Category: Ephesians

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Ephesians

Standing together in prayer

Ephesians

As we close Ephesians, we close with the same drum we’ve been beating for the last 4 chapters: unity.

Paul has been talking about the spiritual war we are in, and after talking about the armor of God we are to put on, he told the Ephesians,

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.

Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:18-20)

Here he reminds the Ephesians that on top of all the spiritual armor we are to wear, we are to remember where our strength comes from. It comes not from ourselves, but from God.

And so he tells us that we are to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

What does it mean to pray in the Spirit: To me, it means to let the Spirit lead you as you pray. To ask him, “How should I pray today?”

Too often, we just talk about what we want to talk about. And because of that, we miss out on what God wants to talk about.

So be led by the Spirit in your prayers. Let his prayers be your prayers.

And do it on all occasions, whether good or bad.

Pray using all kinds of prayers: Prayers of thanksgiving; Prayers of worship; Prayers of confession; And prayers for our needs.

But whatever we pray, we are to stand together in prayer. Again, we are not called to fight this battle alone. We are to be one with the other believers in this spiritual war. And so we are to pray for each other and with each other.

We are to especially stand in prayer with those in the front lines preaching the gospel, praying that God would give them the words to speak, and that he would empower them with his Spirit so that people may be changed.

And for those on the front line, remember you are not alone.

As Paul did, seek the prayers of the other believers, and share what’s going on with you. Don’t try to make it on your own. We all need each other.

So wherever you are, let us stand together. And we will find victory.

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Ephesians

The armor we fight in

Ephesians

I said yesterday that we do not fight our battles with human weapons, whether it’s literal ones, political ones, or weapons of mere human rhetoric.

Now don’t get me wrong, there is room for the latter two. We do need to make our voices heard in the political realm, and part of that means using human rhetoric to communicate.

Paul himself did that, dealing with the politicians and philosophers of his day.

But if we are expecting to successfully fight this spiritual war through human weapons alone, we are doomed to failure.

If we are to truly take our stand as we face attack, we need to have God’s armor on us. What is that armor?

Paul starts with the belt of truth. (Ephesians 6:14a)

Truth should mark our speech. Truth should mark our lives. And when lies are being spread all around us, the lies of Satan and the lies of men, we are to counter it with the truth of God.

When hypocrisy and compromise is all around us, we should be known for our integrity. See Daniel and his friends for multiple examples of this. (Daniel 1-6)

Righteousness should be protecting our hearts. (Ephesians 6:14b)

Our hearts are stained and weakened when we sin. But when we are under attack and accused of wrongdoing, we should never give in to compromise.

Daniel and his friends were often accused of wrongdoing, but they never compromised their faith.

We should also never give in to thoughts of revenge against those who attack us. As Peter said,

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (1 Peter 4:19)

Our feet should be fitted with the gospel of peace. (Ephesians 6:15)

Wherever we go, we should rest in God’s peace, knowing that whatever happens to us, our salvation is assured.

And we should take that gospel with us and share it with everyone we meet that they too may have peace with God.

We are to take up the shield of faith, so that when Satan assails us with his fiery darts of doubt, our faith may extinguish them (Ephesians 6:16).

Doubts can especially creep up in times of trouble and persecution. We start to question God, “Are you really here? Why are you letting this happen to us?”

But we are to rest in the confidence that God is in control, and that our faith in him will not go unrewarded.

We are to take up the helmet of salvation to protect our minds from the evil thoughts that rise up within us or that the enemy tries to plant within us. (Ephesians 6:17a)

Each day, we are to be renewed in our thinking by the Spirit of God within us, allowing him to transform us from the inside out.

And finally, we are to take up the sword of the Spirit, God’s word, the sole weapon we are equipped with. (Ephesians 6:17b)

When Jesus was in the desert under attack from Satan, each time he countered Satan’s lies with God’s word.

It is the Word of God that shows us what truth is.

It is the Word of God that transforms our minds and our lives through the power of the Spirit.

And it is the Word of God that penetrates people’s hearts that they may see the light of the gospel.

So it’s absolutely vital that we know his Word. Do you?

And are you putting on the rest of the armor of God daily? Or are you leaving yourself wide open to spiritual attack?

Are you ready to take your stand in this present darkness we live in?

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Ephesians

Standing in the face of attack…together

Fighting together

We are in enemy territory. I don’t know if you know that, but we are. Paul says,

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

“This dark world.”

This world occupied by the enemy. But not human enemies. Spiritual ones. Satan and all his demons occupy this territory, and it’s because of them that we dwell in “this present darkness.” (ESV)

You don’t have to look far to see it. Morals are collapsing. What is right is considered wrong, and what is wrong is considered right. Exactly as Isaiah once talked about when he wrote,

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. (Isaiah 5:20)

Paul said something similar to Timothy.

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.

Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3)

We are here. This is the world we live in. This is why Paul admonishes us,

Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

The day of evil. What does he mean by this?

I can’t help but think that he’s talking about a time of persecution. A time when Christianity will no longer be tolerated.

Already, we find it under attack in America. In Canada, there are things Christians simply cannot say on the radio or be shut down for violating “hate crime” laws.

The question is, as a church, how do we fight back?

Not through our own strength. Rather, Paul says,

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. (Ephesians 6:10)

Nor are we to rely on human weapons to fight, whether it’s literal weapons, political weapons, or weapons of mere human rhetoric. Instead, Paul says,

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (Ephesians 6:11)

Again, we’re not fighting humans. We’re fighting the spiritual powers behind this present darkness we are facing.

The thing I keep coming back to throughout the book of Ephesians, though, is vitally important here as well.

While certainly God calls us individually as Christians to take up the armor of God and take our stand against the devil, Paul is telling the church to do this.

Put another way, “All of you. Put on the full armor of God so that all of you, standing together, can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Jesus said,

Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. (Luke 11:17)

And if the church is divided against itself, we have no chance to stand against the enemy.

So again we come to the question of unity. God has joined us together as one body under Christ.

Satan, however, is trying to tear us apart. It’s much easier to destroy a church that is coming apart at the seams already than to destroy one that is in complete unity.

And it’s much easier to pick off a lone Christian than it is a group of Christians supporting and protecting one another.

So as we face attack in this dark world, how will we do it?

Divided? Weak? Fighting in our own strength with human weapons?

Or united as one, fighting with spiritual weapons in the strength of the Lord?

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Ephesians

How we serve

Ephesians

We close up this section on family living with one more picture of our relationship with God, namely with Christ.

We saw earlier how our marriage relationships are a picture of our relationship with Christ and how our parent-child relationships are a picture of our relationship with God the Father.

Now in this passage, we see how the Roman slave-master relationship is a picture of our relationship with Christ.

It might seem strange to think of slave-master relationships as an aspect of family relationships. But actually, that is how they were often seen by the Romans. Slaves were considered part of the household back in those days.

Why Paul (and others in the New Testament) never outright condemned slavery is hard to say.

What they did do was ultimately pave the way for slavery to be done away with by reshaping how people saw slaves.

How were slaves to be seen? As people, not property.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Paul tells the Christian slaves,

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. (Ephesians 6:5-8)

Here again, Paul seems to see a picture of our relationship with Christ in the family relationship of slave and master.

This picture, unlike the other two of husband-wife, and parent-child, is not based on an ideal, but based on a reality of Roman society at the time.

We see that slavery was not God’s ideal for human relationships in I Corinthians 7:21-23, where Paul said to the slaves, “if you can gain your freedom, do so…You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.”

Nevertheless, in that passage as well as this one, Paul pictures us as slaves of Christ.

And Paul says to the slaves, “Just as you serve Christ, serve your masters. Obey them with respect, fear, and sincerity of heart. Don’t just do it when they’re looking either, but serve with integrity and wholeheartedly.”

Why?

Because in the end, Christ will reward you for it, as he will all his “slaves.”

None of us are slaves nowadays, but many of us do work, whether it’s at our job earning money or simply doing voluntary work at the church or in other places.

But either way, our attitude should be the same. We need to remember that ultimately, we are serving Christ, and it should show in our attitudes. Does it?

I struggle with this sometimes. And I have had to repent more than once from a poor attitude.

But as we see our bosses and those in charge of us, we should see them as we see Christ and obey them as we obey Christ.

On the other hand, Paul tells the bosses,

And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. (Ephesians 6:9)

In other words, be just to the people who are under you.

If they are deserving of reward, don’t withhold it from them. Instead, just as Christ rewards those who are faithful, reward those under you who are faithful.

And don’t threaten them, ruling with fear. Remember you have a Master too. And ultimately, you and those who work for you are under one Master. You have merely been given charge over them for a short time.

And because of this, you yourself are to be faithful to Christ in dealing with the people he has given you.

So the question is, “How do you serve?”

How do you serve your bosses God has put over you? And how do you serve Christ in dealing with those he has given under you?

May we always be found faithful in whatever situation we have been put in.

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Ephesians

Following our Father’s example

Ephesians

In this chapter, we see an extension of Paul’s teaching on our relationship with God and how it shows in our relationships with each other.

In chapter 5, we see that just as the church submits to Christ as her husband, a wife is to submit to her husband.

And just as Christ loves the church and treats it as part of himself, so a husband is to love his wife and treat her as part of himself, for God has joined them together as one.

Here in chapter 6, we see the parent-child relationship we have with God. Paul says,

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. (Ephesians 6:1)

Why is it right?

Because God has given the children to their parents as a trust. He has given them responsibility over their children for that time of growing up and maturing.

So it’s only right that children obey, even if they don’t always understand all their parents tell them to do.

It’s also right because it’s a picture of our relationship to God.

He is our Father. And unlike our earthly fathers and mothers, he truly does know what is best.

And so even when we don’t always understand why God tells us to do certain things, we should obey. For only in doing so, will we find true blessing.

That’s why Paul says,

“Honor your father and mother” — which is the first commandment with a promise — “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:2-3)

A child’s obedience to their parents is to be a picture to them of the blessing that comes when we are obedient to God.

Unfortunately, not all parent-child relationships are a good picture of that.

Why? Because parents fail to show what God is truly like in their actions. They don’t discipline their children. Or just as bad, they discipline them too harshly.

Some parents try to motivate their children by never praising them and always criticizing them.

Other parents fail to show sympathy for their children in their troubles and may instead mock them.

These things fracture their relationship with their children and warp their view of God as their Father.

And so Paul tells parents,

“Fathers, do not exasperate (or embitter — Colossians 3:21) your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)

Just as our Father in heaven loves and raises us, so we are to follow our Father’s example and love and raise our children.

Two questions to close.

How well did your parents portray God to you in how they raised you?

If they didn’t do so well, then remember to take your eyes off of them, and put your eyes fully on Him. Because no matter how badly your parents failed you, God never will.

How well are you portraying God to your children? Do they see God in you?

I know I fail too often. And so my prayer is that God will continue to change me, so that my daughter can see God in me.

What kind of parent are you?

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Ephesians

Unity in marriage (part 2)

Happy couple

The very interesting thing we find in this passage is that marriage is meant to be a picture of our relationship with Christ. In what way?

Paul says,

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.

He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church– for we are members of his body.

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

This is a profound mystery–but I am talking about Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:25-32)

What did Christ do for the church? He left his home in heaven to join himself with us. More, he gave himself for us, dying on the cross.

And to this day, he cares for us, taking care of our physical and spiritual needs, and nurturing us with his love.

Why? Because he loves us as if we were part of himself. And in fact, in Jesus’ eyes, we are part of himself.

And that’s what a husband is supposed to do. He leaves his home and his parents behind to unite himself with his wife.

He gives himself up for her, laying down his life for her, caring for her, providing for her both physically and spiritually, and nurturing her with his love.

Why? Because he loves her as if she were a part of himself. In fact, in God’s eyes, she is a part of her husband.

The husband is in many ways to be a picture of Christ to his wife. The wife, in turn, honors her husband and follows his leadership, just as she honors Christ and follows his leadership.

For us husbands then, one question we need to ask ourselves is how much are we reflecting Christ to our wives? Do we treat our wives as if they were truly part of us? Or do we treat them as something less?

Christ certainly doesn’t treat the church as something less. How then can we treat our wives as something less?

And for you wives, one question you need to ask yourselves is, “How much am I submitting to Christ?”

Because if you have trouble submitting to Christ, you will have even greater trouble submitting to your husbands.

Paul thus concludes,

However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. (Ephesians 5:33)

How about your marriage? How much is it a reflection of the relationship Christ has with his church?

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Ephesians

Unity in marriage

happy couple

I have never really thought of this before, but as I’ve been going through Ephesians, it seems to me that this passage is merely an extension of what Paul has been saying throughout.

That is, in Christ, the church has become one, with the dividing wall of hostility that was between us being torn down.

So often, in marriage, however, the wall of hostility seems to remain. (Albeit Paul is specifically referencing the wall of hostility due to the law in Ephesians 2:14, not the wall of hostility in marriage).

We see the beginnings of this wall in Genesis chapter 3, following the fall of Adam and Eve.

God said to Eve,

Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. (Genesis 3:16)

The words are strikingly similar both in English and Hebrew to Genesis 4:7 where God tells Cain,

Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it. (Genesis 4:7)

God told Cain, “Sin desires to take control, but you must be the one that rules over it.”

And in the same way, ever since the time of Adam and Eve, many women have desired to take control of their marriage relationship contrary to the plan of God.

But in the end, many found themselves being the one submitting, not out of voluntary love, but merely because of their husband’s physical strength and ability to force them to submit.

And unfortunately, too many husbands do use violence and abuse to wrest control from their wives. Their wives, in turn, fight to get out from under that kind of abusive control.

The result: a completely fractured marriage, with a wall of hostility between husband and wife, even though they are both supposedly one in Christ.

What’s the solution?

Paul says,

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. (Ephesians 5:22-24)

We saw in Ephesians 1:22 that God placed Christ as the head of all things for the benefit of the church. And as we yield to him, we find blessing.

In the same way, God has placed the husband as the head of the wife for her benefit. And so just as the church yields to Christ, a wife is to yield to her husband.

More specifically, as a wife yields to the Lord, she is to yield to her husband. For it is in doing so that she will find blessing in her marriage.

There are many women, however, who fight their husband’s headship because they’re not finding blessing in submission. Why aren’t they finding that blessing?

In most cases it’s because we husbands forget something very important: God has not given us the leadership role in our marriages for our own selfish benefit. Rather it is for our wives’ benefit that God has given us this trust in order that we might bless them.

Paul makes this crystal clear in the next few verses,

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word… (Ephesians 5:25-26)

The ironic thing in all this? In Christ blessing the church, they become a blessing to him; they in fact become one with him.

And in the same way, when we husbands bless our wives, they become a blessing to us, and we truly become one with them as God intended from the beginning. More on this next time.

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Ephesians

How we walk

Ephesians

One thing that strikes me is how often Paul uses the word “live” in this passage. I like how the ESV (among other translations) translates it “walk.”

“Walk in love.” (Ephesians 5:2)

“Walk as children of light.” (5:8)

“Be careful then how you walk.” (5:15)

In other words, each step we take in life should be taken in the knowledge of God’s love for us, and with that love flowing through us.

Each step we take should be as children marked by the light of God.

And as we take each step in life, we are to watch where we are going and where our choices are leading us.

Paul basically sums up all he has been saying so far by saying,

Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. (Ephesians 5:15-17)

In other words, let’s not be stupid. Before, we used to live a life that was leading us to eternal death. Let’s not go back to that path. And don’t partner yourself with people going along that path.

That is not to say that we are to disassociate ourselves with non-Christians, but that we are not to so tie ourselves to them that they can influence us. We are to be the influencers, not the influenced.

And twice Paul says, “Find out what’s pleasing to the Lord.” (10, 17)

Again, though, I want to stress that Paul was writing, not simply to individual Christians in the church, but to the church as a single body.

And he was saying, “All of you as a church, need to be wise. What are you as a church doing? Are you using your time wisely? Make the most of every opportunity that you have as God’s church here on earth.”

But so many times, the church isn’t. Instead of being light in the darkness, we join in with the darkness. We partner with this world in its sin.

Or just as bad, we start tearing into each other, biting and devouring each other with bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness.

And Paul says, “Do away with all that. That isn’t God’s will for you as a church. When you do those things, you act as fools. You’re wasting time. Don’t do that. Instead, know what God’s will is for you as his body.”

What is his will?

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:18-21)

So many times, we see this phrase, “Be filled with the Spirit,” and think of it merely in terms of individual Christians being filled with God’s Spirit. But Paul is saying, “You, the church, are to be filled with the Spirit.”

Probably the greatest need of the church is to be filled with the Spirit of God. Instead too many churches are filled with greed, division, and envy.

How much different would this world be if God’s church were instead filled with the Spirit of God, living in his power and under his control.

How much different would this world be if God’s church were so filled with the joy of the Spirit, that they were singing words of encouragement to each other rather than tearing each other apart.

And how much different would this world be if instead of being filled with envy and division, people were giving respect where respect is owed, and honor where honor is owed, submitting to those God has called us to submit to out of our reverence for Christ?

Is this how we’re walking? As a church? As individual members of Christ?

How are you walking?

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Ephesians

Spiritual pitfalls: Taking sin lightly

Ephesians

If there is one problem in this world, it’s that it takes sin lightly, even to the point of joking about it. But sin is not something to be taken lightly. Especially by Christians.

So Paul says,

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. (Ephesians 5:3-4)

In other words, our lives should be so holy, that no one should be able to even begin to accuse us of any impropriety, not even in our speech. Again, sin is not something to take lightly or joke about.

But how often do we do that when talking about TV shows, movies, songs or anything to do with pop culture.

How often do we ever say, “You know, what that character did in that drama or comedy was sinful.”

Or “What that singer is singing about will lead to eternal death if she doesn’t repent.”

We just don’t think that way.

“Oh come on. Lighten up,” some of you may say. “This is the world we live in.”

But that’s exactly the problem. Too many Christians are becoming like everyone else in the world, taking sin far too lightly.

But Paul reminds us,

For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person–such a man is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. (Ephesians 5:5-6)

In short, sin is serious business. People are under God’s wrath because of these things. People are going to hell because of these things. How then can we take them lightly?

So Paul tells us,

Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.

But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. (Ephesians 5:7-14a)

God calls us to be totally different from the world around us. They are living in the darkness of sin. We used to live that way too. But now Paul says we are light in the Lord, and because of that we should live that way.

Our lives shouldn’t be bearing sin with all its fruit. We should be bearing the fruit of all goodness, righteousness, and truth.

So instead of celebrating sin, we should be exposing it with the light of Christ for what it is: something that destroys.

And we should be calling out to those around us,

Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. (Ephesians 5:14b)

How about you? Are you taking sin lightly? Have you forgotten how serious it is?

Remember that Jesus died because of sin. And now he calls us and those around us to come out of it, and into new life.

Are you living that new life? And are you calling others into it as well?

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Ephesians

That we may be one (part 2)

Ephesians

Words are powerful. They can build up. And they can tear down.

For this reason, Paul said,

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)

That word, “unwholesome,” could also be translated, “putrid.” Don’t let any “putrid” words come out of your mouth.

What are putrid words? He tells us in verse 31. Words of bitterness. Words of rage. Words of slander. Words of malice.

These types of words grieve the Holy Spirit. Why? Because they tear apart the body of Christ.

Again, remember the whole key to this passage is keeping the unity of the body. And we cannot do that when we are biting and devouring each other with our words (Galatians 5:15).

So what kind of words should come out of our mouths? “Only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Two key points here. First, we need to really be thoughtful about the words we speak. We need to look at the people around us and think about their needs.

Too often we speak without thinking, and as a result cut and tear into the people around us. But if we take the time to think about the other person and what they need, we’re much less likely to do that.

Second, our words need to be full of grace. When it says, “that it may benefit those who listen,” it literally means, “that we may give grace to those who listen.”

What kinds of words are coming out of our mouths? Words of judgment? Words of accusation? Or words of grace?

But not only should our words express grace, so should our actions. Paul tells us in verse 32,

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

That’s not always easy. Some people are not easy to be kind and compassionate to. Some people are not easy to forgive.

But here’s the thing: neither were we. We were “children of wrath,” and under God’s judgment. And yet God poured out his kindness and his compassion on us, forgiving us our sins.

So Paul tells us,

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

When we live as his children, sharing his love and kindness to those around us, we become a fragrant offering to God just as Christ was when he offered himself on the cross for us.

And when we love others, even those difficult to love, we show ourselves to truly be God’s children. As we do so, that’s when we truly become one in him.

How about you? Are you showing yourself to be a child of God each day, loving and building up those around you?

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Ephesians

That we may be one

Ephesians

As I’ve been looking at these passages this time around, I’ve been seeing them in a whole new light.

Up until now, I’ve always thought of these verses as merely touching my personal life. But as we have seen, Paul has been speaking in the context of the church.

He said that the dividing wall that stood between Jew and non-Jew was torn down, and now all Christians are to be one body in Christ, with nothing dividing us.

With that in mind, he says what he does in this passage. And his whole point is how to maintain unity within the body of Christ.

He emphasizes this right off the bat in verse 25, saying,

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. (Ephesians 4:25)

It’s hard to be one with someone you are not truthful with. This is true in friendship, in marriage, and within the church.

I think sometimes we take the truth too lightly. We’re too quick to tell white lies.

Or we see sin in the lives of our brothers and sisters, and we fail to speak truth to them for fear of their reaction.

But as we saw in verse 15, we are to speak the truth, in love, so that they may be built up.

By the way, that’s an important point. Many people pride themselves on being “brutally honest.”

But what is the purpose of being “brutally honest”? For most, it’s to tear down the other person. And if that’s your purpose, you’re better off keeping your mouth shut until your attitude is right.

When you can honestly say before God, “I’m telling them this because I love them and want to build them up,” then that’s the time to speak.

Paul then says,

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26-27)

It’s okay to be angry. But how do you deal with it? Do you unthinkingly just blast the other person? Or do you let it simmer in your heart, letting bitterness take root within you?

Both are wrong, and by doing so, you let Satan have a foothold in your life.

But again, Paul is talking primarily to the church. And the thing to remember is that when people in the church let anger take root in their hearts, they are giving Satan a foothold in the church itself, to divide and destroy it.

Paul then says,

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. (Ephesians 4:28)

Here we see an important principle: It’s not good enough to stop doing evil to one another; we are to do good to one another, and again, the goal is the building up of Christ’s body.

I’ll stop here for now and continue this tomorrow, but for now, here’s the thing to think about: Are your actions unifying Christ’s body, or dividing it? Are your actions building up Christ’s body or tearing it down?

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Ephesians

Becoming all that we were meant to be

Elsa

In the Disney film “Frozen,” there comes a point when Elsa, the queen, reveals her powers with ice and snow to the people, and because of their fear is forced to flee.

All her life, she had hidden her powers from the world. But now in exile, she is determined to “Let it go.” To be all she can be.

And so she sings,

It’s time to see what I can do.
To test the limits and break through.
No right, no wrong, no rules for me.
I’m free!

But her “freedom” is short-lived, for when her sister Anna comes, she tells Elsa the mess she has made of everything by “letting go” of her “true self.”

And so Elsa sings,

Oh, I’m such a fool, I can’t be free!
No escape from the storm inside of me!

I can’t control the curse!
There’s so much fear!

And when Anna tries to convince her that she can still repair things, Elsa cries out, “I can’t.”

I wonder how many people who love the song “Let it go” ever realize what Elsa realizes later. True freedom doesn’t come in simply “letting go” and “discovering ourselves.”

For what is in us will destroy us. And what’s left is fear of what we are and the realization that we ultimately can’t fix things on our own.

But so many people fail to understand this. Paul says of them that they walk, “in the futility of their minds.” More, he says,

They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. (Ephesians 4:18-19)

Not all of this is directly applicable to Elsa, of course. Frozen is not meant to be a Christian allegory.

But she was darkened in her understanding as to who she was truly meant to be. She was ignorant due to the hardening of her heart to the people who had rejected her.

And as a result, she simply “let it go,” living her own way, and thinking herself free.

In the same way, many people today are darkened in their understanding of who they were truly meant to be.

Because of their hardened hearts, they’re ignorant, not of a God who has rejected them, but of the God who in love fashioned them into his own image.

And in rejecting God and who he created them to be, they lose sight of who they really are.

They throw off the “shackles” of right and wrong, living their own way, thinking they will find freedom. But in the end, they find they are not free at all.

Instead, by “letting it go” and living their own way, they actually make a total mess of things, a mess they cannot repair.

But Paul says that as Christians, we are not to live that way anymore. Rather, we are to put off the old self.

In other words, we are to put off our old attitudes and habits that we had when we were living in rebellion against God because they are utterly corrupt and will destroy us if we follow them. (Ephesians 4:22)

What’s the main thing to let go of? Trying to be independent of God and live our own way. Living this way doesn’t make us free. It actually binds and curses us.

So Paul says we are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. In other words, let God change our hearts and minds, and put on the new self. What is the new self? It’s a life, “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:23-24)

That’s what we are meant to be. To be like God.

This is not to say that we will all be carbon copies of each other. We all have our gifts and talents. We all have our own personalities. We don’t lose them when we turn to God.

Rather, just as Elsa’s gifts at the end of the movie, they become the beautiful things they were meant to be. We become the beautiful creation God meant us to be.

But for that to happen, we need to let go of the attitudes of independence and self-sufficiency from God. And we need to embrace who we were meant to be: people created in his image.

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Ephesians

That we might know Christ’s fullness, that he might fill all things

Ephesians

I don’t know how you can look at the world and not think it’s a mess. And even as we look at our own lives, we can see the mess we have made of things.

This world we live in, and our very lives are broken and incomplete. There is only one thing that can make us whole, and that’s Christ.

And that’s why he came. It says in verses 9-10 that he descended to this earth as a man, dying on a cross for our sins. He then conquered death, rising from the dead, and ascended into heaven.

And what was the purpose of all this? That he might fill all things. That he might fill all people, healing their broken lives, and filling in the emptiness of their hearts.

And that he might ultimately bring healing to this whole creation broken by sin.

Paul says in verse 8,

When [Jesus] ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men. (Ephesians 4:8)

Who were those captives? Some people think it was the spiritual powers that he conquered. But I think rather that he captured those who were in bondage to sin, and led them into the kingdom of God, giving them gifts.

What kind of gifts?

One, of course is eternal life.

Another is the Holy Spirit that he gives to each believer who fills us and renews us day by day, making us more like Christ.

A third is the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers that he has put in our lives.

The apostles such as Peter and Paul originally brought us the gospel.

The prophets share his message to us to admonish and encourage us.

The evangelists were the ones that brought us to Christ.

And the pastors and teachers help care for us spiritually, teaching us about Christ, and helping lead us in the way we should go.

But they are not meant to do all the work. Rather, again, they were gifts to us from God. For what purpose?

To prepare God’s people (that’s us) for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12-13)

In other words, we are all called to build each other up, helping each other grow in faith, helping each other to know Jesus better, and as a result become mature.

But not simply mature as individual Christians, but as his church, made like Christ in every way, and touching this world around us so that he might fill all things.

It’s interesting, Paul literally says the church is to become “a full-grown man.”

Not full-grown people. But a full-grown man.

That is to say, we are not simply to be a collection of individuals who are mature in Christ. But we are to become one body, Christ’s body, mature and complete.

What’s the contrast?

The contrast is to be a bunch of individual infants, tossed back and forth by the waves of life, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching that the world gives (14).

But that is not what we are to be.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:15-16)

And as we do, we as the church and as individuals will become complete in him. And through us, he will start to fill and restore all things.

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Ephesians

Keeping our unity

Ephesians

Paul has spent the last three chapters talking about how we have all been made one in Christ. That though Jews and non-Jews had been divided under the Old Covenant, in Christ, the dividing wall was smashed and we are all now one body under one Head.

And in that context, Paul then says,

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. (Ephesians 4:1)

Again, it would be helpful to remember that these are plural “yous.” He’s saying, I urge you all as a church, to live a life worthy of the calling you all as a church have received.

What calling is that? To be one body in Christ. To be a body in which God declares his wisdom and glory to the world.

And all the rest of the book is with that idea in mind. How do we live as that body? How do we be a body in which we can declare God’s wisdom and glory to the world? Paul tells us.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:2-3)

Be completely humble. That one’s a tough one for me. It’s so easy for me, having been a Christian for as long as I have, and having learned all that I have over the years, to become proud.

But the truth is, I’m still learning. I still make mistakes. I still fail. I still sin. God reminded me of that this past week. And so as I deal with others, I need to remember these things about myself.

With that humility should come a gentleness as I deal with others’ mistakes, failings, and sins. And a patience as well, knowing that God has been utterly patient with me.

That means I need to be bearing with others’ mistakes, failures, and weaknesses, loving them all the while, and not looking down on them or despising them.

He then says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.”

We are one. God has made us one.

But it takes effort to remain one and not break apart. Because of our sinful tendencies, unity is in constant danger of entropy. And it takes a vigilant watchfulness and effort on our part to keep it all together in the bond of peace.

I like how the ESV puts it, be, “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit.”

Are we eager to do that? Or are we rather eager to put others down, to tear them apart for their weaknesses and failures?

Paul reminds us again,

There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to one hope when you were called– one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

In short, we are all one body. We share the same Holy Spirit who dwells in us all. We share the same hope in Christ. We share the same Lord Jesus who saved us.

We share the same faith. We share the same baptism into Christ. We share the same Father who rules over us all, who works through us all, and is in us all.

So how can we then tear each other apart?

Satan delights in a divided church. A divided church cannot display the wisdom and glory of God to the world.

So let us put away a divisive spirit among us. God has made us one. Let us make every effort then to remain one.

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Ephesians

That we may be filled with his glory

Ephesians

In 1 Kings, it says about the completion of the temple Solomon had built,

When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD.

And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple. (1 Kings 8:10-11)

Just as the glory of the Lord filled the temple, God desires that his church be filled with all the fullness of his glory. And that’s what Paul prays for here.

He says,

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)

Whenever I’ve read this passage in the past, I’ve always taken that “you” as singular. But actually, these “you”s are all plural.

Paul is saying, “I pray that the Spirit would empower you all through his Spirit in your inner being. I pray that you all would be rooted and established in love. I pray that you all may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Of course, I think Paul wanted that for each individual Christian. But as he was writing this, I think he was thinking of them as a unified whole. They were and we are, after all, one in Christ.

It is the very point he was hammering home earlier in chapter 2, and continues to do in chapters 3 and 4.

So he was praying,

God, please empower your church through your Spirit working in each person.

Lord Jesus dwell in their hearts through their faith in you.

Father, may they be rooted in your love for them. May that be the foundation of their lives.

And as they root themselves in your love for them, may they also be rooted and established in their love for each other.

As they do, may they really start to see and understand how wide, long, high, and deep are the riches of your wisdom and your love.

And may the result of all this be that you flood your church with all your fullness, with all your glory, just like you filled Solomon’s temple long ago.

That’s God’s vision for the church. That we would be his temple, filled with his glory, shining his light to the world.

But the thing to remember is this does not come about through our own efforts. Rather, it comes about through the work and power of God working in you and the church.

So when you feel discouraged at what you are and what the church is like now, remember that he “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” (20)

He can do the miraculous. He can take broken lives and a broken church and turn it into something glorious. All we need to do is start cooperating with him.

And ultimately, the day will come when he will be glorified in us and in his Son who bought us with his blood.

So don’t be discouraged. Instead, let us sing as Paul sang,

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

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Ephesians

Freedom and confidence

Ephesians

I wonder how often we take for granted what we have in Christ.

I look at this whole passage in Ephesians 3, and it talks about this mystery that even the Old Testament prophets and priests never really understood, at least, not fully.

What would Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel have thought if they saw the church today. If they saw people coming before God with boldness and confidence.

For that’s what Paul says we have now.

In verse 12, he tells us,

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)

One has to think, did even these prophets have that absolute boldness and confidence to approach God as we do. To call him “Abba, Father. Daddy.” Did they feel that freedom?

Somehow, I don’t think so. There was probably always some fear as they came before him. They were only too aware of their own failings and sin, even when they weren’t face to face with God.

The priests too knew they had to be very careful when entering the Holy Place and Most Holy Place in the tabernacle and temple. To not do so, meant death.

How would they have felt, knowing that we now have open access to God without restrictions?

But because of Jesus, not only have we been cleansed from our sin, Jesus has put his robes of righteousness upon us. Now through him, we can come before God with boldness and have free access to him.

And through us, the angels and demons themselves see something that must make them wonder and fear (3:10). A people who are God’s own, clothed in a righteousness not their own, fully accepted, and confidently, joyfully coming into his presence.

How the Old Testament prophets and priests would have wondered at such a sight.

Do you?

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Ephesians

Embracing Your Role as an “Ordinary” Christian

Ephesians

I think that for many Christians, they look at my last post that says we all are called to be stewards of God’s grace to those around us, and they say, “But I’m no Paul. I can’t do the things he could do. I’m just an ordinary Christian.”

But like I said, you aren’t called to be Paul, nor are you called to be a steward of God’s grace in exactly the same way he was. Nevertheless, you are called to be a steward of his grace, sharing his gospel and touching those around you.

“But I’m not qualified,” you might say. Or, “I’m not worthy.”

Do you know that Paul felt the same way about himself? He says in verse 7-8,

I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.

Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. (Ephesians 3:7-8)

Paul felt totally unworthy to be a steward of grace. He called himself the least of all God’s people. Why? Because at one time he persecuted the church and was responsible for the imprisoning and death of many Christians.

But then he says that despite all this, “This grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

Not because of his own worthiness. Not because of his own pedigree or talents. But because of the “gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.”

And the same is true of you. God calls you to be a steward of his grace. Why? Because he has given his grace to you.

And the ability to be a good steward is by no means dependent on your pedigree or your talents. Nor do you need to rely on your own wisdom and strength.

Rather, being a steward of his grace is dependent on the grace and power he has given to you. And because of the grace and power he has given you, you can be a steward of his grace.

More, Paul tells us that it is God’s intent that through the church, his wisdom in all its facets would be displayed to the world.

That means you. You and all the other Christians together are the church. And God’s will is that his wisdom would be displayed through you.

“But I’m weak. I’m ordinary. How can God use me?”

It’s exactly because you are weak and ordinary that God can use you. Because when you are weak and ordinary, you are forced to rely on God and his strength, not your own.

And as Paul wrote, when you are weak, then you are strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

And if that’s not enough for you, remember the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 1.

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called.

Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. (1 Corinthians 1:26-27)

God is not looking for the strong to display his wisdom, but the weak. So if you feel weak, you’re exactly what God is looking for.

For when people see what God is doing in you and through you to touch those around you, it will amaze them. And they’ll think of us as the religious leaders did of Peter and John.

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

When people see us, may they take note that we have been with Jesus.

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Ephesians

Being a steward of God’s grace

Ephesians

I like how the ESV renders verse 2 in this passage,

…you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you. (Ephesians 3:2)

A steward of God’s grace. That’s what we are called to be.

God hasn’t given us his grace simply to bathe in it for our own benefit. He has called us to be stewards of his grace as we deal with the people around us.

Of course, Paul’s stewardship was quite different from ours. The stewardship God gave him included starting multiple churches and writing scripture which teaches us all about God’s grace and the “mystery” of the gospel.

There are certainly people today that God has gifted with the ability to plant churches, but not everyone has that gift.

And there are certainly no people today that can write scripture, although God has gifted some with the gift of teaching so that they can help illumine the scriptures to others.

But whether you have these kinds of gifts or not, each of us in our own way are to be stewards of God’s grace.

What do I mean?

First of all, we should be sharing the gospel with other people. But also we should be reaching out to others, touching them with the love of God.

When people see us who are the church, they should see stewards of that grace we have received.

That starts first of all with showing grace to each other. Paul says,

This mystery (that God has revealed and Paul now shares) is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 3:6)

When God first called Abraham, God promised that all nations would be blessed through him. (Genesis 12:3)

For years, it was unclear just how that would happen. Now, Paul says, the answer has been revealed.

Through Christ and his death on the cross, all of us, Jew and non-Jew, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, male, female, or whatever, have together become God’s heirs.

Together, we have become part of one body with Christ as our head. And together we share in the promises given to us through Jesus Christ.

Now through the church, Paul says that God’s intent is that,

the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (10-11)

When all the angels and demons see the church, they start to see the many facets of God’s wisdom.

In particular, they see the wonder of a plan that brings people of all races and genders together, loving each other because of the love God has showered upon them, fulfilling the purpose for which God created them, and reflecting his glory.

But not only should they see this, the world should too. And when it does, it can’t help but be astonished by God’s grace and be drawn to it.

That’s the way it should be, anyway. But is it?

Too many times it’s not because we aren’t faithful stewards of his grace toward each other and to the world.

How about you? Are you a faithful steward of God’s grace? Is your church? When people see you, do they see God’s love and grace pouring out of you in your actions towards them and your brothers and sisters?

What kind of steward are you?

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Ephesians

Accepted

Ephesians

It’s really amazing thinking about the total difference Christianity brought to the Jewish mindset concerning God and non-Jews.

To the Jews, theirs was a near exclusive relationship with God. And if anyone wanted to have a relationship with God, they basically had to become a Jew.

This was seen in a wall that separated the outer court of the Gentiles from the inner court of the temple. It was called the middle wall, and in Herod’s temple, there was a sign that strictly forbade any non-Jew from entering any further into the courts on pains of death.

Paul reminds the Ephesians of their former plight, saying,

Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. (Ephesians 2:12)

In short, they were excluded from the special relationship God had established with the Jewish people through his covenants with Abraham and Moses, and they were excluded from any promises of a Messiah to come that could save them. They were considered outsiders.

The result? Totally alienation from God with no hope for salvation.

Put another way, they were locked out of the kingdom of God with a huge sign on the door, “No outsiders allowed.”

And so were we.

But then Paul says,

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.

His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. (Ephesians 2:13-17)

Paul’s saying here that now, through Christ’s death on the cross, he has torn down that middle wall which he calls, “the dividing wall of hostility.”

Prior to Christ’s death, the law was a huge barrier between Jew and non-Jew. It separated the two as “law-keeper” and “law-breaker,” although that was merely an artificial barrier since even the “law-keepers” couldn’t keep it perfectly.

The reality was, the law put a barrier between all people, Jew and non-Jew alike, and God.

But then Christ came, fulfilling the law perfectly in his life, and then paying the penalty for our law-breaking in his death on the cross, taking the punishment we deserved.

And now, not only the wall between us and God is gone, but the wall between Jew and non-Jew. There is no longer any, “us and them.” Instead, we are now one in Christ.

Paul says that now we both have access to the Father, and that not through different ways. Rather, it is through one Spirit, that we come before the Father.

There is no longer citizen and foreigner in the kingdom of God. Rather, all who come to faith in Christ are together fellow citizens, with full rights as God’s heirs.

And now together, we are being built into a temple of God in which he dwells, showing himself to the world. We share the same Jesus as our cornerstone, and the same foundation of the apostles and prophets.

So the question is, when we look at our fellow believers in church, do we see them that way? Do we treat them away?

Or are there some people that we treat as second-class citizens because of their race, gender, or by the fact that they are not as “good” as we are?

We are all accepted by faith in Christ. So let’s get rid of all the hostility and any barriers that would separate us.

Rather,

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15:7)

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Ephesians

God’s masterpiece

God's masterpiece

I really love this verse.

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

The NLT puts it, “We are God’s masterpiece.”

We’re not simply some slop God threw together because he had nothing better to do.

He took great care and joy in putting us together. He made us just as he wanted us to be. And when he looks at us, he beams with pride at what he has made.

The thing I noticed today was that second phrase, though: “created in Christ Jesus.”

I’ve always linked that back to our original creation, to the time when God put us in our mother’s womb. And to some degree, that’s probably true.

But when I see that phrase, “in Christ Jesus,” it makes me think that’s not what Paul is talking about.

Although we can rightfully say that Christ did create us in our mother’s womb, we never see those exact words in scripture.

I think what Paul is saying here is that when we became Christians, we were created anew in Christ.

We see that in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

And when God created us anew in Christ, he did not do so with the intention that we simply live for ourselves once again, falling back into our sinful patterns.

Rather he created us anew for the good works that he prepared in advance for us to do.

In other words, when he created us and recreated us, he already had plans in mind for us. He had things he wanted us to do. People he wanted us to touch.

And so the question we need to be asking moment to moment, day to day is this: “Lord what do you have prepared for me today? What is it that you want me to do? Who is it that you want me to touch?”

Too often we go through our days never giving a thought to the things God has in mind for us to do. And because of that, we miss out on a lot of the things he had planned for us during the day.

There are probably too many days I have had like that.

Let us not live that way. Today is not just another ordinary day. God has specific things in mind for you today. Let’s keep our eyes open for what they are.

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Ephesians

The wonder of God’s grace

Wonder of God's grace

Paul had just finished praying for the Ephesians that they might see all they truly had in Christ. Now in chapter 2, he lays it all out for them.

Just as a side note, I think it’s important to remember that whenever we share God’s word, whether it’s the gospel or anything else from the Bible, that should be our pattern.

We should pray first that God would open the eyes of those we talk to and then lay it all out for them.

At any rate, we see here just how amazing the grace of God is.

We were dead in our sins. There was no spiritual life in us at all. We were simply walking in the ways of Satan, in utter rebellion against God. We had no desire to please God. Rather, we just lived to please ourselves.

And the thing is, we were born this way. Paul says,

Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. (Ephesians 2:3)

In other words, all of us were born with a heart that was in rebellion toward God and as a result, lived under God’s wrath.

Some people today, like the Jews of old, think that because they were raised hearing the Word of God and in a religious tradition, they are okay with God.

But Paul says of the Jews, “We like the rest, were objects of wrath because of our rebellious hearts. Though we had the law, we couldn’t keep it.”

And the same is true of all those raised in church before Christ saves them. Yes, they have the Bible. Yes, they may be “better” than others. But because they can’t keep the law perfectly, they are still under God’s wrath.

As Paul said in Romans 3,

There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:22-23)

But when God saw this, did he toss us aside. Did he just throw up his hands in despair and say, “It’s hopeless?”

No. Paul says,

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (4-7)

We were dead. What can dead people do? Nothing.

But God made us alive.

He gave us a new heart that could respond to him, and when we turned to him in faith, he breathed new life into us, lifting us out of the dirt and grime of our sin, cleansing us from our sin, and making us whole like Adam and Eve had been when they were first created.

And the thing is, God could have stopped there and we would have marveled at his grace. But God did more.

He has seated us with Christ and adopted us as his children. We will reign with him one day as his heirs. Why? For the simple reason that he wanted to show the riches of his grace to us and that we would glory in it.

Paul then concludes,

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast. (8-9)

The wonder of God’s grace is that he saved us though we neither sought it nor deserved it. Our salvation totally comes from him.

Our ability to believe in him itself comes from God. No one can boast that they deserved salvation. It is his gift to us from first to last.

And the wonder of his grace is that God didn’t stop at saving us, but he gave us gifts far beyond mere salvation from our sins. He made us his children. He made us his heirs.

May we all marvel and glory in that grace each day.

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Ephesians

If we could only see

Ephesians

I wonder sometimes if we really see how much we are truly blessed in Christ.

My guess is no.

Oh sure, many of us know the truths of God’s grace and love in our lives. But do we truly understand them?

As I’ve been meditating on this chapter, I’m starting to feel almost like I’ve only been wading in the shallow pools of these truths, though I have been a Christian for over 30 years.

Perhaps that’s why Paul felt it important to pray for the Ephesians in this way.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:17-19a)

Paul prays here that God would give the Spirit to the Ephesians that they may know him better.

Not that they didn’t already have the Spirit, but that the Spirit within them would give them the wisdom and understanding needed to know God better.

The truth is, without the Spirit, we would quickly run into a wall as to how much we can truly know God.

But Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2,

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?

In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (10-11)

In other words, through the Spirit we can come to know God. I’m not talking about merely knowing just facts about God. Rather, we come to truly know him.

This is not to say that we will ever know God fully. The depths of God are such that it will take all eternity to fully know him, and even then, will there ever be a day when we don’t discover something new about him?

But through the Spirit living in us and revealing the Father to us, we can come to know him more day by day.

The Spirit doesn’t stop at just teaching us who God is, though. Paul tells us,

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. (1 Corinthians 2:12)

What has God given us?

Paul tells us in his prayer for the Ephesians.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19)

Do we know the hope that he has given us? Hope that this world, dark as it is, is not all there is? And hope that the day is coming when Christ reigns over all?

On that day, he won’t merely reign over the spiritual realm where he conquered Satan at the cross. He will also reign in the physical realm, with every knee bowing and every tongue confessing that he is Lord.

And when he does so, death, the final enemy, will itself be conquered as well.

In addition to having this hope, do we also know the love God showers on us?

Do we know that he calls us the riches of his glorious inheritance? That he looks forward to the day when we are fully redeemed in our resurrection bodies that are free from sin, sickness, and death?

Do we know his power that is available to us? Do we know that the power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that keeps us as his children, that sanctifies us day by day, and that one day will glorify us in our new bodies?

Do we know that that same power is available to us to overcome all the struggles that we go through now?

And finally, do we know who we now are in Christ? That we are now part of Christ’s body, called to go out in to all the world and spread his presence everywhere, filling each place with his love and grace?

Do you see? If we could see, how different would our lives be?

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Ephesians

Chosen and blessed in love, by God’s plan and for his glory

chosen and blessed

As I look at the first two chapters of Ephesians, I can’t help but marvel all over again at all that God has given you and me who have put our faith in Jesus.

Paul starts this letter to the Ephesians in worship, saying,

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

How have we been blessed?

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. (Ephesians 1:4-8)

That’s a mouthful. Paul tells us that before this world was ever created God had a plan. He chose us to be a people that are holy and blameless in his sight.

This despite the fact that he knew we would be a sinful, rebellious people who would turn our backs on him.

But though he knew all this, he made a plan to save us and make us his own. He sent Jesus to die on the cross and take the punishment for our sins that we might be forgiven.

By his blood, he bought us out of slavery to sin and did not merely make us his own slaves, but adopted us as his beloved sons and daughters.

More, he has put his seal on us, guaranteeing our inheritance with him.

The Holy Spirit both protects us and holds us from anything that would tear us apart from God, and his presence and work in our lives is a foretaste of what we will have someday in heaven when we see God face to face.

All this was not because of anything we did, but rather it was entirely because of his own pleasure and will.

And when God chose us, this was by no means some random or capricious choosing of who to save and who not to save. Rather, Paul tells us that “in love” he chose us.

Though we were totally undeserving of it, he looked on us with love and lavished his grace upon us.

How and why he decided to choose us, we will never know. All we know is that for some reason, God chose to set his love upon us.

Because of this, the glory for our salvation does not at all go to us. Rather, Paul says three times that this is all for the praise of God’s glory (verses 6, 12, and 14).

In short, we are a part of God’s incredible plan, a plan to unite this rebellious, sinful, and dysfunctional world under Christ.

And while he could have done so by simply wiping us out as we deserved, he chose to set his love on us and make us a glorious part of his plan for this universe.

Honestly, I feel totally incompetent to express this all. All the superlatives in the world could adequately express how awesome God and his grace is.

So I think I’ll just stop here and take more time to wonder at it all.