwriter of old, there Is Power in the Blood.

In some circles of the Christian religion today, the topic of Christ’s shed blood is not very popular. Some think that the doctrine of the cross is too violent. We need to tame it down a bit. But denying the necessity of Christ’s shed blood, denies the inherent violence of sin and the extreme measures that were required and provided to set us free from the power of sin.

When Adam sinned, God’s protective hand was removed from the creation and indescribable violence shook the very foundations of the universe. This violence is still clearly seen in human nature and in nature in general. In order to overcome the violence of sin, God had to pour out His violent judgment upon an innocent man who was willing to endure that judgment for mankind.

I recently attended a Bible conference where one of the teachers pointed out that the gospel message is the story of a man who was wrongfully accused, wrongfully convicted and wrongfully executed, and this was God’s perfect plan to provide justice.

The unredeemed mind will be repulsed by this thought and may turn away from the gospel, but when the human mind turns to God and accepts God’s word by faith, that which was repulsive becomes beautiful because it is seen as the only means by which sinful man could possibly be redeemed. Romans 3 says:

Romans 3:23-25
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 (but we are) justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood . . .

A propitiation is that which appeases or satisfies. Therefore, it was the blood of Christ which satisfied God righteous requirement, God’s just payment for sin. Romans 3 goes on to say that this propitiation is set forth on behalf of those who believe in Jesus:

Romans 3:25-26
25 . . . to demonstrate (God’s) righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

God has chosen to accept personal faith as the means by which this perfect plan of redemption is made available to man. No one can live a righteous life, but anyone can believe. God declares that this is fair. This is just. And because God is just, He gave clues throughout the scriptures that faith is the active ingredient in salvation.

Hebrews 11 recounts for us the many times that the principle of faith is lifted up as the standard of God’s acceptance in the Old Testament. Beginning with verse 4 we read:

Hebrews 11:4 NKJV
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous . . .

Then in verse 7 we read:

Hebrews 11:7-11 NKJV
7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child* when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

It may not seem just to the human mind that an innocent man should die for the sins of those who have fallen far short of the glory of God, but we can praise the Lord today that God’s word plainly declares that God’s justice has been satisfied by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

In Christ, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, and this according to the riches of His grace. The word for riches means abundance, and it is in our redemption through the blood of Christ that we are introduced to the superabounding grace of God. In Ephesians Chapter 2 we will find out that it is part of God’s perfect plan for us to stand throughout the ages to come as a demonstration of the richness of God’s grace.

Well I see our time is almost gone. If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, pray a simple prayer of faith today. Tell God that you want to experience the riches of His grace through your personal faith in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1 (Part 3)

2008-02-21T20:34:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1 (Part 3)
Bible Study Time 4-3-05

Last week we saw in Ephesians, Chapter 1, that believers were predestined to be adopted by God as sons according to the redemption that is found in the blood of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, while we are sons of God by adoption.

God’s willingness to take certain human beings as his own sons is a doctrine which is first presented by the prophet Hosea. In Hosea’s day, the nation of Israel had forsaken God and His Law. They had taken Baal as their God, and as a result, God said that they were like an adulterous wife. He had been a faithful husband to Israel, but Israel had been unfaithful to God.

God told Hosea to take a prostitute as his wife to illustrate Israel’s unfaithfulness. As a result, Hosea married a woman named Gomer whose first child was a son named Jezreel. Jezreel pictured Israel’s future destruction. Then Gomer bore a daughter who was named Lo-Ruhamah, and this indicated the fact that God would not have mercy on Israel when her time of judgment was at hand. Next, Gomer bore a son whose name was Lo-Ammi which means “not my people,” for God was going to turn His back on the nation of Israel because of her sin. However, God did promise that He would someday restore the glory of Israel.

Hosea 1:9-11 (NKJ) says:
9 Then God said: "Call his name Lo-Ammi, for you are not My people, and I will not be your God.
10 "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' there it shall be said to them, 'You are sons of the living God.'
11 Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and appoint for themselves one head; and they shall come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel!

Hosea clearly stated that in the very same place where God said to Israel, “You are not my people,” God will someday say to Israel, “You are sons of the living God.” God pronounced a judgment of destruction and devastation upon Israel but gave the hope that some day they would not only come back to their land, but they would come back as sons of the living God.

Israel’s kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians 700 years before Christ, and the people of those northern 10 tribes have never returned to their land even to this day. But Hosea, Chapter 2, confirms that the northern 10 tribes of Israel will be restored some day.

Hosea 2:13-23 (NKJ)
13 I will punish Israel for the days of the Baals to which she burned incense. She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry, and went after her lovers; but Me she forgot," says the LORD.
14 "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her.

This is reminiscent of the time that God spent with Israel in the wilderness after Israel refused to enter the promised land at Kadesh-Barnea. He protected them for 40 years in the wilderness as He prepared them to finally enter the promised land.

The Book of the Revelation gives the fulfillment of Hosea’s prophesy and says that God will protect and prepare all 12 tribes of the nation of Israel in the wilderness during the tribulation period. In Revelation, Chapter 12, John speaks of Israel as the woman who gave birth to a child that the devil tried to destroy. It says:

Revelation 12:4-5 (NKJ)
4 The dragon’s tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.
5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.

Clearly, the woman is Israel and her child is Jesus Christ. The dragon is the devil who tried to destroy the Lord Jesus by means of the crucifixion, but the Lord Jesus rose up from the grave and was taken up into heaven to be with God. Then the Revelation speaks of a time which is still in the future for us, saying:

Revelation 12:6 (NKJ)
6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

This will be a period of three and a half years according to the Jewish calendar. Then the dragon is to be cast out of heaven and verse 13 says:

Revelation 12:13-17
13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.
14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.
16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Hosea was hinting at this time of tribulation when he said that God would allure Israel and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. Hosea says that there in the wilderness, Israel will turn to God in faith.

Hosea 2:15-23 (NKJ)
15 I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 "And it shall be, in that day," says the LORD, "That you will call Me 'My Husband,' and no longer call Me 'My Master,'
17 For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals, and they shall be remembered by their name no more.
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, with the birds of the air, and with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, to make them lie down safely.
19 "I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy;
20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD.
21 "It shall come to pass in that day that I will answer," says the LORD; "I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth.
22 The earth shall answer with grain, with new wine, and with oil; they shall answer Jezreel.
23 Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my God!' "

So Hosea tells of the time when God will made a covenant between Israel and all of nature during a kingdom of peace and prosperity on the earth. According to Jeremiah, this will be a new covenant, different from the Mosaic Law, for in this covenant God will write His law in the hearts of the people, and as Hosea said, they will all know the Lord. This great New Covenant kingdom will follow the tribulation period and the return of Christ to the earth, and it will be a time when Israel will be called “sons of the living God.”

As Paul preached the gospel of the New Covenant kingdom during the Acts period, he boldly proclaimed that Jesus Christ had come to shed the blood of the New Covenant, and he reminded his readers many times that God had made it possible for them to become the sons of God through the blood of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 3:24-26 (NKJ)
24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 4:4-6 (NKJ)
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"

Paul goes on in Galatians, Chapter 4, to explain that the Law of the Old Covenant had nothing in common with the Holy Spirit which comes by the New Covenant. Just as Hagar and her son, Ishmael, had to be cast out, even so the law with its commandments and ceremonies had to be set aside for the promise of the New Covenant kingdom to be realized.

In Romans, Chapter 8, Paul reemphasized the fact that Israel’s hope of the New Covenant was based in the power of the Holy Spirit Who brings believers into relationship with God as sons of God. He said:

Romans 8:14-17 (NKJ)
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

In Romans 9, Paul proved that some Jews were not saved, while some Gentiles were saved. He reminded his readers that God will have mercy on whomever He will have mercy, and He will have compassion on whomever He will have compassion. Paul said that some Jews were vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, while other Jews were vessels of mercy prepared beforehand for glory.

Paul quoted Hosea to prove that God will bestow the blessing of the New Covenant only on the believing remnant of Israel.

Romans 9:25-26 (NKJ)
25 As He says also in Hosea: "I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved."
26 "And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' there they shall be called sons of the living God."

Israel’s hope of the New Covenant kingdom was temporarily set aside at the end of the book of Acts, and the Church which is the Body of Christ was revealed in Paul’s prison epistles. These two different groups of believers have much in common. The New Covenant believers of the Acts period and the members of the Church which is the Body of Christ are both redeemed by the same blood which was shed by the Lord Jesus at Calvary. Both groups of believers have the same indwelling Holy Spirit for there is but one Spirit according to Ephesians, Chapter 4. And both groups are called to be sons of God. The prophets spoke of the day when Israel would be called the sons of God, and last week we saw that God has also predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will (Eph 1:5).

Ephesians 1 (Part 4)

2008-02-21T20:31:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1 Part 4
Bible Study Time 4-10-05

Last week we looked at Ephesians, Chapter 1 and verse 5 where the Apostle Paul said that believers today were predestined to be sons of God. We saw that Hosea first gave the prophesy that the nation of Israel would someday be called “Sons of God.” He said that in spite of the fact that Israel was facing destruction by the Assyrians. The prophecy of Hosea relates to the future kingdom in which the unbelieving nations of the world will call Israel the “Sons of God.”

In the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul spoke to the Jews and said:

Galatians 3:24-25 (NKJ)
24 . . . the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Then he spoke to Jews and Gentiles alike and said:

Galatians 3:26-29
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Obviously, Paul was writing to a group of believers who were anticipating the earthly kingdom which was promised to Abraham and his descendants. But in Ephesians, Chapter 1, Paul says that the members of the Church which is the Body of Christ were also predestined to adoption as sons of God. However, he never said that we are Abraham’s seed or that we share in the promise that was given to Abraham.

In Ephesians 1, Paul says that this calling of the Body of Christ to be sons of God is according to the good pleasure of God’s will. The word for good pleasure is the same word that is used in Luke, Chapter 2, where the angel announced the Savior’s birth and the hosts of heaven shouted, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

The word for goodwill is the same as that for good pleasure, and this indicates that the will of God is truly favorable toward man. The goodwill that God has in his heart toward man was expressed in the person of Jesus Christ. In like manner, God predestined us to be adopted as sons because of His favorable purpose and will for mankind. He wants only the best for man. God is not sitting in heaven waiting for man to fail so that He can pour out His judgment. No. God wants all men to be saved and to come into the knowledge of the truth, but sin has separated man from God’s good pleasure.

When Adam sinned in the garden, he ran to hide because he could no longer sense the good pleasure of God. Sin had broken the beautiful fellowship they had enjoyed, and sadly enough, today, there are people who think that God does not love them, that God is angry with them and that there is no hope for them to be reconciled to God.

Jesus Christ came to earth bringing God’s peace and God’s goodwill toward men, and it is through simple faith in Christ that people can begin to experience a sweet and beautiful fellowship with God that confirms His genuine love. Those who get to know Jesus Christ, get to know the good pleasure of God and that it was according to His good pleasure that He predestined us to adoption as sons.

In the Garden of Eden, God promised that the Savior would come through the seed of the woman. Therefore, even then, God was revealing the good pleasure of His will. God said that the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman, but the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent. Satan bruised the heel of Jesus Christ, so to speak, when the Jews crucified Christ upon the cross. But Jesus Christ bruised the head of Satan when Christ rose from the dead, triumphing over the principalities and powers of darkness.

This whole plan is a glorious plan which brings glory to God. When the angels in heaven see sinful, fallen men accepting Jesus Christ by faith and becoming the sons of God, the hosts of heaven sing anew, “Glory to God in the highest.”

When Jesus Christ left the glory of heaven to be born in a stable and into a relatively poor family, he did not come just to provide a partial salvation for those of us who believe. No, He came to provide total salvation for everyone who believes. When we are saved, we become new creations in Christ. God gives us a new heart. But we can praise the Lord that there is more to our salvation than that. Someday God is going to redeem our bodies. We will be caught up to be with the Lord, and we will receive a glorious body which will never die. Which will never see disease. Which will never feel pain or shed a tear. There will be no more sorrow. It seems apparent when we look at the context of Hosea, that this term “Sons of God”, refers particularly to believers of the future who have already experienced total redemption, meaning the redemption of the body as well as that of the soul and spirit.

The total redemption that Jesus Christ provided for us is not just limited to human beings either. The total salvation that Jesus Christ provided will flow from the hearts of men and out into the created universe. In fact, Paul said:

Romans 8:19-23 (NKJ)
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;
21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

Ephesians 1 says that this total redemption comes through the blood of Christ according to the riches of God’s grace. The word for riches is ploutos in the Greek, and it is repeatedly used by the Apostle Paul to describe the character and blessings of God. Here he speaks of the riches of God’s grace. Later in Ephesians 1, Paul will speak of the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints. In Romans 2, Paul spoke of the riches of God’s goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering. In Romans 9, Paul referred to the riches of God’s glory. In Romans 11, again he referred to the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.

Paul spoke of the riches that are found in Christ 4 times in Romans, 5 times in Ephesians, once in Philippians, and twice in Colossians. This Apostle was obviously impressed with the spiritual riches that are to be found in Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus said that the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches will often choke out the effect of the word of God in a person’s life, but this was not the case with the Apostle Paul, for he had a crystal clear vision of the riches that are ours in Christ.

For those who are interested in hidden treasures, Paul says in Colossians 2 that all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. It is sad that people will spend their lives seeking to find the hidden treasures of this world, when all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in the One who says:

Revelation 3:20 (NKJ)
20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

If you do not know Christ today and your life is meaningless and empty. If you want to experience the riches of God’s grace and delve into the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are found in Christ. Simply open the door. Christ is standing at the door, knocking. Open the door by praying a prayer of faith. Say, “God, I want to experience all of the riches and all of the treasures of Christ in my life.”

If you open the door, Christ will come into your life, and He will dine with you, and you will dine with Him. In other words, you will experience a fellowship with God that flows in both directions. You will experience the riches of God’s grace, and God will find great pleasure in filling your life with the riches of His grace. You will dine with Him, and He will dine with you.

One of the many treasures that we discover as we fellowship with the Lord Jesus in His word is the rich glory of the mystery of the Church to which believers belong today. In Colossians 1:27, Paul was speaking about the believers of our present age and said:

Colossians 1:27 (NKJ)
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

What mystery was he talking about. Let’s look back a couple of verses to Colossians 1:24, where Paul said:

Colossians 1:24-26 (NKJ)
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,
25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,
26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.

Paul was saying that he was called by God to reveal this great mystery of the Church which is the
Body of Christ and that the revelation of this mystery was a stewardship which was given only to Him. The mystery of the Church which is the Body of Christ was hidden from ages and from generations but now has been revealed to the saints through the Apostle Paul.

Paul certainly had first hand knowledge of the hidden treasures that can be found in Christ. He knew first hand about all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are in Christ, but he also knew that these treasures are often hidden in Christ.

When Paul met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, Jesus came knocking at the door of Paul’s heart, and Paul said, “Lord, what would you have me to do?” That is a great example of a prayer of faith. No one can tell you what to say to God. The words have to come straight from your heart. Paul’s prayer was “Lord, what would you have me to do?”

When Paul prayed this prayer, the Lord Jesus came into his life and began to teach him and direct him, and little did Paul know that God was going to reveal to him treasures of knowledge which had been hidden in Christ throughout all of the centuries, namely the mystery concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ.

Paul said that today, God is revealing the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, and he goes on to say that the end result of this mystery, on a practical level, is Christ in you, the hope of glory. As members of the Body of Christ, we are spiritually united with the One who holds the key to the future glories of heaven and earth. The hope of glory is in you in the person of Jesus Christ.

That’s why Paul emphatically states in the next verse, “Him we preach!” In other words, Paul says, “We preach Christ.” You have to get to know Christ and accept Him by faith before you can explore all of the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are found in Christ. But then in Colossians 2, Paul says that his desire was for these believers to acquire all of the riches of the full assurance of understanding in the knowledge of the mystery of God. God wants us to enjoy all of the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are ours in Christ.

Ephesians 1 (Part 5)

2008-02-21T20:26:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1 Part 5
(Bible Study Time 4-17-05)

Ephesians, Chapter 1, is a chapter which enumerates one blessing after another, and these are blessings which the faithful in Christ Jesus were all predestined to enjoy in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have already seen that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame in the sight of God. We were predestined to become sons of God because of the complete and total redemption that is ours through the blood of Jesus Christ.

All of this has been provided for us according to the riches of God’s grace, which Paul says has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. God’s plan for man’s redemption was not a plan which God just put together on the spur of the moment.

God put this plan of redemption together before the foundation of the world with much forethought and after diligently considering all of the various ramifications of the plan. God would not simply forgive sin without the penalty for sin being paid. This would lower His own standard of righteousness. Romans 3 says that we are:

Romans 3:24-26 (NKJ)
24 . . . justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, (Why?) to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

God would not simply forgive sin and neither would He just stand by and watch as all human beings suffer the devastating consequences of sin. To do that would be inconsistent with the character of His great love. God’s plan took this into account, as we read in Ephesians 2:

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NKJ)
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

If God had allowed all humans to be destroyed in hell because of sin, Satan and his fallen angels would have gained a great victory. God would never allow that to happen. According to Ephesians 3, God’s plan for redemption was meticulously analyzed and formulated with:

Ephesians 3:10 (NKJ)
10 . . . the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

This plan had to be thorough and exact in order to accomplish all of the various purposes which God had in mind, but at the same time it had to be simple for man to understand it. Man’s intellectual and emotional capabilities are so limited that God had to keep it simple. By nature, man is limited by the futility of his mind, the darkness of his understanding, and the ignorance that is in him. Furthermore, man is in no condition to respond to God emotionally because his lewd and greedy behavior has rendered him past feeling. John 3:16 says:

John 3:16 (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

What could be more simple? God, in His wisdom and prudence, made the plan of salvation so simple that even a small child could receive it, and yet at the same time, it met every single requirement of God’s overall plan and purpose.

Some people see the simplicity of God’s plan of salvation, and they reject it because it seems too simple. They say, “How could simple faith counterbalance all of my sin or all of the sin of others? How could the Son of God be born of a virgin? Why would God require the shedding of blood?” Paul addressed this very issue in I Corinthians, Chapter 1, where it says:

1 Corinthians 1:18-21 (NKJ)
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

Another reason that people reject the gospel is that Satan has put a veil over their eyes. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (NKJ)
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

In the previous chapter, Paul had been comparing the glory of the Old Covenant to the greater glory of the New Covenant. He said that the Old Covenant was so glorious that Moses had to put a veil over his face because his face was shining so brightly. This symbolized that the Old Covenant Jews were separated from the glory of the Old Covenant by their sin. Paul went on the say that the veil is taken away in the New Covenant by the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit living within the believer.

Then he said that if the gospel is hidden or veiled today, it is hidden only to those who are perishing, because Satan, as the god of this world, has blinded their eyes. Oh how much Satan hates God’s plan of salvation. God has devised a wonderfully simple plan to remedy a very complex problem, and Satan works effectively in those who are perishing to obscure the simple truth of the gospel.

But in Ephesians 1, Paul says that God’s plan for the redemption of mankind was a plan that revealed the riches of God’s grace and that the revelation of this plan only now shows God’s wisdom and prudence. Verse 9 says:

Ephesians 1:9 (NKJ)
9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

We are the ones who have been predestined to be the “Sons of God,” and it gives God pleasure to reveal the details of His plan to us. God has chosen to fully reveal His will to His Sons, and it gives Him great pleasure to be able to do so in an open forum such as the Bible. In the past God could not openly reveal the details of His will. Paul says in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 2:

1 Corinthians 2:7-8 (NKJ)
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Obviously, for God to accomplish His plan, God could not fully reveal the details of His plan in an open forum such as the Old Testament scriptures. Accordingly, the rulers of this world did not know about God’s plan concerning the cross because this mystery was hidden in the scriptures. David spoke of one whose hands and feet were pierced and for whose clothing they cast lots. He also spoke of the Holy One whose body would never see corruption. Isaiah spoke of one who would be wounded for our transgressions. Daniel spoke of the time when the Messiah would be cut off. Even so, the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day had no explanation for these verses, and they had no idea that the death of the Lord Jesus was part of the perfect plan of God to provide redemption for mankind. If they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Mysteries such as this were hidden in the Old Testament scriptures, and one could only understand them by direct revelation from the Holy Spirit. Paul continues in I Corinthians 2:

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (NKJ)
9 . . . "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

1 Corinthians 2:12 (NKJ)
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

1 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJ)
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

However, in Ephesians 1, Paul says that according to God’s wisdom and prudence, He has chosen to make known to His sons the mystery of His will. Now this is not a mystery which is hidden in the Old Testament scriptures such as the death of the Messiah. This is a mystery which was never even hinted at in the Old Testament scriptures. Let’s read verse 10:

Ephesians 1:10 (NKJ)
10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth-- in Him.

The mystery revealed in Ephesians is a mystery concerning the dispensation of the fullness of the times. In Galatians 4, Paul said that God sent forth His Son when the fulness of the time was come, and that meant that God sent His Son at just the right time. But here in Ephesians, we are dealing with the dispensation of the fullness of the times.

A dispensation is literally an economy or an administration. It is a program which has been set forth. According to Jamison, Fawcett and Brown, the fullness of the times is an expression which literally means, “the moment which fills up or completes the appointed seasons.” Therefore, the mystery here in Ephesians 1 is the mystery concerning the program which brings to completion the many different programs in God’s plan and purpose. It is a dispensation which brings to completion all of the appointed seasons of God, so to speak.

God has had many different programs since the time of the creation. We can see the dispensation of innocence in the Garden, before sin. There was the dispensation of human government which was given after the flood. The dispensation of promise began with God’s promise to Abraham, and the dispensation of Old Covenant Law was given through Moses at Mt. Sinai. The Lord Jesus shed His blood to bring in the dispensation of the New Covenant which was to be the foundation of the dispensation of the kingdom.

However, when the nation of Israel rejected Jesus Christ as her Messiah, God revealed to us this great mystery concerning the dispensation which is the culmination of all dispensations. It is the dispensation of the fulness of times in which all things in heaven and earth are brought together in Christ.

Today, we are in the very beginning stages of this dispensation. Paul put it this way in Colossians, Chapter 1:

Colossians 1:18-22 (NKJ)
18 (Jesus Christ) is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Notice that Christ already has the preeminence over all things.)
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. (God is already in the process of gathering all things together in Christ through the blood of His cross.)
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight–

We who believe today are just the beginning of the process which will ultimately bring all things together in Christ, whether in heaven or on earth, and God has chosen according to His good pleasure to openly reveal to His Sons this mystery of His will.

Ephesians 1 (Part 6)

2008-02-21T20:21:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1 (Part 6)
(Bible Study Time 4-24-05)

The Apostle Paul teaches in Ephesians, Chapter 1, that God takes great pleasure in those who believe in Jesus Christ. It was according to the good pleasure of His will that He predestined us to adoption as sons. It was according to His good pleasure that He revealed to us the mystery of His will, that in the dispensation of the fulness of times, He will gather together all things in one. Whether things in heaven or things in earth, all things will be gathered together in Jesus Christ.

God has already started this reconciliation process. In Colossians Paul wrote:

Colossians 1:19-21 (NKJ)
19 For it pleased the Father that in (Christ) all the fullness should dwell,
20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, . . . whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled

We who believe in Jesus Christ have the distinct privilege of being among the first of all creation to be reconciled to God, and as such, we have obtained an inheritance which was predestined according to the counsel of God’s own will. We have already seen that we were predestined to adoption as sons before the foundation of the world, and now we find that our inheritance was predestined as well. What is that inheritance? Verse 12 of Ephesians 1 says,

Ephesians 1:12 (NKJ)
12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Back in verse 3, Paul said, “Blessed be God,” and this literally means to speak well of God or praise and exalt Him. The heavens declare the glory of God, and His invisible attributes are clearly seen in the creation itself, but we have to turn to the word of God to find out about His marvelous grace.

John 1:14 (NKJ)
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

When Jesus Christ, the living Word, was taken up into heaven, God completed His written word. The Bible is God’s written declaration of Himself. In it, God declares not only His righteousness, but His love, His mercy and His grace. It was by His grace that God gave us an inheritance: that we should be to the praise of His glory.

The glory of God is magnificent and overwhelming. When Isaiah stood before the throne of God, he said:

Isaiah 6:1-3
1 . . . I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
2 Above it stood seraphim; . . .
3 And one cried to another saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!"

King David saw the glorious works of the Lord and said,

Psalms 34:1-4 (NKJ)
1 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

When David gave the ark a permanent home in Jerusalem, he appointed a group of Levites to continually sing praise to God before the tabernacle. It was their job to praise the Lord in song. We today have this inheritance, that we should be to the praise of His glory.

When Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees, he knew not where he was going, but by faith, he went out to the place where he was to receive an inheritance from God. When Abraham got to Canaan, God said:

Genesis 12:7
7 . . . "To your descendants I will give this land." And there (Abraham) built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Later on, God spoke to Abraham again and said:

Genesis 17:2,6 (NKJ)
2 "And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."
6 "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.

I can imagine that Abraham was starting to get pretty excited about this time. God had promised him all of this land as an inheritance, and now God was saying that nations and kings would come from him.

In Genesis 22, God told Abraham:

Genesis 22:18 (NKJ)
18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

The fact is that Abraham was very excited about this inheritance which God had promised to him, but Abraham did not take these promises to mean that he should go out and conquer the world. He did not even try to conquer the promised land. Abraham was smart enough to realize that he could not build the kind of kingdom God was talking about, the kind of kingdom in which all of the nations of the earth would be blessed. That kind of a kingdom could only come by the power of God.

As a matter of fact, God actually told Abraham that he would die and be buried at a good old age, and his descendants would serve the people of another land for 400 years before the promised kingdom would come. Did Abraham shrink back in unbelief? Not at all. Abraham knew that the promise of God was worth waiting for. Hebrews 11 says:

Hebrews 11:9-10
9 By faith (Abraham) dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

It was never revealed in the Old Testament scriptures, but Abraham had been told that God was going to send a city from heaven down to the earth, and Abraham was willing to wait patiently for that city realizing that what God had promised, He would provide. Hebrews goes on to say that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

Hebrews 11:13-16 (NKJ)
13 . . . all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.
15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Abraham was not called to build a city. He was called to wait for a city, that city from heaven.

When the Lord Jesus began His earthly ministry, He went preaching, as did John the Baptist, that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Their call to the people was to repent. That heavenly kingdom for which Abraham had patiently waited was near at hand, but the hearts of the people were not ready to receive it. The Messiah had come. The kingdom was at hand. But the nation of Israel rejected the blessings of God.

As a result, God told the Apostle Paul that it was time to reveal the mystery of God’s will. The fact that Israel rejected the Messiah did not take God by surprise at all. He knew all along that the Jews of Jesus’ day would reject Christ, and He knew that the promises which were made to Abraham could wait for a time when the nation of Israel would be ready to receive her inheritance.

Accordingly, God set Israel’s inheritance aside and began calling out the Church which is the Body of Christ. This Church is specifically revealed in Ephesians, Chapter 1, where Paul says:

Ephesians 1:22-23
22 God has put all things under Christ’s feet, and has given Him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

As we look at this Church in Ephesians 1, we see that we, as members of this church, are not waiting for the heavenly city to come down from heaven to the earth. We are not waiting for the kingdom of heaven to come to earth. That inheritance which was given to Abraham has been set aside, and the hope and calling of the Church which is the Body of Christ has come to the forefront.

Paul says that the inheritance of this Church is simply this, that we should be to the praise of God’s glory. How beautiful! How marvelous! Our inheritance is that we are what God has made us, and we will be what God is making us. Our inheritance in Christ does not relate to any earthly possession, but it is all about what we are and what we are becoming in Jesus Christ.

I would like to ask you today how you define your self. How do you define who you are? Is your concept of who you are wrapped up in your family? Are all of your hopes and dreams wrapped up in your family? As much as we honor and revere the family, our family is not to define who were are.

Is your definition of self determined by your job? Would people look at you and say, “He lives for his job” or “She lives for her job?”

Is your definition of self determined by your possessions? When people think of you do they think of the car your drive or the house you live in?

If you define yourself in these ways, please consider that these things are temporary. These things will pass away. Those of you who know the scriptures know that Job was one who found out just how temporary these things are.

God knows that who we are and what we are is so much more important than the earthly things to which we so often cling. If we get a clear mental picture of our inheritance in Jesus Christ, that our inheritance in Christ is that we should be to the praise of His glory, our rejoicing will be continuously in Him, and our rejoicing will never fade throughout all of eternity.

Ephesians 2:4-7 (NKJ)
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
6 . . . raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Our citizenship is in heaven. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. Our inheritance in Christ is that we should be; that our very being should be to the praise of God’s glory now and forever more. It is what we are, not what we have or expect to have that is important.

What’s so special about what we are? Well, there is nothing special about our old nature. But in Christ, we are holy, we are without blame, we are accepted in the Beloved One, we are predestined to adoption as sons of God. What a rich blessing it is to meditate upon and rejoice in all that God has made us in Christ. We have an eternal inheritance in Jesus Christ, and it’s all about who we are in Jesus Christ.

Next week we are going to examine the significance of the fact that this inheritance belongs to those of us who first trusted in Christ. We will see that we first heard the word of truth, then we believed, and then we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Ephesians 1 (Part 7)

2008-02-21T20:17:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1 (Part 7)
(Bible Study Time 5-1-05)

In Ephesians, Chapter 1, we have seen that we have an inheritance in Jesus Christ which was predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. This means that we have this inheritance because God determined that we should have it. Our inheritance does not relate so much to what we are going to get, but it relates to what we are going to be. We are going to be to the praise of God’s glory in every aspect of our being. As the Sons of God, we will be immortal with perfect bodies, perfect minds and perfect hearts.

Even today we are the sons of God for we have been made new creations in Christ, but we still have to deal with our fleshly bodies. So many times the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. In Romans 7, Paul said:

Romans 7:22-25 (NKJ)
22 . . . I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 I thank God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Praise the Lord, he goes on to say that the Spirit of God within us is stronger than the lusts of the flesh for:

Romans 8:1,5,14 (NKJ)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are (the) sons of God.

Therefore, we do have the power to overcome the flesh through the Holy Spirit of God, but we still have the flesh to contend with. When we receive our inheritance, which God predestined for us, we will have to deal with the flesh no longer. We will have been made perfect in body, mind, and soul.

Even now God is moving us in that direction for he has given us ministers

Ephesians 4:12-13 (NKJ)
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

When will that be? When will we actually reach the stature of the fullness of Christ? When we receive our inheritance. When we are completely and totally to the praise of God’s glory.

Paul says that this inheritance belongs to those of us who first trusted in Christ. Now it is kind of interesting that up to this point in Ephesians 1, Paul had used the pronoun “we” to describe those who are the beneficiaries of these heavenly blessings. In verse 12, he says, “We who first trusted in Christ have obtained this inheritance.” But in the very next verse Paul says, “In Him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth.”

Was Paul implying that the Ephesian believers were not among those who first trusted in Christ? Were the believers of Ephesus not among those who had obtained this inheritance? That would be inconsistent with the intent of Paul’s letter. Paul was not writing to tell these people about the blessings that someone else had. He was writing to encourage them in the blessings God had bestowed upon them.

So why did Paul switch pronouns? It may be that one reason for the switch is that Paul wanted to emphasize that they too were partakers in all of these blessings because they too were among those who first trusted in Christ. Keep this in mind as we read it again.

Ephesians 1:11-13 (NKJ)
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, . . .
12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

He says that they should not let anyone tell them that they were not recipients of these blessings that God has given.” Some of the Judaizers would have required these believers to follow all of the traditions of the Law of Moses, but in effect Paul said, “No. God accepts you just like you are, simply because you trusted in Christ when you heard the gospel of salvation.” He was saying, “You too have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. You also have been predestined as Sons of God. You also have this inheritance that you should be to the praise of His glory.”

Then Paul goes on to say that when they trusted in Christ, they were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise:

Ephesians 1:14 (NKV)
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Therefore, Paul used the pronoun “we” all the way through the first 12 verses saying that we have all of these blessings in Christ, and then in verse 14 he reminds his readers that they also are partakers in these blessings.

As Paul writes this book of Ephesians, the Jewish hope of the kingdom had already been set aside. The Jewish believers no longer had a special calling within the overall body of believers as they did during the Acts period. We know that in Romans 1:16 Paul said that the gospel went to the Jew first and also to the Greek. He said this because the Jews at that time had a special place in God’s dealings with man. In Romans 9, Paul said:

Romans 9:3-4 (NKJ)
3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,
4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises;

Again, we see Israel’s special place among the believers? In Romans 10, Paul said:

Romans 10:19-20 (NKJ)
19 But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says: "I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will move you to anger by a foolish nation."
20 But Isaiah is very bold and says: "I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me."

God’s plan even in the Acts period centered around Israel and her hope of the promised kingdom. One of the reasons that God was saving the Gentiles was to provoke her to jealousy. But here in Ephesians, Israel’s hope had been set aside. Paul says in effect, “We have this inheritance in Christ that we should be to the praise of God’s glory, and this includes all of you who also trusted in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.”

It is altogether possible that when Paul made reference to those who first trusted in Christ, he was referring to those of us who have trusted Christ now, in our present age, as opposed to those who will trust Christ in the ages to come. Our present age will end before the tribulation period begins, and the tribulation period will end before the kingdom begins. Paul clearly makes this distinction in Colossians, Chapter 1, where he says:

Colossians 1:18-21 (NKJ)
18 (Christ) is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, . . . whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled

God is going to reconcile all things, but we have been reconciled now. The others will be reconciled later. Each group in its own order.

This is parallel to what we see in Ephesians where Paul says that in the dispensation of the fulness of times, God will reconcile all things in Christ in heaven and in earth, but we who first trusted in Christ have this inheritance, that we should be to the praise of His glory.

In I Corinthians 15, Paul spoke of the resurrection and said:

1 Corinthains 15:22-24 (NKJ)
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming.
24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

Here Paul says that Christ came back from the dead first, and those who belong to Christ will be resurrected at His coming. Then there will be a resurrection at the time of the Great White Throne Judgment when Christ delivers up the kingdom to God the Father.

But notice that in these verses Paul sees only two resurrections after the resurrection of Christ. These are the two resurrections that the Apostle John spoke of in Revelation 20 where John said that he saw those who were beheaded during the tribulation period and that they had been raised in the first resurrection. He goes on to say that the second resurrection will be at the end of the thousand year reign of Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment.

Well, praise the Lord, in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, Paul tells us that the Church which is the Body of Christ has a separate calling, a separate inheritance, a separate hope. Those of us who first trusted in Christ, or we could say, those of us who are reconciled to God now, we have this inheritance that we should be to the praise of God’s glory and that the Holy spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.

The purchased possession is the Church which is the Body of Christ, and it will be redeemed when it is caught up to be with Christ in the glory of heaven. We will be given a glorious, immortal body like that of the Lord Jesus. That is our inheritance and the Holy Spirit is our guarantee that this inheritance is certain.

In I Corinthians, Paul did not see the special calling of the Church which is the Body of Christ. He did not see our special inheritance. He did not see our special rapture or our special resurrection. He saw a resurrection at the coming of Christ and at the Great While Throne Judgment.

The word used for the of the coming of Christ is parousia, and the parousia will occur when Christ returns to the earth to destroy the antichrist and set up His kingdom. But in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, Paul tells us that the Church which is the Body of Christ will be caught up, not at the coming of Christ, but at the appearing of Christ.

The word for Christ’s appearing is epiphaneia, and it is associated with the rapture and resurrection which will take place before the tribulation period. Col 3:4 says:

Colossians 3:4 (NKJ)
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

This is the rapture of the Church, the Body of Christ, and we have good evidence that it will take place before the tribulation period because when Paul described the perilous last days of our present age in II Timothy 3, he said that things will get worse and worse, but he never said anything about the antichrist, the abomination of desolation, or any of the things that relate to the tribulation period. We who first trusted in Christ will be first to be caught up to be with Christ.

Well, when we look back at Ephesians 1, we see Paul changing pronouns in verse 13 and another reason that Paul may have done this is that he wanted to share with them the specific things that he was praying for them. Paul said in verse 18, “I am praying that:

Ephesians 1:18 (NKJ)
18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, (and) what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

He was praying that these believers in Ephesus would have enlightenment from the Holy Spirit so that they could understand the hope of God’s calling for them and the glory of God’s inheritance in them. It was not the same calling or the same inheritance that had been promised to Israel.

As members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, we have a glorious hope. Someday, we will be caught up to be with the Lord in the glory of heaven. We will be given a glorious body like that of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we will be to the praise of His glory. This is our inheritance, and the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our position and our blessings in Christ.

Ephesians 1 (Part 8)

2008-02-21T20:14:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1 (Part 8)
(Bible Study Time 5-15-05)

The book of Ephesians, Chapter 1, reveals some of the spiritual blessings that believers of our present age experience in Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul says that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings, and he says that we who first trusted in Christ have obtained this inheritance, that we should be to the praise of God’s glory.

As members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, we are among those who first trusted in Christ. This description sets us apart from those who will put their trust in Christ during the tribulation period. The entire nation of Israel and many others as well will be saved during the tribulation period.

But during that time of tribulation, God will send strong delusion upon the majority of mankind so that they will believe the lie of Satan. The antichrist will proclaim himself to be God as he sits in the temple of God.

However, in spite of all this evil that will take place during the tribulation period, God is already working out His glorious plan to reconcile all things to Christ, whether things in heaven or things on earth. But we are among those who first trusted in Christ. We today have been set apart from those who will be reconciled to God in the ages to come.

Paul says that believers today have redemption though the blood of Christ, even the forgiveness of sins. However, he is very clear that our redemption will not be complete until we receive our new immortal bodies from God. Colossians 3 says:

Colossians 3:4 (NKJ)
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Philippians 3 says:

Philippians 3:20-21 (NKJ)
20 . . . our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

We have assurance that this will take place before the tribulation period because when Paul told Timothy about the perilous last days of our present age, he said nothing about the antichrist, the abomination of desolation, or anything else that relates to the tribulation period. He said only that:

2 Timothy 3:13 (NKJ)
13 . . . evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

And this gives us a clear signal that the evils of the tribulation period will not take place until after the members of the Church, the Body of Christ, are taken up to be with Christ in the glory of heaven.

In Ephesians 1, Paul uses a beautiful expression as he speaks of the rapture if the Church. In verse 14, he refers to the rapture as the redemption of the purchased possession. Paul told the Corinthians in I Corinthians 6:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJ)
19 . . . do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

We were slaves to sin and slaves of Satan, himself, but Jesus Christ paid the price for our freedom. He bought us for Himself, and then He set us free. He gave us the Holy Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.

In Ephesians 1, Paul says that the Holy Spirit within us is the guarantee that someday God will complete the redemption that was purchased at the cross. When you purchase a house, you usually put some earnest money down as the guarantee that you will at a later time complete the transaction.

Well, God already has our reward, our inheritance, waiting for us, and He has given us the Holy Spirit as the guarantee that the transaction will be completed someday. When Jesus Christ catches us up to be with Him in glory, then He will have redeemed His purchased possession.

When you buy a house and you put down your earnest money, the seller is going to want something substantial, something real, to show the validity of your intentions, and when God gave us the Holy Spirit to live within us, He gave us verifiable, internal proof that He will someday complete the redemption that He has already begun in our lives.

When Jesus Christ comes into our hearts, the old man is crucified with Christ, and the new man is generated by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul draws a sharp contrast between the old man and the new man in Ephesians 4. Beginning at verse 17 we read:

Ephesians 4:17-32 (NKJ)
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart;
19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ,
21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.
26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil.
28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

The new man is a beautiful creation of Jesus Christ, and we are going to look at each of these aspects of the new man in detail in a few weeks, but for now I think we can see the tremendous transformation that takes place in the heart of the believer when the Holy Spirit has the freedom to work.

God has given each person freedom of choice, and as a result, the Holy Spirit will not enter into a person’s life until He is invited to enter. He can draw people to Christ. He can convict people of their sin. But he will not dwell within the heart of a person unless He is invited in.

If you are listening today and have never invited Christ into your life to teach you, direct you and to protect you, won’t you invited Him in today? Salvation is just that simple. Ask and ye shall receive.

However, even after we receive the Holy Spirit, we still have the temptations of the flesh to deal with because we still have a body of flesh. We must guard against anything that would hinder our fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

Ananias tried to lie to the Holy Spirit in Acts, Chapter 5, and he was struck dead. Stephen told the members of the Sanhedrin in Acts, Chapter 7, that they were resisting the Holy Spirit even as their fathers had done. As we read a few moments ago, Paul tells us in Ephesians 4 not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

God has given us the Bible as the very word of God to strengthen us in the Holy Spirit. Paul said:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJ)
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The Holy Spirit wrote the Bible, and the Holy Spirit uses the Bible to provide all that we need to live a victorious life in Jesus Christ. When we see the Holy Spirit at work in our hearts, this is the guarantee that our inheritance in Jesus Christ is certain. Paul calls the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit of promise, and the promise of our inheritance is that someday we will no longer have to deal with a body of flesh. We are going to be given a glorious body like that of the Lord Jesus when He redeems His purchased possession.

Notice that the Holy Spirit is not only the guarantee of the promise, but the Holy Spirit sets His seal upon our lives. When the President of the United States puts his seal upon a document, that seal gives the words of that document authority. The seal is the proof that the words are the words of the president.

The Church which is the Body of Christ is the purchased possession of God, and God sets His seal upon us to show that we belong to Him and to bestow upon us the power and the authority that we need to carry out the work that God has given us to do. In Luke 24, just before the Lord Jesus ascended up into heaven, He told His disciples:

Luke 24:49 (NKJ)
49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

The Holy Spirit gave the disciples the ability to speak with authority on God’s behalf. When the disciples spoke in tongues on the Day of Pentecost, Peter spoke boldly and said, “This is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel.” Then Peter went on to quote verse after verse from Joel, Chapter 2 as well as from the Psalms.

When God sets His seal upon us, He gives us the power and the authority to speak for Him. The power and authority of the disciples was made evident by miracles, wonders and signs. Today, however, grace is the mark of the Holy Spirit. As we saw in Ephesians 4, Paul said:

Ephesians 4:29 (NKJ)
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Colossians 4 says:

Colossians 4:6 (NKJ)
6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

When we speak with the authority of the Holy Spirit, we should not speak so much with a dogmatic tone, but our speech should reveal the grace of God. We speak the truth, but we speak it in love. Our speech shows the tenderness and true concern of Christ. II Corinthians 2 puts it this way:

2 Corinthians 2:14-17 (NKJ)
14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?
17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

What a privilege it is to represent Christ and bear the fragrance of Christ as we speak the truth in love.

Ephesians 1 (Part 9)

2008-02-21T20:09:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1 Part 9
(Bible Study Time 5-22-05)

According to Ephesians, Chapter 1, the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance in Jesus Christ. When we witness the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, we have assurance that our inheritance is secure. However, we must realize that the changes we see here and now are but a glimpse of the total glory which we will someday experience.

When Christ who is our life appears, then we also will appear with Him in glory. But even now, our citizenship is in heaven from whence we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that is may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself.

Because this inheritance is guaranteed, we can say with full assurance that we have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 3:16 (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The Holy Spirit is God’s seal of acceptance upon our lives. Manufacturers in our country often work hard to earn the seal of approval which independent researchers offer. The American Dental Association has a seal of acceptance which is placed upon certain products which have been tested and approved. Only those products which have passed the test are given their seal of approval.

Well, God has placed His seal of approval upon us. We are accepted in the beloved. He was tested in every way. According to the book of Hebrews, Jesus Christ can sympathize with our weaknesses because He was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Christ was tested in the wilderness by the devil. He had had no food for forty days and forty nights when the devil came to him and said, “If thou be the son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Jesus quoted the scriptures and said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

The devil took Jesus up to the top of the temple and said, “Cast yourself down, and angels will lift you up.” Jesus passed the test and said, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

When the devil offered Jesus all of the kingdoms of this world if He would but bow down and worship the devil, the Lord Jesus remained faithful to the word of God and said, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve.”

Later, the Lord Jesus was repeatedly tested by the scribes and the Pharisees. The Bible says that the Pharisees plotted to entangle Jesus in His words. They asked, “Is it lawful to pay taxes?” Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar those things which are Caesar’s.”

They asked, “If a woman is married to seven brothers, whose wife will she be in the resurrection?”

Jesus said, “In the resurrection there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage.”

They asked, “Which is the greatest commandment of the law?”

Jesus answered plainly, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul and mind, and the second greatest commandment is, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself’.”

Jesus Christ was the spotless Lamb of God, who came to take away the sin of the world. He was tested and tried in all points such as we are, yet without sin.

God placed His seal of approval upon the Lord Jesus. At the time of Jesus’ baptism and on the Mount of Transfiguration, God spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

While Jesus was dying upon the cross, He cried out, “My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me?” But this time the heavens were silent. There was no voice from heaven to comfort and console, for God had turned His back on His only begotten Son. The Bible says that Jesus cried out again, with a loud voice, but again the heavens were silent, and Jesus yielded up His spirit.

They took his body and laid it in a grave, but the grave could not hold Him. On the third day Jesus came back from the dead and was taken up into heaven where He was glorified and exalted. He was given a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. And we who believe are accepted in Him and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

There is no indication that God would ever, under any circumstance, take away the Holy Spirit from those who believe. There is no indication that God would take away the salvation which He has given to us. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.

God knows the end from the beginning, and there is nothing that takes Him by surprise. He planned our salvation in consultation with all the members of the Godhead before the foundation of the world. Therefore, it is inconceivable that God would grant salvation one day only to take it away the next.

In Galatians, Chapter 3, Paul answers those who theorize that salvation must be maintained by good works even after we are saved by faith. In verse 2 we read,

Galatians 3:2-3 (NKJ)
2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

Paul was reminding the Jewish believers that they had kept the law for years and years, but they did not receive salvation until they put their faith in Jesus Christ. They kept the law faithfully, but they were lost in their sins until they experienced the power of faith in Christ.

Then Paul reminded them that when they got saved, the Holy Spirit gave evidence of that salvation by means of miracles, wonders and signs. People spoke in tongues. People were healed of their diseases. Demons were cast out. Paul asked, “Did these things ever happen to you as a result of keeping the law? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” Paul said in Galatians 2:

Galatians 2:18-19 (NKJ)
18 "For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
19 "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.

Galatians 2:21 (NKJ)
21 "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."

If God were to take away our salvation as a result of sin, then our salvation would be dependent upon our own good works, and we would find ourselves under the same curse as those who were under the law, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

If keeping my salvation depends upon my own goods works, then I will either live in doubt and fear of losing my salvation, or I will learn to disregard my sin as a spirit of self righteousness grows within my heart.

Since living in constant doubt and fear is too painful to endure, many learn that self righteousness is more tolerable. They may convince themselves that they are good enough as they compare themselves to others by the standards of society. But God does not think the way society thinks. He said:

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJ)
8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," . . .
9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

The essence of self righteousness is pride. Therefore, as self righteousness grows, pride also grows. What a paradox! The better we think we are the worse we really are. Proverbs 6 lists even a proud look as one of the seven things that God hates.

The Pharisees stand as the supreme example of those who were self righteous. They wrongfully accused an innocent man. They paid for perjured testimony in the trial, and on the basis of that testimony they executed the man. But, somehow, they thought they were innocent before God. Jesus knew their hearts and said, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

Our only hope of living a life that is pleasing to God is to humble ourselves before the Lord and ask for His help. If we seek we will find. Psalm 34 says:

Psalms 34:18 (NKJ)
18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.

Psalm 51 says:

Psalms 51:15-17 (NKJ)
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; you do not delight in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart-- these, O God, You will not despise.

Isaiah said:

Isaiah 66:1-2 (NKJ)
1 Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool . . .
2 "But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.

The Lord Jesus had harsh words for the Pharisees. He said:

Matthew 23:13-15 (NKJ)
13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
14 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector who both went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee said, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men-- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.

The tax collector, on the other hand, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but he said, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!”

Then Jesus said of the tax collector, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

We are saved by God’s grace and accepted in the Beloved. We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, and by God’s grace He will keep us safe and secure in Jesus Christ until the day when God catches us up to be with Him in the glory of heaven.

If you are listening today, and you find yourself plagued with fears and doubts about where you will spend eternity, you can trust what God has said in His word. Jesus Christ died for your sins, and those who put their faith in Him are given eternal life.

You do not have to worry that God will take your salvation away. Jesus said:

John 10:27-29 (NKJ)
27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.

If you are listening today, and you find yourself thinking that God will accept you because you live a pretty good life, I would ask you to seriously consider your relationship with God. If you have never accepted Christ, humble yourself before the Lord and accept Christ as your Savior. Jesus Christ will enter into your life and fill your life with blessings.

If you have already trusted Christ but have continued to live with a determination to do good deeds so that you will be guaranteed a place in heaven, that is the sin of pride. Humble yourself before the Lord, confess your sin and God will give you the assurance that you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit until the redemption of the purchased possession at the rapture of the Church.

Psalms 34:18 (NKJ)
18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.

Ephesians 1 (Part 10)

2008-02-21T20:06:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1 Part 10
Bible Study Time 5-29-05

In verse 15 if Ephesians, Chapter 1, the Apostle Paul says, “Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.” This says so much about the Apostle Paul and the believers at Ephesus.

God wants us to look for opportunities to bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, but when we have the chance to lead someone to the Lord, it is so important for us to followup with that person. We need to pray for them, and we need to communicate with them so that we can encourage them in the things of the Lord.

We know that God is going to be working in their lives and doing miraculous things, but the devil is also going to be working. The devil tries to blind the eyes of unbelievers so that they can not see the gospel, but when the Holy Spirit breaks through the darkness to reveal the light of Jesus Christ, the devil steps up his attacks to keep the new believer from growing in the truth of Jesus Christ.

Paul had labored for about three years in Ephesus. He had seen God do miraculous things, both physically and spiritually, but it had been a long time since he had seen them face to face. However, he never stopped thinking about them. He never stopped praying for them. He never stopped trusting God for their spiritual welfare. But he was also acutely aware of the devil’s spiritual warfare.

He had seen the division and strife in Corinth, as well as overt immorality. In II Corinthians, Paul said in effect, “We have to be on guard lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

He had seen the judaizers come into the Galatian churches where the people were turning back to the Law of Moses. Paul told the Galatian believers:

Galatians 3:1 (NKJ)
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?

Traveling was difficult in those days, so it probably had been a long while since Paul had heard from the Church in Ephesus, but when he got word that their faith in the Lord Jesus was strong and their love for all the saints was well known, his heart rejoiced.

I’m sure he was excited to write this letter to the Ephesians so that he could once again encourage them in their walk with the Lord. He said, “Since I heard this good report concerning your faith and your love, I have continued to thank God for you and pray for you without ceasing.”

What prayers did he offer on their behalf? First, he prayed that God would give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.

Which God?

The God of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Which God?

The God of glory.

These believers had come out of the corrupt pagan religions which taught the existence of many gods. Paul wanted to encourage the Ephesians in the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the God of glory.

The nation of Israel, as a whole, thought they worshiped the true and the living God, but they did not, for they did not worship the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. They had rejected Jesus Christ as God’s Son and as their Messiah.

When Jesus told the Pharisees, “You do the deeds of your father.” They said, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.”

Then Jesus said, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God.”

Paul not only emphasized that the one true God is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ but that God is the God of glory. Paul wanted to reemphasize that we have every reason. We have every motivation to believe in Jesus Christ. He is our hope for future glory. Paul said:

Romans 8:18 (NKJ)
18 . . . I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

The nation of Israel had the presence of God’s Shekinah glory dwelling with them in the wilderness. Today we have the glory of God dwelling within us, for our bodies serve as the temple of the Holy Spirit. However, someday we are going to leave behind our bodies of flesh, and we will be given a new and glorious body as we enter into the glory of heaven. This is our inheritance in Jesus Christ.

In I Corinthians, Chapter 2, Paul paraphrased the words of Isaiah and said:

1 Corinthians 2:9-10
9 "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.

From time to time in the scriptures we get a glimpse of the glory of God. As the angels announced the savior’s birth, the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and the shepherds were sore afraid.

When Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John were awakened from their sleep to see Jesus Christ in all of His glory.

Just before the crucifixion, Jesus prayed:

John 17:5 (NKJ)
5 "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Later, in that same prayer, the Lord said:

John 17:24 (NKJ)
24 "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Jesus Christ left the glory of heaven because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. He took a body of humiliation and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.

And now in Ephesians 1, Paul reminds us that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ is the God of glory, and he prays that we who believe might know the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints.

As Paul writes the Ephesian believers from a Roman prison, he is well aware of the fact that the nation of Israel has rejected Christ as her messiah. From the time of his conversion to Christ, Paul had expected Jesus Christ to return to earth very soon to gather and glorify His saints and establish His kingdom of glory upon the earth.

He had told the Corinthian believers that they should not take any matter to a secular court because they would be judging the world in the kingdom. He also told the men of that congregation that if they were single, they should not seek a wife because, as Paul put it, “The form of this world is passing away.”

But now all of that had been set aside, and one would think that Paul would have been in the depths of despair. But quite the opposite was true.

Well, why is that?

As we saw in Ephesians 1:8 and 9, God had revealed to Paul the mystery of His will. Paul could see that God knew all along that Israel would reject Christ. God knew they would reject the Father in the Old Testament. God knew they would reject the Son during Christ’s earthly ministry. God knew they would reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit during the Acts period. None of this took God by surprise.

God’s plan from the beginning was that Israel would reject Christ and be set aside on a temporary basis, while God created a new body of believers composed of Jews and Gentiles alike. A new body of believers saved by simple faith in Jesus Christ. This was and is the mystery of God’s will which was revealed to the Apostle Paul.

When Paul heard of the faith of the Ephesians and of their love for the saints, he prayed without ceasing that the Holy Spirit would give to them wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. He prayed that the eyes of their understanding would be enlightened.

Paul certainly knew the blessing of joy and assurance that comes with understanding. Paul had always been very sincere, even when he was sincerely wrong. At one time, he sincerely thought that Jesus Christ was an imposter, but he was wrong. God had to shut his eyes in order to open them. When Paul met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, Paul was blinded by the light, but the eyes of his understanding were opened, and he called Jesus Lord. He said, “Lord, what would you have me to do?”

At one time, Paul sincerely thought that the Jews would acknowledge Christ as their promised messiah within a very short time, but he was wrong. He had said, “There is coming a time when all Israel will be saved.” But he did not know that it would be thousands of years in the future before Israel’s salvation would occur.

Paul had a lot of growing to do in terms of his understanding, but the beautiful thing about Paul is that he truly wanted to know everything that he could possibly learn about God’s plan and purpose. Paul was not just trying to fine time his theology so that he could attract a large following of converts. He was truly seeking to know God’s will.

Jesus said, “If you seek you will find.” And Paul found what he was seeking. God revealed more truth and deeper truth to and through Paul than through any other apostle. God revealed to Paul the mystery of God’s will.

Paul was praying that the Ephesians would be able to experience for themselves the joy that comes with having the eyes of their understanding opened so that they could know the hope of God’s calling and the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints.
Paul had been raised with an understanding of the promised Messiah. He had been raised with an understanding of the promised kingdom. His whole life had been dedicated to these two theological points. But when Paul saw that Israel’s kingdom had been set aside, and when he saw that Jesus was more than just Israel’s Messiah, he was overwhelmed. He was overjoyed. He knew that he could never express in words how marvelous, how wonderful, how glorious was the plan of God.

He just said to the Ephesians, “I pray that God will open your eyes to see the wonder of it all.”

Even still we today have to read between the lines. We have to read between the words. We have to read between the letters to get a glimpse of the glory of it all. It is truly to marvelous for words to fully express.

Paul essentially said, “I could never have guessed that the Messiah could be all that Jesus Christ is, but I am praying that your eyes will be opened to see what I have seen. It is through Christ that we see the exceeding greatness of God’s power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He accomplished in Christ when He raised Him from the dead.”

Is it possible for us today to grasp the full impact of these words. Well, we can, but only by the wisdom and revelation which is given by the Holy Spirit, for today Christ has not only been raised from the dead, but He has been seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Never, throughout all of eternity, will there ever be a name which carries more weight of authority than that of Jesus Christ. Which implies more might or more power than that of Jesus Christ. Never, throughout all of eternity, will there ever be a name which reveals more love or more grace than that of Jesus Christ. Even now God has put all things under Christ’s feet and has given Him to be head over all things to the Church which is His Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

When Paul accepted Christ as his Savior, he had no idea the depth of wisdom and revelation that God was going to give to him, but whatever God had for him, Paul knew that he wanted it. Many times if you talk to people about the things of the Lord, they will say, “Well, you really need to talk to my preacher about that.” Or, “My church believes this or that.”

God has so much to reveal to us, but the truths of God’s word have to be applied individually. Our churches can only grow if we grow as individuals. God wants to deal with each one of us on a personal level. I don’t know about you, but I love the one on one attention I get from God.

All believers today are members of this church which is revealed in the book of Ephesians. We are members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and Christ is the Head of our Church. Therefore, we can take every word written to the Ephesians and take as if it were written directly to us. God wants the eyes of our understanding to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit so that we may know the hope of God’s calling for us, so that we may know the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints.

Ephesians 1 (Part 11)

2008-02-21T19:57:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1 Part 11
Bible Study Time 6-5-05

We have been studying Ephesians 1 for several weeks now, and we have seen a beautiful portrait of the spiritual blessings which have been bestowed upon those of us who believe in Jesus Christ. We were chosen before the foundation of the world, and we were predestined to be adopted as
the Sons of God. Because we have redemption through His blood and forgiveness for sins, we stand before God as holy and without blame, and we are completely and totally accepted in Jesus Christ.

In wisdom and prudence God made known to us the mystery of His will, and Paul gives three reasons why God decided to reveal this mystery which had been kept secret since the foundation of the world.

First, God revealed the mystery of His will so that we might gain an understanding of the hope of our calling. We have seen that the hope of our calling as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, is that someday we will be caught up to be with Christ in the glory of heaven.

Because the program for the Church which is the Body of Christ is separate and apart from God's program for the nation of Israel, we can be sure that the hope of our calling is different from the hope of Israel's calling.

The Church which is the Body of Christ, which includes Jews and Gentiles alike, will be caught up to be with the Lord Jesus in the glory of heaven before the tribulation period begins. Unsaved Israel, on the other hand, will remain on the earth to go through the tribulation period, during which time they will be tested and purified. By the end of the tribulation period, Israel will look upon Him whom they pierced, and they will morn. Israel will accept Jesus Christ as her Messiah and will enter into the New Covenant Kingdom. With this in mind, it is understandable that God wants us to understand the hope of our calling.

Secondly, God revealed the mystery of His will because He wants us to be fully aware of the riches of the glory of His inheritance in us. God has a great plan to glorify His name through the Church which is the Body of Christ. Ephesians 2 says:

Ephesians 2:6-7 (NKJ)
6 (God) raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

God plans to declare and magnify the richness of His superabounding grace throughout all of eternity by means of the indescribable kindness which He bestows upon us. That grace, which was always greater than the greatest sin, will be revealed as the grace which flows like a river with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Furthermore, God's inheritance in us is seen in the fact that the Church reveals the wisdom of God to the principalities and powers which occupy the heavens. Ephesians 3 says that the Church reveals the manifold wisdom of God to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

What an inheritance God has in us! The more God blesses us, the more His grace will be magnified and the more His manifold wisdom will be exalted and glorified. Throughout eternity we will sing:

Psalms 34:1-3
1 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.

Every kindness of grace which God bestows upon us throughout eternity will bring glory to God. It will all be done to the praise of His glory.

But there is one more reason for God's revelation of the mystery of His will. Verse 19 says that He revealed the mystery of His will so that we might know the exceeding greatness of His power.

We know that God is good all the time. The Psalmist said:

Psalms 31:19 (NKJ)
19 Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!

But God is not only good. He is also powerful. We know that all of the goodness which God has prepared for us He is able to perform. The goodness of the Lord goes hand in hand with His strength and power. Psalm 65 says:

Psalms 65:6 (NKJ)
6 Who established the mountains by His strength, being clothed with power;

Then the Psalmist goes on to say:

Psalms 65:11 (NKJ)
11 You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.

Psalm 106 says:

Psalms 106:7-9
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; they did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled by the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make His mighty power known.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; so He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

In the New Testament, God reveals His goodness and His power through the salvation of the lost.

I Corinthians 1 says:

1 Corinthians 1: 18 (NKJ)
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are
being saved it is the power of God.

Again in Romans, Paul says:

Romans 1:16
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.

God is good, and His goodness is revealed through His power.
In Ephesians 1, Paul mentions two ways that the power of God is revealed. First, Paul prays that we might be able to understand the exceeding greatness of God's power which He worked in Christ when He raised Christ from the dead.

Those of us who were brought up hearing about the resurrection of Christ and hearing about our own hope of resurrection may have a tendency to minimize in our own minds the extraordinary power that is required to bring about a resurrection from the dead.

It is certainly a task which no human being could accomplish. The Great Houdini thought that he might be able to escape the clutches of death. He even gave his wife a codeword so that if a spirit appeared to her after his death and claimed to be Houdini, she would know if it was he. Needless to say, no spirit ever came to her with the proper codeword.

Satan is the great imposter, and he often tries to imitate the workings of God, but raising someone from the dead is not something he can even come close to. Satan is very capable of setting up situations which result in death and destruction, but giving life is not something he has any power to do.

God and God alone had the power to give life to Adam and Eve in the garden, and He alone is the One who has the power to give eternal life to those who believe in His Son. Though we may die as Sons of Adam, we know that God has the power to raise us up again as Sons of the Second Adam, even Jesus Christ.

The power of the resurrection is a common theme for the Apostle Paul. Here in Ephesians 1, Paul prays that we might understand the power that is took to raise Christ from the dead. In Romans 1, Paul said:

Romans 1:3-4
3 Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,
4 and He was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.

In Philippians, he said:

Philippians 3:8-10
8 Indeed, I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish,

10 . . . that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection.

Paul clearly says that to him it would be a far greater blessing to have a more perfect understanding of the real power that it took to raise Christ from the dead than it would be to have all of the things that this world has to offer.

I have to admit, as I speak to you this morning , that as I was studying these passages, I began to realize that I probably don’t have a clue as to what this great power really is. I have so much to learn, but I know that God wants me to know about this resurrection power, and He wants me to realize that power in my life now and throughout all of eternity.

Now, in closing, we see that God's great power is seen not only in the resurrection of Christ from the grave, but it is seen in His ascension into the heavenly places where He is seated at the right hand of the Father. The fact that Christ is seated in the heavenly places far above all principality and power, certainly demonstrates the superior power of the Father and of the Son.

As Paul describes Christ’s position, he goes on to say that Christ has been given the position of Head over all things to the Church which is His Body. Now it is interesting to me that even though Christ has supreme authority over all things, He was not given the position of king over the Body of Christ. No. I’m thankful that today Christ does not reign as king over His Church, but He serves as Head of the Church.

I know that many people these days are interested in dominion theology in which it is taught that God has given believers all authority and all power over the political processes of the earth. However, this attitude is not in keeping with the leadership Christ has shown as the Head of the Church. We have the privilege today of relating to Christ on a very personal basis, as a fellow laborer. This is a much closer relationship than that of a subject to his king. We are called to fellowship with Christ as we serve Him, as we serve one another, and as we serve our fellow human beings.

Actually, a careful look at the future earthly kingdom reveals that an attitude of domination will be inappropriate for the kingdom as well. Jesus told his disciples:

Matthew 20:25-28 (NKJ)
25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.
26 "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.
27 "And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave--
28 "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

One of the reasons God decided to reveal the mystery of His will to us is so that we would be able to understand the exceeding greatness of His power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and when He raised Him up to sit in the heavenly places to serve as the Head over all things to the Church which is His Body.

Ephesians 1 (Part 12)

2008-02-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 1 Part 12
Bible Study Time 6-12-05

We have been studying Ephesians, Chapter 1, for several weeks where Paul gives us the details of the spiritual blessings which are ours in the Christ as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ. Paul says that one of the blessings we have is seen in the fact that God made known to us the mystery of His will in all wisdom and prudence. Paul is content to leave the subject of the mystery at that in chapter 1, but when he gets over into Chapter 3, he lays out the details of the revelation of the mystery.

When students of the Bible look at the revelation of the mystery which is given in Ephesians, the question invariably comes up as to whether or not this is the same mystery which Paul speaks of in the book of Romans and the book of I Corinthians. Accordingly, I decided to do a short review of Paul’s history and Paul’s mysteries.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he proclaimed with thanksgiving that he belonged to Jesus Christ and that God had called him to be an apostle. The word apostle literally means “one who is sent out as an official ambassador.” Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus, and shortly thereafter God said, “Paul is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.” It is noteworthy that the Gentiles were mentioned first in this list.

When Paul went to help Barnabas in Antioch of Syria, Paul witnessed the salvation of Gentile believers, and we read in Acts, Chapter 15, that he went before the elders in Jerusalem to declare that God was saving Gentiles who had never submitted to circumcision. As a result, the elders in Jerusalem determined that Paul should continue his ministry among the uncircumcised Gentiles, while the elders in Jerusalem continued their ministry among the circumcised Jews.

In the book of Romans, Paul used his office as the apostle to the Gentiles to speak with authority. He said in Romans 11:13:

Romans 11:13 (KJV)
13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office:

In Romans 15, Paul quoted 4 different Old Testament passages to justify his ministry to the Gentiles. This gave ample evidence that God had always planned to bring salvation to the Gentiles, and during the Acts period, we see the Apostle Paul preaching the gospel as the Apostle to the Gentiles.

In Romans 1, Paul said that he was separated to the gospel of God. But to which gospel was he separated? Paul answered that question in the last chapter of Romans, where Paul said in verse 25:

Romans 16:25-26 (NKJ)
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ

When Paul said “my gospel”, he was talking about the gospel which he was authorized to preach as the apostle to the Gentiles, that salvation was being offered to the Gentiles through simple faith apart from the works of the Law.

In Romans 16, Paul said that his gospel had been kept secret since the world began, but obviously, it was a secret only in the sense that it was hidden in the Old Testament scriptures. This is made clear by the fact that Paul had just quoted verse after verse from the Old Testament to justify his ministry and by the fact that Paul goes on to say that “his gospel” was now being made known to all nations by the prophetic scriptures.

Paul’s gospel at this point had to do first of all with the fact that the Messiah was going to come to the earth and be killed by His own people, but that through His blood, He would provide redemption for those who believe. Paul had the privilege of revealing this mystery which up to this point had been hidden in the scriptures. In I Corinthians 15, Paul said:

1 Corinthians 15:3 (NKJ)
3 . . . I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

In all probability Paul used verses such as those in Isaiah 53 to prove the validity of his gospel. Isaiah spoke of Jesus and said:

Isaiah 53:4-5 (NKJ)
4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Certainly, the gospel that Christ died for our sins was according to the scriptures, but it was well hidden in the scriptures because the people in general did not understand these verses. But Paul was able to tell us why these facts were not fully explained in the Old Testament. In I Corinthians, Chapter 2, he said:

1 Corinthians 2:7-8 (NKJ)
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The mystery of the Acts period related to the death of Christ and the redemption that is secured through His shed blood.

Another aspect of Paul’s gospel in the Acts period and therefore in the book of Romans was the gospel of the New Covenant Kingdom. As Paul went preaching the good news that Christ died for our sins, he was also preaching the good news of the New Covenant Kingdom which had been promised to Israel. According to that promise the Messiah would come and rule the earth through the nation of Israel.

Paul stated in II Corinthians 3 that he was a minister of that New Covenant, but the New Covenant was also hidden in the Old Testament scriptures. In fact, Jeremiah is the only Old Testament prophet who specifically referred to the New Covenant.

Because Paul was a minister of the New Covenant, he was ministering with the expectation that New Covenant Kingdom was eminent. In keeping with this hope, Paul said in Romans 1 that the gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

All of the physical blessings of the New Covenant Kingdom would flow through the Jews to the Gentiles, but the Jews had to accept Christ as their Savior and as their Messiah before the kingdom could come. Throughout the Acts period, Paul went to the Jew first and also to the Greek, preaching the gospel of salvation through faith, and he did so in accordance with the promises of the New Covenant.

In the last chapter of the book of Acts, Paul was in a Roman prison when he called for the Jewish leaders. He solemnly testified of the kingdom of God from early in the morning until late at night, pointing out the Old Testament passages which spoke specifically about Jesus.

The Bible says that some of these Jews were persuaded by Paul’s arguments, but others refused to believe. At other points in the book of Acts, Paul had been faced with the same indecisiveness on the part of the Jews. On those occasions, he would simply agree to come back and talk to them another day. But not this time. This time he quoted Isaiah immediately, and said, “You have ears, but you can not hear. You have eyes, but you can not see. Therefore, we turn to the Gentiles.”

At this point, Paul knew there would be no tomorrow for the Jews of his generation. God was drawing the line for Israel, saying in effect, “This is it!” Those Jews listening to Paul in Rome needed to get on their knees, repent and accept Christ, but they did not. As a result, God’s offer of the New Covenant Kingdom was temporarily set aside. Their chance to accept the promised kingdom had come and gone.

The Old Testament scriptures predicted that the Messiah would be killed, and they predicted that the Messiah would be raised from the dead, but they never even hinted at the fact that Israel would reject the resurrected Christ. With Israel rejecting the resurrected Christ, mankind was faced with a situation which was never anticipated by the prophets. Therefore, nobody knew what God was going to do next.

Paul wrote several letters from his Roman prison after the events of Acts 28. These letters include Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and the pastoral epistles, and these letters hold the key to what God did next.

In these letters, and only in these letters, Paul referred to the Church which is the Body of Christ. In Colossians 1, Paul said that he was a minister of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and He went on to say that his ministry to the Church was according to a mystery which had been hidden from ages and from generations.

Was this the same mystery which Paul mentioned in Romans 16? Let’s look at Ephesians 3 for more detail. Verse 1 says:

Ephesians 3:1-3,5
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles--
2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,
3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery

Notice that Paul is claiming these revelations as those which were given to him. He said:

Ephesians 3:3,5
3 how that by revelation God made known to me the mystery
5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:

According to Romans 16, the mystery in the book of Romans was being made manifest by the prophetic scriptures. Paul could not claim those revelations as his own. Those revelations were given to the prophets. However, the mystery in the prison epistles is a mystery which Paul said was being revealed by the Holy Spirit, to the apostles and prophets, through him. That is quite a difference. Let’s continue in Ephesians 3:

Ephesians 3:3, 6-9
3 how that by revelation God made known to me the mystery
6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,
7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9 and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;

Here in Ephesians, Paul acknowledges that his ministry is still primarily among the Gentiles, but he no longer magnifies his office as the Apostle to the Gentiles. Paul said that in the Church which is the Body of Christ, the Gentiles are fellowheirs and of the same body as the Jewish believers. In the Acts period, the Jews continued to observe the Law of Moses while the Gentiles did not. That distinction is no longer apparent in the program which is revealed here in Ephesians. Rather than magnifying his office as the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul says that he has been called to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ. According to this mystery, God has one message for all people.

Paul said that according to the mystery of Ephesians, Gentiles are partakers of God’s promise in Christ, but clearly that promise is not the promise of Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom. Paul never even mentions Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom in his prison epistles. However, the promise of redemption through the blood of Christ is still at the forefront of Paul’s message. We, as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ are very much partakers in God’s promise concerning the suffering savior Who was wounded for our transgressions, and by Whose stripes we are healed, but we do not hope for Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom.

The mystery of Ephesians is not that Christ died for our sins but that God had a plan for the aftermath of Israel’s rejection of the resurrected Christ. It appears that all three members of the Godhead took council together before the foundation of the world, as they planned for Israel’s rejection of the New Covenant and the calling out of the Church which is the Body of Christ. The Church which is the Body of Christ was the best kept secret of all time, and God called the Apostle Paul to reveal this mystery to the world in the prison epistles.

Ephesians 2 (Part 1)

2008-02-21T19:47:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 2 Part 1
Bible Study Time 6-29-05

In Ephesians, Chapter 1, the Apostle Paul details the spiritual blessings that God has bestowed upon us. We were chosen before the foundation of the world, and we were predestined to be adopted as the Sons of God. Because we have redemption through His blood and forgiveness for sins, we stand before God as holy and without blame. Therefore, we are accepted in Jesus Christ, the beloved One.

What a contrast as we move into Chapter 2 and see Paul’s description of what we were before we met the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 1 says:

Ephesians 2:1 (NKJ)
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

We used to be dead in our trespasses and sins, but now we have been made alive in Jesus Christ. In Chapter 1, Paul prayed that the saints of Ephesus would be able to understand the power that God exercised when He raised Christ up from the dead. Now he says that God has exercised that same power to bring us from death into life.

Paul had already laid the groundwork for this discussion in his letter to the Romans. In Romans 5, Paul explained that sin came into the world through one man. Of coarse, that one man was Adam, who is the father of us all in a natural sense. As a result of Adam’s sin, all of us inherited the sin nature. Each person, from Adam to the present time, has been born with a propensity to sin because of that inherited sin nature.

As cute and as innocent as little babies are, you can’t help but adore them and be thankful to God for them. But there has never been a baby born yet who entered into this world saying, “Pardon me. I didn’t mean to put you to so much trouble.”

No, babies let you know pretty quickly that they expect you to drop everything to take care of them. When they’re hungry, they don’t say, “Go ahead and take care of whatever your doing, but if you get a chance, I sure would appreciate a bottle of milk.” Babies are born with a natural instinct that says, “I am the center of the universe and all activities should revolve around me.”

Well, that’s OK for babies, but it speaks volumes about our nature. When those tendencies, when those attitudes, continue in our hearts as we get older, we see the devastating effects in our homes, in our schools, and in our communities. Adults who don’t deal effectively with the sin nature will find themselves locked in the grips of the works of the flesh. In Galatians 5, Paul declares:

Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJ)
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like;

In these works of the flesh the basic selfishness with which we are born is clearly seen under intense magnification. The Lord Jesus said that we could fulfill all of the law of God if we could just learn to love one another. Paul reiterated this same thought when he said:

Galatians 5:14 (NKJ)
14 . . . all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

However, the sad news is that we do not possess within ourselves the capacity to love our neighbors. Our sin nature takes us in the opposite direction. It takes us where we do not even want to go. Paul said in Romans 7, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”

One of the saddest and most interesting aspects of the sin nature is that it will lead us in directions that defy sound logic. In years past, we have seen national politicians essentially assured of victory who were willing to risk it all to break into the opposing headquarters to increase their odds of victory. This defies sound logic. We have seen individuals worth millions of dollars who risk it all to trade a stock based on insider information. The old nature has the capacity to tear down the fabric of good sound logic.

When the Lord Jesus came to the earth from the glory of heaven, he was born not as a child of Adam but as the Son of God. He was not afflicted with the sin nature. When He was driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and tempted by the devil, He did not succumb to the illogical demands of the devil.

The devil demanded that the Lord turn a stone into bread, but Jesus knew instinctively that His relationship with God was more important than food for his human body. He had been with the Father. He knew the glory of heaven. Even if He starved to death, He would never sacrifice the glory of heaven for a taste of bread.

The devil offered the Lord Jesus the kingdoms of this world if Jesus would bow down and worship him, but the Lord Jesus knew the power of God, and that any authority which the devil had over the kingdoms of this world would be short lived. He also knew that the glory of the Father would last forever. Without the help of the sin nature, the devil could not destroy the sound logic of the Spirit of God.

When the devil demanded that the Lord Jesus should cast Himself off of the highest point of temple to see if the angels would come to His rescue, the Lord Jesus knew better than to test the Father. God is not One who allows Himself to be tested by man. God is the God of all creation, and He accepts those who come to Him by faith. The Lord Jesus Christ is our supreme example of One whose faith never failed or even faltered. He had no sin nature to confuse His mind or alter the devotion of His heart.

We as humans, on the other hand, must find a way to escape the clutches of the sin nature if we are to find peace with God and victory over sin. As long as we live under the domination of the sin nature, Paul says we are walking dead men with no spiritual life.

This was our condition before we met the Lord Jesus Christ. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We walked according to the course of this world and according to the prince of the power of the air. We were driven to fulfill the desires of the flesh, and we were motivated by our hatred for others, just like everyone else.

Paul alludes to the power and authority of the devil when he speaks of the prince of the power of the air. Indeed, the one who dared to tempt the Lord Jesus is still very active today. The devil has less authority now than He did in Jesus’ day in that according to Colossians 2, when Christ died upon the cross, He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them as He triumphed over them.

However, the devil still works in the children of disobedience, and Paul says that we were once under His sway as we went about fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. But in Ephesians 2 and verse 4 we read:

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NKJ)
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Only in Jesus Christ do we find the wherewithal to really escape the grip of the sin nature. Good parents train their children to keep the selfishness of the sin nature under control, and fortunately most people are able to avoid the most extreme works of the flesh. But that sort of “self control” is often motivated by strong social restraints which promise dire consequences to those who yield to the outward manifestations of the sin nature.

Once I was talking to a man about spiritual things, and he made the statement to me that the only purpose for churches is to help keep people under control. This seems to be a view that is shared by many people. This gentleman seemed to think that he really did not need church as long as he was able to exercise good self control.

When Martin Luther began to preach the beautiful truths of the book of Romans, that people are saved by grace through faith and not by good works, the organized church persecuted Luther saying that his theology would be the ruin of decent society.

Well, it certainly is true the people who are trying to manage and reform the sin nature will need every bit of help they can get. They will need tremendous social pressure to put a guard around the sin nature. But even those who are able to control the outward deeds of the flesh still have the selfish motivations of the sin nature. Every good deed will still be characterized by their own selfish desires.

The other day, I was talking to a minister friend of mine who told me about a time when he was called to do a funeral service. Shortly after that, he got a call from the pastor of the deceased, and that pastor was very upset because he had not been called first when the arrangements for the funeral were being made.

Situations like that can be very disappointing because they illustrate how often people dedicate their lives to do good things, but they have never really been set free from the destructive forces of the sin nature.

God’s solution for the sin nature was not to reform it or control it. His solution was to nail it to the cross of Calvary. We were dead in trespasses and sins, but God made us alive. He brought us out of the realm of death and into the realm of life in Jesus Christ.

Just like God brought the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt and into the promised land, He has brought us out of the realm of darkness and into the realm of His glorious light. Colossians 1 says:

Colossians 1:13-14 (NKJ)
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 2 says:

Colossians 2:13-14 (NKJ)
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Colossians 2 also makes it very clear that our deliverance was accomplished by the work which God accomplished for us in the spiritual realm. Verse 11 says that in Christ, we were circumcised with the circumcision made without hands by the circumcision of Christ.

Of coarse, the circumcision of Christ refers to His physical death. The prophet Daniel used a similar expression when he predicted that the Messiah would be cut off after 69 weeks. Christ came to earth in a body of flesh and that body of flesh was cut off from the land of the living. But notice that Christ’s circumcision was accomplished by the hand of God. Jesus said in John 10:

John 10:15, 18 (NKJ)
15 "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
18 "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."

We were separated from the sin nature by the circumcision of Christ, and no human hand was allowed to touch this sacred ceremony. This was a circumcision made without hands.

Verse 12 goes on to say that we were buried with Christ in baptism, and we were raised with Christ through faith in the working of God who raised Christ from the dead. Again, this is a sacred spiritual baptism which is accomplished by the working of God.

Human religion should be careful about trying to put a human hand upon the ceremony which God has determined that He will perform. In Exodus 20:25, God told the children of Israel:

Exodus 20:25 (NKJ)
25 '. . . if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.

In this same way, our baptism into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is something that God has determined that He will do. Let us not profane this sacred ceremony with human hands.

It was the indescribable power of God which raised Christ from the dead, and it is that same power which baptizes us into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to transfer us from the realm of death into the realm of eternal life.

Ephesians 2 (Part 2)

2008-02-21T19:44:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 2 Part 2
Bible Study Time 7-3-05

In Ephesians, Chapter 2, Paul says:

Ephesians 2:1-2
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

Paul addressed the Ephesians knowing their background in idolatry, sexual immorality and sorcery. He knew that they knew first hand the powerful forces of Satan. I remember when the Harry Potter movies came out, I heard a Pastor on a TV talk show saying that these movies promoted witchcraft. He reminded the audience that witchcraft is not necessarily Satanism.

However, we see here in Ephesians 2 that Satan is the force behind all of the evils of this world. He is the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience. Satan is the force behind all sin.

Then Paul says in verse 3:

Ephesians 2:3 (NKJ)
3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

We all acted in times past according to the lusts of the flesh. Paul obviously was including himself in this. As he looked back on his labors in the religion of the Pharisees, Paul could see that his actions were motivated by the devil.

He had actively opposed the Lord Jesus Christ, but on the road to Damascus, the Lord said to Paul, “Is it hard for you to kick against the goads?” God had given Paul a thorn which drove a little deeper with every step, and that thorn was Paul’s conscience.

Every time Paul lied about a believer to put them in prison, that thorn would go a little deeper. Every time Paul paid someone to lie about believers, that thorn would go a little deeper. But Paul kept on doing what he was doing because he was driven, he was energized by Satan.

So Paul said, “We all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath.”

Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJ) says:
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like

Paul knew that he was just as guilty of these things as the people in Ephesus, but he gives us the good news in verse 4 which says:

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NKJ)
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

He says that God stepped in and did for us what we could not do for ourselves. But God,... saved us by His grace and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

As we have seen, there are many distinctions between the prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians and the rest of Paul’s epistles, but when Paul says in verse six that God has raised us up to sit with Christ in heavenly places, that is one of those features that really sets the prison epistles apart. Only in the prison epistles did Paul say that believers are seated in the heavenly places, that our position is in the heavenly places, that our realm of blessing is in the heavenly places.

In the pre-prison epistles, the offer of the kingdom was still being offered and that resulted in an earthly focus. However, after Israel’s kingdom offer was set aside at the end of the book of Acts, Paul began to reveal the blessings which are ours in the heavenly realms.

It is sad but true that some believers today are still content to focus upon the earth. Especially when things are going pretty well down here, we may just want to hang on to these things. In fact, that is one of the stumbling blocks associated with prosperity. It will take our eyes off of the heavenly places where we find the true blessings of God. Paul said to Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:8-9 (KJV)
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

The things of this world are but temporary, and they fade like the grass that withers under the sun. The Lord Jesus said,

Matthew 16:26-27 (NKJ)
26 " . . . what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

The lasting rewards are those which are given by the Lord Jesus Christ to those who are faithful to Him. If we have our eyes focused on Him and on our position in the heavenlies, we will be able to keep right on enjoying our spiritual blessings even when we go through hard times here on the earth.

We are members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and Jesus Christ, as the Head of the Body, is our source of joy and peace. We live with the full assurance of the truth of Ephesians 2: 8 and 9.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

These two verses essentially recapture the message of the book of Romans for us. We were living under the death penalty, but God saved us by His grace. Salvation is the gift of God to those who believe. Of coarse, the book of Romans goes into greater detail and reveals that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It says that all those who try to live by the law, fall short of God’s standard of righteousness.

Romans proves that nobody was ever been saved by the Law for even Abraham was saved by faith before he was circumcised and before the law was given. The righteousness of God came upon Abraham because Abraham believed the promise of God. Man has nothing in which he can boast when it comes to salvation.

But according to verse 10, we are not only saved from the realm of darkness, but we are brought into the light of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:10 (NKJ)
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

In Vacation Bible School this week we emphasized that we are empowered by the Son of God to live for Jesus Christ. It is God’s power working in us that allows us to walk as children of light. Obviously, we can not boast in the workmanship of God. If God through His own creative genius turns our lives into a work of art which is admired by all, how are we to boast in that? This is God’s doing, and He deserves all the glory.

When we are burdened down with sin, God’s power can set us free. I was in my front yard the other day when I got into a conversation with a gentleman who was working in my neighborhood. In the coarse of our conversation, he told me that God had set him free from alcohol. He said that alcohol had just about ruined his life when God touched his heart and set him free. He said that from that moment, he never had another craving for alcohol.

We also experience freedom from bitterness as we yield to God’s workmanship. I know a lady who wants a child so much, but it just hasn’t happened. She and her have prayed for a child for years, but God has said no. They have had every medical test imaginable, and every test has shown nothing wrong. The doctors said, “If there’s nothing wrong, we have nothing to fix.”

The lady grew angry with God. She thought to herself, “I’m a good person. I deserve a child. I deserve a child more than that person or that person. It’s just not fair.”

In the process of working through all of her thoughts and feelings, she got even more angry with God, but she never gave up on God. People would tell her that she just needed to trust the Lord because the Lord knows what’s best. She would respond by saying, “Everyone tells me that, but I’m just not there yet.”

Just the other day, it blessed my heart to hear her say that she had learned to trust the Lord. She said that she had to come to grips with the fact that she really did not deserve a child and that everything we have is a gift from God which is given by His grace. She said that she had learned that she needs to give every aspect of her life to God. And trust Him.

Now I’m here to tell you that that is the workmanship of God.

Ephesians 2:11
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

When we get saved, God starts that work of art. He starts making us into something beautiful. He starts shaping us and molding us into the image of His dear Son.

In some ways this lady was fortunate because she did not have anyone to blame but God. Clearly, God was making this call. As a result she was forced to deal directly with God.

I think it is true that when we face a disappointment, the first thing we do is look around for someone to blame. And if we can find someone to blame, we may just live the rest of our lives with bitterness toward that person or those people. But what we really need to do is take the matter to God.

Is God really in charge of all things? Is God really in control of all things? If He is not in control then He’s just waiting like we are to see what’s going to happen next. But the Holy Spirit of God has given countless millions assurance that God is in control and that He knows what He’s doing. We can trust Him. He has a plan for us, and His plan is good.

When God works in our hearts to deliver us from sin, He is putting the mark of His workmanship on our lives. When God works in our hearts to deliver us from bitterness, He is putting His initials on that work of art He is creating in us.

A third aspect of God’s workmanship is seen when He gives us the necessary abilities and talents to do what He has called us to do. Of coarse, when we think of this we have to think of Moses. God told Moses to go down into Egypt and deliver the children of Israel. Moses said, “I can’t do that. I’m not important enough to stand before Pharoah.” But God said, “I’ll be with you.”

Moses said, “I’m not impressive enough to convince the children of Israel to follow me.” God said, “I’ll do miracles to prove that I have sent you.”

Moses said, “I still don’t think I can do this because I’m not very eloquent, and I have a speech problem.”

Then according to Exodus 4:11 God said:

Exodus 4:11-12 (NKJ)
11 . . . "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?
12 "Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."

When Moses insisted on an assistant who could speak for him, God in His anger agreed to give Moses his brother, Aaron. But when Moses got to Egypt, wouldn’t you know it, Moses did all the talking.

We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.

Ephesians 2 (Part 3)

2008-02-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 2 (Part 3)
Bible Study Time 7-10-05

In Ephesians 2, the Apostle Paul reminds us of two things regarding our past. First, we were at one time dead in trespasses and sins, but now by God’s grace we have been made alive in Jesus Christ. Before we were transferred into the kingdom of light, we desperately pursued our own personal happiness. This allusive dream resulted in frustration and disappointment. We were spiritually dead.

Ephesians 2:4-6 (NKJ)
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Then the next verse says that God did this so that:

Ephesians 2:7(NKJ)
7 . . . in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

If you recall, back in Chapter 1, Paul prayed that we would know the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in us. And this is it. Every blessing that God bestows upon us throughout all of eternity will bear a constant testimony to His grace. The more He blesses us, the more His name is glorified. I believe we would have to call that a win/win situation.

The second thing that Paul reminds us of in Ephesians 2 concerning our past is that, as Gentiles, we were at one time far from Israel’s covenants and promises. In verse 11 we read:

Ephesians 2:11-16
11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh -- who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands --
12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

This passage shows the contempt that the Jews had for the Gentiles. This contempt was based on a misinterpretation of some Old Testament passages. For instance in Genesis 17, God told Abraham:

Genesis 17:13-14 (NKJ)
13 "He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 "And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

At first glance, it appears from these verses that God really hates the uncircumcised, but a closer look reveals only that God was very serious about this ritual of circumcision and that He intended for it to be strictly enforced.

However, the Jews of the succeeding generations took this commandment to mean that God literally despised the uncircumcised nations. This false notion was reinforced by God’s commandment that Israel refrain from making alliances with pagan nations. As the nation of Israel entered into the promised land, God said:

Deuteronomy 7:1-4 (NKJ)
1 "When the LORD your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, . . .
2 "and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them.
3 "Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son.
4 "For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.

If these were the only words of the Old Testament, we would almost have to conclude that God really despised the uncircumcised nations. However, if we consider all of the Old Testament scriptures, we quickly see the heart of God.

When God brought Israel to the foot of Mt. Sinai, the first words He spoke to Israel were:

Exodus 19:5-6 (NKJ)
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Israel was called as a special treasure to God above all people, but she was called to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. A priest is one who acts as a mediator between God and man.

Therefore, Israel’s special calling was to serve the Gentile nations and lead them to God. They would do this by means of their example of holiness and devotion to God. Then, as God blessed the nation of Israel above all other nations on the face of the earth, this would also draw the nations to Christ.

God did not hate the Gentile nations at all. On the contrary, He wanted to show His great love for them by bringing them to Himself through the nation of Israel. At Mt. Sinai, God gave Moses the rules for the eating of the Passover and said:

Exodus 12:43-45 (NKJ)
43 "This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it.
44 "But every man's servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.
45 "A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it.

Exodus 12:48-49 (NKJ)
48 "And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat it.
49 "One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you."

From this it is clearly seen that God’s intention was to maintain the integrity of the symbolism contained within the ritual of circumcision. Circumcision symbolized the cutting off of the flesh. Today we know that no person can come to God except he be spiritually circumcised through faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

God was not using circumcision as a means of discriminating against all Gentiles. In reality, God was opening His arms to the Gentiles. All they had to do was show their love and devotion to God by being circumcised. After their circumcision, they could live with full privileges in the Jewish community. God made it clear that there was to be one law for everyone, whether Jew or Gentile.

But Israel hardened her heart to the plan of God and rejected her calling as a kingdom of priests. Rather than leading the nations to God, Israel chose to follow after the nations. They came to Samuel and said, “We want a king like all the other nations.” Samuel was furious, but God said, “Samuel , they have not rejected you. They have rejected me.”

Israel made alliances with the Gentiles nations and followed after their gods. In this condition, they were no longer God’s special treasure. However, they did not realize their fallen state. They continued to think that they were God’s chosen people simply because they had the sign of circumcision, but they were dead in trespasses and sins.

They despised the uncircumcision They could not teach the true meaning of circumcision because they could not teach what they did not know. Circumcision symbolized the cutting off of the works of the flesh, but the Jews were immersed in the lusts of the flesh.

In Ephesians 2, Paul reminds the Gentile believers that they were once aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants and the promises. The circumcision looked down on the uncircumcision, but the Jews themselves were largely responsible for the lost condition of the Gentiles.

After the death of Christ, God offered Israel the opportunity to become a true kingdom of priests under the power and authority of the New Covenant. The Lord Jesus had shed the blood of the New Covenant and with that blood came the power for the Jews to become the Sons of God, as Hosea had prophesied. But Israel once again refused.

When Paul got to Rome at the end of the book of Acts, Paul said, “Let it be known, that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it.” From his Roman prison, Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, and in these letters, Paul revealed the Church which is the Body of Christ. In these letters, he never mentioned Israel’s hope of the New Covenant Kingdom.

In Ephesians 2, Paul says:

Ephesians 2:12-13 (NKJ)
12 . . . you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Israel failed God, and she failed the Gentile nations. But this did not surprise God at all. When Moses struck the rock in the wilderness for the second time, he was told that he would not be allowed to go into the promised land. This pictured the fact that the Old Covenant Law could never take Israel into the promised kingdom.

Israel could only enter into the promised kingdom through the power of the blood of the New Covenant. But here in Ephesians, Israel had already rejected the resurrected Christ and the blood of the New Covenant, and Paul tells the Gentiles, “Now, you who were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” The blood which Israel rejected is the same blood that has brought us into a relationship with God.

Well, if our relationship with Christ is not based on Israel’s covenants and promises, what is the basis for our relationship with Christ. In this letter to the Ephesians, Paul spells out the details of our relationship with Christ. In Chapter 1, and verse 22, Paul says that God gave Christ to be Head over all things to the Church which is His Body. Then in Chapter 5, he says that we are members of His Body, of His flesh and of His bones.

This is new. This is different. This doctrine is found only in Paul’s prison epistles. From the time of Abraham, the only plan that God revealed for human beings was the plan that He revealed through Israel. In Israel’s plan, God’s arms were open to Gentiles, but Gentiles had to come to God through Israel.

Now, in the Church which is the Body of Christ, believing Gentiles come to God on an equal basis with believing Jews. When Israel rejected the resurrected Christ, it opened the door for God to reveal this program of the Church which He had kept secret since the foundation of the world. This was a great mystery.

Someday God is going to catch up the Church to be with Him in heaven. At that point our mystery age will be over, and God will resume His dealings with Israel according to the covenants and promises.

It may be that as you have listened to God’s word this morning, you have become aware of your need for Jesus Christ. If that is the case, I have good news for you. You can accept Christ as your personal Savior right now, right where you are. You do not have to go through any ritual, and you don’t have to join any earthly organization. Simply call upon the name of the Lord and thou shalt be saved. No one can pray that prayer for you because that is something between you and God. But if you believe that Christ died on the cross for your sins, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures, if you call upon Him today, He will save you.

When you accept Christ, you may have questions or just need someone to talk to. Feel free to call me or write to me; we will try to help you any way that we can.

Ephesians 2 (Part 4)

2008-02-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 2 Part 4
Bible Study Time 7-17-05

In Ephesians, Chapter 2, the Apostle Paul first reminds us that we were at one time dead in trespasses and sins but that God has now saved us by His grace and brought us to life in Jesus Christ. Then he reminds those of us who are Gentiles that we were at one time aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from Israel’s covenants of promise.

Now when Paul says this about our past relationship to Israel’s covenants, we just kind of naturally expect him to conclude that we have now been brought into the commonwealth of Israel and that we have now become partakers in Israel’s covenants of promise. However, that is not Paul’s conclusion. Paul simply says that now we have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ.

Under the economy of the Mosaic Law. Gentiles had to come to God through the ceremonies and rituals of the Law. For instance, when God gave the rules for observing the Passover, He said:

Exodus 12:48 (NKJ)
48 " . . . when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.

A Gentile had to be circumcised to draw near to God under the Law. This kept the Gentiles at a distance.

Therefore, in Ephesians 2, Paul was announcing a dramatic change. He said that now Gentiles can draw near to God not through Israel’s covenants of promise but through the blood of Christ. In fact, Paul is going to conclude in the next few verses that the commandments relating to ordinances were abolished by the work of Christ upon the cross.

Rather than being brought into Israel’s covenants as a result of Christ’s work on the cross, we have been brought near to God apart from the covenants of Israel. This understanding is tantamount to understanding the position and hope of the Church which is the Body of Christ.

In Ephesians 1, Paul said that today God has given Christ to be Head over all things to the Church which is His Body. In Ephesians 5, he said that believers today are members of Christ’s Body, of His flesh and of His bone. Here in Ephesians 2, he says that we come to Christ through simple faith in the power of the blood which was shed for us. The commandments regarding rituals and ceremonies were nailed to the cross.

In Colossians 2:13 we read:

Colossians 2:13-14 (KJV)
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

This clear teaching of the Apostle Paul refutes any idea that the Church today has replaced the nation of Israel in God’s overall plan and purpose. Some have theorized that the Old Covenant Law was for the nation of Israel, but when Israel rejected the New Covenant, God gave it to us as members of the Church.

If that were the case, then certainly, those things which were associated with the New Covenant, such as water baptism and sign gifts, would belong to us. But the Bible plainly declares that the New Covenant belongs to Israel just like the Old Covenant Law belonged to Israel.

God spoke through Jeremiah and said:

Jeremiah 31:31-33 (NKJ)
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Jeremiah 31:35-37 (NKJ)
35 Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night:
36 "If those ordinances depart from before Me, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever."
37 "If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says the LORD.

In other words, God’s commitment to Israel is as sure as the sun and the moon and the stars in the heavens. According to the scriptures, when Israel rejected the New Covenant, God set Israel’s covenants aside on a temporary basis to call out the Church which is the Body of Christ. Our relationship with God is not based on Israel’s covenants of promise. Our relationship with Christ is based on the blood of Christ.

After the cross the New Covenant Kingdom was offered to Israel and was confirmed by many signs such as speaking in tongues, healings, and the casting out of demons. These signs were given to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant Kingdom was offered to Israel throughout the Acts period, but Israel steadfastly refused to accept it.

Then God revealed the Church which is the Body of Christ through the Apostle Paul in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, and quite suddenly we see no water baptism and no sign gifts.

When we talk about the prophecies concerning the kingdom, we have to account for the prophecies regarding the antichrist and the tribulation period. Some who claim that God has given us Israel’s kingdom, also claim that the prophecies concerning the antichrist were fulfilled when the Roman General Titus destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Apparently, Titus did go into the temple and declare himself to be God. It follows that if Titus was the antichrist of prophecy, then the tribulation period has already come and gone, and we are now in the New Covenant Kingdom.

There are several problems with this theology. First, Paul said that we, as members of the Church, have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ. He did not say that we have been brought near to God by Israel’s covenants of promise. If God has given us the kingdom, then we have been brought near to God through the covenants of promise. Paul never said that.

Second, the Apostle John gave new prophesies concerning the coming antichrist in the book of the Revelation which was written around 90 A.D., some 20 years after Titus destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. John did not say that the antichrist has come. He said that the antichrist will come.

Third, this theology has no explanation for the revelation of the mystery which was given to Paul in the prison epistles. Paul said that the revelation given to him concerning the mystery of the Church had been hidden in God since before the creation of the world and was never made known to men of other ages. If God has simply given to us the blessings which were promised to Israel, then all of our blessings are a matter of prophecy which were many times foretold.

Fourth, if believers today are simply the beneficiaries of Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom then why did the miracles cease after the Acts period? Why did the rituals which were part of Israel’s program pass away.

Well, this is just a partial list of why we can not be in the New Covenant Kingdom now. We do not have time to look at all of the prophecies regarding the kingdom, but even a quick look at the prophecies will reveal that the kingdom awaits its fulfillment at some point in the future.

We today come to God through the blood of Christ. No longer are we held at bay by Israel’s covenants of promise:

Ephesians 2:14-16 (NKJ)
14 For (Christ) Himself is our peace, who has made both (Jew and Gentile) one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,

Today, there is no distinction between the Jew and the Gentile in the sight of God because God’s covenants with Israel have been set aside. Jesus Christ broke down that middle wall of separation:

Ephesians 2:15-16
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

Now this is one of those areas which really stands out as being different from Paul’s Acts period epistles. In Romans 11 we read in verse 26:

Romans 11:26-29 (NKJ)
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins."
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Here it is evident that God was still dealing with the Jews and the Gentiles as two separate groups of people. In Romans 3, Paul said that there was no difference between the Jew and the Gentile in the sense that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and in the sense that all who come to God in faith are justified freely by His grace.

However, in Romans 11 there was still a big difference between the Jew and Gentile in regard to the election. He said that concerning the election the Jews were beloved of God for the sake of the fathers. In other words, God was not going to turn His back on the promises He had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Earlier in Romans 11, Paul had said that the Gentiles were being grafted into the stock of Israel, and as we all know, a grafted limb maintains its own identity and bears its own distinct fruit.

In Ephesians 2, Paul says that today, Jesus Christ has broken down the middle wall of separation between the Jew and Gentile. Obviously, Israel’s program has been set aside, and the concept of Israel’s election is no longer operative. Today, God is reconciling both the Jew and the Gentile to God in one body by the cross.

As I close this morning, I would just like to say that these things may seem irrelevant to some who say, “I believe in Jesus and that’s all I need to know.” Well, it is a wonderful thing to know that all we have to do to be saved is to believe in Jesus, but we can not have that assurance unless we have a clear understanding of Paul’s teachings concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ.

When theologians go back to Israel’s program, inevitably you find other things thrown in to the process of salvation. It may be church membership, a ritual, or a spiritual gift. When we see Paul’s message for us, we can rest assured that faith alone in Christ alone is God’s requirement for salvation.

If you don’t know the Lord today, I would invite you to accept Him even now. If you have faith alone in Christ alone, you can be saved today. Call unto Him and He will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.

Ephesians 2 (Part 5)

2008-02-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 2 Part 5
Bible Study Time 7-24-05

In Ephesians, Chapter 2, we have been looking at the fact that God was able to abolish the Law which had resulted in a spiritual separation between the Jews and Gentiles. Christ abolished the Law when He was crucified upon the cross. In Ephesians 2:14, we read:

Ephesians 2:14-16
14 For (Christ) Himself is our peace, who has made both (the Jew and the Gentile) one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
16 and that He might reconcile (both the Jew and the Gentile) to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

Last week we saw in Romans 11 that during the Acts period, Paul said that Gentiles were being grafted into the root or stock of Israel which is a far cry from the concept expressed by Paul in Ephesians 2. A branch that is grafted to a tree is dependent upon the tree for its survival. All of its sustenance must come from the tree which bears the grafted limb. In Ephesians 2, the Gentiles are not grafted into the Jewish stock, but Jews and Gentiles are reconciled to God in one body with neither being dependent upon the other, while both are completely dependent upon Christ.

In the New Covenant economy of the Acts period, believing Gentiles were waiting for the Jews to be saved because the kingdom could not come until the Jews accepted Christ as their Messiah. God’s blessings for the Gentiles had to flow through the Jewish stock. Paul told the Gentiles in Romans 11:

Romans 11:18 (NKJ)
18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

Another aspect of the New Covenant economy that is seen in the grafted branch is the fact that a grafted branch never really becomes one with the tree. It always maintains its own identity, and it bears its own particular fruit. In like manner, the Jews and Gentiles never could become one under the New Covenant. They each maintained their own separate identities.

Well, this New Covenant economy had become a thing of the past by the time Paul wrote the book of Ephesians. The offer of the New Covenant Kingdom had been set aside, and Paul had been called to reveal the Church which is the Body of Christ. By this time God was reconciling both Jews and Gentiles in one body by the cross.

The analogy of the grafted branch illustrated beautifully the position of the Gentile to the Jew under the New Covenant economy, and the analogy of the body illustrates beautifully the relationship of the Gentile to the Jew in the economy of the Church, the Body of Christ. The various members of a body have different functions, but the identity of each member is lost to the identity of the whole person, while the identity of the whole person is determined by the head.

According to Ephesians 1, God gave Christ to be Head over all things to the Church which is His Body, and according to Ephesians 5, we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bone. We lose our identity as we become identified with Christ.

In Ephesians 3, Paul says that the unique feature of the Church the Body of Christ is that in this Church the Gentiles are fellow heirs and of the same body with the Jews, and they are partakers of God’s promise in Christ through the gospel.

Notice that Paul does not say that Gentiles are now partakers in the covenants of promise with Israel. Paul did not say that in Chapter 2, and neither does he say it in Chapter 3. Paul simply says that we, as Gentiles, are partakers in God’s promise in Christ through the gospel.

Isaiah spoke of the one who would be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. One who would take upon Himself the chastisement of our peace and would bring healing by His stripes. This is the promise in Christ which comes to us through the gospel.

Praise the Lord, we are partakers in this promise, and the ordinances of the Law no longer hold us back from the spiritual healing that comes through the blood of Christ. The Law was nailed to the cross so that now we can be partakers in God’s promise in Christ through the gospel.

In the Old Testament, Israel was physically near to God because God put His tabernacle in their camp. God talked to them through the prophets, and the required rituals were easily accessible. The Jews were able to observe first hand the Shekinah glory of God in the tabernacle and then in the temple. His glory remained with them until the temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and at that time, Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord depart from the temple.

Later, the temple was rebuilt, but the glory of the Lord never returned. By the time Jesus appeared in Jewish history, Herod had built a tremendously beautiful temple for the Jews, but he had hired his own High Priest. The Shekinah glory never appeared in that temple.

Jesus Christ came unto His own but His own received Him not because their hearts were far from God. The Jews of Jesus day were just as lost as the pagan Gentiles.

As John the Baptist and Jesus came preaching the message of the New Covenant Kingdom, their focus was upon the Jews. John and Jesus went only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel telling them to repent and be baptized for the kingdom of heaven was at hand. After the cross the Apostles went preaching the message of the New Covenant Kingdom and again went only to the Jews until Acts, Chapter 10, when God convinced Peter to talk to Cornelius. God called Paul to go the Gentiles, but as he went preaching the message of the New Covenant, he said that he also went to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

At Mt. Sinai, God had called Israel to be a kingdom of priests, and Peter confirmed this hope when, as the Apostle to the Jews, he said:

1 Peter 2:5 (NKJ)
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:9 (NKJ)
9 . . . you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

The Jews were given every opportunity to believe, but they never responded to the call of God. God was calling them to Himself. He was offering them the kingdom for which they had been waiting for thousands of years. But when their Messiah stood before them at the Passover, they said, “Crucify Him, we have no king but Caesar.” When the Spirit of God was poured out upon the Apostles at Pentecost, they said, “These men are drunk.”

When God set their program aside and began calling out members of the Church the Body of Christ, God did not focus on any one group of people. In the economy of this church, all people have an equal opportunity to come to God. All people come to God on the same basis, by recognizing their sinful state and clinging to Jesus Christ for the salvation which He freely offers to all who call upon His name. God is now reconciling both Jews and Gentiles to Himself in one body through the cross.

Last week we talked a little bit about when this economy of the Church the Body of Christ began, and this could be an important question. If we see two different programs with different expectations and different manifestations, we might need to know when one stopped and the other started. We might need to know which program we are a part of.

In the New Covenant economy the focus in on the Jews, the rituals of water baptism and circumcision were practiced, and the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit were evident. In the economy of the Church the Body of Christ, we see a focus on all people everywhere while the rituals and sign gifts are absent.

When did the Church which is the Body of Christ begin? Paul stated that it was made possible when Christ abolished the Law at the cross. This tells us that it did not start before the cross.

Paul specifically taught the details of the Church which is the Body of Christ in his prison epistles. Therefore, this church had to have begun before the these epistles were written.

In Acts, Chapter 2, we read that 3000 people were added to the church, but this was a church which clearly was waiting for the New Covenant Kingdom. This is evident by the presence of water baptism and the sign gifts as well as by the fact that they sold all of their possessions and lived together.

Some people believe that the Church the Body of Christ began at Acts Chapter 9 with the salvation of Paul, while others believe that it began in Acts 13 when Paul said to the Jews:

Acts 13:46 (KJV)
46 . . . It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

Others believe that it began in Acts 28 when Paul quoted Isaiah 6 to the Jews and then said:

Acts 28:28
28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and they will hear it.

Well, none of these passages really gives us a definite answer, nor does any other passage. We know that this church started sometime after the cross and before the writing of the prison epistles.

We also know that if God did start the Church which is the Body of Christ during the Acts period, He never allowed Paul to reveal in his writings the unique features of this church until the writing of the prison epistles.

Several times in Paul’s Acts period epistles, he got very close to the doctrines of the prison epistles. In Romans and in I Corinthians, he referred to the body of Christ, but he never specifically referred to this body as the Church whose institutional Head is Jesus Christ.

In Romans and Galatians, Paul said that there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, but it is obvious that Paul was speaking about their spiritual state because in both books he continued to emphasize Israel’s unique position in regard to the New Covenant hope.

Since God did not tell us when the Church the Body of Christ began, it is evident that we do not need to know when it began. It is really more significant to know when the New Covenant ministry was set aside because that is the ministry with which the rituals and sign gifts were associated.

When we look at the internal evidence of the prison epistles, suddenly there is no mention of the New Covenant while the rituals and sign gifts are conspicuously absent. From this we judge that the New Covenant ministry was set aside somewhere between the events of Acts 28 and the writing of the prison epistles.

Ephesians 2 (Part 6)

2008-02-21T19:32:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 2 Part 6
Bible Study Time July 31, 2005

In the first chapter of the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul enumerates many of the spiritual blessings that believers possess today. Then he makes the glorious announcement that the Lord Jesus Christ now serve as the Head over all things to the Church which is His Body. In the second chapter, Paul reminds us that we were at one time dead in trespasses and sins. That we walked according to the course of this world which is under the dominion of the devil, himself.

But then Paul declares that God saved us simply because of His love, His mercy and His grace. Not by works of righteousness which we had done, but by His mercy He saved us and raised us up to sit with Christ in the heavenlies.

Of coarse, that sounds rather odd to us at first glance. How can we stand on earth while being seated in the heavenlies? In this statement Paul teaches a very important doctrine. There is a difference between the way God’s sees us and the way we see ourselves. If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that we are far from perfect as we live in this natural world, but God does not see our imperfections.

He could never fellowship with that which is imperfect. He requires absolute perfection. Part of the good news for us is that when we put our faith in Christ, we are baptized into Christ and His righteousness. From that moment on, God sees us in the righteousness of Christ. Paul put it this way in Colossians 1:

Colossians 1:21-22 (NKJ)
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight--

We are seated in the heavenlies because we are in Christ, and in God’s sight, we are holy, blameless and above reproach. As a result, we are challenged to reveal the glory of heaven to those around us. We may be the only tangible connection with heaven that unbelievers have. We need to make that connection real so as to attract the lost to Jesus Christ.

Being seated with Christ in the heavenlies and blessed with all spiritual blessings is not the end. God made this possible for a reason. God did these things so that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us. God has a great future planned for us, the glory of which our minds can not comprehend.

Then in verse 11 of Ephesians, Chapter 2, Paul reminds us Gentiles that we were once looked down on by the Jews because we were uncircumcised. The Law of Moses which required circumcision had kept us at a distance from the covenants of God. Paul said we were without hope and without God in the world, but verse 13 says that we have now been brought near to God by the blood of Christ.

God put an end to the law when Christ died on the cross. Circumcision and the other ordinances of the Law were abolished. God is now creating in Christ one new man from the Jews and from the Gentiles.

During the Acts period, God was offering the New Covenant Kingdom to Israel. In Romans 11, Paul said that the Gentiles were being grafted into Israel’s program. Since a grafted branch maintains its own identity and bears its own particular fruit, it stands to reason that in the kingdom program of that time the Jews had their calling, while the Gentiles had a separate calling.

In Paul’s prison epistles, that is not the case. Ephesians 2 declares that today God is calling out one new man from among the Jews and the Gentiles. There is neither Jew nor Gentile in the Church which is the Body of Christ.

Verse 17 of Ephesians 2 says:

Ephesians 2:17 (NKJ)
17 And (Jesus) came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He was a preacher. In His hometown of Nazareth, He quoted Isaiah 61 and said it spoke of Him. Isaiah 61 says that the Spirit of the Lord would be upon Christ to preach good tidings to the poor and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

The Bible says that after His temptation in the wilderness:

Matthew 4:17 (NKJ)
17 . . . Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

After Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law and many others in Capernaum, the people begged Jesus to stay with them, but He said:

Mark 1:37-38 (NKJ)
38 . . . "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."
39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.

When Jesus sent out His twelve apostles in Matthew, Chapter 10, He said:

Matthew 10:7 (NKJ)
7 "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

But notice what Jesus told these disciples during their commissioning. In Matthew 10 and verse 5 we read:

Matthew 10:5-6 (NKJ)
5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.
6 "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Jesus told these disciples to preach only to Jews. Only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. In the gospels, Jesus was preaching the New Covenant Kingdom, and that message had to go first to the Jews. It was not until after the cross that the message of the New Covenant went out to the Gentiles who upon believing were grafted into Israel’s kingdom program.

Today, however, Jesus Christ is preaching to the Gentiles and the Jews through the Apostle Paul. Paul repeatedly emphasized that God had called him to reveal the gospel of the grace of God as well as the great mystery concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ. Those who receive Paul’s message of God’s grace through faith in Christ are added to the Church which is the Body of Christ.

In Matthew 10, when the Lord sent the disciples out to preach to the Jews, He specifically told them to:

Matthew 10:8-10 (NKJ)
8 "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons . . .
9 "Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts,
10 " . . . for a worker is worthy of his food.

These signs were evident wherever the New Covenant message was taught, whether in the gospels or during the Acts period. However, we find no hint of such things in the prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians or Colossians.

Ephesians 2:14 says that Christ, Himself is our peace because He abolished the Law which had separated the Jew from the Gentile. In verse 17 we learn that Christ has come preaching peace to the Jew and to the Gentile because, according to verse 18, Jews and Gentiles have access to the Father by one Spirit, even the Holy Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit of God is our lifeline to God. The Lord Jesus told his disciples:

John 14:2-3
2 . . . I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself.

John 14:16-17
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.

Romans 8 confirms the gift of the Holy Spirit after the fact. In verse 13 we read:

Romans 8:13-16 (NKJ)
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Indeed, all believers have access to the Father by one Spirit. Now let’s continue in verse 19 of Ephesians 2:

Ephesians 2:19-22 (NKJ)
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone,
21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

What a blessing it is to know that all believers are members of the same household. When we look around and see so many different church organizations, it’s certainly confusing and somewhat discouraging. But the spiritual reality is that all believers regardless of their religious affiliations are members of the same household which Paul called the household of God.

Paul tells us that the household of God is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, yet Paul declares in Ephesians 3 and Colossians 1 that the mystery concerning the Church was never revealed to the apostles or prophets of other ages.

Both are true. The mystery concerning the Church was never revealed to or by the apostles and prophets, but the apostles and prophets did lay the foundation for the truth of the mystery for all scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped unto every good work.

The Old Testament Law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. In it we learn about Adam’s sin and the curse. We learn about God’s righteousness as well as His longsuffering. We learn about the blood which is required for redemption. All that was written by the apostles and prophets laid the foundation for the truth of the mystery concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ.

In the household of God, the apostles and prophets are the foundation. Christ is the cornerstone which holds the house together and gives it stability, while believers are the framework with each shaped and molded for a precision fit. We are the workmanship of Christ.

But this house is not just any house. It is the temple of God. It is the dwelling place of God in the Spirit. The Spirit of God dwells in us individually, and therefore, our bodies are the temple of God. But in addition to that, believers are the temple of God in a corporate sense.

In the first chapter of this book of Ephesians, Paul emphasized that we, as believers are in Christ. Our spiritual blessings are in Christ. We were chosen in Christ. We are accepted in Christ. But now Paul says that the opposite is true as well. Just as surely as we are in Christ, Christ is also in us. In Colossians 1, Paul says that the glory of the mystery concerning the Church is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Ephesians 3 (Part 1)

2008-02-21T19:29:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 3 Part 1
Bible Study Time 8-7-05

Last week we studied Ephesians, Chapter 2, where the Apostle Paul said that today God is creating one new man, one body, from Jews and Gentiles alike. Any Jew, anywhere, can accept Christ and become a part of this one new man. Any Gentile, anywhere, can accept Christ and become part of the one new man whom God is creating in the heavens. In Ephesians, Chapter 1, Paul called this new man the Church which is the Body of Christ.

Jesus Christ went only to the Jews in His earthly ministry, but today He is preaching peace to the Jews and to the Gentiles. This was made possible by the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary because his work upon the cross abolished that aspect of the Mosaic Law which was contained in ordinances. The Mosaic Law required a person to be circumcised to participate in the temple worship. When Christ shed His blood on the cross, He did away with that requirement so that today Jews and Gentiles fellowship together with Christ in one body.

The Apostle Paul starts Ephesians, Chapter 3, by saying, “For this reason.” Obviously, something is going to happen because of the revelation which was given in Chapter 2, but rather than finishing the thought, Paul digresses to provide a few more details regarding the revelation of the new man. In fact, Paul does not return to this thought until verse 14 where he says:

Ephesians 3:14 (NKJ)
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Paul was obviously overwhelmed by this revelation concerning the new man, and his response was to bow before the One who was wise enough to conceive this marvelous plan.

Now let’s go back to verse 1 to see what it was that diverted Paul’s attention. In verse 1, we read:

Ephesians 3:1-6 (NKJ)
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—
2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,
3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already,
4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),
5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:
6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,

Paul first of all reminded the Ephesians that he was in prison because of his ministry among the Gentiles. Paul had ministered in Ephesus for three years, and just before Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, he had stopped in Miletus and called for the elders of Ephesus. When the elders arrived, Paul said:

Acts 20:25 (NKJ)
25 "And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.

Paul went on to remind them of the fact that he had ministered among them for three years and that he had worked with his hands to provide for his own necessities. Then we read in verse 36 of Acts 20:

Acts 20:36-38 (NKJ)
36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
37 Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him,
38 sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

They knew the message that Paul had preached among the Gentiles. He had come to them preaching the kingdom of God and demonstrating through the power of the Holy Spirit that God was saving the Gentiles apart from the works of the Jewish law.

Obviously, as Paul set off for Rome, these gentlemen were fully aware of the fact that many of the Jews in Jerusalem were furious with Paul because of his ministry among the Gentiles. Their sorrow at Paul’s departure was justified for shortly after Paul got to Jerusalem, he was arrested and eventually sent to Rome.

Therefore, Paul said in Ephesians 3 that he was the prisoner of Jesus Christ for the Gentiles, and he went on to speak of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to him for the Gentiles. The word for dispensation in the original language is oikonomia. It means a stewardship. It is the same word used by the Lord when He told his disciples of the steward who was wasting the resources of his employer. The Lord said that the steward was called to give an account of his stewardship, and the word for stewardship is oikonomia.

It was the word used by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9, where he said:

1 Corinthians 9:17 (NKJ)
17 . . . if I (preach the gospel) willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

In this passage, Paul expressed the fact that he was pleased to go beyond the call of duty in his service for the Lord. He was not content to fulfill only the basic requirements of that which God had entrusted to him. When he said that he was entrusted with a stewardship, the original is again oikonomia.

Clearly, oikonomia simply means a stewardship, and if we use that definition in Ephesians it will help us clarify some of the complicated doctrines of that letter. In Ephesians 3, Paul said that God had given him the dispensation, or the stewardship, of the grace of God.

God has always saved people by His grace, but now Paul says that he has been given a special stewardship that relates specifically to the grace of God. He goes on to say that God had made known to him a mystery which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, namely that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body with the Jews. Then in verse 9, Paul says that God has called him to reveal to all people the fellowship of this mystery, and here again the word for fellowship is oikonomia which means stewardship.

At this point we have seen the stewardship of God’s grace and the stewardship of the mystery concerning the one body, but these two stewardships appear to be related to the stewardship of Chapter 1, where Paul said:

Ephesians 1:9-10 (NKJ)
9 (God has) made known to us the mystery of His will, . . .
10 that in the dispensation (or the stewardship) of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth . . .

Certainly, this stewardship in Chapter 1 relates to a future time, but it also relates to our present time for God is already in the process of gathering all things together in Christ. Colossians 1 confirms that God is already in the process of reconciling all things together in Christ.

Therefore it would appear that the two stewardships of Ephesians 3 and the stewardship of Ephesians 1 are really just one multifaceted stewardship which had been given to Paul. God gave to Paul the stewardship of His grace which relates to the union of Jews and Gentiles in one body known as the Church which is the Body of Christ, and which also relates to God’s larger purpose of gathering all things in heaven and earth together in Christ.

Now back in Chapter 3, Paul speaks of the mystery of the one body and says that he had written briefly about this mystery on a previous occasion. Specifically, he said:

Ephesians 3:3-4 (NKJ)
3 . . . by revelation (God) made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already,
4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),

Since Paul never revealed this great truth of the one body until after the Acts period, and since we know of no other letter which Paul wrote to the Ephesians after the Acts period, Paul must have been referring to his previous statements in this same letter.

As we have mentioned, in Chapter 1 Paul said that God is gathering all things together in one and that God has given Christ to be the Head over all things to the Church which is His Body. In Chapter 2, Paul said that God is now creating one new body from believing Jews and Gentiles and shows that this new body has no relationship to Israel’s covenants of promise. Now in Chapter 3, Paul says that his stewardship of God’s grace is a mystery concerning the one body in which Jews and Gentiles are fellow heirs.

Paul says in Chapter 3 that his stewardship concerning the one body was not made known to the sons of men in previous generations but that it has now been revealed by the Holy Spirit to the apostles and prophets. In Romans 16:25, Paul spoke of the mystery concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ and said that that mystery was even at that time being made manifest by the prophetic scriptures. But this mystery in Ephesians is a mystery which is now being revealed to the prophets, not by the prophets. In Romans, Paul was revealing truths which had been hidden in the prophetic scriptures, but in Ephesians Paul was revealing truths which had been hidden in God.

According to the mystery of Ephesians 3, believing Jews and Gentiles are saved by the same gospel as the believers of the Acts period because they too are partakers of God’s promise in Christ through the gospel. But unlike the believers of the Acts period, these believers have become fellow heirs and of the same body with the Jews.

Paul admitted that he viewed himself as being less than the least of all saints, but that God had called him by the gift of His grace to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. Again we see that the truth concerning the Church, the Body of Christ, is nowhere hinted at in the Old Testament scriptures for the word for unsearchable literally means untraceable. There is no trace of these truths in the writings of the Old Testament or in any other historical document. These riches of Christ belong specifically to the members of the Church which is the Body of Christ. They are untraceable, and they were unknown to man until God revealed them through Paul.

In verse 9, Paul declared that this great truth of the Church which is the Body of Christ was hidden in God from the beginning of the ages so that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the Church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

When I first read this, I had to wonder, how does the Church of our present age reveal to the principalities in the heavens the wisdom of God? Then I thought about the fact that none of the prophets knew that the Messiah was going to come to the earth twice. The prophets taught that the Messiah would be born of a virgin and would grow up to establish an everlasting kingdom. Some of the prophets hinted at the fact that the Messiah would be rejected by the people and killed, but none of the prophets even came close to suggesting that the Messiah would be rejected again by the Jews after His death, burial and resurrection.

When God revealed to the Apostle Paul at the end of the Acts period that Christ was going to be rejected again by the Jews, Paul was astonished to learn that God had a whole new plan for mankind which God was going to implement and which Paul was going to reveal. God’s plan was to create the Church which is the Body of Christ.

The rulers of the darkness of this age had worked very effectively within the hearts Israel’s religious leaders to kill the Son of God, and they must have thought themselves victorious over the plan of God, that is until Christ was raised from the dead.

When Christ was raised from the dead, they were put to an open shame, but they quickly regrouped. They continued to work within the hearts of the Jewish people, blinding their eyes to the message of the Apostles and to the miracles which they did. Steadfastly, the Jewish people refused the grace of God, and rather than believe the truth of God, they chose to believe the lie of Satan.

The Jewish people rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah, and the rulers of darkness must have thought once again that they had won the day. But when they heard Paul’s revelation concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ, they knew that they were no match for the manifold wisdom of God.

Because of the existence of the Church which is the Body of Christ, the principalities and powers in the heavenly places now know that God is sovereign over all the universe. They now see that everything they do fits perfectly into the plan of God. Though they are full of rebellion and bitterness toward God, every step they take, every move they make, fits perfectly into the plan of God.

The truth concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ was a stewardship of God’s grace which was given to the Apostle Paul, and it proves once and for all the manifold wisdom of God. It is not because of anything that the Church does or does not do which proves the wisdom of God. It is the very existence of the Church which proves God ability to work all things together for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose.

Ephesians 3 (Part 2)

2008-02-21T19:27:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 3 Part 2
Bible Study Time 8-14-05

In Ephesians, Chapter 3, Paul states that God has given him a stewardship or a deposit of truth which he calls the stewardship of the grace of God. Last week we discovered that this stewardship of truth was a multifaceted deposit of truth which covered the mystery concerning the one body in which Gentiles have been made fellow heirs with the Jews, and it also covered the mystery concerning the fullness of times when God is to gather all things in heaven and earth together in Jesus Christ.

Paul said that this body of truth which was given to him was a mystery which had been hidden in God through the ages. It was never revealed to the men of previous generations, but God has chosen to reveal it at this time so that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known through the Church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

Which church is this that has been given this glorious opportunity? Was it the church in the wilderness which Stephen referred to in Acts, Chapter 7; that Jewish church which God sentenced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years because they refused to go into the promised land?

Was it the church of Acts, Chapter 2; the Jewish church whose members sold their possessions and lived together as they waited for the Lord Jesus and His kingdom?

No, this was the church of the mystery which had been revealed to the Apostle Paul. The church of the one body to which Jews and Gentiles are added. The members of the Church which is the Body of Christ have been chosen by God to reveal the wisdom of God to the powers in the heavens.

As Paul writes to the Ephesians, the covenants of Israel have already been set aside and the rituals of the Law have been abolished. Therefore, Paul is free to reveal the Church which is the Body of Christ.

In verse 11 of Ephesians 3 we read that God planned all of these things according to the eternal purpose which God accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul taught in Chapter 1 that God has now made known to us the mystery if His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.

God had this great purpose in mind when He created the universe. In Genesis, we see that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, but in the Gospel of John, we see that Jesus Christ was there with the Father in the beginning and that all things were made by Jesus Christ. Now we see that even before the beginning, the members of the Godhead purposed in their hearts that someday they would gather together in one all things in heaven and earth in Jesus Christ, the Son.

Then in verse 12 of Ephesians 3, we find that those of us who have been accepted in Christ have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Christ. In Hebrews, Chapter 4, Paul told the Hebrew believers that they had a High Priest who had passed through the heavens, even Jesus the Son of God. He encouraged them that their High Priest could sympathize with their weaknesses because He had been tempted in all points but was still without sin. Because of these things, they could go boldly before God’s throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in their time of need.

Here in Ephesians, however, we find a different picture for the members of the Church which is the Body of Christ. The members of this Church are seated in the heavenly places in Jesus Christ. We are accepted in Jesus Christ because we were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. In Jesus Christ, we have redemption through His blood, forgiveness for sins, and we are blessed with all spiritual blessings. We, as members of the Church, the Body of Christ, are not pictured as coming boldly before the throne of God, but we are pictured as having continuous access to the Father with confidence because of our position in Christ.

In the Old Testament, Queen Esther had access to the king, but she did not have access with confidence. King Xerxes had signed a decree that all of the Jews of his kingdom should be killed. When Mordecai asked Esther to go before the king and plead the case of the Jewish people, she said:

Esther 4:11 (NKJ)
11 "All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days."

Mordecai reminded Esther that she and her family would be in danger also a members of the Jewish community and that they might be in even more danger than some of the others who lived in the more remote regions of the kingdom. Ultimately, Esther agreed to go before the king, but she wanted all of the Jews in that region to fast for three days and three nights. She said:

Esther 4:16 (NKJ)
16 " . . . And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!"

The commentary by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown says that Xerxes name comes from two Persian words which together mean lion-king. Their commentary also says that this lion-king was “capricious, fickle, reckless of human lives, and immersed in sensual pleasures.” It is no wonder that Esther was more than just a little fearful when it came to going before the king without an invitation.

However, when we consider the fact that Xerxes was just a man, how much more frightening it would be for sinful men to stand before a just and a holy God. Before God descended upon Mt. Sinai, He told Moses to consecrate the people for three days to prepare them for their encounter with the Lord. Then God said:

Exodus 19:12-13 (NKJ)
12 "You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, 'Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
13 'Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain."

Moses had the special privilege of going into the presence of the Lord while the average person was not even allowed to touch the base of the mountain, or he would surely be put to death.

What a privilege is ours today! We have constant and complete access to the Father with confidence because we are accepted in Jesus Christ, the beloved One. We are told to:

Philippians 4:6 (NKJ)
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

1 Peter 5:7 (NKJ)
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

1 John 5:14-15 (NKJ)
14 (For) this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Romans 8:32 (NKJ)
32 (For if God) did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

During Old Testament times, the High Priest had direct access to the dwelling place of God only once each year. It was such a fearful thing that the priest wore bells on the hem of his garment so that as he performed his duties in the Holy of Holies, the people waiting outside would know that the priest was still alive by the sound of the bells.

At the time of Christ’s death upon the cross, the veil in the temple, which partitioned off the holy of holies, was torn in two from top to bottom. This signified that the blood of Jesus Christ had given the average person access to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

According to the covenants of Israel, no Gentile had direct access to God. Even the circumcised Gentiles were permitted only as far as the gate of the court of Israel. But as a result of the work of Christ on the cross, the rituals of the Law were abolished, and God created the Church which is the Body of Christ. According to the riches of God’s grace, Gentiles now have equal access to the Father with the believing Jews.

Though this great privilege of access to the Father has been made available to us, we all too often fail to avail ourselves of this opportunity. Often we may feel that we are just too busy to pray.

I recently read about some African converts to Christianity. These converts believed in the power of prayer, and each believer was given a special place to pray outside the village. As a result, each one developed his own pathway to his assigned place. When grass began to grow on one of these trails, it was evident who was neglecting their time in prayer, and then it would not be long before someone would encourage them to pray by gently saying, “There’s grass in your path.”

I’m afraid that too often there is grass in our path that leads to our prayer sanctuary. We can not expect to be effective in our service for the Lord if we neglect our time in prayer. Without prayer we become anxious and fearful about the things of this life. We are to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, we are to let our requests be made known to God.

Psalm 37 presents a simple plan for avoiding anxiety. It says that we should not fret, but we should trust in the Lord. We should delight ourselves in the Lord. We should commit our way unto the Lord. And we should rest in the Lord. A very important part of living a life of joy and peace is to commit our way unto the Lord.

Daniel was living in a foreign country where the people were hostile to the true and the living God, but Daniel made it a point to pray. The Bible says that:

Daniel 6:10 (NKJ)
10 . . . (Daniel) knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

Daniel was accustomed to committing his way unto the Lord, and it is interesting to note he prayed and gave thanks before his God. Even in difficult times, we have so much to be thankful for. We are to let our requests be made known to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.

We should never presume that God will give us everything we want. He promises to supply our needs, not our greeds. But we should never hesitate to present our true desires to the Lord.

In the days of Alexander the Great there was a renowned philosopher who came to Alexander with a request for money. Alexander told the philosopher to withdraw from the treasury whatever he needed. When he went to withdraw a very large sum of money, the treasurer hesitated and said that he needed to verify that this large withdrawal was authorized. When the treasurer my his inquiry, Alexander said, “Pay the money at once. This philosopher has done me a singular honor. By the largeness of his request he shows that he understands both my wealth and my generosity.”

The wealth and generosity of our heavenly Father go far beyond that of Alexander for God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

In the Old Testament, the Jews had the opportunity to enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise, but today we have been given an even greater honor. We have been given a position in the Body of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. We are accepted in Jesus Christ, and we have boldness and access to the Father with confidence through faith in Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament there were those who entered the gates of the temple, but their hearts were not right with God. Today, access to the Father is reserved only for those whose hearts are right with God. To become a member of the Church which is the Body of Christ, one has to understand his own sinfulness and accept the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ.

I sometimes ask people if everyone in the Church is saved, and some will say, “No, not everyone.” But when I tell them that I’m talking about the Church of the Bible which God is building in heaven, they smile and say, “Oh yes, everyone in that Church is saved.”

No one can have boldness and access to the Father unless his heart is right with God. If you don’t know the Lord today, and you have never been added to the Church which is the Body of Christ, you can take that step today. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and the moment you believe, God will add you to the Body of Christ. Then you too can experience that bold and confident access to the Father.

Ephesians 3 (Part 3)

2008-02-21T19:22:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 3 Part 3
Bible Study Time 8-21-05

Ephesians 3:12 says that in Jesus Christ we have boldness and access to the Father with confidence through faith in Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom, and the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God, was opened up to all who believe in Jesus Christ.

This reality is the summit of the stewardship of truth which God committed to the Apostle Paul for it is the result of the fact that believers today are members of the Body of Christ, members of His flesh and of His bone. As such, we are seated in the heavenlies in Christ at the right hand of the Father, and from this privileged position, we experience constant communication with the Father.

E.W. Bullinger was once asked about the essence of prayer. His reply was that:

Prayer is the breath of the new nature. Just as the natural breath is the sign and evidence of physical life, so prayer is the mark and sign of the possession of spiritual life. No knowledge of physiology is required for one to take a natural breath, and so it is that no knowledge of theology is required for one to pray. The moment we reason about prayer, we make it artificial for true prayer is spontaneous.

He illustrated this point with a humorous rhyme which went this way:

The centipede was happy quite
Until the toad, in fun
Said, “Pray, which foot goes after which?
Which moved his mind to such a pitch
He lay distracted in the ditch
Considering – how to run.
(E.W. Bullinger – A Biography by Juanita S. Carey pp. 120-121)

Dr. Bullinger’s point is an excellent one. There is no formula which will yield effective prayer. When one is placed into the Church which is the Body of Christ, his fellowship with the Father is one that is natural and pure because it is guided by the Holy Spirit.

Paul was writing these words to the Ephesians from a Roman prison, and in verse 13 of Ephesians 3, Paul says that because of this great revelation of the mystery concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ, the Ephesian believers should not be discouraged because of his tribulations. He was concerned that some believers might shrink back from the gospel out of fear for their own safety, and he was keenly aware of the fact that the enemies of the gospel might use his imprisonment to turn people against the truth.

Paul wanted the Ephesians to know that the persecution he was suffering was all a part of God’s glorious plan. He wanted believers everywhere to rejoice in the fact that God was using his suffering to further the gospel of Jesus Christ. To the Philippians he wrote:

Philippians 1:12-14 (NKJ)
12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,
13 so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ;
14 and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Paul was not about to let his prison chains prevent him from spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. He had been given a stewardship of truth concerning the fact that anybody, anywhere could be added to God’s heavenly Church by simply believing in Jesus Christ. Because this was a stewardship, he knew that he would be held accountable for the manner in which he managed the dispensing of this magnificent truth. Therefore, He gave his whole heart to serving the Lord and doing what God had called him to do.

Paul warned Timothy that he too should be prepared to endure affliction. In fact, he said that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. The Lord Jesus also warned His disciples that they should expect persecution. In John 15, He said:

John 15:18-21 (NKJ)
18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
21 "But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

But He also said:
Matthew 5:11-12 (NKJ)
11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Paul was persecuted in every city as he went spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he was arrested when he went back to Jerusalem. He was turned over to the Roman authorities in Caesarea, and they were not particularly hostile toward Paul or his message. Although he was kept in prison, he was not mistreated by either Felix or Festus.

When Paul was ultimately sent to Rome, he began to see God’s hand at work in the things that had happened. His life had been spared, and he was steadily earning the respect of the Romans who knew him. From the guards who watched him to the officials who interrogated him, he was being presented with opportunity after opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ. He pleaded with the Ephesians, saying:

Ephesians 6:19-20 (NKJ)
19 . . . (Pray) for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Many of the Gentiles in Rome had no real understanding of the Jewish religion or the events relating to the death of Christ. Paul’s dedication to the gospel as well as his genuine love and concern for the lost must have made a tremendous impression on the people there in Rome. It was obvious to all of the palace guard that Paul had done nothing wrong but was in chains for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul knew that he could not control how people would react to the gospel. That was in God’s hands. But Paul was fully persuaded that God could soften those hearts which were callused by sin and bring conviction in those hearts which were blinded by ignorance and rebellion.

Before Paul was imprisoned at Rome, he had written to the Corinthians, saying:

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (NKJ)
14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?

Paul was trusting God for miracles. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul had cast out demons and healed the sick, but now Paul was praying for the miracles of the heart. He was praying that people would come into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and that they would give themselves completely and totally to Jesus Christ.

It was at this time that Paul wrote to the Ephesians and said:

Ephesians 3:13 (NKJ)
13 I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Do not be discouraged on account of my afflictions because God is doing marvelous things which go beyond all that we could ask or think. Apparently, many people there in Rome had put their faith in Jesus Christ, and Paul was being treated fairly by the Roman courts. In fact, his letters show that he was anticipating his release from prison. To Philemon he wrote:

Philemon 1:22 (NKJ)
22 . . . meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.

In Philippians, Chapter 1, he said:

Philippians 1:19-26 (NKJ)
19 For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.
23 For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.
25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith,
26 that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

In Philippians, Chapter 2, Paul spoke of Timothy and said:

Philippians 2:23-24 (NKJ)
23 Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me.
24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.

It would appear that Paul was released from prison and at some point went with Titus to the island of Crete for in Titus 1:5, he wrote to Titus:

Titus 1:5 (NKJ)
5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you--

However, it seems that during the time that Paul was released from prison, the great fire of Rome occurred, and Nero seized the opportunity to blame the Christians and persecute them. At this time, Paul was again arrested, and it became increasingly obvious to Paul that he would soon be going home to be with the Lord. He wrote in his second letter to Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NKJ)
6 . . . I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

The persecution of Christians would continue to be the norm throughout the apostolic period. It seems that Peter may have been referring to the persecution of Nero in I Peter 4 when he said:

1 Peter 4:12-19 (NKJ)
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters.
16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 Now "If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?"
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

The persecution of Christians has continued through the years even since the apostolic period. Today in the Word is a publication of Moody Bible Institute, and a few years ago they recounted an incident which happened during the Boxer Rebellion in China in the year 1900. The article said:

During China’s Boxer Rebellion of 1900, insurgents captured a mission station, blocked all the gates but one, and in front of that one gate placed a cross flat on the ground. Then the word was passed to those inside that any who trampled the cross underfoot would be permitted their freedom and life, but that any refusing would be shot. Terribly frightened, the first seven students trampled the cross under their feet and were allowed to go free. But the eighth student, a young girl, refused to commit the sacrilegious act. Kneeling beside the cross in prayer for strength, she arose and moved carefully around the cross, and went out to face the firing squad. Strengthened by her example, every one of the remaining ninety-two students followed her to the firing squad.
Today in the Word, Feb. 89, p. 17

But today, as always, we are called to bear the cross of Jesus Christ, and if we suffer according to the will of God, we commit our souls to Him, as to a faithful Creator.

Ephesians 3 (Part 4)

2008-02-21T19:19:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 3 Part 4
Bible Study Time 8-28-05

Toward the end of Paul’s third missionary journey, while he was still at Corinth, he wrote to the Romans believers and said:

Romans 15:25,30-32 (NKJ)
25 But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints.
30 Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me,
31 that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,
32 that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you.

As it turned out, when Paul left Corinth for Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit made it clear that Paul would face great persecution upon his arrival in Jerusalem. Many people along the way pleaded with Paul not to go to Jerusalem, but he was determined to accomplish the task that God had given Him to do. In Acts 20 and verse 22, Paul spoke to the Ephesian elders on the shores of the Aegean Sea and said:

Acts 20:22-24 (NIV)
22 " . . . compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

When Paul arrived in Jerusalem, he was arrested on bogus charges and sent to Rome for a trial, but Paul could see the Lord’s hand in all of these things. From Rome, he wrote to the Philippians and said:

Philippians 1:12-14 (NKJ)
12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,
13 so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ;
14 and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

In other words, even the people in Rome could see that Paul had been arrested simply because of his testimony for Jesus Christ, and it was in this same context that Paul wrote to the Ephesians and said:

Ephesians 3:13 (NKJ)
13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Then, he went on to say:

Ephesians 3:14-15 (NKJ)
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Paul was brought to his knees before the Father not only because of the great stewardship of truth which had been given to him concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ but also because he knew that all of his tribulations and afflictions which he had endured were being used by the Lord to further the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As usual, Paul wanted to give all of the glory to Jesus Christ, and he did so by acknowledging the fact that the whole family in heaven and earth is named after Jesus Christ for God has put all things under His feet and has given Him to be head over all things to the Church which is His Body. Christ is seated in the heavens at the right hand of the Father where:

Philippians 2:9-11 (NKJ)
9 . . . God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Christ is, in fact, the one mediator between God and man for no one can come to the Father except through Him, and here in Ephesians 3, Paul says:

Ephesians 3:14,16,17 (NKJ)
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;

Now, as Paul prays for these dear friends of his in Ephesus, this is a prayer that is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it’s the kind of prayer that the Holy Spirit prays for us as He makes intercession for us. In Romans 8, Paul said:

Romans 8:26-27 (NKJ)
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Well, here in Ephesians 3, we see the kind of groanings which the Holy Spirit makes on our behalf. It is wonderful to know that the Holy Spirit prays for us in this way. We all know how much it means to us when people pray for us, especially when we go through a difficult time. We can feel the effect of those prayers, but how much more effective are the prayers of the Holy Spirit.

Paul said that we should pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Well, that makes sense, doesn’t it? If the Spirit is the One who is making intercession for us, then we should pray in the power and authority of the Spirit. That simply means that we need to be in intimate fellowship with the Spirit.

It is a powerful blessing to know that the Holy Spirit of God is praying for us with prayers like this one in Ephesians. He prays that we would be strengthened with might in the inner man through the Spirit of God according to the riches of God’s glory.

We know that God will supply all of our needs according to his riches in glory, and certainly one of our greatest needs is to be strengthened with might in the inner man through the Spirit. We can trust God to supply that need because He has all of the resources to supply that need. God will supply our need, not according to our own ability to receive it, but according to the riches of His glory.

This strengthening that comes to us by the Spirit is literally infused into the inner man. The outer man is still the same as it was before we were saved. It’s still a body of flesh. But the inner man is being shaped and molded by the Holy Spirit as He infuses the character of Jesus Christ into our inner being.

We need to be strengthened with might because the outer man still carries the old sin nature. According to Galatians 5:

Galatians 5:17 (NKJ)
17 . . . the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another . . .

It was Paul’s prayer that our inner man would be completely dominated by the Holy Spirit, not by the body of flesh. Peter put it this way in 2 Peter 1:

2 Peter 1:4-8 (NKJ)
4 (You) have been given . . . great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Spirit of God is willing to infuse the character of Jesus Christ into our inner being, but we need to diligently strengthen and fortify our hearts to secure the work of the Holy Spirit. We do this by exercising self control, perseverance, kindness, and so forth.

So that we will know whether we are being led by the Spirit or overcome by the flesh, God has given us a list of the things that relate to each realm. Galatians 5 says:

Galatians 5:19-25
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

If we take a look inside and see sexual impurity, hatred, selfish ambition, drunkenness, and so forth, then our inner man is not being strengthened by the Holy Spirit. God wants us to be strong when it comes to overpowering the fleshly passions.

If we look inside and see genuine love, joy and peace, then we know that these things come only by the power of the Holy Spirit. Contrary to popular thought, no one is born with a sweet nature. Deep down inside the old nature is there. From the day that children of born, we need to pray for the day when they will put their faith in Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit. Only then can they experience the divine nature.

Fortunately, children have a tremendous capacity to believe in Jesus. In fact, most adults today, who know the Lord, accepted Christ as their Savior when they were children. That tells me that God wants us to pray for our children and emphasize our ministry to children. Children are born into an earthly family, but they have to be born again to join the family of God. That family which is named after Jesus Christ in heaven.

After children accept Christ as their savior, then we can pray and the Holy Spirit will pray for them too, that they will be strengthened with might through the Spirit in the inner man.

When we allow the Holy Spirit complete control of our inner being, that is when we will experience true fellowship with Jesus Christ. Only then can we experience the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ. That is why Paul prayed that we would be strengthened with might in the inner man so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith.

The Holy Spirit does not leave us if we walk in the flesh, but if we walk in the flesh, we will not experience the presence of Jesus Christ. John said:

I John 1:6-7 (NKJ)
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

When we are strengthened with might through the Spirit, we will sense the spiritual reality that we are seated in Christ in heaven with continuous access to the Father. But if we walk in darkness, we will sense the natural reality that we are literally billions of miles away from the throne of God.

When we walk in darkness, we quench the Holy Spirit. That means that we put out the fire of the Holy Spirit. We need the fire of the Holy Spirit burning within us so that Jesus Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith.

As we close this morning, I would like to ask you this, “Is your heart the dwelling place of Jesus Christ? Do you sense a fellowship with Him that is real and meaningful?” If not, you can. Call upon Him, and He will answer thee. Believe that He died for your sins and that he was raised from the dead to give you the hope of eternal life.

When you believe, you will receive the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will burn like a fire within your heart, purging your heart from the passions of the flesh and making your heart a fit dwelling place for Jesus Christ.

If you know the Lord, but can not sense His presence, confess your sins to God, and He will renew your heart so that you can experience the presence of the Lord.

Ephesians 3 (Part 5)

2008-02-21T19:16:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 3 Part 5
Bible Study Time 9-4-05

I was reading the other day about a soldier who was brought before his commanding officer. He was accused of communicating with the enemy because he was seen coming out of an area where enemy troops were known to patrol. The soldier was obviously nervous as he began his defense, saying that he had slipped away from camp to pray.

The commanding officer asked the soldier if he was in the habit of praying, and the soldier said, “Yes, Sir.”

The commanding officer then replied, “Never in your life have you been in more need of prayer than now. I want you to kneel and pray out loud for all of us to hear.”

The soldier got on his knees and began to pray, pouring out his heart to God. He prayed for God to intervene in his unfortunate situation, and His faith in God was clear to everyone.

When the soldier finished praying, the commanding officer said, “You’re free to go. No one could have prayed that way without a long apprenticeship.” Then he added, “It’s the soldiers who have never attended drill who are ill at ease when it comes time for the review.”

Well, in the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul shows just how familiar he is with the exercise of prayer. In Ephesians 2, Paul taught that through Christ both Jews and Gentiles have access by one Spirit to the Father, and then in Ephesians 3, he said that believers today have boldness and access to the Father with confidence through faith in Christ.

The prayers revealed in the book of Ephesians give us a glimpse inside the private prayer life of this great apostle. In Ephesians 1, Paul prayed:

Ephesians 1:15-20 (NKJ)
15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

Then in Ephesians 3, Paul prayed once again, saying:

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NKJ)
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 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,
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Last week, we looked at the fact that these prayers were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that we can take comfort in the fact that these are the kind of prayers that the Holy Spirit prayers for us as He makes intercession for us. We don’t always know how to pray as we should. We don’t always know how to pray in keeping with the perfect will of God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with prayers such as these.

Paul prays in Ephesians 3 that we would be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in the inner man because the inner man is the battleground of spiritual warfare. When we accept Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within the inner man, and we become partakers in the divine nature.

However, we still have the body of flesh which lusts against the Spirit, even as the Spirit lusts against the flesh, for they are contrary one to another. According to Romans 8, if we live according to the flesh we will die, but if by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the body, we will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. In John, Chapter 6, the Lord Jesus said:

John 6:63 (NKJ)
63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

It is interesting to note that in Paul’s letters he does not emphasize praying for physical needs. He was acutely aware of the fact that the real issues of life are the issues that relate to the Spirit. Does this mean that he did not care about physical needs? No, Paul actually took up an offering to relieve the poverty of the Jerusalem saints. Does it mean that we should not pray about physical needs? Not at all. We are to cast all of our cares upon Him for He cares for us. However, we do need to realize that our spiritual needs are our greatest needs, and we should focus our attention on spiritual needs, even as Paul did.

Therefore, Paul prayed that our inner man might be strengthened by the Holy Spirit. God wants us to be spiritually strong, and we will be, if we yield to the Holy Spirit. We must be careful not to quench the Holy Spirit, or put out the fire of the Holy Spirit.

We know that God often uses fire as a means of judgment. The Lord rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, and He told Joshua to burn the cities of Canaan with fire. John the Baptist said:

Matthew 3:10-12 (NKJ)
10 " . . . every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
12 "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

After the judgment of the Great White Throne, those whose names are not found written in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire.

When the Lord appeared in smoke and fire at the top of Mt. Sinai, the children of Israel were afraid. That fire appeared to be a consuming fire. The Bible says that at that time,

Exodus 19:18-19 (NKJ)
18 . . . Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.

When Moses gave his Deuteronomy address about a month before his death, he challenged the nation to remember that it was the love and kindness of the Lord which brought Him down to Mt. Sinai. In Deuteronomy 4, Moses said:

Deuteronomy 4:7,9-12 (NKJ)
7 "For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us? . . .
9 "Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, . . .
10 "especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.'
11 "Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, . . .
12 "And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice.

Moses went on to say that the Lord is a consuming fire for He is a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24), but then he asked,

Deuteronomy 4:32,33,36 (NKJ)
32 " . . . since the day that God created man on the earth, . . .
33 "Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, . . . ?
36 "Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.

Moses wanted Israel to remember that out of that consuming fire came the voice of God, calling the nation of Israel to Himself. He was calling them to Himself so that He could love them and protect them and provide for them, so that he could make them heirs to the promises which had been given to their fathers.

Even today, the Holy Spirit may appear from a distance to be a consuming fire because the people of this world do not like to hear about sin or the consequences of sin, but those who draw near to God through Jesus Christ hear the voice that comes out of the fire of the Holy Spirit. They hear God calling them to join the family of God. They hear God calling them to a life of joy and peace and to the promise of everlasting life.

To those who believe in Jesus Christ, the fire of the Holy Spirit is not a consuming fire, but it is a fire that purifies the heart. David said:

Psalms 143:10 (NKJ)
10 Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.

Psalms 139:23-24 (NKJ)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

To those who believe in Jesus Christ, the fire of the Holy Spirit is a fire that gives light. When the children of Israel traveled from Egypt to the promised land, God went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, and He went before them by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. Though we may live a world that is full of darkness, God gives us the light of the Holy Spirit to illuminate our path.

When we drive along our highways, there are traffic safety signs along the way. These signs have a reflective surface so that they can be seen at night. That means they can only be seen at night when a light is reflected off the surface. In other words, the Department of Transportation provides the sign, but we have to provide the light.

When our path seems dark, the fire of the Holy Spirit is our light. With his light we can heed the warning signs along the way.

John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress and Grace Abounding, was preaching in Bedford, England, shortly after he was saved at the age of 25. Prosecutors from London cooked up some charges against him, and he was put in prison for over 12 years. The local jailer was somewhat sympathetic to Mr. Bunyan’s cause, so he would allow him to leave the jail and go home from time to time. When the prosecutors in London heard rumors to that effect, they sent a party to pay a surprise visit to the jail.

On the night they were to arrive, John Bunyan was at his own home, but he had this uneasy feeling about spending the night away from the jail, so he returned to the jail. Not long afterward the inspectors arrived and demanded to see John Bunyan. After the inspectors left, the jailer told Mr. Bunyan, “You may come and go as you please, for you know better than I when you need to be here.” We need the light that comes from the fire of the Holy Spirit.

We are to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness because we have been called to walk as children of light. We were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord for we have been delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the kingdom of God’s dear Son.

Moses saw a burning bush in the desert. It caught his attention because the bush was never consumed. Moses went near the bush, and God spoke to him out of the fire. As far as we know, the bush was never consumed. It just kept on burning. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is the fire that burns within us, but we are never consumed. On the contrary, the fire of the Holy Spirit is the fire that gives us strength in every trial, comfort in every sorrow, joy in every victory, and that fire is designed by God to keep on burning throughout eternity. It is the true eternal flame.

If your life is empty and full of frustration and anxiety, you can experience the fire of the Holy Spirit which gives purpose and fulfillment in this life as well as the promise of eternal life. Simply put your faith in Jesus Christ. Believe that He died for your sins and then rose from the grave.

John 3:16 (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Ephesians 3 (Part 6)

2008-02-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 3 Part 6
Bible Study Time 9-11-05

“Oh, how marvelous. Oh, how wonderful. Is my Savior’s love for me.” We have to stand amazed when we come to Jesus and see the great love with which He loves us. Shedding His blood upon the cross of Calvary for your sins and for mine.

In Ephesians, Chapter 3, Paul prays that we,

Ephesians 3:17-19 (NKJ)
17 . . . being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;

In other words, Paul prays that we may be able to know that which passes knowledge. At first, that may sound like nonsense, but doing what can not be done is the essence of our relationship with God. Whenever, God calls someone to Himself, He calls them to do things which they can not do. He calls us to do that which we can not do, and He calls us to understand that which we can not understand. Paul told the Corinthians that:

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 (NKJ)
14 . . . the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
16 For "who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

With God, all things are possible.

God told Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens and the sands of the seashore even though Abraham was 100 years old and had no children. With God, all things are possible. Abraham and Sarah had a son named Isaac and from Him came the nation of Israel.

God told Moses to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt. To be sure, it was one man against the strongest nation on the face of the earth. It’s little wonder that Moses was somewhat hesitant. With God, all things are possible. Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and crossed through the middle of the Red Sea on dry land.

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to rule as King in an everlasting kingdom and die for sin. How could He do both? With God, all things are possible. After 3 days in the grave, the Lord Jesus arose from the dead and is now in heaven ready to rule the earth in an everlasting kingdom.

Well, here in Ephesians, Paul prays that we might know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. More specifically, he prays that we might be able to comprehend the width and length and depth and height of the love of God.

We live in a world that is three dimensional, but here we see that the love of God is 4 dimensional. It’s no wonder that the love of God is beyond human comprehension.

When we want to understand spiritual things, we need to turn to the word of God, and the first thing that we need to see from the word of God is that God loves us. In fact, John says that we love God because God first loved us. Paul says that God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and Paul goes on to say that even while we were the enemies of God, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son. John put it this way:

I John 4:10 (NKJ)
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

When the preschoolers at Trinity Lutheran in Crown Point, Indiana, got up to give their end-of-the-year program, they were adorable as usual, and everyone was a little amused when they held up their cards which spelled out, “DOG LOVES YOU”.

Well, no matter how you spell it, God does love us, and He loves us with an everlasting love.

The second thing we need to see from the word of God is that God is love. I John 4:16 says, “God is love and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”

It is impossible to abide in love and not abide in God. If anyone says that they love people, but they don’t believe in Jesus, they are lying. No one can love people unless they know God, and no one can know God unless they believe in Jesus.

Of coarse, John says that the inverse is also true. He says that:

I John 4:20 (NKJ)
20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

In other words, if someone says, “I love God,” or “I love Allah,” or “I follow Buddha,” but they hate their fellowman, then they do not love God, for God is love.

The other day the National Geographic Channel had a special called “Inside 9/11.” They told how the man who used a truck bomb to bomb the Word Trade Center in 1993 was actually the man who came up with the idea of using commercial airliners as flying bombs to destroy the targets of 9/11. This man was described as a person who used all of his imagination coming up with plan after plan after plan for killing innocent people. John said that anyone who says he loves God but hates his brother is a liar.

There was a mother who told about her daughter, Rosemary. This mother said that when Rosemary was three, she had a little rag doll, and Rosemary loved that rag doll. As the doll got older and dirtier, it got too old to wash and too dirty to play with. It was ready for the trash, but if you loved Rosemary, you had to love the rag doll too. It was a package deal.

Rosemary’s mother went on to make the point that if we love God, we have to love His rag dolls too. Even if they don’t meet our personal standard of respectability, we still have to love them. If anyone says “I love God” yet hates his brother, he is a liar.

The third thing we need to see is that nothing can separate us from the love of God. We do not have to worry that God’s love will be here today but gone tomorrow. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and His love is just as constant as He is, for He is love. Romans 8 says:

Romans 8:35,37-39 (NKJ)
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
37 . . . in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

One day Charles Spurgeon was walking through the English countryside with a friend. As they were walking, Spurgeon noticed a barn with a weather vane on its roof. At the top of the vane were these words: GOD IS LOVE. Spurgeon remarked that he thought the weather vane was not an appropriate place for such a message because weather vanes are changeable, while God’s love is constant. Spurgeon’s friend disagreed and said that the weather vane made a good point, namely, that regardless of the way the wind blows, GOD IS LOVE.

The fourth point in regard to God’s love relates to the fact that we are called the children of God. Again, we turn to John who said:

I John 3:1-2 (NKJ)
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
Even now we are the children of God, but it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. When Jesus Christ is revealed in heaven, then we shall be like Him.

Philippians 3:20-21 (NKJ)
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

In Ephesians 3, Paul prays that we might:

Ephesians 3:19-21 (NKJ)
19 . . . know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that (we) may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Then he sums it up by saying:

20 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,
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 4 (Part 1)

2008-02-21T19:10:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4 Part 1
Bible Study Time 9-18-05

In the first three chapters of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul reveals the position of the believer who is a member of the Church which is the Body of Christ. We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and called to be the Sons of God.

We are seated in Christ in the heavenly places where we are seen as holy and without blame. As a result, we have continuous access to the Father with confidence.

We were at one time dead in trespasses and sins, but now we have been made alive in Jesus Christ so that in the ages to come God may bestow upon us the exceeding riches of His grace.

When the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, He placed His blood upon the mercy seat in the temple of heaven. By His sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ satisfied all of the righteous requirements of the Law. The rituals of the Law were abolished, and God created one new man from believing Jews and believing Gentiles. This new man is the Church which is the Body of Christ.

In Romans 11, Paul said that God committed Jews and Gentiles alike to disobedience so that He might have mercy on all. Then in Romans 12, Paul said:

Romans 12:1 (NKJ)
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

But how can we live a life that is holy and acceptable in the sight of God? We were born in sin, and God’s ways are not our ways. What seems good to us is often disgusting to God.

First of all, we have been redeemed from the curse by the blood of Christ, and God has given us the Holy Spirit. Jesus told his disciples:

John 16:12-13 (NKJ)
12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; . . .

Secondly, God has given us His word. Paul told Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:14-17 (NKJ)
14 . . . you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,
15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Indeed, all scripture is God-breathed and was given that we might be thoroughly equipped for every good work. It is with this hope that we turn our attention to the last three chapters of Ephesians for these chapters serve as a guide for those who seek to live a life that is worthy of our calling in Jesus Christ. Paul begins Chapter 4 with these words:

Ephesians 4:1-3 (NKJ)
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Paul says that if we want to live a life that is consistent with our position in Christ, we must walk with all lowliness. The word for lowliness simply means humility. This word is translated humility in several places including Acts, Chapter 20, where the Ephesian elders met with Paul in Miletus. Acts 20 says:

Acts 20:18-19 (NKJ)
18 And when they had come to (Paul), he said to them: "You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you,
19 "serving the Lord with all humility . . .

Later, Paul reminded the Philippians that they should let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind they should each esteem others better than themselves. And then to the Colossians, he said that they should put on tender mercies, kindness and humility.

The Apostle John wrote his account of the life of Jesus some 30 years after the other books of the New Testament had already been written. In his gospel account, he brings to our attention several events and discourses which were not revealed by the other historians. In one such event, John reveals the lowliness, or the humility, of Jesus. In John 13, Jesus proved that He did not come to be served but that He had come to serve.

According to John, Jesus and His disciples had traveled from Bethany to Jerusalem. In Bethany, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem were already plotting to kill Jesus, and this display of divine power made them even more determined to do so.

When Jesus and his disciples got to Jerusalem, the disciples were pleasantly surprised to find the crowds rejoicing at the sight of Jesus. As Jesus entered the city the people:

John 12:13 (NKJ)
13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' The King of Israel!"

Now Jesus had sent two of His disciples in advance to Jerusalem to make ready a place for them to obverse the Passover. After all of the excited of His triumphal entry into the city, Jesus and His disciples finally settled into the large upper room which had been prepared.

As they entered the room, they probably removed their sandals according to the custom of the day, but there was no servant to wash their feet, and not one of the disciples volunteered to do so. After all, that was a task which was reserved for the lowest of all servants.

With the Passover meal already prepared, Jesus and His disciples offered a prayer of thanksgiving and started the meal with a glass of wine mingled with water. If all went as expected, they would wash their hands and pray. They would give thanks again and eat the Passover salad. Then they would say another prayer, drink another glass of wine, wash their hands again and finish the meal.

They all knew the routine, but at some point during the meal Jesus got up from the table, wrapped a towel around His waist and walked over to the area where they would normally wash their hands.

Jesus took a basin and filled it with water. The disciples exchanged nervous glances for this was not a part of the usual routine. As they watched, Jesus went to the first disciple and to their amazement, He began to wash his feet.

Some of the disciples may have been embarrassed that they did not offer to perform this humiliating task. Others may have been embarrassed for Jesus. After all, the crowd had just recognized Him as the King of Israel. Was this something that the King of Israel should be doing? Doesn’t a king need to maintain a certain presence. Some sort of stately demeanor?

Unlike the politicians of our day, Jesus was not concerned about His public image. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, I have read articles which tout the importance of having political leaders who have a confident public presence. Leaders who give the appearance of being strong, authoritative and decisive.

Jesus knew that He was the anointed King of Israel, and yet here He was, kneeling before His disciples washing their feet. When Jesus came to Peter, Peter questioned Jesus, asking, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?” But Jesus said, “Unless I wash you, Peter, you will have no part with me.”

We too must remember that there is nothing we can do to clean up our own act. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Unless we have been washed by Jesus, we are not clean, and we have no hope of eternal life.

There is nothing we can do for God to gain His favor because He doesn’t need anything that we have to offer. Unless we have been washed by Jesus, we will have no part with Him.

In this regard, we have to rejoice as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ. Ephesians 5 says that:

Ephesians 5:25-27 (NKJ)
25 . . . Christ . . . loved the church and gave Himself for (us),
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse (us) with the washing of water by the word,
27 that He might present (us) to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that (we) should be holy and without blemish.

We have already been washed with a washing which left us without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

Many of the Jews of Jesus’ day thought they could be saved by the Law, but Jesus came to fulfill the Law. The Law was glorious. So glorious, in fact, that Moses’ face was shining when he came down from the mountain. But the glory of the Law pales in comparison to the glory of Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews said:

Hebrews 9:13-14 (paraphrase)
13 . . . if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer serve to purify the flesh,
14 how much more shall the blood of Christ cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

As Jesus was washing feet that night in the upper room, we can only guess what was really going through the minds of the disciples. It must have been a very moving scene. Such grace. Such humility. Such dedication to the Father.

This was the one who spoke the word and the seas were calmed, the demons were silenced, and Lazarus came forth from the grave. This was, indeed, the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus knew that all of these things were true, but here, the very night before His crucifixion, He was not focusing on who He was. He was focusing on his disciples. There was one thing that He wanted them to know. He wanted them to have no doubt about this. He wanted them to be assured that he loved them.

John certainly got the point. As John introduced this event, he said:

John 13:1 (NIV)
1 . . . Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

Jesus wanted them to know first and foremost that He loved them, and by washing their feet He was showing them the full extent of His love. He didn’t even care how dirty those feet were. It made no difference to Him. He was able and willing to clean the dirtiest of them all. Just like He is today.

Those who have ears to hear can hear Him calling:

Isaiah 1:18 (NKJ)
18 "Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

As Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, what a moment that must have been when Jesus came to Judas Iscariot. As Judas looked into Jesus’ eyes, I’m sure Judas could see the sorrow in Jesus’ heart. Jesus knew that Judas was lost, but Jesus loved him anyway and washed his feet.

Jesus did not come to provide salvation for only a few. His blood provided the payment for all sin. He died not for our sins only but for the sins of the whole world. By this He revealed the full extent of His love.

Jesus offered Judas the cleansing of the heart that comes through faith, but Judas was willing to settle for clean feet. I’m afraid that too often we are willing to settle for less than what God has for us. If we fully open our hearts to Jesus, He will fill our hearts with every blessing of heaven. I’m afraid that Judas never came close to the blessings of heaven. He refused to believe in Jesus, and when he realized his mistake, he could not even bear to live with himself.

It is sad to think that there are many like Judas who refuse to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. Like Judas, they come face to face with Jesus. They see the love and the sorrow in His eyes, but they turn away. They love the things of this world, and they refuse to accept the salvation of God. But God proves His love for them by providing a means by which they could be saved.

After Jesus washed His disciples feet, He told them that they should follow His example. He said, “You call me Lord and teacher, and so I am. But since no servant is greater than his master, you should humble yourselves to serve one another even as I have served you.”

Philippians 2:5-8 (NKJ)
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

I think this is exactly what Paul was getting at in Ephesians 4 when he said, “Walk worthy of your calling with all lowliness.”

Ephesians 4 (Part 2)

2008-02-21T19:04:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4 Part 2
Bible Study Time 9-25-05

In Ephesians, Chapter 4, Paul says:

Ephesians 4:1-3 (NKJ)
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Where the New King James version of the Bible says that we should walk with lowliness and gentleness, the King James Version says lowliness and meekness. The New American Standard version says with humility and gentleness. The words for lowliness, gentleness, meekness and humility are all translated in an interchangeable fashion. Therefore, it would be difficult to make a clear cut distinction between one or the other.

By using these two similar words one after the other, Paul was able to magnify the point that humility is of utmost importance in a walk that is worthy of the Lord. We often do the same thing in our descriptions. We may say that someone is honest and forthright. Or when we say that someone is faithful and true. Paul was emphasizing the importance of humility when he said that we should walk with all lowliness and gentleness.

Although these Greek words are essentially synonymous, they probably mean something a little different to each one of us. As we read these words, the Holy Spirit is able to communicate with us in a personal way. The Holy Spirit knows our personal history as well as our personality. As a result, He is able to establish a spiritual connection with us and communicate with us in a way that goes beyond words. He is able to make this unique spiritual connection with each and every believer.

This was graphically illustrated for us on the day of Pentecost when the apostles were gathered together in a small house. All of a sudden a deafening sound came out of heaven. It sounded like a mighty rushing wind, and it was so loud that all of the neighborhood scurried to investigate. The apostles then saw tongues of fire which separated and came to rest upon each one of the them. At that point the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages.

Many of the Jews who gathered outside the house had come to Jerusalem from far away to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. Naturally, they spoke a variety of languages, but that was not a problem on this occasion.

As the Holy Spirit spoke through the apostles, each person could hear the words in his own language, as if each person had his own individual interpreter. In a sense, all of us speak different languages because words mean different things to different people. However, that poses no problem for God. There is no communication barrier that God is not able to overcome. God is able and willing to speak to us in our own language, in our own personal dialect. He knows exactly what words to say to open our hearts with surgical precision.

When Peter declared in Acts, Chapter 2, that Jesus Christ had returned from the dead, the Jews who were present were pierced to the heart for it became apparent to them that they had crucified the Messiah. The one for whom the nation of Israel had waited for so long had been wrongfully accused and murdered with malice.

Prompted by the Holy Spirit, they asked, “What shall we do?”

Acts 2:38-39 (NKJ)
38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

Of coarse, the promise of which Peter spoke was the promise of the earthly kingdom. All of the prophets had steadfastly maintained that the Messiah would come to establish a glorious earthly kingdom. Isaiah said:

Isaiah 9:6-7 (NKJ)
6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Later Isaiah said:

Isaiah 55:1-3 (NKJ)
1 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you-- the sure mercies of David.

The time for the New Covenant had finally arrived, but the New Covenant was dependent upon Israel’s willingness to accept it by faith. The Holy Spirit spoke through Peter and said that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah, but He was killed by wicked hands and then raised from the dead. All the nation of Israel had to do was repent and be baptized for the remission of sins and the promise of the kingdom would be fulfilled.

The Bible says that 3000 Jews put their faith in Jesus Christ that day, and that largely a result of the fact that each person heard the word of the Lord in his own language.

God continued to offer the kingdom to the nation of Israel throughout the Acts period, but they refused to believe. When God set Israel’s kingdom program aside at the end of the Acts period, He began to reveal the Church which is the Body of Christ which has no expectation of the earthly kingdom.

Even though the Holy Spirit no longer works through sign gifts such as speaking in tongues, the Holy Spirit still acts as the interpreter of the word of God. When we open the word of God and begin to read, the Holy Spirit speaks to us in our own personal dialect.

When I think of someone who walks with all lowliness and gentleness, I think of someone who does not think of himself more highly than he ought to think. The letter I is at the center of the word pride, even as self is at the core of those who are full of pride. Pride is selfish. It’s self centered, self absorbed, and self seeking. The Bible says that we should humble ourselves and give our self to God.

1 Corinthians 6:20 (NKJ)
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

Jesus Christ gave Himself so that we could know the joy of giving ourselves to God through faith in Him.

Pride superficially inflates the value of self so that it becomes vainly puffed up. Pride wants to lavishly decorate the external self, and put it on display before the world. On the other hand, if we give our hearts to God, He beautifully decorates the internal self with the joy that comes with true peace and love. God created us with a God-size hole in our hearts, and only God can fill that hole.

When we learn to crucify self and learn the meaning of humility, only then can we truly give to one another. Philippians 2 says:

Philippians 2:3-4 (NKJ)
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

This is not a license to become a busy body, minding everybody else’s business. Neither is it a green light to become the town gossip. On the contrary, it means that we should be genuinely concerned about one another.

When someone is sick, we should make it a point to care for them. When someone is suffering, we should make it a point to bring them comfort. When someone is needy, we should do our best to supply that need.

Becoming self absorbed guarantees a seat at the table where misery is the main course, but when we who believe learn to look out for the interests of others and dedicate ourselves to meeting the needs of others, we find the joy of the Lord.

It is such a paradox that we can find joy in giving. The fact that we do find joy in giving is one of the greatest evidences that we are a creation of God and not the product of natural selection. According to natural selection, only the strong survive, and if this were the case there could be no room for the joy of giving. The truth is that we were created by God with a need for giving, first to God and then to one another.

Satan, himself, is the author of pride. Isaiah says that there was a time when Satan was known as Lucifer, and he was in a position of authority over all of the angels of God. But there came a time when he was no longer satisfied with his position. He became envious of God and said:

Isaiah 14:13-14 (NKJ)
13 . . . 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; . . .
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'

Lucifer became self absorbed, saying, I will, I will, I will. He was filled with selfish ambition, saying, “I will be like the Most High.” As a result Satan was cast out of heaven and would later dedicate himself to man’s destruction.

Revelation, Chapter 12, calls Satan the accuser of the brethren, and as we guard against the sin of pride, it is important that we be aware of the fact that Satan often falsely accuses faithful believers of being full of pride. How ironic. The author of pride accuses the brethren of pride.

Joseph was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. God had great things planned for Joseph, and this became evident when he had a dream indicating that all of this brothers would someday bow before him. Naturally, this did not set well with Joseph’s brothers. They derided him, saying:

Gen 37:8 (NKJ)
8 . . . "Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?"

Obviously, the brothers thought Joseph was full of pride, but they revealed their own pride by rejecting the truth which was revealed through Joseph. Joseph had to learn that when you speak the truth, those who are offended by the truth may accuse you of arrogance and pride.

Truth must stand on its own merit. God’s word is true even if every man is a liar. Joseph learned his lesson well, and he never stopped believing that his brothers would someday bow before him.

On another occasion, David was sent by his father, Jesse, to look after his brothers who were fighting against the Philistines. When David arrived on the battlefield, he saw the giant named Goliath taunting the nation of Israel. David asked why this heathen was allowed to defy the armies of God, and David’s brother, Eliab, asked:

1 Samuel 17:28 (NKJ)
28 "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, …"

Eliab thought he saw pride, but what he really saw was faith in the true and the living God. It had been so long sense Eliab had seen real faith that he didn’t even recognize it. Praise the Lord, David knew the difference, and he kept right on trusting the Lord and gained a spectacular victory over Goliath.

If we reject the truth of God’s word, we may perceive the messenger of God as being full of pride because our hearts are susceptible to the schemes of the devil. On the other hand, believing the truth is our greatest weapon against the devil because he has no power in the face of truth.

Proverbs 16 says:

Proverbs 16:18-20 (NKJ)
18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he.

Ephesians 4 (Part 3)

2008-02-21T19:02:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4 Part 3
Bible Study Time 10-2-05

In Ephesians 4, the Holy Spirit used the Apostle Paul to reveal the heart of God in regard to the walk of the believer. God has saved us by His grace because of His great love for us. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by His mercy He saved us. God has taken us from the depths of sin and depravity and has given us a high and noble calling in Jesus Christ. It gives Him great pleasure to see us live a life that is worthy of such a position. He has given us the power through the Holy Spirit to walk worthy of the calling with which we have been called.

Paul says that to walk worthy of our new position, we should walk with all humility, putting aside our own selfish ambition. We should look not only on our own situation, but we should consider the circumstances of others.

Anyone is a position of authority realizes very quickly that you can’t please everyone. We all want what is best for us, but what is best for us may not be the best for someone else. When people consider only their own interests, the result is a common but very unpleasant social phenomenon known as bickering and fighting.

In Galatians 5, Paul says that hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, and dissensions are all works of the flesh. According to Ephesians 2, we once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, and it came naturally to us to fulfill all of the desires of the flesh.

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NKJ)
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 . . . made us alive together with Christ

Paul says in Ephesians 4 that our worthy walk involves not only walking with all humility, but it also involves walking with longsuffering as we bear with one another in love.

Our great example in longsuffering is God, Himself. In the book of Exodus we see that the children of Israel grew restless as Moses was with the Lord on Mt. Sinai. They suspected that something dreadful had happened to him and that he simply was not going to come down from the mountain.

They had witnessed the lightning and the thunder at the mountaintop. They had felt the seizures of the earth beneath their feet. They, themselves, had trembled with fear as they heard the voice of the Lord and agreed to do all that He commanded them to do.

As Moses climbed up the side of the mountain and disappeared into the cloud, they waited. As they waited, minutes turned into hours, and the hours into days. After forty days they began to wonder if Moses would ever return. Maybe the consuming fire had claimed its first victim. Just how long were they suppose to wait for Moses?

The elders of the people finally came to Aaron and said, “We think that we’ve waited long enough. It appears that something has happened to Moses, and we can’t wait here forever. Let’s make some gods like we had back in Egypt, and then we can tell the people that these are the gods that brought us up out of the land of Egypt.”

Obviously, this was not only human nature at its worst, but it was a scheme which smelled like smoke and came straight from the pit of hell. There is nothing the devil likes more than manipulating people with religion. However, religious leaders should realize that a lie is a lie and nothing good can come from a lie. The devil is a liar and the father of lies.

The children of Israel had witnessed the mighty miracles which the Lord had done through Moses. After all, Moses had done miracles at his first meeting with the elders, and the Bible says that when the elders saw the miracles, they believed that the Lord had visited them and that He had taken notice of their affliction.

The children of Israel had also seen the plaques which God had done through Moses. They had seen the water turn to blood. They had seen the frogs, the gnats, the flies, the dying cattle and the festering boils. They had seen the hail, the locusts, the darkness and the death of Egypt’s firstborn sons, including the death of Pharaoh’s son.

God had protected them through all of these plagues, and He had delivered them from the Egyptian army as they crossed the Red Sea. But still the faith of Israel was weak. After 40 days of waiting for Moses at the foot of Mt. Sinai, they decided they needed a new god. The God who had proven Himself to them time and time again just wasn’t worth waiting for any longer.

When the elders came to Aaron with their concerns, he told them to gather up all of their gold jewelry. He took the gold, melted it down in a blazing furnace, and cast it in the shape of a giant calf.

The elders of Israel must have been very pleased with themselves for they had successfully created a god for the people to worship, and they were confident that this god would never forsake them like the God who had lured Moses up into the fiery mountain peak.

They were so excited that they threw a big party. They ate and drank and sang and danced. But little did they know that the God who they thought had forsaken them was looking down from that mountain and was observing all of their activities. When God saw the golden calf, He was so angry that He wanted to destroy the entire nation of Israel. Moses stepped up and begged for mercy on Israel’s behalf, saying:

Exodus 32:12-14 (NKJ)
12 "Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, 'He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people.
13 "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'"
14 So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.

When I think of this event, I can not help but think of the number of people who think that the God of the Bible has gone away and left us here to follow our own devices. They have forgotten all of the things that God has done in the past to prove that He is alive and well. They have forgotten all of the mighty works of God which are recorded in the scriptures, and they have forgotten that God is the source of the freedom and prosperity which we enjoy and so often take for granted.

We live in a time when people scoff at the word of God and openly deride the name of Jesus. They think that the religion of the Bible is a thing of the past and that the God of the Bible is no longer a viable force.

The truth of the matter is, however, that the God of the Bible is very much alive, and He is paying close attention to all of the events that take place upon this earth. Today, we live in an age of grace, but there is coming a time when God will no longer remain silent in the heavens. Someday He will speak and all of the world will become aware of His mighty power.

There are those who think that we are doing a great job of solving the world’s problems without God. There are those who think that we can just replace God with a god of our own choosing. But God will someday set the record straight just like He did when He saw the golden calf.

As angry as God was when He saw the calf, He heeded Moses’ plea and agreed not to destroy the children of Israel. At first He told Moses to go on to the promised land with the children of Israel. He said that He would send His Angel before them, but that He would not be going with them.

When the people heard this bad news, they mourned and stripped themselves of their jewelry. After Moses went before the Lord again to plead their case, God agreed to go with them and lead them to the promised land. Then God revealed Himself to Moses in a way that revealed all of the goodness of the Lord. As the Lord passed before Moses, the Lord said:

Exodus 34:6-8 (NKJ)
6 . . . "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
7 "keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."
8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.

The Lord God is gracious and longsuffering, and as the sons of God, we should be gracious and longsuffering too. In Luke, Chapter 6, Jesus said:

Luke 6:35-36 (NKJ)
35 " . . . love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
36 "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

If this is true, that we should love our enemies, then certainly we should be longsuffering with one another as well. We should bear with one another in love.

Have you ever thought about the fact that we are so much more vulnerable to being hurt by those we love than we are to being hurt by a stranger? Someone we don’t know can hardly hurt us. Oh, a stranger may attack us and leave us with physical wounds, but physical wounds heal so much faster and so much better than the emotional wounds which are caused by the personal betrayal of someone we love.

Emotional wounds take a long time to heal and often leave permanent scars. We become vulnerable to this kind of pain whenever we chose to love. This deep, heartfelt pain is the kind of pain that God suffered when He looked down from Mt. Sinai and saw His chosen people worshipping a god which they had fashioned with their own hands. Not only had they failed to love and honor Him as they had promised to do, but they had rejected Him. They did not want Him as their god.

God knows the pain of rejection, and He can empathize with us when our pain is deep and personal. He knows our pain, and He also knows what is best for us. He does not tell us to strike back or hold a grudge. He does not say that there are some circumstances in which hatred is justified. No, He says just the opposite. He told the Apostle Paul to tell us that we should be longsuffering with one another, and we should bear with one another in love.

Isn’t it good that the children of Israel had a mediator who could plead their case before God when they messed up. When Moses finally did come down from that mountain, can you just imagine the look on their faces. All of a sudden, they knew not only that Moses was alive, but they knew that God too was alive, and that judgment was coming. But Exodus 32 says that Moses went before the Lord again to plead for the children of Israel.

Moses was called to represent God to the children of Israel, but because Moses loved the children of Israel, he ended up representing the children of Israel before God. Jesus Christ was called to represent God to us, and He did that very well. The Apostle John said that no one has seen God at any time, but that Jesus Christ has declared Him.

However, Jesus Christ not only represents the Father to us, but because of His love for us, He represents us to the Father. Again, it was the Apostle John who said that if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. Today, there is one mediator between God and man, and that mediator is the Man Christ Jesus.

If you do not know the Lord today, you can call upon the Lord Jesus Christ. If you believe that He died for your sins, He will represent you before the Father. He will plead your case, and God will accept you as one of his children. You will become a member of the household of God.

We have this confidence because we know that Jesus Christ will make His plea not on the basis of our good deeds, but on the basis of His shed blood. God’s word declares that God is satisfied with the shed blood of Jesus Christ as the full payment for our sins.

If you already know the Lord, then you share with all believers the obligation and privilege of walking with longsuffering toward others and bearing one another in love. Later in Ephesians 4, Paul says:

Ephesians 4:32 (KJV)
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4 (Part 4)

2008-02-21T18:59:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4 Part 4
Bible Study Time 10-9-05

The past few weeks we have been looking at Ephesians, Chapter 4, where the Holy Spirit begs us to walk worthy of our calling. This is critical because our conduct is a direct reflection on the Lord Jesus. Everything we do should declare the worth of our calling, and everything we do should declare the worth of Jesus Christ.

Although Paul’s prison epistles are well known for their clear presentation of God’s salvation, which comes by grace through faith, Paul never missed an opportunity in these epistles to emphasize the importance of a worthy walk. Paul said that he prayed for the Colossians that they might walk worthy of the Lord. He told the Philippians that their conduct should be worthy of the gospel of Christ. And then, here in Ephesians 4, he says that we should walk worthy of the calling with which we have been called.

When the President of the United States calls a person to serve on his staff, the one who is called knows immediately the significance of such a high calling. They know that they will constantly be in the public eye and that everything they do will reflect not only upon themselves but also upon the President.

When we put our faith in Jesus Christ and trust Him as our personal Savior, God calls us to be ambassadors for Christ. As such, everything we do is dissected and analyzed by the world, and every deed reflects on the character of Christ.

At this point in the book of Ephesians we know our calling. We were chosen before the foundation of the world and predestined to become the Sons of God by Jesus Christ. We are seated in the heavens as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and we have the glorious hope of experiencing the exceeding riches of God’s grace now and throughout all of the ages to come. Therefore, Paul begs us to walk worthy of this high calling.

When Paul says that our conduct should be characterized by humility and longsuffering, we begin to understand that God is more concerned with who we are than He is with what we do. What we do is merely an indicator of who we are. Paul really drives this point home in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13, where he says:

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NKJ)
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

As we continue in 1 Corinthians 13, we see that real love produces humility and longsuffering. Verse 4 says:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NKJ)
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

We can be this kind of person only if the old nature is crucified with Christ, and we have become new creations by the power of God’s Spirit. We can be like Christ only as we yield to the Spirit of Christ within us. Therefore, Paul says in Ephesians 4 that we should endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

On each day of the Feast of Tabernacles the priest would draw water from the stream of Siloah which flowed under the temple mountain. As he poured the water upon the alter, the crowd would erupt in loud jubilation and sing the words of Isaiah 12. This ceremony was accompanied by such ecstatic joy that it was seen as the very definition of rejoicing.

On one such occasion the Lord Jesus was there. It was the last day of the feast, and the priest had drawn the water in golden vessels. As he poured the water on the alter, the people sang, “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of Salvation.” At this point Jesus stood up and cried out, saying,

John 7:37-38
37 . . . "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

The crowd grew silent, spellbound by His proclamation. They sensed that these were the words of God, and many of them believed in Jesus. Of coarse, Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit who brings peace and joy and life even as water gives refreshment to the the land which is parched by the sun. Jesus later told his disciples:

John 14:16-17 (NKJ)
16 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--
17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26-27 (NKJ)
26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The Lord Jesus promised the Spirit of God and with Him would come the peace that passes understanding. To walk worthy of the calling with which we are called, we must endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

However, if the Spirit of God is like living water, then the world is like oil. The Spirit of God and the world do not mix. Notice that Paul did not say we should strive for unity with all people. The world calls for peace, peace where there is no peace. God calls for peace and unity within the realm of His Spirit.

The things of the Spirit are foolishness to the natural mind. The Lord Jesus commanded His disciples that they should love one another, but then He went on to say:

John 15:18-20 (NKJ)
18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you . . .

When the Lord Jesus addressed the disciples at their commissioning, He warned them that they would not receive a warm welcome from the world. In verse 11 of Matthew 10 He said:

Matthew 10:11-15 (NKJ)
11 "Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out . . .
13 "If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 "And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.
15 "Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

What did they have to do to be worthy? They had to receive the disciples and hear their words. They had to believe the gospel in order to escape the coming judgment.

Now the disciples did not know that Israel’s kingdom program was going to be set aside for 2000 years while God added believers to His Church in the heavens. As far as they knew, they were in the tribulation period which had to come before the setting up of the kingdom.

They knew from the prophets that God was going to miraculously preserve the faithful remnant during the tribulation period. However, this did not mean that they would not suffer at the hands of unbelievers. In Matthew 10, the Lord warned His disciples that they were about to enter a combat zone. Verse 16 says:

Matthew 10:16-17, 34 (NKJ)
16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
17 "But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues . . .
34 Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.

The Apostle John confirms that the world is at odds with the Spirit of God. I John 4 says:

I John 4:1-3 (NKJ)
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

When we accept Christ, God separates us from the world and makes us His own. Paul told Titus that Christ gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Paul told the Romans that we as believers should not be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our minds.

As God’s chosen people, we have been call out of the world, and we must endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We must do this in an individual sense. If we live in sin, we can not fellowship with the Spirit of God. However, if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace, and He alone can bring peace to the heart that is troubled by sin.

We must also endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in a corporate sense as the Church which is the Body of Christ. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

It is such a blessing to fellowship with believers who share together the experience of walking with Jesus Christ. When we are worn down by the pressures of the world, we have the assurance that we have a haven of peace and rest and healing in the assembly of the saints.

In October of 1993, the survivors of the Black Hawk Down incident in Mogadishu, Somalia, had been pinned down throughout the night in an intense firefight. When morning finally came, a convoy was sent to rescue them, but there was only room on the vehicles for the wounded and the dead. Those with able bodies realized that they would be running along side the convoy in the midst of a barrage of gunfire.

In an incredible show of courage, they worked their way out of the city to the field hospital which had been set up in an empty soccer stadium. One can only imagine their sense of exhilaration and relief as they pulled into an environment that was relatively safe and peaceful. They were met by a well trained team of specialists who were responsive to their every need. How wonderful it must have been to escape the battle and receive the care they needed.

By the same token, we as believers need a designated place to go to escape the battle we face with the world. If we stay too long in the world without support, the results can be devastating for us and for the ones we love. Praise the Lord, God has given us the Body of Christ to lend us support and provide the spiritual therapy we need. Hebrews 10 says:

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NKJ)
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another . . .

But can you image how demoralizing it would have been for those battle worn soldiers in Mogadishu if upon their arrival at the hospital they had found the team of specialists fighting among themselves and unresponsive to their needs.

I’m sure we would all agree that such a thing would be inexcusable, but I’m afraid that too often our churches are not responsive to the needs of those who have experienced the horrors of doing battle with the world. Internal conflicts often serve to distract us and weaken our position.

We have a common enemy in the world, but the good news is that we can overcome the world if we endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace

Ephesians 4 (Part 5)

2008-02-21T18:56:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4 Part 5
Bible Study Time 10-16-05

In one of the Peanuts cartoons Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn’t. “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus. “These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they’re nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.” “Which channel do you want?” asks Linus. Then, turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?”

In Ephesians, Chapter 4, the Apostle Paul tells us that we should endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and certainly one of the many splendors of God is the unity of the Spirit.

The concept of unity is very similar to the concept of integrity because integrity literally means completeness, and it refers to an integrated oneness. Because every aspect of the Spirit is fully integrated, the love of the Spirit is complete love, the joy of the Spirit is total joy, the peace of the Spirit is absolute peace. When we as individual believers walk in the Spirit, we attain a singleness of purpose and direction which results in personal integrity.

In Ephesians, Chapter 4, the unity of the Spirit is seen under a magnifying glass as Paul reveals that:

Ephesians 4:4-6 (NKJ)
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 (There is) one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Nowhere is the unity of the Spirit more clearly seen than in our present age. It is no coincidence that Paul begins his description of the unity of the Spirit by declaring that there is one body. In the first chapter of Ephesians, Paul revealed that today Jesus Christ serves as the head over all things to the church which is His body. In Ephesians 2 he announced that today God is creating in Himself one new man from believing Jews and Gentiles.

This unity within the ranks of believers has not always been the case. About 2000 years before Christ, God called a man named Abraham and set him apart from the rest of the human race. God gave the land of Palestine to Abraham and promised that all the world would be blessed through one of his descendants. Later God narrowed the focus of that prophecy when He promised David that it would be one of his descendants who would establish an everlasting kingdom upon the earth.

Therefore, during the 2000 year period from Abraham to Christ, God’s program for man centered upon Abraham and his descendants. Even when Israel was carried away into captivity because of her sin, God did not forsake His promises to Abraham and David. There in a strange land the prophets all confirmed that God would someday fulfill all of the promises.

However, when the Lord Jesus came to fulfill those promises, He was rejected and killed. When He was raised from the dead, He was again rejected in spite of the many miracles, wonders and signs which were done by the apostles.

At the end of the Acts period, God temporarily set aside the promises contained in the covenants of Israel and revealed through the Apostle Paul the Church which is the Body of Christ. This did not at all frustrate the plan and purpose of God, for God had planned it all along. In fact, the calling out of the Church revealed the magnitude of the manifold wisdom of God.

Someday God will call the Church of our present age home to be with Christ in the glory, and then He will resume His dealings with Israel. After a time of great tribulation, the nation of Israel will be purified and then glorified as they inherit the kingdom which was promised to Abraham and David so many years ago.

But today, there is one body in which there is neither Jew nor Gentile. Today, there is no covenant which separates or differentiates between the nations of the world. God’s offer of salvation is open to all people everywhere regardless of one’s ethnic heritage. In spite of the fact that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, it is God’s will for all men to be saved and to come into the knowledge of the truth that Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and man, and whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life.

It is vital that we recognize the one body of our present age and that this body is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. If we allow ourselves to think of the Church of God as a fragmented group of earthly organizations, we will have very little chance of keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

After announcing the one body of our present age, Paul announced with jubilation that there is but one Spirit. This was not to deny the fact that there are other spirit beings in the universe. Paul would later say in Ephesians 6 that:

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJ)
12 . . . we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The spiritual power of demons is very real, but Paul knew that the Gentiles had come out of the spiritual quagmire of paganism. They knew all too well the horrors of demonic oppression. They knew what it was like to be held captive by a twisted, demonic religion which was based on a superstitious lust for power, pleasure and prestige. God had miraculously opened their eyes to the fact that their pagan religion was a religion of destruction and death.

Paul was rejoicing with them in the fact that there is only one Spirit who has the ultimate authority over all of the spirit world and that is the Holy Spirit of God. What a thrill it must have been for them to realize that the Spirit of God is decent and kind and pure and holy, and hopefully that is something that thrills our hearts as well.

The Lord Jesus spoke often with great enthusiasm about the coming of the one Spirit. He said that Spirit would work with singleness of purpose to draw all people to Jesus Christ. He referred to the Spirit as the Helper and said:

John 15:26 (NKJ)
26 " . . . when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

John 16:13-14 (NKJ)
13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

It was the Spirit of God who taught us about Christ, convicted us of our need for Christ, and then brought us to a personal faith in Christ. Then He sealed us in the Body of Christ and taught us of the one hope of our calling in Christ.

When the Lord Jesus catches up the Church of the one body at the time of the rapture, He is not going to take only some of the believers and leave the rest on the earth to go through the tribulation period. No, all believers of our present age have the same hope. Whether living or dead at the time of the rapture, we will all be caught up to be with the Lord in heaven before the tribulation period. Our hope for the ages is to enjoy the exceeding riches of God’s grace in the heavenly places.

The nation of Israel, on the other hand, has the hope of the earthly kingdom. During the tribulation period, God will purify Israel and make her ready for the kingdom. Peter said that God called the nation of Israel with a special, or peculiar, calling. In I Peter 2, he said to Israel:

1 Peter 2:9-12 (NKJ)
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,
12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles . . .

Peter speaks of the time when Israel will serve as a nation of priests during the earthly kingdom. Hosea predicted the captivity of Israel and said that Israel would go through a period of time when God would no longer claim them as his own. But Hosea also said that there would come a day when Israel would return to the promised land, and at that time they would be called the Sons of God.

Peter was reminding his Jewish readers that they were a chosen generation, called to experience the fulfillment of that prophesy. He said, “You once were not a people, but you are now the people of God.”

When Peter said, “I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims” he was reminding them of the fact that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all sojourners in a strange land, even though that land had been promised to them as an everlasting inheritance. Peter was confirming to the Jews of the Dispersion that they had the same hope as that of Abraham even though they too were still sojourners in the land.

Paul, on the other hand, wrote to the believers of our present age, to the members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and he said that we too are a special or peculiar people but not in the same sense as the Jews of the Dispersion. He wrote to Titus:

Titus 2:11-14 (NKJ)
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,

(In our present age, the salvation of God has been revealed to all men.)

Titus 2:11-14 (NKJ)
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Paul’s focus was upon the present age, and he said that the blessed hope of the Church is the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:4 (NKJ)
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then (we) also will appear with Him in glory.

The Church which is the Body of Christ has a special calling separate and apart from Israel just like Israel has a special calling which is separate and apart from the Church which is the Body of Christ. Israel has an earthly calling, while the members of the Church are a heavenly people with a heavenly calling.

Philippians 3:20-21 (NKJ)
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Colossians 3:1-2 (NKJ)
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

The unity of the Spirit that we experience in our present age is truly a marvelous thing, for today all believers have this unique, heavenly calling as a member of the Church which is the Body of Christ. Today,

Ephesians 4:4 (NKJ)
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;

Ephesians 4 (Part 6)

2008-02-21T18:53:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4 Part 6
Bible Study Time 10-23-05

The Spirit of God works in a fully integrated environment in that every aspect of the Spirit is fully compatible and fully functional with every other aspect of the Spirit. The Apostle Paul puts it beautifully when he speaks of the unity of the Spirit. When we as believers walk in the Spirit, we begin to sense a personal spiritual unity, and we realize that we are indeed complete in Christ.

As Paul describes the unity of the Spirit in Ephesians 4, he says that there is one Lord and one God and Father of all. This stands in contrast to the pagan religions of Greece and Rome. They had many gods who represented the worst of human characteristics.

It’s little wonder that many of the Gentiles converted to Judaism when they came into contact with the true and the living God. They must have been filled with a sense of wonder and relief to hear that there is really only one God, who is Lord over all of creation and who is the Father of all people.

How satisfying it must have been to learn that the one true God does not spend His time trying to help people accomplish their own diabolical schemes, but that His goal for mankind is personal fellowship with Him.

In Luke, Chapter 7, we read about the Roman centurion whose servant was ill. He asked his friends of the Jewish synagogue to go and talk with the Lord Jesus. He thought that maybe they could convince Jesus to come and heal his servant. Obviously, this Gentile had come to know the God of the Jews.

When he was ordered to his post in this remote region of the Empire, he may well have wondered what he had done to offend the gods. But little did he know that the true and the living God was calling him to Himself. When his Jewish friends came to Jesus, they said that he was deserving of the Lord’s attention because “he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue.”

In Acts, Chapter 8, we read about the Ethiopian who traveled to Jerusalem to worship the God of the Jews. The Bible says that this was a man of great authority in Ethiopia, but in spite of his power and authority in his homeland, it was the God of the Jews who had captured his heart. He was willing to travel through the desert to Jerusalem to worship the one God who is sovereign over all the earth.

Did these men perceive some sort of personal political or social advantage for themselves by joining the religion of the Jews. That could hardly have been the case for God had made it clear that the Jews were His chosen people. The only people who could hold a position of authority within the Jewish system were those of Jewish descent.

Many people would find such a system offensive, but these men were attracted not to the religious system of the Jews but to the God of the Jews. They must have found the joy that comes with laying one’s personal ambition aside to love and serve the God creation.

The Bible starts at the beginning and tells us why we are here. The first verse says:

Gen 1:1 (NKJ)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

For thousands of years, the devil has very effectively sold the idea that man evolved from the elements of nature. The pagans all worshiped the elements of nature and believed that the gods behind the forces of nature determined the course of human events.

The purpose of this doctrine of evolution was and is to deny the authority of God as the creator. If God did create all things then He has the right to determine what is right and what is wrong for His creation. He has the right to determine the standard by which all men and all things are judged.

The Bible reveals the truth about God and about man’s relationship to God. Genesis, Chapter 2, says:

Gen 2:4-8 (NKJ)
4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground;
6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

In passages like this the pagans found at last a logical explanation for why we are here. It makes much more sense to believe that there is one God who is the Father us of us all than to believe that somehow man just appeared as an accident of nature.

The devil is very persistent with his corrupt doctrines, however. In the mid 1800’s Charles Darwin brought the doctrine of evolution over into the realm of science, explaining man’s evolution on the basis of natural selection through genetic mutation. The devil has used this doctrine through the years to corrupt not only theology but science as well.

Jeremiah tells us that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and certainly this can easily be seen in the fact that mankind in general has accepted the doctrine of evolution. Just as many pagans converted to Judaism because they longed for the truth, even so many a calloused heart has turned to the theory of evolution in an effort to escape the God of creation. The Apostle Paul gave a stern warning to Timothy when he said:

1 Tim 4:1-2 (NKJ)
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,

The fact that scientists continue to believe and adamantly fight for a doctrine which has no critical evidence to support its assumptions is evidence in itself that the doctrine of evolution is a doctrine of demons.

King David was a man who rejoiced in the fact that there is one Lord and one God who is the Father of us all. He said in Psalms 33:

Psalms 33:6-11 (NKJ)
6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.

David also saw the implication of the fact that God created all things. In Psalms, Chapter 7, he said, “The LORD shall judge the peoples” and then he said, “Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me.” He understood that God has the right to judge because He is the creator.

Isaiah says in Chapter 42, “Thus says God the LORD” but before he quotes the LORD he describes the LORD by saying, “He is the one:

Isaiah 42:5 (NKJ)
5 . . . who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it:

Then, Isaiah quotes the Lord as He speaks to the nation of Israel saying:

Isaiah 42:6-8 (NKJ)
6 "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles,
8 I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images.

God is the creator and as such He has the right to judge, and He will not give His glory to another. When I read this passage, I can understand why the pagans were drawn to such a powerful and almighty God who is at the same time kind and compassionate and faithful.

Isaiah actually had the opportunity to see the glory of the Lord at the time of his commissioning. He said (Isaiah 6:1) that he saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Then, he said that the Lord told him to preach this message to Israel:

Isaiah 6:9-10 (NKJ)
9 . . . Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'
10 "Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed."

The Lord told Isaiah the he would preach to the nation of Israel until they covered their eyes and plugged their ears but that he should not expect the people to heed his message.

This passage was quoted many times by the Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry and by the apostles during the Acts period. On one such occasion the Apostle John quoted this verse and then said, “These things Isaiah said when he saw the glory of Jesus and spoke of Him.” (John 12:41) John’s message is clear. The one God of the Old Testament is the one Lord of the New Testament. The Lord Jesus is the creator God of the Old Testament.

When the centurion saw the miracles of Jesus in his hometown of Capernaum, he believed in Jesus and called Him Lord. When the Ethiopian was told about Jesus, He said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” These men had hearts that were open to the truth of God’s word. Unfortunately, the Jewish people did not.

The Lord Jesus left the Pharisees speechless when He questioned them about the identity of the Messiah. He asked:

Matthew 22:42-46 (NKJ)
42 . . . "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David."
43 He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:
44 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool" '?
45 "If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"
46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

The Pharisees believed in the coming Messiah, but they wanted Him on their terms. They wanted to dictate to God who the Messiah would be. As a result, they missed their opportunity to believe in the Messiah and receive the salvation of the Lord. The Pharisees accused Jesus of making Himself equal with God, but the Messiah had to be equal with God in order to be the Messiah.

Paul said in Philippians 2:

Philippians 2:5-11 (NKJ)
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

There is one Lord, even Jesus Christ, and there is one God who is the Father of us all. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.”

Ephesians 4 (Part 7)

2008-02-21T18:49:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4 Part 7
Bible Study Time 10-30-05

In Ephesians, Chapter 4, the Apostle Paul says that there is one faith and one baptism. These two things bring to perfection the unity of the Spirit.

When God brought the children of Israel up out of Egypt, he gave them the Law of Moses, saying, “If you do these things, I will bless you, but if you do not do these things, I will curse you.” The nation of Israel, in general, took this challenge to mean that God judges all people on the basis of their good works, and many people today feel the same way.

The Jews of the Old Testament quickly realized, however, that no one can really keep the Law perfectly in every detail. As a result, they concluded that God simply accepts those whose works are better than everyone else. In other words, nobody’s perfect, but if you work really hard, you might earn God’s acceptance.

This kind of thinking seems logical to man, but it is not at all logical to God. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His ways are higher than our ways. God said that those who fall short of His perfect standard will find themselves cursed of God. Paul said in Galatians 3:10,

Galatians 3:10 (NIV)
10 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

This is a difficult thing for us to understand. Why would God give the Law if it was going to result in everyone being under the curse of the Law? Was it given simply to guarantee that nobody would be able to enjoy the blessings of God? Not at all. The Law itself promised Israel peace and prosperity, but God had given greater promises than these to Abraham 400 years before the giving of the Law. In Genesis 18:18, God said:

Genesis 18:18 (NKJ)
18 " . . . Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

This promise of a worldwide kingdom goes far beyond any of the promises of the Law, and it was not based on Abraham’s good works. Genesis 15 says that when Abraham believed God’s promise, God counted his faith for righteousness. Paul was referring to this very thing when in Galatians 3 he said:

Galatians 3:9-13, 21-23 (NKJ)
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them."
11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."
12 Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them."
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),

Paul then asked,
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.
22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.

The New International Version says that we were locked up by the law until faith was revealed, but I prefer the versions of the Bible which say “until The Faith was revealed.” According to Strong’s Greek Dictionary, the definite article is present.

Paul made it clear in the previous chapter that The Faith is the faith which is fully invested in Jesus Christ who died upon the cross for our sins. Paul stated in Galatians 2:

Galatians 2:16
16 "knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Then Paul went on to say:
Galatians 2:19-20
19 "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.
20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Faith in the Son of God is The Faith for which mankind had been kept or preserved under the Law. All were found guilty under the Law, but now all have the opportunity to be set free from the Law through faith in Jesus Christ.

Faith in Jesus Christ is The Faith because Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes to the Father except through faith in Christ. When we come to the point of believing that Jesus Christ died for our sins, then we can say with the Apostle Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me.”

But faith in Jesus Christ not only allows us the opportunity to put the old man of the flesh to death, but it allows us to live in and through the power of Jesus Christ for Paul went on to say, “The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

The one faith of the Bible is the faith which carries us through the crucifixion of Christ and into the resurrection power of Christ. Romans 6 puts it this way:

Romans 6:3-5 (NKJ)
3 . . . do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

These believers in Rome had been baptized in water, and Paul wanted them to know that their water baptism was just a symbol of a spiritual reality which was far more significant than the water to which they had submitted.

They had been baptized in water when they put their faith in Christ, and Paul was saying that it was their faith in Christ which had brought about a greater baptism than that of water. By faith they were spiritually baptized into the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

When James and John came with their mother, seeking a position of honor in the kingdom, the Lord Jesus asked, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” When they said, “we are”, Jesus said, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.” (Matt 20:22-23)

Of coarse, the Lord Jesus was speaking of His death, burial and resurrection for He had just finished telling them that when they got to Jerusalem, the chief priests and scribes would mock Him, scourge Him, spit upon Him, and kill Him, but that He would rise again the third day.

To receive a position of honor in the kingdom, they would have to be willing to be baptized with the baptism of the Lord. They would have to be willing to be crucified with Christ. In that same way, believers today must be willing to be spiritually baptized with the baptism of the Lord. We must be willing to be crucified with Christ so that we can be raised with Him to new life by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The book of Romans was written during the Acts period while water baptism was being practiced. It was a ritual which was associated with God’s offer of the New Covenant Kingdom. Paul knew that the believers in Rome had been baptized in water, but he wanted to make sure they knew the spiritual significance of that outward symbol.

By the time the book of Ephesians was written, God’s offer of the New Covenant Kingdom had been temporarily set aside, and God was using the Apostle Paul to reveal the details of the Church which is the Body of Christ.

As you may recall, the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 3 that God had given him the revelation concerning the one body of our present age to which Jews and Gentiles alike are added. He said that this revelation was a mystery which had never been revealed to the sons of men in previous ages.

Now, here in Ephesians 4, Paul reveals that there is only one baptism for the Church of the one body. This stands in contrast to the book of Romans where the believers had been baptized in water but had to be reminded that there is another spiritual baptism into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ which is far more significant.

Colossians is another book which Paul wrote after the setting aside of Israel’s kingdom program. In Colossians, Paul confirms that for believers today there is only one baptism. In Chapter 2, he said:

Colossians 2:8-12 (NKJ)
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

In this passage, Paul goes straight from his warning about detrimental and even deceitful traditions of men into a discussion of rituals. When he says that we are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, Paul was clearly warning us that submission to physical circumcision would rob us of certain spiritual blessings. Submitting to such rituals would deny the exalted position of Christ as the head of all principality and power. This is confirmed later in Colossians 2 where Paul says:

Colossians 2:18-20 (NKJ)
18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations--

Circumcision was a symbol of death, while baptism was a symbol of death, burial and resurrection. Circumcision was appropriate for the Law for it was a covenant of death. Baptism was appropriate for the New Covenant for it was a covenant of new life through faith in Christ.

Today, we have been rescued from the lower or more basic principles of the world, and we have been raised into the glory of the heavenlies. Let us guard against any philosophy or doctrine which would rob us of that glory. Even without physical circumcision, we have been circumcised by the circumcision of Christ. Even without physical baptism, we have been baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

Paul goes on to say:
Colossians 2:13 (NKJ)
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,

Members of the Church which is the Body of Christ are complete in Christ, and the physical rituals can actually serve to hinder our fellowship in the fullness of Christ. Therefore, Paul said in Colossians 3:

Colossians 3:1 (NKJ)
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.

For members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, there is one faith which results in the one baptism into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. The one faith is the faith which believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins.

As Paul neared the end of his ministry, he said with eager anticipation:

2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NKJ)
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Ephesians 4 (Part 8)

2008-02-21T18:46:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4 Part 8
Bible Study Time 11-13-05

Ephesians 4 and verse 7 says:

Ephesians 4:7 (NKJ)
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Believers have this assurance today, that we have been given gifts that will enable us to accomplish anything and everything that God calls us to do. If God wants us to do something, He will give us the ability and the strength to do it. To the Philippians, Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13, NKJ)

Satan will set obstacles in our path any time God calls us to do something. There will be set backs along the way, and we may be tempted to quit at times. But God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape. God will supply our need and give us the victory for the sake of His own honor and glory. God alone is worthy of all glory and honor and praise.

Moses was called to bring the children of Israel up out of Egyptian captivity. He had his doubts about whether he was up to such a monumental task. After all, who was Moses in comparison with the king of the most powerful nation on the face of the earth? But God said, “Moses, I will be with you.”

When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, He said, “I am the God of your father-- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." (Exodus 3:6, NKJ) Immediately, Moses hid his face for he was afraid. Then God said, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. (Exodus 3:7-9, NKJ)

This must have been encouraging news for Moses for he too had seen the misery of the Jews in Egypt. God went on to say:

Exodus 3:8 (NKJ)
8 "So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, . . .

God has heard the cry of the Jews, and He is planning to deliver them. This must have been exciting news for Moses, but watch what happens next. At this point God says:

Exodus3:10 (NKJ)
10 "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."

All of a sudden Moses realized that God was not just giving him the scope on His plans for Israel, but that God was calling him to return to Egypt to deliver his fellow countrymen from slavery.

Moses immediately shrunk back with fear and doubt, and the first question on his mind was “Who am I.” He asked, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh.”

Then Moses asked an even better question when he asked, “Who are you?” It is nice for us to know who we are, but it is much more important for us to know who God is. Our greatest need is to learn about God and to know Him personally.

God said, “I am who I am, and I will certainly be with you.” God set forth His own personal power as Moses’ guarantee of success. But when Moses got to Egypt, He quickly learned that his success was going to be a little more complicated than he may have thought.

As it turned out, Moses went before Pharaoh over and over again. Each time Moses faced Pharaoh’s stubborn rebellion. But by the time Moses and the children of Israel left Egypt after the Passover, Moses was fully confident in the power of God. It was God who had called him to this task, and it was God who was going to bring it to pass.

We today can have that same confidence because God has given to each one of us grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. As we serve the Lord, we can rest assured that God will supply our every need so that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

First of all, God has given us His word, and we know that:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJ)
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

When my wife, Joan, and I first married, I was perfectly content to use sheets for curtains over the windows. To my mind, buying curtains would just be a waste of money. I soon discovered that Joan had a different point of view. She had the idea that our home should eventually be thoroughly furnished with all kinds of beautiful things that would turn our house into a beautiful home for us and for our children.

Well, it seems that God feels the same way about our lives. He has made provisions to fill our lives with everything we need for every good work. Through His word, He has given us doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness, that we may be completely furnished unto every good work.

But here in Ephesians 4, we learn that we have been given individual gifts as well. God gives us tailor-made gifts which are crafted according to our particular need and according to our particular mission.

During the Acts period, the gifts which were given to believers were quite a lot different from the gifts which are given today. At that time, God was offering the New Covenant Kingdom to the nation of Israel. If the nation of Israel had accepted Christ as her Messiah during that time, Jesus Christ would have returned from heaven, and He would have established the glorious earthly kingdom which had been promised to Israel from the time of Abraham.

During the Acts period, God gave many sign gifts to confirm the kingdom offer. Many believers experienced the power to heal and speak in tongues and other miraculous things. The book of I Corinthians was written during this time, and these gifts are clearly seen in passages such as I Corinthians, Chapter 12 where we read in verse 7:

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NKJ)
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Even here, however, Paul goes on in Chapter 13 to show that love is greater than all of the sign gifts. Chapter 13 verse 1 says:

1 Corinthians 13:1-2 (NKJ)
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

Paul concluded that:

1 Corinthians 13:8-10 (NKJ)
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

Paul was looking into the future when the sign gifts would no longer be necessary. He referred to Christ and His kingdom saying, “When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away.” Where believers experience the fullness of Christ, there is not need for sign gifts.

By the time Paul wrote the book of Ephesians, Paul had been called to reveal the Church which is the Body of Christ, and in Ephesians 4, we see no hint of the sign gifts, such as healing or speaking in tongues. Chapter 4 verse 11 says:

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NKJ)
11 And (Christ) Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

In this passage we see that Paul is no longer waiting for that which is perfect to come for the kingdom offer had been set aside. In the program for the Church, the Body of Christ, God has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to build up the Body of Christ so that it may grow into the full stature of the perfect man, into the stature of the fullness of Christ.

God could have chosen to build up the Body of Christ all by Himself, just like He could chosen to deliver Israel from Egypt all by Himself. But He chose to work through a man in the Old Testament, and today He has chosen to work through men to bring the Body of Christ to perfection.

The gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4 include apostles and prophets, but we should not be confused by that. When Paul wrote the book of Ephesians, most of the apostles were still alive, and the word of God had not been completed. The Apostle John completed the word of God when he finished the book of the Revelation, and since that time Christ’s gifts to the Church include only evangelists, pastors and teachers.

When were these gifts given to the Church? According to verse 8, when Christ ascended on high, He lead captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. Paul explains in verse 9, saying:

Ephesians 4:9-10 (NKJ)
9 (Now this, "He ascended"-- what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

When Christ died upon the cross, He descended into Hell, which is in the lower parts of the earth. In Psalm 16 David said, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” (Ps 16:10, KJV) In Acts 2, Peter confirmed that David was speaking of the resurrection of Christ.

In Romans 10, Paul spoke again of the fact that Jesus Christ descended into the earth before He ascended into heaven. Verse 6 says:

Romans 10:6-9 (NKJ)
6 . . . the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down from above)
7 or, " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

When Christ descended into hell, He did battle with Satan and all of Satan’s forces. According to Colossians 2:15, He disarmed the principalities and powers of darkness, but when He ascended into heaven, He triumphed over Satan’s forces and made a public spectacle of them. It was at this point that Jesus Christ led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.

Through these gifts, God has provided the means by which the members of the Body of Christ can and will grow into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

We saw last week that there is one faith and that that faith is the faith which is fully invested in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ is the one faith of the scriptures. It is disheartening that today we see so many different denominations of believers with each holding to its own brand of doctrine.

We must keep in mind that God’s purpose for the gifts today is that we might grow into the unity of the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, but we must also keep in mind that this is a spiritual unity, not an organizational unity. There can be no spiritual unity apart from the absolute truth of God’s word.

Contrary to all appearances and in spite of the many divisions within the realm of Christianity, God is moving the true Church toward the unity of the faith. No Satanic conspiracy can thwart the plan and purpose of God. As the Church which is the Body of Christ moves ever closer to the unity of the faith, it will become more and more as odds with this world system which includes the religious system of the world.

May God place within our hearts a genuine desire to grow in the unity of the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God so that the true Church which is the Body of Christ may grow into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ who is the perfect man.

Ephesians 4 (Part 9)

2008-02-21T18:44:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4 Part 9
Bible Study Time 11-27-05

Ephesians Chapter 4 starts off with a discussion of the Unity of the Spirit and then reveals that after Jesus Christ was raised from the dead He ascended up into glory and led captivity captive. Paul confirms this in Colossians 2 when he says that Christ disarmed the principalities and powers of darkness and made a public spectacle of them by his work on the cross.

It seems apparent that it was at this time that the spirits of the Old Testament saints were taken up into the glory of heaven. Before the cross there was no basis upon which the spirits of departed saints could enter into glory. The scriptures indicate that before the cross the spirits of departed saints went to a separate place where they were safe and secure, but they were not in heaven.

The Pharisees of Jesus day taught that there was a place called “the Bosom of Abraham” which was divided into two parts with the saved on one side and the unsaved on the other. The Lord Jesus incorporated these terms and concepts when He told the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke, Chapter 16.

As you will recall, the rich man had all of the finer things of life as a result of his wealth while Lazarus was a beggar who sat at the rich man’s gate, covered with sores, hoping to receive crumbs from the rich man’s table.

The Lord said that Lazarus died and was carried by the angels, not to heaven, but to the Bosom of Abraham. When the rich man died, he went to be tormented in the fires of hell. From his place in hell he could see Abraham a far off, and he could see Lazarus there in Abraham’s Bosom.

When the rich man asked if Lazarus could come to him with but a drop of water on the tip of one finger, Abraham said, “between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”

The picture painted by the Lord Jesus of Abraham’s Bosom is a little different from the teaching of the Pharisees. Rather than being one place that was divided into two parts, the Lord had Abraham’s Bosom far away from the fires of hell but still close enough that the rich man could still see and communicate with Abraham.

We can not tell if this was the account of a literal event or if it was a parable which Jesus told to make a point, but either way it does seem that the Lord was confirming the fact that at that time the spirits of saved people went some place other than heaven.

We can praise the Lord today that the spirits of departed saints go directly into the presence of the Lord. This is made clear in I Thessalonians 4 where Paul says:

1Thessalonians 4:13-17 (NKJ)
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Notice that Paul says that God will bring with Him those who are asleep in Jesus. Well, who is it that He is coming to get? Those who are asleep in Jesus. In fact, Paul says that those who sleep in Jesus will rise first followed by those who are alive and remain. From this we see that those who sleep in Jesus today are with the Lord in spirit form even while their bodies lie in the grave.

It seems that when Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, He triumphed over the principalities and powers of darkness and took the spirits of the departed saints with Him into the glory of heaven.

This scene is reminiscent of the time that Abraham rescued Lot and his family from captivity. Five evil kings came up against Sodom and Gomorrah and took the cities captive. Lot and family were taken away by these invading armies. One of Lot’s servants was able to escape, however, and he went straight to Abraham to tell him the bad news. Genesis 14 tells us that:

Genesis 14:14-16 (NKJ)
14 . . . when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

We have seen that in the Old Testament people were held captive by the curse of sin not only while they were alive but also in this holding place after they died, but when Christ conquered death, hell and the grave, His shed blood provided the necessary means by which all who believe in Him could be set free from the grip of the curse.

Satan and his band of angels were judged by the Lord at the time of their rebellion before the creation. God placed them in everlasting chains. The book of Jude says:

Jude 1:6 (NIV)
6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home-- these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

Though bound with chains, these fallen angels have had great power over the affairs of men, but their chains serve as a constant reminder of the judgment which is to come. When the Lord Jesus was in the grave for three days and three nights, Peter says that the Lord went and preached to these angels who are bound with chains. I Peter 3:18 says:

1 Peter 3:18-19 (NKJ)
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,

Pastor R. B. Shiflet of Mineral Wells, Texas, said in the Timely Messenger that these imprisoned spirits may well have been among the angels who intermarried with human beings during the time of Noah and that when the Lord was preaching to them, He was making a great victory speech in which He was declaring His authority over them.

When Christ arose from the dead, He made a public spectacle of these fallen angels, and it is only logical that at this same time He rescued the spirits of all of the Old Testament saints from Adam to the time of the cross.

We do not know exactly what those spirits are able to comprehend or what they understand while they are there in heaven. Do they see the things that we see and do? Do they understand the joy that we experience or the pain that we feel? We simply can not say, but as I have heard my father say that we do know this much, in the Lord’s presence there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasure forevermore, which is exactly what Psalm 16 says.

This past week we have been celebrating Thanksgiving, and this is one of those things that we should all be thankful for. In His presence there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasure forevermore. God has said it in His word, and He is not a man that He should lie. What a comfort it is to know that our loved ones who have gone on to be with the Lord are experiencing fullness of joy, and what a comfort it is to us as we face our own mortality.

I have at times heard people say that they do not want to cry when they lose a loved one because they want to be strong as a testimony for the Lord. But we need to realize that godly sorrow is beautiful in the sight of the Lord. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who morn, for they shall be comforted.”

In II Corinthians, Paul indicated that godly sorrow is different from the sorrow of the world. He said that the sorrow of the world produces death while godly sorrow produces repentance which leads to salvation.

Once, shortly after David was made king of Israel, the Philistines attacked Israel. They managed to take even the city of Bethlehem which is just a few miles from Jerusalem. David and his men fled from Jerusalem to a cave, and at one point his men overheard David saying that he would love a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem. Upon hearing David’s desire, three of his mighty men went down to Bethlehem, broke through the enemy lines. They drew water from the well and brought it to David.

When David saw what they had done, he was overwhelmed to think that God had given him men of such courage and loyalty. So David took a great big drink enjoyed every bit of it. Do you think that’s what he did? No. The Bible says that David poured that water out as a sacrifice to the Lord. It was too precious to drink. It was made sacred by the sacrifice of his men.

I believe that when we grieve with godly sorrow over the loss of a loved one, God receives our tears as a sacred offering. When our tears bring us to the point of recognizing God’s sovereignty and His goodness, this is beautiful in the sight of God. Our tears become an offering of thanksgiving for that life which He created. Ephesians four says that we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus, and God workmanship is something to behold. We have all witnessed God’s ability to create masterful works of art which stand as a testimony to His grace and His love.

When the world sees a believer whose heart is breaking, they can see the difference between those who grieve with no hope and those who grieve with godly sorrow for those who grieve with godly sorrow find comfort in the word of God and in the fellowship of the household of faith. We can only pray that such godly sorrow will lead those who have no hope to see their need for the Savior. Godly sorrow produces repentance which leads to salvation.

When our hearts are grieving, we can rest assured that God knows our sorrow, and He will not allow us to be tempted above what we are able to bear. He knows our limits better than we do.

The other day I saw an interview with Dana Reeve whose husband, actor Christopher Reeve, was paralyzed as a result of a horseback riding accident. She told about the fact that she lost her husband and her mother and was diagnosed with lung cancer all in the space of one year.

She said, “Sometimes I wonder how much one little soul can bear.” But, it was obvious that God was giving her the strength to carry through with her cancer treatments and still at the same time champion the cause of research on behalf of paralysis and lung cancer victims. God will give us the strength to sorrow in a godly way, and still carry on with the work He has called us to do.

Just before Jesus was arrested He told His disciples:

John 14:27 (NKJ)
27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid

John 16:16, 20, 22
16 "A little while, and you will not see Me; but then again, in a little while, you will see Me, because I go to the Father."
20 "Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, . . . but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
22 "Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

We may sorrow now with a godly sorrow as we offer a sacrifice of tears, but someday our sorrow will turn to joy for we will see the Lord Jesus face to face. The Apostle John said:

Revelation 21:3-4 (NKJ)
3 . . . I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

Ephesians 4 (Part 10)

2008-02-21T18:40:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4 Part 10
Bible Study Time 12-4-05

When Jesus Christ ascended on high after His resurrection, He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men which for us today includes evangelists and pastor-teachers. The purpose of evangelists and pastor-teachers is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. God created us in Christ Jesus unto good works, and He has given us all that we need to do every good work. All scripture is God-breathed and is a package deal which in and of itself thoroughly furnishes the believer for every good work.

When I go into my house, I find it helpful to have a table at mealtime. I enjoy having a chair to sit in when its time to read a book. I enjoy having a bed to sleep in when its time to sleep. I can only imagine how frustrating it would be if I had no furnishings in my house. I can just imagine myself standing around wondering what to do.

Well, God did not create us in Christ Jesus to be a bunch of stand around Christians so He made it possible for us to be thoroughly furnished unto every good work. Everything we need is furnished for us in the word of God.

God has called us to reach out to the lost and tell them that Jesus Christ died for their sins. But then when the lost get saved, they are immediately baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Church which is the Body of Christ. That means that at any given time there are many different kinds of people in the body of Christ, and each one of us is at a different level of maturity in our relationship with Christ. Therefore, it is also God’s will for us to minister to one another under the leadership of our pastor-teachers until we:

Ephesians 4:13 (NKJ)
13 . . . come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

God has a plan for us that encompasses a whole lot more than just going to church on Sunday and placing an offering in the offering plate. One of the critical factors in our capacity to grow into the measure of the stature of Christ is our knowledge of the Son of God.

The other day a young man in our church services said something very profound. He said, “What’s really important is what God thinks!” I’ve thought about that quite a bit since then, and I thought about the fact that it’s easy to get all wrapped up in what people think because we have so much exposure to man’s thoughts.

We have libraries full of books. We have coffee tables full of newspapers and magazines. We have talk shows on television and radio. The opinions vary on any given subject from one end of the spectrum to the other. But what really matters is what God thinks. That’s why we need to grow in our knowledge of the Son of God until we come into the unity of the faith.

The Son of God, of coarse, is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Shortly after the Lord Jesus fed 4000 hungry people with seven loaves of bread and just a few small fish, He traveled with His disciples to Caesarea Philippi. He asked His disciples, “Who do people say I am?” They said, some say you’re John the Baptist, others say you’re Elijah, while others say you’re Jeremiah. When Jesus asked, who do you say I am?, Peter boldly declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

When the Ethiopian made his confession to Philip the Evangelist, he simply said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

The Apostle John spoke of Jesus as the Word and said:

John 1:14 (NKJ)
14 . . . the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

But John also said:

John 1:1,3,4 (NKJ)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The work of the ministry relates directly to the knowledge of the Son of God. We have so much to learn, and we need to dedicate ourselves to learning and teaching doctrine which leads to an increase in our knowledge of the Son of God. Even the Apostle Paul, after revealing the great truths concerning the supremacy of Christ, said he would gladly give up all of the glory of this world for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

The Bible is the word of God, and it is our only reliable source when it comes to growing in the knowledge of the Son of God. To gain this knowledge we must study the scriptures, rightly divided, to show ourselves approved unto God as workers who need not to be ashamed.

The Apostle Peter confirmed that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God. In II Peter 1, Peter said:

2 Peter 1:20-21 (NKJ)
20 . . . no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit wrote the Bible, and we just happen to have the Holy Spirit living within us. That means that the Holy Spirit can apply each word with precision to accomplish God’s purpose in our lives.

There are those who think that they should get an earth shattering revelation every time they read the Bible, and that can be a problem. Although there are times when God simply leaves us astonished, there are other times when we just get some information. The Bible calls this information doctrine, and it says that this information is profitable in the sense that in the long run, it makes us complete and thoroughly furnished unto every good work.

Much of this doctrine comes to us in the form of history. Who did what and when. Some people tell me that they don’t like history. They say it’s too boring, and that amazes me because I love history. But really history is fascinating because it is so apparent that God has been directing every aspect of history all along the way.

But the historical information that’s given in the Bible is the most fascinating historical information of all because these events were actually planned by God as pictures of future events. They were prophetic pictures or types of things to come.

When Abraham placed his son, Isaac, upon the alter, that was a picture of God sending His Son to die for our sins. The plagues in Egypt were a picture of the plagues of the tribulation period which will come to pass just before Jesus Christ returns to set up His earthly kingdom. The children of Israel were protected during the plagues of Egypt just like the believing Jews will be protected during the tribulation period.

God parted the waters of the Red Sea so that the children of Israel could pass through the its red waters on their way to the promised land. This pictured the fact that the believing Jews who enter Christ’s kingdom will be those Jews who have been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. The kingdom is for those Jews who have been baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

Do you think it was just a coincidence that the sea they crossed was the Red Sea? God worked out the details of this event even before He created Adam and Eve. The sea had to be the Red Sea because it represented the blood of Jesus Christ.

Doctrine is information which we need to be complete. God did not just give us pastors to encourage us during difficult times, but He gave us pastor-teachers to teach us this information which is so important for us if we are to grow in our knowledge of the Son of God. But, obviously, our pastor-teachers can not do all of the studying. Each of us must study to show ourselves approved unto God.

When we see how much information is available to us through the electronic media, and then when we compare that with how little the Bible is read even by believers, it’s no wonder we often feel incomplete. The Bible was given that the man of God might be complete. If the word of God is not the dominate influence in our hearts then we may well feel a void in our lives. We will feel incapacitated when it comes to self discipline and self control. When we feel incomplete or inadequate, we should turn to the word of God. There are many programs available which will take us through the entire Bible every year.

You might say that you don’t have time to read the Bible for 30 minutes a day, but the real question is this, can you afford not to read the Bible for 30 minutes every day? The Bible itself declares that the information we get will make us complete. Do we really want to face the challenges we face when we’re not functioning at full capacity? God wants us to be all we can be, and He gave us His word so that we can be just that.

Doctrine is information while reproof is that which corrections false doctrine or misinformation. Instruction in righteousness is that which teaches us how to behave, while correction changes us when we misbehave. All of this comes to us by the power of the Holy Spirit when we read the word of God.

God’s word gives direction according to Psalm 119:105:

Psalm 119:105 (KJV)
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

God’s word gives cleansing:

Psalm 119:9 (KJV)
9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

God’s word gives hope:

Psalm 119:114 (KJV)
114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

God’s word gives us life:

Psalm 119:50 (KJV)
50 This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life.

When the Lord Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He turned to the greatest spiritual force in the world to resist the devil. He turned to the word of God. When the devil said, turn these stones into bread,

Matthew 4:4 (KJV)
4 . . . (Jesus) answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

When the devil said, cast yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple,

Matthew 4:7 (KJV)
7 Jesus said . . . It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

The devil said, all these kingdoms I will give you if you bow down and worship me, but again Jesus said:

Matthew 4:10 (KJV)
10 . . . it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

God’s word is settled in heaven, and the entirety of it is truth.

Our pastor-teachers have been given special gifts in regard to the teaching of the word. And they have special gifts which enable them to minister to the special needs of the individual members of the body of Christ. When we’re hurting, they comfort us through the word. When we’re discouraged, they build us up through the word. When we have important decisions to make, they help us to discern the will of God for our lives as they teach the various doctrines of the Bible.

The first deacons were appointed in Acts, Chapter 6, because there were so many tables to serve at mealtime. The believers all ate their meals together at that time and their numbers had grown to such an extent that it was difficult to serve everyone efficiently. The twelve apostles brought the people together and said:

Acts 6:2-4 (NKJ)
2 . . . "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.
3 "Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;
4 "but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

The Apostles knew that to be an apostle was to be a minister of the word, and they also knew that the work of the ministry is a work that belongs to all believers. What a wonderful opportunity we all have to take part in the work of the ministry.

There is no work that is more satisfying than the work of the ministry. Seeing people grow in the unity of the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God is such a blessing. Why is it such a blessing? Because God has made it that way. He engineered us and life in such a way that we are most happy when we are busy in the work of the ministry. Teaching the word of God so that we can all grow into that perfect man, into the full measure of the stature of Christ.

Ephesians 4 (Part 11)

2008-02-21T18:38:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4 Part 11
Bible Study Time 12-11-05

Last week in our study of Ephesians 4, we saw that we need to grow in our knowledge of the Son of God in order to grow in the unity of the faith and into the full measure of the stature of Christ. This is God’s ultimate goal for the Church which is the Body of Christ. We must look to the word of God for our knowledge of Jesus Christ, for all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable in that it fully equips us for every good work.

The Bible is our only completely reliable source of information concerning Jesus Christ in that it was the only book which was written by the Holy Spirit of God. Fortunately for us, the one who interprets the Bible for us is the Holy Spirit of God who lives within us. Without the working of the Holy Spirit, the Bible can not be understood. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God, but we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

Ephesians 4 gives us two reasons why it’s important for us to grow in our knowledge of the Son of God. First, we need this knowledge to avoid being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. As we grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ there will be fewer and fewer doctrines which threaten our faith. The preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes spoke in very human terms and said:

Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NKJ)
9 That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.

If someone tells you that their religion is a brand new religion, you’d better take that with a grain of salt because there’s really nothing new under the sun. Their religion may have a new name, and it may have been tweeked a little here and there, but the chances are pretty good that it’s just a variation of one of the age old religions.

When we are young in faith and young in knowledge, we are more vulnerable to the deceptive ploys of the devil. Some of those who come to us with false doctrine may be very sincere even though their doctrine is deceitful. However, we can rest assured that false doctrine will always be exposed by the word of God. If we faithfully and prayerfully study the word, the Holy Spirit will lead us into that which is correct.

In Ephesians 4, Paul particularly warns us about those who come by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. It would be a grave mistake to think that all religious people have pure motives. The Apostle Paul knew from personal experience the cunning craftiness and deceitful plotting of religious people. He may well have been one of those who offered payment for the false testimony which was given at Stephen’s trial, and the Bible plainly declares that Paul stood there and watched as Stephen was stoned.

Paul told Timothy that some who teach false doctrine have been robbed of the truth and think that godliness is a means to financial gain. Well, whether their motive is financial or political, we must be on guard for such hypocrisy. Paul made sure that nobody could accused him of serving the Lord for financial gain. He worked as a tentmaker providing for his own financial support even though he had every right to claim support from his followers. In I Corinthians 9, he said:

1 Corinthians 9:11,12,18 (NIV)
11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.

When Paul warned the Ephesians about being tossed about by every wind of doctrine, he was not giving them or us an excuse for closing our minds to any doctrine that we’ve never heard before. Nothing could be further from the truth. The essence of growth is an open mind. How can we grow, if we never learn anything new?

Paul praised the Bereans because they were willing to search the scriptures to see if his doctrine was true. To be sure no one had ever heard Paul’s doctrine before because this was something that was new. Paul clearly stated in his book to the Galatians that he did not get his doctrine from men, but it came to him as a direct revelation from God.

Paul, himself, at one time stubbornly held to the doctrines of the Pharisees, but after he met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, he realized that his motivation was selfish and worldly. As he grew in his knowledge of the Jesus Christ, he said that he counted the selfish glory of his former religion but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ. God went to great lengths to reveal Himself to this man who was very close minded. Ultimately, Paul opened his mind and his heart to Jesus Christ.

As Paul defended himself before Festus and King Agrippa, he told of his conversion and of the fact that Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead and had actually spoken to him from heaven. Festus closed his mind and his heart and said, “Paul, much learning has made you mad.” King Agrippa on the other hand, opened his mind but not his heart and said, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”

The first step to having an open heart is having an open mind. But if we have an open mind, how can we avoid being tossed about by every wind of doctrine? That is a dilemma which every believer must face. If we really study the scriptures, our beliefs will be challenged because some of our beliefs are wrong, and God wants to change our minds on those things. Would any of us claim to be infallible in our doctrine? If we do, there’s something wrong.

In general terms, the solution to this problem is to keep an open mind, keep studying the word, and keep praying for discernment. Some items we just have to put on the back burner for a while. God will give us a perfect understanding of all things in His own time.

It’s also important to remember that knowledge is not the end of the growth process, but it is the beginning. II Peter, Chapter 1, says:

2 Peter 1:5-7 (NKJ)
5 . . . giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

This indicates that true knowledge will lead us to a more perfect love. In I Corinthians 13, Paul agreed and said, though I have all knowledge and have not love, I am nothing.

The knowledge which is offered by the Holy Spirit will lead us to love, but there is a type of human knowledge which leads not to love but to arrogance and pride. Paul spoke of this kind of knowledge when he said:

1 Corinthians 8:1-3 (NIV)
1 . . . Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
3 But the man who loves God is known by God.

Again, love is seen a superior to knowledge. Paul probably had the people at the tower of Babel in mind when he wrote Romans 1 and said:

Romans 1:22-25,28 (KJV)
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 (Ultimately, they) changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, . . .
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

The knowledge which comes from the Holy Spirit leads us to know and love Jesus Christ, but the people at the tower of Babel had closed their minds to God because they did not want to retain God in their knowledge. Those who refuse to believe in God have to close their minds to the truth, but those who love God have no reason to fear the truth because truth always leads to Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Unbelievers who profess themselves to be wise have a knowledge which is not based on truth. Those who believe in evolution, for example, profess themselves to be wise, but their doctrine ignores the evidence. Knowledge which ignores the evidence is false knowledge. Paul warned Timothy about those who possess false knowledge when he told him to avoid profane and idle babbling and all that is falsely called knowledge. Paul went on to say that those who are obsessed with disputes and arguments are destitute of the truth.

Human knowledge puffs up and leads man to think that he no longer needs God. But the knowledge which comes from the Holy Spirit leaves us kneeling before our Creator with a humble desire to learn more. As we open our hearts and minds to the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, we grow in our knowledge of the Son of God and this knowledge keeps us from being tossed about by every wind of doctrine.

In Ephesians 4, Paul give us another reason to grow in our knowledge of the Son of God, and that is that we might be able to speak the truth in love. To grow up into Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church which is His Body, we need to learn about Him, and we need to speak about Him. And, of coarse, God would have it no other way but that we should speak the truth in love. In II Corinthians 2, Paul said that we are to diffuse the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ in every place.

When my wife, Joan, and I go into a department store, you can bet that Joan will eventually find her way to the perfume counter. She loves to check out any new fragrance and the older ones too. There’s just something special about a beautiful fragrance. It’s not something you can easily forget.

When the people around us sense the fragrance of Jesus Christ, they will be drawn to Him. I saw a Louis Palau television special the other day in which the actor Stephen Baldwin gave his testimony. When he and his family moved to Los Angeles, they hired a housekeeper who spoke often of her faith in Jesus Christ. Stephen and his wife could not help but notice the joy and the peace that this lady brought into their home. Today the Baldwins serve Jesus Christ and are very active in several youth ministries in the southern California all because this housekeeper brought the fragrance of Jesus Christ with her to work. When people see the Lord Jesus for what He really is, they will seek Him, and they will find Him.

If you are listening this morning, and you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you can accept Him today. By simply believing God’s word, that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day, you can become a child of God and receive everlasting life, and God will begin to reveal the fragrance of Jesus Christ in your life.

If you’re listening this morning, and you already know Jesus Christ, let us dedicate ourselves to Christ so that everyone around us will sense the beautiful fragrance of Jesus Christ. May the lost see Him through us and come to Him for healing, for cleansing and for everlasting life.