Ephesians 3:14-19
There's so much in this passage that I may have to come back to it again tomorrow...
Paul's prayer for the Ephesians is that, out of God's riches, he would strengthen them with power through the Holy Spirit in their inner beings. I think we've forgotten how to rely on the Spirit. The results are devastating.
Just this week I was again confronted by the pain of sin. My heart literally ached as I started to think about all the people that have come to me in just the last little while who have failed - especially in the area of sexual immorality. As I read the pain in their eyes and see the effects it is having on their relationships I can't help but think over and over: this cannot be what God intended when he created us. It seems that they've tried really hard and even as I talk to them they all seem to have some sort of plan for "never doing that again." I think that's what makes this all the more sad - the grip of sin is too tight and I know that they cannot escape despite their best efforts.
We need God to strengthen us with power through his Spirit in our inner being. We can't escape it on our own. I wonder if we are reaping the results of a cultural Christianity. We have been taught for so long that being a Christian is all about acting a certain way and attending worship gatherings - basically conforming to the patterns and rythm's of a cultural group. Paul and Jesus make it clear that being a Christian is actually all about a complete surrender, a recognition that I can't control my life and live up to the standard of holiness and perfection that God demands. It is an invitation for Christ to take over my life and for the Holy Spirit to invade and take residence in my "inner being." It is a submission to his control, his guidance, his prompting. It is allowing Christ to dwell (the NIV notes say "to be completely at home") in my heart through faith. He is completely at home because I am his - he has full and complete access.
So, here's the big question: how do we get there? How do I (because I also have been mostly living off of sheer will power to resist sin and that only lasts so long) allow the Holy Spirit into my "inner being"? How do I lean on the strength and power of God and stop leaning on my own?
Friday, March 23, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Freedom!
Ephesians 3:12-13
There's been a few movies (major understatement!) made about fighting for freedom. Braveheart immediately comes to mind (side bar: if you ever watch Braveheart as an allegory for the redemption story, it is incredible - right down to betrayal and dying...). 300 also comes to mind - a very stylish, interesting movie if you can get past the women's nipples that seem to show up on a regular basis. But I digress... In these movies it is always the people who desire or need freedom who do the fighting for it. In the redemption story, the people who need freedom don't even realize their need. They have become complacent and content in their slavery just like the nation of Israel in Egypt. Having never experienced freedom, the people think that this slavery is the norm and the best possible life they can have.
Then Jesus comes on the scene. He not only fights for our freedom but dies for it. He didn't need to because he was already free and not encumbered with sin. His relationship in the Trinity was not destroyed. But he still fought for us and died for us so that we could approach God with freedom and confidence. While this is amazing for the nation of Israel, it is even more amazing for me because I was a Gentile - not only was I not free but the history of God's choice made it clear that I had no hope of freedom. Jesus made it possible for me to approach God!
Paul asks his audience not to be discouraged even though it was this message of freedom for the Gentiles that was causing him all the trouble he was facing. Without Paul (a Jew) bringing the message of freedom found in Christ, the Gentiles would still be living in slavery to sin.
God, thank you for your faithful witness all through the ages that made it possible for me to hear the message of freedom! May I continue the chain of faithful witnesses, no matter what hardships and trials I may face, to bring the message of freedom to a people who have remained enslaved.
It makes me wonder which group of "outsiders" God is calling me to bring the message of freedom to...
There's been a few movies (major understatement!) made about fighting for freedom. Braveheart immediately comes to mind (side bar: if you ever watch Braveheart as an allegory for the redemption story, it is incredible - right down to betrayal and dying...). 300 also comes to mind - a very stylish, interesting movie if you can get past the women's nipples that seem to show up on a regular basis. But I digress... In these movies it is always the people who desire or need freedom who do the fighting for it. In the redemption story, the people who need freedom don't even realize their need. They have become complacent and content in their slavery just like the nation of Israel in Egypt. Having never experienced freedom, the people think that this slavery is the norm and the best possible life they can have.
Then Jesus comes on the scene. He not only fights for our freedom but dies for it. He didn't need to because he was already free and not encumbered with sin. His relationship in the Trinity was not destroyed. But he still fought for us and died for us so that we could approach God with freedom and confidence. While this is amazing for the nation of Israel, it is even more amazing for me because I was a Gentile - not only was I not free but the history of God's choice made it clear that I had no hope of freedom. Jesus made it possible for me to approach God!
Paul asks his audience not to be discouraged even though it was this message of freedom for the Gentiles that was causing him all the trouble he was facing. Without Paul (a Jew) bringing the message of freedom found in Christ, the Gentiles would still be living in slavery to sin.
God, thank you for your faithful witness all through the ages that made it possible for me to hear the message of freedom! May I continue the chain of faithful witnesses, no matter what hardships and trials I may face, to bring the message of freedom to a people who have remained enslaved.
It makes me wonder which group of "outsiders" God is calling me to bring the message of freedom to...
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
On Display
Ephesians 3:7-13
Paul continually expresses his amazement that he was chosen by God in the first place and then called by God to preach the gospel to the Gentiles above that. His humility seems genuine (like I have any reason to doubt it!) but I know that if I spoke those phrases - the chief of sinners, the least of all God's people, etc. - it would not be true humility but reverse pride. I'd be looking for someone to say, "You're not so bad." When I realize how pervasive my pride is, I begin to recognize just how much of a sinner I am.
The verse that blows me away is v. 10. We, the Church, display the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities of the heavenly realms (which I think are angels and spirits). Specifically, in the context, the wisdom of God is seen in the uniting of Gentile and Jew. I think that we can take the principle and apply it to our context: we display God's wisdom to the degree that we, the Church, are spiritually united. I can't get over this: that the "show" that God decided to put on for the spiritual rulers of the heavenly realms was the church. I wonder how many standing ovations God has received based on the "show" the church puts on. I wonder how many times the spiritual rulers of the heavenly realms have wondered if God really knew what he was doing based on the behaviour of the church. But God has committed himself to this choice. He will reveal the wonders of his wisdom through the Church.
What an amazing responsibility we have! No wonder Paul prays in a different epistle that we would be worthy of the calling that we have received. This calling is not just to represent Christ to the world but to display the wisdom of God to the heavenly realms. This should make me fall to my knees and ask God to help us, his Church, to live up to this. There is no way we can do it on human effort (which is maybe why Paul immediately breaks into prayer for the Ephesian church after this section).
Paul continually expresses his amazement that he was chosen by God in the first place and then called by God to preach the gospel to the Gentiles above that. His humility seems genuine (like I have any reason to doubt it!) but I know that if I spoke those phrases - the chief of sinners, the least of all God's people, etc. - it would not be true humility but reverse pride. I'd be looking for someone to say, "You're not so bad." When I realize how pervasive my pride is, I begin to recognize just how much of a sinner I am.
The verse that blows me away is v. 10. We, the Church, display the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities of the heavenly realms (which I think are angels and spirits). Specifically, in the context, the wisdom of God is seen in the uniting of Gentile and Jew. I think that we can take the principle and apply it to our context: we display God's wisdom to the degree that we, the Church, are spiritually united. I can't get over this: that the "show" that God decided to put on for the spiritual rulers of the heavenly realms was the church. I wonder how many standing ovations God has received based on the "show" the church puts on. I wonder how many times the spiritual rulers of the heavenly realms have wondered if God really knew what he was doing based on the behaviour of the church. But God has committed himself to this choice. He will reveal the wonders of his wisdom through the Church.
What an amazing responsibility we have! No wonder Paul prays in a different epistle that we would be worthy of the calling that we have received. This calling is not just to represent Christ to the world but to display the wisdom of God to the heavenly realms. This should make me fall to my knees and ask God to help us, his Church, to live up to this. There is no way we can do it on human effort (which is maybe why Paul immediately breaks into prayer for the Ephesian church after this section).
Monday, March 19, 2007
I know a secret...
Ephesians 3:1-6
Paul is famous for interupting himself (ok, I can only think of one other place off the top of my head but just go with it!). This is a two paragraph interruption - if I was doing my devotions at my normal consistency, I wouldn't have a clue what Paul was talking about in v. 14 because I would have forgotten that he started the thought in verse one.
Anyway... here's what I see (besides the interruption): Paul is in jail because he was obedient to Christ in taking the gospel to the Gentiles. If he hadn't responded to Christ on the road to Damascus, he'd probably still be free and if he hadn't agreed to take the gospel to the Gentiles, he'd probably be free in Israel. Sometimes we use adversity as an excuse to stop heading in a certain direction but we need greater discernment to know when it is opposition from Satan and when it is God attempting to direct our paths. Can you imagine if Paul had decided that he was outside of God's will in being an apostle to the Gentiles because he was in jail?
The main point of this section of Scripture is the great mystery or secret that has been revealed to Paul and that Paul now reveals to us: that the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members of one body and sharers (is that even a word?!) together in the promise in Christ. I can't get over this! It probably doesn't seem like that big a deal to most believers today because we are so ethnocentric - we (generally) think that we've always been included but the truth is that we haven't. We (generally) have adopted the same arrogant attitude of the Jews in Paul's time: to be truly chosen by God you must be one of us (Jew then, North American today). We, as the church of North America, should get down on our knees every day and thank God that, in his mercy and grace and through the work of Jesus Christ, he saw fit to bring near those of us who were once far away, to make us heirs who were once enemies and to allow us to share in the covenant promises who were once strangers to the promise. The extent of God's work - not just to cleanse me from sin but to make it possible for me, a Gentile, to share in the inheritance of Israel - causes my heart to skip a beat (to borrow a phrase from Graham!).
Paul is famous for interupting himself (ok, I can only think of one other place off the top of my head but just go with it!). This is a two paragraph interruption - if I was doing my devotions at my normal consistency, I wouldn't have a clue what Paul was talking about in v. 14 because I would have forgotten that he started the thought in verse one.
Anyway... here's what I see (besides the interruption): Paul is in jail because he was obedient to Christ in taking the gospel to the Gentiles. If he hadn't responded to Christ on the road to Damascus, he'd probably still be free and if he hadn't agreed to take the gospel to the Gentiles, he'd probably be free in Israel. Sometimes we use adversity as an excuse to stop heading in a certain direction but we need greater discernment to know when it is opposition from Satan and when it is God attempting to direct our paths. Can you imagine if Paul had decided that he was outside of God's will in being an apostle to the Gentiles because he was in jail?
The main point of this section of Scripture is the great mystery or secret that has been revealed to Paul and that Paul now reveals to us: that the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members of one body and sharers (is that even a word?!) together in the promise in Christ. I can't get over this! It probably doesn't seem like that big a deal to most believers today because we are so ethnocentric - we (generally) think that we've always been included but the truth is that we haven't. We (generally) have adopted the same arrogant attitude of the Jews in Paul's time: to be truly chosen by God you must be one of us (Jew then, North American today). We, as the church of North America, should get down on our knees every day and thank God that, in his mercy and grace and through the work of Jesus Christ, he saw fit to bring near those of us who were once far away, to make us heirs who were once enemies and to allow us to share in the covenant promises who were once strangers to the promise. The extent of God's work - not just to cleanse me from sin but to make it possible for me, a Gentile, to share in the inheritance of Israel - causes my heart to skip a beat (to borrow a phrase from Graham!).
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Your Grace Still Amazes Me!
Ephesians 2:19-22
This passage continues where Paul left off earlier - I, as a Gentile, am very fortunate to be included in the covenant of God. I was not one of the chosen people, not one of the chosen nation. Now, because of Jesus, I am no longer a stranger and foreigner in the kingdom of God. In fact, now I am at the very center of the city of God because I am part of the temple. Again, this is nothing to be proud or arrogant about - it is all because of the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It's still amazes me to think of the depths that I have come from and the heights to which God, in his grace, has lifted me.
Because I have grown up in a Christian home and environment, it is hard for me to fully fathom that my place, apart from Christ, was that of a stranger and foreigner to the promises of God. They have been a part of my life ever since I can remember. The "rituals" of Christianity are so familiar to me that I can't imagine my life without them. I think this is evidence of God's grace as well. I could have been born to a family who didn't know God in a place where it was very unlikely that I would ever hear of the true God. I could have remained un-chosen. The more I think about, the more I remain amazed by God's grace.
And then I come to the end of the passage to a wonderful image of the temple of God - a temple that I am a part of. I know that Paul says in Corinthians that my body is the temple of God but I like this image even better - that as the unified Church of Christ, we are the dwelling of God. The unity between Gentile and Jew, man and woman, child and adult, slave and free testifies to God's presence in this earth and inspires worship. This unity could never be achieved apart from him. It is laid on the cornerstone of Christ and his sacrifice. And as great as this temple is, I still wonder like Solomon: "But will God really dwell on the earth with men? The heavens, the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this temple..." More evidence of God's amazing grace!
This passage continues where Paul left off earlier - I, as a Gentile, am very fortunate to be included in the covenant of God. I was not one of the chosen people, not one of the chosen nation. Now, because of Jesus, I am no longer a stranger and foreigner in the kingdom of God. In fact, now I am at the very center of the city of God because I am part of the temple. Again, this is nothing to be proud or arrogant about - it is all because of the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It's still amazes me to think of the depths that I have come from and the heights to which God, in his grace, has lifted me.
Because I have grown up in a Christian home and environment, it is hard for me to fully fathom that my place, apart from Christ, was that of a stranger and foreigner to the promises of God. They have been a part of my life ever since I can remember. The "rituals" of Christianity are so familiar to me that I can't imagine my life without them. I think this is evidence of God's grace as well. I could have been born to a family who didn't know God in a place where it was very unlikely that I would ever hear of the true God. I could have remained un-chosen. The more I think about, the more I remain amazed by God's grace.
And then I come to the end of the passage to a wonderful image of the temple of God - a temple that I am a part of. I know that Paul says in Corinthians that my body is the temple of God but I like this image even better - that as the unified Church of Christ, we are the dwelling of God. The unity between Gentile and Jew, man and woman, child and adult, slave and free testifies to God's presence in this earth and inspires worship. This unity could never be achieved apart from him. It is laid on the cornerstone of Christ and his sacrifice. And as great as this temple is, I still wonder like Solomon: "But will God really dwell on the earth with men? The heavens, the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this temple..." More evidence of God's amazing grace!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Peace!
Ephesians 2:14-18
I think we underestimate or forget to acknowledge the huge role that Jesus' death had in restoring not only our relationship with God (and that would be great enough!) but also in restoring our relationships with each other. Even beyond inter-personal relationships, according to Paul, Jesus' death brought peace to the conflict between Jew and Gentile. Again, I have to wonder if this is complete now or if Paul is using the same kind of language that he uses when he sees us already seated in the heavenly realms: it is such a sure thing that it is like it is already existing (and we see it existing on some level in the present but maybe not completely).
The violence of Paul's words stands out to me: Jesus destroyed the middle wall of hostility - I see dust and mortar and bricks flying everywhere! This was no nice, neat job of taking down the wall and stacking the bricks up to be recycled or reused. The wall is destroyed! There is nothing to seperate us from other people groups, traditions, cultures, etc. in the church because we all have Jesus in common. Through him we can all be reconciled and through him we all have access to God.
This must be such a huge testament to the power and glory of God to the rulers of the heavenly realms (and everyone on earth) - that God's grand idea of having all these opposing, warring cultures exist in peace in one Body and then to have it work! Wow! Only God could do that! Who else could have come up with such a crazy idea?
More and more, as I read through Ephesians, I am starting to catch on to and fall in love with God's vision for the church. It's so much more important and glorious than I really understood.
I think we underestimate or forget to acknowledge the huge role that Jesus' death had in restoring not only our relationship with God (and that would be great enough!) but also in restoring our relationships with each other. Even beyond inter-personal relationships, according to Paul, Jesus' death brought peace to the conflict between Jew and Gentile. Again, I have to wonder if this is complete now or if Paul is using the same kind of language that he uses when he sees us already seated in the heavenly realms: it is such a sure thing that it is like it is already existing (and we see it existing on some level in the present but maybe not completely).
The violence of Paul's words stands out to me: Jesus destroyed the middle wall of hostility - I see dust and mortar and bricks flying everywhere! This was no nice, neat job of taking down the wall and stacking the bricks up to be recycled or reused. The wall is destroyed! There is nothing to seperate us from other people groups, traditions, cultures, etc. in the church because we all have Jesus in common. Through him we can all be reconciled and through him we all have access to God.
This must be such a huge testament to the power and glory of God to the rulers of the heavenly realms (and everyone on earth) - that God's grand idea of having all these opposing, warring cultures exist in peace in one Body and then to have it work! Wow! Only God could do that! Who else could have come up with such a crazy idea?
More and more, as I read through Ephesians, I am starting to catch on to and fall in love with God's vision for the church. It's so much more important and glorious than I really understood.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
A Study In Contrasts
Ephesians 2:11-13
Here Paul goes back to the beginning of the chapter - dead in transgressions and sins (2:1), foreigners to the convenants (2:12) - to remind me of the state that I was in apart from Christ. I think there is a subtle difference here: at the beginning of the chapter he seems to be talking to me, the individual; here he seems to be talking to my "category" (Gentile). It wasn't just that as a sinner I was alienated from God but as a Gentile I was outside of his covenants and without hope.
"But now..." Man, I love that phrase in the Bible because it usually announces something good - and this time is no exception. The contrasts are amazing! At that time (v. 12) - but now (v. 13); seperate from Christ (v. 12) - in Christ (v. 13); excluded from citizenship (v. 12) and far away (v. 13) - brought near through the blood of Christ (v.13). Again, Paul points to the supremacy and work of Christ. This has nothing to do with me except that he chose me (chapter 1 - the controversy we all avoided!) by his grace and I accepted it through faith. It is all Christ!
The thing that sticks out to me is the arrogance of "the circumcised" - as if they had the lock on God and if things weren't done their way it wasn't done right. Of course this was pretty much true in the times of the Old Testament but even in the Christian era "the circumcised" tried to maintain their exclusive hold, even teaching that in order to be a Christian you had to be circumcised first. The pendulum has done a complete arc - now it is the Western church that seeks to maintain its exclusive hold on the culture of Christianity. We're making people do things our way just like they once made us do it theirs. Crazy!
Here Paul goes back to the beginning of the chapter - dead in transgressions and sins (2:1), foreigners to the convenants (2:12) - to remind me of the state that I was in apart from Christ. I think there is a subtle difference here: at the beginning of the chapter he seems to be talking to me, the individual; here he seems to be talking to my "category" (Gentile). It wasn't just that as a sinner I was alienated from God but as a Gentile I was outside of his covenants and without hope.
"But now..." Man, I love that phrase in the Bible because it usually announces something good - and this time is no exception. The contrasts are amazing! At that time (v. 12) - but now (v. 13); seperate from Christ (v. 12) - in Christ (v. 13); excluded from citizenship (v. 12) and far away (v. 13) - brought near through the blood of Christ (v.13). Again, Paul points to the supremacy and work of Christ. This has nothing to do with me except that he chose me (chapter 1 - the controversy we all avoided!) by his grace and I accepted it through faith. It is all Christ!
The thing that sticks out to me is the arrogance of "the circumcised" - as if they had the lock on God and if things weren't done their way it wasn't done right. Of course this was pretty much true in the times of the Old Testament but even in the Christian era "the circumcised" tried to maintain their exclusive hold, even teaching that in order to be a Christian you had to be circumcised first. The pendulum has done a complete arc - now it is the Western church that seeks to maintain its exclusive hold on the culture of Christianity. We're making people do things our way just like they once made us do it theirs. Crazy!
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